The air was thick and hot, charged with static. The Whispering Wilds were a wasteland of broken trees and glowing ash. In the center, Lyn, the Lightning Herald, floated, untouched, like she was made of the storm itself.
Her Stormheart power made her glow like a second sun. Lightning wings shot from her back, sparking golden energy. The light hit the shocked faces of the Zenith Guardians.
"Is that divine lightning?" Theo whispered, his blades shaking.
"No," Meredith answered, serious. "That's something older. Wild."
Lyn hovered above the ruined clearing. Her eyes were cold, her lips curled in a slight sneer. "You are insects," she said softly, her voice booming like thunder. "Tough, maybe. But so easy to break."
A lightning bolt shot from her wings without warning.
Zak barely raised a shield for Meredith, but the blast still threw them backward. Smoke rose from where the lightning hit.
"Move! Scatter!" Gail shouted, flying into the air, sword ready.
She crashed into Lyn mid-air, her sword hitting pure lightning. Their clash sent energy ripples outward. Gail gritted her teeth as Lyn easily dodged, spinning her with a shoulder hit and throwing her hard into a tree. The bark exploded. Gail hit the ground with a pained groan.
Theo quickly moved through the broken forest, trying to attack Lyn from the side. "Thunder Waltz!"
Lyn caught him as he ran, grabbing his wrist with one hand. With a harsh twist, his dagger fell.
"Cute trick," she mumbled, before a strong lightning pulse shot from her palm, blasting Theo across the battlefield. He hit the ground hard and didn't get up. A thin line of blood appeared at his temple.
Katya screamed his name and jumped in, her fists glowing bright green.
"Divine Art: Moonfang Cataclysm!"
The ground broke open beneath Lyn. Ghostly beasts clawed and bit. Before they could touch her, Lyn snapped her fingers. A blinding light exploded outward. The ghost beasts vanished instantly.
Katya, caught by the edge of the blast, tumbled backward. Her arms were burned and bleeding from the energy.
"You done yet?" Lyn mocked, her voice echoing.
Meredith was already casting a spell.
"Divine Art: Ocean's Binding!"
Strong currents of water shot up, spinning like snakes. They tried to trap the Herald in the air. For a second, it worked. Lyn grunted as the water wrapped around her arms and legs. Meredith's power was absolute control. She vowed in the ruins of the Azure Library that power must be wielded with deliberate, reflecting calculation, the opposite of Lyn's wild chaos.
Then lightning screamed.
A powerful burst of electricity shattered the water chains. Meredith was thrown back, her hands sizzling from the intense magic.
Eleanor clenched her teeth, wings spread wide, golden energy circling her axe.
"She's too strong, but not unbeatable. There's always a weakness."
She moved, faster than before. Light streamed behind her as she threw herself at Lyn.
"Solar Requiem!"
Her axe hit something, a shield of electricity. The force of her attack broke it, creating a deafening shockwave. She hit again and again, golden sparks lighting up Lyn's armor.
Lyn grunted, forced to step back. It was the first time she had been moved.
"There it is," Meredith gasped. "She can bleed."
Lyn fought back instantly. She moved forward, faster than lightning, driving her knee into Eleanor's stomach.
Eleanor flew backward, tumbling across the ground before sliding to a stop. Blood trickled from her mouth. She tried to get up, but her arms shook.
"Is that all, little star?"
The words sounded like poison.
Eleanor froze.
Those words.
Her father's voice felt like fire in her chest: "We love you too... our little star." Her vision blurred, not from pain, but from pure, raw fury.
She stood. Slowly.
"You don't get to call me that."
Her wings spread wider, sunlight flaring across the destroyed earth. She stepped forward, each step steadier than the last.
Katya moved back to her side, breathing heavily. Her face was scorched, but her fists were ready.
"You good, sunshine?"
Eleanor didn't take her eyes off Lyn.
"Let's finish this."
The air cracked as Zak and Gail rejoined the fight. Even Theo, beaten and bruised, limped forward.
Lyn looked at them, no longer amused. Just cold.
"Then come," she said. "Face the storm."
The clearing was pure chaos.
Lyn flew above them like a fallen angel, lightning wings tearing gashes through the sky. Every wing flap sent golden energy bursts down, shaking the forest and splitting trees. Her laugh sounded like thunder.
"Come now! You said you wouldn't fall. Then why do I see you on your knees?"
Zak struggled to stand, his blade cracked. Meredith helped him, blood flowing from a cut across her back. Theo's daggers sparked weakly.
Katya and Gail were circling low, bruised and battered, but burning with defiance. Eleanor hovered above, Sunfire glowing off her wings. Her eyes were fixed on Lyn.
"We're not done yet," Eleanor mumbled. She grabbed her axe tighter. "Not until you fall."
Lyn looked at her. "You again. Little star."
Anger exploded inside Eleanor.
"You don't get to call me that!"
Her wings snapped open wide, and Eleanor shot forward like a bright comet. Lyn grinned and met her, their clash creating a huge burst of golden light. Shockwaves knocked down trees below.
Axe hit spear again and again.
Lyn twisted. "You're strong, but messy. Still carrying your guilt like a heavy chain. That makes you weak."
Eleanor growled. "Then why are you bleeding?"
Below them, the others gathered.
"She's focused on Eleanor," Meredith said. "Now's our chance."
"We have to make an opening for Eleanor," Zak added.
Katya smirked. "Then let's crack her open."
They attacked as one.
Gail threw a crescent slash of divine energy. Zak followed, jumping high. Katya landed behind Lyn with a powerful shake, her fists glowing.
Lyn blocked Meredith's water spear with her palm. Zak's blade scraped her lightning-covered arm. Gail's strike cut her side. Katya slammed into her back with a double-fist blow, pushing her forward, right into Eleanor's reach.
Eleanor spun, wings burning bright. "Solar Fang!"
The arc of sunfire carved a glowing cut across Lyn's chest, drawing blood instantly. Lyn screamed, a sharp, electric sound. She spun in a rage, letting out a shockwave that blasted everyone backward.
Lightning flashed.
Lyn dropped to one knee, breathing hard. Her wings sputtered. Blood dripped from her nose.
She laughed, strained. "So you've learned. Cornered me like angry dogs."
Eleanor floated across from her, wings torn but eyes blazing.
"This ends now."
Lyn stood slowly. Her hair whipped wildly, static dancing around her body. "Then finish it. If you can."
She raised her spear one last time. Lightning gathered from her core. A concentrated ball of divine destruction pulsed at its tip.
"Divine Right: Stormheart's Last Blessing."
Eleanor clenched her axe. "Then I'll match you."
Sunfire spun around her body, burning away the pain. Her wings beat once, and she rose, higher than before.
"Solar Requiem. Final Verse."
They charged.
Lightning and sunlight slammed into each other. The sky seemed to split.
There was no sound. Only light.
And when it faded,
Lyn was falling.
Her body was cracked and smoking, her spear shattered. Her eyes, wide with surprise and defiance, locked with Eleanor's as she crashed into the ground.
The Zenith Guardians surrounded her, but Eleanor held up a hand.
Lyn coughed once. Blood ran from her mouth.
"She said you'd be different."
Eleanor knelt beside her. "Who?"
Lyn smiled through broken teeth. "Mariam. She knew you'd come. Knew you'd burn us down."
Her head tilted back.
"Now she waits above. Waiting for her star to rise."
With that, Lyn's body dissolved into sparks of gold that vanished into the trees above.
She was gone.
Eleanor remained kneeling for a moment longer.
The last phrase echoed: Waiting for her star to rise.
Eleanor looked down at her hands, still smoking with Sunfire. Mariam was the enemy leader, but what was her plan? Was Eleanor just a moving piece in a larger strategy? The anger sparked by her father's memory was fuel for the fight, but this 'star' talk felt like a prophecy she couldn't outrun.
She pushed the questions away. There was no time for answers.
Then stood.
Meredith was the first to reach her, placing a careful hand on her scorched shoulder. Gail stood beside her, sword lowered but eyes sharp.
"Eleanor, are you okay?" Meredith asked, her voice low.
Gail nodded toward the scattered gold sparks where Lyn had vanished. "Don't let Lyn scare you. We'll figure out what Mariam means by that 'star' nonsense."
Eleanor took a deep breath, the taste of ozone and ash sharp in her mouth. She tightened her grip on her axe.
"Yeah," she said, her voice rough. "I'm fine. We need to move."