Then the world around them roared to life.
Lightning tore through the sky as the ground quaked beneath the force of Ryzen's awakening. Ethereal Smoke and energy from calistria swirled around him, forming a storm of energy that split the very air.
Zaid steadied himself with rage and disbelief in his eyes.
"You think you can control that thing inside you?! It's going to consume you from the inside out!"
Ryzen's voice echoed through the storm, layered and powerful.
"Maybe… but not before I end this!"
He vanished in a blur, his movements impossible to follow.
As Zaid barely had time to block, their fists collided, sending shockwaves in every direction. Sparks of white and green energy lit up the night as the two clashed midair, each strike faster than the last.
Every blow carried weight with not just power, but purpose. Ryzen wasn't fighting for victory. He was fighting for her.
In the distance, Umatsume watched through trembling breaths. Her knees weakened as the shockwaves rippled past her, yet she refused to move.
Her heart pounded not from fear, but from the realization of someone and something protecting her.
Then as she mutered to herself,
"Konoke?, That name. That voice. It sounds… familiar".
She remembered it an old legend about a place called The temple of trials. Chosen by the celestial guardian of luminara, a being that once protected the realms but vanished after being chosen as a Crystorian of a celestial dimension.
A spirit named… Konoke.
Her eyes widened. "No way… Ryzen's spirit… is him?!"
She clutched her chest as she watched Ryzen's apearance flare, now balanced half human, half shadowed.
Umatsume said, "Ryzen… he's not being consumed… he's coexisting."
In the air above, Zaid hurled a massive beam of green energy, shouting in rage, "I am Inevitable, Void Nimbus!".
Ryzen crossed his arms, energy condensing into a blazing sphere in front of him.
Ryzen shouts "Konoke!"
"Already ahead of you." As he replied.
They spoke as one.
As white smoke beam and black shadow intertwined, forming a swirling vortex of raw power. He closed his eyes and shouted.
"PHANTOM...NOVA!"
The blast erupted outward swallowing Zaid's attack whole before detonating into a devastating explosion that lit up the entire skyline in a pillared form.
The shockwave rolled for miles, shaking buildings and scattering debris like ash in the wind.
When the smoke ash faded, Ryzen descended slowly, his aura flaring with ethereal essence.
Zaid lay motionless amid the wreckage, defeated.
Umatsume ran toward him, voice trembling. "Ryzen!"
He turned to her, eyes flickering between white and brown.
"I… kept my promise…" he said, a faint smile breaking through the exhaustion.
She caught him as he collapsed onto his knees.
"Yeah," she whispered, tears welling. "You did."
As his vision slightly distorented, Konoke's voice echoed softly in his mind calmer now.
"You see? Power doesn't corrupt… not when your heart chooses who you fight for."
And for the first time, Ryzen didn't feel like he was sharing his body with a stranger.
He felt whole.
The storm had finally passed.
The once raging winds stilled, leaving only the faint hum of fading energy. The battlefield was a scar of cracked pavement and drifting embers, the sky painted in deep green hues from the lingering energy trails.
Umatsume knelt beside Ryzen, carefully lowering him against a damaged tree. His body was scorched and trembling, his aura faint but steady.
She brushed strands of hair from his face, her voice soft.
"Don't you dare scare me like that again…You idiot!"
Ryzen chuckled weakly. "Can't make promises I'll break later."
He winced, hand clutching his chest as the glow in his eyes shifted back to normal.
"Easy," Konoke said inside his mind, his tone calmer than before. "It seems as if you used more energy than your body can handle."
Ryzen exhaled slowly. "You think, but I Guess you're not all bad after all."
"Hmph. I'm still deciding if you are," Konoke replied dryly but there was a faint trace of humor in his voice.
Umatsume smiled faintly, sensing the shift. The once-ominous aura that surrounded Ryzen now felt calmer… protective.
She looked up toward the distant horizon, her expression soft but uneasy.
"Konoke… the Guardian of the First Crystorian… You've awakened, haven't you?"
The wind whispered in reply, carrying fragments of light that shimmered briefly around Ryzen's hand the faint image of an otherworldly symbol forming, before fading away.
Far above, on a fractured rooftop overlooking the ruined street, a cloaked figure stood watching through the drifting smoke.
His eyes glowed faintly red beneath his hood, reflecting the chaos below.
"So… the Phantom awakens once more," he muttered, voice like velvet over steel. "And he's merged with the Guardian himself… interesting."
He turned, cloak fluttering as black mist curled at his feet.
"Inform the Omnity. Tell him… the Zero Vessel has awakened."
A shadow behind him knelt and vanished into the darkness.
The man looked down once more at Ryzen and Umatsume, who now sat beneath the fading moonlight.
A thin smile curved his lips.
"The real fight begins."
Then Umatsume sat resting beside Ryzen, slowly regaining his strength. The night had grown eerily calm.
The chaos was gone, replaced by silence and the faint glow of the moon reflecting on the shattered streets.
Umatsume sat beside Ryzen, his breathing slow but steady as faint wisps of light pulsed from his wounds Konoke's energy quietly healing him.
She gazed up at the sky, her voice barely a whisper.
"EarIier, I felt another presence, Whoever that was watching us… they're not coming back, are they?"
"No," Konoke's voice replied in her mind this time calm, but edged with caution. "The world has shifted. When Ryzen unleashed that power, it wasn't just us who felt it…"
Then A soft whoosh of air broke the stillness. Umatsume's eyes snapped toward the sound.
From the shadows beyond the ruined street, a figure descended, landing lightly amidst the debris silent, composed, but powerful. A faint trail of silver mist followed their movement.
The figure stepped forward, revealing a young warrior clad in sleek, obsidian armor etched with glowing blue symbols. Their silver hair caught the moonlight, and their eyes sharp, crystalline flicked toward Ryzen.
"...So it's true," the stranger said quietly. "The Phantom has awakened."
Umatsume rose, cautious. "Who are you?"
The warrior lifted their gaze, voice calm but filled with weight.
"My name is Voss. I'm from the Voidnara Vanguard the last defense between this diminstion and my mine."
Konoke's tone darkened instantly within Ryzen's mind.
"Voss… that name…"
Voss looked down at Ryzen, who stirred slightly.
"I've been searching for him. The Phantom Vessel. He carries what once belonged to the omitty of Voidnara."
Umatsume's eyes widened. "You… you mean Konoke?"
Voss's expression hardened. "Yes. The Guardian Spirit of the First Crystal. The one that the shattered one has been searching for centuries."
Then Lightning flashed in the distance.
The tension in the air grew thick the calm before a new storm.
Voss looked down at Ryzen, who stirred weakly, a faint glow rippling under his skin.
"I've finally found him," Voss murmured. "The Phantom Vessel… the one who carries what once belonged to the Omnity of Voidnara."
Umatsume's breath caught. Her eyes widened.
"You… you mean Konoke?"
Voss nodded, his expression hardening like stone.
"Yes. The Guardian Spirit of the First Crystal. The divine crystal that the Shattered One has hunted for centuries."
A sudden flash of lightning tore across the distant sky.
The air tightened. Heavy, suffocating.
A calm so sharp it felt unnatural
the stillness before a brand new storm.
The air trembled once more as the fight was far from over.