The winds of Tartarus swept violently across Gaisen's shattered domain, carrying ash, snow and burning embers through the crimson sky as though the realm itself couldn't decide what kind of hell it wanted to be. Broken mountains stretched endlessly around them, whole cliffs reduced to rubble by the clash of the Domain Rulers, and the deep scars that Altopereh's anti-matter attacks had torn through the rock — through reality itself — still glowed faintly with dark energy.
At the center of the destruction stood Altopereh. The towering black Orbiton loomed motionless against the blood-red heavens, its massive frame covered in battle damage; large parts of its armor were fractured or missing entirely, exposing the dark, pulsing energy crawling beneath its metal shell, one of its shoulder plates had been nearly ripped away in the fight with Tikadello, and several deep gashes ran across its torso from the combined assault of the two rulers. And yet, for all the damage, it still radiated overwhelming pressure.
Lea stood at the edge of the cliff overlooking the machine with her dark cloak fluttering wildly behind her, watching the giant in silence, and then at last she spoke. "Before we even think about reaching Atlantis…" Youri turned toward her. "…we need to patch that thing up." She pointed at Altopereh. "If we want even the slightest chance of standing against Almesis, we will need the full brunt of its power."
The moment she said it, deep laughter echoed in Youri's mind, and the monster sounded almost amused. "She has a point."
Youri folded his arms as he looked at the damaged Orbiton. "And how exactly do you suppose we do that?" His voice carried both skepticism and exhaustion. "Altopereh barely survived the last fight. Half its frame is destroyed, its systems are unstable, and the main armor plating is hanging together by scraps." Dark energy crawled slowly across one of the machine's damaged limbs, as if in answer.
Lea stayed calm. "Here in Tartarus," she said slowly, "you can find any known material in existence. You just have to find the right ruler who wields it."
He stared at her for a moment, and then chuckled faintly. "You mean to tell me there's a Domain Ruler who controls metal?"
She nodded. "Not just metal." She turned toward the horizon. "What the worlds outside call Sacrosian-grade metal."
His eyes narrowed. The term alone carried weight. Sacrosian metals were unlike anything made on Terria or any other world he had seen. The God Units themselves were forged from materials so advanced and so durable that even anti-matter weapons struggled to destroy them completely. The armor of the Sacros knights, their ships, their weapons — everything they built seemed almost indestructible. He looked back at Altopereh. Even after everything the machine had been through, its frame was still intact. That said enough.
Then another thought crossed his mind, and he turned back to Lea. "Wait." His face shifted. "They were forged here, weren't they?"
She tilted her head slowly behind the wooden mask. "And who told you it was ever the Sacros' metal to begin with?"
He frowned. "What?"
"The Sacros didn't create those materials," she said calmly. "They found them here."
The wind rose around them, and Youri stood silent until realization slowly appeared in his eyes. "All this time…"
She nodded. "The Sacros built their empire by stealing from Tartarus."
Even Altopereh laughed at that, a low and sinister sound in Youri's head. "Now you are starting to understand."
Youri looked up at the towering Orbiton again. Every God Unit, every weapon, every terrifying machine the Sacros had used to dominate worlds — all of it had come from Tartarus. That realization alone changed the way he saw everything. He let out a slow breath and looked back at Lea. "Alright. So do you know a ruler who can control metal?"
She was silent for a second, and then she turned slowly toward the distant horizon, where the endless desert stretched beneath the crimson sky. "Of course." The way she said it made him uneasy at once. "There is only one Domain Ruler in all of Tartarus who governs metal." The winds shifted direction suddenly, and even Gaisen, still resting nearby in its weakened state, let out a low growl as she went on. "And that ruler is Kalian." The name echoed heavily through the air. "Kalian the Spear."
Even Altopereh stopped laughing. Youri noticed at once; the silence in his head had become strangely tense. "You know him?"
Altopereh answered after several seconds. "I know him." And that alone was enough to worry Youri.
Lea looked up at the crimson sky again. "Kalian's domain is unlike the others. It isn't ruled by chaos or instinct, like Tikadello's frozen world or Albatros's volcanic wasteland."
"Then what is it ruled by?"
"Discipline." The word itself sounded strange in Tartarus. "Kalian believes strength should be sharpened, not unleashed blindly."
Youri folded his arms. "That sounds surprisingly reasonable for a monster ruling this place."
She shook her head slowly. "That is exactly what makes him dangerous."
Far away, metallic sounds echoed faintly on the desert winds — almost like thousands of blades striking together somewhere beyond the horizon — and Lea went on. "His domain is known as the Iron Grave. An endless world of black mountains, metallic storms and rivers of molten steel. Whole forests made of blades stretch across the land, and colossal spears pierce the sky like towers." As she described it, Youri could almost picture it forming in his mind — a world forged entirely from weapons. Her tone darkened. "Everything there cuts. The ground. The rain. Even the air itself."
He looked at Altopereh again. "And somewhere in there we're supposed to find enough material to repair this thing?"
She nodded. "If Kalian allows it."
He frowned. "And if he doesn't?"
This time Altopereh answered instead. "Then we take it."
The sheer confidence in its voice was absurd, and Youri sighed heavily. "Of course that's your solution."
Altopereh laughed again. "You have seen what waits ahead. Almesis is not some weakened ruler like the fools we crushed. If you want to survive Atlantis, you will need me at full power." Dark energy pulsed across the Orbiton's damaged chest as it spoke, and its voice deepened. "And trust me when I say this. The vessel in its current state will not survive what waits there."
Youri said nothing, but deep down he knew it was right. Atlantis was no longer just another destination. It was the center of everything — the Sacros, the God Units, the truth behind Tartarus itself — and somewhere inside that ancient city lay the only possible path home.
Lea stepped forward suddenly. "And there is something else. Kalian's domain lies directly on the way to Atlantis."
He blinked. "That convenient?"
She smirked faintly behind the mask. "In Tartarus, nothing is convenient." The wind surged violently around them again, and far above, the crimson sky crackled with distant storms rolling across the endless desert. Lea drew her hood tighter and turned toward the horizon. "But whether we like it or not…" She looked back at Youri. "…our journey starts there."
Youri gazed out over the endless wasteland stretching before them. Somewhere beyond that crimson desert waited Kalian the Spear — another Domain Ruler, and the next door he would have to open.