The stars dimmed.
The Astral Realm trembled.
From the torn horizon stepped Ecliptor, his body a swirling mass of collapsing constellations. Every movement bent light, every breath tore sound apart. His eyes were two dying galaxies—spirals of blue fire and black matter.
The Observer Prime stood before him, his voice calm but firm.
> "Ecliptor, the realms are not yours to consume. The cycle has not yet begun."
Ecliptor's laugh was a storm.
> "The cycle never ends, Watcher. I am the echo between creations—the hunger of existence itself."
His gaze turned to Ethan's team.
> "And these… these mortal sparks are your champions?"
The Observer's tone dropped. "They are more than that. They are the fragments of balance itself."
---
⚡ The First Strike
Without warning, Ecliptor raised his hand, and an entire galaxy folded in half behind him like paper, its energy hurled toward the heroes.
Ethan reacted first, channeling the Tempest of Eternity. Time itself froze mid-impact as he shifted seconds aside, bending the energy into the void.
Lydia leapt through the stilled explosion, her flames turning white-gold, forming sigils that sealed the wound in space.
> "He's bending gravity and entropy!" Marcus shouted, his holographic mind racing through cosmic equations. "We can't fight that directly—redirect the energy flow!"
Kai grinned. "Copy that."
He raised both hands, drawing in Ecliptor's dark energy like a lightning rod. The sky screamed, the void turned crimson, and then Kai unleashed it—
A stellar storm that ripped across dimensions.
For a moment, even Ecliptor staggered.
---
🌑 Counterstrike
Then he smiled.
> "You wield creation's fragments… but I am its shadow."
He slammed his hand down, and the Astral Realm cracked apart.
Whole constellations shattered. Planets became dust.
Selene vanished into the darkness, reappearing behind Ecliptor, her daggers glowing with the power of silence itself. She struck—
But her blades passed through him as if through smoke.
> "I exist between realities, child of shadow," Ecliptor murmured. "Your fear gives me form."
Selene's eyes widened—until Ethan appeared beside her, wind swirling like a hurricane of light.
> "Then let's erase your form."
Together, they unleashed a blast that tore half the battlefield apart.
Still, Ecliptor remained.
---
☄ The Observer's Intervention
The Observer Prime raised his staff, his form expanding until he filled the entire realm.
> "ENOUGH."
A wave of light erased the darkness for miles.
But even he looked strained—the very act of opposing Ecliptor tore at the multiverse's threads.
Ecliptor chuckled.
> "You can delay the end, Watcher. You cannot stop it."
He looked directly at Ethan.
> "You, however… interest me. That storm within you—it whispers of something deeper. The Origin Pulse still remembers you."
Before Ethan could respond, Ecliptor dissolved into shards of light and vanished into the void.
---
🌠 Aftermath
Silence fell. The team stood among floating debris of broken stars, breathing heavily.
Lydia whispered, "He wasn't even trying."
The Observer turned to them, his expression grim.
> "No. That was merely his shadow. The true Ecliptor exists beyond layers of creation. You have seen only a fraction of his will."
Ethan clenched his fists, energy swirling faintly around him.
> "Then we'll go beyond the layers too."
The Observer's eyes glowed like twin novas.
> "Then your path leads to the Omniversal Forge — where the power to rewrite fate itself awaits. But beware… every step forward brings you closer to The Absolute Beyond."
---