As Paulo and Riku raced across the scorched wasteland, the distant cries of terror pierced the wind.
Smoke curled into the sky from a nearby village under siege.
"Riku, look!" Paulo pointed toward the chaos, "That's a raid, we need to move!"
Without hesitation, the two surged forward, their boots kicking up dust as they closed in on the village.
What they found was grim: high-ranking skeleton warriors were slaughtering innocent villagers, their hollow eyes glowing with malice.
"Don't let any live!" one of the skeletons barked, its voice like grinding stone.
Paulo's eyes narrowed.
He spotted a villager cornered, moments from death.
With a roar, he unleashed cosmic energy around his blade, the air crackling as he swung a devastating Death Slash.
The skeleton disintegrated in a burst of light and bone.
"HEY, SKELETONS!" Paulo bellowed, fury in his voice, "THIS VILLAGE ISN'T YOURS!"
The lead skeleton turned, its skull tilting. "What do you mean it's not ours?"
Riku stepped forward, his voice sharp, "This is the Cosmic King's turf. You are trespassing."
One of the skeletons ignored the warning and lunged at Paulo.
With swift precision, Paulo sidestepped and decapitated it with his vengestone blade, the head clattering to the ground.
"So, you don't have ears, huh?" Paulo growled.
He charged the raid leader, grabbed its bony skull, and hurled it with cosmic force into the heart of the mountain.
A distant explosion echoed as the skeleton was obliterated.
Paulo turned to the remaining invaders, summoning his three-section staff with a grin. "So… who's next?"
***
The battle raged on, chaos swirling through the village like a storm.
Paulo moved like a blur, too fast for the skeletons to track, let alone strike.
His cosmic aura shimmered with every step, leaving trails of light in his wake.
With a fierce cry, Paulo vaulted into the heart of a skeletal herd.
His three-section staff spun like a whirlwind, each segment cracking bone, and shattering skulls.
The air filled with the sound of splintering bone and the hiss of cosmic energy.
In seconds, the entire group lay in ruins at his feet.
A scream rang out nearby, a villager, cornered and helpless.
Paulo dashed forward, intercepting a skeleton mid-swing.
With a surge of power, he unleashed his Blood Scaled Kick, his leg glowing crimson as it connected with the skeleton's head.
The impact crushed the skull instantly, sending fragments scattering like ash in the wind.
"You're safe now," Paulo said, helping the villager to their feet.
His eyes scanned the battlefield, staff twirling in his grip, "But this isn't over."
***
The clash of steel and bone echoed through the village as Paulo spun his three-section staff with deadly precision.
Skeletons lunged from every direction, but none could match his speed or fury.
He ducked under a swinging axe, countered with a sweeping strike that shattered three ribcages, and vaulted over a collapsing wall to land in the centre of another wave.
Riku was not far behind.
With his twin daggers glowing with cosmic fire, he danced through the battlefield.
He slices through skeletons like a storm.
"Paulo left flank!" he shouted a warring for Paulo to hear.
Paulo turned just in time to see a massive skeleton brute charging with a Warhammer.
He planted his feet, summoned a surge of cosmic energy, and unleashed a shockwave that sent the brute flying into a burning hut.
"Nice call!" Paulo grinned, then leapt into the air, spinning his staff like a turbine.
He came down hard, slamming the weapon into the ground and sending a ripple of force that knocked a dozen skeletons off their feet.
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
From the shadows emerged a towering figure, twice the size of the others, clad in obsidian Armor and wielding a jagged bone scythe.
Its eyes glowed with violet flame.
"The Bone Warden," Riku muttered, "We've got a problem."
Paulo cracked his neck and tightened his grip on the staff, "Then let's solve it."
The Bone Warden roared and charged, its scythe slicing through the air. Paulo met it head-on, their weapons clashing in a burst of sparks and energy.
The battle had reached its climax, and the fate of the village hung in the balance.
The Bone Warden towered over Paulo, its jagged scythe gleaming with dark energy.
Villagers screamed and scattered as the air grew heavy with dread.
Riku called out, but Paulo did not respond.
Something inside Paulo shifted.
The rage, the grief, the weight of battles past, everything he had buried surged to the surface.
His eyes dimmed, not with weakness, but with a quiet, crushing sorrow. The cosmic energy around him darkened, pulsing like a dying star.
He lowered his staff.
Then, slowly, he reached for his sword.
The Bone Warden laughed, mistaking silence for surrender.
It charged, scythe raised high.
But Paulo did not flinch.
He whispered, "I'm tired of watching everything fall apart."
In a single motion, he drew his blade.
Cosmic energy erupted around him, laced with crimson shadows.
Time seemed to slow as Paulo stepped forward and unleashed a single, devastating slash, clean, silent, final.
The Bone Warden froze mid-strike.
A thin line of light traced across its chest.
Then, without a sound, it split apart and crumbled into dust.
The battlefield fell silent.
Riku approached cautiously. "Paulo… are you okay?"
Paulo did not answer.
He stood alone in the ashes, sword still humming with fading energy. The villagers watched in awe, unsure whether to cheer or mourn.
Paulo turned away from the wreckage. "Let's go," he said quietly. "There's more out there."