Omega Arden moved first.
A crimson flash tore through the air, his corrupted blade slicing a molten arc toward Lian. The strike landed with a shockwave that rattled the entire chamber.
But this time—
Lian didn't fall.
He slid back a few feet, boots scraping against the cracked floor, but he stayed upright. Ember light shimmered around his arms like volatile sparks trying to decide whether to ignite.
Raine stared in disbelief.
"Lian… you just tanked an omega strike."
Lian didn't answer.
His gaze stayed fixed on Arden.
Omega Arden's voice distorted through layers of static:
"HEIR. SUBMIT TO PURGE."
"Arden," Lian said calmly, "I know you're still in there. Fight it."
For a split second, Arden's body twitched. A flicker—like a human heartbeat trying to rise above the machine.
But the Omega system forced itself back into control.
"ELIMINATION PRIORITY: ABSOLUTE."
Arden lunged.
His speed was inhuman, a blur of red and metal. Lian barely dodged the first slash, ducked beneath the second, but the third—
CRAAASH—!
—hit him directly, launching him backward into a fractured support column.
Dust rained from the ceiling as Raine cried out:
"Lian!"
Smoke wrapped around him.
For a moment, Raine feared the worst.
Then—
A surge of energy pulsed outward from the impact point.
Not ember-red.
Not gold.
A soft, calm white—human, pure, strangely steady.
Lian stepped forward from the smoke, brushing dust off his sleeves.
"I'm okay."
His eyes locked onto Arden again.
"This power isn't all ember. My dad left me more than that."
Arden halted mid-attack.
Silence thickened.
And then—
Lian blurred forward.
Not ember fire.
Not teleportation.
A burst of pure human instinct and strength.
He appeared behind Arden and struck the back of his armor with a palm strike—
a simple martial motion amplified by something deeper.
The impact detonated like a sonic boom.
BOOOOOOM—!
Omega Arden flew across the chamber, crashing through two support pillars before slamming into the far wall.
Raine blinked, stunned.
"H-How did you move that fast?"
Lian exhaled.
"I don't know. I think… it's human. Something my father hid in me."
Before Raine could respond—
the entire chamber shuddered as Omega Arden rose again, armor broken, lights glitching.
He roared:
"RECALIBRATING.
INITIATING TERMINATION PROTOCOL SIX."
Crimson energy surged around him like molten chains.
Raine stepped beside Lian, gripping her blade even through her pain.
"Lian… this isn't just a fight now. If Arden goes into Protocol Six—"
"I know."
Lian's fists tightened.
"But I'm not going to kill him."
"You can't save everyone."
"I can try."
Their eyes met—fear, determination, something unspoken.
Then Omega Arden charged again.
And the real battle began.