The air thickened as the sky churned above Billionzaruto, black clouds twisting like living creatures. The forest, once alive with the hum of insects and the whisper of leaves, fell utterly silent. Even the wind refused to move. Every animal knew what was coming. Every tree seemed to brace.
Kaigos's cloak fluttered behind him as he took a slow step back.
"It's here," he murmured.
Billionzaruto felt the ground vibrate beneath his feet—soft at first, then violently, like distant thunder pounding beneath the soil. His senses sharpened instantly. Lightning crawled up his arms in jagged veins, and the flames in his eyes flickered hotter, brighter.
Something ancient was approaching.
Something hungry.
He steadied his stance and clenched his fists. "I'm ready."
Kaigos shook his head. "You say that because you don't understand what hunts you. This is no ordinary creature. It devours power. The more you use your abilities… the stronger it becomes."
Billionzaruto exhaled slowly, breath steaming as if the temperature had suddenly dropped.
"Then I'll just make sure it doesn't get the chance."
A low growl rolled through the forest—deep, trembling, unnatural. Birds erupted from the treetops far away, fleeing in a panicked cloud. Billionzaruto's heart pounded once, hard, before settling into a steady war rhythm.
Branches snapped violently in the distance. A massive shadow shifted between the trees, moving fast.
Kaigos's voice hardened.
"Remember this: don't let it touch your flames. Don't let it consume even a fraction of your lightning. If it does, it will become unstoppable."
The shadow lunged.
Billionzaruto barely saw it before it came crashing into the clearing—an enormous, beast-like creature with a body made of shadow and storm. Its limbs were long and jagged, like they'd been carved from darkness itself. Lightning pulsed inside its chest like a beating heart. Its eyes glowed a sickly, electric yellow.
The Storm Rift Beast.
With a roar, it slammed its claws into the earth, sending a shockwave of dark energy rippling through the ground. Trees uprooted. Rocks shattered. The air snarled.
Billionzaruto skidded back, planting one heel firmly to stop himself.
Kaigos extended a hand. "Do not engage it head-on—!"
But Billionzaruto had already launched forward, leaving a streak of blue light behind him. The Beast snapped toward him, jaws opening wide enough to swallow a boulder. Billionzaruto vanished in a blur and reappeared behind it, sparks dancing violently across his fists.
He drove a lightning-powered punch into the creature's side.
A massive flash exploded across the clearing—white, bright, crackling.
But the Beast didn't fall.
Instead, the place where Billionzaruto's lightning struck began to absorb the energy like a sponge, glowing brighter and spreading through its veins.
"No!" Kaigos shouted. "It's feeding on you!"
The creature's eyes flared. Its muscles bulged. Its claws sharpened.
Billionzaruto cursed under his breath and leapt backward.
The Beast roared—louder, stronger—and slashed the air. A wave of corrupted lightning shot toward Billionzaruto. He dodged it by inches, the blast carving a crater where he'd just stood.
So that's how it wanted to play.
The monster lunged again, but this time Billionzaruto didn't strike. He used his speed—darting in circles around the Beast, leaving streaks of light like a glowing web. The creature roared, confused, snapping its jaws at afterimages.
"You cannot weaken what was built to consume energy," Kaigos said. "But you CAN outmaneuver it."
Billionzaruto nodded, though he wasn't sure how long he could keep outrunning something that gained power with every second his storm grew stronger.
The Beast slammed both claws into the ground, sending a shockwave so powerful it knocked Billionzaruto off his feet. He hit the dirt hard, breath exploding from his chest. Before he could get up, the Beast was already mid-air, descending like a meteor.
Billionzaruto twisted and rolled, barely avoiding the crushing blow. The ground shook violently as the creature landed. Dirt blasted into the air.
He leapt back to his feet, but the Beast was faster now—much faster. It whipped its massive tail toward him. Billionzaruto crossed his arms just in time. The impact sent him flying through the trees, smashing into a thick trunk that cracked down the center.
Pain shot through his body. He gasped and pushed himself up.
Kaigos's voice echoed, urgent:
"Use your fire—but not directly. Guide it. Channel it. Don't let the creature feed on it!"
Billionzaruto's eyes ignited, flames swirling violently within. He lifted both hands, forcing the fire to concentrate—not outward, but inward, into his core.
His whole body lit with a brilliant orange glow.
The Beast paused. As if sensing something it could not yet consume.
Billionzaruto exhaled sharply—and vanished.
Speed ripped the air apart as he appeared behind the Beast with a burst of flame-enhanced movement. The ground beneath him scorched as he blasted forward again, dodging the creature's claws by a hair. He moved in unpredictable arcs, using the fire inside him not as a weapon, but as an engine—igniting his speed far beyond normal limits.
The Beast growled, snapping at him but catching nothing but afterimages.
Billionzaruto struck—not with lightning, not with blasting fire, but with pure kinetic force. A heavy kick landed on the Beast's jaw. Another blew into its ribs. A third hammered down on its spine.
The creature stumbled.
For the first time, it looked dazed.
But only for a moment.
It raised its head, roared to the sky, and the storm clouds above spiraled into a funnel. Dark lightning poured into its body like fuel. Its wounds healed instantly.
Kaigos's expression darkened.
"It is pulling from the Rift… this is worse than I feared."
Billionzaruto could feel the air grow colder.
"Kaigos—how do I beat something that can't run out of power?"
The Sentinel hesitated, then spoke gravely:
"You don't overpower it. You outsmart it. Force it to overload."
The Beast roared again, the energy inside it swelling like a tidal wave.
Kaigos continued, voice sharp:
"It cannot contain limitless power—even stolen power. If it consumes too much too quickly… its body will tear itself apart."
Billionzaruto's eyes widened.
"So I have to bait it?"
"Yes. Make it swallow more energy than it can handle."
The Beast crouched, preparing to leap.
Billionzaruto inhaled deeply and let his flames burn brighter—intense, blazing, scorching. His entire body glowed like molten iron. The creature's eyes widened hungrily, sensing a feast.
Billionzaruto lifted his chin.
"Come and get it."
The Beast launched.
A monstrous blur of shadow and lightning.
Billionzaruto stood still—dangerously still—until the very last second.
Then, with a burst of impossible speed, he shot upward into the storm clouds.
The Beast chased immediately, drawn to the swirling inferno radiating from him.
They shot into the sky—past the treetops, past the clouds—into the heart of the storm.
Billionzaruto gathered every ounce of power inside him. Lightning veins glowed across his skin, fire pulsed in his chest, his eyes burned like two miniature suns.
The Beast lunged.
Billionzaruto unleashed everything in a blinding eruption—aimed not at the Beast, but at the sky. The explosion of energy rippled outward, wild and uncontrolled.
The Beast drank it in—desperate, greedy.
Too greedy.
Its body began to bulge.
Glow.
Crack.
Kaigos's voice echoed from the ground, tiny but urgent:
"NOW, BILLIONZARUTO! GET AWAY!"
Billionzaruto rocketed downward as the Beasts body began to convulse violently. Light burst from its chest, tearing through its skin. Its roar turned into a distorted, broken scream.
Then—
BOOM!
A colossal explosion ripped the sky apart, sending shockwaves that flattened miles of forest. Billionzaruto spiraled downward, caught in the blast, before managing to stabilize himself mid-air and crash-land back into the clearing.
Smoke choked the sky. Ash rained like black snow.
Slowly, the storm clouds dissolved.
The Beast was gone.
Completely obliterated.
Billionzaruto dropped to one knee, breathing hard, sweat dripping from his jaw. His flames dimmed. His lightning faded to faint sparks.
Kaigos approached him slowly, staff in hand, cloak singed at the edges.
"You survived," the Sentinel said, voice filled with awe. "No Storm Lineage warrior has ever destroyed a Rift Beast alone."
Billionzaruto looked up, eyes still faintly glowing.
"I didn't do it to prove anything. I did it because it wanted to take everything from me."
Kaigos nodded.
"And it will not be the last."
Billionzaruto's fists tightened.
"Then let them come."
He stood, flames flickering behind his pupils.
Because from this day forward…
He was no longer running from destiny.
He was becoming it.
Drop a powerstone pls