Kevin stood over the ruined android, breathing hard.
The Power Stone rested in his hand.
It was warm. Heavy. Alive.
Lionaria approached first."Kevin. Status?"
He didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed forward.
Hunter followed his stare."There's nothing there."
Kevin slowly raised his sword.
"…There are three."
Sora frowned."Three what?"
Kevin tightened his grip around the Stone.
"They were already here."
The battlefield was silent. No machines. No movement. No sound but their breathing.
Kevin took a step back.
"They're close."
A sound cut through the air.
Short. Broken. Inhuman.
"⧆⟟⧫…"
Kevin flinched.
Hunter looked around."You hear that?"
Lionaria shook her head."No."
Kevin swallowed.
"They're speaking."
Another sound followed.
"⧫⟒…"
Sora stared at him."Kevin, there's nothing in front of us."
Kevin looked down at the Stone in his hand.
"Touch it," he said. "All of you. Now."
Hunter hesitated."Why?"
"Just do it."
Lionaria didn't question him. She placed her hand on the Stone.
A pulse surged outward.
Her breath caught.
"…I see them."
Sora touched it next.
"…What the hell," she whispered. "I see them too."
Hunter joined last.
The pulse intensified.
And the battlefield changed.
Three figures stood only meters away.
Tall. Thin.Torsos stretched and ribbed.Arms too long, fingers hanging low.
Horns rose from narrow skulls.
They had mouths.
Wide.
No lips.
Only exposed fangs, pulled into a fixed, smiling shape.
Their eyes burned red—no pupils, no reflection, just color.
Then the sound came again.
All four heard it this time.
"⧆⟟⧫…"
Sora stepped back."…That sound."
Hunter clenched his fists."Yeah. I hear it."
The figures moved.
Not fast.
Instant.
One was suddenly in front of Kevin.
Cold fingers closed around his wrist.
The Stone vanished from his hand.
Kevin didn't even feel it leave.
Lionaria slashed. Missed.
Sora kicked. Hit nothing.
Hunter lunged. Too slow.
The Stone was already gone.
The three figures shifted positions again, surrounding them.
The smiles never changed.
They moved to strike.
And then—
The shockwave hit.
No warning.No buildup.
Force slammed into them from every direction.
The ground split outward.Dust detonated into the air.Metal screamed and folded.
Kevin was thrown hard, skidding across broken asphalt. Lionaria barely stayed upright, blades driven into the ground. Sora crashed into debris. Hunter slammed into a wall, struggling to rise.
The pressure crushed them.
Then it vanished.
Silence.
Kevin forced himself up, lungs burning.
The battlefield was empty.
No figures.No red eyes.No smiles.
The Stone was gone.
Sora coughed, pulling herself to her feet."…They took it."
Hunter nodded grimly."In seconds."
Lionaria looked at Kevin.
"They could've killed us."
Kevin stared at the space where the demons had stood.
"But they didn't," he said quietly. "They wanted the Stone."
The war between Avalon and Eclipse felt distant now.Small.
Something else had stepped onto the battlefield.
It had taken what it came for.
And it left them alive… with nothing but questions