CHAPTER 44 — THE GUARDIAN'S BURDEN
The wind howled through the ruins of the Sapphire Bastion as Kai and Lyra approached the shattered courtyard. Moonlight spilled across broken pillars and cracked stone, illuminating massive scorch marks carved into the earth. Something devastating had happened here — recently.
Lyra tightened her grip on Kai's arm.
"Kevin was here," she whispered, eyes scanning the devastation. "I can feel the residual aura. It's… overwhelming."
Kai swallowed hard.
"It's always overwhelming. That's Kevin."
Lyra crouched, touching the ground. "This wasn't just a fight. This was… destruction."
Kai's stomach twisted.
"Done by Kevin?"
Lyra nodded. "I think so."
Before either of them could react, the air warped—reality itself bending. A pulse of white light burst in front of them, and from within it stepped Kevin.
He looked different.
More powerful.
More burdened.
His eyes flickered with the shimmering blue glow of the Crown of Two. His aura crackled like lightning restrained within human form. Even the ground beneath him trembled.
Kai exhaled sharply.
"You're late."
Kevin didn't smile. "I wasn't sure I should come."
Lyra stepped forward carefully. "Kevin… what happened here?"
Kevin glanced at the ruined courtyard. "A test. Someone wanted to see if I was still capable of holding back." His voice darkened. "I failed."
Kai's eyes widened. "You… erased them?"
Kevin's voice was quiet but steady. "I did what I had to."
Silence fell.
Kevin finally looked at Kai — really looked at him. "You're stronger. But still reckless."
Kai crossed his arms. "And you're still dramatic."
For a moment, they almost smiled. Almost.
But the peace shattered instantly.
A tremor split the ground.
The sky darkened unnaturally.
Lyra reached for Kai's hand. "That aura… Kai, it's coming from the northern citadel!"
A crimson vortex ripped open in the sky above, swirling violently. A shadowy figure descended — cloaked, masked, radiating pure malice.
Kai grabbed Lyra and pulled her behind him. "Who is that?"
Kevin didn't move.
"He calls himself The Rift Sovereign. A being older than the Seven Crowns. And he's here for me."
The figure landed with a thunderous shockwave.
"Guardian Kevin," the masked being intoned.
"You have grown careless."
Kevin's aura exploded outward, cracking the ground like glass. "You shouldn't have come."
Lyra clung to Kai, trembling.
"I don't like this… Kai, his power feels… wrong."
Kai squeezed her hand. "Stay behind me. And stay close."
Kevin stepped forward, the space around him bending. "This is between him and me. I won't let you interfere."
But the Rift Sovereign laughed — a hollow, echoing sound.
"Your brother has inherited the Second Crown's resonance," he said slowly. His masked face tilted toward Kai. "I will take him instead."
Kai's heart dropped.
Lyra's fingers locked around his wrist. "No."
Kevin's expression twisted with a fury Kai had never seen.
"You will not touch him."
In a split second, the battle erupted like an explosion.
THE FIGHT THAT SHOOK THE BASTION
Kevin moved first.
Or maybe space moved for him — it was impossible to tell.
A shimmering field enveloped the area, bending gravity itself. Ruins shattered into dust from the pressure alone. Kevin's force was absolute, infinite, unrestrained.
Kai shielded Lyra with his body as the ground trembled violently.
"KEVIN!" Kai shouted. "You'll bring the whole place down!"
Kevin ignored him.
He unleashed a strike resembling Gojo's Limitless — a wave of distortion tearing through the battlefield. Reality warped, fragments of the world flickering out of existence.
But the Rift Sovereign countered effortlessly, slicing the attack in half.
Kai stared in disbelief. "He cut through infinity?!"
Kevin's jaw clenched. "He's adapting."
Lyra dashed forward to support him, but Kevin raised a hand.
"Stay back. He'll kill you."
The Sovereign lunged forward faster than sound, driving a shadowed blade toward Kevin's chest—
Kevin stopped it with two fingers.
Power flared in his eyes. "Not again. You won't take anyone from me again."
With a flick, he sent the Sovereign crashing through a wall.
Kai whispered to Lyra, "What does he mean 'again'…?"
Lyra held his hand tightly. "Kai… I think he means our parents."
The words froze Kai's blood.
THE REVELATION
Kevin and the Sovereign clashed again, shaking the sky, distorting wind, stone, and time itself.
Between the blasts of power, Kevin's voice rang out:
"Kai, LISTEN TO ME!"
Kai looked up, heart pounding.
"They weren't killed by raiders. They weren't killed because we were separated. THEY WERE KILLED BECAUSE OF ME."
Kai staggered backward.
Lyra's hand gripped his arm, eyes wide.
Kevin's voice cracked — the first sign of weakness he had ever shown.
"Our parents sacrificed themselves protecting me," Kevin continued. "I lost control as a child… and I brought ruin. You didn't abandon me. I did this."
Kai's chest tightened painfully. Emotion surged as the battle raged around them.
"That's not true!" Kai shouted. "You were a child!"
Kevin didn't answer — the Sovereign attacked again, forcing him into another collision of monstrous force.
KAI MAKES HIS CHOICE
Lyra turned to Kai, eyes brimming with worry.
"Kai… he can't win alone."
Kai took her hands, grounding himself in her steady presence.
"I know."
"You're going to help him, aren't you?" Lyra whispered.
Kai rested his forehead against hers — a soft, breathless moment amid chaos.
"I have to. He's my brother."
Lyra wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight.
"Then come back to me. Please."
Kai held her just as tightly.
"I promise."
When they separated, their hands lingered together — warm, trembling, reluctant to let go.
THE BROTHERS UNITE
Kevin was pinned against a shattered pillar, the Sovereign's blade slicing through space itself toward him.
Kai surged forward, unleashing a blast of raw energy that collided with the Sovereign and forced him back.
Kevin stared in shock.
"Kai… your aura… it's awakened."
Kai grinned shakily. "Well… you didn't think you got all the cool powers, did you?"
For the first time in years — Kevin laughed.
Together, the brothers stood side by side.
The Crown of Two glowed.
Kevin's infinity-like barrier expanded.
Kai's resonance linked to it, amplifying it.
Their powers synchronized like two halves finally reunited.
The Sovereign stiffened.
"No… impossible."
Kai and Kevin spoke in unison:
"Let's finish this."