The stadium is packed, but the atmosphere is oppressive. The air is heavy, the arena is filled with tension. The screen reads SHIRO vs. VIREX. Kael and Akira stand in the stands. Akira says softly, "This is not going to be a normal match." Kael doesn't answer. The Axiom pulses faster in his hand.
"3… 2… 1… SPIN!"
The Frost Phantom fires. The ice wolf immediately appears next to him, running low, its claws plowing across the field, leaving streaks of ice in its wake. The Nova Strike slams in. The purple phoenix's wings spread above him, its body made of dense, glowing energy, its every move exerting pressure on the field.
The two peons collide on the first impact—the wolf leaps at the phoenix, the phoenix responds with a flap of its wings. Ice explodes, purple energy erupts, the field cracks. The stadium falls silent.
Shiro shifts instantly. Mist thickens around the Frost Phantom, the ice wolf's movement splits into three directions. These are not illusions—the same creature attacking in multiple bodies. Three directions, three attacks.
Virex is still. "You're taking away the form... but not the power."
The phoenix rises, then compresses the air into a point. It strikes there. One of the wolf forms shatters instantly.
The rhythm of the fight changes. The Nova Strike doesn't speed up—it weighs down. The phoenix's body expands, its presence weighing on the arena. The Frost Phantom's movement slows, the ice wolf slides back, clawing at the ground.
Axiom speaks, "Charge: 82%... increasing." Kael clenches his fists. "This is too much..."
Shiro closes his eyes. "Frost Phantom... total control."
The ice wolf retracts into a single body. Bigger, sharper, every move precise. The cold is concentrated in one direction. Shiro attacks. A clean side impact. The Nova Strike deflects, the phoenix flinches. The audience roars. Kael stands.
The core of the Nova Strike cracks. Energy leaks out. The phoenix changes form. Its wings expand, its body thickens, the space around it contracts.
Axiom: "Charge: 100% - unstable."
Virex quietly: "It won't stop now."
"Nova Strike… Supernova Impact."
The peonza slows. The phoenix's weight weighs on it in the orbit. The Frost Phantom and the ice wolf draw closer. Their movements are forced. They can't dodge.
Cracks appear on the wolf's body.
Shiro shouts, "Final mirror collision!"
The Frost Phantom charges with all its might. The ice wolf leaps up, straight for the phoenix. The two forces collide.
Ice explodes. Purple energy erupts. The arena cracks.
A moment.
The ice wolf shatters.
The phoenix breaks through.
The Frost Phantom flies out of the arena.
Silence.
Then the stadium explodes.
Shiro kneels, his peonza in his hand. Cracked, but still intact. Kael steps forward.
"Now you understand."
Kael quietly: "This isn't just power…"
Shiro: "This is something else."
Virex calls back Nova Strike. The purple phoenix is still behind him, but its movement is unstable. The core crack continues to grow. For a moment, dark energy erupts from it.
Virex whispers, "One more battle… and I won't be able to hold it back."
Monitors flicker in a dark lab.
NOVA STRIKE – 97%
The graph fluctuates.
A voice says, "The seal is critical."
A symbol appears on the screen.
Not a peonza.
Something sealed.