The crack didn't stop.
It spread.
Slow at first, then faster, until the sky above the kingdom looked nothing like a sky. It appeared as if it was tearing apart. Mira tightened her grip on his hand.
"…Aditya."
"I know."
The air shifted violently. It wasn't wind, but pressure. It felt like something enormous was forcing its way into existence.
"…you're not staying here," he said.
She looked at him right away.
"…what?"
"…you need to go inside the palace."
"…I'm not leaving."
His gaze sharpened.
"…this isn't like before."
There was a pause.
"…I need to focus."
Mira remained still.
"…and I'll just hide?"
"…you'll stay safe."
His words were firm, not dismissive but protective.
"…for now."
Silence followed.
She knew what that meant. This wasn't about keeping her out; it was about what was coming. Something even she couldn't face yet.
"…fine," she finally said.
A brief pause.
"…but don't take too long."
He nodded once.
"…I won't."
She stepped back slowly, not turning away right away.
"…and Aditya…"
He met her gaze.
"…don't lose yourself."
A short silence lingered.
"…I won't."
This time, he meant it differently. Not just for her, but for what was approaching.
Mira turned and walked toward the palace. She wasn't running or hesitating, yet she didn't look back. She trusted him. That trust was heavier than anything else.
The sky shattered. It was gone, not just cracked. It was replaced by something vast, endless, and dark—yet not darkness. Shapes began to descend. They weren't falling; they were stepping through broken space. Dozens, then hundreds, and more. Each one was different, each one wrong. They were not human or divine but something in between and beyond.
Aditya stood alone beneath them. He remained still and silent, watching.
"…so this is everything," he said quietly.
The ground beneath him responded, not shaking but acknowledging. The first of them landed, slowly and deliberately. Its form twisted, shifting between shapes, unable to settle. Its voice echoed, not from its mouth but from everywhere.
"…anomaly confirmed."
Another landed, then another.
"…target located."
The pressure increased. The city trembled, not collapsing, but barely holding on. Aditya exhaled slowly.
"…you should've stayed hidden."
There was a pause.
"…you might've survived longer."
The creatures did not react or hesitate. They moved all at once. The sky descended with them. And then—Aditya moved.
He didn't move fast or explosively but precisely. His hand lifted. The space around him bent, but not violently—perfectly. The first wave reached him and stopped, not blocked but held and frozen mid-motion, not by force but by control. The air, the ground, the space itself all responded to him.
"…you don't belong here," he said.
A small motion of his hand, and everything in front of him collapsed inward, silently and instantly—gone, not destroyed but erased.
The remaining figures halted, not out of fear but out of calculation.
"…power level exceeding prediction."
"…adjustment required."
Aditya's gaze remained unchanged.
"…adjust all you want."
The space around him expanded—wider and deeper. The ground began to shift, not breaking but becoming something else, something that aligned with him.
"…it won't matter."
More descended, far more. The sky itself seemed to pour them into the world. This time, they didn't rush; they surrounded him from every direction and every angle. There was no escape, no space. Aditya stood at the center, completely still.
Then, he closed his eyes for just a moment. He took a breath, not to calm himself but to decide. When he opened his eyes again, something had changed. It wasn't visible, but it was absolute.
"…fine."
The word was quiet but final. The space around him shifted deeper than before, not just responding but obeying.
"…come."
And this time, he didn't hold back. The world itself moved with him.
And the war truly began.