The battlefield was eerily silent in the aftermath of chaos. Craters married the ground, the very earth trembling beneath the weight of what had just transpired. Knox stood in the midst of it all, his body still aching, his clothes torn, his breathing heavy—but his eyes, blank and void of expression, did not waver.
["Kaelina..."] Luminara's voice echoed within Seraph's mind, her tone sharp, analytical. ["Something's changed. You feel... different. More powerful. Vastly more powerful."]
Kaelina's response was immediate, yet firm. ["I'll explain later, Luminara. Right now, we have t focus."]
They didn't need to say more.
Across from them stood Nyxara, Zerath, Vaelith, Draeven, and Iskander—the Five. They remained still, yet their mere presence alone pressed upon reality like celestial beings weighing upon the fabric of existence itself. This was not an ordinary battle. It was a war between forces that could rewrite history with a single blow.
Knox exhaled deeply before turning toward Seraph. His voice was quiet, low.
"Thanks for protecting me while I was out."
Seraph dusted off her dress, her golden eyes unwavering. "Don't mention it. We're partners, after all."
His gaze lingered on her for a moment. "...Then as your partner, I need you to get somewhere safe."
She tilted her head slightly, a small smirk forming. "Safe?"
The air around her began to shift, divine light coiling around her frame. Her voice was steady, resolute. "Knox, I'm not leaving. I can fight."
Then the transformation began.
A blinding radiance erupted from her form, golden flames spiraling as celestial energy surged. Her body pulsed with sheer divinity, her presence shifting into something far greater than mortal comprehension.
From her back, six enormous wings unfurled, each glowing with an unholy brilliance, lined with golden, unblinking eyes that moved independently, watching, perceiving—omniscient. They were unsettling, divine, and otherworldly all at once.
A fiery blindfold ignited across her face, its light flickering and twisting, a living, untamed force. Her golden hair was no longer hair—it became cascading ethereal fire, strands of liquid radiance coiling like molten threads of sunlight.
She was breathtaking.
She was terrifying.
Even the Five watched her with unreadable expressions.
Zerath's smirk had long since vanished. His posture shifted, shoulders rolling, fists clenching. His tone was low, but laced with something dangerous. "...You're bold." His eyes flickered toward Knox. "But you should've left while you had the chance."
Seraph's divine glow intensified. "Funny. I was about to say the same to you."
And then—chaos.
Seraph shot toward Iskander like a streak of divine judgment, her impact erasing the space where he stood. In an instant, they clenched, a catastrophic force that sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield. Mountains shattered, oceans surged into tsunamis, entire regions collapsed from the sheer impact of their battle.
At the same time, Knox moved.
Vaelith struck first—his speed was an anomaly, a paradox of stillness and acceleration that defied logic. One moment, he was standing still—the next, his palm was inches from Knox's chest.
Boom.
Knox barely managed to counter, twisting his body as Vaelith's strike detonated against his side, sending him skidding backward. But before he could regain footing—
Zerath.
A blur of pure, brutal force, his fist collided with Knox's ribs, the impact akin to a star collapsing into itself. The force sent Knox soaring backward, but he righted himself in mid-air, skidding to a halt across the broken earth.
Draeven followed, his presence an overwhelming gravitational force that made the air thick, crushing. Knox felt the world tilt, space itself bending toward Draeven as if he were singularity.
The battle escalated.
With every clash, every strike, their movements grew faster, more destructive. Their fight tore through the sky, pressure waves splitting apart clouds, the very atmosphere trembling beneath their power.
And then—they broke past the limits of Earth.
Their battle surged into space.
The Five did not simply fly. They warped. Knox followed, his body adjusting, his speed matching their impossible acceleration.
Planets trembled. Star dimmed. Entire galaxies shattered as their clashes sent unimaginable ripples through the universe.
Above them, Seraph and Iskander's battle reached an apocalyptic scale.
Darkness and light. Creation and entropy.
Iskander's power was a black hole givenform, his presence swallowing celestial bodies into an infinite abyss. Seraph countered with absolute radiance, redirecting cosmic destruction, bending space itself to shield what she could.
Her movements were seamless—blades of divine light cutting through the void, entire supernovas detonating behind her. Iskander struck back, black tendrils of endless void consuming space itself, forcing her to counter with sheer will.
It was a battle of concepts.
A battle of existence.
Meanwhile, Knox continued his fight—Vaelith, Zerath, and Draeven relentless in their assault. But now, he wasn't losing. His body moved with precision, every dodge, every strike, perfectly placed.
For the first time—he wasn't outmatched.
And somewhere, watching from a distance, Nyxara stood.
Her violet eyes did not waver, her presence still as the destruction unfolded around her.
She said nothing.
She simply watched.
And deep within her mind, something whispered.
Something isn't right.