The battlefield had become a nightmare. Rocky, the relentless cyborg, stood tall and unscathed, while Rheus, Alex, and Luisa were battered, bloodied, and exhausted. No matter what they tried, Rocky anticipated their every move. His mechanical eyes gleamed with cold calculation, analyzing and countering each of their attacks.
Alex, drained from casting defensive barriers, panted heavily. "Every spell... every move... he's already predicted it."
Luisa, struggling to nock another arrow, gritted her teeth in frustration. "We can't hit him! He's too fast, and nothing we do gets past his defenses."
Rocky laughed, his voice metallic and menacing. "Your skills are impressive, but pointless. I've recorded every one of your abilities and mapped out all possible strategies. You cannot defeat me."
With a swift move, Rocky's fist slammed into the ground, sending shockwaves that knocked Alex and Luisa off their feet. Rheus, despite the fatigue weighing down his body, stood firm. His sword trembled in his hand, but he wasn't ready to give up.
"Enough!" Rocky's voice echoed through the frozen landscape. "This ends now."
Rocky charged forward, his arm transforming into a cannon that began to gather energy. "I'll end this with one final blast!"
As the beam of energy surged toward them, Rheus raised his sword and, in a moment of pure desperation, tapped into something deep within him—something he had never felt before. Time seemed to slow as a strange warmth spread through his body, and his vision began to shift.
The energy blast reached him, but before it could strike, it transformed. The fiery ball of destruction morphed into... flowers. Bright, beautiful flowers that harmlessly drifted to the ground.
Rocky stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening in disbelief. "What... did you just do?"
Rheus' body glowed with an ethereal light, his eyes gleaming with newfound power. "I don't know what this is... but it's time for you to stop."
The ground beneath them rippled and shifted, and to everyone's shock, the very environment began to change. Rocky's towering metal frame was suddenly shrinking, his limbs deforming, his armor warping.
"No!" Rocky screamed, trying to fight the transformation. "What are you doing to me?"
Before he could resist further, Rocky's body shifted entirely—into the form of a small, harmless teddy bear. His mechanical limbs were replaced with plush fabric, his weapons now nothing more than tiny stuffed paws. Rocky the cyborg had become Rocky the teddy bear, immobile and powerless.
Alex and Luisa stared in shock, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.
"Did... did Rheus just turn Rocky into a toy?" Alex muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Shero, hidden in the shadows, was equally stunned. The power he had been observing, the one Pandemonium had been seeking—it was here, in Rheus' hands. The realization sent a chill down his spine.
"This can't be..." Shero whispered to himself, his usual calm demeanor faltering. "The power... we've been searching for... it's with him?"
Rheus, still glowing with power, looked down at his hands, amazed and terrified at the same time. "I... I can change anything. The world around me... anything I touch, anything I think of... it's all under my control."
But Shero wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away. Emerging from the shadows, he lunged toward Rheus with deadly intent, his daggers flashing in the dim light. "You may have new powers, but you're still vulnerable!"
Rheus, sensing the attack, reacted instinctively. With a mere thought, the landscape around them began to shift. The snowy wasteland disappeared, and in its place appeared a dark, otherworldly realm—Rheus' own creation, where the laws of reality bent to his will.
The ground beneath Shero's feet twisted and contorted, and the sky above him darkened. Shero faltered, feeling the weight of this new realm press down on him. The atmosphere was suffocating, and for the first time, Shero felt a tinge of fear.
"This... this is impossible," Shero muttered, glancing around in panic. "He's created a world where he controls everything?"
Rheus, his voice steady but strained, spoke. "In this realm, I make the rules. Here, I am the law."
Shero attempted to move, but every step was met with resistance. The very air seemed to bind him, slowing his movements and sapping his strength. He couldn't strike, couldn't escape. He was at Rheus' mercy.
But as quickly as the power had come, it began to fade. Rheus' glow dimmed, and his strength faltered. The strain of maintaining this reality was too much for him to bear in his current state.
"I... can't hold it... any longer..." Rheus collapsed to one knee, the realm around them shattering like fragile glass. The Northern Wastes returned, and Shero, sensing the change, prepared to strike again.
But before Shero could land a killing blow, Alex stepped forward, using the last of his energy to conjure a portal. "We're getting out of here!"
The portal swirled open, and Luisa quickly grabbed Rheus, dragging him toward the escape route. "Come on! We don't have much time!"
Shero cursed under his breath as he watched the trio escape through the portal. He couldn't stop them, not in his weakened state. And with Rocky still trapped in his ridiculous teddy bear form, there was nothing more he could do.
As the portal closed behind them, Shero clenched his fists in frustration. "This isn't over. Delra will hear about this... and when he does, we'll be ready for them."
On the other side of the portal, Rheus, Alex, and Luisa collapsed in exhaustion, their bodies aching from the fight. But despite the pain, there was a sense of relief—Rheus' newfound power had saved them, though none of them fully understood what it was yet.
"What... was that?" Alex asked, still catching his breath.
"I don't know," Rheus replied, his voice hoarse. "But whatever it was... it's just the beginning."