Radiant Palace,
Astralis City, Auroria Kingdom
Sol continent, AurenIdril Empire
Terra, Gaea solar system,
Milky Way galaxy
Luminary star system
25th Astralis cycle, Solaris Prime, 572,413
As Leon drew the Divine Avatar away, Emily's attention snapped toward Henry, whose condition had suddenly shifted dramatically. He was enveloped by an intense, radiant energy—a vibrant vortex of emerald and golden light, roaring with a sound reminiscent of thunder resonating deep within the earth itself.
Within the heart of the maelstrom, Henry's form floated limply, his expression suspended in a strange, tranquil state. Emily watched in awe and slight trepidation as the raw, concentrated energy surged from his awakened soul core, sweeping through his body with unstoppable momentum. She could clearly see, with her enhanced perception, the impurities and mortal weaknesses being forced out—black, shadowy wisps of corruption burning away as though evaporated by the purity of the Odic force.
Then, with a shocking intensity, his body began to unravel within the brilliant energy. Flesh, muscle, and bone dissolved, becoming scattered fragments of glowing matter, momentarily suspended in the air. Impurities—the lingering effects of mortality—were stripped from each particle, leaving behind only the essence of his purest self.
In the next heartbeat, a stunning, intricate display unfolded. The purified fragments began weaving together again, reassembling with meticulous precision. Every cell was reshaped, every bone remade, and every fiber of muscle woven anew, guided by an unseen yet masterful force. His very composition was being rewritten, aligned perfectly to accommodate the efficient flow and manipulation of mana—his body no longer merely human, but reforged as a true Ascendant vessel.
The vortex of energy gradually dissipated, gently lowering Henry's naked form back to the ground. When his feet touched solid earth, his body exuded a soft, luminous glow—a sign of complete rebirth. Emily sensed a distinct shift in his presence; where once had stood a vulnerable mortal was now a fully awakened Ascendant, vibrant and powerful, mana coursing effortlessly through every inch of his being.
Henry opened his eyes, drawing a deep breath as his newfound power settled within him. His gaze met Emily's, filled with newfound clarity and astonishment. Emily quickly conjured a cloak for Henry to cover himself. His transformation had been unusually swift and seamless, astonishing even Emily, who had witnessed countless Ascensions. Normally, the Awakening process was notoriously brutal, often leaving the newly Ascended in agony as their bodies tore apart and rebuilt themselves from the core outward. Yet Henry had undergone it effortlessly, without the slightest trace of pain. Even Rosa, who vividly remembered the excruciating torment of her awakening, regarded Henry's Ascension with undisguised shock.
"That's so unfair!" Callum exclaimed, a hint of playful resentment in his voice. "Trini and I went through hell during ours."
Emily remained silent, reflecting thoughtfully. It had to be Leon's influence—whatever divine power he had awakened, it had entirely stripped away the pain that should have accompanied Henry's transformation. Before she could dwell further on it, her internal senses surged urgently, alerting her to imminent danger.
In the blink of an eye, Emily's gaze snapped toward Sam, who remained suspended within her cocoon of radiant Odic energy. A sharp, spiraling lance of stone hurtled toward Sam, propelled with lethal intent. Without hesitation, Emily activated a blink spell, instantly teleporting in front of the attack. She extended her arm gracefully, palm open, and the stone lance dissolved immediately upon contact into shimmering motes of brownish light, harmlessly absorbed into Emily's palm.
Her eyes narrowed sharply, locking onto Nabu, who had just risen from the crater left behind by Sam's devastating earlier attack. His battle armor hung in tatters, his once-intimidating mask now shattered, revealing his battered and bloodied face twisted with fury. Most of the Sector Zero agents lay lifeless or incapacitated nearby, abandoned entirely by Hekate, who had fled the instant Leon had wounded her. Among the scattered survivors, Emily noted one particular agent quietly observing the chaos—Agent Orion.
Orion—Freya Lughter—had watched the entire scene unfold. Even separated from the Asha'Yee and forced into temporary isolation, her advanced Internal Sight had permitted her to perceive everything clearly from within her mobile pocket dimension. She had witnessed Leon's arrival and heroic sacrifice, Sam's explosive grief and reaction, and the dramatic transformation Leon had subsequently undergone. She had even seen Hekate's cowardly escape. Now, observing Emily and Nabu poised to clash again, Freya stepped gracefully from thin air, materializing silently between them.
Nabu's fierce eyes lit up with relief at seeing Orion alive and unharmed. With her presence, he believed the tide could still turn in their favor. His grip tightened on the dark spear, a sinister smile spreading across his battered face.
"Orion," Nabu commanded confidently, "kill that human bitch. Leave the traitor Emily to me."
Freya sighed deeply, her breath heavy with weariness and disdain. Without a word, she reached up and removed her mask—something no Sector Zero agent had ever dared to do openly. Her lustrous indigo eyes gazed calmly, defiantly, at Nabu, whose confidence immediately faltered. He froze, his smug expression dissolving into confusion, sensing the sudden shift in her aura. It dawned on him that something was wrong. Emily, fully aware of Freya's true allegiance, silently stepped forward to stand at her side, clearly demonstrating to Nabu how profoundly the situation had shifted against him.
Realization flooded Nabu's features, his eyes widening in disbelief, then narrowing in utter disgust. He spat venomously onto the shattered ground, drawing power from the Gratia bestowed by his household god. Celestial energy surged around him, amplifying his strength and cloaking him in a wrathful aura. His muscles bulged, determination burning fiercely in his eyes—there would be no restraint now.
"First, Arexander Pendragon betrays us... and now you, Orion?" Nabu seethed bitterly. "How could His Lordship allow traitors like you—"
Freya interrupted sharply, her voice clear and unyielding. "If you truly believe Mallus was unaware, you're even more foolish than I thought."
Nabu recoiled, disbelief coloring his rage. "What?!"
Freya regarded him coldly, calmly explaining, "Mallus has always known there were traitors among Sector Zero. He simply never cared."
Freya had often wondered herself why Mallus had permitted Rex Pendragon's infiltration of Sector Zero, fully aware that Rex's loyalties could never truly align with their mission. After careful consideration, she concluded that Mallus saw them as mere tools—useful instruments whose ultimate loyalty mattered little, provided they served his immediate goals.
Freya's grip tightened on her spear, a beautifully crafted weapon with a shaft of polished crimson wood and a gleaming, razor-sharp blade crackling with arcs of intense lightning. Her eyes blazed with determination, her stance proud and fierce, revealing her true self at last.
"Fortunately, he never discovered my real intentions," Freya thought grimly.
She lifted the spear, aiming its electrified tip squarely at Nabu's chest, her voice dripping with quiet conviction. "Suffice it to say, you won't be leaving here alive."
Emily and Freya advanced together in perfect harmony, their movements fluid and synchronized as though they'd trained together for years rather than having fought side-by-side only once before in the infernal dimension. Emily's graceful, swift steps flowed naturally into her combat art, Dancing Twilight, allowing her to effortlessly match Freya's lightning-fast maneuvers. Freya herself was a blur, cloaked in arcs of blinding blue lightning that crackled violently around her form.
Opposite them, Nabu's presence darkened significantly. His aura surged outward in waves of murky brown and black, coating his spear in a menacing glow. With a grim expression, he unleashed his spear art—Fang of the Infinite Spiral. A potent whirlpool of mana gathered rapidly at the spear's tip, spiraling dangerously with enough cutting force to shred multiple foes simultaneously.
He lunged forward aggressively, thrusting the spear directly at Freya. Freya, anticipating his strike with enhanced internal perception, twisted her body mid-air with astonishing agility. She spun gracefully, avoiding the fatal thrust by mere inches, and swiftly counterattacked, her spear flashing downwards with lethal precision, aiming straight at Nabu's heart.
But Nabu's ability factor—Limit Inducement—activated instantly, radiating a dark, oppressive energy that blunted Freya's strike, significantly diminishing its destructive power. Simultaneously, Nabu channeled even more mana into his weapon, the spear tip erupting with a fierce, spiraling shockwave aimed directly at Freya's exposed flank.
Before the shockwave could connect, Emily intercepted the strike. Her twin spellblades glowed brilliantly, enhanced by her ability factor. With the first blade, she absorbed the destructive spiral energy effortlessly. Then, moving with seamless grace, she redirected Nabu's attack back toward him with her second blade, releasing the absorbed force in a focused counterattack.
Nabu cursed in shock and confusion, barely managing to evade the redirected blast. Emily's combat style bewildered him completely. Though she hailed from the esteemed House of Scorpio—a lineage renowned predominantly for long-range magical combat—Emily fought with a mastery far beyond the conventional style of her household. Most Pleiadians of Scorpio specialized strictly in magic cultivation, employing their skills from a distance, much like the Sagittarians. Yet Emily seamlessly merged magic and physical arts, fighting up close with spell-infused blades that effortlessly bridged both worlds.
It was not unheard of for Ascendants to practice dual cultivation styles. Typically, however, a cultivator shifting between physical and magical arts had clear, distinct transitions in their combat flow. But Emily's movements were entirely fluid, her physical attacks merging flawlessly with automatic spells stored within her blades. Each strike she landed was simultaneously physical and magical, leaving Nabu struggling to predict her next move. He had to remain constantly vigilant, wary of both Emily's lethal close-range strikes and her powerful ranged spells, all while also contending with Freya's relentless speed.
Freya herself moved with breathtaking agility, each step precise, each strike lightning-swift. Yet even her exceptional speed was hindered by Nabu's Limit Inducement. She felt his poisonous energy attempting to impose stillness upon her muscles, slowing her reactions and limiting the potency of her attacks. Were it not for her extraordinary willpower—her sheer determination to end Nabu's life—Freya knew she might have succumbed to the oppressive force long ago.
Determined not to falter, Freya surged forward once more, electric energy arcing along her spear, while Emily pressed the attack from another angle. Together, they closed in on Nabu, their combined assault intensifying as they fought to overwhelm his increasingly desperate defenses. Freya blurred through the battlefield with unmatched agility, lightning crackling around her form as she shifted seamlessly between rapid close-quarter strikes and devastating long-range barrages. Her speed and precision were astonishing, teleporting instantly from point to point as if she were pure electricity herself. Yet beneath her swift onslaught, Nabu could sense something unusual—an unsettling anomaly disrupting his plans.
Something's wrong, Nabu realized urgently, gritting his teeth. My ability should have completely neutralized her attacks by now. So why is she growing stronger?
His sharp gaze shifted toward Emily, comprehension dawning upon him in a flash of dread. Freya was indeed a formidable source of high-intensity energy, but it was Emily's presence—her unique ability factor granting absolute mastery over all forms of energy—that allowed Freya's attacks to surpass their natural limits. Emily wasn't merely assisting; she was actively absorbing, stabilizing, and amplifying every bolt of lightning Freya unleashed, creating a devastatingly effective synergy.
Emily, meanwhile, carefully managed the immense strain on herself. Her ability was potent but dangerously taxing; she knew she risked losing control if she went too far. Yet, against an opponent as ruthless and powerful as Nabu, hesitation was no longer an option. Resolving to end the battle decisively, she fully embraced her power, channeling Freya's crackling lightning into her Spellblade. With each strike, Emily intensified the electrical energy, pushing it past Nabu's limits.
Nabu's poisonous aura surged fiercely, desperately attempting to suppress Freya's relentless assault. But it was a losing battle—Freya sensed Emily's subtle yet powerful manipulation and recognized the critical moment had arrived. She charged her spear with brilliant arcs of electrical energy, preparing a final, decisive strike to eliminate Nabu once and for all.
Freya's indigo eyes flashed brilliantly as she called forth her ultimate technique, her voice ringing with authority and power:
"[Spear of Lugus: Lew of the Long Hand – Thunderborne Lance]!"
A surge of electric-blue radiance enveloped her spear, transforming it into a luminous lance of pure, searing energy. Freya thrust the spear forward, unleashing a dazzling bolt of lightning that roared toward Nabu, tearing through the suppressive mantle of his mana cloak with devastating ease.
Nabu, recognizing the lethality of Freya's attack, immediately prepared to evade. Yet in that crucial moment, his focus slipped entirely from Emily, who had been maneuvering silently, fading in and out of visibility with the stealthy grace of her Dancing Twilight art. She had carefully phased through shadows, timing her assault to perfection, making her movements impossible for him to predict or track.
At precisely the right instant, Emily emerged from the darkness, her presence suddenly clear and undeniable. Her dagger flashed swiftly, moving with deadly elegance. With a single fluid motion, she dragged the razor-sharp blade through Nabu's exposed neck, slicing deeply in a brutal yet graceful display of lethal precision.
A scarlet spray erupted from the wound as Nabu's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He gasped, stumbling backward in confusion as his strength evaporated instantly. Freya's Thunderborne Lance pierced through him simultaneously, the electrified energy surging violently through his body, causing an intense flash as his internal organs burned from within.
His spear slipped from nerveless fingers, clattering lifelessly onto the ruined floor. He sank to his knees, his expression a mix of stunned disbelief and bitter resentment, realizing far too late the depth of his miscalculation. Emily calmly stood over him, her blade dripping crimson, eyes devoid of mercy.
"Your fight ends here," Emily whispered icily, her voice filled with quiet, ruthless finality as her dagger flashed in a swift, decisive arc, cleaving cleanly through Nabu's neck.
For a brief moment, silence fell. Nabu's severed head tumbled through the air, eyes wide with shock, before striking the ground with a dull, sickening thud. His lifeless body crumpled shortly afterward, blood pooling around him in an expanding scarlet circle.
Yet, even as Emily exhaled, her eyes narrowing with suspicion, a shift occurred within her internal senses. A cold, spectral presence stirred, pulling her perception toward a liminal plane overlapping their own reality. Within this strange state, frozen in a timeless, gray twilight, another Nabu stood—his figure carved from writhing shadows, a construct born from liminal energy and the lingering remnants of his essence.
This spectral version of Nabu looked down at the blood-soaked corpse of his physical self, confusion and terror written plainly on his translucent face. He lifted his gaze to Emily, only to recoil in dread, as if confronted by something impossible.
Emily stood utterly still, her face expressionless. Her shadow, stretching out behind her, was not a mere reflection—it was an abyss, a boundless darkness infinitely more profound than any natural shadow. It writhed and surged, an endless maw of pure, consuming darkness that defied reality itself. The spectral Nabu recoiled instinctively, sensing the irresistible pull emanating from the abyss that had replaced Emily's shadow.
"What...What the hell are you?" Nabu's specter stammered, fear saturating his voice.
But his words were cut short. From within the infinite depths of the shadow surged a chain, an abyssal construct woven from darkness itself, glinting ominously. It shot forward with blinding speed, impaling the spectral being before he could react. Nabu struggled briefly, but the chain held firm, its grasp unbreakable. The spectral figure screamed soundlessly as it was violently pulled into Emily's shadow, his ethereal form consumed by the infinite darkness that had awaited him.
Emily blinked once, and reality shifted back to normal. Time resumed, and she stood again amid the chaos of the throne room. Her expression was unreadable, cold yet composed. No one had seen what had just transpired, the disturbing spectacle hidden from all but Emily herself. Around her, reality trembled slightly from the aftershocks of Leon's immense power and Sam's ongoing resonance, the Echo field teetering on the edge of collapse. She tightened her grip on her blade, the unsettling feeling of the darkness retreating deep within her soul—ready and waiting for its next prey.
Leon's gaze narrowed as he observed the Echo field beginning to fracture, its once-stable fabric unraveling rapidly. The artificial world's foundations had crumbled, its very existence teetering on the brink of collapse now that its purpose had been fulfilled. Shaking off the lingering tension of battle, Leon dismissed Solus, the blade dissolving into shimmering motes of golden-crimson energy.
In a burst of light, Leon appeared beside Sam just as the cocoon of dense Odic energy around her fractured and dissolved. Sam fell gently from its fading embrace, unconscious yet serene, her form radiating a power far beyond what any newly awakened Ascendant should possess. Leon swiftly moved forward, effortlessly catching her mid-fall and pulling her protectively into his arms.
As he gazed down at Sam's peaceful face, his heart pounded with a deep, profound intensity. He couldn't help but marvel at how calm she looked despite the chaos around them. Her features were gentle and luminous, framed softly by flowing strands of hair, giving her an ethereal beauty that took his breath away. Just holding her so close sent warmth surging through his chest, igniting feelings he had long held but rarely acknowledged.
Now, more clearly than ever, Leon felt the powerful, undeniable bond that connected them—something far greater and deeper than ordinary affection. His Hyperion Eyes, with their intricate sun-wheel patterns, granted him a rare glimpse beyond the physical realm. Through them, he saw shimmering chains of fate, delicate yet unbreakable, woven intricately around their souls. It was a bond formed through trials, shared memories, and unspoken promises, binding them together both physically and metaphysically.
Leon tightened his embrace slightly, a fierce protectiveness rising within him. He didn't know what fate ultimately held for them, nor what challenges awaited on the horizon, but he understood one absolute truth at this moment: no other soul in the universe could ever evoke the depth of emotion, strength of devotion, or unwavering certainty that Sam inspired within him. She was his anchor, his reason, and the irreplaceable piece that made his existence whole.
The collapsing Echo field rumbled around them, reality shuddering as it unraveled. Yet, amid the chaos and destruction, Leon felt only clarity. Whatever awaited, they would face it together.