The battle was a storm of metal, magic, and raw force. The air crackled with energy as war machines clashed with Academy forces, golden plasma lighting up the chamber as the Obsidian Vanguard's constructs roared to life for the first time in centuries. Elias moved with them, his connection to the Vanguard Core allowing him to command the machines as if they were extensions of his own body. Every punch he threw, every maneuver he executed, the war constructs mirrored his movements, turning the tide of battle into something entirely new.
Arvane, standing at the center of the chaos, was completely unfazed. His violet eyes remained sharp, calculating every move, every pattern, every fluctuation of energy. He didn't fight wildly like the other mages—he was waiting, studying Elias, measuring his strength.
And then—he moved.
With a flick of his wrist, the battlefield shifted.
A pulse of magic rippled outward, and suddenly, gravity twisted. Elias's HUD flickered with warning signals as the force around him fluctuated, pulling him sideways in an instant. His thrusters struggled to stabilize, recalibrating mid-flight. The war constructs staggered, their massive frames shifting awkwardly as their systems fought to compensate for the sudden distortion.
Marco's voice crackled over the comms. "What the hell was that?!"
"Localized gravity manipulation!" Elias gritted his teeth, adjusting his stance as his boots magnetized against the shifting floor. "He's bending the battlefield itself."
Arvane tilted his head, raising a hand.
The force shifted again, this time reversing upward. Elias barely managed to counter with his thrusters before he was slammed toward the ceiling. His war constructs weren't so lucky—one of them was lifted mid-air and smashed into a wall, its frame cracking under the sheer force.
Reinhardt, gripping the ground with brute strength, cursed. "Okay, that's cheating."
Lira flipped mid-air, using the strange gravity shift to her advantage, twisting between floating debris before launching herself at an enemy mage. Her dagger flashed, piercing through the mage's throat just before gravity returned to normal, sending her and the body crashing to the ground.
Elias's mind raced. Arvane wasn't just manipulating gravity—he was controlling the flow of the battle itself. Every shift in force made it harder to predict movement, harder to maintain control. If this kept up, they would be picked apart one by one.
Varian Duskbane, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
"Your power is impressive," he called out to Arvane, stepping forward, his golden eyes unreadable. "But it is not your own."
Arvane barely spared him a glance. "Obsidian Vanguard tactics," he murmured. "That explains how you're still alive."
Varian's gaze darkened. "You wield a gift stolen from those who deserved it."
Arvane finally smiled. It wasn't a warm smile. It was the expression of a man who had already won the game before his opponent knew they were playing.
"And yet," Arvane said smoothly, "you are the ones fighting against time. The Academy does not make mistakes, Commander. Your war was over long before you woke up."
Elias clenched his fists. "Yeah?" He lifted his gauntlet, energy building at his fingertips, thrusters primed. "Then let's rewrite history."
He launched forward, thrusters flaring, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. His fist, charged with kinetic force, slammed toward Arvane's chest—
But it never connected.
The moment his gauntlet should have collided, space itself folded.
Elias missed entirely, his attack landing on nothing but air.
Arvane stood behind him, completely untouched.
Elias's heart pounded. That wasn't just teleportation. That was spatial manipulation. Arvane hadn't just moved—he had erased the space between them and rewritten it.
And then came the counterattack.
A flick of Arvane's wrist, and suddenly, Elias felt a force clamp down on his entire body, locking him in place mid-air. The pressure was unbearable, like being crushed beneath an invisible hand.
His suit's alarms blared. Warning: External Force Detected. Unable to Recalibrate.
"Your power is borrowed," Arvane said, stepping toward him. "Your machines, your knowledge—it all comes from the past. You cling to relics because you have nothing else."
Elias gritted his teeth, struggling against the force. His thrusters fired, his gauntlet flared with power—but nothing worked. He was completely locked.
Cecilia's blade flashed through the air, aiming for Arvane's exposed side—but she, too, froze mid-strike, suspended in space.
Ivy fired an arrow, but before it even left the bowstring, the air around it folded, sending it veering off-course into a wall.
Lira snarled, throwing a dagger—but it stopped mid-air, floating uselessly.
They were being played with.
Varian's voice rang out, sharp as steel. "Elias, listen to me."
Elias strained against the force. "Little busy right now, Varian!"
"You're thinking like an engineer," Varian said, stepping forward, his hand resting against the nearest war construct. "You must think like a warrior. You do not control the machines with your hands."
Elias's mind snapped into focus.
His hands weren't working. His thrusters weren't working. But the Vanguard Core inside him was still active.
Arvane's smirk faltered just slightly as Elias stopped struggling.
And then, Elias stopped thinking like a pilot.
He thought like a leader.
The war machines moved without him lifting a finger.
Two of them lunged at Arvane at once, faster than the Inquisitor had anticipated. Arvane twisted, shifting the battlefield again—but this time, Elias moved with it.
His war constructs adjusted instantly, adapting their footing even as gravity turned sideways. One of them reached out, its massive hand grabbing Elias mid-air and flinging him forward, using the momentum to break free of the force holding him in place.
Elias flipped mid-air, his gauntlet now crackling with disruptor energy, and this time, when he struck—
He didn't miss.
His fist collided with Arvane's chest, sending a pulse of golden energy rippling through the Inquisitor's body. The impact shattered the gravity field, sending Arvane crashing backward into the far wall.
For the first time, Arvane looked surprised.
Elias landed, exhaling sharply, his war machines standing behind him like an army waiting for its next command.
He rolled his shoulders, smirking. "Guess you were right about one thing, Arvane."
Arvane slowly stood, dusting off his cloak.
Elias flexed his fingers, the Vanguard Core pulsing at his chest.
"I don't fight alone."