The blistering heat of the volcano intensified with each clash. Fire licked the stone, tremors shook the walls, and molten rock gurgled just beneath the surface. Helios stood his ground, whip-sword crackling with dark power, facing Axel, who spun his chakrams with fiery precision. Around them, a ring of defeated Assassin Nobodies smoldered in ashes.
But it was far from over.
Axel twirled Eternal Flames, the air warping from the heat radiating off them. "Gotta admit, you're definitely much sharper than before. But this little dance isn't over yet."
Helios didn't respond with words. Instead, he slammed his foot down, releasing a ripple of darkness that spread across the volcanic floor like living ink.
From the shadows, ten Neoshadows emerged.
Their low snarls reverberated through the chamber as they slithered forward. Silhouettes with glowing yellow eyes and fluid, almost liquid movements, the Neoshadows immediately surged toward the surviving Assassins. The battlefield became a chaotic storm of limbs and tendrils.
Axel narrowed his eyes. "You really are full of surprises."
"I called them," Helios said flatly, "Careful now, they'll attack anyone and anything."
"Called them?" Axel's grin faded. "So that's what you are now? A commander of the heartless? Wonder what Skuld would say if she knew."
Helios twitched ever so slightly.
Axel continued, voice dropping like venom. "You know she still sees the good in you, right? Still thinks you're some kind of savior. But this..." He gestured at the battlefield where Neoshadows tore into Nobodies. "This is darkness. Pure and unfiltered. It follows you like a plague, Helios. Maybe if you hadn't come to Radiant Garden, we'd all still be living there. It was you. It always was. It always will be. I wonder how many worlds you'll end up destroying."
The lava behind Axel burst upward, as if responding to his words. The impact caused the stone platform they stood on to crack. Large fragments began to crumble away, falling into the bubbling magma below. A tremor rocked the battlefield, forcing both combatants to leap to more stable ground.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Helios snapped.
"Don't I?" Axel shouted, his face twisted with what looked like rage and sarcasm. "Tell me, Helios, what does it feel like to command creatures without hearts? What makes you different from them, huh? Do you even have a heart anymore? Or are you just pretending to be something you lost a long time ago?"
Helios didn't answer. He couldn't. The words slithered under his skin, infecting his thoughts. Axel saw it, and pressed harder.
"You're not the hero she thinks you are. You've never been."
The battlefield shook violently again. Fire burst from crevices in the walls. A piece of the ceiling fell, crashing into the lava. Axel hurled a chakram at Helios, the spinning disk wrapped in a trail of flame.
Helios ducked, rolling into a burst of motion. Slánú na nDoimhneacht whipped forward, slicing through a column and sending shards flying.
Axel blurred forward, Firetooth igniting as he disappeared behind the smoke. He appeared at Helios' flank, chakram glowing red-hot.
"Wild Dance!"
Axel spun, unleashing a flurry of fire-charged strikes. Helios blocked one, dodged another, and retaliated with a coiling whip strike that sent Axel skidding backward. He launched Umbral Spiral, darkness spiraling like a hurricane.
But the earth gave out beneath him. The platform split completely, and Helios fell.
He shifted his whip-sword into its sword mode and thrusted it into the wall, halting his fall. Lava splashed below as he swung to a nearby ledge.
Axel landed opposite, breathing hard. "Still clinging to that edge, huh? Fits you."
Helios climbed up slowly. "You don't get to lecture me about holding on."
The Neoshadows had decimated the remaining Assassins, their glowing eyes now flicking between Axel and Helios. A tremor shook the ground again.
Helios raised a hand, commanding the Heartless.
They lunged.
Axel hurled both chakrams. They circled around him like flaming saws, cutting through two Neoshadows before boomeranging back. But more came. They overwhelmed him momentarily, forcing him to teleport away in a blast of flame.
Helios seized the moment.
He surged across the platform, whip-sword lashing in a violent arc. Axel blocked just in time, but the momentum sent him crashing into a jagged wall. Dark tendrils burst from Helios, slamming Axel in place.
"Are you done you," Helios growled.
Axel struggled. Flames wrapped his body as he fought back, blasting away the shadows. But Helios was already there, inches away. His blade hovered above Axel's throat.
"Do it," Axel muttered. "Show me what kind of monster you really are."
Helios paused, eyes glowing with darkness. His breath was heavy, his thoughts clouded.
"That's the Helios I remember," Axel said quietly, almost gently. "You've always been a monster. You just wear a mask."
A dark corridor opened behind him.
Before Helios could react, Axel vanished into it, his last words hanging in the scorched air like poison:
"Deep down... you've always been one of them. A heartless."
The flames subsided. The Neoshadows dissolved into nothing. The volcanic tremors ceased.
Helios stood alone.
And the silence was louder than the fire ever had been.
He slowly lowered his weapon, heart pounding. Sweat dripped from his brow. Shadows clung to his skin like guilt.
In the darkness of that molten chamber, Helios stared into the place where Axel had stood.
And for the first time in a long while, he didn't know what he saw in himself.