Caelus stood still amid the chaos of the ruins, his breathing slow, his posture calm despite the storm of corrupted energy twisting around him. He shut his eyes, not to escape the battlefield, but to sink deeper into it. Magic flowed from him, spreading outward like unseen roots. The air trembled as his presence pressed against the ruins themselves.
The corruption fought back.
Dark energy clawed at his magic, tearing, biting, resisting. Caelus felt it clearly. The pathway he was trying to form was fragile, narrow, barely holding together. Every second demanded focus. Every moment threatened collapse.
Still, he pushed forward.
Deep within the ruins, the spirit answered him.
When Caelus finally opened his eyes, they glowed faintly. The energy of the ruins flowed through him in a way it never had before. It was not overwhelming, not violent. It was calm. Steady. Like standing in the center of a quiet storm.
He lifted his gaze and locked eyes with Xekar.
"Welcome to my home," Caelus said.
Then, without raising his voice, "Welcome to my dream."
A strange aura spread around him, soft and unreal, as though the world itself had begun to blur. Caelus raised his sword.
"Eternal Sleep."
There was no sound.
No explosion.
No visible destruction.
Yet an invisible wave swept across the battlefield. Everyone felt it. A pressure that passed through flesh and bone, through thought itself. And then, for a heartbeat, nothing happened.
The world changed.
The ruins vanished.
The sky dissolved.
Suddenly, there was only Caelus and Xekar, standing alone in a vast, dreamlike space. The ground beneath them felt solid yet unreal, like walking on memory rather than stone. Their consciousness had split, one part still anchored to the ruins, their bodies frozen in place, and another pulled into this silent domain.
Those outside did not understand what had happened. They only saw Caelus and Xekar stop moving. And so they waited. They chose to believe.
Xekar did not hesitate.
He had no interest in understanding this place. No patience for mystery. His body shifted, claws forming over his hands as his tail lashed behind him. In one violent motion, he launched himself forward, claws swinging straight toward Caelus.
Caelus did not move.
Xekar's claws passed cleanly through his body.
The demon grinned, already turning away, until he realized something was wrong.
Caelus was still standing.
Unharmed.
"In my home," Caelus said calmly, "I shall not be defeated."
Rage twisted Xekar's face. "Is that so?" he snarled. "Let's see how long you can maintain this power."
Caelus knew the truth. The pathway he had carved through the corruption was unstable. The ruins' energy flowed through him, but the corruption gnawed at it constantly. Time was against him.
He moved.
"Tears of the Fallen Leaf."
Droplets rose from the ground, not from the sky. Liquid light gathered and trembled before launching forward at impossible speed. They pierced through Xekar's body again and again, each strike clean, precise, merciless.
Xekar tried to dodge, twisting and shifting, but there were too many. The droplets tore through him, puncturing flesh faster than it could heal.
Caelus did not stop.
He stepped forward, sword lifting once more.
"Splitting River."
With a smooth, graceful motion, Caelus leapt and slashed horizontally, cutting from Xekar's head straight down to the ground. The blade passed through him effortlessly.
Xekar's body split in two.
It fell with a heavy thud.
For a moment, silence ruled the dream.
Then, snap.
Caelus staggered.
His heart began to race. Unease spread through him like cold water. Something was wrong.
Xekar's voice echoed through the dream.
"Too bad," it said. "This place may be your home… but for now, it is under my control."
Fragments of Xekar's body lifted into the air. Flesh stretched, pulled, reconnected. Bone snapped back into place. Slowly, deliberately, he became whole again.
"If not for his creation," Xekar continued, "you would have given me a tough fight. But without the ruin's power, you are not strong enough to face me."
Another snap.
The dream shattered.
They were back in the ruins.
Xekar stood as if nothing had happened.
Caelus fell to one knee, coughing blood. Blood spilled from his mouth, and thin trails ran from his eyes. His body trembled as the backlash tore through him.
"How sad," Xekar said lightly. "That's another one down."
Movern rushed to Caelus's side, grabbing him before he collapsed further.
Now only three stood in front of Xekar.
Darius. Movern. Alex.
Xekar yawned, stretching his arms. "Playtime is over."
"Chimeric Transformation."
His body expanded, muscles swelling. His teeth sharpened into jagged fangs, his face warping into something lion-like. Horns curved from his head like a raging bull's. Wings burst from his back, mismatched and monstrous. His hands and legs ended in claws, and his tail split into three, each one longer, each ending in a snapping jaw.
The air grew heavy.
The three prepared themselves.
It did not matter.
In a single instant, Xekar grabbed Alex and smashed him into the ground. Again. And again. And again. The impact echoed through the ruins.
Movern moved.
"Crimson Slash!"
His blood-forged blade swung toward Xekar's arm, but before it could connect, one of the tails struck him, crushing his body and slamming him aside.
Silence followed. Two more had fallen. Darius stood alone. His mind went blank.
Memories flooded in, faces of comrades, screams, ruined lands, the cruelty Xekar had shown without hesitation. Rage ignited in his chest, burning away fear.
"Leave them alone," Darius said. "Face me."
Xekar stopped. Then laughed.
"Looks like someone's angry," he said. "Very well. I'll finish you first."
Darius met his gaze. "Let me take my friends away first."
Xekar waved a hand. "I don't mind. They're dead anyway. Consider this mercy. Be quick, before I change my mind."
One by one, Darius carried his fallen comrades away, placing them beside Clara, Sera, Iria, and Hugo.
"Take care of them," he said quietly. "I'll handle this."
Clara tried to stop him, but Hugo held Clara back and told her to let Darius go.
Darius turned back.
Xekar grinned. "Don't worry. It won't take long."
Xekar attacked, claws swinging.
Darius caught them with his bare hands.
With a roar, he hurled Xekar away. The demon slammed into the ground, cracking the stone beneath him.
Xekar stared up at Darius, stunned. "How is this possible?" he muttered. "Some kind of trick…?"
He rose and attacked again, wings slicing through the air.
Darius leapt onto him, grabbed one wing, and tore it apart.
Xekar screamed.
"You moron! How dare you!"
The wing regenerated quickly, flesh knitting back together.
Darius smiled faintly. "Thank god you can regenerate."
Xekar blinked. "Huh?"
"You still feel pain," Darius continued. "That just means I can give you a much more painful death."
The battlefield fell silent.
For the first time... Xekar hesitated.
And he thought before attacking.