The world split in two.
Lightning tore across the heavens, a raging tempest unleashed by Bolt, while the abyss roared back in a torrent of crushing blackness. The B+ rank abyssal beast's beam clashed with the Elemental Warborn's storm, and the battlefield convulsed beneath the weight of two opposing forces that had no place in mortal hands.
Air detonated in shockwaves, sending rubble and shattered beasts flying. The academy walls cracked like eggshells, molten rivers carved themselves into the earth, and students far from the frontlines shielded their eyes from the blinding brilliance of storm against abyss.
At the center of it all stood Bolt.
His fists burned with lightning, arcs crawling up his arms and across his chest like living veins of light. Every muscle screamed, every bone rattled, but he refused to step back. He dug his heels into the torn earth, white-blue eyes locked on the beam of despair pressing against him.
"Thirteen percent…" His breath came ragged, voice grinding like thunder. "...will hold."
Behind him, Celestial Tempest braced the line.
Akane's flames swirled desperately to reinforce Bolt's storm, though her aura wavered, fire guttering every time the abyss sucked the oxygen from the air. "Don't you dare fall, Bolt!" she shouted, teeth clenched, eyes blazing with equal parts fear and fury.
Aether stood rooted like a mountain, winds coiling tight around his arms as he tried to anchor the storm, his calm voice straining under the weight. "The land itself is recoiling… the balance can't endure much longer."
Sylva pressed her palms to the ground, green light bleeding from her fingertips into the cracked earth. She gasped as she felt the land weep beneath the abyss's corruption. "It's screaming, Bolt! The soil itself is in agony!"
Darian's water surged around him in erratic spirals, his normally steady composure broken. The abyss mirrored Kairos's corruption, and it rattled him to the core. "Damn it… if he's watching, then this is his will. This is his trial for us!"
Valea's light flickered weakly, a candle in a storm. Blood trickled down her chin as she forced radiance into Astra's shield. "Even in despair… I will not dim," she whispered, though her body shook with every breath.
Ren gripped his sword so tightly his knuckles bled. His blade trembled, not from fear alone but from the sheer force pressing against them. "If the storm shatters, then my blade will stand with it… even if it breaks."
Damian's shadows writhed violently around him, as if torn between loyalty to Bolt and their kinship with the abyssal force. He roared, forcing them into form, every tendril a cry of defiance. "You won't take me again. You won't take any of us!"
Kaori pressed close to Bolt, spirit energy flowing into him like threads of silver. Her aura was faint, trembling, but her voice was steady. "I can feel Kairos… his shadow. He's watching. You can't falter now, Bolt. Not when he waits for you to break."
Together, they bore the weight of the abyss.
Bolt's storm surged again, arcs of lightning ripping into the dark beam. His veins bulged, his chest heaved, and his aura cracked the very ground. For a moment, just a moment, it looked as if the abyss would yield.
And then—
The storm broke through.
Bolt roared, lightning bursting from him in a cataclysm that shattered the abyssal beam. Dark shards of corrupted energy splintered and fell like meteors across the ruins. The B+ beast staggered back, its tar-black armor split, its chest scorched, ichor spilling in torrents.
For one heartbeat, silence reigned.
"Did he… win?" Ren whispered, his sword lowering slightly.
Hope flickered. Weak, fragile, but alive.
Then the beast straightened.
Its crimson gaze narrowed, and it howled—a roar so deep the academy itself trembled. The horde of B-rank abyssal beasts answered instantly, their cries filling the night as they surged again with renewed frenzy.
Akane cursed under her breath. "You've got to be kidding me—!"
Bolt swayed on his feet, lightning flickering weakly across his arms. His body screamed in protest, but he raised his fists again. "Tempest… with me."
Celestial Tempest didn't hesitate.
Akane hurled herself forward, fire trailing her fists as she ignited three beasts in a blaze of scarlet. Aether's winds cut through claws and fangs, dragging enemies off balance for Ren's blade to slash down. Sylva raised walls of earth that crumbled seconds later under the abyss's claws, but every wall bought precious breaths. Darian's water coiled into spears, piercing joints and eyes, though his hands shook every time a beast's roar reminded him of Kairos's corruption.
Valea's light bathed her allies, each flicker mending broken flesh, though it left her paler and paler. Damian's shadows clashed with abyssal darkness head-on, writhing in chaotic duels that mirrored his inner war. Kaori stood in the center, her spirit aura pulsing faintly with each heartbeat, keeping the squad tethered together as if her presence alone prevented them from being swallowed whole.
And Bolt—Bolt was the storm.
Every strike left shockwaves, every blow ripped through abyssal armor. His body bled, his veins burned, but his storm refused to bow.
High above, cloaked in abyssal mist, Kairos watched. Crimson sigils pulsed faintly across his skin, his lips curved in something cruel.
"So…" His voice carried like venom. "He dares."
The Abyssal Monarch's whisper slithered into his ears. Do you see, Kairos? Why he was chosen?
Kairos's fists clenched. "He resists what no mortal should. Then I will break him."
Below, the B+ beast raised both arms, shadows spiraling around its claws. A sphere of abyss formed, dense enough to warp the air, a miniature sun of annihilation.
Bolt staggered, his storm flickering. He could feel it—this was death itself.
"Bolt!" Valea cried. "You're at your limit!"
Ren stepped forward, blade trembling but eyes resolute. "Then we fall together. Even if my blade shatters."
Akane's flames flared, reckless and defiant. "Even if I burn out!"
Aether's voice, steady though strained, rose next. "Even if the winds die."
Sylva pressed her bleeding palms into the earth. "Even if the land breaks."
Darian's water swirled weakly. "Even if despair drowns us."
Damian roared, his shadows defiant. "Even if darkness consumes me again."
Valea's light flickered, brighter for a heartbeat. "Even if hope dims."
Kaori's aura trembled, but she pressed closer to Bolt, her spirit threads weaving into his storm. "Even if the abyss swallows us whole… we will not let you stand alone."
Celestial Tempest gathered at his side.
The abyssal sphere swelled, its gravity pulling the world toward it. The B+ beast roared, and the horde fell back, as if even they feared what was about to be unleashed.
Bolt's fists clenched, sparks crackling across his battered frame. His heart thundered in his chest, louder than the storm, louder than the abyss.
Thirteen percent won't be enough.
He knew it. They all knew it.
But he raised his fists anyway.
Because the storm never bowed.
The sphere detonated.
And the battlefield was consumed in blinding dark.