The moment Kazimir and Neve stepped through the portal, the atmosphere changed.
The cold, tranquil air of Vrasnia disappeared behind them.
Earth greeted them with heat, smoke, and the distant of destruction.
They emerged high above a ruined city, standing upon the rooftop of a damaged skyscraper. The building beneath their feet was cracked from top to bottom, portions of its exterior already missing.
Neve immediately looked around.
Her eyes widened.
"What happened here?"
Kazimir said nothing.
His gaze moved across the horizon.
The city below was in chaos.
Vehicles had been abandoned in the streets. Buildings burned in the distance. Smoke rose between the towers, while strange flashes of energy illuminated the clouds.
But there was something else.
Something that made Kazimir's expression change.
He could feel it.
A presence.
No—
Several.
His eyes narrowed.
"There's fighting nearby."
Neve's hand moved toward her sword.
"Humans?"
"Some."
Kazimir paused.
"The others aren't."
A distant explosion shook the city.
A wave of pressure swept through the streets.
Neve's hair whipped backward.
She immediately drew her sword.
Ice crystallized along the blade.
"Kazimir."
"I know."
His hand slowly wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
For several seconds, he remained still.
Then—
Indigo lightning suddenly erupted around his body.
Neve's eyes narrowed.
Brilliant indigo electricity crawled across his arms and shoulders, twisting around him like living serpents. Each discharge illuminated his face against the smoke-filled sky.
But beneath the lightning...
Something else began moving.
The space around Kazimir warped.
A black-violet aura spread across the rooftop.
The edges of the building began distorting as if reality itself had become unstable.
Neve took a small step backward.
"Your Void..."
Kazimir's eyes glowed faintly.
"It's reacting."
"To what?"
Kazimir looked toward the horizon.
"Her."
Neve understood immediately.
"Abiba."
Kazimir pulled his sword from its sheath.
The blade emerged with a metallic hiss.
Indigo lightning immediately traveled along the nodachi's edge.
At the same time, fragments of Void energy gathered around the blade, forming a dark-violet distortion that made the air bend around it.
Kazimir stared toward the distant battlefield.
"After all these years..."
His grip tightened.
"I finally found you."
A massive roar echoed across the city.
The buildings around them shook.
Neve looked toward the western horizon.
Something enormous was moving behind the clouds.
At first, she couldn't understand what she was seeing.
Then the clouds parted.
A gigantic silhouette emerged.
Neve's eyes widened.
"What is that?"
Kazimir stared at it.
His expression became cold.
"Abiba."
The creature's presence alone distorted the atmosphere.
Dark energy spread across the horizon.
The clouds twisted around it.
The city below began trembling.
Neve felt pressure against her chest.
"This is..."
She struggled to breathe normally.
"Her full power?"
Kazimir shook his head.
"No."
Neve looked at him.
"What?"
"That's not her full power."
His voice was disturbingly calm.
"This is only what she's allowing us to see."
Neve's expression hardened.
"Then we can't waste time."
She stepped forward.
Kazimir nodded.
But before they could move—
A voice came from behind them.
"Don't."
Both turned immediately.
A stranger stood on the opposite side of the rooftop.
He wore a long dark coat covered in dust and damage. His expression was tense, and his eyes repeatedly moved between Kazimir and the distant battlefield.
Neve raised her sword.
"Who are you?"
The stranger slowly raised his hands.
"I'm not your enemy."
Kazimir didn't lower his weapon.
"That's what enemies usually say."
The stranger swallowed.
"I know who you are."
Kazimir's eyes narrowed.
"Then you should know better than to approach me."
The stranger looked at the indigo lightning surrounding Kazimir.
His expression changed.
"So the rumors were true."
Neve glanced toward Kazimir.
"What rumors?"
The stranger answered without looking away.
"That Kazimir Van Sato possesses the power of nullity."
Kazimir's expression remained unchanged.
The stranger continued.
"And that his lightning isn't ordinary."
His eyes followed the indigo electricity crawling over Kazimir's body.
"Indigo Lightning..."
Kazimir's gaze sharpened.
"Where did you hear that?"
The stranger hesitated.
"From people who survived."
"Survived what?"
Before he could answer—
A sudden wave of energy swept across the city.
The stranger's face went pale.
"It's starting."
Neve looked toward the battlefield.
"What is?"
The stranger pointed.
The sky suddenly turned red.
A massive shockwave erupted from the western side of the city.
The force tore through several buildings.
Neve immediately raised her sword.
Ice erupted from the rooftop, forming a barrier around them.
The shockwave struck.
The barrier shattered.
Neve was thrown backward.
"Neve!"
Kazimir vanished.
In an instant, he appeared beside her.
His hand caught her arm before she could fall from the rooftop.
Indigo lightning crackled violently around him.
Neve steadied herself.
"I'm fine."
Kazimir released her.
Then he looked toward the battlefield.
His eyes had changed.
The calm was gone.
The Void was beginning to consume the space around him.
"She's fighting someone."
Neve looked.
Through the smoke...
A figure stood before Abiba.
A human-sized figure.
Yet the energy surrounding that person was immense.
Kazimir stared.
"Who is that?"
The stranger spoke thats sando earth last hope
Then—
Abiba attacked.
The battlefield disappeared beneath a massive wave of energy.
Kazimir's eyes narrowed.
He stepped forward.
The rooftop beneath his feet cracked.
Neve noticed.
"Kazimir..."
He didn't respond.
"Kazimir!"
He finally looked at her.
"What?"
"Don't lose yourself."
For a moment, he stared at her.
Neve's expression softened.
"You've waited years for this."
"I know."
"Don't let your anger decide how you fight."
Kazimir looked toward Abiba.
His fingers tightened around the weapon.
"I won't."
He turned back toward the battlefield.
"But I am ending this."
Indigo lightning erupted.
BOOM!
Kazimir launched himself from the rooftop.
The force of his movement shattered the concrete beneath him.
Neve immediately followed.
Ice formed beneath her feet as she propelled herself through the air.
The stranger watched them disappear.
"Those two..."
He looked toward the battlefield.
"They have no idea what's waiting for them."
Kazimir flew through the smoke.
Indigo lightning surrounded his body.
Every movement left flashes of violet-blue light behind him.
The Void moved with him.
Space bent around his body, allowing him to cross enormous distances in an instant.
Then—
Something appeared in front of him.
A massive energy blast.
Kazimir stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
The attack was already inches away.
The blade turned black-violet.
The attack collided with the sword.
For a moment—
Everything stopped.
Then Kazimir pushed forward.
The energy split apart.
He emerged from the explosion without a scratch.
Indigo lightning exploded from his body.
His eyes locked onto Abiba.
She turned.
Their eyes met across the battlefield.
Silence.
Years of hatred.
Years of searching.
Years of waiting.
Abiba smiled.
"Kazimir."
His expression became empty.
"You remember me."
"How could I forget?
Indigo lightning crawled across the blade.
The Void began spreading around him.
Abiba's smile widened.
"You've grown."
Kazimir's eyes narrowed.
The air between them became unbearably heavy.
Neve landed behind Kazimir.
Her sword immediately came into position.
Abiba looked toward her.
"And you brought someone."
Neve stepped forward.
"I'm not here to talk."
Abiba laughed softly.
"Good."
The ground beneath her began cracking.
"Neither am I."
Kazimir disappeared.
He reappeared directly in front of Abiba.
he swung his sword.
Indigo lightning exploded across the battlefield.
Abiba blocked.
The collision sent a shockwave across the city.
Neve immediately moved.
Ice surged from the ground, racing toward Abiba.
Abiba broke away from Kazimir—
Only to find the ice already surrounding her.
Kazimir appeared above.
Void energy gathered around his blade.
His voice was quiet.
"You're not escaping this time."
The Void descended.
And Earth witnessed the beginning of a battle that had been waiting years to happen.
But far beyond the battlefield...
Something else was watching.
Something far more dangerous than Abiba.
A presence hidden beyond the boundaries of the world.
A presence that felt Kazimir's Void.
And smiled.
Because the moment Kazimir entered Earth...
The Void had awakened something else.
Something that had been sleeping for centuries.
And it had finally found him.