The guardian took a step forward and a faint twang echoed beneath its foot. The rusted dirt erupted smoke bombs detonated in rapid succession along the same metallic threads from Finn's earlier attack, each intersection igniting like a chain reaction. Thick, suffocating black smoke surged outward in every direction, swallowing the battlefield whole. To the guardian, it was as if the air itself vanished and was replaced by the plume of darkness. Even the sound felt muted inside the rolling smoke of shadows.
For the first time since its evolution, the guardian hesitated… a hesitation Finn would not waste.
His fingers snapped into place, mud and blood dripping from his knuckles as emerald essence surged around him.
"Bottomless Pit Jutsu!"
The ground beneath the guardian collapsed, creating a seemingly bottomless sinkhole that stretched a dozen meters wide attempting to swallow the creature whole.
Its wings flared instinctively, crystalline feathers slicing through the smoke as it lifted off the ground.
It burst upward through the smoke and reality glitched.
Just for a beat.
The guardian barely had time to register the distortion before a sphere of compressed wind twice its size wrapped around its body, lifting it clean off balance. The force tore it from the sky, spinning it end over end before launching it nearly a hundred meters away and further. It couldn't stop or escape the sphere as it spun madly like it was stuck in an amusement park ride straight from hell.
The smoke around the battlefield cleared. Finn staggered. Blood dripped from his lips as he dropped to one knee, coughing violently. A thin red line of blood leaked from the corner of his eye, trickling down his cheek as his eyes flickered between emerald green and soft brown.
"Tch…" He hissed, fighting his body from falling face forward on the rusted ground with shaking arms.
Behind him—
"Rikona" Kaito shouted.
Rikona nodded once.
Her backpack unfolded and a handful of tiny drones burst outward like silver fireflies. One landed on Finn's shoulder. The moment it did, a thin layer of white essence slowly enveloped his body.
Heat washed over him, but it didn't burn. Instead, his pain dulled and his breath steadied.
"…What is this?" Finn muttered, eyes widening as he pushed himself fully upright, the weakness in his body subsiding slightly.
"I'm routing Kaito's essence through my drones." Rikona explained.
"You need to be protected once he fires. The heat from Kaito's attack won't care who's in the way, not even him."
Finn glanced down at his hands, watching the ghost-white energy ripple over his skin.
Kaito's cracked lips crawled up into a grin.
"Guess all that lantern training paid off, huh?"
Finn snorted despite himself as he wiped blood from his chin.
"…Yeah. Guess it did."
Kaito's smile softened for just a moment before his gaze hardened again.
"But we're not done yet."
More drones peeled away from Rikona, streaking across the battlefield toward the others. Nara barely had time to react before one landed on her shoulder. The white essence enveloped her instantly. She stared down at her hands, watching the energy curl around her scales.
"…This is the same essence…The one he used against Aqua." She whispered.
"It's not like his usual purple essence… It's thinner, but dense… and warm."
Nearby, Lorian, the youngest thalorian let out a breathless laugh as the essence wrapped around him.
"Whoa… this feels insane."
Livia nodded rapidly, eyes shining.
"It's like an elf's essence—no, even cleaner. But he's not an elf, right?"
Luis didn't share their outward excitement. He simply stared at his hand, watching the white glow pulse softly before lifting his gaze toward Kaito in the distance, expression unchanged.
Above the planet, aboard the D-class ship, Valentina leaned back in her chair as a drone settled onto her shoulder. White essence flowed over her body. She chuckled weakly.
"…That reckless round-ear brat really thought of everything. Using Rikona's drones like extensions of his own body… Not bad."
Zeek glanced down at large hands covered in white then smirked.
"Not to mentioned even planning for this in the first place. Kid's not as dumb as he acts. And his essence control's probably on par with yours."
Valentina's eye twitched.
"The fuck did you just say you lanky blue sack of yarkle shit? In his dreams! That round-ear bastard wishes his control was on my level!"
Zeek simply laughed.
Their bickering echoed faintly as Astra's projection observed silently… before her gaze shifted back to the battlefield.
Back on the ground, Finn exhaled slowly.
"I can make an opening." He began, eyes locking forward. "One clean window for us to finish it off in one blow, but I have to touch it first."
Kaito nodded once, the dying plasma bead trembling violently in front of his finger.
"…It's really that simple, elven—human—brethren?"
A voice familiar to Finn cut through the moment.
Everyone froze. Finn's head snapped to the side. Kaito's eyes widened. Rikona tilted her head the best she could while still holding Kaito's arm.
Standing a short distance away, bruised, bloodied, and shirtless was Sylas.
Nara glanced down beside her and her breath hitched.
Her red eyes widened as she spun in place, scanning the battlefield in a panic before they locked onto him a few dozen meters away, already standing beside Kaito, Finn, and Rikona as if he'd never been anywhere else.
"…When did he—" She whispered.
Above the planet, the licensing station erupted into overlapping alerts. Ari'Va nearly toppled out of her seat as Sylas's vitals flared back onto the monitors.
"H–He's awake!?" She blurted, all twelve of her fingers flying across the panels.
"But his essence reserves are… they're under fifteen percent of his base reserves! He shouldn't even be standing!"
"Focus." Astra said sharply.
Ari'Va froze.
"Do not lose sight of the battlefield just because one variable returned." Astra continued, her four eyes narrowing.
"This encounter is not finished."
As if it heard her words, the guardian finally tore free from the spinning sphere of compressed wind, its wings flaring wide as it stabilized itself midair. It hovered over a hundred meters away, nearly fifty meters above the ground. The air settled around its body as it shook off the lingering disorientation.
Then its gaze dropped down.
Its eyes lingered on Finn… then Kaito…
And finally—
Sylas.
Its face twisted, crystalline features tightening with unmistakable fury.
On the ground, Sylas exhaled slowly and placed a hand over the tattooed seal on his chest.
"…Atlas." He called inwardly.
Nothing.
He frowned slightly, then glanced down at the thin sheet of white essence flowing over his skin, wrapping him like a veil.
"This essence must've awakened me."
His fingers brushed the tattoo again before his gaze shifted to Kaito.
"So this is him… Their human crewmate they mentioned… Elara's rival, Kaito."
He gave a small, amused huff before speaking aloud.
"Looks like I owe you one." He said casually.
Kaito shot him a glance, dry and cracked lips curling into a tired grin.
"No problem… but uh—who are you?"
Finn spoke up before Sylas could answer.
"This is Sylas." He said quickly.
"He was on my team with Nara, but we can do introductions later." Finn continued, eyes snapping back to the hovering guardian.
"We've got bigger problems right now… and we could really use your help."
Sylas followed his gaze upward, studying the guardian for a brief moment.
"…Yeah." He said calmly.
"I can see that."
Kaito's voice cut in.
"Finish explaining the plan."
Finn nodded.
"I can slow time drastically for anything covered in my essence. But I need physical contact first." He explained.
Kaito's brow furrowed.
"Why not send one of Rikona's drones?" He asked.
Finn shook his head.
"That won't work." He said firmly.
"The drone would need to stay attached long enough for my essence to fully transfer. And since it likely can only handle a limited amount of essence based on the quality of the tech, the transfer would be slow."
He hesitated, glancing briefly at Rikona.
"No offense."
She blinked, then shook her head rapidly.
"N–None taken! But you're right, my tech hardware isn't best equipped for battle just yet."
Finn continued.
"In that time, it'll realize what I'm doing and react. The moment I touch it, I'm going to dump almost all of my remaining essence into it at once. No delay, everything at once."
Kaito nodded slowly.
"And that's when I finish it."
He glanced at the flickering plasma bead trembling weakly in front of his finger of his extended left arm.
"My essence is almost gone… but I planned for that too." He added.
"Rikona's drones are already siphoning essence from everyone they can. My team on the ship, anyone nearby. I should just have just enough to pull this off."
Sylas let out a low chuckle.
"Well… that makes my role pretty obvious." He said, rolling his shoulders.
Rikona stared between the three of them, utterly stunned. Their tone and calmness made no sense to her. They were talking about stopping time and killing a guardian like it was just another coordinated drill.
Above them—
"You…" The guardian growled.
Its eyes burned as they locked onto Sylas. Sylas looked up lazily.
"Huh. Oh hey there my not so fleshy betallite. Long time no see. Seems like you've dropped some weight since our last talk haven't you?"
He tilted his head slightly, eyeing the mostly crystallized body and wings.
"Gotta say… interesting makeover. Though I still think gold looks better. Crystals are a bit too… tacky."
The guardian's jaw tightened.
"I was angry when I first saw you alive. But now… this is perfect." It said coldly as its wings twitched.
"I will kill them all. Absorb the human and your pathetic pet Atlas… and I will leave you for last, Sylas. So you can watch before I kill you."
It smiled.
"Then I will travel from world to world. From well to well. Absorbing guardians until I reach our birthplace that calls to me."
Sylas blinked.
"…Wow. That was incredibly cliché. You sure you haven't been reading too many cosmic comics while I was out? The crystals were one thing but that?"
He scratched the back of his head.
"Kinda lame right?" He casually asks Kaito who nods his head and chuckles.
The guardian snapped and its essence exploded outward.
Its wings flared wide and thousands of crystal shards screamed downward like a meteor storm.
Sylas didn't flinch. He raised his sword and a sphere of air erupted around the group, crystal shards slamming into it from every direction and shattering harmlessly as the barrier held firm.
Sylas glanced to Kaito, wind barrier still being slammed by crystals.
"You got enough essence yet to end this thing in one hit?" He asked, tone casual like he was asking about the weather.
Kaito didn't look away from the flickering bead of plasma trembling in front of his finger.
"No." He said honestly. Then, after a breath,
"…but don't worry. I can make it enough."
Slyas's eyes raised slightly.
"How so?" He asked.
"I can multiply my essence with a specific ability high enough to kill it in one shot. I've never done it using an affinity before though, only hand to hand so—" His lips twitched faintly into a worried but excited smirk.
"—who knows what'll actually happen."
Sylas stared at him for a long second. Then he laughed. A short, sharp bark of disbelief that slipped out before he could stop it.
"You're insane." He muttered, shaking his head.
He looked back at the guardian hovering above them and smiled faintly.
"You remind me of my brother." He said.
Kaito's expression softened.
"Oh… thanks, I—"
"He was an idiot." Sylas cut him off flatly.
"Eh…?" Kaito blinked.
Sylas's smile didn't fade as he continued.
"He smiled through everything. Every impossible fight. Every hopeless situation." His grip tightened on his sword.
"It didn't matter how bad it got. How much he got beat down. He always believed he'd win. And everyone believed him." Sylas continued quietly.
"On our worlds… he was a hero. A king."
The guardian's wings folded inward above them before the air shrieked.
It vanished from its hovering position, blitzing towards them like a bullet fired from the sky. It covered half the distance before—
"NOW!" Finn shouted.
He reached behind his back and slammed a small black sphere into the ground.
FWOOOM—
A thick black plume smoke erupted outward, swallowing the group whole in an instant. The guardian screeched to a halt midair, hovering about fifty meters from the edge of darkness.
"That won't work again." It snarled.
Six kunai burst upward from within the smoke.
The guardian scoffed.
"You really think—"
It stopped. Each kunai had a small black sphere bound to the back of its hilt with metallic thread. They detonated halfway between the guardian and the ground.
FWOOOM—
A second low-hanging ocean of black darkness bloomed outward, spreading dozens of meters wide, completely severing the guardian's line of sight to the battlefield below.
Before it could react—
More kunai flew towards it, this time wrapped in paper.
Paper bombs.
They exploded in rapid succession directly in front of it, thunderclaps without the lightning ripping through the air. The guardian threw up a crystallized shield instinctively, explosions rattling harmlessly against its surface.
It dropped the shield, furious.
"Is that all you—"
A dozen more kunai screamed toward it.
Snarling, the guardian flared its wings and launched a volley of crystal shards.
The two volleys collided midair.
That's what Finn wanted.
One kunai bounced upward.
High in the air…
Right in front of the blazing red sun.
Finn's voice cut through the chaos.
"Solar Illumination Jutsu!"
The kunai flashed and a blinding eruption of light detonated directly into the guardian's vision. It screamed, clutching its eyes as its world burned white.
"FLY, MY ELVEN BRETHREN!" Sylas roared.
A violent blast of air erupted from behind Finn, launching him like a cannonball through the smoke, nearly clearing it all away. His body tore a clean path through the darkness as he surged upward.
He slammed a hand into its torso.
The impact didn't hurt… it didn't mean to.
The guardian reacted instinctively, wing snapping out and smashing Finn aside, sending him flying back toward the ground where he crashed near Nara and the Thalorians. He skidded to a stop, coughing violently. He looked up as his green eyes returned to its normal brown and a smile rolled up his bloodied face.
The guardian was glowing green.
"…Finish it… captain." He whispered.
The guardian landed heavily on the ground, feet cracking the rusted terrain as it stalked forward toward Kaito, Sylas, and Rikona.
Rage twisted its features.
It took one step...
Its brow furrowed. It took another step.
Nothing.
"…What?" It muttered.
It tried to look down, but its neck resisted, like it was submerged in thick sludge. It felt wrong… Everything felt wrong.
It turned its head just barely and saw it.
Kaito.
Sylas.
The battlefield.
Everything else moved normally…
But it didn't.
Panic crept in as realization dawned.
"…I'm… slower…?"
From everyone else's perspective, the guardian's movements dragged unnaturally, like a creature slowly being frozen in front of them before the movements stopped entirely.
It stood there frozen in place… frozen in time.
Kaito didn't hesitate. The moment the guardian froze, trapped in Finn's green essence, his chest tightened.
He clenched his teeth as he forced his body to do the one thing both Kaeline and Elysia had begged him never to do again.
"One more." He whispered.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
thudthud…THUD–THUD…THUDTHUD, THUDTHUD
The white essence wrapped around his body ignited like white fire drenched in gasoline. Not only the essence surrounding him, everyone tethered to him through Rikona's drones flared violently outward. The air screamed as pressure warped reality around them. The ground beneath his feet fractured further, spiderweb cracks racing outward as the heat intensified.
The tiny plasma bead in front of his finger swelled slowly.
Above the planet, Ari'Va's voice shook as numbers spilled from her mouth without her realizing she was speaking.
"K–Kaito… 1,200,000 CPI…"
Her eyes widened further as the readings refused to stabilize.
"3… 3,000,000… 5,500,000… 7—7,000,000 CPI…!"
Her hands trembled.
"That's… that's higher than Sylas's resonance—!"
But Astra wasn't watching the numbers.
She was watching the people. Every single one that was covered in his essence.
Valentina sat frozen in her chair, a single tear slipping down her cheek as she stared at the projection. Zeek stood beside her, jaw clenched, neon blue eyes glassy beneath his shades.
On the battlefield, Livia covered her mouth as tears streamed freely. Lorian's shoulders shook as he cried openly.
Rikona's hands trembled as she held Kaito's arm, her face streaked with sweat and tears that vanished before they could fall. Even Nara's wings quivered as a single tear traced down her cheek.
It wasn't pain.
It wasn't fear.
It's what Kaito's essence was showing them.
Fragments of a life, one they never lived…
but now felt.
A small human child on Thaloria curled against a cracked wall, arms raised too weakly as purple fists came down again and again.
A lonely boy standing at the edge of an orphanage hall, clutching a folded slip of paper as names were called out one by one.
Not his. Never his.
Each time the doors opened, hope rose. Each time they closed, it died quieter.
A teenager hunched over an old holo computer late into the night, eyes bloodshot as rejection messages from every star traveler academy in that sector of the galaxy stacked endlessly across the screen.
DENIED.
DENIED.
DENIED.
The whispers that followed him everywhere. The stares.
The holo-billboards flashing propaganda that painted humans as parasites… mistakes that should've died with Earth.
And then—
A news alert screaming across the screen to see the first family that ever chose him… gone. Killed while he chased a dream he wasn't fast enough to reach.
Too far away…
Always too late…
The weight crushed down on them all at once.
It was too much.
Too heavy.
Luis collapsed to one knee, hands digging into the rusty dirt as sobs tore from his chest. His vision blurred as he stared at Kaito in disbelief.
"How…?" He whispered, voice breaking.
"How could someone live through something like this… and still…"
He looked at Kaito who stood there smiling.
Not a broken one.
Not a forced one.
A real one.
The biggest one he had ever worn since leaving the orphanage.
The plasma orb swelled until it was the size of his head. The heat bent the air violently around it.
Then shouted—
"PLASMA BALL!"
He fired.
The recoil slammed into him like a supercharged desert eagle going off in his hand. His and Rikona's body skidded backward, boots carving trenches through the rusted ground as the orb screamed forward.
Plants burst into flame as it passed overhead. The ground beneath it blackened and cracked. Space itself warped around the white mass as it tore across the battlefield.
For the guardian, it appeared like the orb crawled toward it.
Seconds felt like days.
Days like months.
It watched the white sun of death approach, unable to move, unable to scream.
Then—
It was over.
The plasma orb passed straight through its chest leaving a perfectly circular hole straight through the center of its chest.
The orb continued onward, screaming across the battlefield, skimming over the green lake. Water evaporated instantly, the lake vanishing in a blinding hiss as the plasma bent upward, curving toward the sky like it had a will of its own until it tore through the atmosphere.
Those aboard the licensing station watched as it ascended into space.
A heartbeat later—
The black sky of space bloomed white.
A massive explosion the size of a dwarf moon erupted outward, devouring space itself. The planet's ring on that side was obliterated, icy debris vaporized into nothingness.
The conclusion of the battle was clear—
They had won.