The gate to the Crown Nexus remained sealed, pulsing with Rivan's energy. They couldn't storm it—not yet. The shards were resonating, but unstable. Akuzai felt it in his bones: they weren't ready to face what lay inside.
Ishara understood. "You have the weapons. But not the will. Not yet."
So they traveled to Solkaris—a pocket dimension lit by twin suns, where time passed differently and reality obeyed the will of spirit. It was where ancient Bladelords once trained, and where Ishara had once been reborn from loss.
Here, Akuzai, Abhishek, and Aditya would forge themselves anew.
Days felt like weeks. Weeks like seconds. Time bent to the purpose of those who embraced it.
Abhishek focused on his control, learning to center his kinetic force. Under Ishara's guidance, he began launching energy without touch—projecting his intent instead of just power.
Aditya shed his fury. He sparred until his body collapsed, then stood again. "Strength without purpose is just chaos," he muttered, learning the rhythm of breath, restraint, and decisive fury.
Akuzai trained in solitude. The Eternis Edge no longer responded to force. It demanded something deeper—surrender. Ishara guided him through the spirit trials, where he faced memories of Anuj, Tanishk, and even a vision of Rivan, still innocent and kind.
"Your blade is a reflection of your truth," Ishara said. "And truth is not perfection. It is acceptance."
On the twenty-first cycle beneath the twin suns, something shifted.
The shards fused.
The Eternis Edge awakened, now bearing the light of five blades within it: flame, pulse, void, light, and time.
Akuzai stood in the arena of Solkaris, breathing steadily, glowing like a starborn echo. He had become something more than warrior.
He had become convergence.
And the others—Abhishek and Aditya—stood by him, transformed by fire, patience, and pain.
Together, they looked to the rift above.
It was time.
The gate to the Crown Nexus awaited.
Their blades were ready.
Their hearts were whole.
The final war was no longer a question of power…
It was a matter of truth.