Hours had passed.
Or perhaps it was days.
Kai lay sprawled on a floating platform of translucent energy, crafted by sheer will—or the Omnitrix adapting to this place. There was no sunrise. No ticking clock. Just the steady hum of the void and the flickering green on his wrist.
He exhaled, stretching out his arms as if waking from a nap.
"Alright… body's reset. Mind's focused. Stomach's still empty."
He sat up.
And froze.
The darkness beyond the edge of the platform was no longer still.
It moved.
Hundreds of eyes now gleamed in the dark. Dozens of misshapen shadows prowled, clinging to floating debris, crawling up invisible walls. Some had wings that flapped soundlessly. Others had limbs that coiled and stretched like serpents. The number of them was growing—gathering.
Waiting.
Kai stood, brushing invisible dust off his hoodie.
He glanced down at the Omnitrix, breathing slowly.
"Can't stay here. Can't run forever."
"Time to go all in."
He tapped the dial, spinning it at random. Silhouettes blinked by—Cannonbolt, Swampfire, Echo Echo—
He didn't stop to choose.
He just slammed it down.
CHAKK!
A sharp burst of green lightning surged through his body, the ground pulsing with a strange resonance. His body arched, energy wrapping around him like armor. Fingers split. Limbs elongated. His mouth vanished. The transformation engulfed him, shrouding him in dark mist, as the void echoed with a whispering wind.
And then—
Ghostfreak stood once more.
The single glowing eye blinked from his chest, his ghostly tendrils flaring out like dark wings, drifting upward like smoke.
Kai didn't even react.
"Thought so," he rasped, voice warped and ghostly. "Omnitrix is locking me in for a reason."
His form floated off the platform, slowly rising into the space where the monsters waited.
"Fine then…"
"Let's see how far I can push this."
The first creature lunged with speed unnatural for its size—like a bear made of shadow and bone. Ghostfreak phased through it, slashing across its back mid-ghost pass. The thing screeched and twisted midair as green-tinted energy seared into its spine.
Before it could recover, three more surged from below.
Ghostfreak vanished.
Reappeared behind them. His claws glowing with violet energy. He slashed once, twice—ripping through tendrils and alien muscle. Each strike carried fury and precision.
One beast exploded into black mist.
Another spun around and lunged, only to be caught by Ghostfreak's eye-beam—its body rattling violently before falling limp.
Then came the wave.
Twenty.
No more spacing. No more stalking.
They rushed all at once—crawling over each other like a flood of nightmares.
Ghostfreak let out a roar. Not a human cry—but a psychic scream that blasted through the void like a sonic shockwave. It sent the first wave tumbling, but only stunned them.
More came.
He dove low, becoming a blur of shadows. Phased through one creature, materialized just long enough to grab another by the throat, and used it as a shield as two others clawed their way forward.
The makeshift shield disintegrated in seconds, but that was enough. Ghostfreak spun and launched into a high-speed dash through the horde—claws out, phasing in and out of solidity.
A horned beast swung a bladed limb at him. Ghostfreak ducked, lashed upward with a tail-swipe, and severed the creature's arm with a burst of kinetic force.
Another lunged at his back.
Too slow.
He spun mid-air and slammed his claws into its face, channeling raw ghost energy through the blow. The monster's head lit up green before exploding in a burst of shadow-fire.
He landed hard on a floating platform—panting.
Even Ghostfreak had limits.
But he wasn't done.
Not yet.
Kai's eye scanned the swarm. They were adapting. Some were no longer attacking blindly. They circled. Waited. Tested him.
Smart.
He whispered, "Good."
Two large hulks charged at once from opposite directions—twenty feet tall, with spiked exoskeletons and snarling jaws.
Ghostfreak's body split in half—literally. One half dodged left, the other right, only to reconnect mid-spin and tear across the hulks' legs like a spectral blade.
Both collapsed, howling as ghost-fire seared their joints.
Ghostfreak rose higher, arching through the blackness like a comet made of mist.
He raised both hands and sent out a wave of psychic terror, his signature move. The wave pulsed outward in concentric rings—striking every creature in range.
Some froze.Some shrieked.
A few fled back into the dark.
But most stood firm—staggered, but recovering.
Kai's breathing deepened.
He launched back in, full berserker now.
Every motion calculated and brutal. Slashes to weak points. Phase-throughs timed perfectly. His body flickered like a strobe light, in and out of physicality.
One creature tried to mimic him—phasing partially—but couldn't control the form and burst apart mid-transition.
Others with projectile abilities fired black bolts and acidic spikes. Ghostfreak danced through them like vapor, reappearing with fatal precision.
The fight dragged on.
Ten minutes.
Twenty.
He didn't stop.
Didn't flinch.
Only when a particularly large beast—a centipede-shaped nightmare with human arms—coiled around him and began to crush, did he falter.
Its grip tightened, bones cracking.
Kai choked.
Then grinned.
"You forgot… I'm a ghost."
He detonated his form outward with a scream of psychic fury—shattering the beast and sending chunks flying into the void.
Ghostfreak floated down, ragged.
Chest heaving.
Claws cracked.
The Omnitrix beeped rapidly.
He had seconds left.
He turned toward the remaining enemies.
Some stood.
Others waited.
None dared approach just yet.
The Omnitrix blinked red.
"Not yet," Kai muttered. "I can still—"
FLASH.
The transformation canceled itself.
Kai dropped to the floating platform in human form, knees hitting hard.
He coughed, sweat pouring down his face.
His body trembled, every muscle aching.
He rolled onto his back, breathing in ragged gulps.
The monsters didn't move.
As if respecting what they'd just witnessed.
Or planning their next assault.
Kai stared up at the void ceiling.
His vision swam.
"That… was insane."
He smirked.
"Kinda fun, though…"
He laughed softly, even as the pain rolled in.
Then, he closed his eyes—just for a moment.
Darkness surrounded him.
But this time…
It felt earned.