I yawned as I sat up from the rocky ground, my wings snapping back into place behind me.
Don't give me that look. I sleep with my wings out. Most Celestianites do. Saves gold, alright?
Everyone around me started waking up, and of course, Olsen had to make a whole scene. This man yawned so loud the entire cave shook.
I turned to him with a deadpan stare. "Really? You had to do that?"
"Isn't that how all Earthnites wake up?" Olsen said, shifting back into his base form with a shrug.
I peeked outside—the sun was already out, casting that weird red-orange fog across the sky again. The heat outside still felt like we were inside a toaster, and the volcanoes around us were rumbling like they hadn't had their morning coffee yet.
As I stepped out of the cave, I noticed a bunch of Vexes wandering around.
I grinned. "Guess they're more active during the day."
The rest of the squad joined me. First order of business: get outta Scarletsville and head to the next island.
"Which should be…" I looked at the map, tracing a path with my finger. "South from here."
My dragon ears twitched—twice. That only meant one thing: something weird was going on. I looked around, but… nothing.
"You guys hear that?" I asked.
They all shook their heads, which only made me more paranoid. Then both ears twitched again. This time, I heard something—like a screech-roar hybrid. Ugly noise. Gave me chills.
I headed around the back of the cave, everyone trailing behind me.
"You seriously don't hear this?! There's no way I'm the only one!"
Olsen finally nodded. "Okay yeah, I hear it now. But where the heck is it coming from?"
My tail wagged without me realizing. I was too hyped. "No clue. Let's go find out!"
We crossed the endless, scorched valleys of Scarletsville—lava still dripping down mountain edges, air thick with smoke, the usual.
After a few miles, we reached a steep hill. Down below stood a glowing blue figure. Blue energy crackled around him, and his eyes glowed like they were made of lightning. He smirked and cracked his knuckles like a final boss.
Prince squinted. "Who the heck is that guy?"
Then—BOOM—my mind lit up like fireworks:
That's Power Zenith.
THE Power Zenith.
The leader of the ones who CREATED the Power Gems.
I didn't think. I grabbed a flat rock, hopped on it like a board, and zoomed down the hill. Dust flew up behind me as I surfed side to side, my hand dragging across the ground, scattering ash everywhere. At the bottom, I backflipped off, tossing the board in the air like it owed me money.
The Zenith turned and smiled. "Well, if it isn't Don. Remember me?"
My whole soul lit up. No. Freaking. Way.
POWER Z.
THE Power Z. The most legendary hero on the entire planet.
I rushed up, shaking his hand like my life depended on it, my tail now glowing yellow and wagging like I was about to explode.
"It's such an honor! I'm your NUMBER ONE FAN! I can't believe this—YOU'RE HERE—"
He laughed, scratching his head. "Whoa, slow down, kid. I love the energy, but maybe chill on the touching."
My face turned beet red. "R-right, sorry! I'm just… SO HYPED."
From up on the hill, Olsen snorted. "Someone's fanboying hard."
The others made their way down too. Archie raised an eyebrow at me. "So this is the No.1 Hero of Avangard? You're really a fan of this guy?"
My tail wagged harder. "OF COURSE! Bro saved over a hundred people during the Leviathan raid in the Gadian Sea! Literal GOAT behavior."
Demaurion crossed his arms. "Cool. But we've got a prophecy to fulfill, remember?"
I exhaled, smoke puffing from my nostrils. "Right. Let's get this over with before someone else tries to kill us."
Prince studied the map. "Okay soooo... the next spot is the Gadian Sea. Aaaand we're nowhere near it."
"We're south of Scarletsville, near the Pyramids of Markilao," I added, pointing toward the cliffs. "See that water? That's our direction."
We headed back to the cave to regroup.
"Okay," I said, "So the Celestianites and Lunaranites are fighting over the Lost Key. Lunaranites want to dominate; Celestianites want peace. And we—me, Olsen, Prince, Archie, and Demaurion—are chosen for some world-saving prophecy?"
Power nodded with a sigh. "Yup. It's a long journey. Fighting enemies across Avangard isn't exactly a vacation."
Then he smirked. "But I think you kids'll be alright…"
I looked down at my hands, thoughts spinning. "Why are they fighting over one thing?"
Olsen looked at me like I was insane. "You serious?! Lunaranites want to take over Avangard!"
"No, I mean… why though? What started all this?"
Power's smile faded. He looked down. "Alright, time for some history."
(Flashback: Years Ago, Narian Mines)
Back before Lunaranites existed, they were just miners. Regular people, peaceful and goofy, working under the glowing caves of Naria.
The kindest among them? A guy named Dreadixz.
He was 30, scruffy hair, worn-out clothes—no beast features at all. Dude worked hard, mining for gold, hoping to earn his respect. But the other miners? They were jerks. Old, drunk, and mean.
Then someone discovered it—the Lost Key.
Dreadixz changed.
The key was powerful. Like, erase-a-whole-world powerful. And Dreadixz, desperate for recognition, started craving power.
One night, while the others slept, he returned to the cave, hunting the key. Deep in the tunnels, he found it—a glowing, golden, double-edged key that lit up the whole cavern.
As soon as he touched it, his body transformed. Black dragon wings burst from his back. Horns, claws, and a tail followed. He became the first Lunaranite, wielding the Lunar Element—able to manipulate moonlight and nightmares like it was no big deal.
Soon after, in the dark Grolian Forest, he rallied an army.
Dreadixz stood atop a rock and shouted:
"YOU WANT POWER?! YOU WANT CONTROL?! REVENGE?! FOLLOW ME—DREADIXZ, THE SHADOW LORD! TOGETHER, WE TAKE THIS WORLD!"
They roared, "ALL HAIL DREADIXZ! ALL HAIL DREADIXZ!!"
He raided towns, stole armor laced with lunar veins, and donned a samurai mask with a shredded purple cape. His weapon? A massive, dual-bladed black sword lined in purple. He forged his own kingdom—Foreshade—and began his conquest.
"And that's why Dreadixz and the Lunaranites want the key," Power finished. "Vengeance. Power. Control."
I lowered my head. "Dang… I get it now."
Suddenly, the ground shook. The cave rumbled. Rocks fell around us.
We bolted outside.
From deep in the canyons, something rose from the lava. The wind screamed, cracks split the earth, and the ground broke beneath our feet.
"WATCH OUT!" I yelled, jumping clear. Everyone else scattered as the land split open, revealing a lava stream below.
And then—oh no.
From the glowing river, a massive lava golem emerged, covered in molten rock with glowing orange veins. Its blazing eyes locked onto us as it let out a monstrous roar—a mix between a T-Rex and a Leviathan.
I unsheathed my daggers.
"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!" Olsen screamed.
I narrowed my eyes, heart pounding.
"That's Scar. We thought we killed him. But I guess we forgot he can evolve…" He was now towering above us—literally the size of the biggest freakin' skyscraper in New York. Scar, the lava titan, loomed like a living volcano. Celestial energy crackled around me like lightning in a storm, and I grit my teeth.
"Let's just hope we can survive this fight…" I muttered.
"FIGHT?! DON, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR ACTUAL MIND?!" Olsen screeched. "THAT THING IS MASSIVE! AND WE DON'T EVEN HAVE OUR ELEMENTS TO FULL POWER!"
I turned to him, fire in my eyes. "Olsen… we're the Five Chosen Ones, remember? That means we do whatever it takes to fulfill the prophecy—all of it. If we die, we die. But I'm not backing down. We beat this guy… or we die trying."
Olsen blinked, then smirked. "Then let's kick some magma butt."
Without hesitation, we all launched ourselves at Scar. I whipped out my Celestial Daggers, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
The monster let out a roar so loud it cracked the skies. Then—BOOM—he fired a lava beam straight at us.
I screamed into the wind, determination in every breath. We charged forward—
And just as we reached his arms, he slammed them down like thunder.
But Power was already on it. He flew above me like a meteor and PUNCHED THE LAVA OUT OF HIS ARM! Rocks exploded in every direction. He then zipped to Scar's face like a bullet and laid TWO MASSIVE PUNCHES right into his skull. The beast roared in pain.
I launched into the air, wings spread wide, dodging magma blasts like some kinda galactic fly. Olsen slammed his hammer into the ground, triggering a quake.
"NICE ONE!" I shouted from above. But then—WHAM!—Scar grabbed me in one of his massive, crusty lava hands and flung me toward a blazing mountain.
Before I could even scream, Power zoomed in, grabbed me mid-air, spun around, and YEETED me like a celestial cannonball.
"GO GET 'EM, BOY!" he yelled.
I landed hard on Scar's arm, the heat almost cooking me alive. The rocks were huge and hot, and he was about to squash me with the other arm—until Prince flew in, lightning crackling off his wings.
He snagged me with electric tendrils and hurled me toward the beast's face.
I charged up every ounce of energy I had.
"CELESTIAL DEVASTATION!!"
I crashed my fists into Scar's face, unleashing a massive celestial shockwave that made the skies ripple.
Falling fast, I braced for impact—until Archie, in his full Phoenix Beast form, swooped in and caught me on his back.
"Thanks for the lift!" I shouted. He nodded and zoomed past Scar, unloading fire bullets like a flaming machine gun.
I stood on his back. "GO!" Archie called. I jumped off and soared with my wings again, landing on Scar's raised arm.
I stabbed my daggers in and started SKIING DOWN HIS ARM LIKE A LEGEND. Lava burst from his wounds like soda from a shaken bottle. I reached his shoulder and leapt into the air, daggers crossed, celestial energy flaring.
"TAKE THIS!!!" I slashed through his face like a cosmic shooting star.
Landing on his other arm, I started skiing backwards this time, pulling off a sick drift. "Huh, guess you're not that powerful after all," I smirked. Then somehow, the beast FLUNG ME OFF INTO THE AIR. I was now falling, flailing my arms as I looked down from the sky.
Then I remembered the chains.
"CELESTIAL CHAINS, ACTIVATE!" I yelled mid-air. Nothing. I was falling fast, clothes flapping, energy tendrils whipping in the wind.
"JUST AIM AT SOMETHING!" Power shouted.
"HOW DO I AIM?!"
"I DUNNO—JUST POINT!"
So I pointed at a mountain. The chains fired like missiles and dragged me to the top. Scar tried swiping at me, but I was too fast.
Standing on the summit, I turned to Scar and—yes—I started dancing.
"Come on, Scarry Scar! You want this?! Shake that tail!"
Scar was NOT amused. He screamed, slapped the mountain, and lava exploded everywhere. I went flying into the air with chunks of molten rock chasing me.
"HELP!" I screamed.
Scar caught me midair and SLAMMED ME THROUGH A WHOLE FREAKIN' MOUNTAIN.
I tumbled with the collapsing rocks, pain ripping through every bone. "DON!" Prince yelled. Olsen rushed over, pulling boulders off me. I was out cold.
Blood. Everywhere. My tail dimmed into a deep blue.
"Shit." I gasped, coughing up blood. "We're cooked…"
Scar began charging a lava beam at us. I saw the glowing sphere forming.
"We might as well die now…"
"WHAT?!" Olsen shouted. "NO! WE'RE NOT GIVING UP!"
He grabbed my shoulder, shaking me.
"REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAID?! 'IT'S DO OR DIE!' WELL, DON—YOU PROMISED DO. NOT DIE. YOU'VE LOST AGAIN AND AGAIN—AND YOU STILL STAND UP! WHY?! BECAUSE YOU'RE YOU! YOU'RE THE CHOSEN ONE! YOU HAVE THE MOST POWERFUL ELEMENT! THE MOST INSANE SKILLS! YOU ARE LENS DON THEAGENE!!!"
I smiled at him.
"…Right."
Archie lowered me to the ground. I forced myself up, gripping my arm. Energy began to crackle…
Then—BOOM.
Golden celestial energy exploded from me like a nuke.
My eyes lit up. My tail snapped back to purple. My wings sharpened.
Scar fired the lava beam.
I roared, "RAHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The shockwave was unreal—it blasted everyone back. A golden beam erupted from my body, splitting the sky.
"RAHHHHHHHH—(gasp)—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—(gasp)—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
BOOOOOOM.
A massive explosion rocked Scarletsville, mountains crumbling from the force.
And when the light faded—
I was transcendent.
My hair spiked like Dark Don's, glowing violet. My whole body was blazing with light purple celestial energy, eyes glowing white—no pupils, no irises. Pure power.
I boosted into the air, cracking the earth below me, and faced Scar.
"STRANGE, ISN'T IT?!" I yelled. "HOW DO I GET PLOT ARMOR WHEN I HAVE ZERO EXPERIENCE?! WHO CARES! THIS IS GOING DOWN IN HISTORY, YOU BIG LAVA LIZARD!"
I charged like a meteor and unleashed a flurry of punches—bam! bam! BAM!—light-speed blows all over his body.
Then, a savage uppercut to the chin—lava spilled out like blood.
"I'M NOT DONE YET!!"
I charged a beam in my palms and BLASTED HIS HEAD CLEAN OFF.
Then I went wild, zooming through his entire body—legs, torso, arms—light-speed punches to everything. My aura glowed even brighter—
And I was just getting started… I launched toward this guy's body—no hesitation, no brakes. I was going at it, full throttle.
I darted through every part of him—legs, arms, torso—slicing the air with my speed, tearing through his rocky lava body like a celestial buzzsaw. My aura flared brighter and brighter until I was just a glowing streak, moving faster than the eye could even dream of catching.
Then I launched away—way away—blasting backward like a meteor in reverse until I hit the outskirts of Scarletsville. From out here, Scar looked like a tiny little burnt popcorn kernel. I hovered mid-air, the winds howling around me, and I started to charge up.
Crackling filled the sky.
Celestial energy surged through me in waves—like stars being born inside my body. My eyes lit up, burning like white-yellow suns. My veins glowed purple, pulsing with power. My aura exploded into a blazing flare that lit up the entire horizon.
I was done playing games.
The beast roared from across the burning battlefield, lava dripping from his cracked armor. I clenched my fists and shouted with everything I had:
"GET READY!!"
And then—BOOM!—I blasted forward like a living comet, flying straight at him, charging more and more as I went. Celestial trails spiraled behind me. My fists pulsed with so much light it looked like I was dragging two dying stars behind me.
When I reached him, I roared in his face—
"100% GALACTICAL DESTROYER!!!"
CRAAAAAACK!!
My fist smashed into Scar's chest with the force of a divine nuke. His rocky, lava-covered armor shattered—cracks burst across his body, and molten lava exploded out like a geyser. Scar howled in pure agony as the punch triggered a gigantic golden ring explosion, wide enough to swallow cities.
Mountains shattered like glass. Ridges were sliced like bread. Canyons collapsed inward, swallowing stone and fire. The light was blinding, stretching out across the whole battlefield, stretching to the sky like a second sun.
Then—just like that—the winds died. The shaking stopped. The air went still, and the smoke started to clear.
I dropped from the sky like a divine meteor and landed in front of my crew with a clean shockwave that kicked up dust and cracked the stone.
Behind me? Pure wreckage.
Mountains split clean in half. Lava rivers overflowed and boiled. The whole cliffside looked like it had been battled by a god. And there—right on the edge—was Scar, on all fours, barely breathing, his fingers clawing the cliff like he was trying not to slide into death.
I turned.
I walked toward him slowly. Each step crackled with leftover celestial energy. My transformation faded, the glow peeling off me like burning stardust. I dropped my daggers—clink. My fists were still clenched tight, shaking slightly from the force I'd just unleashed.
My eyes glowed faint violet.
Scar looked wrecked. His armor was in pieces—scorched, torn from shoulder to leg. His faceplate was snapped clean off, revealing a busted-up face with a scraggly beard and a burnt mustache, blood dripping down his cheek. He looked up at me—fear all over him.
He backed away.
"NO! No! PLEASE! LEAVE ME BE!"
I didn't say a word. I just walked up, eyes locked on his.
Then, I smirked.
A tiny celestial spark flickered from my eye.
"Huh… now you're showing remorse?"
I looked him dead in the eye, my voice getting much deeper and cold. "You were supposed to be one of Avangard's most powerful enemies… but right now, I see no power."
He started panicking, scrambling.
"NO, PLEASE—!"
I kicked him straight off the cliff.
He screamed as he fell, flailing, until his body plunged straight into the glowing lava river below.
KRA-KOOOOOOM!!!
The lava erupted into a pillar of fire so high it nearly touched the sky. The heat washed over us like a wave. I turned away as it exploded behind me, casting a golden-red light over everything.
I got back into my base form, and I lost my seriousness.
My friends just stood there.
Mouths wide. Eyes wider. Silence.
Then Archie spoke, voice flat.
"…Don. That was… phenomenal."
I threw my hands in the air. "YEAH, I KNOW RIGHT?! I KILLED MY FIRST ENEMY!!"
My tail started glowing yellow and wagged like crazy.
"I GOT MY FIRST KILL! I GOT MY FIRST KILL! OH-OH-AH! OH-OH-AH!"
I started dancing. "Doo doo do do do dooo—GOT MY FIRST KILL, YEAH!!"
Olsen smacked his forehead with a groan. "Dude. You almost died."
Power stepped up, arms crossed, looking astonished.
"How did an inexperienced Celestial user activate Elemental Form without any training? And those moves—where the hell did they come from? Everyone else is still in Beast Form."
I scratched the back of my head, grinning.
"Well… y'all remember when it was my 5th year in Celestia Elementary right? (I was first enrolled at the age of 5) I did a lot of prep back in the day… I've been through intense training to get this transformation because I only wanted it cause it looked cool. I didn't know it was that powerful! Also, my old teacher called it the KX Transformation. I don't know why but I guess we'll find out, also don't expect me to use this transformation all the time, it kinda hurts when I use it sometimes because my body couldn't handle it.",
Demaurion squinted. "Man, that's cap."
"I'm so serious!" I laughed. "I didn't plan to use it—it just happened! I was feeling it at the moment!"
Prince whistled. "Okay okay, I ain't gonna lie… that was some anime protagonist type stuff, bro."
Archie pulled out the map. "We're just a few hours away from the Gadian Sea Kingdom. We better move before a lava shark shows up or something."
I turned, fists in the air.
"GADIAN SEA KINGDOM, LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!"