Alicia's hands trembled as she stared at Flux's silhouette.
"A…White… what do you mean?" she whispered, her voice shaking.
White's eyes narrowed. "I don't know… but I'm seeing something I hoped I'd never see again."
Hikari tilted his head, sensing it too. "Hmm… something's different. I thought he'd shatter after losing his sister, but… how is he still standing? And why… do I feel something familiar coming from him?"
Flux wasn't moving like himself anymore. His consciousness had slipped away, but his body remained upright—floating. Slowly, he began to rise into the air above the white castle courtyard.
Everyone watched, wide-eyed.
Purple light flickered.
Cracks of energy zigzagged across the sky.
Flux's body began to change.
His stomach dissolved into mist, revealing a glowing core like a living crystal. His torn clothes vanished, replaced by a horrific, jagged purple armor that crawled across his skin like it was alive.
A helmet snapped onto his head, covering his eyes—then purple flames ignited from the visor, burning like demon's wings.
A low hum, like a thousand whispers, echoed around the courtyard.
When Flux opened his mouth, his own voice was gone.
Instead, a woman's voice—haunting and layered, like someone speaking from the depths of time—came out:
> "Ughh… wh… where… am… I?"
The voice trembled, then steadied.
> "Ahh… how many years… has it been?"
Alicia stepped back, her face pale. "W-White… you heard that, right? Sh-she… she's the one, isn't she—"
"Don't say her name!" White, Vantres, and Zygord shouted at once. Their combined voices cracked like thunder.
Hikari's expression turned dark. "…Wait. Did I hear that right? No. Impossible. She died that day."
Flux's burning eyes shifted toward Hikari. The woman's voice hissed again, this time tinged with anger:
> "Why… why does this body… want to kill you so badly?"
Flux tried to speak from within but only a faint thought escaped: Oi… who are you?
Through his mouth, the woman answered herself:
> "Who… are you?"
Hikari barked out a laugh. "Hah? Are you serious? Did you forget me that easily? I'm Hikari—the one who killed your sister… and your lover. Heheh."
Inside Flux's mind, a voice—his true self—screamed:
> "Kill him… please… KILL him!"
The woman paused, her tone lowering to a purr.
> "Hmmm. First let me see your memories…"
A second later, her voice shifted—deadly calm.
> "So that's how they died… I see. Alright, boy. I'll help you. I've no purpose left to live anyway."
Her whisper turned into a command. Purple mist coiled around Flux like living smoke.
> "Cris Sector… Shadow Imerger."
Flux's armor pulsed violently; shadows erupted from the ground, swirling around him. The temperature dropped.
Alicia gasped. "She's real…! I thought it was just a myth…"
White clenched his fists. "Yeah. Even I can't believe it."
Hikari's composure cracked. "H-H-How?! I saw you die. I killed you. How are you—"
The woman's voice cut him off, echoing through Flux like a blade:
> "Shadow Sector – Realm Opener."
The ground in front of Hikari split open. From the rift, a massive gate of black iron rose—its surface crawling with demonic faces and ancient runes.
Hikari stumbled back. "W-Wait… s-she really is Iza—"
The woman didn't let him finish:
> "Shadow Bera Nights."
A hundred shadowy hands burst from the gate, latching onto Hikari's limbs. They dragged him, screaming, toward the darkness.
"W-Wait!" Hikari roared, thrashing against the grasp. "You think you can throw me in—"
The hands yanked him forward. He vanished into the gate's void. The door slammed shut with a shockwave.
Inside Flux's head, the woman's voice softened:
> "When the time comes… I will appear again. Be ready, boy."
Flux's own voice flickered. "O…ok…"
The purple armor cracked and fell apart like glass. Flames died. Flux's body went limp.
He plummeted.
"Alicia!" White barked.
"I've got him!" Zygord flashed forward, catching Flux before he hit the stone floor.
"Hey, kid, you alright?" Zygord shook him gently.
Flux didn't move.
Zygord sighed. "Bruh. He's unconscious again."
"Teleport him to me," Alicia called out.
Zygord obeyed. Flux appeared in Alicia's arms, still out cold.
"Flux… Flux!" she whispered.
Zygord rubbed his neck. "Better unconscious than dead, right?"
White exhaled slowly. "Yeah. For now."
While all this was happening, the battlefield erupted. HIDORI and Hiko clashed again and again—Hiko's Imperial Sword carving golden arcs through the air, HIDORI's Divine Needle striking like lightning. Sparks and shockwaves shredded the ground.
Every impact sounded like a cannon. The walls cracked under the pressure.
On the other side, Ixia's summon—Miba, the monster—lunged at Piko with a roar that shook the sky. Piko darted around with blinding speed, trying to cut the creature but his blade only scraped scales.
"I'll crush you first!" Piko snarled, firing his sector beams. Miba howled and countered with a dark-energy blast.
Ixia stood behind, weaving signs. "Stay there, you pest. This is your grave."
She whispered a chant: "Shina Sin Min Kay…" The air split and another chain of shadows coiled around Piko's feet, pinning him.
Meanwhile on the deck above, Hikari watched the chaos like a king surveying his pawns—until Flux's transformation drew his gaze.
"What… is this?" he muttered. "This pressure… I haven't felt it since…"
He never finished the thought. Because at that moment, the gate of shadows opened before him.
And everything changed.
---
Aftermath Scene
Flux lay unconscious, breathing shallowly. Purple sparks flickered across his skin.
Alicia stroked his hair. "Thank God… at least you're alive…"
White didn't speak. He stared at the place where the gate had closed, his mind racing.
(That voice… that power… no mistake. She's back. But why through him?)
Above them, the sky rumbled. The next wave of enemies hadn't even arrived yet