The moment Kael stepped through the portal, the world shifted.
Gone were the cracked stone walls of the temple — here, the sky was an endless canvas of gold and crimson, clouds rolling in slow, impossible shapes. The air was weightless, every sound carrying like a whisper through a dream.
Beneath their feet stretched a bridge of jade that seemed to float over nothing, suspended in an infinite expanse.
At the far end stood a lone figure.
Even from a distance, Kael knew.
The Great Sage Equal to Heaven waited there, his fur the color of burnished bronze, his golden circlet glinting faintly in the light. The Ruyi Jingu Bang rested against his shoulder — the complete staff, gleaming as though it had been forged from the heart of the sun.
Sun Wukong's smile was sharp and knowing. "So… you're the brat swinging my stick."
Kael straightened, but his mouth was dry. "I—"
"Relax," Wukong interrupted. "If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have made it past the first breath in here."
His gaze swept over Sena, Tripitaka, and the unconscious Li Yan. "Quite the entourage. And you—" He pointed at Tripitaka with the staff. "I'd know that calm glare anywhere. Golden Cicada, reborn, and still wearing that holier-than-thou patience like armor."
Tripitaka inclined his head but said nothing.
Wukong's smile faded as he turned to Kael. "You've done well to get here. But a relic is more than a weapon. It's a burden. You carry me when you carry this. My battles. My mistakes. My victories. And my enemies."
Kael met his gaze. "I'll carry it."
The Sage's eyes narrowed. "Will you? Even when it means everyone you care about becomes a target? Even when the heavens themselves will try to break you?"
Kael didn't look away. "Yes."
For a moment, there was silence — then Wukong grinned, baring sharp teeth. "Good answer."
He spun the staff once, its length extending until it bridged the space between them. The moment Kael's hand closed around it, a surge of power flooded his veins — raw, unfiltered, alive.
Visions roared through his mind: battles fought above the clouds, laughter in the halls of Heaven, the crushing loneliness of exile, and the thrill of freedom.
When the flood subsided, he stood holding the completed Ruyi Jingu Bang, its weight perfect in his hands.
Wukong's voice softened. "Remember this — you are not me. You will fight your own battles. But if you swing that staff, swing it like the heavens are watching."
The clouds around them began to stir, the golden light dimming. The bridge under their feet trembled.
Sena glanced back at the portal, its edges rippling violently. "He's here."
Wukong looked toward it, then back at Kael. "Go, Great Sage. Show them the name has meaning again."
The world dissolved into light — and they were back in the temple.
The final chamber was in ruins — the ceiling torn open to the sky, the stone floor split into jagged chasms of molten rock. Above it all, Tao Ye stood, wreathed in wings of black fire, his Feather Fan smoldering with corrupted heat.
All around him, a thousand shadow-phoenix minions swarmed like a living storm, their cries a mix of flame and hatred. At the shattered entrance to the chamber, Zhu Bajie struggled to hold them back, his nine-raked tool carving arcs of gold through the tide — but the swarm was endless.
Tao Ye's eyes locked on Kael. "Back from hiding already? Good. Saves me the trouble of dragging you out of the shadows."
Kael stepped forward, the completed Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hands. The staff pulsed once — and the entire chamber seemed to flinch.
Sena felt it first — the air bending around him, each breath charged with energy that was alive. Tripitaka's gaze sharpened. Even Tao Ye hesitated, just for a breath.
Kael grinned — and then he moved.
The staff extended in an instant, smashing through a wave of shadow phoenixes, each one bursting into harmless smoke. He spun it overhead, the motion pulling the wind itself into a roaring vortex that sucked flames away from Sena and Bajie.
"Get him!" Tao Ye roared.
The minions surged — but Kael leapt, the Ruyi Jingu Bang snapping long enough to bridge the chamber in a single strike. Dozens of phoenixes vanished under the blow.
He landed hard, the staff shortening with a snap. "Round two," Kael said, his voice steady.
Sena fought at his back, her chakram flashing through the smoke. Bajie let out a booming laugh, joining the fray with renewed strength. Even Tripitaka moved, not striking at Kael, but carving through the creatures that tried to flank him.
But Tao Ye was not idle. With a sweep of his fan, the black flames condensed, twisting into humanoid phoenix knights of molten shadow.
"You think that stick makes you my equal?" Tao Ye snarled. "I am the fire that will burn this world clean!"
Kael met his gaze, the staff's golden glow flaring until it outshone the corrupted fire. "And I'm the Sage who'll knock you back into the ashes."
They clashed — staff against fan — the shockwave shattering the last of the chamber's pillars.
Above them, the temple's ceiling gave way entirely, revealing a blood-red sky. The storm of minions shrieked louder, but Kael's grin only widened.
For the first time, Tao Ye felt the weight of something he hadn't in years.
Pressure.
The temple's roof was gone, and the blood-red sky churned like a wound. The ground beneath them was no longer solid — chunks of stone floated above rivers of molten rock, connected only by collapsing bridges.
Kael and Tao Ye clashed in the center of it all, the Ruyi Jingu Bang meeting the corrupted Feather Fan in a storm of gold and black fire.
Each strike cracked the air, shockwaves scattering phoenix minions like leaves in a gale.
Bajie barreled through the swarm, roaring with every swing of his nine-raked tool. "You'll have to do better than this, roast chickens!"
He crushed another phoenix knight — but didn't see the one diving from above. Black talons punched through his armor and into his chest.
"Bajie!" Sena cried, but he only grinned through bloodied tusks. "Keep swinging, girl… make 'em pay…"
The phoenix dragged him into the molten chasm, his laughter fading into the roar of fire.
Tripitaka fought with precision, never overextending — until Li Yan stirred weakly in his arms.
"Stay still," Tripitaka ordered, but the younger man's eyes opened just enough to meet his.
"You… have to win."
Then a spear of black flame punched clean through Li Yan's back. His body went limp instantly.
Tripitaka's expression didn't change — but the next moment, the phoenix knight who'd struck was reduced to ash by a single palm strike.
Kael's rage surged. "TAO YE!"
The corrupted vice sect leader laughed. "Yes, show me the fire!"
He twisted his fan, and the shadow phoenixes condensed into a single, titanic Dark Fire Phoenix that swooped low, flames melting the stone under its wings.
Before it could strike, chains of golden light shot from the far side of the chasm — Devrudra, battered, half-burned, one arm hanging uselessly at his side.
"I said… LEAVE THIS PLACE!"
The chains wrapped around the giant phoenix, dragging it down toward the molten river. Tao Ye snarled and hurled black fire at him, but Devrudra took it head-on, his armor cracking.
"Go!" Devrudra roared. "The trial is done — win your war!"
The phoenix exploded in a storm of shadow and fire, swallowing Devrudra completely. When the light faded, there was no sign of him — only the chains, sinking into the molten depths.
Kael's grip on the staff tightened until his knuckles went white. "Enough."
He leapt, the Ruyi Jingu Bang extending past the point of sight, smashing through the remaining phoenix minions in a single, devastating sweep. Tao Ye caught the blow with his fan, but the impact forced him back, his corrupted flames sputtering.
Kael didn't stop.
Blow after blow drove Tao Ye toward the edge of the chasm.
"You wanted to burn the world," Kael said, his voice low, dangerous. "But the Great Sage doesn't bow to fire."
With a final strike, the staff's golden light surged, shattering the Feather Fan. The black flames vanished, leaving only smoke. Tao Ye stumbled, clutching the broken relic — then a chain of molten stone gave way beneath him.
He fell into the fire below, his scream echoing until it was swallowed by the roar.
Kael stood over the chasm, chest heaving. Sena came to his side, her eyes on the destruction around them. "We lost too much."
Tripitaka set Li Yan's body gently on the ground, his gaze unreadable. "Sometimes victory takes more than it gives."
The Ruyi Jingu Bang was heavy in Kael's hand — not with weight, but with what it had cost.