SEASON 2 — EPISODE 18: THE KING DESCENDS
Cold Open — The Throne in the Sky
The sky was still burning from the death of the Skyborn Queen.
Fragments of her crystal wings fell like slow-moving meteors, catching the moonlight as they drifted through the thin upper atmosphere. Below, the oceans of Elysium Prime churned under the storm she had left behind. Xavier hovered in the high stratosphere, chest heaving, the glow of Aerial Apex still coiling around him like golden fire.
He could hear his own heartbeat in his ears.
His vow echoed in his mind.
The King's next.
Far beyond the planet's curve, something stirred.
A shadow eclipsed the moon — not a ship, not a beast, but a figure. Rings of blinding white light rippled outward in perfect symmetry, bending the void itself. Slowly, deliberately, the Skyborn King stepped forward from the darkness between stars.
His armor was a cathedral of crystal and light, each plate etched with constellations that shifted as he moved. Entire galaxies seemed trapped within the facets of his pauldrons. His face was hidden beneath a crown-helmed visor, but the weight of his gaze made the air tremble.
In the silence of space, Xavier's hand tightened on the hilt of the Skyfall Fang.
Act 1 — Arrival of the King
The King did not descend.
He pulled the battlefield to himself.
Gravitational waves erupted from his core, bending the curvature of the upper atmosphere. Clouds twisted into spirals. The ocean far below surged into unnatural tides. Xavier felt the pull grip his body — a force so absolute it ignored physics entirely — and then he was weightless, dragged upward into orbit.
"Kai—!" The comm channel crackled with static. "Xavier! Your vitals just vanished from every sensor!"
"I'm where I need to be," Xavier replied, his voice calm, even as his body accelerated toward the inevitable collision.
They stopped a mile apart, suspended in the black void between moonlight and planetary glow. No words. No movement. Only the endless silence of the stars.
And then — both vanished.
Act 2 — Godspeed Clash
The first collision detonated a shockwave so vast it ripped clouds apart across half the planet. Lightning spiderwebbed the horizon as civilians stared upward at the impossible light show, not knowing they were watching gods in combat.
Xavier moved first — Volt Breaker Overdrive ignited, multiplying his entry speed until he blurred. Apex Hunter Mode surged through his veins, and Aerial Apex sharpened every mid-flight strike into triple-lethal force. His blade sang with fury as he swung.
The King met him in equal measure. His crystalline energy blades — jagged arcs of condensed light — sliced through mana barriers as though they were paper.
They became afterimages — phantoms of motion. At one point, twelve versions of Xavier clashed with ten mirrored projections of the King, each copy striking with lethal intent before vanishing into pure velocity.
Sparks became constellations.
Every strike could have leveled a city.
Act 3 — Shifting the Fight
Xavier lunged, aiming for the King's chest. The King didn't block — he caught the blade with two fingers. The grip was absolute, a vice that ignored momentum. A twist of his wrist, and Xavier was spinning out of control.
A meteor fragment — a shard of rock miles wide — intercepted his flight. The impact cratered it into glowing debris.
Before Xavier could recover, the King extended a hand.
Solar energy condensed into the airless void, becoming Solar Lance Barrage — a storm of crystalline beams, each one so hot they carved through asteroids like paper lanterns.
Xavier darted between them, his body aching with strain. One beam grazed his shoulder, searing flesh and armor. Another clipped his left side, tearing away part of his chest plate.
The final lance streaked toward him — unavoidable. He twisted the Skyfall Fang into its path, channeling Redirect Fang. The beam split around him… then curved back toward the King.
The impact cracked the monarch's chest plate for the first time.
For a heartbeat, the King actually looked down at the damage.
Act 4 — Final Exchange
They hovered across from one another, their bodies leaking raw energy into the void.
Xavier's breathing was ragged. "Next time, you won't walk away."
The King's voice was deep and resonant, like the echo of stone in a cathedral. "Next time, you won't breathe."
Xavier poured everything into his blade. Skyfall Fang Sever overcharged, its silver edge igniting with a molten gold aura. Lightning coiled around his body, shredding fragments of nearby rock into dust.
The King summoned the Celestial Breaker — a crystalline greatsword that burned with the light of dying stars. The weapon was so vast it warped the light around it, bending space itself.
They launched forward at the same instant. The collision birthed a flash brighter than the sun.
Act 5 — The Tie
When the light faded, both warriors hovered motionless.
The King's armor was fractured along his chest and shoulder. Xavier's Limit Break aura flickered like a dying flame. Neither could continue without collapsing.
The King finally turned away, stepping back into the darkness of space.
"Until the Final Sky."
And then he was gone, leaving Xavier alone in the cold void.
Gravity reclaimed him. His body fell, burning through the atmosphere in streaks of gold and white, before slamming into the sea.
Ending Scene — The Shadow Beyond
Xavier floated on his back, letting the waves rock him. His lungs burned with each breath. Somewhere far above, the stars glittered — serene, uncaring.
Then Beast Sense flickered to life.
Something vast… far vaster than the King… moved just beyond the edge of the solar system. It was so large, it blotted out entire constellations as it shifted.
Xavier smiled faintly, blood mixing with seawater.
"Guess the universe is bigger than I thought."