The void thundered with their collision.
Vemy's wings struck out like razors of Celestine-blue voidfire, clashing against the Guardian Beast's chained claw. The impact alone sent shockwaves that shattered the abyssal stone beneath them, turning the battlefield into a crater of broken black shards.
Vemy gritted his teeth, his arms trembling under the sheer force of the strike. The Guardian's claw was massive, its scales shifting between fire and shadow, its veins glowing with fractured light. Every push felt like trying to hold back an avalanche with bare hands.
The chains rattled violently, ringing across the chamber. The thirteen rings that bound the Guardian pulsed like dying stars, glowing brighter with each clash.
"You resist," the Guardian's voice rumbled, broken and layered with distortion. "But resistance is meaningless. The Ring was not forged to be mastered. It was forged to consume."
"I'll break that fate!" Vemy roared, pushing back, wings flaring so brightly that the shadows peeled away. His Celestine flames wrapped around him, whipping into a storm that bit into the Guardian's scales.
The Guardian didn't flinch. Its claw swiped again, faster than its size should allow, and the blow hurled Vemy across the void. His back slammed against a fractured wall, cracking bone and spilling blood down his lips. He staggered to his feet, his vision doubling, but his eyes never left the towering figure.
The Guardian tilted its head. "You burn with the same fire I once did… arrogance. Hope. Desperation." Its eyes narrowed, empty pools of Celestine fire. "All of it meaningless. The Thirteenth Ring always wins."
The words cut deeper than the wounds across his body. Vemy clenched his fists until his knuckles bled. Is that… really me? If I lose, if I fall—do I end up as this thing?
The whisper in his head returned.
Yes. This is your destiny. He is proof. Stop fighting and embrace it.
"No!" Vemy spat, forcing his voice to steady. "I'm not you!"
His aura surged, Celestine-blue flames wrapping tighter, spinning into spears and arcs of fire. He launched forward, faster than before, each step tearing apart the ground beneath him. He carved a blazing arc across the Guardian's chest—scorching scale and shadow.
For the first time, the Guardian winced.
Vemy's eyes widened. I can hurt him!
But before he could follow up, a chain lashed outward, wrapping around his waist. The burning metal constricted, searing into his flesh, pulling him violently toward the Guardian.
"Pathetic," the Guardian hissed. With a single swing, it hurled him like a broken toy, smashing him against the void floor. The impact rattled his bones, his body coughing up blood as the chains pinned him down.
The Guardian loomed overhead, raising its claw again. The thirteen rings flared in unison, brighter, heavier, pressing down on Vemy like the sky itself was collapsing.
Vemy's body screamed at him to give up. His vision blurred. His aura flickered. The whisper grew louder, sweeter.
Submit. Stop resisting. Imagine the power you'd have if you just let go.
The Guardian's claw came down—
And Vemy roared, summoning everything left inside him. His voidfire surged outward, wrapping around his body in a violent spiral. The chain snapped under the pressure, exploding into molten fragments. He thrust his arm upward, catching the Guardian's strike with his bare hand.
The flames roared, brighter than before. They weren't just Celestine-blue now—they shimmered with streaks of silver, like shards of starlight breaking through the void.
The Guardian's eyes flickered, as if… surprised.
"This flame…" it whispered. For the first time, its distorted voice wavered. "That is not mine. Not the Ring's. Whose power… do you wield?"
Vemy's teeth clenched, his entire body trembling as he forced the claw back. His voice cracked with defiance. "It's mine!"
With a scream, he unleashed his flames in a massive eruption, blasting the Guardian backward. The sheer force tore the battlefield apart, pillars of voidstone crumbling into the abyss.
For a moment—just a moment—Vemy stood tall, his new flame wrapping him like armor. The whispers in his head recoiled, snarling in frustration.
But then… the Guardian laughed.
A hollow, broken laugh that echoed like thunder.
"You think you've won?" it asked, rising again. The thirteen rings burned brighter, cracking the very air around them. Its chains unraveled, no longer binding, but lashing freely like serpents of fire and shadow. "That was only my first step. I am not your reflection. I am your end."
The Guardian raised both arms, its rings spinning around it like planets orbiting a dying sun. The void itself trembled. Each ring's power amplified the next, a storm of energy so massive it made Vemy's flames feel like a candle in a hurricane.
Vemy staggered back, sweat dripping down his face. His silver-streaked flames crackled, fierce but unstable. His breath came ragged, his body screaming at him to stop. But his eyes… his eyes burned with refusal.
"I don't care how strong you are," he whispered to himself. His voice hardened, rising louder, echoing into the abyss. "If you're my end—then I'll tear destiny apart with my own hands!"
The Guardian's chains lashed out, the thirteen rings spinning faster, drawing the entire abyss into its storm.
Vemy flared his wings, light bursting around him like a second sun.
The chamber screamed.
And then the two forces collided—light against shadow, fire against chain, destiny against defiance.
The void cracked. Reality shook.
And as the clash exploded, the chapter ended in blinding silence.
⚡ Cliffhanger: Vemy and the Guardian unleash their full power—void itself breaking under their clash.