The Court is silent after the flames die Kael lies on his back coughing from the smoke while Yuna kneels beside him trying to heal his burns Ryo stands a few steps ahead gazing into the distance The ground trembles as though the Court itself is bracing for what's next.
Kael: groaning Damn it… that flame was no joke If you hadn't stepped in Ryo we'd be ashes right now.
Yuna: softly Not even ashes We would have been… nothing.
Kael: forcing a laugh though his voice shakes Heh Guess that's worse than death huh?
Yuna: placing her hand on his chest her healing light glowing faintly Don't joke about that Every time we face one of these Judges I feel like we're falling further away from being human.
Kael: grins weakly Maybe Or maybe we're just climbing higher.
Ryo: without turning around Higher lower it does not matter The Court will test us until the very end.
From the far edge of the broken Court the tremors intensify The air grows heavy not with heat this time but with the metallic scent of blood A sound echoes clashing blades marching footsteps the cry of endless battles From the cracks of the Court rises the Judge of War.
Judge of War: his voice is a battlefield itself sharp relentless Children of anomaly… I am War I am conflict made flesh I am the blade that splits cosmos.
Kael: spitting blood and grinning Great We just finished fighting a furnace and now we're up against a whole damn army.
Yuna: narrowing her eyes No… not an army Look closely.
The Judge of War towers above them his body forged of weapons swords jutting from his back axes forming his arms shields layered across his chest Thousands of screaming faces are etched into his armor as if souls of fallen warriors fuel his being.
Judge of War: Every strike you make I have already seen Every strategy you form I have already broken I am not one opponent I am all wars past and future.
Kael: clenching fists Then all I need is one good punch.
Judge of War: Foolish spark.
With a sweep of his arm thousands of spectral soldiers erupt from his body phantoms of wars across countless worlds Knights samurai futuristic mechs alien beasts all charging at once their weapons gleaming.
Yuna: stepping back horrified Kael! Those aren't illusions They're real Each one carries the power of a battlefield.
Kael: smirks Sounds fun Guess I'll be busy.
Kael leaps into the phantom army his fists exploding with power. He punches a knight shattering it into shards of light then kicks a mech aside But for every enemy he destroys two more rise He's quickly surrounded.
Kael: gritting teeth Damn… they just keep coming!
Yuna: summoning spears of ice striking down enemies from afar They're endless! He can manifest every war in history at once!
Judge of War: laughing, his voice a roar of clashing steel Yes Struggle bleed scream That is the music of war.
Ryo finally steps forward He raises his hand, and the phantom soldiers freeze mid charge The entire battlefield halts as if time itself obeys him.
Ryo: War without end is not war It is noise.
Judge of War: snarling his blades vibrating violently You dare silence my battlefield? You dare deny conflict itself?
Ryo: Conflict ends when I say it ends.
The phantoms crumble into dust Kael stumbles out of the dissolving army panting heavily sweat dripping from his forehead.
Kael: catching his breath About time Ryo You were just gonna let me do all the work?
Ryo: calmly You needed to learn.
Kael: scowls but then smirks …Tch Figures.
The Judge of War roars in fury the sound shaking the Court His body glows red the weapons across him igniting with cosmic energy.
Judge of War: You insult my essence If you deny war then I shall make war against existence itself!
He slams his blade-arms into the ground A shockwave tears through the Court splitting it into endless battlefields deserts oceans ruined cities alien planets all merging and crashing together The trio is dragged across shifting landscapes each one filled with echoes of battles long lost.
Yuna: clutching her staff He's turning the Court itself into his weapon!
Kael: gritting his teeth fists tightening Then let's break it!
Kael charges again his fists glowing brighter than before He smashes through a wall of shields screaming as he hurls himself at the Judge's chest The impact causes cracks to run across the Judge's armor but he retaliates instantly slashing Kael with a blade arm Blood sprays.
Kael: staggering clutching his side Ngh… damn it…
Yuna: Kael!
Judge of War: One by one I will cut you down.There is no end to me.
Ryo: stepping between them You are mistaken There is an end And it is me.
The Judge of War snarls and brings down both his colossal blade arms at once Ryo raises his hand catching the blades with a single finger The weapons stop instantly as though they've struck an immovable wall The Court trembles at the impact but Ryo does not flinch.
Judge of War: shocked …What?
Ryo: War exists because conflict exists Conflict exists because difference exists But before difference there was silence Before silence there was nothing.
Judge of War: growling pushing with all his might You… cannot erase me.
Ryo: You are already erased.
With a simple gesture the blades dissolve into dust The Judge of War staggers his entire form cracking apart like glass His thousands of weapons clatter into nothingness His voice breaks into a scream of fury and despair.
Judge of War: NO! I AM WAR! I CANNOT END
He shatters into fragments of broken steel his roar echoing across the Court until it fades into silence The battlefield illusions collapse returning the Court to its fractured stone form.
Kael drops to one knee blood dripping from his wound Yuna rushes to his side pressing her hands against him to stop the bleeding.
Kael: grinning weakly Heh… three down And I'm still breathing. Barely.
Yuna: teary-eyed Stop smiling idiot! You're bleeding out!
Kael: coughs then smirks again Better than crying.
Ryo: calmly War has ended But there are more Each one greater than the last.
Yuna: looking up at him shaken Ryo… just how many Judges are there?
Ryo: Enough to test everything Enough to test even me.
The Court trembles once more In the shadows above a massive shape unfurls wings made of stars a presence that bends the sky itself The Judge of Heaven awakens