The battlefield was chaos. Sand whipped through the air, glowing with the eerie blue light of the Realm's twin moons. Riku's heartbeat thundered in his ears as he stared down the Keeper of Lost Souls, the towering general whose presence bent the air like a storm.
The Keeper's voice rumbled like thunder.
"You should not have touched what is not yours… Mortal child."
Riku's hand tightened around Eclipsera, his sword pulsing crimson with the Relic's fury. The Relic of Wrath had fused with his soul — burning, roaring, demanding release. It was power unlike anything he'd ever felt. His aura crackled like lightning, and the sand beneath his feet turned molten red.
"If power is what it takes to survive," Riku growled, "then I'll use every bit of it!"
The Keeper's scythe sliced through the storm, meeting Riku's blade in a clash that split the air. Sparks of pure soul energy scattered into the night sky. The force of the impact sent waves rippling through the dunes, throwing Mina, Ren, and Arin backward.
Ren gritted his teeth, slamming his sword into the ground to steady himself.
"He's… holding his own?"
Mina gasped, eyes wide as Riku's aura flared brighter and brighter.
"No, it's more than that—he's pushing the General back!"
But inside that crimson glow, Riku felt something else — rage. Endless, searing rage not his own. The Relic whispered in his head like a thousand vengeful spirits, clawing for control.
They hurt you.
They mocked you.
They deserve your wrath.
Riku roared, lunging forward with blinding speed. His strikes became faster, wilder — each one shaking the ground. The Keeper blocked and countered, their weapons clashing like thunderbolts, but something had changed. The boy's eyes burned red; his movements were no longer his own.
"Riku!" Mina's voice broke through the roar of battle. "Don't lose yourself!"
But he didn't hear her — or maybe he didn't want to. The Relic's whispers grew louder.
You've been weak your whole life. Show them who you are now!
Riku's blade surged with black and red energy, and with a single swing, he unleashed a shockwave that split the dunes in half. The Keeper was forced back — for the first time, stumbling — but Riku didn't stop. He kept slashing, his power expanding until even Ren and Arin had to retreat.
Ren shouted,
"He's losing control! That relic is feeding on his emotions!"
Mina's heart pounded. She clenched her Staff of Radiance, tears forming in her eyes as she ran forward.
"Riku, stop! Please!"
She pressed her hand to her staff, and a beam of pure light burst from it — a gentle, golden glow that reached Riku's aura. The crimson energy around him hissed, fighting back, but the warmth of her power cut through. In that glow, Riku saw something — a memory.
He saw himself as a child, bloodied, cornered by bullies. His mother kneeling beside him, whispering:
"Hayato, true strength isn't in hurting others. It's in protecting what you love."
Riku's eyes widened. The Relic's voice faltered. The rage wavered.
He gasped, dropping to his knees as the red energy around him shattered like glass.
Mina fell beside him, panting, her staff dimming as she smiled weakly.
"You're back… you did it."
But the Keeper was already recovering, standing tall, their scythe glowing ominously.
"Impressive… You wrestled control from the Relic's curse. Few could have done that."
Ren stepped forward, blade blazing with soulfire.
"You talk too much for someone who's about to lose."
The three of them — Ren, Arin, and Mina — charged together, coordinating like they'd trained for this moment all their lives. Arin's spectral arrows struck from above, pinning the Keeper's movements. Ren's fiery strikes clashed head-on, while Mina's radiant blasts forced openings for Riku to attack.
Riku rose again, Eclipsera glowing red and gold — wrath and light intertwined.
"Let's end this!" he shouted.
Their combined attack hit like a comet. Arin's arrow struck the Keeper's shoulder; Ren's sword carved through the scythe's chain; and Riku, channeling the last of the Relic's energy, slashed through the General's core.
The Keeper let out a low, rumbling growl — not of pain, but of acceptance.
"So… this is what I wanted all along. Someone… to release me…"
The General's body began to dissolve into motes of light. As he vanished, something metallic dropped from his robes — a fragment, glowing red.
Riku picked it up. The Relic pulsed once in his hand — calmer this time, as if acknowledging his will.
"Another relic piece," Ren murmured. "Then… each General really is guarding one."
But before they could celebrate, the sand beneath them began to quake violently. The ground split open, revealing dark tendrils of spirit energy.
Mina gasped, looking down.
"The battle… it's waking something else!"
From the depths below, countless red eyes opened — goons, drawn by the residual energy of the Relic of Wrath.
Arin's eyes widened, arrow already notched.
"We're surrounded."
Riku turned, Eclipsera gleaming with new, balanced light.
"Then we keep fighting… until we reach the Fountain."
The winds howled across the battlefield as the horde closed in, their glowing eyes forming a circle of death around the heroes.
And somewhere in the distance, another shadow watched — a figure in black armor, its voice echoing across the realm.
"So… the next piece of the puzzle has been claimed. Let's see how long you can survive, boy."