The Fifth Gate unfurled like black wings, hundreds of glyphs pulsing in bloodlight. Valgor, Lacolone, Maya, Jessica, Ghali Salah, and Eden stood before it. Jessica cracked her knuckles; twin aura gauntlets flickered. From the shadows, Maria stepped forward, guns spinning. "Shall we dance?" she smiled, haloed in drifting shells. Two warriors — one dance of bullets.
Maria fired in a perfect circle; bullets ricocheted like mirror shards. Jessica's Veilward blossomed — red shields deflected sparks. Lacolone sensed a hidden presence deeper inside. Maya detected the "Soul Breaker" subroutine awakening within the Gate. Ghali Salah gripped his staff, Whispercall humming. Bullets and data crossed like constellations.
Maria leaped, spinning midair, twin pistols blazing. Jessica pivoted, Thunderbrand pulsing through her fists. Each bullet bent, finding new angles. She countered with Driftform, slipping past impacts. Maria reloaded without looking. Every motion rehearsed a thousand times in blood.
Maria: "Guns are the purest art — instant truth." Jessica: "Truth's just aim plus courage." Veilward shimmered under sustained fire. Thunderbrand coiled into Jessica's arm like a kinetic hammer. Maria grinned: "Let's see if courage dodges lead." Two philosophies forged in recoil.
Jessica felt her soul pulse — Whispercall revealed every bullet's path. Driftform activated, blurring her outline to near-invisibility. Maria squinted: "Fast… faster than code." Riftquake crackled from Jessica's step, warping the floor. Bullets veered off course, torn by disruption. She danced inside five Pillars.
Maria cross-slid her pistols; barrels glowed gold. "Golden Soul Burst" — channeling her lifeforce. Twin streaks ripped across the arena. Jessica erected Veilward, cracks appearing. Lacolone called out, sensing danger. Bullets born from soul could pierce even gods.
Jessica channeled all Five Pillars simultaneously. Thunderbrand arcs circled her body like a storm halo. Riftquake radiated from her feet, bending trajectories. Driftform teleported her behind Maria. Veilward cocooned her fists for impact. Power fused with precision.
Jessica struck — Thunderbrand punch met Maria's crossed pistols. Sparks and shockwaves quaked the arena walls. Maria smiled mid-impact. Chains of golden bullets scattered like petals. Maya observed, scanning for Soul Breaker's energy signature. Fight fed the Gate itself.
From inside the Gate, a colossal silhouette appeared — Soul Breaker's outline. Ghali Salah whispered a forgotten prayer. Eden recoiled: "This… this is the Pharaoh's true weapon." Lacolone's katana hummed with all five Pillars. The Gate's glyphs rearranged, sealing them in. The audience of a god awakened.
Maria emptied both guns in a spiraling tornado. Jessica countered with Thunderbrand beams, punching through bullets. Driftform let her move unharmed inside the vortex. Riftquake disrupted the spiral, collapsing it. Maria landed on one knee, breathing hard. Technique met evolution.
Maria: "Why bother saving a poisoned world?" Jessica: "Because only poison shows us how badly we need to heal." Veilward turned violet, merging with Thunderbrand. Jessica's fist glowed like a small sun. Maria whispered: "Then kill me cleanly." Bullets became confession.
Both charged — Jessica with a Thunderbrand punch, Maria with Golden Soul Burst. Shockwave split the arena floor. Maria's guns shattered; Jessica's gauntlets fractured. They stood inches apart, blood running. Maria dropped to one knee, smiling faintly. The duel ended without hatred.
Jessica picked up Maria's broken pistol, seeing a hidden sigil inside. "Another key…" she whispered. Lacolone stepped forward, aura rising. Soul Breaker's silhouette leaned closer, glyph eyes opening. Maya recorded its code signature. Pieces falling into place.
In another arena, Valgor's Riftquake met Thano's iron fists. Diamond shards flew as Thano crushed walls. Valgor's Driftform blurred him between punches. Thunderbrand sliced into Thano's gauntlets. Both roared as energy collided. Fist and quake — titans testing pillars.
Lacolone sensed Basim approaching. Katana hummed behind his back; he never drew it. "Assassin of the Saints…" he murmured. Ghali Salah channeled Whispercall into his staff. Eden stayed behind, eyes wide. Storms gathering at every Gate.
Above all arenas, Elito appeared as a vast hologram — arms outstretched like a digital Pharaoh. "You open my Gates but not my will," he intoned. His face split into multiple faces. Glyph-lasers rained from his projection. Maya decoded hidden coordinates in his chant. Threats and clues woven as one.
Ghali Salah saw symbols of the Seventh Door reflected in Maria's broken gun. Jessica pocketed the sigil, eyes narrowing. Lacolone: "The Seventh holds Elito himself." Maya: "And something older." Valgor sensed Riftquake tremors deeper than before. The map completed itself in blood.
All fighters looked up as the Fifth Gate shattered completely. The Soul Breaker stepped fully through — a towering figure of bone, code, and gold, its hands dripping with digital ichor. Its voice vibrated across every arena: "At last… my dreamers awaken." This was no longer a war. It was initiation.