Silence swallowed the sea.
The surface itself seemed hesitant, unnaturally still, as if the ocean feared what was about to happen.
At the center, Sora and Luke stood atop the trembling water, feet barely sinking, their dense mantra and refined control keeping them aloft. Each breath sent ripples outward, vibrating through the ocean beneath them.
Across from them, Brock straightened, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. It vanished instantly, washed away by seawater. Then he smiled.
The sea beneath him collapsed.
BOOOOM—
Water exploded downward like a hammer striking steel. Brock vanished for a split second, then reappeared in a blur, skimming across the waves at impossible speed, cutting trenches into the ocean like a living torpedo. Towering walls of water rose and crashed in his wake.
"Too fast—" Luke muttered.
Heat flared from Sora's body, steam erupting wherever his feet touched the sea, boiling the water into violent bursts. No words were needed; their eyes met for a heartbeat. Then—they launched.
Luke stepped first. His feet barely touched the water before he vanished in rapid bursts, arcs of pressurized spray detonating behind him.
Sora followed, forcing the ocean to yield to his momentum. Every step sent shockwaves downward, columns of water exploding upward in chaotic eruptions.
Three forces collided—the collision split the sea.
Water flew skyward, suspended for a heartbeat, then crashed violently back down. The impact roared, sending concentric shockwaves racing outward.
And at the center—Brock. Tentacles coiling beneath him like restrained beasts. He grinned.
The sea beneath Luke twisted suddenly. Blackened tentacles burst upward, wrapping around his ankles and calves in crushing grips.
"What—?!"
Luke had no time to react.
The tentacles yanked him downward. SPLASH—he vanished beneath the waves as the water churned violently above him.
"LUKE!" Sora's cry tore across the sea.
Luke was dragged deep, too fast. Light fractured above, fading into shards as pressure crushed him. Water slammed against his chest, air driven from his lungs. Limbs strained as mantra flared—but each motion felt heavier than the last.
Luke swung Nox Aeternum blindly. The golden blade flashed beneath the waves, cleaving one tentacle—but three more wrapped around him.
Brock's voice rumbled through the water, distorted yet clear.
"Let's see how long your breath lasts, hero."
Above the surface, Sora slammed his foot down.
BOOM—
The sea exploded. Steam rose skyward in violent columns. The surface collapsed inward, revealing a churning crater. Sora plunged in, mantra and heat compressing the water around him. Darkness and bubbles, pressure and force, everything collided.
He opened his eyes. Found Luke. Golden flickers beneath the waves. Bound, sinking fast.
Sora twisted mid-descent, heat coiling around his arm until the water recoiled. His fist pulled back.
"GET—AWAY—FROM—HIM!"
The punch landed.
Water detonated. Shockwaves tore across the ocean, tentacles shredded, Luke rocketed upward as displaced water exploded violently around him. The sea split like a gaping wound. Luke burst forth, gasping as air filled his lungs.
Brock remained below, calm, amused.
"Good… I bought myself time," he thought. Energy crawled along his limbs, muscles knitting back with terrifying speed. "These kids… far more dangerous than they look. And they haven't even mastered their powers."
A ripple disturbed the sea.
"Don't get lost in the fight!" Luke's voice cracked like thunder.
Brock snapped his head up. Luke hovered above him, sword raised, golden mantra screaming.
"SHATTER SLICE!"
The blade descended. A massive crescent of water erupted skyward. Steam hissed. The surface folded inward—but Brock vanished, leaping backward in a blur. Shockwaves detonated behind him. Waves collided violently.
"Tch—" he sneered, blood at the corner of his mouth. "Do you think I'll fall for the same trick twice?"
Luke's grin was slow, knowing.
"No," he muttered. "I changed it a little."
"What—?" Brock's pupils shrank.
BAM!
Sora burst upward from below. Water spiraled around his arm, mantra condensed to a blinding point, heat warping the air. His fist drove forward—Platinum Punch. Clean. Direct. Merciless.
Brock's body snapped backward as if struck by a falling star. Shockwaves flattened the sea for dozens of meters. Water rose like walls, crashing down in deafening roars.
Before Brock could recover, Luke appeared behind him, heel smashing into his spine. Crack. Air detonated like a cannon blast. Brock's massive body was hurled toward Sora, skidding violently across the waves.
Luke landed lightly, eyes sharp.
"I can strike harder," he muttered, "if I focus harder."
Sora inhaled. Mantra compressed violently, heat spiraling outward. Steam blasted from the sea beneath his feet, boiling the water into jagged pillars.
Brock barely had time to react.
BOOM!
Sora's fist slammed into Brock's jaw with absolute precision. Devastating. Shockwave tore outward, splitting the sea, towering walls of spray erupting skyward. Brock's head snapped unnaturally, lifted clean off the water's surface, bone and force echoing like thunder.
"You think that's enough?" Brock roared. Tentacles erupted from the depths like serpents, twisting and snapping with lethal precision. "I've endured worse than you could ever muster!"
Sora's eyes burned red, the golden plus in his pupils glowing like a beacon of fury. Steam twisted around his arms, mantra spiraling outward, boiling the water into steam pillars.
Luke's golden sword, Nox Aeternum, hummed with concentrated energy. "We end this now," he muttered, voice calm, cold.
They moved as one. Sora's fist detonated again, Brock barely dodging as pillars of water exploded behind him. Luke spun through the air, arcs of golden energy cutting swaths through the waves, forcing Brock into constant retreat.
But Brock was relentless. Tentacles lashed, smashing water into towering geysers, each strike threatening to crush the boys beneath tons of force.
Sora ducked under a massive strike, mantra slicing through the water, redirecting the momentum. Luke leapt high, sword glowing, and plunged downward. Sparks erupted as Brock's tentacle blocked him—but the impact cracked the surface beneath Brock, destabilizing him.
Sora saw the opening. Concentrating mantra and heat into a single point, he launched Platinum Barrage—a flurry of punches so fast the sea itself trembled. Brock was hit repeatedly, sent crashing across the waves, his tentacles thrashing wildly but losing coherence under the force.
"You… you can't—" Brock gasped, but before he could recover, Luke appeared. Nox Aeternum sliced clean through the last active tentacle, leaving Brock unbalanced.
Sora's eyes flared. Heat and mantra erupted violently, surrounding Brock in a whirling vortex of boiling water and fire. "This ends… now!"
Brock roared, trying to summon his remaining strength, but Sora's fist slammed into him, sending a shockwave across the ocean. Brock's massive form was hurled upward, spinning uncontrollably. He hit the surface with a deafening crash, waves exploding around him.
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then—Sora and Luke descended together, fists and sword raised. The ocean quivered under the tension of imminent death. Brock tried one last desperate counter, tentacles snapping upward—but Sora's mantra-ignited strike collided with his defense. The impact detonated with a blinding golden explosion, vaporizing the last tentacles and tearing through Brock's defenses.
Sora lunged, fist aimed straight for Brock's chest—but the brute was faster. A massive, iron-like hand shot up, catching Sora mid-strike. The force pressed back, nearly knocking the air from his lungs.
"I won't go down that easily," Brock sneered, voice thick with menace. His claws flexed, crushing the water beneath him as if the ocean itself were an extension of his strength.
Luke blinked—then appeared beside him in a flash of golden light, blade arcing for Brock's neck. But—
A jagged tooth of shadow erupted from Brock's open maw, clamping around Nox Aeternum with bone-cracking force. Sparks of golden mantra flared violently, but the sword held fast, Luke's muscles trembling under the pressure.
Neither boy faltered. Neither breathed slower. They pushed, every strike and movement fueled by burning rage and the taste of vengeance.
Then—Luke's left eye flashed. A black circle appeared, concentric and precise, radiating sheer focus.
"Shit… not now," he muttered under his breath, pain lancing through his body like liquid fire.
A voice—low, sharp, and icy—sliced into his mind.
"You're taking too long, kid."