Suddenly, Joshua felt his strength vanish. He fell to his knees, his body too weak to stand.
Joshua: (to himself) What is this? I've suddenly grown weaker? But how? My light energy has dropped because I used perfect manifestation but not to this extent of making me this weak. So why is this happening?
Lokk's Binding Tags equalized his opponent's physical strength to match his own weakened state. Joshua, who had been tagged at the start of the fight, was now just as drained as Lokk.
He didn't even have time to understand what had happened.
Despite the brutal wounds left by the Luminary Sword, Desmond Gravy forced himself back to his feet. Blood dripped from his body, but his eyes burned with determination as he charged straight at Joshua.
But Joshua refused to fall.
Even on shaking legs, he tried to summon a Spinning Vortex, gathering what little energy he had left to blast Desmond away, but he never got the chance.
Korra, battered and bleeding herself, slammed her hand into the ground. A medium-sized tree erupted upward, its roots and branches twisting violently as they shot toward Joshua. In seconds, they wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso, locking him in place.
Joshua struggled, thrashing against the bindings but it was all for nothing. His body was too weak. In the blink of an eye, Desmond was on him. Joshua's defiance flared, but he couldn't move or fight back.
Desmond grabbed him by the face with his left hand, forcing their eyes to meet.
And then everything began to spin.
Desmond: [WHITE: MIND ILLUSION]
Mind Illusion, a devastating skill of the False Reality Technique, plunged Joshua into a fabricated world built from his own memories and deepest fears. The ability could only be activated through direct contact. And now Joshua's mind had become its battlefield.
The real world vanished.
In its place, Joshua stood on the surface of a vast lake, one made entirely of blood. The crimson water stretched endlessly in every direction, thick and still, as if the weight of every life he'd taken had settled into it. The air felt heavy. Judgmental. Alive.
Then he saw him.
A small boy stood ahead, thin and trembling, the lone survivor from Joshua's very first mission. Tears streamed down the child's face as he looked at Joshua with eyes full of pain, confusion and sadness.
The boy: They were different. They wanted to change how the world saw us. Why didn't you give them a chance? Why did you kill them?
The words struck Joshua harder than any weapon. His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees, shaking as he held the boy by his shoulders and cried.
Joshua: I… I'm sorry. I didn't understand. I was blind to what was right in front of me. Your family's deaths, they're my greatest regret. I swear… I'll do everything I can to make it right.
The boy's expression shifted into something cold.
The boy: It's too late for apologies, Joshua. The wars, the bloodshed, the endless cycles of pain, they've been going on for hundreds of years. How do you think you're going to fix it now?
The lake began to move.
From beneath the blood-red surface, figures shaped like the boy's family rose to the surface. Pale, empty forms clawed their way upward, their eyes hollow, their hands reaching.
They grabbed Joshua's arms, legs and torso as they pulled him into the lake of blood.
He struggled and screamed, but the weight of his sins dragged him down, pulling him into the crimson abyss, into a world made entirely of regret, guilt, and everything he could never undo.
******
Back in the real world, Joshua's body went rigid as he fought to break free of Desmond's illusion. Gritting his teeth, he let out a roar and shattered the mental chains binding him, clawing his way back to consciousness.
But it was too late.
The moment reality returned, agony tore through him. A thorned sword was embedded in his chest, its vines unfurling and blooming into vivid roses that spread across his body. Korra's Shadow Technique had taken root inside him, using him as its anchor.
Joshua gasped, his strength draining fast. Pain pulsed with every heartbeat. He dropped to his knees, unable to stand, as the members of Kaimi Daja closed in around him.
Zero stepped forward, still battered but smiling, a dagger clenched in his hand.
Zero: This is our win.
With a single, decisive motion, Zero struck, severing Joshua's left hand and claiming both the Luminary Sword from its rightful owner.