Thar's death left a wound deeper than any blade.
Noa did not return to the capital.
Not yet.
Revenge came first.
They set up a temporary camp on the outskirts of the West Plaza, far from the capital's banners and laws. Fires burned low as the remaining soldiers gathered around Noa, their faces hardened by loss. Maps were spread across broken crates, marked with blood, ash, and guesswork.
Noa stood at the center.
"So when we reached Cameron and the cultists," he said calmly, "there was an invisible wall. Wherever he goes, he creates an illusional barrier."
Zephio frowned. "If it's an illusion… why can't we pass through it?"
Noa's glowing eye shifted slightly. "Because the illusion doesn't affect the world. It affects us. Our brain believes the wall is real—and stops the body from moving forward."
Silence followed.
Vipul broke it. "So… how do we trick our own mind?"
Noa clenched his fist. "My eye can. It restricts certain powers. That's how I hit Cameron before—even when he was coated in darkness, untouchable."
Lunnaux looked up. "You'll break the illusion?"
"Yes," Noa replied. "The moment it falls, you charge the cultists. I'll fight Cameron alone."
Nagumo stepped forward. "That's reckless. Cameron is too strong."
Noa didn't look at him. "That's my burden. Yours is to keep the cultists away from us."
A soldier spoke from the crowd. "What if the cultists themselves are illusions?"
Noa nodded. "Possible."
Another voice followed, sharper. "Then explain this—if Cameron only creates illusions… how did he kill Thar with a spear?"
The camp froze.
That question hit harder than any enemy.
Noa exhaled slowly. "I've thought about that. What fought Thar looked like Cameron. Sounded like Cameron. Fought like Cameron."
His eye dimmed slightly.
"But I don't believe it was him."
Murmurs spread.
"Whoever it was," Noa continued, "we kill them. For Thar. Our shield."
The plan was set.
They searched every corner of the West Plaza—ruins, streets, collapsed towers.
Only one town remained.
Smoke rose from it.
Noa saw the invisible wall long before the others did.
"It's him," he said.
They rushed forward.
Noa stood before the unseen barrier, his eye blazing. Power surged through his arm as he punched forward—
The illusion shattered.
The soldiers flooded into the town.
What they saw made their blood boil.
Countless naked corpses. Children bound, burning. Cultists chanting as flames climbed—
The soldiers charged in fury—
And passed straight through them.
Illusions.
Cameron appeared behind them.
Darkness exploded outward, slamming soldiers to the ground like broken dolls. Only Noa, Zephio, Lunnaux, and Vipul remained standing.
They attacked together.
Lunnaux froze Cameron's legs. Zephio impaled his chest with water spears. Vipul struck his head with lightning. Noa stepped in—his punch aimed to end it.
The body vanished.
Illusion.
The real Cameron stood behind them, among the fallen.
A massive void circle bloomed beneath their feet, trapping them inside.
"You could have left," Cameron said calmly. "But Elysium soldiers never walk away from revenge."
Noa clenched his fists. "Doesn't matter. We'll still kill you."
"You will pay for Thar," Lunnaux growled.
Cameron spread his arms. "Then show me."
The Real Fight Begins
The void circle pulsed.
Darkness pressed in from every direction, warping sound and distance. The air felt thick, like breathing through water.
Noa's eye ignited brighter than before.
Cameron raised his hand—and the world fractured.
Dozens of Camerons appeared, each radiating killing intent.
Vipul struck first.
Lightning tore through three figures.
They vanished.
"ILLUSIONS!" Zephio shouted.
Water surged upward, forming a rotating barrier around them—but void spikes erupted from the ground, slicing through it. Zephio staggered back, blood staining his sleeve.
Lunnaux slammed his palms to the ground. Ice spread instantly, freezing shadows, anchoring reality itself.
"Noa!" he yelled. "Which one is real?!"
Noa's vision pierced deeper.
Pain screamed through his skull as his eye forced truth out of lies.
"There!" he roared.
Vipul vanished in a flash of lightning, reappearing above the real Cameron—
—but Cameron turned and smiled.
The lightning curved unnaturally and slammed Vipul into the ground, shattering stone.
Cameron formed a void spear—dense, real, screaming as it flew.
Noa caught it.
His hand burned. Flesh cracked. Reality fought back.
He gritted his teeth and shattered the spear with raw force.
For the first time—
Cameron stepped back.
"Oh?" Cameron said softly. "So your eye is evolving."
Noa advanced, blood dripping from his palm.
"This ends today."
Cameron's shadows rose like wings.
"No," he replied. "This is where Elysium learns despair."
The void circle began to collapse inward.
And the true battle—one that would decide Noa's fate—had finally begun.