The void circle collapsed.
Not inward.
Downward.
The ground beneath them vanished into pure black, dragging reality with it. Gravity twisted. Sound died. Even Noa's eye flickered for a split second—and Cameron noticed.
That was enough.
Cameron moved.
He didn't teleport. He didn't vanish.
He stepped, and space bent to let him pass.
His fist slammed into Zephio's barrier, shattering it instantly. The backlash sent Zephio flying, his body skidding across the stone until he struck a ruined wall and went still, coughing violently.
"ZEPHIO!" Vipul shouted.
Cameron's shadow stretched—and pierced Vipul's side like a blade. Lightning erupted uncontrollably as Vipul screamed, crashing to one knee, blood dripping onto the cracked ground.
Lunnaux reacted, ice exploding outward in jagged spears aimed at Cameron's core.
Cameron caught one.
With his bare hand.
The ice blackened, then shattered into dust.
He grabbed Lunnaux by the throat and slammed her down, the impact creating a spiderweb of fractures beneath her body. Lunnaux gasped, frost dying out as her limbs refused to respond.
"One by one," Cameron said calmly, stepping over them. "Just like Thar."
That name snapped something inside Noa.
Noa charged.
His eye blazed brighter than ever before, forcing the void to recoil as he landed blow after blow—each punch tearing through illusions, forcing Cameron to block for real.
For the first time, Cameron was pushed back.
They exchanged strikes too fast for the wounded soldiers to follow—darkness against raw force, illusion against truth. Each impact cracked the air itself.
But Noa's breathing grew heavier.
Blood ran down his face.
His eye flickered again.
Cameron noticed.
"You're burning yourself alive," Cameron said softly. "Your body can't keep up."
Noa roared and lunged—
And the void opened.
A spear—not illusionary—formed directly inside Noa's chest.
Time froze.
Noa looked down.
The world went silent.
Cameron leaned close. "Tell Thar… you tried."
With a twist, he ripped the spear free.
Noa collapsed.
The glow in his eye vanished.
The battlefield froze in horror.
"Noa…" Zephio whispered, barely conscious.
Vipul tried to move. Failed.
Lunnaux screamed, dragging himself forward with frozen fingers. "GET UP—!"
But Noa didn't move.
The void began to dissolve. Cameron turned away, already done.
"Another Elysium legend ends here."
Then—
The ground trembled.
Once.
Twice.
A pulse surged through the battlefield.
Noa's body twitched.
Cameron stopped.
Behind him, a low sound echoed—not pain, not breath.
A heartbeat.
Noa's hand clenched.
Light ignited around both of his arms—not the glow of his eye, but something deeper. Ancient. Dense. Heavy.
Noa stood.
The wound in his chest sealed—not healed, but overwritten, as if reality itself refused his death.
His eye remained dark.
Instead—
Both his hands burned with blinding power, symbols crawling across his skin like living fire.
Cameron slowly turned, eyes narrowing for the first time.
"…That power," he said. "You died."
Noa raised his head.
"I did."
His voice wasn't louder—but it carried.
"I saw it. The space beyond fear. Beyond illusion."
He stepped forward.
Each step cracked the void beneath him.
"My eye showed me truth," Noa continued. "But this—"
He clenched his glowing fists.
"—this is Dominion Form."
The air screamed as pressure exploded outward, blasting Cameron back several meters. Illusions shattered instantly, unable to exist near Noa's hands.
Noa vanished.
Reappeared.
His glowing fist slammed into Cameron's torso.
Not darkness.
Not illusion.
Impact.
Cameron coughed violently, crashing through multiple ruined structures before skidding to a stop, stunned.
Noa stood above him, hands blazing like twin stars.
"You killed my shield," Noa said quietly.
"And now—"
He raised his fist.
"You face what rises after death."
The air trembled around Noa.
His glowing hands distorted the void itself, each movement tearing illusion from reality like rotten cloth. Cameron staggered to his feet, blood—real blood—dripping from his mouth and staining the ground.
"So this is what comes after death," Cameron muttered, wiping his lips. "How fitting."
He raised both hands.
The void answered.
Darkness condensed around Cameron's body, wrapping him like armor. His form twisted—shadows sharpening into jagged edges, illusion and reality fusing imperfectly. The ground cracked as pressure exploded outward, throwing rubble into the air.
Noa didn't hesitate.
He charged.
The clash was deadly.
Noa's glowing fist slammed into Cameron's guard, shattering layers of void. Cameron countered with a blade of compressed darkness that sliced across Noa's side, tearing flesh and sending blood spraying across the stones.
Both were thrown back.
Zephio tried to rise—failed—his legs refusing to obey as blood pooled beneath him. Vipul forced lightning through his broken body, launching a desperate strike that barely grazed Cameron's shoulder before fizzling out.
Lunnaux screamed and drove ice spears upward from the ground, impaling Cameron's leg and pinning him in place.
"For Thar!" Lunnaux roared.
Noa saw the opening.
He gathered everything—every ounce of pain, rage, and loss—into his glowing hands.
"This ends—NOW!"
He struck.
The impact detonated like a collapsing star.
Light and darkness collided, swallowing the town in a blinding shockwave. Buildings crumbled. The void circle shattered completely, fragments dissolving into nothing.
When the light faded—
Cameron was on one knee.
His armor was gone. His body was torn, blood pouring from deep wounds across his chest and arms. One of his eyes was completely dark, unresponsive.
He laughed.
Low. Broken.
"Heh… you really are a curse, Noa."
Noa staggered forward, hands dimming, blood pouring from his reopened chest wound. His legs shook violently.
"Run," Noa said hoarsely. "Or die."
Cameron's smile widened—but there was fear in it now.
"Your not Cameron and i know it. " Noa said
"So who are you? "
"Another day," he replied. "You will know it"
The shadows beneath his feet spread.
And then—
He vanished.
Not shattered. Not killed.
Gone.
The battlefield fell silent.
Noa stood there for a moment longer.
Then the glow vanished from his hands.
His body gave out.
"Noa—!" Zephio shouted.
Noa collapsed face-first into the rubble, unconscious once more.
Around him, the survivors lay broken.
Vipul coughed blood, lightning finally fading. Lunnaux collapsed beside him, ice melting into water. Zephio leaned against a shattered wall, barely breathing.
Footsteps echoed.
Weapons were raised weakly—until familiar voices cut through the smoke.
"Hold your fire!"
Figures emerged from the haze—fresh Elysium troops, banners torn but standing strong.
At their front—
Hisano, blade resting on her shoulder, eyes sharp with concern.
Beside her, Rose, her hands already glowing with healing energy, horror flashing across her face at the sight before her.
"What in the gods' name happened here…?" Rose whispered.
Hisano's gaze locked onto Noa's fallen body.