The water exploded in a curtain of foam as the two colossal serpents emerged from the great river. Their bodies, wrapped in darkness and shadows, rose toward the sky like living towers before crashing against the ground of Twilight with an impact that made the earth tremble.
The manifestations crumbled, dissipating into torrents of black and gray energy. Sunny and Uriel fell to the ground, their human forms returning as dust and debris rose around them like a shroud.
Sunny was covered in terrible wounds. His tunic, torn to shreds, revealed deep cuts that bled essence. His breathing was irregular, and every movement cost him monumental effort. But his eyes—those dark eyes that had seen so much—still burned with a fire that refused to go out.
Uriel, on the other hand, seemed almost unharmed. His worn black tunic barely showed scratches, and his single red eye gleamed with mocking light. The corruption had strengthened his body, making him more resilient, faster, more lethal. He stood with almost theatrical elegance, stretching his arms as if he had just woken from a nap.
"Is that all?" Uriel asked, his voice distorted but clear. "After all that spectacle, is this all you can offer?"
Sunny forced himself to stand. Every movement was agony, but he refused to give up. He manifested ancient shadows, calling upon the echoes of his lineage, and a gigantic recreation of himself began to form around him. The figure was imposing—a colossal version of Sunny wrapped in darkness, with the Sword of Solace in one hand and the emerald jian sword in the other.
Uriel observed the manifestation with interest. "Interesting. But do you think that's enough to stop me?"
The jian sword, enormous and brilliant, descended upon Uriel with the force of a meteor. But the Corrupted Terror leaped, avoiding the blow with impossible agility. His body transformed in midair, becoming an enormous black dragon whose wings darkened the sky. He opened his maw and unleashed a column of black flames that engulfed the shadow manifestation, scorching its surface.
Sunny grunted, feeling the pain through his connection to the manifestation. But he didn't give up. The jian sword moved again, cutting the dragon's wing and tearing a roar of pain from it.
"That's it!" Sunny shouted. "Feel the pain! Feel what it's like!"
But Uriel only laughed. "Pain? You think this is pain? You know nothing, Sunny. You don't know what it's like to lose everything. You don't know what it's like to be consumed by darkness."
The dragon twisted, its black flames intensifying. Sunny's manifestation began to crack under the assault, and the jian sword wavered. Uriel seized the moment to attack, his claws tearing through the manifestation's chest.
"You're pathetic, Sunny," said Uriel, his voice resonating from the dragon. "You let yourself be carried away by your rage and emotions. Emotions are weakness. If you want power, you must take it. Without hesitation. Without feeling. Only action—cold, relentless, and selfish. You're nothing more than a mindless beast."
Sunny's manifestation collapsed. The jian sword fell to the ground, and the colossal figure crumbled into a torrent of shadows that dissipated in the wind. Sunny fell to his knees, his body battered and bleeding, his breath ragged.
Uriel landed before him, his human form returning. His single red eye looked at Sunny with contempt.
"See? Even now, with all your power, you're nothing but a slave. You always will be."
Sunny clenched his fists. Rage consumed him—a rage so pure and visceral it nearly blinded him. The Crown of Twilight, still under its enchantment of wrath, commanded him to fight, kill, destroy his enemy. His prey. His.
But even in the midst of that fury, something deep in his mind whispered that it wasn't enough. That rage wouldn't save him. That it would only lead him to his doom.
Uriel advanced, his hand extended to deliver the final blow. But then, a fragment of soul at least a meter in diameter began to fall from the sky, shining with white and pure light.
Uriel's eyes widened and he cursed. "No! That's...!"
Before he could finish the sentence, the explosion occurred. A blinding light, a burst of concentrated energy that only affected Uriel, engulfed him completely. All of Twilight trembled from the impact, and Uriel's body of darkness dissipated, leaving the Corrupted Terror with massive burns across his entire body.
The explosion had thrown him several kilometers from the area, launching him into a desolate wasteland where Nephis had self-destructed. Uriel fell to the ground, his body smoking and shattered. He barely had enough energy to remain standing.
He slowly rose to his feet, his single eye burning with deep hatred. He formed a sword of darkness, but its form flickered, unstable, from lack of essence.
"That damned... Changing Star," Uriel growled. "Even dead, she manages to wound me."
He turned, and then he saw her. Cassie stood there, wearing different armor. An immaculate white tunic, with golden transcendent metal protections. A helmet with a visor that kept her eyes hidden, and on her back, two white wings that shone with celestial light.
Uriel recognized that armor. It was the one he had given her in the past—a third-level transcendent armor. He had created it to protect her, to give her a chance to survive in the darkest moments.
And now, she wore it to face him.
"So this is where everything is decided?" Uriel asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"Yes," Cassie replied, holding her Silent Dancer. The curved blade gleamed with cold light, ready for the final strike.
Uriel looked around. The wasteland was desolate, empty. Only him and Cassie. Two solitary figures on a battlefield that had witnessed too much death.
"Do you think you can kill me?" Uriel asked, a twisted smile on his face. "Do you think you're strong enough?"
"Strength isn't what matters," Cassie replied. "Only opportunity."
Uriel laughed—a weak, broken laugh. "You were always the smartest, Cassie. The one who saw beyond. The one who knew when to strike."
"And I also know when to let go," she said, her voice soft but firm.
Uriel didn't respond. He simply lunged forward, his sword of darkness aimed at Cassie's heart. But before he could reach her, an arrow pierced his chest.
Kai arrived from the sky, his bow still vibrating from the shot. "Cassie! Now!"
Cassie moved. Her Silent Dancer traced a silver arc, and before Uriel could react, the blade pierced his heart. Then, with a fluid motion, she cut his body diagonally.
Uriel fell to the ground with an incredulous expression on his face. His single eye looked at Cassie, and for a moment, something like peace gleamed in it.
"Thank you..." he whispered, barely audible.
His eye faded forever. Uriel's body, finally free from the corruption, lay motionless on the ground.
Cassie only heard the Spell's voice in her mind.
[You have killed a Corrupted Terror: Abyss Contemplator]
[You have received a Memory]
Cassie sighed, lowering her weapon. "That was the only way," she murmured to herself.
Kai landed beside her, his face tired but relieved. "Is it over? Is it finally over?"
Cassie nodded slowly. "Yes. Uriel is dead. We just need to return to Fallen Grace and from there head to the Verge to finish the Nightmare."
Kai looked at Uriel's body, his expression a mixture of sadness and relief. "He would have wanted it this way. He would have wanted us to stop him."
"I know," Cassie replied, sheathing her Silent Dancer. "That's why I did it."
"Let's give him a proper burial. It's the least we can do," said Cassie, feeling a knot begin to form in her throat.
Kai summoned a Memory—a black cloak—and carefully wrapped their friend's body in it.
When he finished, he walked alongside Cassie toward where the others were.
---
Elsewhere, Mordret sighed. It had been a pity—the death of such a marvelous future vessel as the Dark Lord. An overwhelming power, capable of exerting crushing will.
But now it was impossible. He was merely a corpse. He shook his head in denial at such a lamentable outcome. Mordret moved through the reflections. He could sense that soon the Third Nightmare would end.