The battlefield had turned into a shattered graveyard of darkness.
Fragments of shadow soldiers floated slowly through the air like black ashes after a war. The ground of the Void of Fallen Universe was cracked in thousands of places, glowing faintly with the leftover energy of the devastating attacks Vicky, Luka, Aerito, and Arna had unleashed.
For a moment…
There was silence.
Heavy.
Suspicious.
Aerito rested his burning sword on his shoulder and looked around the battlefield.
"Well… I think that's the last of them."
Luka exhaled slowly while lightning sparks faded around his body.
"I hope so… because I'm starting to feel the fatigue."
Arna walked a few steps forward, scanning the broken ground carefully.
Her mirrors slowly dissolved into particles of light as she lowered her hands.
"Wait…"
She frowned.
"Something isn't right."
Vicky had been silent the entire time.
His crimson eyes were fixed on the battlefield.
Not the destroyed shadows.
Not the collapsing portals.
But the remains.
The shadow fragments.
They weren't fading.
They were moving.
Slowly.
Almost like…
They were alive.
"Everyone," Vicky said quietly.
"Step back."
The others immediately sensed the seriousness in his voice.
They moved closer together.
And then—
It began.
The shadow fragments trembled.
One by one.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Every piece of shadow soldier that had been destroyed started vibrating violently.
Luka's eyes widened.
"Uh… guys…"
Arna's voice trembled.
"They're… moving again."
Aerito narrowed his eyes.
"Don't tell me…"
Then suddenly—
WHOOSH!!
All the fragments lifted into the air.
Millions of tiny shadow pieces began swirling across the battlefield like a massive black storm.
The sky darkened completely.
The void itself seemed to tremble.
Aerito stepped forward slightly.
"So this was their real plan."
The storm intensified.
Every shadow fragment started merging together.
Fusing.
Condensing.
Forming something massive.
Something enormous.
The entire battlefield was shaking now.
Arna whispered nervously,
"This energy… it's unbelievable…"
Luka clenched his fists.
"Are they creating… a new monster?"
Vicky didn't answer.
His eyes were locked onto the forming mass.
The shadows continued fusing together.
The storm of darkness compressed itself into a single point.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A massive explosion of shadow energy erupted across the void.
The shockwave blasted across the battlefield, forcing Luka and Arna back several meters.
Even Aerito had to dig his blade into the ground to stabilize himself.
When the dust settled…
Something stood there.
Something enormous.
The Ultimate Shadow had been born.
It towered over them like a mountain of living darkness.
Its body was gigantic.
Nearly fifty meters tall.
Armor-like plates covered its body.
Long black spikes protruded from its shoulders and back.
Its arms were enormous, each one carrying the strength of thousands of shadows combined.
And its eyes…
Two glowing white stars burning in the darkness.
The creature slowly opened its mouth.
A deep roar echoed across the void.
The sound alone cracked the floating terrain around them.
Arna's voice trembled.
"That thing…"
"…is insane."
Luka stared at it in disbelief.
"All those shadows… fused into one?"
Aerito smirked slightly.
"Well… that explains the endless army."
The giant shadow lifted one of its massive arms.
Then suddenly—
BOOM!!
It slammed its fist into the ground.
The entire battlefield shattered.
Massive shockwaves exploded outward.
Luka barely dodged in time.
"Okay that thing hits WAY harder!"
Arna quickly raised her hands.
"Spatial Barrier!"
A blue shield appeared in front of them just as another shockwave hit.
CRASH!!
The barrier cracked instantly.
"It's too strong!" Arna shouted.
Aerito stepped forward calmly.
Flames erupted around his body again.
"Then we'll just break it."
He pointed his burning sword toward the giant shadow.
"Flare Technique…"
The flames behind him expanded into giant wings.
"—Solar Phoenix Blade!"
He launched forward like a meteor.
His blade struck the giant shadow's chest—
BOOOOM!!
A massive explosion of fire erupted.
But when the flames cleared…
The creature hadn't even moved.
Aerito landed and clicked his tongue.
"…Okay that's annoying."
The Ultimate Shadow slowly raised its arm again.
Then it swung.
WHOOSH!!
The speed was unbelievable for such a massive creature.
The attack sent a gigantic blade of shadow energy flying toward them.
Luka jumped into the air.
"Thunder Breaker!"
Lightning exploded from his blade as he cut the attack in half.
But the energy wave still pushed him backward.
"This thing is ridiculous!"
Arna clenched her fists.
Her eyes glowed brighter.
"Then we'll use stronger techniques."
She lifted both hands toward the sky.
"Spatial Art…"
Dozens of mirrors appeared around the giant creature.
"—Infinity Dimensional Cage!"
The mirrors rotated rapidly.
Beams of spatial energy fired from them simultaneously.
Thousands of cutting rays struck the Ultimate Shadow's body.
CRACK!!
Several cracks appeared in its armor.
Luka's eyes lit up.
"Nice! It works!"
But the creature responded instantly.
Its body began regenerating.
The cracks slowly closed.
Aerito sighed.
"Great. Regeneration too."
The giant shadow raised both arms.
Then suddenly—
Thousands of smaller shadow spikes shot out of its body in every direction.
"MOVE!" Luka shouted.
The battlefield exploded into chaos again.
Spikes rained down like deadly spears.
Arna dodged while maintaining the mirror cage.
Aerito burned the incoming spikes with flame attacks.
Luka sliced dozens of them apart mid-air.
But even with all that—
The Ultimate Shadow kept advancing.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Toward them.
Then suddenly—
It stopped.
Its glowing eyes locked onto Vicky.
The creature tilted its head slightly.
Like it was observing him.
Studying him.
And for the first time—
Vicky felt something strange.
Something familiar.
A strange sensation inside his mind.
His eyes narrowed.
"…Why?"
Arna noticed his expression.
"Master?"
Vicky stared at the giant shadow.
Something about it felt wrong.
Not dangerous.
Not hostile.
But…
Familiar.
Then suddenly—
A faint voice echoed inside his mind.
Not loud.
Not threatening.
Just a whisper.
"...Creator..."
Vicky's eyes widened slightly.
"…What?"
The giant shadow took another step forward.
The battlefield shook again.
But it didn't attack.
Instead…
It slowly lowered its head.
Like it was looking at Vicky closely.
Aerito noticed.
"…Why did it stop?"
Luka frowned.
"That thing was attacking like crazy a second ago."
Arna whispered,
"It's looking at Master…"
The giant shadow suddenly spoke.
Its voice echoed across the entire void.
"YOU…"
"FEEL… FAMILIAR…"
The air froze.
Luka blinked.
"…Did that thing just talk?"
Vicky's expression became serious.
Because the feeling in his mind was growing stronger.
Like an old memory trying to awaken.
Something hidden deep in the past.
The giant shadow raised its massive hand.
But instead of attacking—
It pointed directly at Vicky.
"YOU…"
"ARE CONNECTED…"
The moment those words echoed—
Vicky's mind flashed.
A sudden memory.
Dark laboratory.
Ancient runes.
A voice saying—
"Project Shadow Genesis… activated."
Vicky clenched his fist.
"…No."
Arna looked at him in confusion.
"Master…?"
The Ultimate Shadow took another step forward.
The ground trembled again.
Its glowing eyes burned brighter.
"YOU…"
"ARE THE ONE…"
"WHO CREATED US."
The battlefield fell silent.
Luka slowly turned toward Vicky.
"…Wait."
Aerito's smirk faded slightly.
"…Master?"
Arna's eyes widened in shock.
"Created…?"
Vicky's eyes slowly darkened.
Because deep inside his memory…
Something terrifying was starting to awaken.
And if the Ultimate Shadow was telling the truth…
Then this battle…
Wasn't against an enemy.
It was against something Vicky himself had created long ago.
The war inside the Void of Fallen Universe…
Had just become far more complicated.
And the truth behind the Rule of Code…
Was finally beginning to surface.