Dark clouds swirled overhead like a blanket suffocating the sky, painting everything in eerie purple. The city of Musicia looked empty now. The Musinites weren't dead—they'd escaped, lucky enough to flee up the stairs to Celestia.
But Musicia was wrecked. Like a whole chapter ripped out of history.
Buildings lay in ruins: splintered, collapsed, torn in half, leaning like they were one good push from crumbling. Smoke rose from broken rooftops. Cars and buses were everywhere—crushed, rusted, glass shattered across the streets like glitter. It wasn't just a wreck. It wasn't safe. It wasn't even a city anymore.
The whole place felt haunted. Power Gem-made Lunaranites circled the ruins like they owned them, flying between what few buildings were left standing. Thunder cracked, lightning flashed sharp across the purple sky. Beasts wandered the streets alongside them—creatures as dangerous as Lunaranites, maybe worse. Some of them were probably as deadly as Homicide the Hydra.
And if something's scarier than a Hydra summoned by Incarceration himself? Yeah. That's a real problem.
The seven walked along a cracked road, the pavement split wide like empty veins across the earth. Some buildings were missing whole sections. Others leaned against each other like tired giants holding each other up.
The war had absolutely destroyed this place.
Everywhere: distant roars, the flap of leathery wings, monster footsteps echoing off ruins.
Ella glanced around nervously. "Starla… Are you sure about this? This place does not look friendly."
Starla didn't even blink. "I don't care if we have to go through monsters themselves. We're helping them in Celestia. I know what I'm doing."
They pushed through the wreckage. No Soundanites in sight. No normal life left here.
Some building lights still flickered. Power lines crackled like the last sparks from a dead engine. Starla wasn't fazed. She kept moving, locked in. Focused.
They walked beneath the shadow of a crumbling building until they stopped in front of a tall, rectangular structure. The sign above was barely readable through all the grime: MUSICIA GAS.
The gas station was somehow still standing. Barely.
The green paint was covered in mud and rust. The windows were long gone—just broken glass everywhere. The walls inside were white once, maybe, but now grime coated everything. Leaves were scattered across the floor like a crunchy carpet.
Starla stared up at the building, then exhaled hard and turned away, hands on her hips.
"How are we even gonna find this place?"
Olsen crossed his arms, sitting on a chunk of broken concrete. "It's the tallest building here. How do you not know where it is?"
Starla snapped, "Well, it's not like you know!"
"Hey—guys. Chill," Prince cut in, raising his hands. "We all know Musicia's tallest building is hidden now. Between the damage and everything leaning on it? Of course it's hard to find."
Starla's face dropped. "Sorry for snapping. I just…" Her voice lowered. "I miss someone."
She sat down, tail swishing softly behind her, glowing faint blue and purple.
Ella walked over, hand on Starla's shoulder. "…Don's gonna be alright."
Starla nodded. "I know…"
They all got quiet for a moment. Archie stared up at the sky. Violet clouds swirled above, lightning arcing through them like electric veins.
Then—
"HUT TWO THREE FOUR! HUT TWO THREE FOUR!"
The shout echoed through the ruins. Everyone froze.
"Inside, now!" Olsen hissed.
The seven sprinted inside the gas station, ducking under windows, crouching low behind walls and empty shelves.
Footsteps. Stomping in sync. Getting closer.
Then: "AND HALT!"
The marching stopped. Starla slowly peeked up through the broken window.
Real Lunaranite soldiers.
Not the Power Gem fakes. The real deal—lined up perfectly, holding bows, spears, guns. Standing in formation, and in front of them: someone different.
A tall figure raised his spear high.
"OUR LEADER, KING DREADIXZ, HAS FALLEN TO THE CHOSEN ONE'S WRATH!" His voice thundered through the streets. "AFTER THE POWER GEMS BURST THROUGH AVANGARD, FAKE LUNARANITES FELL TO EARTH! OUR MISSION IS TO FIND AT LEAST ONE TO HONOR THE KING!"
"HONOR TO THE KING!" the soldiers roared.
Their leader wore a metal dog muzzle and a sharp-eared helmet shaped like a dog's head. His armor was deep purple, marked with swirling Celtic patterns. Red glowing eyes stared straight ahead.
Then—
He turned toward the gas station.
Starla dropped instantly, ducking out of sight. Her legs shook. Her breath caught in her throat.
She knew him. She remembered everything.
Dreadlock.
Dreadlock — Copy ElementDreadixz's personal meatrider and a little wild.
Third-in-command of the Lunaranites. Not as strong as Dark Don or King Dreadixz—but smart. Deadly.
Leathery black wings. Leathery black tail. Power Mimicry Element. He could copy anyone's powers for two hours—then wait twelve hours before doing it again. Worse, he could straight-up steal someone's Element for thirty minutes, ripping it right out of them.
His villain name wasn't just a name. It was who he was since birth.
Dreadlock had been a problem since Starla was a kid. One of the big three threats alongside Dark Don and King Dreadixz.
There were at least twenty soldiers out there.
Archie sat next to Demaurion, wings twitching nervously.
She peeked again.
Dreadlock was still there—talking, pacing, throwing around war commands or politics or whatever he was on about.
But Starla had an idea.
If she was going to get to the tallest building in Musicia… she'd have to do it without being seen. No mistakes. No second chances.
That building wasn't just tall. It was hanging by a thread. One wrong move and it'd collapse.
But if she didn't do it?
The risk for everyone else was even worse.
***
The battlefield of Celestia was nearly empty. No sunlight. Just a red, smoky sky choked with thick sheets of gas and clouds.
The sky looked like Scarletsville's—dark, sick orange, like something was burning forever.
There was no sun. Smoke swallowed it whole.
The ground? Total ruin. Blood everywhere—splattered, smeared, oozing from the bodies of Lunaranites and Celestianites alike.
Buildings were crumbled, cracked, bent out of shape, twisted like metal in a nightmare. Some leaned and creaked, groaning under their own weight.
Even now, some Celestianites were still out there fighting—spears and old-world rifles in hand.
The Lunaranites fought back harder. Claws. Teeth. More fake Lunaranites rained down from the sky, rolling across the ground like beasts, flipping back onto all fours like animals possessed.
Roars and screams swallowed the air. Explosions raced across the battlefield like lightning—one after another.
A Celestianite stabbed a Lunaranite in mid-air—only to get stabbed from behind two seconds later.
The sky wasn't even sky anymore. It was packed—millions, maybe billions—of alien birds flying through all that smoke and fire.
Flames lit up everything. Gunshots, yells, elemental clashes, monster roars. All of it at once.
Pure chaos. No corner left untouched. No cover. No silence.
Blood poured from soldier's mouths, from gaping wounds, like their bodies were trying to escape themselves.
And the Power Gems? They were almost there—glowing closer and closer to the Celestial Pillars.
The only light left in the sky came from a single beam—a bright, lightning-blue ray blasting up from the top of Celestia's Castle, punching through the clouds like a beacon.
All through the shattered Chanted Kingdom, buildings leaned and collapsed. Glass shattered. Fires burned endlessly. Cars—smashed, flipped, wrecked—lined the streets like metal tombstones.
A full-on war zone.
And in the middle of it all…
Only two figures left standing: Dark Don and Jaylen.
Jaylen was on the ground. Blood dripping from his mouth. Wings twitching. Tail barely moving. His hair hung messy over his face, cut up and bruised all over.
Slowly, he lifted his head—just enough to look up at Dark Don standing over him, smirking.
Dark Don's fists crackled with lunar energy, bright and dangerous, making the very air around him rumble like thunder waiting to hit.
He stood there, listening to the chaos—the screaming, the explosions, the monster roars. Then he looked down at Jaylen again.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… You could've done better, couldn't you?"
Jaylen coughed hard. Blood hit the dirt. His voice came slow and ragged. "I did my best though…"
Dark Don crouched, leaning down closer, eyes glowing. His voice dropped quiet.
"This is war, kid. Of course you tried. But maybe your best just wasn't enough."
He stood back up, gaze shifting over his shoulder toward the battlefield.
The sky was still crowded with alien birds. And on the far edge of the warzone, Jaylen's crew was still fighting—swinging, slashing, blasting their Elements, their beast powers.
Dark Don tilted his head, like he was sizing it all up.
"What are you gonna do now? Your friends are out there. Fighting an army of monsters. I bet they're getting tired…"
Jaylen's head twitched up again, eyes burning through blood and dirt.
"They'll never get tired of fighting for what's right," he muttered, voice low but steady.
Slowly, shaking, Jaylen pushed himself to his feet. His armor was cracked and nearly destroyed.
But he was still standing.
He wiped blood from his face, teeth clenched, eyes locked on Dark Don.
"Because with this…"
His voice snapped sharp. His energy flared. Cyan and yellow sparks danced around him.
"…IT ENDS NOW."