"JAVIER! JAVIER, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Keyler's voice cracked as he dropped to his knees beside his fallen friend.
Javier didn't respond. His eyes were shut tight, face pale, and his body limp. But he wasn't gone—Keyler felt the slow thump of his heartbeat against his back as he lifted him up.
It was weak, but it was there. There was still hope. The skies above were still drenched in that haunting scarlet red. The battlefield below had gone quiet—Celestianites gathering in hushed clusters, watching as the last of the fake Lunaranites retreated. Everyone's eyes were drawn upward, past the blood-colored clouds, to the real storm unfolding beyond the atmosphere.
Don and Dark Don—two sides of the same soul—were locked in a relentless tag-team brawl with Incarceration, their strikes lighting up space like fireworks. Beside them loomed Dreadixz, now fully transformed into some kind of Galactical Dragon, his form so massive it made the stars look like dust.
He launched enormous lunar beams into the void. Dark Don fired back with ruthless blasts. Don spun through the chaos with pinpoint kicks and pure speed, clashing with Incarceration over and over again—each impact echoing like thunder. Don wasn't just fighting for survival. He was fighting for his friends. For Avangard. For everyone below who looked to him as their last hope.
The soldiers on the ground slowly lowered their spears, eyes locked on the sky. Silence spread like a wave. Even Starla, usually calm and composed, looked up with worry all over her face. Finally, Keyler staggered toward the rest of the crew, Javier still on his back. His legs trembled with exhaustion. "Lonnie! Heal him!"
"I'm on it!" Lonnie Mae replied, her voice sharp with urgency. Four vines instantly burst from her back, snaking toward the ground as she crouched. Keyler gently laid Javier down.
Off in the distance, Power sat with his arms crossed, watching everything unfold in space like it was some divine event. Lonnie leaned over Javier and did a quick check. Her vine gently tapped his chest—yes, there was still a heartbeat.
But she checked again for a pulse… nothing. She cursed under her breath, then stood up and closed her eyes. Two more vines erupted from her back, now six in total.
They wrapped around Javier like protective serpents, lifting him slightly off the ground.
"This is going to take a while," she said through gritted teeth. "I'm gonna need every vine I've got."
Power watched from afar, still silent. The war in space only grew louder, brighter—blinding flashes cut across the sky, massive shockwaves tore through the atmosphere, and the sound of teleportation blasts echoed like roaring cannons.
Every eye in Avangard was locked on the sky. In Iris Town, the largest screen mounted atop the clocktower flickered to life, the news blaring into the night. A breathless reporter stood in front of a crowded street, villagers, children—even pets—huddled behind him, watching the sky.
"This is Breaking Avangardian News!" the reporter shouted into his mic. "We're witnessing a live cosmic battle above our world—Don and Dark Don versus an evil Zenith and a galactic dragon. Is this the end? We don't know—but we're watching history in the making!"
In Eclitsic, another broadcast cut in: "Eclitsic News confirms: Don the Celestianite and his rival-turned-ally Dark Don have joined forces against Incarceration and a colossal dragon beast. This… this could be the final stand."
News anchors across the globe chimed in:
"Is this the end of Avangard?" "Is the world… cooked?" "We need to pray for Don the Celestianite—he's giving it everything!" "Lock your doors, stay indoors! This isn't a drill!" "A prophecy kid versus a cosmic monster and a Zenith? This might be the craziest event in our history!"
Through all the noise, the fear, the disbelief, Power stayed quiet. Thinking. Processing. He didn't know how this would all play out. But there was one thing he did know deep in his soul: Don and Dark Don were going to win this fight.
***
In Deep Space
Incarceration sighed. "Hope… is nonexistent."
His twelve nightmare-filled eyes blinked out of sync, glitching like a corrupted video file. He turned to me.
"Don… have you really forgotten who you are?" His voice sharpened, slicing the air. "You were nothing. They laughed at you—thought you were—entertainment, too stupid to fight his own shadow. You were never meant to matter."
I scoffed, smirking. "So what?" I said. "That was before."
I pointed straight at him, defiant. "They didn't know me back then—but they do now. And I know them. You're stuck in the past like it's a prison… but I broke free."
I looked down at Earth. My people. My team. From here, I could see everything—cities glowing, fans cheering, a banner flying through the sky:
'Let's Go Don — The Celestianite King!'
For the first time, I felt it—not just power. Purpose.
I turned back to Incarceration, my grin unshakable. "If it weren't for Olsen, Prince, Demaurion, Archie, Ella, Power—and yeah, even Starla…" I exhaled, my breath glowing like starlight. "I'd still be lost in my Scourge Don arc."
Incarceration's glare collapsed into something ugly.
"You think you've won?" he snarled. "You've still got Dreadixz to face."
He gestured.
The titan loomed beside him—planet-shadow massive, blotting out constellations, breathing starlight like smoke dragged from dying suns. Every exhale bent the void, gravity shuddering like it wanted to kneel.
"I may not be the final fight," Incarceration hissed, venom slick, voice coiling like a whip, "but to end that prophecy—"
His eyes ignited. Red fractals crawled outward, spreading like a living infection.
"I'll end you myself."
The universe paused.
No stars flickered.
No light moved.
I didn't blink. Didn't breathe.
Celestial energy stirred along my arms—not bursting, not flaring—hunting. Jagged veins crept over my skin, coiling around muscle and bone, vibrating impatiently—KRRZZT—static rain snapping through the vacuum. The void itself began to whine, stretched thin, trembling like glass under a hammer.
"You wanna know something, Incarceration?" I said.
Too calm. Dangerously calm.
"I'm not afraid of you."
Beat.
"Or Dreadixz."
The power answered.
It surged—not outward, but upward—a spiraling column of violet-white radiance, climbing the air, peeling reality apart as it rose. Halos of light snapped into existence around my hands, rotating, folding, fracturing, breaking apart into ribbons that lashed and recoiled.
"Because this power?" My voice sharpened. "It isn't just mine."
I raised my hands—
Light lunged.
FWOOOOSH.
Energy flooded outward in crescent waves—not exploding, charging, sawing through the dark as molten lightning spilled like liquid fire. It crawled over the void, climbing nothing, devouring everything.
"It's theirs," I said. "Everything they gave me."
My eyes snapped open.
Violet-white fire burned behind them, fractured starlight, frozen radiance snapping and reforming with every heartbeat.
The air around my hands shuddered.
WHUM—WHUM
Two curved daggers peeled from the glow—celestial violet, crystalline, alive, edges fizzing with static mist. They didn't hum. They snarled.
I crossed the hilts. Slammed them together.
BOOOOOOM.
The light collapsed inward—spiraling, compressing, folding—until a double-bladed sword ignited in my grip. Radiant. Brutal. Its core pulsed like a living heart, constellation-shaped fractures crawling along the edge, ribbons of light snapping back like leashes.
Behind me—
Dark Don stepped forward.
The void bent around him, warping, folding. His lunar spear ignited in his grasp—not summoned, forged—white lightning crystallizing into frozen moonfire. Arcs raced along its length—KRAK—KRRRSH—hammering gravity flatter.
I leveled my blade. Reality recoiled.
"You wanna erase hope?" I said.
Beat.
"Too bad."
I stepped forward. The ground didn't crack. Space did.
Energy surged up my spine, raced down my arms, spilled from the blade in spiraling sheets. Thunder didn't echo—it chased me.
"Because legends—"
The sword flared, halos stacking along its edge.
"Never—"
The light detonated outward in a storm of crescents and spirals.
"Die."
BOOOOOOM.
We launched.
Not forward. Through.
Shockwaves ripped the void into burning ribbons—KRAAASH—as Incarceration tumbled through stars, carving a screaming trench through space.
"DON'T LET HIM RESET!" I roared.
Dark Don flickered. Gone.
FLASH.
We blink-stepped. Reality stuttered—vanish, reappear. Smeared afterimages, violent brushstrokes of light slashing across the battlefield.
BAM.
My blade arced through Incarceration's chest as Dark Don's spear punched down from above. A halo of afterimages stacked—mirrors collapsing inward—each strike landing like a drumbeat.
DOOM. DOOM. DOOM.
I twisted mid-warp, momentum spinning me, slashed—
SHRRRRAAASH.
Violet energy sawed through armor, hurling him beyond the system. Space folded inward after him like a wounded animal.
Color exploded.
A nebula swallowed us whole—liquid fire clouds, fractured starlight bleeding into spirals. Gravity twisted sideways. The horizon scarred.
I sprinted through nothing. Space peeling backward beneath my steps.
Dark Don ghosted above me.
"Up."
His spear flickered.
WHAM.
Incarceration rocketed skyward. I frame-skipped beneath him, inverted, and brought my blade down—
Lunar-charged axe kick.
KRA—BOOOOOOM.
He punched into a yellow planet. Crust shattered outward—SKRRRAAAASH—continents folding like paper.
I dove after him, wrapped in spiraling fire—
DOOOM.
The world screamed.
He blinked behind me. Fists blurred—machine-gun fast—RATATATATAT—pressure detonating with every miss.
I weaved, blade flashing. "TRY AGAIN!"
I kicked upward. Dark Don snapped above, spear blazing like a falling star.
"Stay down."
BAM.
Divine impact. Stone vaporized. Flame climbed the sky.
CRACK.
My jaw snapped sideways as Incarceration warped mid-impact.
"UN-AMUSING!"
"TALK LESS!"
I spun with the blow, dragged my blade through him, kicked him into a magma-deep crater—SSSSHHHH—liquid fire geysering upward.
Red nightmare energy coiled in his palm—thick, devouring.
"DON—MOVE!"
The beam fired. I blinked aside, crossed my blade—
WHRAAAAM.
Deep space swallowed me whole.
"We run now?" Incarceration howled.
"We reload," Dark Don growled.
BOOM BOOM BOOM.
Weapons first. Faster. Heavier.
One clean slash—
SHRRRASH.
I sent him screaming into a burning star.
"Too bright?" I shouted, diving after him.
Dark Don hurled the spear.
"Let's turn it off."
KAAAA—BOOOOOOM.
The star collapsed into nothing. Silence.
Then—
WHAM.
Incarceration ripped Dark Don out of space and smashed him into me.
"DARK!"
"I'M STILL ALIVE—HIT HIM!"
The Nightmare Blast erupted—crimson, endless. We zigzagged through annihilation fire—FWOOOOSH BOOM KRAASH—space peeling backward.
"YOU CAN'T STOP A GOD!"
"WATCH ME!"
FLASH.
Reality cracked. We fell into a warped dimension—broken stars bleeding color, gravity screaming sideways.
A spider limb snapped around my torso—WHRRRSH.
I severed it mid-wrap, sparks spraying like shattered galaxies.
Incarceration ghosted in—hundreds of strikes collapsing into one violent moment.
"BREAK!"
CRACK.
I flew.
Before I drifted—Dark Don flickered in, caught me, spun once—
BOOOOM.
Launched me back like a living missile.
"DON'T DIE ON ME!"
"NOT TODAY!"
Celestial flame detonated around me—spirals, halos, molten lightning pouring from my fists.
Incarceration seized Dark Don by the throat. Red annihilation charged.
"DARK DON!"
"I'VE HAD WORSE!"
I warped in, crossed blades with the beam—
KRRRSHHH.
Spacetime split. Dark Don vanished into distant systems. My heart stopped.
Then I snapped.
"HOW DARE YOU."
Space bowed as I grabbed Incarceration's arm and hurled him skyward.
"YOU TOUCH MY RIVAL—YOU ANSWER TO ME!"
Both hands rose. Power ripped through bone and soul.
"ULTRA DISTINGUISH!"
KAAAAAAAA—BOOOOOOM.
The beam dragged him through constellations, buried him in a shattered world.
I landed beside Dark Don.
"…You hit harder when you're terrified."
"I was aiming for furious."
Dust fell. Stars dimmed.
Then—
One red eye opened.
"Behind—!"
Dark Don severed the limb—SHRRK
Incarceration laughed.
"YOU TWO JUST DON'T LEARN!"
My aura detonated. Blade and spear spiraled together—
DRRRIIILLL.
The planet split. Silence.
Then—
King Dreadixz descended.
Planet-sized. A living galaxy.
I grinned.
"All in."
Dark Don hovered beside me.
"Try not to die before the real fight."
"No promises."
My sword ignited—twin supernovas burning along its edge.
"If I land one punch," I muttered,
"it's over."
I faced the king.
"You're a king and all…"
Celestial fire wrapped me—white, gold, screaming blue.
"But even kings die someday."
I drifted forward.
No sound.
No wind.
Just the vacuum pressing in—cold, heavy—like the universe holding its breath.
This wasn't silence.
This was an ending loading in.
"This is it, Dreadixz," I said. My voice didn't shake.
A beat.
"Your end."
SPACE FLINCHED.
Reality folded inward like it got punched in the gut—
—and King Dreadixz detonated into existence.
Nova-blue and blinding white energy exploded outward, ripping the void apart. His body reforged mid-air in violent stages—armor plates slamming together one by one, violet and hyper-charged blue locking in with thunderous CLANGS, like a war god assembling himself frame by frame.
His hair ignited—towering flames of cyan and white surging upward, a burning crown clawing at the dark. Behind him, a massive tail of stellar fire whipped and cracked, carving glowing scars through space like a living sun dragged on a chain.
He clenched his fists.
Star-white power flooded outward, pressure screaming.
"Don," he said, his voice echoing across layers of existence,
"this is your final battle. One you won't return from… nor remember."
I rolled my shoulders. Cracked my knuckles.
Energy hummed up my arms, lighting my veins.
"Cool," I muttered.
"Let's get unhinged."
We vanished.
Not moved.
Not flew.
Gone.
The distance between us collapsed into nothing.
I surged forward—
he flickered back.
Space folded like paper between heartbeats. I slipped past his shoulder—
GRIP.
His hand snapped around my arm and hurled me.
I turned into a comet.
Galaxies smeared into violent streaks as I spun—vision tearing—then I blinked, snapped behind him mid-throw—
—and SLAMMED my shoulder into his spine.
KRAAAAAASH.
A supernova shockwave detonated, ripping the vacuum apart. Dreadixz spiraled backward, crashing through a nebula in space—a raw, screaming dimensional wound.
I chased him through it.
Up.
Down.
Sideways.
Everywhere at once.
I swept his leg mid-fall—
blink-stepped—
KICKED.
My heel detonated against his back and blasted him straight out of the rift.
I skidded across starlight, boots dragging sparks from nothing—then rocketed forward, a blazing celestial brushstroke, fists ignited.
"TA—"
My punch hit his guard—
—and his counter crashed into my ribs.
Galaxies didn't metaphorically break.
They shattered.
Glass-fractured.
Gone.
Time stuttered.
I spiraled away, snapped above him—
"RAH!"
DOUBLE HAMMER.
Both fists crushed down on his skull and fired him through the void like a divine meteor.
He flipped instantly—gravity inverted—then launched upward—
LEG. TO. TORSO.
The kick detonated.
I screamed through space, smashing through planets—worlds dying behind me in silent, blooming explosions.
He followed.
Bouncing off moons.
Skipping across debris.
Firing blinding white beams that sawed through the dark.
I stopped mid-air.
Dodged.
Deflected.
Absorbed one—
—and fired it back, violet and screaming.
BOOOOOOM.
Stars ripped apart as Dreadixz was hurled across the void.
He charged back, lunar energy roaring, fists striking in blinding combinations. I weaved—slammed both palms into his chest—
—and reality collapsed.
We tore through fractured dimensions like bullets through glass.
SLAM.
EXPLODE.
Separate.
Reconnect.
He grabbed me.
WHAM—WHAM—WHAM.
His fists crushed into my face, launching me through layer after layer of existence.
We flickered back—
CLASH.
Again.
This time—
TIME RIPPED OPEN.
Past.
Present.
Future—bleeding together.
He flipped over me and spiked my face downward—
BOOOOOOM.
We punched a hole through time itself.
I twisted mid-fall, spun like a broken star, shattered through an infinite realm—
—and burst back into the universe.
I flew across the cosmos—
SMASH.
His forearm crushed into me, launching me through a planet.
I ricocheted off galaxies—
TIME FROZE.
Dreadixz stood inches from my face.
Eyes burning like collapsing stars.
A thousand punches.
One millisecond.
I twisted—grabbed his arm—flipped—
—and THREW HIM THROUGH ANOTHER PLANET.
He snapped his fingers.
Energy morphed into missile-like blasts.
I tore through them, fired ultra-celestial disks—
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM.
Shockwaves stacked. Space glitched around my body.
I reappeared in front of him—
DROPKICK—
He vanished.
Reappeared.
Backhanded my arm aside.
We blinked.
Clashed.
Detonated space with every collision.
He carved open space and hurled me toward a planet.
I slammed across its surface, obliterating a mountain.
He struck down.
The planet screamed.
Nova energy erupted around him like an apocalypse pillar.
I blinked forward.
FISTS COLLIDED.
Pure destruction—strike, counter, twist, evade—
His backhand sent me spinning.
I reappeared behind him—rained celestial blasts—
He vanished.
So did I.
The sky fractured. Shockwaves stacked into planetary earthquakes. Galaxies tore apart in the distance.
He grabbed my face—
—and drove a nova punch through time and space.
Then slammed me into glowing ground—
BOOOOOOM.
The planet nearly split.
I flashed behind him—
—and unleashed a titanic beam of ultra-celestial fire.
Space screamed.
It hit—
—and vanished.
He smirked.
"That all you got?"
He grabbed my throat. Warped us violently through shredded dimensions—
I reappeared behind him mid-warp—
CRASH.
Space split open.
Then—
darkness.
My domain.
Silence.
I snapped my fingers.
Five celestial flames ignited.
I vanished—reappeared at his chest—
—and drove my fists forward with the weight of an ending.
BOOOOOOOOM.
Reality shattered.
We were thrown.
Not through space—
through everything.
Past.
Present.
Future.
A single blink became a thousand wars.
We tore through the First War—pyramids of Markilao towering beneath crimson skies. Celestianites and Lunaranites crashed together in tidal waves of steel and flame. Spears streaked like meteors. Fire split the air. Dust slammed the ground so hard it rang.
CLASH.
The world shattered—
—and reformed—
—and shattered again.
Dreadixz split from me mid-warp and drove his fist into my face.
BOOM.
"THIS IS MY DESTINY!"
We blurred.
Celestia burned.
Towers folded inward like dying stars. I uppercut him through a collapsing spire—
"I FOUGHT FOR DOMINANCE!"
He backhanded me across molten terrain—Flamenites clashing with Coeananites, lava bursting skyward as bodies flew—
"I NEEDED SILENCE!"
Space swallowed us again.
He spiraled, then hammered me toward a planet. I skidded across atmosphere, flickering—glitching—frames snapping in and out.
Flashes.
Everywhere.
Celestia exploding.
Class 101 still fighting.
The Chosen Ones—battered, bleeding, standing.
Archie hurled explosions through gritted teeth, blood streaking his face. Olsen swung with shattered arms, refusing to fall. Crowds screamed. Duke fired neon blasts into the sky. Dark Don clashed with Incarceration, their powers tearing holes in the horizon.
It all hit me at once.
Worlds colliding inside my chest.
SLAM.
Planet surface.
Energy rippled outward. I buckled.
Dreadixz hovered above me, lunar maelstrom screaming around his body. Dark light crawled across his armor as he leaned close and whispered—
"What do you think this is, Don… a game?"
His voice trembled with rage and conviction.
"This is the fate of Earth. And you don't treat it like it matters."
Flashes.
Soldiers falling.
People cheering.
Every continent.
Every soul of Avangard screaming at once.
A celestial tear slid down my cheek.
I whispered, my voice cracking but unbroken,
"This was never a game. And Earth's fate won't be in your hands… or anyone's."
He froze.
Then he grabbed my head and slammed me into his chest. I coughed celestial blood.
"You wanted dominance," I said, forcing the words out.
"You wanted silence. And look at you—look at what it turned you into."
His grip loosened.
For the first time—
his eyes cried lunar light.
His armor shimmered, jagged, cracking under its own power. He shook violently.
"NOTHING ABOUT ME HAS CHANGED!" he roared.
"I'VE ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY! HOW COULD A CHILD LIKE YOU—"
He shoved harder—
"—CHANGE ME?!"
My palm ignited.
I pressed it to his leg. Sparks danced. The fury in my voice burned, but it hurt to speak.
"You slaughtered thousands of Celestianites. Turned on your own tribes. Burned worlds just so you could own something beautiful… alone."
He staggered. Confused. Eyes darting.
I softened.
"Think about everyone you hurt. When you finally understand that… you'll see it."
I swallowed.
"All of this… was for nothing."
He clutched his head.
The ground erupted.
Celestial fire surged from the planet's core, devouring him in white-and-blue flames. His armor scorched, disintegrating piece by piece. His body shook as his own power turned against him.
"You have one chance," I said, slow and final.
"Submit. To me. To everyone."
My fingers glowed.
"Or I snap—and you're erased from reality."
Dreadixz froze.
Nova-lunar energy spiraled wildly around him. Neon blue. Blinding white.
Then—
doubt.
He shut his eyes.
"I… choose… death."
My hand trembled.
I didn't want this.
"I don't want to end you knowing you could change," I said quietly.
"You have a heart. You care. And I refuse to kill you for the wrong reason."
He exhaled.
His shoulders collapsed.
Tears streamed down his face, glowing faintly.
"I don't believe…. you," he whispered.
"Even if you slaughter me…. you'll never win,"
A bitter smile.
"Anybody will try to kill you, any soul will try to kill you, there's gonna be some point where you forcefully meet your demise…"
He met my eyes.
"That demise—implies that the Chosen Ones—should have never been chosen."
He glares at me. "Ever…."
I looked at my fingers.
Energy flooded them. Every atom screaming.
A breath.
Then—
I snapped.
Violet light detonated.
White. Infinite.
Space bent.
Time cracked.
Stars flickered.
Universes trembled.
Then—
silence.
He was gone.
So was I.