"Where did the Leader go?" Riku's voice cracked with genuine shock. "He can't possibly be that fast!"
In the space between heartbeats, Helios materialized directly behind him. A jagged, manic smile stretched across his face as he launched a heavy diagonal slash. Riku, acting on pure survival instinct, felt a sudden spike in the air pressure behind him and dove to the side just as the steel whistled through the air.
How did he get this fast? Riku's mind raced. Even in a state of madness, a fresh Seeker shouldn't have this kind of raw velocity!
"I'm not losing to a novice," Riku hissed. He flooded his blade with dark energy, unleashing a wave of black, crescent-shaped slashes that tore through the air toward Helios.
Helios didn't flinch. Instead of dodging, he channelled a surge of crimson Spiral Power into his left hand, manifesting a glowing, red gauntlet of spectral armour. He swiped his hand through the air, shattering Riku's dark energy as if it were glass.
"The Leader... he's actually overpowering Riku," Nova noted, his voice strained with concern. "Should we step in?"
"No," Rio countered, his eyes narrowed. "Riku hasn't played his best hand yet."
"You mean he's going to use his Summon Realm on a rookie?" Sara added, her tone mocking. "How embarrassing for him."
"Be careful what you wish for," Ray muttered. "The Leader's strength in this manic state is hovering near High-Rank, but his control is nonexistent. Look at his hands."
Helios's gauntleted hand began to split, blood seeping through the red energy as the pressure became too much for his flesh. He didn't seem to care; he simply forced more energy into the wounds, stitching them back together even as he moved.
"You're still a beginner," Riku shouted. "Your control is garbage!"
Helios didn't respond with words. He closed the distance in a blur, his sword suddenly wreathed in the same red energy Riku had used. He swung a massive wave of crimson force, but Riku dissolved into the floor just before impact.
"Come out, you little rabbit," Helios said, his voice dropping into a sinister, melodic rasp. "Are you going to spend the rest of our fight hiding?"
Riku flickered into existence to Helios's left, his blade coming around in a killing arc. Helios caught the strike on his hilt, the metal screeching. Before Riku could retreat, Helios pivoted and drove his own blade deep into Riku's shoulder.
"How does that feel?" Helios whispered, his black eye staring into Riku's soul.
"How..." Riku gasped, clutching his bleeding shoulder. "How can I be wounded by someone who just learned to breathe this energy?" His frustration finally boiled over. "Fine. Playtime is over, Leader. Welcome to the Land of Shadows."
With a roar of power, Riku expanded his spirit. The training room didn't just fade; it was swallowed. The team, Luna, and the combatants were suddenly standing in a world of absolute monochrome. Mountains of jagged obsidian rose toward a sun made of swirling black smoke, and the very ground felt like it was made of liquid ink.
"In here," Riku's voice echoed from everywhere at once, "I am immune to physical harm. And my strength? It's ten times what it was outside."
Helios looked around, his grin growing wider and more terrifying. Wisps of black smoke began to leak from his eyes like funeral veils. "What an interesting place," he rasped. "The mountains, the sky... all born from shadows."
Riku vanished into the terrain. Suddenly, obsidian swords erupted from the ground beneath Helios's feet. He flooded his legs with energy and leapt high into the air. His calves burst under the pressure again, but he healed the trauma mid-flight. Riku lunged from the 'sky' above, trying to impale him, but Helios was simply too fast. He twisted in mid-air, and Riku disappeared back into the darkness.
Helios landed lightly on a shadow-dune and chuckled. "Since you were so kind as to invite me into your home... I suppose I should show you mine."
"Since when does the Leader have an ability?" Nova asked, bewildered. "Did I miss a chapter?"
"If you did, why would we tell you?" Sara snapped, though her eyes were glued to Helios.
"It shouldn't be possible," Ray whispered. "In a state of madness, power increases, but the ability to speak or use complex skills usually vanishes. He's... evolving."
"The name of my ability," Helios announced, his voice carrying over the shadow winds, "is Sovereign Nightmare. I can call forth the creatures I have slain. They return stronger than they were in life, their forms perfected. The only downside? If they're too powerful, they might try to break their chains."
He threw his hand back. Behind him, a massive, rusted iron gate tore through the shadow-ground. Two colossal skeletons, draped in heavy chains, gripped the sides of the gate and forced it open.
"Let's see who wants to play," Helios laughed.
From the freezing mists beyond the gate, a line of Knight Lords marched out in perfect formation. At their lead was an upgraded version—a general, clad in armour that seemed to drink the light.
"Arthur," Helios greeted, his laughter echoing. "It's been a while since you tried to kill me. Now, look at you. Kneeling."
True to his word, the entire undead army dropped to one knee before Helios.
"I've never seen monsters like that," Ray muttered, his researcher's heart racing. "I need to study them."
"Unless you weren't listening, Ray, those are the second forms of Night Walkers," Sara said. "Creatures he killed in the Veiled World while claiming his crown."
"But where's the Baron?" Nova asked. "Helios killed him too. Why isn't he in the army?"
"Either the Baron is currently too strong for Helios to control," Sara theorized, "or the upgrade would make him powerful enough to break free and kill us all."
Riku's voice drifted from the shadows, though he sounded less confident now. "It doesn't matter how many pets you have! You can't touch me! I am a shadow ! I am everywhere!"
Helios looked bored. He leaned on his sword, staring at the black sun. "You idiot. Did you forget? You don't have unlimited energy. Eventually, you have to manifest. Eventually, your realm will collapse. And I'll be waiting."
He gestured to his skeletal army. "And if you think my nightmares will fade when I get tired, think again. They have their own internal source of spiral power. They aren't going anywhere... unless you're strong enough to kill them all over again."
Helios's black eye fixed on a spot in the darkness. "So, Riku. How long can you stay hidden?"
Would you like to see Riku try a desperate final move within his realm, or should the "Madness" finally take full control of Helios? Then keep reading