Sound returned slowly.
A high-pitched ringing—
Then—
Silence.
Sora's vision blurred.
White… fading…
Shapes forming.
The ground beneath him was cracked—
burned—
smoking.
"…Tch…"
He pushed himself up—
his arm shaking—
his body screaming in pain.
"…That… hurt…"
A few meters away—
Johan stood—
barely.
Blood ran down his arm—
his breathing uneven—
"…Sora…"
"…Yeah, I'm alive."
The village—
wasn't.
At least—
not fully.
Houses broken—
walls collapsed—
fires starting to spread—
Villagers scattered—
some hiding—
some crying—
some too shocked to move.
And at the center—
Something stood.
Not calm.
Not controlled.
Not human.
Vael'thorin.
His body trembled violently—
Aether leaking from him like cracks in reality—
No longer flowing—
Spilling.
Unstable.
His head hung low—
Shoulders twitching—
Breathing—
ragged.
"…Vael'thorin…" the chief whispered.
Slowly—
The figure lifted his head.
And Sora felt it.
A chill.
Not heat.
Not pressure.
Something worse.
His eyes—
were gone.
No glow.
No light.
Only—
black.
Empty.
"…That's… not good…" Sora muttered.
Johan's gaze sharpened.
"…He's lost it…"
A pause.
"…No…"
His voice lowered.
"…He's being taken."
Vael'thorin's body jerked—
violently.
Aether spiked—
exploding outward in jagged bursts—
destroying what remained of the ground around him.
"…GHH—!"
A sound escaped him—
inhuman—
broken—
wrong.
Then—
He vanished.
Not like before.
Not controlled.
Gone—
and—
CRASH—
He reappeared in front of Sora—
fist already swinging.
"…!"
Sora barely reacted—
raising his arm—
BOOM—
The impact sent him flying—
slamming through a broken wall—
"…TCH—!"
No pause.
Vael'thorin turned—
instantly—
toward Johan.
Johan reacted—
Aether shifting—
air compressing—
trying to slow him—
But—
it shattered.
Like glass.
"…What—?!"
Vael'thorin was already there.
CLANG—
Aether collided—
but the force—
overwhelming.
Johan was thrown back—
skidding across the ground—
"…His output increased…!"
Sora burst out from the rubble—
flames igniting—
"…HEY—!"
He dashed in—
closing distance fast—
A punch—
direct—
fire bursting at impact—
BOOM—
Vael'thorin didn't block.
Didn't dodge.
He took it.
His head snapped to the side—
but—
no reaction.
No pain.
No thought.
Then—
He grabbed Sora's arm.
"…!"
Too fast.
Too strong.
Sora's eyes widened—
"…Shit—!"
Vael'thorin slammed him into the ground—
BOOM—
The earth cracked beneath them—
Sora coughed—
air knocked out of him.
Then—
Aether surged point-blank.
"…GHH—!"
The blast sent Sora flying again—
his body crashing across the village square.
"…Sora!" Johan shouted.
But Vael'thorin was already moving again.
Erratic.
Unpredictable.
Violent.
Nothing like before.
Johan stepped forward—
forcing himself to focus—
"…His movements…"
A pause.
"…They're not precise anymore…"
Then—
"…but they're stronger."
Vael'thorin appeared again—
above him—
Aether gathering in his hand—
wild—
unstable—
Johan raised his arm—
compressing everything he could—
"…I won't—!"
BOOM—
The clash exploded—
Johan barely held—
his feet digging into the ground—
"…hold—!"
Crack.
His defense shattered.
The force sent him flying—
crashing into a broken structure.
Dust rose.
Silence—
Then—
"…Damn it…"
Sora stood again—
breathing heavy—
blood running down his face—
"…He's stronger like this…"
Johan stepped out of the rubble—
"…Because he's not holding back."
A pause.
"…Not even subconsciously."
Behind them—
"…Vael'thorin…!"
The chief's voice.
Desperate.
Broken.
Vael'thorin froze.
Mid-step.
For a second—
everything stopped.
His body trembled.
Violently.
"…Sto…p…"
The word slipped out—
weak—
fighting.
Sora's eyes widened.
"…He's still there—!"
Johan nodded slightly.
"…Yes—"
Then—
Something shifted.
Behind Vael'thorin—
For a moment—
Darkness gathered.
A shape.
Tall.
Distorted.
Watching.
Johan's breath caught.
"…Again…"
A presence.
Heavy.
Cold.
Wrong.
Then—
Gone.
Like it never existed.
Vael'thorin's body snapped upright.
The hesitation—
gone.
His head turned—
slowly—
toward the chief.
Sora's expression changed instantly.
"…No…"
Aether began to gather.
Not chaotic.
Not wild.
This time—
Focused.
Deadly.
Johan's eyes widened.
"…Sora—!"
But Sora already knew.
Vael'thorin raised his hand.
Aether condensed—
forming—
something sharper.
More precise.
More lethal.
And for the first time—
it wasn't aimed at them.
It was aimed—
at the chief.
"…VAEL'THORIN—!" the chief shouted.
Sora's body moved—
instinct screaming—
but the distance—
too far.
Johan reached out—
aether straining—
but—
too late.
The attack formed.
Complete.
Unavoidable.
And in that moment—
everything slowed.
Because this time—
he wasn't aiming at his enemies.
He was aiming—
at his father.