The ruins were silent.
Dust drifted through the shattered streets.
Every eye was fixed on Kael.
White flames danced around his body, calm and steady, unlike the wild blue energy that had once threatened to consume him.
Even the air felt different.
Aetherion spoke softly.
"The First Synchronization is complete."
Kael looked down at his hands.
The power felt... lighter.
Not because it was weaker.
Because it finally obeyed him.
Across the battlefield, Nysera watched without blinking.
"So this is the form you were protecting."
Her crimson eyes narrowed.
"Interesting."
She vanished.
Kael barely had time to react.
A crimson blade flashed toward his neck.
Clang!
White starlight erupted from his arm, forming a barrier just before the strike landed.
The impact shattered the ground beneath his feet.
Kael slid backward several meters.
He steadied himself.
He wasn't smiling.
But he wasn't afraid either.
"You've changed," Nysera said.
Kael met her gaze.
"So have you."
For the first time, Nysera laughed.
"A good answer."
She raised both hands.
The darkness around her condensed into dozens of floating crimson spears.
Each one hummed with terrifying power.
"Let's see how long that confidence lasts."
The spears shot forward.
Kael closed his eyes.
He didn't dodge.
He listened.
To the rhythm of Aetherion's power.
To the flow of the starlight.
Then he moved.
One step.
A twist.
A single sweep of his hand.
The white flames spread outward like a wave.
The crimson spears dissolved the instant they touched the light.
The surviving hosts stared in disbelief.
"He... erased them."
Orion smiled faintly.
"He's finally learning."
Nysera's expression became serious.
"So the Last Core has begun to awaken."
The ground shook again.
Not from Nysera.
From Kael.
A circle of glowing symbols appeared beneath his feet.
Ancient markings.
Older than the city itself.
Aetherion's voice echoed in his mind.
"You've unlocked the first Star Art."
Kael frowned.
"Star Art?"
"An ability once used by the Core Bearers."
White light gathered in Kael's palm.
It wasn't violent.
It was silent.
Focused.
Pure.
Nysera's smile disappeared completely.
"I see..."
She took a slow step back.
"So you truly are his heir."
For the first time since the battle began—
The Devourer King chose caution.
Far above the battlefield, hidden beyond the clouds, a pair of golden eyes watched everything unfold.
A hooded figure stood motionless in the sky.
They whispered a single sentence.
"The prophecy has begun."
Then they vanished without leaving a trace.