The battlefield changed the moment the giant entered it.
Until now, the underlings had been dangerous because of their numbers. Endless waves. Relentless attacks. A war of attrition inside a world already trying to collapse around them.
But this—
this was different.
The armored giant standing beneath the floating fragment of Vijaya didn't feel like another soldier of the Entity.
It felt closer to a calamity.
Dark pressure spread endlessly from its body while distorted energy poured through the cracks along its armor like living shadows. Every step it took fractured the stabilized space Arin created moments earlier.
And worst of all—
it understood him.
Its hollow gaze remained locked onto Arin alone.
"Suryaputra."
The voice echoed again across the crater like distant thunder.
The underlings surrounding the battlefield retreated farther backward now, almost instinctively avoiding the massive figure entirely.
Even they feared it.
Arin slowly tightened his grip around Vijaya afterward while golden energy spiraled harder across the weapon.
The giant moved first.
There was no warning.
One moment it stood motionless beneath the fragment.
The next—
the battlefield shattered.
The massive figure crossed the entire distance instantly while distorted force exploded outward behind it. Arin barely reacted in time before an enormous fist crashed toward him hard enough to rupture the surrounding air itself.
He twisted sideways immediately.
The impact never touched him directly.
But the force alone destroyed everything behind him.
The crater split apart violently while stabilized space collapsed inward from the shockwave. Entire sections of floating debris were erased instantly.
Arin's eyes narrowed sharply afterward.
Fast.
Far too fast for something that size.
The giant attacked again before the battlefield even stabilized from the first strike.
Arin disappeared through spatial distortion just as another blow shattered the ground beneath him completely.
He reappeared several meters away instantly before thrusting Vijaya forward.
Golden-black energy erupted outward like celestial lightning.
The attack struck directly against the giant's chest—
and barely moved it.
The armored figure only staggered half a step backward before looking down calmly at the crack spreading faintly across its armor.
Then slowly—
the damage repaired itself.
Riven stared from across the battlefield in horror.
"…oh that's illegal."
Selene narrowly avoided another underling while looking toward the giant too.
"How is that thing regenerating?"
"No idea," Darin answered while forcing two enemies backward beside her.
"But Arin's actually struggling."
That sentence alone changed the atmosphere completely.
Because until now—
despite everything—
Arin always looked untouchable once the fighting truly started.
Even against impossible odds.
Even against reality itself.
But this giant—
was forcing him backward.
The battlefield exploded again as Arin blocked another devastating strike using stabilized space directly. Invisible force collided violently against the giant's arm while fractures spread through the surrounding air like broken mirrors.
For one brief second—
Arin actually stopped the attack.
Then the giant pushed through it anyway.
The stabilized space shattered.
Arin's eyes widened slightly before the impact finally connected.
The explosion that followed shook the entire Expanse.
Liora's breath caught instantly.
"ARIN!"
Smoke and broken debris erupted across the battlefield while floating ruins collapsed from the shockwave overhead.
For several seconds nobody could see anything clearly.
Then suddenly—
golden light burst outward through the dust cloud.
Arin emerged again while sliding backward violently across fractured ground. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth now while spatial distortions flickered uncontrollably around him.
And for the first time since entering the Expanse—
he looked strained.
The giant slowly stepped toward him afterward.
"You are incomplete."
The hollow voice echoed unnaturally.
"You cannot surpass the cycle."
Arin wiped the blood from his mouth quietly afterward while stabilizing space around himself again.
"…talk too much."
Then he vanished.
The battlefield distorted instantly as Arin launched himself forward again through folded space. Vijaya erupted toward the giant in a blinding arc of golden-black energy powerful enough to split the crater apart beneath them.
This time the giant blocked directly.
Its massive arm collided against Vijaya head-on.
The impact detonated reality itself.
The surrounding Expanse cracked violently while floating debris disappeared into fractured voids overhead. Even the underlings nearby were obliterated instantly from the force released between them.
But then—
the giant grabbed Vijaya.
Everyone froze.
Dark energy exploded outward from the giant's hand while the weapon trembled violently beneath its grip.
Arin's eyes sharpened instantly.
Because that should've been impossible.
Vijaya rejected everyone except him.
The giant slowly looked toward the weapon afterward.
"…fragmented."
Then suddenly—
it punched Arin directly through stabilized space.
The impact shattered everything.
Arin crashed violently across the battlefield while the ground beneath him collapsed inward repeatedly from the momentum. Several fractures tore open around him before stabilizing again moments later.
Liora immediately started moving toward him—
only for Kael to grab her arm.
"Wait!"
"But—"
"You'll die if you rush that thing directly."
Liora looked furious afterward.
"So what am I supposed to do?!"
Before Kael could answer—
Arin stood again.
Slowly.
But this time—
something was wrong.
The golden energy surrounding him flickered inconsistently now. Stabilized space around the battlefield trembled violently every few seconds like his control was weakening under pressure.
The giant noticed immediately too.
"You cannot maintain it much longer."
The words echoed calmly across the battlefield.
And worst of all—
it was right.
Arin could feel it now.
The strain inside his body kept growing heavier every second.
Holding stable space inside the Fractured Expanse while fighting this thing simultaneously was consuming enormous amounts of power.
His breathing slowly became uneven afterward while memories from his life as Aditya surfaced faintly again.
Space manipulation.
Distortion control.
Reality stabilization.
He mastered these abilities through countless years fighting the System itself.
But even then—
he never used them inside a place actively resisting reality itself.
The Expanse was fighting him too.
Every second.
The giant stepped forward again afterward while dark energy spiraled harder around its body.
And suddenly—
it disappeared.
Arin barely reacted in time before the armored figure reappeared directly behind him.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
The strike landed instantly.
Arin blocked using Vijaya at the last possible second—
but the force still sent him crashing downward hard enough to split the crater apart beneath him completely.
The battlefield trembled violently afterward.
Liora felt panic rising inside her chest now.
Because Arin wasn't winning anymore.
He was surviving.
Barely.
The giant slowly descended into the shattered crater afterward while dark energy expanded endlessly around it.
"You are weaker than the first."
Arin's body froze slightly.
The first Karna.
The giant continued calmly,
"He reached farther."
Those words hit harder than the attacks themselves somehow.
Arin slowly pushed himself upward afterward while blood dripped onto fractured ground beneath him.
His expression remained calm externally.
But internally—
something cracked slightly.
Because deep down…
part of him feared that might actually be true.
The giant raised one hand afterward.
Then the surrounding fractures opened wider again.
More underlings descended endlessly from broken space above.
The battlefield darkened completely now beneath the expanding storm overhead while reality itself destabilized harder around the crater.
And standing at the center of it all—
Arin finally realized something terrifying.
If this continued much longer…
he might actually lose here.