The air trembled.
Everything slowed the moment it descended.
The creature hovered above the ruined streets of Vireon, its massive form twisting between shadow and storm. The sky bent around it, as if even the heavens feared its presence.
Elian couldn't move.
Not because he was weak.
But because he remembered.
The fire.
The destruction.
The moment everything was taken from him.
"…you…" he whispered.
The wind roared violently around him.
"It remembers you…"
The creature shifted.
Its shape flickered—unstable, yet overwhelming.
Then—
It spoke.
Not with a voice.
But directly into his mind.
"You survived."
Elian's eyes widened.
"…what are you?"
A pause.
The world itself seemed to listen.
"I am what remains… when the storm is taken."
Kael's expression darkened slightly.
"…so it finally speaks," he murmured.
Lyra glanced between them.
"…you both understand that thing??"
Elian clenched his fists.
"…it's the one that destroyed my village."
Silence.
Lyra's expression changed.
"…then we end it."
The creature moved.
Without warning—
A massive force crashed down.
"MOVE!" Kael shouted.
Elian reacted instantly—
He twisted the air—
Redirected the impact—
BOOM.
The ground shattered as the attack missed them by inches.
But the creature didn't stop.
It raised both arms—
The sky answered.
Dark currents spiraled downward, forming a vortex of compressed force above the battlefield.
The wind screamed.
"Elian… this is not normal…"
"I KNOW!" he shouted.
The pressure increased.
Stronger than anything before.
Lyra slammed her hands into the ground.
"Get behind me!"
Stone erupted upward, forming a massive barrier.
Kael didn't move.
He watched.
Carefully.
The attack came down.
CRASH.
The barrier shattered instantly.
Lyra was thrown backward.
"LYRA!" Elian shouted.
He moved—
But the creature was faster.
It descended sharply—
A massive force struck him directly.
BOOM.
Elian slammed into the ground, the air knocked out of his lungs.
Pain spread through his body.
"…I can't…"
The wind flickered weakly.
"Elian… get up…"
His vision blurred.
"I'm not strong enough…"
The creature hovered above him.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then—
"Weak."
The word echoed inside his head.
Something inside him snapped.
"…shut up…"
The air around him trembled.
"I said… shut up!"
The wind surged violently.
But this time—
It wasn't guiding him.
It was reacting to him.
Elian pushed himself up.
His body shaking.
His eyes burning with something new.
"…you don't get to call me weak."
The creature moved again—
Faster than before—
But this time—
Elian didn't dodge.
He stepped forward.
Into it.
The air exploded around him.
A violent burst of force collided with the creature mid-air—
BOOM.
The impact shook the entire battlefield.
The creature was pushed back.
For the first time—
It lost balance.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"…so it's reacting…"
Elian stood there, breathing heavily.
"I don't need to understand everything…"
The wind roared.
"I just need to fight."
The creature stabilized.
Then—
It changed.
Its form grew darker.
Heavier.
More solid.
The sky above twisted violently.
"It's evolving…" Lyra whispered weakly from the ground.
Elian clenched his fists.
"…then so will I."
Kael stepped forward.
Finally.
"…don't get ahead of yourself," he said.
The air around him—
Went completely still.
Even the storm paused.
The creature froze.
For a brief moment—
It couldn't move.
Elian looked at Kael.
"…what are you doing?"
Kael didn't answer.
His eyes locked onto the creature.
Cold.
Focused.
"…this ends soon."
The wind whispered—
"Elian… this is not just your fight…"
Elian took a deep breath.
"…then let's finish it together."
Above them—
The storm collapsed inward.
The battle—
Was reaching its peak.