“Hmm…”

With its eyes narrowed, the massive Eden Ryuu Titan Avatar hung in midair, searching the heavens for any sign of Sorah. The old man had been sent hurtling skyward like a comet by the catastrophic Kana Beast Bomb strike, and he had vanished into the heavy cloud cover that had once covered the mountain top.

"Where is he? Did that old fool completely vaporize?"

He swept his gaze across the sky, searching for any sign of movement, any indication of his prey. But there was nothing. The old man had been completely obliterated.

"Kahless, sir!" a voice called out from below that snapped Kahless from his contemplation.

It was Warden Poahf still in her two-headed Cerberus Titan Avatar. "Do you see any sign of the old man?" she inquired.

Kahless shook his head. "No. I’ve annihilated him completely.”

"Well, that’s a score for us.” Poahf glanced at the ruined temple. "Tsk, those explosions from earlier… I need to check on the Duke. See if those Aerithrans have been dealt with.”

"Very well," Kahless replied. "Go and assess the situation inside the temple. I will remain here and keep watch. And Poahf..." He paused before saying, "Be careful. Those Aerithrans... they are more cunning and resourceful than we anticipated."

"Do not worry, my dear Vice-Marshall Commander. Those Aerithrans are no match for me. I will crush them all."

She howled, "Evaporate!"

Whoosh!

The Cerberus Titan dissolved into a cloud of Aether Steam, revealing Warden Poahf in her regular human form. She straightened her uniform, adjusted her Aether Sabre, and with a menacing stride, she headed towards the Rendil Temple.

'Yamul and Hamal must have captured the Aerithrans by now,' she thought. 'Those Imperial Guards possessed powerful Titan Avatars and they're not as incompetent as the Duke likes to believe.'

A sly smile crept across her lips. She was already envisioning how to get on the Duke’s good graces so that when he returned to the Capital with the captives, he wouldn’t bother to pursue her resignation from Nathor Prison Camp

"Hey, how's it going in here? Have you captured the-" Warden Poahf paused mid-sentence as she stepped into the temple's central chamber. She beheld a shocking scene before her.

Yamul and Hamal, the Duke's elite Imperial Guards, were sprawled on the ground. Ethereum Handguards – the very shackles used to suppress prisoners' Aether Steam – adorned their wrists. They were a tableau of bruised egos and wounded pride, groaning and cursing under their breaths.

'What the...?'

She quickly scanned the chamber, searching for the Duke and the Aerithran prisoners. She spotted Duke Theodore, bound in a cocoon of silken threads, struggling to free himself from the clutches of a fat worm with a voracious appetite. A young boy – Daichi, stood nearby, pointing an Aether Pistol at the Duke's chest.

Poahf glanced around the chamber and realised that aside from Woodworm, the scarecrow looking entity, the Duke, and Daichi, there was no one else in sight. The Aerithrans seemed to have all gone through the portal, including Brokk and Plutak.

A knot of confusion formed in her stomach as she tried to make sense of the situation. How on earth had the Aerithrans managed to escape? And how had this boy, this mere child, managed to capture the Duke and subdued Hamal and Yamul?

She observed the swirling vortex of light in the centre of the platform - the Cloud Portal, pulsing with energy and promising a pathway back to the Aerithra Kingdom. It seemed that the Rice Guru, with his enigmatic abilities, had somehow managed to reactivate the portal.

"That's another one through.“ After Bishane stepped through the portal, the Rice Guru turned to Daichi, who was still holding the Aether Pistol pointed at Duke Theodore and spoke gently, "Give me the pistol, young one. It's time to go home."

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Daichi hesitated for a moment, his gaze flickering between the Duke and the portal.

“I…”

He slowly lowered the pistol and began handing it to the Rice Guru.

“Good boy.” The Rice Guru patted Daichi's head reassuringly. "Now, go. Join your friends on the other side."

Daichi nodded and turned towards the portal, taking a tentative step forward. But before he could reach the swirling vortex, a loud, earsplitting scream echoed through the chamber, shaking the very foundations of the temple.

"YOU BASTARDS!"

Startled by the sudden shout, the Rice Guru and Daichi turned towards the source of the commotion. Standing at the entrance to the chamber, her face contorted with rage and her eyes blazing with fury, was Warden Poahf.

“Don’t stop, keep going!” The Rice Guru shoved Daichi towards the portal as he trembled with urgency. "Go, now! Before she reaches us!"

Her anger now fuelled by the sight of the escaping Aerithrans and the captured Duke, Poahf charged towards them. She drew her Aether Sabre and ignited it with a burst of pink energy.

“You’re not getting away from me that easily!”

Daichi hesitated, glancing back at the approaching Warden. He wanted to run, to escape through the portal and leave this nightmare behind, but he couldn't bring himself to abandon Sorah and the Rice Guru. He had to do something, to help them, to protect them.

“Hey, wait, hand me back the pistol.” Daichi reached out to grab it from the Rice Guru’s grasp.

"No get going.” The Rice Guru fought back and forced Daichi ahead.

Crack!

Suddenly, something crashed through the ceiling of the temple, plummeting from the sky, and hurtling towards them with incredible speed.

Whoosh!

“Huh! Is that…?”

Both Daichi and the Rice Guru stared is shock at the descending figure.

It was Sorah, or rather, what was left of him. His body was battered and broken, his clothes were torn and tattered, and his skin was covered in burns and lacerations. The once vivid golden-black glyphs of the Sage Curse have become dull and faded, their patterns warped and perverted. His limbs were lifeless and floppy, and he was unconscious.

Boom!

Sorah's body crashed onto the platform, landing directly on the central Cloud Stone. The impact created a disturbance that knocked the other Cloud Stones out of alignment and disrupted the portal's activation sequence. It quickly destabilized and flickered out of existence.

“No!” The Rice Guru cried out in dismay as he watched the portal collapse. Their escape route, their only hope of returning to the Aerithra Kingdom, was gone.

“Kyuuu!” Woodworm who became terrified by the sight of Sorah's broken body and the collapsing portal, scurried behind the Rice Guru and whimpered pitifully.

“This is… how can…?”

Daichi stared in shock at Sorah's mangled corpse. His was trying to make sense of the situation. His master, the man who had taught him everything he knew about martial arts, the man who had saved his life countless times, was dead. And it was all his fault.

'If... if I hadn't hesitated.' his heart pounded with guilt and despair. 'If I had just gone through the portal when the Rice Guru told me to...'

His hands trembled, and he dropped the Aether Pistol to the ground.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rocked the chamber as the pistol discharged. The emerald energy bullet shot forth with incredible speed, aimed directly at Duke Theodore who was still cocooned in Woodworm's silken threads.

“Kyuuu!” Sensing the danger, Woodworm scurried out of the way just in time as the energy bullet struck the Duke's chest with a sickening explosion.

Splatter!

Duke Theodore's body was obliterated instantly, reduced to a bloody mess of flesh and bone that splattered across the chamber walls.

“Huh! Your Grace!”

“It can’t be! It can’t be! It… can’t… be…”

"Argh!"

Yamul and Hamal screamed in horror as they witnessed the gruesome scene. They experienced a devastating mental trauma that caused them to frothed at the mouth then collapsed onto the ground unconscious.

Warden Poahf who had been charging towards the platform, froze in her tracks. She was in disbelief as she stared at the remains of Duke Theodore, scattered across the floor like discarded refuse.

"What... what have you done?" she yelled.

The Rice Guru stared at the mutilated body of the Duke, his leafy appendages quivering with astonishment and his straw cap dishevelled. "You... you killed him?" he asked Daichi incredulously.

Daichi, still in shock from what he had just witnessed, could only stammer, "I... I didn't mean to... I... It was an accident!"

"An accident?" the Rice Guru's voice cracked with disbelief. "You had the pistol in your hand. How is that an accident?"

"It's your fault!" Daichi cried, raising his voice in panic. "You tried to take the pistol from me, and then... and then..." He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

His arms trembled as he picked the pistol up from the ground. The steam discharging from the muzzle served as a reminder of the irreversible act that had just transpired.

“Arh…”

Suddenly, a groan from behind them snapped them out of their shock. They turned and saw Sorah's body stirring, his limbs twitching and his chest heaving.

"Master Sorah!" Daichi cried out, rushing to his side.

The Rice Guru followed closely behind. They knelt beside Sorah, checking for any signs of life.

"He's alive!" the Rice Guru exclaimed as he felt a faint pulse. "But he's badly injured. We need to get him to safety."

He began rummaging through the folds of his robes, searching for his medical supplies. "I have some healing herbs and salves that might help. But we need to get him out of here, away from those Sand Devils."

Rumble!

Just then, the entire ceiling above them shattered, and a massive head, sculpted from earth and wood, emerged from the opening. It was the dragon head of Kahless's Eden Ryuu Titan Avatar.