Ryo stood in the void-like expanse, the battlefield stretching endlessly around them, a swirling sea of shimmering stars and rippling cosmic waves. Each breath he took felt heavier, the weight of the Arbiters' presence pressing down on him. Their luminous weapons crackled with divine energy, casting long, eerie shadows across the fractured ground beneath them.

Halcion raised his halberd, its edge gleaming with an oppressive light. "Do you understand your folly now, mortal? Resistance is as futile as the wind trying to erode the stars."

Ryo chuckled weakly, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Oh, I understand plenty, Halcy. You're compensating for something with that overgrown glow stick, huh? No judgment. Happens to the best of us."

Halcion's singular glowing eye blazed brighter, his patience thinning. The other Arbiters exchanged glances but held their positions, encircling Ryo like predators closing in on wounded prey.

"You dare mock us?" Halcion snarled, his voice a thunderclap that shook the dimensional fabric.

Ryo shrugged, swaying slightly but still managing to look nonchalant. "I mean, someone's gotta keep the mood light. You're all doom and gloom. Me? I'm here for the vibes."

With a furious roar, Halcion lunged, his halberd splitting the air with a sound like shattering glass. The others followed suit, their combined assault forming a dazzling cascade of divine light and raw power.

Ryo moved with precision born of desperation, each step a carefully calculated evasion. He ducked under a spinning flail, sidestepped a sweeping blade, and leapt over an energy whip that cracked dangerously close to his ankles. His eyes darted between his attackers, assessing their movements, their timing, their weaknesses.

"Nice teamwork, fellas!" Ryo called, narrowly avoiding a strike that gouged a deep fissure in the ground. "Do you rehearse this stuff? Or is it just, like, a natural sibling rivalry thing?"

The Arbiters didn't respond, their focus unyielding. Halcion's halberd came down again, and this time Ryo's reflexes almost failed him. The blade grazed his side, searing his flesh and leaving a glowing scar that pulsed with residual energy.

"Alright, that's gonna leave a mark," Ryo muttered through clenched teeth, clutching his side. His violet energy flared weakly as he stumbled backward.

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In the chaos of their assault, Ryo's fingers brushed against a crystalline core embedded in the cracked ground—the remains of a golem from a previous battle. He recognized its potential immediately, a fleeting moment of clarity cutting through the haze of exhaustion.

"Oh, hello there," he whispered. "Don't mind if I borrow you."

Without hesitation, Ryo pressed his hand against the core, allowing its raw energy to flow into him. The violet light around him grew brighter, more erratic, as the core's chaotic essence melded with his own. It was a reckless move, one that sent searing pain through his body, but it bought him precious seconds.

The Arbiters paused, sensing the shift in energy. Halcion's eye narrowed. "Desperation."

"Innovation," Ryo corrected, his voice strained but defiant. "But you're close."

With renewed vigor, he launched a counterattack. A whip of violet energy snapped out, striking one of the Arbiters and sending them sprawling. Another blast shattered a shield, forcing its bearer to retreat. But even with the added power, Ryo was still outmatched. Every move drained him further, and the Arbiters' unrelenting assault began to take its toll.

"What's the matter?" Halcion taunted, circling Ryo like a predator. "Your stolen power not enough to save you?"

"Oh, it's plenty for this daddy," Ryo replied, panting heavily. "I just figured I'd give you a sporting chance. Wouldn't want to ruin your egos too badly."

The quip earned him a crushing blow from Halcion's halberd, sending him skidding across the ground. Stars swirled in his vision as he struggled to rise, his body trembling from the strain.

And then, he felt it—Orion's gaze, cold and calculating, watching from a distance. The Watcher's silver eyes glimmered with a quiet intensity, and Ryo knew that if he revealed too much of his latent power, Orion would intervene even though it might cause severe backlash from the laws. The thought sent a chill through him.

"Alright," Ryo muttered, his voice barely audible. "Time for Plan B."

He straightened, his violet energy flaring one last time. The core in his hand began to glow dangerously bright, its unstable energy threatening to detonate. The Arbiters hesitated, sensing the impending explosion.

"Chaos Implosion!" Ryo shouted, slamming the core into the ground. The resulting burst of energy was cataclysmic, a blinding surge that tore through the battlefield, scattering the Arbiters like leaves in a storm. The fabric of the dimension rippled violently, fragments of starlight spiraling into the void.

In the confusion, Ryo activated his escape plan. Summoning the last of his strength, he screamed "Plane Traversal," his form flickering as he vanished into a rift in the fabric of reality. The Arbiters' furious cries echoed in the empty expanse as they scrambled to regroup.

Orion's eyes widened, his composure slipping for the first time. He had not anticipated this—Ryo's ability to escape under such dire circumstances, let alone the ingenuity required to outmaneuver the Arbiters. Plus the hidden power, that predated the pantheon he belonged too.

As the battlefield fell silent, Orion turned his gaze to the empty space where Ryo had stood. His voice contained unease, as he telepathically sent a memory message to all the pantheons.