Monday, August 18, 1:20 PM, 3074 AE

"I commend you all for surviving this long against my clones," Echo Prime declared, his voice a cold and resonant boom across the battlefield. His pure white and swirling irises eyes scanned the heroes below, gazing upon them as a god would regard mere mortals. "But now that I have regained my true power, you... along with this entire continent, will be destroyed."

He laughed, a deep, guttural sound that echoed across the ravaged land. His laughter was cruel, devoid of humanity, like a tempest laughing at a shipwreck.

"How about you stop talking and start fighting," Blaze snarled, his violet eyes burning with fury. With a surge of power, he launched himself into the air, scythe poised for a lethal strike, its blade gleaming as it sliced toward Echo Prime.

"Far too slow," Echo Prime muttered with contempt. In an instant, he caught the scythe with a single hand, gripping the weapon like it was nothing more than a toy. Then, with a vicious spin, he hurled Blaze back to the ground with such force that the earth trembled. The impact created a massive crater, shaking the entire continent beneath them.

"Don't forget about me!" Scarlett's voice rang out from behind as she appeared in the air, spectral scythe glowing ominously as she swung it with deadly precision.

"Have you humans learned nothing? You are no match for my power." Echo Prime twisted his body with ease, dodging her attack, and retaliated with a flurry of kinetic punches. Each blow landed with a sickening thud on Scarlett's abdomen, stealing her breath. With one final strike, an axe kick to the back of her head, he sent her plummeting to the ground.

As his laughter filled the air once more, a sudden beam of light shot up from below, striking him squarely in the chest. The force of it pushed Echo Prime back slightly, his expression flickering in brief annoyance. He looked down to see Lyria standing defiantly.

"That was a mistake, brat," Echo Prime growled. Raising his hand, he released a deafening sonic blast, its frequency so intense that it caused Lyria's arm to explode into a mess of blood and bone.

"Lyria!" Blaze's voice was raw with panic as he dashed to her side, kneeling beside his injured sister. He quickly scanned the damage, his heart pounding. "Are you alright?" he asked, barely able to keep his voice steady.

"As alright as I can be with a mangled arm," Lyria chuckled weakly, clutching what was left of her arm. Her smile was pained, but her eyes were as fierce as ever.

Echo Prime, seeing them momentarily distracted, smirked. "Never take your eyes off your opponent," he said mockingly, charging another sonic attack aimed directly at them.

"I could say the same thing veil!" A voice, soft yet commanding, echoed through the battlefield as the air around them darkened. Darkness swirled up, creating a protective barrier that absorbed Echo Prime’s attack.

"Hmm, surprising indeed." Echo Prime’s eyes narrowed. "To think you stopped my attack… I'll just have to end you quickly."

With a sudden movement, Echo Prime summoned the dual swords once wielded by Echo Fang, the blades glinting with murderous intent. He lunged toward Cassie, slicing through the darkness as if it were nothing but mist.

Cassie, with her nimble reflexes, leaped out of harm's way, fading into the nearest shadow. She appeared behind Echo Prime for a split second, only to vanish again before he could retaliate.

"Running away now, are we?" Echo Prime taunted as his foot slammed into the ground. A violent earthquake shook the battlefield, tearing Cassie from the safety of the shadows and sending her sprawling. "You cannot escape me!" His swords came crashing down, the sheer force of the swing enough to tear the air apart.

But just before the blades could land, Cassie vanished again in a flash of lightning, reappearing in Riku’s arms as he caught her midair, his expression serious.

"You alright, Cassie?" Riku asked, setting her down gently. "I didn’t know you were here."

Cassie shook herself free from his hold, brushing the dirt off her clothes. "I'm fine, thank you," she said, her voice steady, but her gaze remained locked on Echo Prime.

"So, how do we defeat this guy?" Riku asked, frustration seeping into his voice. "He's far too powerful."

"All of us have to work together. That's the only way we stand a chance," came a calm voice from behind them. Kai approached, his staff glowing faintly in his hand. "What do you think, Blaze? Wanna team up?" His eyes turned to Blaze, who was still standing protectively over Lyria.

"Hn." Blaze glanced at his sister, then back up at Echo Prime, who floated above them like an untouchable deity. His grip tightened around his scythe. "Fine. I'll work together, but only because I’ve got a score to settle with him."

"Same here. No one hurts Lyria and gets away with it," Scarlett said, stepping up beside him, her face set in determination despite her injuries.

"Ugh, I-ill help too..." Lyria grunted as she struggled to her feet, wincing in pain.

"No," Blaze said firmly. "You stay here. We’ll handle this."

Lyria's face hardened. "I’m not staying back this time. I won’t just watch you fight while I do nothing." Her voice was laced with determination. "Not again."

Blaze sighed, his resolve weakening. He couldn’t deny the fire in her eyes. "Fine," he relented, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just… be safe, alright?"

As the group gathered, they quickly formulated a plan, their faces grim but resolute.

"Oh, this is quite the spectacle," Aeloria murmured to herself, watching from a distance. "To think Blaze would agree to work with anyone outside his team… Maybe he’s growing up after all." She let out a small laugh, her eyes twinkling with amusement behind her blindfold.

"Hmm, yes." Kazuo nodded beside her, his gaze never leaving the battlefield. "Even I wouldn’t have expected this. Perhaps he’s realized that brute strength alone won’t win this fight."

"Now, let’s see if they can truly defeat an opponent of this caliber." Aeloria leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the battle.

Echo Prime floated high above them, his hands raised to the sky. Power crackled around him like a storm brewing, his expression that of an uncaring god preparing to smite the ants below.

"What is he going to do?" Riku muttered, his eyes wide with concern.

They didn’t have to wait long for an answer. With a single, ominous word, Echo Prime uttered, "Sonic Rift."

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Space itself seemed to warp as the air around them distorted. Reality ripped apart, and from the rifts came waves of sonic slashes, tearing through the air with blinding speed. The group was struck simultaneously, their bodies recoiling in pain as the shockwaves hit them hard.

"Where did all that boasting go?" Echo Prime sneered, his voice dripping with malice as he looked down at the reeling Blaze. "Weren’t you saying you would defeat me?"

Blaze’s eyes, now glowing with a fierce violet hue, snapped upward. "Oh, trust me… I will defeat you." His voice was calm, but an ominous aura of violet and crimson swirled around him, growing thicker and more intense with every passing second. His violet eyes burned brighter than ever, an untapped power surging from within.

With astonishing speed, Blaze launched himself off the ground, leaving the earth beneath him trembling and cracking. He appeared in front of Echo Prime, swinging his scythe in a powerful arc, which was promptly blocked. Blaze was undeterred; with a fluid motion, he used his right arm to deliver a swift and forceful punch. The strike landed squarely on Echo Prime’s chest, sending him flying through the air.

Blaze glanced down at his hand, feeling the surge of energy coursing through him. His mind raced as he tried to make sense of the newfound power. "This 'Aura'... It's overwhelming. Is this what Ēteru no Eikō was referring to during my training? Power that I had yet to tap into?" His grip tightened, the aura flickering violently around his fist. "I haven't even begun to realize its full potential," he muttered to himself, clenching his hand with determination.

Before he could dive deeper into his thoughts, Kai ran up to him, excitement practically radiating off him. "Dude! What is that aura? When did you learn it? And more importantly, can I learn it?" he blurted out, his words tumbling over each other.

Blaze, still in a daze from his own discovery, turned to Kai with an exasperated sigh. "You ask way too many questions," he replied, shaking his head. "Even if you tried, I doubt you could learn it. Hell, I don’t even know how I unlocked it myself."

Kai looked slightly deflated, but before he could argue, Scarlett chimed in with her usual confidence. "Who cares how you unlocked it? All that matters is that now we have a better shot at taking this guy down." She twirled her scythe with an eager grin, the sharp edge gleaming in the sunlight.

Cassie approached the group, her expression unreadable as usual. "I have a plan to take down Echo Prime," she said, her voice low but filled with resolve. She quickly relayed the strategy, and without hesitation, everyone prepared themselves for the next phase of the battle.

Aeloria, standing off to the side, observed Blaze with narrowed eyes. "This aura... It doesn't feel right," she whispered, almost to herself.

Kazuo, always attuned to subtle shifts in energy, nodded in agreement. "Yes. There's something dark about it. Agonizingly malevolent. But I doubt the others can sense it the way we do."

As the group rallied together, Echo Prime regained his composure and flew back toward them, anger etched across his face. His dark wings stretched wide, casting long shadows across the ground. "Impressive power for a half-breed," he sneered. "But even with that, you are far from defeating me."

With a flick of his finger, the ground beneath them began to tremble violently, erupting with a series of explosions. Debris rained down around them, but Riku was the first to act, jumping high into the air and hurling multiple blasts of lightning toward Echo Prime.

Echo Prime caught the crackling bolts effortlessly, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he redirected them back at Riku. However, before the lightning could reach its target, a massive shadow appeared, absorbing the attack completely.

With a predatory grin, Echo Prime charged forward, twin swords shimmering in his hands. He moved with deadly precision, but Scarlett appeared before him, defying gravity as she floated midair, her ethereal scythe raised to meet his attack. The moment their weapons clashed, a deafening sound echoed across the battlefield, and Echo Prime’s swords began to rust and disintegrate before his eyes.

"My scythe absorbs all life force, both living and non-living matter," Scarlett said coldly, before delivering a powerful kick that sent Echo Prime flying straight toward Lyria, who was waiting.

Lyria’s lone functioning hand crackled with light, and with a yell, she swung her fist into Echo Prime's torso. The force of the blow reverberated through his body, and he coughed up blood as he was hurled into the air.

"Argh!" Echo Prime's cry of pain was barely audible over the rush of wind.

Before he could recover, Kai leaped into the air, his scythe raised high above his head. "Say night-night!" With a mighty swing, he brought the weapon down, smashing it into Echo Prime’s skull. The blow sent Echo crashing back down into the shattered earth with a resounding thud.

"Now, it’s time to end this!" Blaze roared, his scythe igniting with a violent mix of violet and crimson aura. He charged forward, swinging his weapon with deadly intent. The blade cut deep across Echo Prime's chest, a geyser of blood erupting from the wound and spraying across the battlefield.

Echo Prime, gasping for air and dripping with blood, glared at the group. "This... this is not over." He raised his hand in a final act of desperation, summoning all the power he had left. The force of his next strike caused the very continent beneath them to tremble. The sky distorted as if reality itself was bending. Cracks in the air began to form, spreading like fractures in glass. "This ends now!" he roared, releasing powerful sonic waves infused with wispy shadows.

The group braced themselves for the onslaught, but before the attack could reach them, Aeloria stepped forward. With a calm wave of her hand, the deadly energy dissolved into nothingness, fading like smoke on the wind.

"Seems like things are getting out of hand," she said with a smirk, her eyes gleaming behind her blindfold. "Looks like it’s our cue to get involved."

Kazuo nodded, launching himself into the air with explosive force. His feet detonated, propelling him high enough to deliver a devastating punch to Echo Prime’s face. The impact sent Echo Prime spinning helplessly to the ground, blood splattering from his shattered nose.

Meanwhile, Aeloria focused her power, stabilizing the collapsing continent and closing the dimensional rifts one by one. The sky began to clear as the chaos slowly dissipated.

Kazuo continued his relentless assault, dodging Echo Prime’s attacks with ease and delivering blow after blow, each one driving Echo Prime closer to death. As Kazuo raised his fist for the final strike, Blaze called out to him.

"Stop!" Blaze shouted, his voice steady yet fierce.

Kazuo paused, looking over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Blaze’s eyes burned with determination. "Let me finish him. I want to be the one to kill him."

Kazuo studied Blaze for a moment, then stepped aside with a nod. "Alright. He’s all yours."

Without hesitation, Blaze stepped forward, his aura flaring wildly around him. With a swift and merciless strike, he brought his scythe down, severing Echo Prime’s head from his body in a single, fluid motion.

As the blood pooled around Echo Prime's lifeless body, none of them realized the faint whisper that echoed into the Abyssal Rift—the home of the Kōsō. In his final moments, Echo Prime had sent a message, a warning to his kin about the group that had defeated him.

Monday, August 18, 2:54 PM, 3074 AE

Aeloria surveyed the battlefield, her gaze lingering on the tired, battered faces of the young students. Lyria’s mangled arm hung uselessly at her side, but despite their injuries, they had prevailed. Clasping her hands together, Aeloria smiled brightly. "Well, it looks like everything turned out alright. Why don’t we head back? You all could use some rest, and Kazuo and I will report to Principal Nakamura."

The group let out a collective cheer, grateful that the ordeal was over. As they turned to leave, Blaze lingered at the back, his mind consumed by the thoughts of the Kōsō. He knew this was only the beginning—there were stronger foes out there. Foes that would test his newfound power.

"I have to get stronger," Blaze muttered to himself. "I need to master this power... fully."

He fell in step with the rest of the group, but the weight of the coming battles pressed heavily on his mind.

As they walked, Kazuo suddenly stopped. "Wait a minute. Weren’t we supposed to be checking something else on this mission?"

Aeloria waved him off casually. "I already took care of it. No need to worry."

The sun shone dimly on the horizon as the group made their way back to Aurora City. Though the battle was over, the thoughts of future enemies and unknown challenges loomed over them. Would they be ready to face them? Would they have to fight alone?

In the celestial realm, Nyra had watched the entire battle unfold, her eyes glinting with interest. "So, Blaze has once again wielded that power," she mused, a faint smile playing at her lips. "He will be an intriguing foe indeed... Our time will come soon enough."

Unbeknownst to the group, it was Nyra who had blocked their senses, preventing them from detecting Echo Prime’s final message. She wanted to see how they would handle the impending storm that was about to fall into their hands.

The game had only just begun and she was ready to step it up more and more.