As we arrive at the Yosuga residence, the scene that greets us is nothing short of apocalyptic. The once-pristine grounds have been transformed into a battlefield, scarred by the raw fury of unleashed magic. Jagged icicles jut from the earth like crystalline daggers, their surfaces reflecting the chaos around us. Craters pockmark the landscape, still smoking from the force of impacts. Patches of ground smolder with residual flames, while pools of water shimmer ominously, their surfaces unnaturally still. The air itself seems charged, heavy with the lingering remnants of expended power.

Amidst this devastation, my eyes lock onto two figures locked in fierce combat – Kai and Tempest. Kai’s form pulses with the unmistakable aura of his Absolute mode, his movements a blur of deadly precision. Nearby, Rishia and Kaden are holding their own against a swarm of Holders, their faces etched with grim determination.

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to focus despite the chaos swirling around us. “Darius, Noarin,” I call out, my voice cutting through the din of battle, “back up Rishia and Kaden. I’ll assist Kai against Tempest.” My gaze falls on Lyra, and I add, “Lyra, guard Spica with your life."

We spring into action without hesitation. My bow materializes in my hands as I dash towards Kai, loosing a volley of arrows to cover his flank.

Tempest’s lips curl into a sardonic grin as he notices our arrival. “Oh, look,” he drawls, his scythe whistling through the air as he pushes Kai back, “the cavalry has finally arrived.” He leaps backward, putting some distance between us.

Kai lands beside me, his chest heaving with exertion. I nock another arrow, keeping Tempest in my sights. “Nice work holding down the fort,” I say to Kai, trying to inject some levity into the dire situation. “Sorry for the delay.”

“Better late than never,” Kai pants, hands on his knees as he catches his breath. “What about those magical beasts? Did you deal with them?”

I grimace, remembering the seemingly endless horde we left behind. “We… had to make a tactical retreat. But I have a feeling they’ll be joining us soon.”

Kai runs a hand through his hair, exasperation clear on his face. “Damn, seriously? You’re bringing more trouble to our doorstep?”

I can only shrug, feeling equally frustrated. “They just kept coming, man. Retreating was our only option until your SOS came through.”

Alright, boys,” Tempest’s mocking voice cuts through our exchange. He settles into a fighting stance, his scythe gleaming ominously. “Break time’s over. Now that the gang’s all here, it’s time to kick things up a notch.”

Suddenly, the ground beneath our feet begins to tremble. Tempest starts chanting, his voice taking on an otherworldly resonance. Before our eyes, a beam of pure darkness erupts from the earth, pulsing with malevolent energy.

“What the hell is happening?” Kai shouts, struggling to maintain his balance on the quaking ground.

As if in answer, more dark beams burst forth in the distance, forming a ring around the entire capital. The air grows thick with an oppressive energy, making it hard to breathe.

Tempest’s face splits into a triumphant grin. “Time for takeoff,” he announces with theatrical flair.

A sickening crack echoes through the air. I whirl around to see fissures spreading across the ground beyond the residence. To my horror, the earth outside begins to sink away – no, I realize with a jolt of terror, we’re the ones moving upward.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter, disbelief warring with dawning comprehension.

Tempest stretches his arms wide, reveling in our shock. “Welcome,” he proclaims, his voice dripping with sinister glee, “to the floating city!”

image [https://i.imgur.com/x0WoU4B.jpeg]

True to his words, the entire capital rises into the sky, leaving a gaping crater where it once stood. The realization hits me like a physical blow – this was their endgame all along. The border attacks, the magical beasts, it was all leading to this moment.

My heart pounds as I struggle to maintain my footing, the ground still trembling beneath us. “What are you trying to accomplish?” I demand, my voice steadier than I feel.

“More chaos, of course.”

The words, dripping with malice, freeze the blood in my veins. A spatial rift tears open before us, reality warping like a wound in the air. I clench my fist so hard my nails dig into my palm as Belzad steps through, his smug grin igniting a fire of rage in my chest.

“Greetings,” he drawls, his mocking tone grating on my every nerve. “How have you been?”

I force a bitter smile, meeting his gaze with steely determination. “We’re doing great,” I spit back. “I spared you once. How dare you show your face to me again?”

Belzad’s laughter erupts, a chilling sound that silences the chaos around us. It’s as if the world itself holds its breath, waiting.

“Have you forgotten my promise?” he sneers, pointing a finger at me like a judge passing sentence. “How mean. I promised that one day I’d take everything I wanted.”

A humorless chuckle escapes my lips. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I growl, positioning my hand. To hell with arrows – it’s time to unleash my old sealed technique.

Power surges through me as I channel pure energy into my palm. In a heartbeat, a blinding ray of light erupts from my hand, streaking towards Belzad like a comet.

But something’s wrong. Belzad’s grin only widens as the beam approaches. My stomach drops.

“Bounce,” he says simply, almost lazily.

The world seems to hiccup. My ray of light, my sure-fire attack, suddenly veers off course mere inches from Belzad’s smirking face. Horror dawns as I realize its new trajectory – straight back at me.

Instinct takes over. I dive to the right, but I’m not fast enough. White-hot agony explodes through my left arm as the ray tears through flesh and bone. “Gakh-!” The pained grunt escapes me before I can stop it, my right hand flying to clutch the smoking hole in my bicep.

Belzad’s laughter rings out again, triumphant and cruel. “Amazing,” he gloats, “I love this power.”

“No way…” Noarin’s horrified gasp cuts through my haze of pain. I turn to see her staring at Belzad, eyes wide with disbelief. “The Reality Attribute…”

Belzad’s grin stretches impossibly wider. “With this power, I can bend any reality I don’t want to believe,” he boasts. “I can command anything, and it becomes truth.”

His gaze locks onto mine, and I feel a chill run down my spine. “Just so you know, Resonator,” he adds, almost conversationally, “You can’t resonate with this power. I shattered the ornament once I obtained it. It limits the reality I can bend, but better safe than sorry.”

I grit my teeth, mind racing. Bending reality? It’s practically cheating. How the hell are we supposed to land an attack on him now?

“Now…” Belzad’s attention shifts, and my blood runs cold as I follow his gaze to Spica. “Let me demonstrate…”

Realization hits me like a punch to the gut. “Spic-!” I lunge forward, desperation fueling my movements.

“Come,” Belzad commands.

It happens in less than a heartbeat. One moment Spica is safely behind Lyra, the next she’s gone – materialized in Belzad’s iron grip, his hand wrapped around her delicate throat.

“Spica!” Her name tears from my lips as I charge towards them, ignoring the searing pain in my arm.

“Kneel.”

My legs betray me, giving out mid-stride. I crash to the ground, face pressed against the cold earth. Fury and frustration burn through me as I struggle against the invisible force pinning me down.

“Damn it!” I snarl, helpless as I watch Belzad tighten his grip on Spica, her wide, frightened eyes meeting mine.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” Noarin’s voice cracks with fury as she hurls a fireball at Belzad, the heat of it singeing my skin even from a distance.

“Vanish,” Belzad says lazily, and my heart sinks as the fireballs simply… cease to exist. No explosion, no impact – just gone, as if they never were.

Belzad’s lips curl into a cruel smile. “Thank you for taking care of my asset. Now it’s time for me to take it back.” His palm begins to glow an eerie, sickly green around Spica’s delicate neck. The sight makes my stomach churn.

“Devour.”

“Stop!” The word tears from my throat, raw and desperate. I struggle against the invisible force holding me down, muscles straining, but it’s like fighting against the weight of the world itself.

Kai’s voice rings out, thick with determination. “Don’t let him take Spica!” I see him leap, his chain whip whistling through the air – a last, desperate attempt.

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“Back off.”

The casual command sends Kai flying as if hit by an invisible freight train. I watch in horror as my best friend’s body crashes through the wall, leaving a Kai-shaped hole in its wake. The sound of crumbling masonry feels like a punch to my gut.

I claw at the ground, dragging myself forward inch by agonizing inch. Is this really the end? Are we truly powerless against him now? The thought of losing Spica, of her soul being ripped away, makes me want to scream. What can I do? What can any of us do?

“Pa…pa…” Spica’s weak voice cuts through my panic like a knife.

My head snaps up, eyes locking onto her face. “Spica? Just hold on! I’ll save you soon! Please, please hold on!” I reach out, fingers grasping at empty air, so close yet impossibly far.

Spica’s lips curve into a fragile smile, her eyes filled with a love that breaks my heart. “I… love… you…” The words are barely a whisper before her head lolls to the side, lifeless.

“Nooooo!” The scream rips from my chest, primal and raw. My fists pound against the unyielding ground, each impact a physical echo of my utter failure.

Noarin collapses beside me, her sobs a counterpoint to my rage. We can only watch, helpless, as Belzad performs his unholy ritual, planting Spica’s magic circuit into his own twisted soul.

“At last, the power of an Absolute Resonator!” Belzad’s triumphant cry feels like acid in my ears. He carelessly releases Spica, and I lunge forward to catch her falling body.

I cradle her in my arms, her skin already growing cold. Some irrational part of me still tries to wake her, even as the rational part knows she’s gone – her essence, her very self, stolen away.

Belzad’s mocking laughter cuts through my grief. “Sorry for your loss. I didn’t expect you to be so attached to that thing.” A fireball springs to life in his palm, pulsing with Noarin’s stolen power. “Don’t worry, you’ll follow her very soon.”

Something snaps inside me. Rage, grief, and a darkness I’ve never known flood my senses. My vision tunnels, the world fading away except for Belzad’s smirking face. I rise, my hand reaching out on instinct. An ornament materializes – familiar, yet not.

I hear Kai’s voice, distant and confused. “Is that… a dark ornament from the island back then…?”

Without thinking, driven by pure instinct and an all-consuming need for vengeance, I grab my own ornament and smash it violently against the dark one. The collision sends shockwaves through my body, but I barely feel it. There’s only one thought left in my mind, pulsing like a war drum:

“I’m going to kill you.”

The merging ornaments erupt in a light so bright it should be blinding, but I stare directly into it, unflinching. Power unlike anything I’ve ever felt before courses through me, setting every nerve ending alight. My bow materializes in my grip, but it's changed – wreathed in shadows that seem to devour the very air around it.

The air crackles with tension as Belzad and I face each other. My newfound power pulses through me, a conflicting mix of searing light and consuming darkness.

image [https://i.imgur.com/MnaGgjM.jpeg]

Belzad’s confident smirk falters slightly as he takes in my transformed state. “Impressive trick,” he sneers, trying to mask his unease. "But let's see how it holds up against true power.”

In a blink, Belzad launches his assault. A torrent of flames erupts from his palms, the heat distorting the air. Simultaneously, he manipulates gravity, intensifying the inferno’s pull.

I don’t flinch. My bow comes up, an arrow of shadow and light forming instantaneously. I loose it, watching as it splits the fire, negating Belzad’s dual attack with its conflicting energies.

Belzad’s eyes widen in surprise, but he recovers quickly. The ground beneath my feet lurches as he taps into Lyra’s earth manipulation. Razor-sharp stone spikes erupt around me, while a howling gale threatens to impale me upon them.

I leap, my body moving with an inhuman grace I’ve never possessed before. Midair, I fire a rapid succession of arrows. Each one is a perfect balance of light and dark, shattering the stone projectiles and dispersing the wind.

Landing silently, I immediately have to dodge as Belzad sends a wave of water crashing towards me, its leading edge hardened into ice spears. I roll to the side, but Belzad anticipates this. The water suddenly changes course, defying physics to pursue me.

I channel my power into my bow, transforming it into a staff of intertwining light and shadow. With a single sweep, I vaporize the water attack, the conflicting energies canceling out Belzad’s control.

Frustration flashes across Belzad’s face. “Enough games,” he snarls. “Reality: Shatter!”

The world around us fractures like breaking glass. Disorientation threatens to overwhelm me as up becomes down, left becomes right. But my emotionless state serves as an anchor. I focus inward, letting instinct guide me.

My staff morphs back into a bow. I nock an arrow, its tip a swirling vortex of light and dark. As I release it, I pour more power into the shot, willing It to cut through Belzad’s warped reality.

The arrow streaks forward, leaving a trail of normalcy in its wake. Belzad’s eyes widen in disbelief as his reality manipulation crumbles before my attack.

“Impossible!” he roars, desperately erecting a barrier of solidified air.

My arrow strikes the barrier, and for a moment, it seems to hold. Then, cracks of light and shadow spread across its surface. With a sound like thunder, the barrier explodes.

Belzad is thrown backward, slamming into a wall. He slumps to the ground, blood trickling from a gash on his forehead. “How?” he gasps, struggling to rise. “How are you countering the Reality Attribute?”

I advance slowly, another arrow nocked and ready. My voice, when I speak, is devoid of emotion. “Light reveals truth. Darkness conceals lies. Together, they show reality as it truly is.”

Desperation contorts Belzad’s features. He lashes out with every power at his disposal. Fire and ice collide in the air before me. The ground buckles and heaves. Metal shards rain down from above.

I move through the chaos like a ghost, my arrows flying true. Each shot neutralizes an attack, the balance of light and dark proving the perfect counter to Belzad’s stolen powers.

Belzad’s attacks grow wilder, more frenzied. Sweat pours down his face as he realizes he’s outmatched. “Stay back!” he shrieks, his composure shattered.

I don’t slow my approach. Another arrow forms, this one pulsing with more power than any before.

“Reality: Stop!” Belzad screams, throwing everything he has into one last command.

For a heartbeat, the world freezes. Then my arrow flies, cutting through his desperate attempt to halt time itself.

The arrow strikes Belzad square in the chest. He stares at it in disbelief as light and shadow spread from the impact point, engulfing his body. He screams as the conflicting energies starts tearing him apart.

I lower my bow, my face still an expressionless mask. The photo-umbra power recedes, leaving me drained but standing. I turn to my friends, who stare at me with a mix of awe and concern.

Only then, looking at their faces, do I allow a single tear to fall. “It’s done,” I say quietly. “Spica… can rest now.”

As the weight of everything crashes down upon me, I sink to my knees beside Spica’s still form. The emotionless state fades, and grief floods in to take its place. I gather her in my arms, finally allowing myself to mourn.

A ragged gasp cuts through my sorrow. Impossibly, Belzad is still standing, his mangled body swaying like a marionette with half its strings cut.

“Like hell… I would let it end like this!” he wheezes, blood bubbling at the corners of his mouth. His eyes, now more madness than reason, gleam with a terrifying resolve.

Before any of us can react, Belzad slams his palms against the floor. In an instant, the entire floating city begins to glow with an ominous, pulsing light. The air itself seems to vibrate with barely contained energy.

“If I lose…” Belzad’s voice rises to a deranged shriek, “I won’t let you win!”

Alarm shoots through me like an electric current. I try to stand, to do something, anything – but my body betrays me. My legs give out, sending me crashing back to the ground. The realization hits me like a punch to the gut: I’ve pushed myself too far. The enormous burst of conflicting magical energy has left my muscles utterly exhausted.

A manic grin splits Belzad’s face as he begins to utter what I know will be our death sentence. “Reality: Explo-“

Time seems to slow. I brace for the end, cursing my powerlessness.

But then – a miracle.

A spatial rift tears open behind Belzad with a sound like reality itself being shredded. Before he can finish his command, hundreds of gleaming light swords materialize and pierce through his body from every angle. Belzad’s words die in his throat, replaced by a gurgling gasp of shock and pain.

From the rift steps a girl with striking purple twintails, her presence radiating a power that feels achingly familiar. Her eyes, filled with a mixture of sorrow and determination, lock onto Belzad’s dying form.

“No,” she says, her voice soft yet unyielding. “You’re done here. Brother.”

----------------------------------------

The air in the room suddenly ripples, reality folding in on itself as a spatial rift tears open. Through this impossible doorway steps a man with wavy orange hair that seems to dance like flames. Bruno, Lucil’s brother, his very presence a reminder of the extraordinary world we inhabit.

“You called?” His voice is light, but his eyes are sharp, taking in the scene before him.

As his gaze falls on me, a flicker of surprise crosses his features, quickly replaced by a warm smile. “Oh, hi there, Saria! Long time no see. Has my sister been bothering you?” He waves, the gesture casual as if we were meeting for afternoon tea rather than… whatever this is.

I force a smile, my heart racing with urgency. “Long time no see, Bruno. I’d love to catch up, but I really need your help.” The words tumble out, edged with desperation.

Bruno’s eyebrows knit together, his earlier levity evaporating. “Is something wrong?”

Taking a deep breath, I launch into an explanation of the crisis unfolding in Aruta’s world. As I speak, I can see the gravity of the situation settling on Bruno’s shoulders, his expression growing more serious with each passing moment.

When I finish, he strokes his chin thoughtfully. “So you want me to open a parallel rift to his world so you can go there…” It’s not quite a question, more a contemplation of the enormity of what I’m asking.

I nod, my resolve hardening. “I have to erase Belzad’s soul completely. Simply killing him won’t be effective now that he’s got the Reality Ornament. He might be able to create a pocket dimension where his spiritual body can linger, waiting for a new compatible host.”

Bruno’s gaze is penetrating, searching my face for any hint of doubt. “Are you sure about this…?” he asks, his voice soft but heavy with the weight of consequence.

I turn to Lucil, my dear friend who’s stood by me through so much. She gives me a reassuring nod, her eyes shining with a mix of pride and concern. Drawing strength from her support, I take a deep breath and face Bruno again.

“I’m sure,” I answer, my voice steady and filled with determination.

A smile, tinged with both admiration and sadness, spreads across Bruno’s face. “All right,” he says softly. “You saved my life once. I will honor your decision."

Bruno stretches out his arms, his face a mask of concentration. The air begins to shimmer and twist, reality bending to his will. After what feels like an eternity, a spatial rift yawns open before us, a window to another world.

“Off you go,” Bruno gasps, sweat beading on his brow. Opening a rift between worlds is clearly taking its toll. “We’ll miss you.”

I smile, my heart swelling with affection for these two siblings who have become like family to me. “I’ll miss you too,” I say, my voice thick with emotion.

Steeling myself, I step towards the rift. Just before I cross the threshold, I turn back one last time. Lucil and Bruno stand side by side, their faces a mixture of worry and pride. I etch this image in my mind, a reminder of what I’m fighting for.

Then I step through, the familiar world dissolving around me.

As I emerge on the other side, the scene that greets me turns my blood to ice. There’s my brother, Belzad, his body wreathed in a maelstrom of light and dark energies. His hand is pressed to the ground, and I can feel the malevolent power building around him. With a jolt of horror, I realize he’s about to obliterate the entire floating city.

My eyes dart to Aruta, lying prone and weakened on the ground. There’s no time to think, only to act.

Belzad’s voice rings out, dripping with madness and triumph. “Reality: Explo-“

In that split second, I call upon every ounce of my power. Light coalesces around me, forming into hundreds of gleaming swords. With a thought, I send them hurtling towards my brother.

The swords pierce Belzad’s body from every angle, cutting off his command mid-word. As he staggers, shock and pain etched across his face, I step fully into this world that is both foreign and familiar.

“No,” I say, my voice steady despite the turmoil in my heart. “You’re done here, brother.”

As our eyes meet, I see a flicker of recognition in Belzad’s gaze. In that moment, I’m torn between the love I once felt for my brother and the resolve to end the threat he’s become.