RUMBLE!! RUMBLE!!

The heavens trembled.

A single, haunting pulse rolled across the battlefield, washing over the scorched lands like the whisper of an ancient god awakening. The air thickened, vibrating with a weight so immense that even the Celestials—still fighting against Aegon's overwhelming might—paused mid-strike.

Then the light dimmed.

From the west, above the remnants of Eldoria's retreating banners, a figure emerged through the mist of destruction—tall, robed in armor made from flickering sigils of control and sovereignty. His eyes were twin voids of violet flame, his presence a concept rather than a being.

The Eternal of Dominion had arrived.

For a heartbeat, the entire world of Aetheris seemed to stop breathing.

Drake, Naena, Maeralyn, Velyrian, and the remaining commanders of the Eldorian forces halted mid-flight, their exhausted troops collapsing to their knees as an indescribable pressure pressed down on their souls. The Eternal's voice didn't echo; it commanded. It was reality itself bending to his will.

"Time to exact my revenge."

The words slithered through the fabric of existence like poison.

And then—the sky broke.

With a single flick of his hand, the Eternal's power descended—a radiant wave of dominion that twisted into spears of violet energy, lancing through the retreating armies.

The Eldorian formations shattered.

The Pacesetter banners burned to ash midair.

The Grey family battalions dissolved into pure mana before screams could even form.

Half—half of all Eldoria's remaining forces—were gone in less than ten seconds.

RUMBLE!! RUMBLE!!

The ground shook violently as shockwaves tore through the valleys. Kaelen and his companions—Lila, Guinevere, Charlotte, Rodriguez, Ethan, Morris, Kelvin, and Eirana cloaked in her Voidveil—felt the reverberation crash into their bones.

Even Aegon paused, his eyes narrowing.

At the forefront of the retreating army, Drake fell to his knees, his blade clattering beside him. "No… they were—" His voice broke, the words lost to disbelief.

Naena's trembling hands glowed faintly with fading life energy as she aged by several years in an instant while she stared at the distant carnage. "Dominion… the Eternal of Dominion," she whispered, horror threading her voice. "He should have remained sealed in the Core."

Maeralyn's jaw clenched as tears pooled in her eyes. "Then by what it looks like, the seals are truly breaking…"

Velyrian, standing like a broken statue, could barely whisper. "Half our army… half our people… gone."

Back at the front, Kaelen felt the psychic echo of the massacre tear through his consciousness. Every death from Eldoria's soldiers, every scream, every extinguished soul burned against his mana core. He staggered back, clutching his chest as his mana flared uncontrollably.

Lila gritted her teeth, placing her hand over his. "Kaelen, stay with us—don't lose yourself."

Kelvin, though trembling, tightened his grip on his sword. "We can't afford to fall apart now… not when the sky itself wants us dead."

Aegon's laughter shattered the trembling silence. "How amusing," he said, his tone dripping with contempt. "Even the Eternals crawl out of their graves for me."

The Eternal of Dominion slowly turned toward him, violet eyes narrowing, his expression unreadable. "You—bear a stain. A fragment that should never have been allowed to breathe."

But Aegon merely smiled—a cold, confident curl of his lips. "So you've come for my brother's power as well, haven't you?"

He raised his hand—and his aura exploded outward, black and gold lightning tearing apart the clouds.

"Then perish with the rest!"

The Celestials—those who had survived Aegon's earlier onslaught—attempted to reform their defense formation. Radiant spears and holy runes shot through the sky like constellations come alive, converging on Aegon's form.

But Aegon was already moving.

With a flicker, he vanished—appearing in their midst like a god of chaos incarnate. Each strike he dealt tore apart a Celestial's essence, reducing their divine glow to motes of light. He caught one by the throat and slammed him into the ground, creating a crater that swallowed the horizon.

"You call yourselves Celestials… yet you die like mortals!"

Dominion's presence surged again, the air vibrating with his fury. He raised his arm, summoning hundreds of glowing sigils of command—each one representing authority over the fundamental forces of the world.

The sigils blazed, and chains of dominion shot from the sky, lashing toward Aegon.

But Aegon caught them—and broke them.

The sky screamed.

Energy collided, devouring the atmosphere in a sphere of annihilation. Kaelen and the others were hurled backward by the force of it.

Eirana's Voidcloak flared, wrapping around them just as the blast wave hit, but even so, they were tossed like leaves in a hurricane. Kaelen felt his ribs crack as he slammed into the earth, his vision fracturing into static.

When the dust cleared, Aegon was still standing—laughing, blood running down his mouth, his aura undiminished.

Dominion, though unscathed, stared at him in something close to disbelief. "You… defy command itself?"

Aegon smirked. "I am command."

And then, without warning, he turned his attention back toward Kaelen's group. His eyes gleamed, wild and predatory. "Let's finish the worms who dared defy me."

A massive wave of black and gold energy tore through the battlefield—

Kaelen shouted, pushing the others aside as the attack struck. The ground shattered, erupting in molten light, and all of them were sent flying into the ravaged plains below, their bodies trailing arcs of mana and blood.

The world of Aetheris screamed under the weight of gods.

And above them all, Aegon and Dominion clashed again—each blow rewriting the laws of existence.

-----

While Aegon and the Eternal of Dominion were causing a cataclysm up in the skies, Kaelen and the others slowly began to recover from the devastating attack Aegon sent at them.

Lila was the first to stir, coughing as she dragged herself from a crater. "Kaelen—! Kaelen, where are you?!"

A faint groan answered her from a few meters away. She stumbled toward him, her knees shaking, and found him half-buried beneath rubble. His chest was heaving, his skin burned and blood-streaked, but his eyes—dim yet alive—met hers.

"I'm… fine," he rasped, though his voice trembled with pain.

Kelvin pulled himself up next, clutching his side where a deep gash bled through his torn uniform. "That's a damn lie, Kaelen," he muttered, grimacing. "He nearly obliterated us…"

Rodriguez spat dust, his usual sarcasm long gone. "If that's his casual swing, I don't want to see him serious."

Guinevere, her crimson hair dimmed by soot, crouched beside Charlotte and Ethan, healing their burns with trembling hands. Eirana stood nearby, her Voidcloak fluttering weakly as it used its fading energy to stabilize a barrier around them. The faint hum of the cloak resonated like a heartbeat in a dying world.

For a brief moment, there was silence—only the distant echo of explosions where Aegon and the Eternal of Dominion clashed beyond the horizon.

Then, a whisper.

Soft. Fractured. Unearthly.

"…not again…"

Kelvin's head jerked up. "Did you hear that?"

Lila froze. "It came from there…"

Her finger trembled as she pointed toward a dimly glowing fissure several meters away. A solitary figure stood in the midst of the wreckage—Endless.

He was barely recognizable. The swirling abyss that usually cloaked his form now flickered in and out, unstable, as if existence itself couldn't decide whether to hold him or let him fade. His once-terrifying aura of dark calmness was gone, replaced by spasms of energy bursting uncontrollably from his core.

He was mumbling—his voice guttural and distant.

"…they took it all… all of it… fragments, lies, judgment… Twelve… they think they decide eternity…"

Kaelen's heart clenched.

That voice had once filled the world with dread—yet now it sounded broken, wounded, almost… human.

Eirana extended her Voidcloak slightly toward Endless, shielding the others instinctively. "Be cautious. His essence is unstable."

Rodriguez scoffed softly, though his eyes darted nervously. "He looks like a nightmare that forgot how to dream."

The group slowly raised their guard, forming a loose semicircle around Kaelen, who was struggling to his feet. His eyes, still glowing faintly from mana burn, locked on Endless's shaking form.

"Endless…" he called, voice rough. "What are you doing here?"

No response—just more muttering.

"…they stripped me… chained me… made me less…"

Lila whispered after using her seer foresight power, "He's talking about the Twelve Concepts…"

Eirana's expression darkened. "If he's remembering his origin, then this is dangerous. He was born from the remnants of a Concept gone wrong."

Guinevere frowned, still supporting Ethan. "Then why does he sound like the victim instead of the monster?"

The wind howled, carrying with it the bitter taste of corruption. Endless slowly lifted his head, revealing eyes like shattered voids—fragments of infinite night bleeding into the air. His gaze swept past Kaelen and the others, but it didn't feel hostile. It felt lost.

Kaelen took a hesitant step forward. "Endless… what did they do to you?"

For a moment, the being stood still—utterly motionless.

Then, a hollow laugh escaped his throat, low and ragged.

"…what they always do. Control. Bind. Condemn. They call themselves the pillars of balance, but they are tyrants of meaning. The Twelve… they erased my name… and my world…"

His voice cracked. The ground beneath him trembled with each word, fragments of energy curling from his body like black smoke. The group braced themselves.

Kelvin's brows furrowed. "You're saying… even you were betrayed?"

Endless's empty eyes flicked toward him.

"Betrayed?" he echoed, voice shaking. "No. Destroyed."

He lifted his hands—trembling, clawed, divine and broken. "But they made one mistake."

Kaelen's grip tightened on his sword. "And what's that?"

Silence.

Then a whisper, raw and full of conviction.

"They left me alive."

A single pulse of energy erupted from him—dark and furious. The flickering instability vanished, replaced by a cold, terrifying stillness. His voice deepened, now full of clarity and hatred.

"I am Endless. I am the forgotten concept. The end they refused to name. And now—"

"I will show them what eternity really means even if it's the last thing I do."

His aura flared violently, distorting the very space around him. The group staggered backward as the ground split open beneath their feet. Kaelen's eyes widened, realization dawning too late.

"Everyone—fall back!"

But before they could move, Endless was gone—vanished into the air like a shadow collapsing into itself.

Then—he was behind them.

Eirana barely had time to alert her Voidcloak before Endless's hand sliced through it, sending it to go into the abyss while Eirana crashed into the ground. A shockwave erupted, hurling the others apart.

Lila screamed as Kaelen caught her midair, tumbling hard across the charred plains.

Guinevere unleashed a torrent of fire, only for it to vanish into Endless's void form. Rodriguez tried to pierce through with his Abyssal sword, but Endless caught it, snapped it in half, and flung him aside like a toy.

Kelvin stood his ground, his blade gleaming faintly. "You said you wanted revenge on the Twelve—then what the hell are we to you?!"

Endless's reply came cold and unfeeling.

"Collateral."

He lunged.

Kaelen barely intercepted the strike, sparks of gold clashing against shadows of eternity. The ground erupted beneath their feet, throwing debris high into the sky. Endless's strength was monstrous—unstoppable. Kaelen felt his arms crack from the sheer impact as he was pushed back, boots digging trenches into the earth.

Lila and Guinevere tried to flank him with combined fire and wind magic, but Endless swept a single arm, creating a shockwave that blew them both away. The air warped, trembling from his presence.

Kelvin dashed in beside Kaelen, his scythe humming with qi lightning and chaos magic. Together they struck—but Endless caught both attacks, his form twisting unnaturally.

"You think the Twelve will spare you?" Endless hissed, his voice a thousand echoes. "They will burn you the same way they burned me!"

Kaelen's eyes flared. "Then fight them, not us!"

Endless paused for the briefest moment, and in that frozen instant Kaelen saw it—a flicker of emotion, almost pain, behind that abyssal mask.

But then—it vanished.

And Endless whispered:

"I already am."

The sky shattered as he unleashed another pulse of his void energy, drowning the battlefield in consuming darkness.