A crushing silence followed the explosion of light.
The remains of space trembled with energy, and Adrien's body floated limply in the void. His black cloak drifted aimlessly, scorched and torn from the battle. His expression was one of disbelief, lips quivering as the overwhelming radiance from Rey's attack faded.
Hovering above him, Rey's figure shone with divine light, his upgraded Class radiating an aura that disrupted the System itself. His glowing eyes were fixed on the kneeling figure of Adrien, who seemed moments away from complete disintegration.
Rey raised his hand.
"[Final Verdict]," he muttered.
A pure white spear of light formed in his grip, a condensed version of his Ultimate Ray's erasure ability, meant to pierce through existence itself. He hurled it down without hesitation—
Clap
A single sound echoed through the void.
Rey's eyes widened, and his arm froze mid-throw.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound came from behind him.
He turned.
Floating lazily above the remnants of the void was... Adrien.
Not the one before him.
A different one.
This one looked more composed—refined even. He wore a dark white suit with gold engravings and a high-collared cloak. His hair was slicked back, and his smile was as confident as it was cold.
"Bravo," this new Adrien said, slow clapping with deliberate amusement. "You've done it. You defeated a version of me."
Rey's brows furrowed. "A version…?"
Before he could say more, spatial cracks tore across the void.
One by one, more Adrien variants stepped through glowing wormholes. Each of them different—some tall, others short; some clad in battle armor, others in priest-like robes. The air grew heavy with their collective presence, each radiating immense power.
Then—
SHHK!
The kneeling Adrien, still gasping and barely conscious, was suddenly run through by a pitch-black blade.
A final, twisted Adrien—this one with silver hair and golden irises—grinned behind him. "You fulfilled your purpose. Thanks for softening him up."
Rey's body tightened. "You used him?"
"Of course," the silver-haired Adrien chuckled, pulling his blade free. "What's one sacrifice in the name of infinity?"
The dead Adrien's body dissolved into ash, and a cold realization sank into Rey's core.
They weren't clones.
They weren't illusions.
These were real, fully autonomous versions of Adrien.
"How many of you are there?" Rey whispered.
"You'll find out soon enough," said one with glowing tattoos and a mechanical arm. "But first… we have a gift."
All the Adriens pointed toward H'Trae.
Rey followed their gaze and saw it—
A massive, sprawling wormhole hovering ominously over the Northern Continent. Its borders shimmered with impossible colors, and from its depths, monstrous creatures poured out by the thousands. Hulking giants, twisted abominations, aerial leviathans—each worse than the last—charged downward.
And below, on the continent, Rey saw light flares of battle.
It was the battlefield where the his army of the H'Trae Alliance fought. Lucielle, Ater, The Oracle, The Fairy King, and the others—they were all down there.
"No…"
Rey bolted forward, preparing to dash toward the planet.
But the Adriens moved in sync.
"Focus on us," one whispered from behind.
"Let them burn," another added, grinning.
BOOM!
A barrage of attacks slammed into Rey from all directions—black lightning, time-distorted blades, spatial binds, and even a cascade of corrupted code. The force sent him reeling backward, caught in a spinning spiral of pain and shock.
"[Heaven Break]!" Rey shouted, raising both hands and summoning a lattice of spears that rained in every direction.
The spears detonated, carving light into the void, but the Adriens dodged easily, some even absorbing the energy.
"[Reality Sever]!"
Rey cleaved open space, sending a violet slash that severed the paths of magic and matter alike. One Adrien was split in half, but another stepped out of a new portal immediately.
"You're fast," one Adrien said, clapping again. "But not fast enough."
FWOOOOOSH!
A fiery Adrien, covered in crimson flames and dragon-like scales, rushed Rey with incredible speed. Rey blocked with his forearm, but the impact was enough to send shockwaves across the area.
"[Infinite Blade: Final Arc]!" Rey roared, summoning thousands of translucent blades that circled him in orbits of deadly motion. Each shot out toward an Adrien, seeking vital points.
Explosions rocked the void.
One Adrien disintegrated.
Two more were impaled.
But just as fast, five more emerged.
Each one felt stronger, more refined.
Rey's breaths became ragged.
"[Starlight Nova]!"
A sphere of white-hot energy enveloped him, growing larger by the second before detonating with enough force to bend light itself. The Adriens were knocked away—but only momentarily.
"You can't win," said a cybernetic Adrien, launching drones toward him.
"We are endless," said another, this one a young boy with golden eyes.
Rey launched toward the wormhole over H'Trae, ignoring the pain coursing through his body.
He had to stop it.
He had to protect them.
But—
BOOM!
A time-frozen punch smashed into his ribs, breaking several on impact.
Rey coughed blood, eyes wild.
"[Absolute Halt]!" he screamed, freezing the movement of a dozen Adriens around him.
But more kept coming.
" Unchained Starburst]!"
A flurry of high-level Skills burst from Rey, warping physics and cutting through space. He weaved through enemies, striking and defending, but the numbers were too great.
And worst of all—
The wormhole over H'Trae expanded further.
More monsters. More horror.
Rey glanced down and saw the defenders falling back. Flashes of Lucielle's aura, his allies' silhouette, and the entire population of the world below were perceived by Rey at that very moment, and he knew their lives could be snuffed out at any moment.
'Where's Ater? What is he doing?!' Rey wondered, but he didn't have the luxury to dwell on those thoughts.
Instead, his worry heightened as he observed everyone on the planet.
They were fighting the incoming threats.
They were losing.
"Someone…" he whispered.
"Anyone…"
"Please stop this…"
The Adriens cackled as they surrounded him again, each preparing their final attack.
Rey's eyes burned, and his fists clenched.
But even as he fought with everything, the hopelessness crept in.
And H'Trae… continued to fall.
At the moment, even the seemingly all-powerful Rey needed help from someone beyond him.
—A Hero.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Rey's eyes widened as he felt a presence unlike any other emerge from H'Trae.
Even the several Adriens he fought were just as shocked—especially when the golden light that danced all around the entity felt so familiar yet distant.#
Both of them could not help but look at H'Trae with a single thought in their mind.
'W-who… is that?!'