I roared, twisting my body as I hurled my staff with all the power I could gather.
A thunderous boom ripped through the air. The staff tore forward like a lightning bolt, breaking the sound barrier as it shot toward the group of Grandmasters.
Vaelix didn’t stay idle. A golden light burst around him, wrapping his body in radiant armor as he flashed ahead to intercept my strike.
Essence surged through my legs. I pivoted hard, appearing in front of another Grandmaster before he could even blink. I summoned Knight’s ability, my right hand darkened, forming into a shadowed claw and I drove it straight through his chest.
"Verdant Extraction."
The words slipped from my lips as I unleashed the skill. Essence flared, and I felt the Feran’s vitality drain into me. His body went limp, still hanging from my arm, but I didn’t stop. I grabbed the beasts body and leapt straight into the center of their formation, surrounded on all sides.
Meanwhile, Vaelix reached the spot where my staff was flying. The blood swirling around him, Anjee’s blood, moved like a living serpent, coiling into a crimson vortex. It met my staff head-on.
The impact was deafening.
BOOM.
A shockwave tore through the chain, sending cracks of energy through the air. My staff was stopped mid-flight, trembling against the swirling blood vortex. Sparks of Essence scattered around Vaelix.
One of my Psynapse fractures stayed locked onto Vaelix, tracking his every move.
The moment I saw him preparing to strike, I lunged at the nearest Feran, grabbed it by the neck, and crushed it with a sharp twist. The sound of bones snapping echoed across the chain. The creature’s body went limp before it could even scream.
Without wasting a second, I activated my skill again, draining the vitality straight out of its corpse. Warm energy flowed into me, fueling my Essence and pushing my regeneration faster.
The surrounding Ferans howled in rage. Their roars blended into one chaotic chorus as they all lunged toward me at once.
Essence surged in my legs. I released a concentrated blast downward, the recoil bursting through the chain beneath my feet and sending cracks spreading like spiderwebs. Using that burst, I shot out of their encirclement, my body flickering forward in a blur.
I headed straight for Primus, who was still lying unconscious, but before I could reach him, a powerful pressure struck me like a wall.
Vaelix’s aura flared violently. In a flash of gold, he appeared in front of me, his armored form blocking the path.
For a heartbeat, our eyes met, his eyes blazing with fury, mine calm and unshaken.
Instinct took over. I directed five of my Psynapse fractures toward the transcendent beast, and the world shifted.
The layers of reality peeled open before me, revealing the flow of Essence and blood energy that made up Vaelix’s entire being. Every pulse, every fluctuation, I could see it all.
I didn’t stop to breathe. My legs blurred as I sprinted across the chain bridge, Essence surging through every fibre in my body.
Vaelix stepped forward and drew in a deep breath. I saw the crimson energy gathering at the center of his chest, twisting and compressing with terrifying intensity. The moment I understood what he was about to unleash, I mirrored him.
Violet Essence roared to life inside me, rising from my generator core and flaring outward from the center of my chest. Around me, the natural Essence obeyed my will, gathering and condensing in front of me like a living storm.
Vaelix spread his arms wide. The golden armor around him pulsed as he opened his mouth, releasing a beam of crimson energy straight toward my head.
"[Fractured Unity]."
My voice cut through the chaos as I activated the skill. The Essence I had gathered spun rapidly, forming a rotating brown sphere before it fired a concentrated beam forward. The two attacks collided midair, space trembling from the impact.
I could feel it, the sheer difference in power. Vaelix’s beam was stronger, denser, almost overwhelming. I adjusted my attack, shifting the angle just enough to throw his aim off course.
BOOM.
A massive shockwave tore across the chain. I pushed through it, letting the explosion’s force propel me forward. My body cut through the light, and I slipped past Vaelix in a blur.
I landed beside Primus, my feet skidding across the cracked surface. Without hesitation, I threw away the lifeless Feran still hanging from my right claw, its body nothing more than a dried husk.
Grabbing the remaining Feran by the throat, I tore its life force out and directed the stream of pure vitality into Primus. I watched as his chest rose deeper with each breath, the wounds across his body closing one by one.
A long breath escaped my lips. I turned back slowly.
Vaelix stood at the same place, his back facing me. The air around him shimmered with quiet fury. He was staring down into the endless abyss below the chain, motionless, like a predator calculating its next move.
Then, without a word, he turned his head and met my eyes again.
"Billion Ironhart, I will remember you," Vaelix said, his voice echoing across the bridge, blending with the sharp sound of cracks spreading through its surface.
I didn’t bother to answer. His words meant nothing now. My thoughts were moving too fast, every calculation running through my mind at once.
My Psynapse fractures kept pulsing around me, and I spared a glance toward North and Steve. They were still standing on the ice platform I had created for them, their eyes locked on me. I could feel the worry radiating from them even from this distance.
Behind Vaelix, the remaining Feran Grandmasters stood ready. I knew what I had to do.
My fingers flexed once before I raised my hand. The staff answered my call, spinning through the air before settling into my grip with a soft hum. Essence coiled around it, violet sparks dancing along its length.
"...for that is the true path of a warrior," Vaelix finished, his tone grand and hollow. I hadn’t heard a single word of his speech until that point.
"Yeah, whatever you say," I muttered under my breath.
I leveled the staff toward the bridge, aiming directly at the cracked section between us. The Psynapse fractures inside me pulsed in sync as I gathered power. The runes along the staff lit up one after another.
"[Singularity Beam]."
Three concentric circles of light flared at the staff’s tip, shifting into alignment. A narrow beam of violet Essence fired out, thin as a thread but carrying the weight of destruction behind it. It struck the weakened center of the bridge, and the cracks that had been spreading suddenly burst open.
Vaelix’s eyes widened. The golden armor around him flared as he realized what I had done.
He roared, the sound shaking the air, but it was already too late.