To break Frey completely, Wesker planned to take him hostage for now .. and then kill those close to him one by one, applying pressure over time.
He would start with Snow Leonheart, whom he never intended to leave alive.
Snow had shown tremendous development and maturity since opening his path .. if allowed to continue, he would undoubtedly become the next Pure Vessel.
Thus .. Wesker intended to end him here, even if the Soul of Light protested.
"At any moment now, the Soul of Light will fade... and your life will fade with it, Snow."
He whispered beside Snow’s ear.
"You don’t have much time left.
Your hour is coming soon.
Tick... tock... tick... tock... tick... tock..."
Wesker began counting Snow’s final seconds.
Frey’s eyes were on the verge of bursting.
In those desperate moments, he tried to move .. hundreds, no, thousands of times.
But his body refused him.
It truly looked as though he had lost everything.
On the other side of the sea, where his sister was .. Geppetto was currently invading with his demon forces.
Here, where his friends and companions were .. the Ultras and Wesker were slaughtering them.
For the first time .. everything important to Frey was on the verge of disappearing at once.
It shattered him.
He tried to fight again and again .. and again.
But Wesker would not allow him.
It was hopeless.
So hopeless that Frey begged for Nameless to take over his body once more.
"Please... take my body... take everything... just don’t let them die..."
He whispered inside his mind .. reaching out to the mask in the abyss .. pleading for it.
In a situation this desperate, Nameless was the only way to survive.
But no matter how he called...
No matter how he clawed through the darkness searching for him ..
There was no answer.
Nothing.
As if Nameless had never existed.
Frey couldn’t understand.
Why had Nameless appeared against Zibar...
but refused to come now?
What was happening to him?
To his body?
He didn’t know.
But what he did know more than anything else ..
is that the end was close.
And everything would be destroyed if he didn’t find some way to move.
A desperate, miserable situation .. in every sense.
Frey Starlight hung in the sky .. powerless while his comrades fought to their final breath below.
Sansa unleashed all her shadows.
Uriel summoned a majestic golden angel, draining her sacred power entirely.
But the battle against Beatrice and those who accompanied her had consumed them completely.
There was nothing they could do to help Frey .. and that tore at them more than anything.
"Please... don’t die..."
That was the only prayer they could muster.
And yet .. even they could not find a solution.
None of them could do anything.
Except one.
A figure crawled through the shadows, emerging far from everyone—ascending a high ridge that gave him a direct view of Wesker.
It was none other than Ghost Umbra... the lost shadow who had always searched for his light.
"I won’t let you die, Frey...
Nor you, Snow."
Ghost spoke, having slipped past all the Ultras to reach that vantage point.
Gathering every ounce of strength he had left, he fixed Wesker within his reach—preparing to strike.
"There’s no way for us to defeat a demon like him...
But if I can just drag him into my domain for even a moment...
They’ll have a chance to escape."
Cutting the world.
Unfolding the Domains.
Those were the abilities Ghost learned in the Tenth Court of Shadows.
Because of them, he could drag others into his shadows and fight them within his own realm ..
A world where he held absolute advantage.
Secretly, he had been refining this skill for a long time...
Preparing for a moment just like this.
And so, without warning ..
Ghost unleashed his power, spreading his shadows outward to drag Wesker into his domain and save both Frey and Snow.
Ghost’s aura surged skyward .. vast and overwhelming.
It targeted Wesker directly ..
and it reached him.
But in the final moment ..
Ghost’s aura shattered the instant it touched the demon.
"Hmm?"
Wesker turned his head .. mildly puzzled.
"It seems an annoying little insect is buzzing beside my ear."
The demon turned to face Ghost.
And Ghost .. despite gathering every thread of shadow he had .. understood in that instant the cruel truth:
His technique was strong ..
But there was no universe in which he could drag a monster like Wesker into his domain.
Wesker was one of the greatest Wave Controllers to ever exist.
His mistake was fatal.
Ghost now found himself face to face with that monstrous entity.
"...What now?"
Ghost cursed under his breath.
The technique he perfected his entire life—had failed.
So what was left?
He had failed.
And to make matters worse ..
Wesker had fully noticed him.
The demon extended his hand ..
And a mass of pitch-black aura shot toward Ghost at terrifying speed.
If that attack hit ..
Ghost would certainly die.
He knew it.
Staring at the incoming death ..
Ghost stood frozen.
Then—just as the attack was about to strike him ..
It evaporated.
"...Huh?"
Ghost gasped, stunned by his own survival.
In that moment ..
A cold, strange hand rested atop his head.
"It is still far too early...
for you to fight on this level."
Behind him came a voice ..deep, cold .. yet familiar.
Ghost spun around in disbelief ..
To see those long arms stretched above him.
The figure was towering ..
Wearing a dark gray suit and a long black hat.
His arms were impossibly long ..
His form hardly human.
But Ghost recognized him instantly ..
"The Long-Armed One..."
The very man he had met once inside the Tenth Court was now standing before him.
The long-armed figure stood there ..
His gaze fixed entirely on Wesker.
And clearly ..
The demon had noticed him as well.
"There is no time to waste...
Let me show you now, Ghost Umbra ..
What true Domain Manipulation looks like."
The Long-Armed One raised his hand at an unnatural angle ..
And dozens of spectral arms unfurled from his own ..
A cold, blue aura flooding outward in overwhelming force.
The moment he released it ..
His aura enveloped a massive area ..
Wrapping around Wesker.
The demon could do nothing but stare as the domain closed around him.
Frey and Snow slipped from his grasp—falling free.
Inside that domain ..
Only Wesker and the Long-Armed One remained.
The Fourth Highest Seat immediately became serious, releasing his full aura.
"So... you were here all along...
you rotten corpse."
Wesker spoke, eyes narrowing.
The long-armed figure stepped forward.
"It has been some time since our last battle.
It seems you have forgotten my name—so allow me to remind you."
He adjusted his hat.
"My name is Adyr .. Number Four of the Sect of My Lord, Nameless.
Right hand of Gehrman."
"Do not think for even a moment that this land will submit to you, Wesker.
We have not fallen yet."
Summoning a terrifying surge of aura ..
Enclosing Wesker fully within his domain..
One of the greatest remnants of the Nameless Sect prepared to fight.
"Prepare yourself, Wesker.
The real war begins now."
As Adyr spoke ..
The world itself trembled ..
And the wheel of the past began to move once more.
While Geppetto was invading the Empire alongside numerous High Demons ..
Something unexpected occurred:
From within the Starlight Estate ..
A pillar of light erupted, and a strange man appeared .. obliterating demons at impossible speed and saving humans in his path.
From Winterfell, at the Moonlight Estate ..
The gates of the secret library opened, sheltering humans inside ..
While a mysterious girl stood outside alone, repelling every demon that dared approach.
From Nucleus, the Sunlight Estate ..
The heat surged to unimaginable levels as a burning figure appeared ..
Incinerating Geppetto’s demons and corpses alike to protect the survivors.
Resistance ignited across countless places.
Where there was once slaughter ..
Humanity rose again, fueled by the remnants of ancient legends.
The battle was not over.
Earth still had much to offer before falling.
Just as the heroes of the present fought to their final breaths ..
The heroes of the past would do the same.
This was the first spark ..
of the Clash of Legends.