The battlefield had finally fallen silent.
Not the silence of peace.
But the silence left behind after overwhelming destruction.
The shattered remains of three domains stretched endlessly beneath the crimson skies of Tartarus. Entire mountain ranges had been reduced to rubble. Rivers of magma cooled into black stone beside frozen wastelands cracked by impossible heat. The storms that once roared across Gaisen's world had weakened into faint winds drifting through the ruins.
And at the center of it all stood Altopereh.
Towering.
Damaged.
Victorious.
Dark hues slowly crawled over the broken sections of its frame, moving like living shadows over torn armor and fractured plating. The orbiton looked less like a machine now and more like a wounded beast refusing to fall.
Below it, the defeated rulers no longer moved.
Tikadello had retreated deep into the distant storms of ice, disappearing beyond the collapsing horizon of his domain. Even from afar, the echoes of his rage still rolled across Tartarus like thunder.
Albatros had vanished as well, retreating into the burning fissures his presence had created. Entire sections of the earth still glowed molten red where he had stood moments earlier.
And between their destruction…
Lay Gaisen.
Or rather—
What remained of him.
The colossal dragon-like ruler had collapsed inward upon himself. His once gigantic body had folded and compressed into a sphere of layered scales and dim light, no larger than a carriage now. Faint currents of wind still rotated around the cocoon-like form, protecting it instinctively as it regenerated.
Altopereh slowly descended toward the ground.
The massive machine landed with a heavy metallic thud, the earth trembling beneath its weight. Steam hissed from its damaged joints while the dark energy coating its frame slowly receded.
Then—
The cockpit hatch opened.
Youri stepped out.
The cold wind of Tartarus brushed against him immediately.
For a moment, he simply stood there atop the orbiton, looking over the devastation around him.
The fight had been monstrous.
Even now his body still ached from synchronizing with Altopereh's restored core. His arms felt heavy. His breathing uneven.
But he had won.
Not barely.
Not through luck.
He had dominated the battlefield.
Youri jumped down from Altopereh's shoulder plating, landing on the fractured ground below before quickly making his way toward Lea.
Lea was kneeling beside Gaisen's curled form, one gloved hand resting gently against the dragon ruler's scales.
Youri stopped beside her.
"Is it alright?" he asked immediately.
Lea didn't answer at first.
Her hand slowly moved across the cracked scales of the cocooned ruler as faint streams of air swirled around her fingers.
Then she finally spoke.
"This is the form it takes when it regenerates," she said quietly. "I think… it will survive."
Youri let out a slow breath.
For some reason, hearing that eased something inside him.
His eyes drifted toward Gaisen's resting form again.
The creature had saved him.
Protected him.
And nearly died because of it.
Lea suddenly rose to her feet and turned toward him fully.
For the first time since he had met her—
She looked genuinely shocked.
"What happened to you?" she asked.
Her gaze moved past him toward Altopereh.
The orbiton stood motionless in the distance, but its presence alone felt different now. Heavier. Sharper. Alive in a way it hadn't been before.
The dark hues moving across its damaged frame pulsed faintly like veins beneath skin.
"It seems like you managed to power the main core."
Youri turned his head toward Altopereh.
For a brief moment, memories flashed through his mind.
The abyss.
The visions.
The truth about Sacros.
The hatred buried inside Altopereh.
Then he answered quietly.
"Yes."
A faint smirk crossed his face.
"We did."
Lea stared at him for several seconds.
Then her expression hardened slightly.
"What exactly happened in there?"
Youri remained silent for a moment before stepping closer to her.
"Lea," he said calmly, "I need to ask you something."
She looked at him carefully.
Youri's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued.
"While I was inside the abyss… I saw something."
The winds around them weakened.
Even Tartarus itself seemed quieter as he spoke.
"I saw a city."
Lea's expression shifted instantly.
"A vision," Youri continued. "It showed me how the Sacros first arrived in Tartarus."
His gaze lifted toward the crimson sky above them.
"They didn't just appear here."
His voice grew firmer.
"They came with a vessel."
Lea froze completely.
Youri noticed it immediately.
"There was a ship," he continued. "A massive one. It broke through the sky itself."
Fragments of the vision flashed through his mind again.
The endless desert.
The buried city.
The colossal spire.
The golden circles.
The forging of the orbitons.
Youri looked directly into Lea's eyes.
"That ship brought the Sacros into Tartarus."
Then he took a slow breath.
"And if I want to leave this realm…"
His expression sharpened.
"I need to find it."
For the first time since they met—
Lea looked uneasy.
Not confused.
Not surprised.
Uneasy.
The wind picked up around them as she slowly turned her gaze upward toward the blood-red sky.
"You are asking about Atlantis," she said quietly.
Youri frowned slightly.
"Atlantis?"
Lea nodded faintly.
"The sunken city."
The moment she said the name, something about the atmosphere changed.
Even Altopereh seemed to react.
Far behind them, the orbiton's head tilted slightly, as though listening.
Lea crossed her arms beneath her cloak.
"If that's where you are headed…" she said slowly, "you are better off letting Tartarus consume you now."
Youri's eyes narrowed instantly.
"What do you mean?"
Lea looked at him again.
This time, her voice carried none of its usual calmness.
"Among all the domain rulers in this realm…"
A pause.
"There is one you should never cross paths with."
The winds around Gaisen's cocoon suddenly weakened.
Even the air itself felt colder.
Lea's eyes darkened beneath the shadow of her hood.
Then she spoke the name.
"Almosis."
The moment the name left her mouth—
Altopereh laughed.
Not loudly.
Not mockingly.
But softly.
Almost knowingly.
Lea ignored it.
She continued staring directly at Youri.
"And it just so happens…"
Her voice lowered.
"…that Atlantis sits at the very center of his domain."
A Name Even Tartarus Feared
The silence afterward felt heavy.
Youri stared at Lea.
"Another ruler?" he asked.
Lea slowly shook her head.
"No."
That answer alone sent a chill through him.
Lea looked back toward the horizon.
"The others fight for territory. Power. Survival."
Her voice became quieter.
"But Almosis…"
Even she hesitated slightly before continuing.
"…rules over death itself."
Far in the distance, beyond the ruined domains, something massive moved beneath the crimson haze.
A silhouette.
Ancient.
Watching.
And for the first time since arriving in Tartarus—
Youri felt genuine danger.
Not from battle.
Not from survival.
But from what waited ahead.
Then Altopereh's voice echoed inside his mind once more.
Cold.
Amused.
"So," it whispered.
"The fallen king still lives."