Kaelen's breathing had become slow and deliberate as he stood across from Urah, the battlefield around them barely recognizable after everything that had already taken place. Mountains had been torn apart, forests had been erased, and the earth itself had been reshaped by the collision of their powers. Yet neither of them had lowered their guard.
Kaelen looked toward Urah, his blue slit eyes carrying a determination that had replaced every trace of hesitation. The power inside him continued to surge, demanding to be released.
He finally raised his head and spoke with quiet certainty. "Circuit Embodiment—The Origin Dragon."
The transformation began instantly.
A tremendous burst of white energy erupted from Kaelen's body, expanding outward like a wave that swallowed the surrounding landscape. His humanoid form disappeared beneath the radiance as his body grew larger and larger.
His arms transformed into massive forelimbs. His legs expanded into powerful limbs capable of carrying his enormous weight. White scales covered his entire body, each one radiating a faint cosmic glow. Two enormous white wings unfolded from his back, stretching across the sky, while two curved horns emerged from his head.
His tail swept across the ground.
Then Kaelen's body continued growing.
Higher and Larger. Until the enormous white dragon stood above the mountain ranges, his size dwarfing the surrounding peaks.
The pressure of his existence alone distorted the environment. Time accelerated for several seconds before slowing almost completely. Space bent around his body as though reality itself was struggling to accommodate him.
Several miles away, inside a secluded cave, Kaelven was sleeping beneath a blanket when his right hand suddenly moved.
Faith, who had been sitting nearby, immediately noticed.
"Hmm?"
Kaelven's eyes opened.
He suddenly sat upright, his expression changing as he felt the enormous presence in the distance. "Kaelen?"
Denma remained asleep against the cave wall, his arms folded while Gene lay nearby wrapped in a sheet. Jess slowly opened her eyes as she sensed the same overwhelming power.
Faith looked toward them. "Are you both feeling better?"
Kaelven exhaled and glanced down at his body. The injuries from his battle with Yamamoto had completely disappeared. "Thanks, Faith."
His eyes moved toward Kimotsu, who was still resting.
Faith followed his gaze. "He's good. He just needs to rest. I don't know what kind of power he activated, though."
Kaelven nodded. "That's good."
Jess quietly rose from where she had been resting and walked toward the entrance of the cave. As she stepped outside, the immense silhouette of Kaelen filled the distant horizon.
Her fingers instinctively closed around the jade necklace around her neck.
She stared at the enormous dragon standing beyond the mountains.
Meanwhile, Kaelen opened his jaws. A roar erupted from his throat. The sound rolled across the landscape like thunder.
For several miles around him, time began fluctuating wildly. Trees aged and then returned to their previous state. Clouds raced across the sky before suddenly freezing. Space distorted around his enormous body, bending in ways that made the distant mountains appear warped.
Kaelen looked down at his own massive claws.
"I'm not used to this form," he admitted. "And I can't beat him until I master this instead."
His enormous body began shrinking.
The dragon transformed once more, condensing into a humanoid shape.
Kaelen returned to his hybrid form, but something about him had changed. White markings covered his body and face, following the contours of his transformed physique. His white wings remained spread behind him, his curved horns protruded from his head, and his blue slit eyes remained fixed upon Urah.
Across from him, Urah remained suspended in the air. Neither spoke.
Then both disappeared. There was no visible movement. No flash or warning. Only the sudden sound of an impact. BOOM! The ground exploded.
A massive crater formed in the middle of the battlefield.
When the dust cleared, Kaelen stood inside the crater, one foot planted firmly against the fractured earth. Urah landed several meters away.
Kaelen immediately activated his time perception.
"Time Skip."
Seven seconds disappeared.
Kaelen suddenly appeared before Urah and drove his fist toward his face. Urah reacted instantly.
Instead of blocking Kaelen directly, he punched the surrounding space.
The attack emerged from multiple directions at once. Kaelen was struck from the side, then from behind, then from above.
He spun through the air.
"Reverse."
Time itself rewound around the attack. The punches that had struck Kaelen ceased to have happened.
Urah's expression hardened.
"You can't deny the power of Gods Will."
Kaelen's eyes narrowed.
He attempted to reverse the phenomenon again, but the ability failed.
Urah stared at him. "Gods Will transcends all things."
Kaelen opened his mouth.
"Black Hole Dragon Breath."
A black sphere erupted from his jaws.
It immediately expanded into a devastating stream of gravitational darkness that raced toward Urah at a speed beyond ordinary perception.
Urah thrust both hands forward. The attack collided with his palms.
The force pushed him backward, but he managed to stop it. The skin of his hands burned beneath the pressure. Kaelen didn't give him time to recover. He disappeared.
"Eternal Time Prison."
The world around Urah froze.
A temporal prison formed around him, trapping him within an infinite repetition of the same moment. Outside the prison, time continued normally. Inside, Urah was forced to experience the same instant endlessly.
Kaelen breathed heavily.
"Using this ability takes a lot of circuit energy. I need to defeat this guy quickly."
He summoned Axiomfall into his hand. Inside the prison, Urah slowly realized what had happened. His expression became serious.
"So this is a time loop."
He gathered almost all of his remaining strength.
"Void."
The space surrounding him collapsed inward.
The Eternal Time Prison shattered. Kaelen immediately coughed and staggered backward.
Urah emerged from the destroyed prison, but his condition had deteriorated as well. One of the stars on his golden halo cracked. Then it vanished. Only three remained.
Kaelen noticed it.
"At least it won't be so hard."
Urah raised his hand. The void responded. Punches began appearing from countless angles in space.
Kaelen dodged one. Then another. A third struck his shoulder. He twisted away from the fourth. Rather than retreat, Kaelen closed the distance. He forced the battle into close quarters.
His movements accelerated as he manipulated time around himself. He kicked Urah three times in a single motion. The first struck his left leg. The second smashed into his arm, breaking it.
The third caught him across the face. Urah stumbled backward before his damaged arm regenerated. He immediately rushed forward and threw a punch.
Kaelen dodged and countered but Urah smiled. Kaelen's fist passed straight through him.
"Void."
Kaelen immediately understood.
"Warp Step."
He disappeared and reappeared behind Urah, driving his foot into his back. Urah was sent forward across the battlefield. He steadied himself.
"I'm getting tired of this. I will destroy everything."
The clouds above them suddenly darkened. Lightning descended from the heavens and struck the ground repeatedly.
Then the sky opened. A gigantic eye appeared above the battlefield. It stared directly at Kaelen. Kaelen's expression changed.
"I have to gamble with my remaining energy. I can't let him use this attack. I have to interfere."
He tightened his grip around Axiomfall and sprinted toward Urah.
Elsewhere, far from the battlefield, Lord Zenith stood beside Queen Nullis.
Zenith's golden dragon eyes narrowed as he sensed the battle.
"You should go help Kaelen now. He hasn't mastered his newfound power yet. I can sense his energy weakening."
Queen Nullis nodded.
"Okay."
She vanished.
Back on the battlefield, Kaelen threw Axiomfall toward Urah.
The sword was coated in both gravity and temporal energy. Urah shifted aside, allowing the blade to pass but the attack had never been intended to strike him. Kaelen looked toward the enormous eye above them.
Urah smiled.
"Void Authority—Eye of Conceptual Erasure."
The eye released a black beam. Kaelen's Eye of Time activated. He saw his death but within that same vision, he also saw two possible paths toward victory.
Kaelen clenched his teeth.
"Age of Extinction."
Time accelerated around Urah.
Thousands of years passed within an instant. The Eye of Conceptual Erasure began collapsing and Urah's body started fading, beginning with his right hand.
Another star on his halo shattered. Only one remained but Kaelen suddenly doubled over. He coughed violently and dropped to one knee.
Urah noticed.
He laughed.
"Void Erasure."
An invisible force tore toward Kaelen.
Kaelen barely moved aside. The attack passed him. Urah immediately punched the surrounding space. The strike emerged directly into Kaelen's stomach. Kaelen staggered. He forced himself upright.
Urah rushed toward him with only one hand and his legs remaining fully functional.
"Void Breaker."
He appeared directly before Kaelen. His fist moved toward Kaelen's face. Kaelen's vision went dark. He lost consciousness. His body began falling backward.
Urah's fist continued toward him. Then a finger stopped it. The impact released a tremendous shockwave.
BOOM!
Urah was suddenly hurled backward and crashed into the side of a mountain, his body striking the stone before he could react.
At the same time, two hands caught Kaelen. Kaelen slowly opened his eyes.
"Queen Nullis…"
The woman holding him looked down at him calmly.
"You handled yourself well, kid. If you had mastered your powers, you wouldn't lose."
Her Null Eyes activated.
The world seemed to become transparent before her perception. She searched across the battlefield.
She found Faith. Then she teleported Kaelen to her. Kaelen disappeared from her arms. He reappeared inside the cave. Faith immediately rushed toward him.
"Kaelen!"
She placed her hands over him and activated her healing ability.
Meanwhile, Urah slowly pulled himself away from the mountain. He stood unsteadily, his remaining star flickering above his head. His gaze settled upon Queen Nullis.
"Who are you?"
Queen Nullis smiled.
"I am the One of Null."
Her eyes opened completely.
The world became silent. Urah tried to move but nothing happened. He tried to resist and still…nothing happened.
The Null Eyes had already seen through him. His abilities, His memories, His past..Everything. Queen Nullis looked at him for a moment, seeing the entirety of his existence.
Then she raised one hand.
"Slash of Null."
There was no visible movement.
Urah suddenly felt something. His expression changed. The mountain behind him split apart. His body was divided at the same moment, and the pieces were immediately erased from existence along with the enormous section of mountain behind him.
Urah stared forward in disbelief.
"I couldn't even see her attack…"
His remaining star disappeared. Then his existence faded completely. The battlefield became silent. Queen Nullis lowered her hand and that concluded the battle.