The battlefield had become unrecognizable. Earth and stone had been ripped apart by Dawson's lightning, Ard's dimensional rifts, and the combined onslaught of Yuujin's Eclipse Null and Jayze's crimson blood tendrils. Sparks danced across the air like fragmented stars, each one a testament to the destructive scale of the fight.
Dawson's lightning arced furiously, cutting through Yuujin's Eclipse Null sphere, destabilizing it, while Ard folded reality around every crimson tendril Jayze launched. Each clash shook the arena to its foundations, and the Sovereignties were being pushed to the edge.
"I… I can't believe he's doing this… with that Phantom Pulse…" Yuujin muttered, eyes widening.
Jayze's blood tendrils writhed and lunged with precision, but every strike was countered by Ard's spatial manipulations, leaving him gritting his teeth as cracks formed across his defenses.
The Final Surge
Dawson, his body crackling with lightning, gathered every ounce of authority he could summon. Dimensional energy wrapped around him as Ard stabilized the battlefield, creating a perfect conduit for Dawson's finishing strike. Sparks danced across his skin, hair standing on end as he prepared to release the full extent of his Lightning Awakening.
"This ends now…" Dawson whispered to himself, eyes blazing white with raw elemental fury.
A blinding surge of electricity formed around him, coiling into lethal arcs, ready to obliterate the remaining Sovereignties. The ground beneath him fractured, and the air itself hissed with energy.
"No one survives this…" Ard called, folding space around Dawson, amplifying the strike.
The Collapse
But the surge had come too fast. Dawson's body, overwhelmed by the sudden awakening of the Lightning Element, began to falter. His muscles trembled uncontrollably, skin crackling as every nerve burned with excess authority.
"I… can't… hold it…" he gasped, voice strangled by strain.
Before the massive release of power could hit the Sovereignties in full, Dawson collapsed to his knees, sparks shooting out in uncontrolled arcs. The sheer strain of awakening the element prematurely had drained him beyond his limits, leaving him sprawled on the fractured ground.
Ard leaped forward, catching him just before he hit the shattered floor, supporting him with his spatial folds.
"Dawson! You pushed too far!" Ard shouted, voice cutting through the crackling storm.
Even the Sovereignties paused, Yuujin's Eclipse Null flickering, and Jayze's blood tendrils hesitating midair. The sheer force of Dawson's near-limit-breaking awakening had shaken even the strongest of them, leaving them wary of the next move.
Aftermath of the Awakening
Lightning continued to dance faintly across Dawson's body, now contained by Ard, showing the terrifying potential of his element. The arena was scarred beyond recognition: craters gaped in the earth, energy rifts tore through the air, and fragments of the battlefield floated in unstable patches of distorted space.
Yuujin scowled, stepping back. Eclipse Null collapsed inward, a flicker of doubt crossing his eyes.
"So… this is what he can do…" Yuujin muttered under his breath.
Jayze, crimson tendrils quivering, finally pulled back, assessing Dawson and Ard with renewed caution.
"Hmph. This is… impressive," Jayze said, voice low and dangerous.
Ard's eyes glimmered with relief but also unspoken urgency. He knew Dawson had reached the brink, and that any further strain could kill him outright. The Sovereignties were still dangerous, but the scales had shifted, if only temporarily.
The storm of elemental power had changed the battlefield, leaving the Sovereignties reeling and Dawson drained but alive, his Lightning Awakening having demonstrated its cataclysmic potential—though at nearly fatal cost.
And from the shadows, Yuujin and Jayze readied themselves for the next move, their full strength now unleashed. The male test was far from over.