The sealing circle exploded with bright blue light.
Pain tore through Kai's body like fire and ice at the same time.
He screamed and a raw sound that mixed his real voice with the angry roars of Nyxar and Veyra.
The Shadow King fell to his knees right at the edge of the circle. His dark armor cracked. Half of it was deep black, the other half misty gray.
Lira and Mira watched from inside the tower, hearts pounding.
Lira shouted, "Hold on, Kai! The ritual is pulling the gods out!"
Elder Voss stood in the center of the glowing circle, his staff raised high. Blue energy flowed from the old stones into Kai's body.
"Fight them, boy!" the elder called. "Push the gods toward the crystal in the tower! We can seal them there!"
Inside Kai's head, the war was worse than ever.
Nyxar roared, **"He is mine! I made him a king!"**
Veyra whispered coldly, **"No. He will be my whisperer. Quiet power is stronger than loud power."**
The real Kai pushed with everything left in him.
"I am Kai Voss! Not your king! Not your whisperer! Get out of my head!"
For a few seconds, he gained control again.
His eyes returned to normal. His voice came out clear and desperate.
"Lira… Mira… it's working a little… but there are too many Echoes… 33 now… every new one makes it harder…"
He touched the ground without meaning to.
A dying shadow beast nearby dissolved into him.
**[New Echo Absorbed!]**
**Name: Pain Eater**
**Skills: Convert pain into strength**
**Active Echoes: 34/10**
The pain in his body turned into raw power. His cracks healed slightly, but the gods grew stronger too.
The Shadow King stood up again, eyes flickering between purple and misty gray.
He laughed with two voices.
"Your ritual only feeds us more. Every Echo we take makes the vessel stronger for both of us."
Mira couldn't stay back any longer.
She ran out of the tower toward the circle, throwing her last cards.
"Sealing Card! Friendship Card! Come back to us, Kai!"
The cards exploded around the Shadow King — one with bright silver light from Lira's threads, another with funny voice recordings she had somehow captured earlier (snob voice, fighter roar, etc.).
For one beautiful moment, the funny old voices played out loud.
The rich snob voice said, "One expects better from gods!"
The fighter voice roared, "Punch them!"
The Shadow King paused. The real Kai laughed weakly through the pain.
"Mira… you kept my stupid voices…"
That small laugh gave him strength.
He took one step into the sealing circle.
The blue light wrapped around him like chains.
Both gods screamed inside him.
Nyxar: **"No! He is slipping away!"**
Veyra: **"Not yet!"**
Elder Voss poured more power into the ritual.
"Everyone, add your energy! Push the gods toward the tower crystal!"
The loyal breakers sent their power into the circle.
The light grew brighter.
Kai's body lifted slightly off the ground.
His armor started to crack and peel away.
Pieces of dark shadow and misty gray energy floated out of him and moved toward the big crystal in the tower.
But the gods fought back hard.
The Shadow King slammed his hands together.
A huge wave of black and gray energy exploded outward.
Several breakers were thrown back. The sealing circle cracked in three places.
Mira was hit by the edge of the wave and flew backward. Lira caught her just in time.
Mira coughed blood but still smiled.
"I'm okay… but Kai… he is hurting so much…"
Lira's eyes filled with tears.
"Kai! You can do this! Remember why you started , you wanted to survive and protect people, not become a god's toy! Fight for us!"
The real Kai heard her and pushed harder than ever.
More Echoes started to separate from him.
**[Echo Released!]**
**Wild Striker returned to the air**
**[Echo Released!]**
**Forest Spirit released**
The released Echoes turned into glowing orbs and flew toward the tower crystal.
The Shadow King screamed in rage and His body shook violently.
For almost a full minute, the real Kai was almost fully in control again.
He looked at Lira and Mira with his normal eyes.
"I love you both… thank you for never giving up on me… if I don't make it… live well…"
Then the gods struck back together.
They stopped fighting each other and attacked Kai's mind as one.
Pain worse than death hit him then ,Kai screamed and fell to the ground inside the circle.
The blue light flickered dangerously.
Elder Voss shouted, "We are losing him! The two gods are working together now!"
The crystal in the tower started to crack.
Veyra whispered through Kai's mouth, "If we cannot have him alone… we will break him together."
Nyxar added, "And take the whole camp with us!"
The Shadow King stood up one last time.
His armor was breaking apart, but the power inside him was terrifying.
He looked at the sealing circle and raised both hands for a final attack.
Black and gray energy gathered into a giant ball above the camp.
The biggest Veil Quake yet rumbled in the sky.
Purple cracks spread like lightning.
Mira cried out, "Kai! Please!"
Lira stepped forward, ready to give everything.
"Kai, come back!"
The giant energy ball started to fall toward the sealing circle.
In that moment, the real Kai made his last stand.
With every bit of will he had left, he whispered one sentence through the pain.
"I… choose… me…"
The blue light of the ritual flared brighter than the sun.
The tower crystal shattered.
A massive explosion of blue, purple, and gray light filled the entire camp.
When the light faded ,Kai lay motionless in the center of the broken circle.
His armor was gone and his eyes were closed.
No one could tell if the real Kai had won or if both gods had destroyed him completely.
The Veil Quake roared above them.
The camp was in ruins.
And the silence was terrifying.