The stone-covered entities rushed across the warping room, small, muffled flames seeping out the cracks. Kaelan's fists thrusted outward, pushing against their dense armor. "He can reanimate entities here!?"
A grim smirk stretched across Reid's face. "Don't let your guard down; it'll leave you vulnerable!" Kaelan's gaze darted towards the stony duo. Their flame-seeping fists lunged, pushing into his chest. The impact forced Kaelan to gag, throwing him onto the colorful tiles. The entities refuse to falter; instead, they approached for another counterattack, observed by Kaelan's squinting gaze. "They're counterattacking!?"
Threads of concentrated energy rushed up his arms, compressing into his fists. Countering the oncoming barrage with his surging fists, he advanced towards Reid's towering dome. "Surging Energy - Legs!" His body darted into the air, aiming his palm towards Reid's face. For a moment Kaelan's position looks convenient, until…
"Darting Birds," Reid muttered.
Less than a second later, two sharp-beaked pelicans ripped through the skies, pulling on Kaelan's shirt with their fierce grips. As Reid's chuckle fills the air, Kaelan moved back and forth in a repeated motion. "There's birds here too!? I've never seen anything like this!" Another rumble shook the room, its force luring his eyes downward and freeing him from the birds' restraint. Lumps of sand rose from the ground's reach, transforming the room into a scorching desert. Kaelan's head popped out the warm sand, observing the familiar qualities of his surroundings. "Trapping me in a desert?" In the far distance approached a gradual whirr among the sand's agitated hiss. Five motorcycles, all with an R engraved on their handlebars, come to a drifting halt. With a glare of confusion, Kaelan's glowing fists rose above his chest. "Who are these guys…?" Their helmets snap onto the handlebars, and, in perfect sync, touch the warm sand with their matching slippers. The group was as mysterious as LUO's boss — stepping through the sand in perfect sync, their blank gazes examining their frozen prey.
"Hand it over," one spoke. A deep, red scar ran across his cheek, stealing the attention from his violet gaze. The other four men removed their matching, straw hats, clutching their revolvers with their opposite hands. A leak of malicious power distributed among the five, forcing trembles of fear down Kaelan's spine. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Their revolvers shot upward, aiming perfectly at Kaelan's chest. Red-Scar comes to a sudden halt, eyeing the burning sun. "Kid, do you know where the hell you are? This time, think about your response." His fists clenched, Kaelan races towards Red-Scar with a hyping shout. "How about you tell me where Reid is!?"
"We know no such individual!" Red-Scar replied, his approving nod signaling the others to shoot. Their bullets soared across the dune's surface, their movement blowing Kaelan's red hair. The approaching bullets slowed in Kaelan's eyes, granting him enough time to counter with a Surging Energy Punch. Around his eye formed a weak, brown eye, shattering alongside the distorted moments. Red-Scar's knee strikes his temple, jerking him upward. Squinting his blurring eyes, Kaelan's gaze descended towards his trembling hands. "What the hell was that? It felt as if time itself came to an immediate slow…" Relieving his overstimulation with a large exhale, his head rose to the five men — completely gone.
"End of scene," Reid's voice echoed. With another echoing snap, the dunes disappeared, and the towering pillar reappeared alongside the vibrant room. "That scene took a lot out of you, didn't it?"
With each deep wheeze Kaelan took followed a sharp, piercing feeling in his heart. "I'm starting to understand it now. In this studio, not only can he summon anything to his liking, but he can also change the room's scenery…" He lifts, wiping the dark bruise inflicted by Red-Scar. "Making me experience movies, huh? You did say this place was a studio - therefore, I would look stupid blaming you."
"You've figured it out," Reid said. "In that case, how about we step it up a notch?"
His skin glowing a golden shade, Kaelan's face bloomed with a determined smile. "Bring it."
Volume 13, Chapter 72 - Transformation Brawls!
Meanwhile in Fire Moon's hideout…
Songnote ventured through the dark halls, clutching her wooden violin. Her magenta eyes shifted, examining the crypts leading to the Eclipse Ritual's site. "There's a growing scent of power emitting from Reid's studio… that unserious brat is going to be the death of me." She released an annoyed exhale, ignoring the growing influence of Reid's power. At that exact moment, a pair of glowing, dark eyes soared into the crypt, stumbling onto the ground with a surprised bulge. "W-What the hell are you doing here!?"
A dizzy Gerald rose from the patterned ground, brushing the swaying curls from his eyesight. His pupils slowly emerge, instantly detecting the wooden violin. "I'm here to finish our fight," he said, squinting his eyes.
"So you made it after all," Songnote replied. "Through our fight. Through the ongoing manhun-"
"I don't need a recap on our progress," he interrupted. A vibrant, blue flame illuminates the room, its blinding flare burning into Songnote's eyes. "It may have been short, but I'm ready for our rematch."
"That feeling of restraint still plagues him," Songnote observed. "However, something's different this time." Her wooden bow lifts, kissing the violin's sturdy strings. "Let's put your progress to the test."
---
"Please, don't kill my family!" a desperate voice called from the distance. "Take me, not them!"
Kaelan's eyes shot open, his heart churning from the unsettling plea. His head elevated from the debris-coated ground, turning towards the voice's origin. "This is another one of Reid's scenes."
Behind him flapped the remnants of a withering flag atop a rusting flagpole. He recognized the defaced symbol, trailing the bloodstains across its vertical, golden stripes. "That's the Grand Province's flag…"
A loud, cracking squeal erupted from the distance, shifting his attention back onto the grieving voices. Deposing his lingering hesitation, he rushed through the flaming streets towards the scattered cries. The Town Square's crumbling buildings released clouds of dust into the bloodshot skies. Scattered bits of white rock lay among the unnerving image, pulling Kaelan's eyes towards the street's center.
The Fountain of Prosperity, the Grand Province's landmark of peace, had been destroyed. Kaelan's heart skipped at the discouraging vision - one of the entity world's most popular landmarks had been vandalized? His gaze averted onto a young, pale woman. Wiping the trails of diverging blood off her forehead, her malnourished voice calls to Kaelan. "Someone's still alive… after all…"
She grabbed Kaelan's arm with her bloody wrists, freezing him with her worrisome gaze. "End this… please."
Alongside her desperate touch, the high-pitched sound returned in Kaelan's mind. His body jerked backward, spinning from the unruly disturbance. "That's the same ring from earlier…" His suspicious gaze soared across the bloody skies, following the contagious firepower. "However, it feels rather uneven…" The scent of luring firepower pulled Kaelan's gaze back to the frail woman. "Wait a minute…"
The realization had hit Kaelan like a Surging Energy Punch. Everything within the unfolding scene - the crumbling buildings, the screams of despair, the burning flags, all held one common quality; they were nothing more than constructed illusions. "That woman - she's the one anchoring the dimension…"
Hesitant but certain, a weak rupture of energy developed in Kaelan's fists. "Stop acting already!" The woman's eyes light up, worsening the bulging rings in his eyes. "You wouldn't attack a struggling woman, boy!" Kaelan's pulsing fist collided with the radiating shroud of malice, pushing a frenzy of loud ruptures outward. Stuck between emotions of confusion and determination, his fist plunges through the flaming anchor with a loud grunt. "Each dimension is bound by an anchor - someone holding the scene together!"
"I see you've gotten an understanding of my studio," Reid's voice echoed through the flaming labyrinth. His arm swept through the scene's background as if it were a wall of dense fog. Kaelan, throwing his arms to his waist, let out a disgusted scoff. "So I'm correct." His eyes raced up the towering pillar, locking into Reid's joyful gaze. Lifting his arms upward, a mischievous grin bloomed across his face. "For this next scene," he began, "how about we indulge in its glory together?"
Kaelan's fists tightened. "No matter how you try to portray it, violence isn't glory."
Reid disregarded his contradicting remark, armoring his fists in Pyron's blistering flames. A roaring wave of flame erupted from the room's surface, overshadowing Kaelan with its mighty crest. Dispersing the approaching riptide with a fierce punch, Reid's smile grew at the wave's bellowing explosion. "That wave carries the next and final scene," his voice projects, "the final one before your ultimate demise!"
Clusters of rustling trees lift from the bubbling puddles, erecting towards the flashing ceiling. "Punching that wave scattered his firepower… and he used that to grow a forest!?" The rumbling persisted for a few more seconds before coming to an abrupt halt. The altitude of Reid's chuckles plummet, coexisting with the tree's remaining hisses. "Welcome to my final scene!" his voice began. "Including myself, there are four individuals journeying through this forest, all ordered to kill you on sight."
The trees surrounding Kaelan rustled, accompanied by an ominous presence that lured his attention. "Someone's watching," he whispered, meeting the individual with clenched fists.
That was the moment his gaze detected the immediate presence. "You're from the other scene!"
From the mysterious woodlands rose Red-Scar, eyeing him with his empty expression. In a chilling motion, his arm dropped to his waist, sliding a metal revolver from its case. Quietly but swiftly, the handgun rose to Red-Scar's chest and aligned perfectly with Kaelan's forehead. "This moment will be your last, boy. Enjoy it before my bullet pierces your flesh."