After releasing all her energy, Hinata collapsed heavily onto the ground, sitting, legs folded beneath her. Her breathing was ragged, her muscles numb and burning, and her whole body seemed drained of strength. Despite her efforts, she had not even managed to scratch Salomeh. In her mind, it was a crushing defeat, a bitter weight settling over her consciousness.
She tried to get up, but her legs gave way immediately, forcing her to remain seated. Raising her head, she met Salomeh's gaze, who stood before her, tears silently rolling down her cheeks. Hinata blinked, incredulous.
— What…? she stammered, a mix of shame and disgust in her voice. You're crying because I didn't give you a proper fight?
Salomeh extended her hand toward her. Instantly, a flow of violet mana enveloped Hinata's body, coursing over her like a regenerative rain. Hinata felt her breath lighten, her fatigue almost immediately vanish, and her muscles respond as if she had never been exhausted.
— Wha… what are you doing? she asked, voice trembling, eyes wide with surprise.
Salomeh wiped her tears with a quick gesture and crouched before her, gently holding her in an unexpected hug. Hinata froze, unable to understand the gesture, her mind wavering between confusion and gratitude. Yet one certainty settled in Salomeh's heart: this girl had a connection with Sakolomeh… she felt it, and now she knew.
Withdrawing gently, Salomeh looked attentively at Hinata and asked:
— Your brother's name is Melokosa, isn't it?
Hinata stared at her, surprised, breath held. Then a shiver ran through her as she realized the strange coincidence: reversing the name Melokosa spelled Sakolome.
Her eyes widened, her mind trying to unravel this revelation defying all logic. Everything seemed both clear and absurd. What did this mean? How could this link exist? In her head, pieces of an unknown puzzle slowly formed, but the image remained blurred, mysterious, almost unreal.
Hinata remained there, motionless, her energy restored but her mind caught in a mixture of wonder and complete confusion. All she knew now was that this battle, this encounter, had changed something inside her… and in the course of her destiny.
Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, reality itself began to tremble. Terrifying rumblings echoed through space, and the crowd around them fled in all directions, screaming, panicked.
Bakuran glanced outside, eyes filled with frustration:
— Damn it…!
Then he turned to Salomeh, shouting at full volume:
— Another scale of Raktabīja Rāvana!!!
Salomeh's eyes widened, stunned:
— What? Here? In this reality?
Niyus⁵ intervened in a grave tone:
— And it's not the worst… The scale is trembling. In a… worrying way.
Across countless space-times—past, present, future—a massive scale floated, visible in all overlapping realities. Every creature, every conscious entity, felt the wave of threat emanating from it. But that was nothing compared to what was coming next.
Then, with cosmic crash, the scale exploded. Horror fell instantly: Abominables surged by the billions, unleashed across realities, sowing apocalyptic chaos wherever they passed.
They devoured laws and concepts, attacked the most powerful creatures, and plunged souls into pure madness.
Terrified, Hinata stepped back and shouted:
— What's happening?!
Salomeh grabbed her hand firmly:
— You need to get to safety, now!!!
But Hinata shook her head, her gaze resolute:
— Melokosa… he's out there. And these creatures… they're everywhere. I have to save him!
Without waiting, she rushed toward the exit. Salomeh leapt after her, ready to protect her.
On their side, Niyus⁵ and Bakuran had already launched their attacks, striking the Abominables with all their power, trying to contain the invasion as best they could.
But even through their efforts, it was clear the real disaster was only beginning.
The universe trembled, seeming to rot from within. The sky turned an eerie, sickly green, as if reality itself was decomposing. An Abominable King had taken this reality hostage, corrupting laws and rendering the magic of non-Abominables uncertain.
Bakuran clenched his fists, his face tense:
— We have to attack the Kings first, then seek to defeat the Queens, then the Soldiers… and finally… finish with the Workers!!!
Niyus⁵ nodded gravely, crushing the head of an Abominable Worker between his hands with a sharp snap.
Outside, chaos reigned. The Workers stood before civilians, tearing off heads and ripping bodies apart. Some curled into a ball, praying or repeating phrases like mantras, unable to look away from the horror.
One of the most terrifying Abominables then appeared: a gaping mouth on its belly, shapeless wings, a body made of shifting black matter. The sky was now filled with millions of similar creatures, darkening the horizon and plunging the world into a living apocalypse.
Hinata advanced, her heart pounding, and faced an Abominable. Her anger manifested as a greenish energy pulsing around her:
— You don't scare me!!!
The creature lunged at her, claws ready to tear flesh, but before it could touch her, Salomeh intervened. With a precise and devastating move, she eliminated the Abominable in a flash.
She turned her gaze to Hinata, eyes serious and cold:
— Even with your energy… I assure you, you don't stand a chance against the weakest of these creatures.
Hinata shivered, realizing the real nightmare was only beginning.
Proud to see Hinata apparently heeding her, Salomeh asked with determined tone:
— So… where is Melokosa?
Hinata opened her mouth to answer, but before a word escaped, a creature emerged from the shadows and grabbed her with a swift gesture. Its body seemed made of living darkness, shifting and sinuous. Hinata screamed and tried to struggle:
— Let me go! Help!!
Salomeh leapt forward, ready to attack, but her strikes slid off the shadow like wind. Nothing seemed to reach it. The shadow was… far more powerful than any Abominable here.
Salomeh, eyes wide with terror, immediately understood: this was not an Abominable.
Without hesitation, she spread her dragon wings with a deafening roar and soared into the sky, chasing the creature. She sliced through the black Abominable clouds and shattered Workers trying to block her way:
— Damn! What does it want from Hinata?!
On its side, the shadow creature raised its head toward Salomeh and, in a cold and strangely human voice, growled:
— Why is she following me, that one?!
It accelerated, trying to shake Salomeh off, but she did not let it escape. The two sped through a sky darkened and saturated with chaos to a vast meadow. The sky was still obscured here by the Abominable clouds, but on the ground, the fight could unfold.
Salomeh landed powerfully, wings spread as a shield, and fixed her eyes on the creature.
The shadow creature held Hinata in its arms. The young girl screamed, but her voice was lost amid the battle's noise:
— Who are you? What do you want?
Salomeh stepped forward, voice firm and cold:
— It's obvious, isn't it? I want you to take your filthy paws off that girl.
The shadow creature tilted its head slightly, its darkness undulating around like a living sea, and replied in a firm, almost provocative tone:
— I'm sorry… but no.
The wind and echoes of the Abominables seemed to hold their breath. Salomeh felt that this fight would not be like the others.
Salomeh drew her Son Goku no Buki, which immediately materialized into a blazing mana sword.
— Then I'll be forced to take it from you by force! she declared, voice vibrating with authority.
The shadow creature only smiled in the darkness, its voice echoing like an icy reverberation:
— Well… come and get it!
But before she could advance, a deep and distant voice sounded inside her mind. It was Morlük's. Salomeh shivered:
— Beware… the one before you… is an Ineffable. Even with all your powers combined with mine… you can do nothing to her. She… has nothing to destroy. She is… an absence.
Salomeh froze, breath short.
— How… how are we going to defeat her then? she murmured, almost incredulous.
Morlük's voice left no illusion:
— There is nothing to be done… unless Bakuzan arrives. He… only he can handle this kind of entity.
Salomeh sighed, clutching her mana sword. Nothing guaranteed Bakuzan would come in time, and if so… when would he arrive? They had to gain time… at all costs. She had to protect Hinata, now.
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out behind her:
— Hinata!!!
Salomeh turned, eyes wide. And she saw Hinata, but not alone. The young girl screamed:
— Big brother! Help!!
Salomeh felt her heart tighten. Before her stood a young man, long hair, arms wrapped in bandages, old and worn clothes covering his body… but despite the time and strangeness of his appearance, she recognized him immediately.
— Sakolomeh… she whispered, voice broken by emotion.
Melokosa, for his part, slowly turned his head toward Salomeh, looking perplexed and unable to understand what was happening.
And then, as if to intensify the tension, the shadow creature made a sudden movement. But oddly, it did not lash out at Salomeh. Its gaze turned to Melokosa, as if he were the true target of its malice.
The sky, darkened by the Abominables, vibrated with chaotic energy. Salomeh felt that a confrontation of unimaginable scale was about to erupt.
Salomeh knew she had to act quickly. With a powerful beat of her wings, she sliced through the air, reaching Melokosa in a flash. With a precise gesture, she pulled him from the shadow creature's grasp.
BOOM! A colossal explosion shook the scene, throwing up a dense cloud of smoke that enveloped everything around them.
When the dust cleared, Salomeh held Melokosa close, her gaze anxious:
— Are you okay? she asked, voice full of worry.
Melokosa nodded timidly, eyes shining with gratitude:
— Thank you… ma'am. Without you, I don't know what would have happened.
Salomeh felt a dull pain in her chest. She was not pleased by what he had just said. Melokosa knew nothing. He did not know he was facing his own sister, his blood, Salomeh. The memory he had lost had erased all trace of their bond, and that broke her heart.
She took a deep breath, letting him gather himself for a moment, then positioned herself in front of him. Her gaze, a mixture of sadness and determination, fixed on the shadow creature floating in the darkened sky.
Despite the pain of becoming a stranger to her brother's eyes, Salomeh knew what she must do: face this entity, no matter the cost, to protect Melokosa and Hinata. Every beat of her wings, every breath she took, translated a mixture of rage and courage.
She gripped her mana sword, ready to plunge into battle, aware this fight might be the most dangerous of her life. But for Melokosa and Hinata, she could not hesitate.
"Stay behind me, I'll take care of this thing!" Salomeh said to Melokosa.