The wind howled through the shattered penthouse wall, glass crunching underfoot.
Jack didn't waste a heartbeat—his dragon wings burst from his back in a flare of lilac lightning, launching him into the open air. The night split with his voice.
Jack: "Who the hell are you?!"
The man on the golden cloud spun his staff in one hand, the weapon catching the moonlight. On his golden belt was an emblem attached; on it the number 5 was engraved.
Rai: "It doesn't matter who I am. Only that you're about to fall."
Without warning, the staff shot forward at impossible speed, a blur aimed right for Jack's ribs. Jack twisted mid-flight, the tip grazing past him in a crackle of displaced air.
Jack: "Tch— fast."
Lightning coiled along his arms as he slashed back with a claw strike, the night erupting with a shockwave when Rai blocked it with the staff's length.
Inside, the elevator dinged. The doors slid open, and Joren stepped out into the hallway like the floor belonged to him.
Ichiro, Emilia, and Lenny quickly enter the lounge.
Emilia: "What happened?"
Ichiro: "I don't know! But we have company."
Emilia: "Where's Jack?"
Lenny points out of the shattered window.
Lenny: "There he is."
BOOM.
The door next to them shattered open with an orange explosion.
Out of the smoke the silhouette of a man enters the room.
Ichiro: "We've got another one—!"
The first explosion ripped through the entryway, scattering furniture and throwing Emilia into a roll. Lenny barely had time to raise a plasma shield, the heat licking at its surface.
Joren grinned at the chaos.
Joren: "Nice place. Shame it won't last the night."
Ichiro lunged at him with a burst of speed, but Joren pivoted, letting a small palm-sized blast detonate right under Ichiro's step, sending him skidding back.
Joren: "Come on! Where's the fight in you?"
Jack's claws clashed again and again with Rai's staff, sparks scattering into the night like falling stars. Rai's movements were fluid, playful even, each block followed by a sudden, punishing counterstrike.
Rai (smirking): "You're quick. Not quick enough."
The golden cloud surged upward in a burst of speed, then dived, Rai bringing the full length of his staff down in a crushing swing toward the penthouse below—aiming to split the floor right where the others fought Joren.
Jack roared and dove after him, lightning flaring.
Purple lightning trailing in jagged streaks. Rai stood tall on his golden cloud, the spectral silhouette of the Wukong Beast shimmering faintly behind him—a towering ape-like figure with blazing eyes.
Rai: "Let's make this interesting."
The staff split into three perfect copies, each one moving with a mind of its own, striking from different angles. Jack blocked the first, dodged the second—the third smashed into his side, sending him tumbling through the air.
Before Jack could recover, Rai stomped down on the golden cloud, and illusory clones of himself erupted into existence—all swinging staffs in perfect unison.
Jack (gritting teeth): "Cheap trick!"
He flared his wings and dove; wind pushed from his wings, sending the clones flying. Then, lightning cloaking his claws as he shredded through the first clone—only for it to burst into golden smoke. The real Rai appeared above him, staff spinning like a turbine before smashing Jack down toward the building.
The penthouse was chaos. Every swing of Joren's arm was a contained detonation, each strike sending shockwaves through the floor.
Ichiro tried to flank him, wind swirling around his blade, but Joren grabbed the weapon mid-swing, an explosion blooming between his palm and the steel—the force throwing Ichiro against the wall.
Emilia's mist swirled in, wrapping around Joren's legs.
Emilia: "Now, Lenny!"
Lenny raised his hand, a ball of volatile plasma forming in his palm. He hurled it, the energy roaring as it slammed into Joren's side—but the Soul Reaper rolled with the blast, absorbing most of the explosion.
Joren (grinning wide): "That's better. Hit me again."
Lenny's mouth scaled—his cheeks and mouth neon green—shooting a beam of plasma at Joren.
Joren waved his hand, creating a barrier of explosions just as the beam was about to hit him—absorbing the explosion with his hand afterwards.
Joren (chuckles): "Cute."
He slammed his hands together—a massive double-palm explosion erupting outward, throwing all three back. The walls cracked, glass shattered, and smoke filled the room.
The floor breaks, and everyone in that room falls into the floors under them.
Above, Jack fought to hold his ground. Rai vaulted off the golden cloud entirely, the Wukong Beast's phantom form wrapping around him as he spun his staff with inhuman speed. Each strike that Jack blocked sent vibrations down his arms, his claws sparking against the enchanted wood.
Rai: "Your lightning's got bite… but my storm's older."
He slammed the staff into the cloud, which exploded into a thousand golden shards, each one homing toward Jack like darts.
Jack slammed his wings together; the wind pushed all the darts away towards Rai—but the darts aligned around Rai into a spinning sphere before turning back into his staff.
Jack roared, his mouth scaled, shooting a beam of purple lightning at him.
Rai quickly spun his staff, deflecting the beam into the sky. His staff hummed in white and gold.
He throws his fast-spinning staff at Jack, who dodges it by ducking.
The staff then quickly dissolves into golden smoke—out of it emerges Rai with one arm being that of a giant monkey, punching Jack hard into the building.
The doors to the kitchen slammed open—Henry and Ronnie stepped into the ruined penthouse, their boots crunching over broken glass. Joren stood at the far end, explosions dancing on his palms, while Lenny, Ichiro, and Emilia—floors under him—were struggling to rise from the last blast.
Before Ronnie could speak, a faint whoosh swept through the room. Red, fire-like energy flared in the center—and from it stepped Elion.
The air froze.
Ronnie's steps faltered, his breath catching as his eyes locked on the boy in front of him.
Ronnie: "…Elion?"
Elion's gaze was unreadable, his black Soul Reaper coat brushing against the debris. On him is an emblem with the number 4 engraved.
Elion: "Hey, Dad. How have you been?"