The battlefield was no longer a place of stone and sky—it was a nightmare without end.
Beasts poured forth like a tide, claws raking earth, fangs snapping through smoke. Dozens at first, then hundreds, their bodies warped by abyssal corruption into grotesque shapes. Every strike that landed carved one down, but each moment another filled the void.
Celestial Tempest stood shoulder-to-shoulder, battered and bloodied, but not broken.
Bolt was lightning incarnate, each blow a storm crashing down. His fists split the ground, thunder tearing apart swathes of the horde. Yet even as he fought, he felt it—the gnawing truth. For every ten he killed, twenty more crawled out of the fissures.
"Keep pushing!" he roared, lightning crackling through his voice. "Don't let them overwhelm us!"
Akane spun in a circle, fire bursting from her palms. Infernos devoured a line of creatures, their screeches piercing the air. But when the flames died, charred husks twitched, then dragged themselves upright once more.
"Why won't they stay down?!" she screamed, sweat streaking her face.
"They're abyssal constructs!" Aether shouted, winds howling as he blasted beasts back. "They don't live—they endure!"
Sylva cried out, forcing roots up from the poisoned earth. For a heartbeat, they ensnared the enemy. Then the corruption spread into them, blackening the vines until they crumbled like ash between her fingers. "The land won't answer me!" she gasped.
Valea's light flickered, a golden shield forming around the group. It shimmered bravely, but each impact dimmed it further, shadows bleeding through its edges. "I can't hold much longer!" she whispered, lips pale, the glow in her eyes fading.
Ren slashed, his blade singing through the air. One beast fell, then another, his movements frantic yet precise. But his arms trembled, and the acid blood seared holes into his armor. He gritted his teeth, refusing to back down. "I'll cut them all—until my sword breaks!"
Darian's torrents surged forward, water colliding with abyssal fire in hissing explosions. He fought like a man drowning, every strike sharper than the last, every roar fueled by rage. "Kairos!" he bellowed into the storm. "I'll drag you out if it kills me!"
Kaori's spirit aura pulsed like a fragile flame. She stood behind Bolt, reinforcing him, her hands trembling as waves of abyssal energy crashed against her senses. "It's not just the beasts," she whispered. "The abyss… it's whispering to us."
And then the illusions began.
Akane blinked, and suddenly she stood in the ruins of her old home. Fire consumed it, smoke choking her lungs. Her mother's voice screamed from within. "Save me, Akane!" She froze, her flames sputtering.
"Akane!" Bolt's voice cut through. He shoved her aside just as a beast lunged, its jaws closing where she had stood. She gasped, snapping back into reality, but her hands shook.
Aether staggered, the winds screaming in his ears with voices he knew too well. "You failed us," they whispered. "You couldn't even protect your flock." He gritted his teeth, faltering as beasts closed in.
Sylva fell to her knees, eyes wide. She saw the earth—not corrupted, but covered in the corpses of every living thing she had failed to save. Animals, forests, friends—all lifeless, accusing. "No… no, it's not real—" She barely raised her guard in time as claws tore across her arm.
Valea clutched her chest, choking on sobs. She saw the heavens themselves turn their faces away, divine light extinguished, her prayers bouncing into silence. Her glow faltered dangerously.
Ren's sword wavered. He saw his father, blade raised against him. "You were never worthy," the vision sneered. "Even your steel trembles." His hand quaked, nearly letting go.
Darian froze mid-attack, seeing Kairos—not cloaked in abyss, but as his brother-in-arms, smiling. "Fight with me, Darian," the illusion whispered. "Why resist me?" His water faltered, crashing weakly to the ground.
Damian staggered back, clutching his head. The abyss whispered in his own voice. "You were born of us. You'll return to us. You've never escaped." His shadows twisted against his will, striking at his own squad before he forced them back with a scream.
Kaori fell last, her aura shattering under the weight of countless voices crying out—souls already consumed by the abyss. "Join us," they whispered. "End the pain." Her knees buckled.
And through it all, Kairos watched.
He stood at the edge of the battlefield, cloaked in abyssal sigils, his crimson gaze unblinking. His lips curved into a faint, cruel smile. "They falter. They bend. And soon… they will break."
Bolt was the only one still standing firm. The illusions clawed at him too—his parents' voices begging him to stop fighting, to rest, to let go of the burden. But his storm screamed louder.
He slammed his fist into the ground, lightning exploding outward. The blast ripped illusions apart, grounding his squad back in reality. "Stand up!" he roared, his voice thundering. "The abyss is lying to you! You are stronger than this!"
One by one, Celestial Tempest rose again, battered but breathing, eyes alight with renewed defiance.
"Bolt…" Akane whispered, fire returning to her palms. "You're right. Damn the abyss."
The squad regrouped, shoulders touching, their wills reforged in the storm.
But the abyss wasn't done.
The ground quaked. Fissures split the battlefield wide open. From the largest crack, a shadow rose—taller than any building, wider than any wall. Its form was monstrous, a towering beast clad in obsidian armor, its body pulsing with veins of molten red.
An A-rank abyssal beast.
Its roar shattered the air, a sound that ripped through bone and soul alike. The pressure of its aura slammed into them, crushing, suffocating, far heavier than the B+ horror they had barely survived before.
Sylva staggered to her knees. "No… this… this is impossible…"
Aether's winds died completely, stripped from him by sheer force.
Valea's light guttered to nearly nothing. "I… I can't even breathe…"
Ren's sword trembled so violently it nearly slipped from his hands.
Darian's water boiled in his grasp, turning black.
Damian's shadows whimpered, retreating like frightened children.
Kaori gasped, eyes wide with terror. "Its spirit… it's endless. Like staring into eternity."
And Bolt—Bolt stood, but even his lightning flickered against the abyssal monstrosity. His heart hammered in his chest, his veins screaming. He forced himself to lift his fists, defiance blazing in his eyes.
"Celestial Tempest," he growled. "No matter what it is—we fight."
The beast raised one massive claw, black flames swirling into a sphere larger than a house. The air warped, the earth cracked, reality itself bent beneath its power.
The squad braced themselves, every breath heavy, every heartbeat screaming one truth:
This was no longer survival.
This was annihilation.
The sphere began to fall.
And the battlefield drowned in shadow.