The sky above Aurora City remained gray—silent, tense—until the thunder of hooves and the cry of soldiers shattered the quiet.
Jed rode at the front of the reinforcement unit, pain pulsing from the still-healing wound across his ribs. He ignored it.
He had no time to rest.
Taliyas had fallen. His comrades were captured.
And he refused to let the same happen to Aurora.
Once at the gates, he gave his command.
"Set defenses. Prepare the outer ring. I'll lead a strike team to get them back."
"Jed, you're injured—"
"I said I'll go."
A handful of elite soldiers followed him. They moved like shadows under the cover of night, slipping past the outer watch of the dark army. Hours passed in silence until they reached the outposts near the ruined Taliyas.
And then—they found it.
The Dark Prison Fortress.
Jed stepped forward alone.
Inside its depths, he could feel it.
The pressure. The presence.
Julius.
He stood in the courtyard of the prison, chains dripping blood, eyes glowing with cruel anticipation.
"So… another bug crawls from the dirt," Julius muttered. "And here I thought I was done."
Jed stepped forward.
"I'm not just a bug. I'm here for my friends."
Julius smirked.
"Then die for them."
The chains shot forward like snakes.
Jed rolled, slashed through one with his sword, and leapt toward Julius.
Their clash ignited a shockwave.
Chain met blade
Julius was faster than expected—his chains moved with unnatural precision. But Jed's training wasn't ordinary. He countered with elegant footwork, dodging chain after chain, slashing through the gaps.
"You fight better than you look," Julius taunted.
"Funny. You fight like a coward behind your chains," Jed snapped back.
Chains erupted from beneath Jed's feet. He flipped high, landing on a stone pillar and firing a wave of light from his sword.
Julius swung his arm—the light was crushed by a flaming chain.
"I don't need your approval, insect," Julius growled.
Jed charged again. A flurry of slashes aimed for Julius's chest—but Julius's chains wrapped around his sword, yanking him into the ground.
Jed grunted, spitting blood.
The chains curled again, lifting him off the ground.
"You should've stayed in bed, warrior," Julius whispered.
He raised his burning chain high—ready to end it.
But then—
BOOOOM!
A colossal Light Beam struck Julius in the chest, sending him flying across the prison wall in a burst of light and flame.
Jed hit the ground hard as the chains let go.
From the smoke, a tall figure walked forward.
Jay—former student of the Fifth Light Descendant—stood with a glowing arm and sharp, focused eyes.
"You hurt one of my own," Jay said coldly. "That was your first mistake."
Julius rose from the rubble, laughing as he dusted off his chest.
"Another one? This is getting fun."
Jay helped Jed to his feet.
"You alright?"
"Barely… But I'm not leaving. Let's finish him—together."
The two warriors faced Julius.
The battle ignited again.
Jay fired rapid beams of light, creating bursts of blinding explosions that shattered Julius's vision. Jed followed through with tight sword strikes, slashing from the right while Jay attacked from the left.
Julius grunted, feeling the pressure build.
"Not bad. You two actually scratch."
His chains erupted from his body in a full sphere of flame.
Jay jumped back—Jed wasn't fast enough.
A burning chain wrapped around Jed's waist and slammed him into a wall.
He collapsed, gasping for breath, his vision blurring.
Jay glanced over—his eyes narrowed.
"You'll pay for that."
Julius cracked his neck.
"Oh? Is the student of the Fifth going to teach me a lesson?"
Jay didn't answer.
He launched forward, light flashing from his palms. He created light daggers mid-air, tossing them like spears. Julius deflected three, dodged one—but the fifth struck his thigh.
"Grrrh—!" Julius growled, blood dripping.
Jay appeared behind him, delivering a devastating light-infused punch to Julius's back.
Julius crashed to the ground but rolled and countered, slamming a chain into Jay's side.
The air shook from the impact.
Jay slid across the ground but stood, spitting blood.
"Still standing, huh?" Julius muttered.
"Still fighting."
Their auras exploded
Jay used a new technique—Photon Pulse, sending waves of kinetic energy through each punch. Julius blocked with thickened chains, but the pulses broke through, fracturing his armor.
Julius responded with a whip of burning chains that wrapped around Jay's leg.
Jay screamed as fire climbed up his thigh, but he countered by releasing a blinding flash that scorched the chains to ash.
They both backed up, breathing hard.
"Why fight so hard for them?" Julius asked. "You know they'll lose."
Jay's eyes burned.
"Because they still have hope."
And they clashed again—strike after strike, chain versus light, heat versus purity.
But as the dust cleared, Jed lay unconscious, blood dripping.
And Jay, panting, stood his ground against the monster who refused to fall.
The war was far from over.
But the light would not give up.