The world was collapsing faster now.
The platform beneath them groaned violently as glowing fractures ripped through the stone like spreading veins, entire sections breaking apart before plunging soundlessly into the endless darkness below. Dust swirled through the storm-choked air while distant screams echoed between collapsing ruins.
And at the edge of it all—
Eli was losing his grip.
One hand clawed desperately into shattered rock, fingers slick with blood as pieces of stone crumbled beneath them. The other arm wrapped tightly around Sam's injured body, refusing to let him slip into the void below.
Sam trembled violently against him.
His breathing kept catching painfully.
His face had gone pale.
"Papa…" he whispered weakly, lips shaking between breaths. "I—I can't hold on…"
"You can." Eli's jaw locked hard as another violent tremor nearly tore them loose. Muscles strained visibly through his arms while veins trembled beneath his skin. "Don't you dare let go now."
Below them—
darkness stretched forever.
Above—
the Eye watched.
The enormous hand hovered silently within the torn sky, its fingers twitching slowly as red pressure spread through the air like invisible fire. The storm no longer screamed.
It listened.
Then suddenly—
Eli felt it.
A familiar pressure.
His exhausted eyes widened slightly.
"…Ethan…"
Sam barely lifted his head. "W-what…?"
Eli's grip tightened instantly.
"He's close."
And then—
the sky detonated.
A streak of blue-red light tore through the heavens like a collapsing star, ripping apart layers of storm clouds as reality bent violently around its path. Shockwaves exploded outward hard enough to pulverize floating debris midair.
The Watchmen froze.
Several staggered backward from the pressure alone.
One dropped to his knees, eyes trembling.
"…that isn't human…"
The streak descended harder.
Faster.
Then stopped abruptly above the battlefield.
Ethan.
Or what remained of him.
Blue and red fractures pulsed violently beneath his skin like unstable lightning trapped inside flesh. His body floated unnaturally still while the storm twisted around him in distorted spirals.
But something was wrong.
His movements—
weren't smooth.
His head twitched sharply.
One arm jerked unnaturally at his side.
Like two forces were fighting over the same body.
Inside him—
Ethan screamed.
"MOVE!"
Darkness crushed inward around his consciousness while blue light violently forced control through limbs that no longer wanted to obey him.
Elias's voice broke through beside him.
"Focus!"
Pain exploded instantly.
Their shared body lurched violently forward.
The Eye reacted.
Fast.
The enormous hand snapped toward Ethan with terrifying speed, ripping apart the sky itself as reality warped around its claws.
Ethan vanished.
Then reappeared—
directly beside the hand.
His fist slammed forward—
but the Eye twisted space.
The punch missed by inches.
A shockwave exploded anyway, tearing through the storm as Ethan's body spun violently through the air from the recoil. Blood sprayed from his mouth instantly.
Inside—
Ethan gasped in pain.
His vision blurred.
"Again!" Elias shouted.
The hand came down.
Massive claws ripped through space itself toward Ethan's body.
He forced movement.
Barely.
The claws missed his chest by centimeters, but the pressure alone tore glowing fractures across his shoulder as his body crashed through floating debris.
Below—
Sam's pupils shook violently.
"ETHAN!"
Eli's breath caught.
Because Ethan wasn't winning.
He was surviving.
The storm erupted again.
Red lightning burst outward from the Eye while gravity twisted violently across the battlefield. Entire ruins lifted into the air before being crushed into nothing.
Ethan forced himself upright midair, breathing ragged now.
One eye glowed blue.
The other red.
His arm trembled uncontrollably.
Inside the shared consciousness—
Elias was forcing movement manually.
Blue cracks spread across his fading form every time he moved Ethan's body.
He was tearing himself apart.
Still—
he pushed harder.
"Left!"
Ethan reacted instantly.
The hand ripped past him again.
Too close.
The shockwave sent him spiraling downward toward the collapsing platform.
And straight toward Eli and Sam.
The platform cracked apart beneath them.
Eli's fingers slipped.
For one horrifying second—
they fell.
Sam screamed.
Eli pulled him tightly against his chest instinctively as darkness swallowed beneath them.
Then—
Ethan moved.
The air exploded behind him as he forced his body downward, blue-red energy ripping across the battlefield in unstable bursts. But the Eye reacted immediately.
The storm twisted.
Space bent.
Distance stretched unnaturally between Ethan and the falling pair.
"No—!"
Ethan forced more power through his body.
Pain tore through him instantly.
Bones cracked.
Blue fractures spread across his neck and arms.
Inside—
Elias grabbed control fully.
The movement became unnatural.
Violent.
Their body jerked sharply through distorted space as Elias forced reality itself to bend around them.
"MOVE!" Ethan screamed internally.
The Eye pushed harder.
Gravity crushed downward violently.
Ethan's descent slowed.
Then stopped completely.
His entire body shook from the pressure.
Below—
Eli saw him struggling.
Really struggling.
Not invincible.
Not unstoppable.
Terrified.
Trying.
Sam's lips parted weakly.
"…please…"
Something inside Ethan snapped.
Not rage.
Desperation.
The blue light inside him erupted violently.
Elias screamed.
And suddenly—
their body broke through.
The pressure shattered.
Ethan shot downward instantly—
just as Eli finally lost his grip.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
Then—
a glowing blue hand burst upward from the void and caught Eli's arm violently.
The force nearly tore Ethan's shoulder apart.
Another hand caught Sam seconds later.
Both constructs trembled uncontrollably under the strain, cracks racing across them as Elias forced them to remain solid.
Inside Ethan—
Elias's face twisted in pain.
"Hold them!"
"I AM TRYING!"
The Eye roared.
Not with sound—
with pressure.
The storm exploded outward again as the enormous hand lunged directly toward Ethan.
Fast.
Too fast.
Ethan's pupils widened.
He couldn't dodge while holding them.
The claws descended.
Then Ethan pulled them both against him.
Hard.
Sam crashed into Ethan's chest, arms instantly locking around him despite the pain ripping through his injured body. His fingers trembled violently against Ethan's back like letting go would kill him.
"You came back…" Sam whispered brokenly.
Ethan's breathing shattered instantly.
His arms tightened around him without thinking.
Emotion hit harder than the Eye ever could.
Below them—
Eli was still falling.
Ethan's eyes widened violently.
"ELI!"
Blue light erupted beneath the void.
Two enormous glowing hands burst upward and caught Eli before darkness swallowed him completely. The impact shook the battlefield as Elias forced the constructs upward inch by inch, every movement causing blue cracks to spread violently through Ethan's body.
Watchmen stared upward speechlessly.
One whispered:
"…he's destroying himself…"
The giant hands carefully lowered Eli back onto solid ground.
The moment his knees touched the platform—
the Eye descended.
A massive shockwave exploded downward toward all of them.
Ethan turned instantly.
One shaking hand rose upward.
Blue-red light collided against red darkness.
The entire sky froze.
For one impossible second—
Ethan held it back.
His face twisted violently from the strain.
Blood ran from his nose.
His pupils shook uncontrollably.
Inside—
Elias's fading form trembled harder than ever before.
Then—
BOOM.
The Eye slammed shut violently.
The storm imploded inward.
Lightning vanished.
Pressure collapsed.
Silence consumed the battlefield.
Ethan remained floating motionless afterward.
Head lowered.
Breathing uneven.
Inside him—
Elias heard it.
A voice.
Cold.
Close.
Right beside his ear.
"Elias…"
A chill crawled violently down his spine.
"…keep your eyes open."
His fading blue figure froze instantly.
Because he didn't recognize the voice.
And somehow—
that terrified him more than the Eye itself.
The glowing hands beneath Eli dissolved slowly into drifting blue particles.
Gone.
Inside the silence—
Elias's thoughts spiraled violently.
Who spoke?
Why him?
Why now?
But beneath the fear—
another image remained.
His brother smiling.
Holding both his sons safely.
Alive.
And for the first time in years—
Elias realized there was still something inside him worth fighting for.