A/N: If you enjoyed the twist, please drop a Power Stone. Your support gives me the drive to keep writing. Also, feel free to point out any mistakes, and let me know which crossover you'd like to see first, after this arc ends. Let's keep building this story together.
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The ritual site was no chamber. It was an open scar carved into the world itself—a jagged crater atop a cliff of dead stone, overlooking a roiling sea of black mist. Around the edges, shattered monoliths jutted from the ground like broken ribs, each inscribed with forgotten glyphs that glowed faintly red. Ash drifted through the air, falling like gray snow, and the sky above churned with crimson clouds flashing intermittently with silent lightning.
At the crater's center, the scorched remnants of a summoning circle pulsed dimly, flickering between life and ruin.
From the debris, a figure stirred.
He rose slowly—his long hood torn, revealing skin as dark as obsidian and eyes like polished coal, swirling with shadows. His name was Varnyx, one of the Four Dark Masters.
He clutched his side, smoke wafting from a burn that hadn't yet healed. "What… was that?" he growled, voice grinding like shattered stone.
Another Dark Master stepped forward, his cowl still intact but his left arm missing below the elbow. His name was Drayce—the strategist. "Whatever it was," he muttered, "it wasn't good."
A third voice snarled from the far edge of the crater. Sulric, stocky and hunchbacked, his form half-melded into the blackened stone like a beast clinging to the world's skin, hissed, "Look… A few of the Ragon Balls are gone!"
And then the fourth Dark Master, tall and thin with tendrils of black flame curling from beneath his hood—Zael—let out a roar. "THAT BASTARD! Whoever it was—I'll rip him apart and DEVOUR him!"
A heavy silence settled as they gathered around the scorched summoning circle. Pieces of shattered chains and torn sigils littered the ground, glowing faintly with residual power.
Zael paced, fist clenched. "We must strike back—find him. Kill him. Now."
Drayce shook his head, still calm despite the pain. "No. He entered our realm, injured us, and escaped—without triggering the alarm we had prepared. That's not someone you charge at recklessly."
Sulric rasped, "We were careless. Exhausted after the binding spell. Our senses dulled... I barely felt him enter."
Varnyx nodded, voice low. "But even so—how did he bypass our perception entirely? Not even the Sage Eye could've predicted that."
Drayce narrowed his eyes. "Yes. And that attack—" He paused, as if reliving it. "I've never felt such… death before. That wasn't just raw power. That was precision—like a blade pressed against the soul."
Zael fell quiet. "…You're right. He was dangerous. Which means we prepare."
Sulric growled, "So what now?"
Varnyx turned toward the far cliff wall, where part of an ancient mural etched into the basalt had cracked and flaked away. It depicted the multiverse, now marred with glowing fissures. "It means we use one of our backup plans."
A faint chuckle escaped Sulric's broken lips. "Good thing we made our wish before capturing the guardian. Now, even if they try to alert the Omni King… they won't be able to reach him. And they don't even know that yet."
Drayce smirked. "That'll waste their precious time, and it will give us more than enough time to recover and set our traps."
Zael stepped forward. "We'll reclaim the Ragon Balls. We'll find the guardian again. And that intruder—"
Varnyx cut him off, voice like cold iron. "Not yet. First, we need to understand his technique. Reckless vengeance will only weaken us again. No, we'll draw his attention elsewhere… Give him something so urgent, he won't have the luxury to chase us."
He turned his head slightly. "Send word to Rez. Tell her to investigate the intruder discreetly. No direct engagement. Just observation."
Drayce nodded. "Rez's ideal. She might stay stuck on that lab, but is quite useful during times like these."
The four stood in the broken ring, surrounded by the ruin of their own arrogance. Their black forms wavered—like walking voids in humanoid shape—shifting and reforming with the flicker of warped fire still burning in cracks of the earth.
From the shadows, plans were already taking shape.
And far above, unaware of the trap tightening beneath him… Jin flew on.