Neku pushed Marya back, his golden eyes gleaming with predatory delight. The nine reapers hovered near her, their forms flickering, their weapons ready. The ground around them was a mess of frozen ash, molten rock, and quicksilver, the elemental chaos of their battle written across the landscape.
Marya panted, her awakened form wavering. The triple halo above her head flickered, the gold and silver and obsidian dimming. The void-veins on her skin pulsed with a sickly, irregular rhythm.
"It looks like they are about to make a move," Neku said, his voice dripping with mockery. "Just in time, too. You are faltering."
Marya raised a brow, her golden eyes—her father's eyes—fixed on Neku with cold, unwavering focus. And then her gaze flickered, just for a moment, landing on Micah as he took his place among the God's Knights.
The feeling of his eyes on her—cold, judging, familiar—sent a pang through her chest. She had not asked to be here. She had not wanted to be here. She had come to find him, to drag him back with her, and instead she had found a war.
The distraction cost her.
Neku lunged forward, Anute singing through the air. "Your caring for others will be your downfall!"
Marya blocked, the Key of Thresholds meeting Anute with a shower of sparks. The impact sent tremors through her arms, and she stumbled back half a step. The reapers charged in, their weapons flashing, but Neku simply laughed, swatting them off as if they were annoying insects buzzing around his head.
"Do you think your little ghosts can stop me?" Neku roared. "I have been fighting since before the Sun God rose! I will not be defeated by a woman who can't even keep her eyes on the enemy!"
Marya's jaw tightened. She pressed forward, her blade singing through the air. The Heaven domain flared, creating zones of healing and purification around her, but Neku's elemental transmutation turned the ground beneath her feet to molten rock, forcing her to retreat.
The air began to shift and swirl.
---
Garrett's voice cut through the chaos. "Dracule!"
Marya's eyes flickered toward him, her expression guarded, questioning.
Garrett called out again, with a command. "Step aside and follow our lead!"
Marya's eyes narrowed with questions. The Key of Thresholds trembled in her grip. The reapers hovered around her, waiting for her command.
Neku pressed down on her, his golden eyes gleaming with triumph. "What is this? Are you about to show me something?"
Marya's gaze flickered to Micah, standing among the God's Knights, his yellow hawk-eyes fixed on her with a cold, unreadable expression. Something in her chest twisted—a familiar ache that she had been carrying for years.
She made her choice.
Without a word, Marya shifted back to her human form. The void-stuff of her hair collapsed into long, raven strands. The triple halo flickered and faded. The void-veins receded into the skin of her arms, leaving only the black marks of the Igutoshi curse. She stumbled back a few steps, her boots finding the ash, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
Neku's massive form stumbled forward, disoriented by her sudden retreat. He righted himself, his golden eyes blazing with confusion and rage.
Before he could find his footing, the God's Knights acted.
Dracule Micah Aliter, Bovee Rin Ethanbaron, Marcella Vio Marcus, Hao Silvera Shepherd, Darcy Rue, Garrett Hasapis—they raised their weapons to the sky, their faces set in grim determination. And on their chests, beneath their torn clothing, the branded seal of Thye burned with a golden light.
The seal was ancient, heavy, and intentional. The Cresting Wave—the Great S-Curve—dominated the upper half of the mark, a stylized ocean swell that rose on the left and curled into a deep hook on the right. The Eight-Pointed Starburst nested directly beneath the crest, bold and symmetrical. The negative space, the way the wave perfectly arched over the star, created an asymmetrical balance that was heavy, intentional, and ancient—reminiscent of the archaic glyphs found on Poneglyphs.
A giant magic circle formed on the ground beneath Neku, and another appeared in the air above him.
Neku looked up, his golden eyes widening with something that might have been fear. "NO! This cannot be! The Thye! But how—the Great Mu—"
He charged forward, trying to escape the magic circle, but he hit an invisible wall. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the air, and Neku stumbled back, his golden eyes blazing with fury.
He looked at the God's Knights, his voice booming with righteous rage. "YOU—the servants of the Great Mu! This is blasphemy!"
Garrett dropped his hand, his blade pointing toward Neku. His voice carried an ominous tone, the words heavy and ancient.
"Albedo to Rubedo."
Pure, crimson alchemical fluid filled the space. It came from everywhere and nowhere, a tide of red that rose like a living thing, hungry and endless. Neku shifted back into his beast form, a gargantuan horned crystalline serpent, attempting to break free. His scales—thick plates of diamond-hard, shifting prismatic matter—flashed as he thrashed against the magic circle.
But the red fluid consumed him, filling his mouth, his nose, his lungs. He struggled to breathe, his massive body writhing as the fluid solidified around him, locking him in place.
The crimson liquid hardened into red rock, forming a giant, thick, solid red cylinder.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Marya stood, blinking at the new red structure in front of her. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her body trembling with exhaustion. She was about to comment to Aya and Yuma—to ask what had just happened—when the God's Knights appeared beside her.
Micah, Bovee, Marcella, Hao, Darcy, Garrett—they materialized in a blur of motion, their weapons ready, their expressions grim.
Marya opened her mouth, her voice carrying a note of confusion. "What—"
Garrett cut her off, sharp and commanding. "Let's get moving!"
Before anyone could reply, the ground quaked. Lightning streaked down from the sky, each bolt finding the red cylinder with devastating accuracy. The structure cracked, fissures spider-webbing across its surface.
They struggled to stay on their feet, the ash shifting beneath them like water. The red cylinder shattered, and they covered their faces to shield themselves from the debris.
Darcy cursed, in frustration. "Of course. Of course it didn't hold."
Neku slithered toward the sky, his massive serpent form coiling through the air like a living storm. He hovered above them, his golden eyes blazing with rage, his voice booming across the wasteland.
"Traitors to the Great Mu! You actually thought that would detain me?" He laughed, the sound wild and bitter. "I will show you the wrath of Neku!"
He opened his mouth. The diamond on his forehead glowed with blinding intensity. The air began to vibrate, a low hum that built into a scream.
Everyone covered their ears.
Yuma, in his beast form, tilted his head. His massive ears twitched, his golden eyes blinking in confusion. He couldn't hear what the others were hearing. The frequency was wrong, alien to his senses.
Neku craned his head back, his neck arching. And then he belted out a deafening screech.
The sound was agony made audible. It tore through the air like a physical force, shredding the fabric of reality itself. Aya, Marya, and the God's Knights fell to their knees, their hands clamped over their ears, their faces twisted in pain.
Yuma blinked. He looked at the others, their suffering, their helplessness. And then he moved.
He leaped, putting himself between Neku and everyone else. A golden dome formed over them, shielding them from the sonic assault. Yuma stood, his massive golden form trembling with effort, his lyre-shaped antlers glowing with a soft, warm light.
He glared at Neku in challenge, pawing at the ground. The words repeated in his head, a mantra of purpose and resolve.
This is my purpose. I will not shame my people. I am the guardian of Amiso.
Neku's golden eyes fixed on him, blazing with fury. "DAMN GUARDIAN!"
Aya jumped to her feet, her voice cracking with panic. "NO!"
But Yuma was already leaping.
He charged toward Neku, his massive golden form growing in size as he moved. The words repeated in his head, louder and louder.
This is my purpose. I will not shame my people. I am the guardian of Amiso.
Neku recoiled, his serpentine form coiling. And then he lunged forward, his massive body wrapping around Yuma's golden form. Their antlers interlocked, the sound of clashing horns echoing across the wasteland.
Yuma struggled against him, his golden form thrashing, but Neku's grip was unbreakable.
---
On the ground, Aya stood frozen.
She had seen it—the leap, the charge, the interlocking antlers. She had seen Yuma's massive golden form, his lyre-shaped antlers glowing, his nostrils flared with defiance. And she had seen Neku's serpentine body wrap around him, crushing him.
"YUMA!" she screamed, her voice cracking.
She turned to the God's Knights, who were still disoriented, still struggling to their feet. She rushed to them, her voice desperate, pleading.
"You have to help him!"
Darcy looked at Garrett, her slitted pupils unreadable. "We should go."
Aya's face twisted with a desperate fury. "You CAN'T! He will die if you don't help him!"
Micah turned to her, his yellow hawk-eyes cold and flat. "He was dead anyway. Walking past her, just now it isn't by us."
He pushed past her, his boots crunching in the ash. The other God's Knights followed, their faces set in grim determination.
Marya stood, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She watched as the God's Knights walked past her, their weapons ready, their eyes fixed on the horizon. When they noticed she wasn't following, Garrett turned back, his voice sharp and commanding.
"Dracule!"
Marya ignored him.
She tightened her grip on Nisshoku, the obsidian blade pulsing with dark energy, the crimson runes glowing like fresh blood. The black void veins on her arms pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat.
She walked toward Aya.
Aya looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, her face streaked with ash and tears. Marya placed a hand on her shoulder, the gesture surprisingly gentle.
And then she was gone.
Marya rushed toward Neku and Yuma, her boots pounding against the ash, her raven hair streaming behind her like a banner. Haki arched in the air around her, a devastating blow waiting to be delivered.
Garrett cursed, in frustration. "Of course. Of course she's doing this."
Darcy sighed, her crocodilian head swiveling to fix on the battle. "Fine. Fine."
She shifted into her beast form, the Ammit emerging from the human shell like a nightmare given flesh. Massive, armored, terrifying—she charged toward Neku, Shisan-NiImaru raised high.
Bovee's pale grey-blue eyes hardened. "Guess we're the ones who get to kill the golden stag after all."
He moved.
The God's Knights followed.
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