Stefan held the spear high, ready to strike Aquila—
Then the sound hit.
A bell.
Louder this time. Piercing. Followed by a faint squeaking sound. The squeaking of---
A... mouse?
"Damn it!" Stefan yelled, the spear clattering to the ground as he clutched his hair.
"That stupid mouse—I knew I should've let you get eaten..."
He frantically patted down his body, slapping at himself like something was crawling over him, but nothing was there.
Aquila watched, momentarily stunned by the bizarre sight. Then—
Her eyes flashed purple. Her hand twisted, summoning a black mass of writhing energy. The ground trembled.
Stefan's glowing eyes dulled for a moment. He blinked, disoriented.
"W—what happened?" he asked, just as a low, guttural roar echoed from deep in the trees.
He turned. His face paled.
The monster rose again—towering, silhouetted against the burning forest.
It stalked forward, slow, inevitable.
"KILL HIM!" Aquila screamed.
The beast screeched, its body erupting with glowing purple antennae. Reawakening it took more energy than I thought...I need to retreat.
Aquila began crawling away, vigor spent.
The monster fired its antennae at Stefan. He threw up his arms, bracing instinctively.
And then—
A flash of red.
Ozai stood before him, a shield of red energy coalescing around his arm. Sparks flew as the blast collided with it.
"Ozai?" Stefan gasped.
Ozai didn't reply. He growled, forcing the attack backward. Three railguns formed around him, their barrels humming with unstable energy.
The monster twitched. Its body lit up—throat, stomach, limbs—pulsing with purple light. Lightning crackled around the clearing.
Far away, Cooper stirred.
He glanced down at his torso—his armor torn, but his skin intact, healed with only a pale scar. A strange black substance clung to his hand, pulsing like living mud before it melted into his skin.
He didn't have time to process it.
The air vibrated with power—he turned, eyes locking onto the beast as it opened its mouth wide, light building in its core.
Across from it, Ozai's railguns reached their limit, crackling with condensed energy.
A wave of dread slammed into Cooper. He didn't hesitate.
He ran.
Then came the blast.
The monster fired, unleashing a raw, primal beam of energy. Ozai countered, launching all three railguns at once. The beams collided midair with a blinding crash.
Radiation surged through the air, white hot and searing. The falling rain turned to vapor before it hit the ground.
Stefan shielded his eyes, glancing sideways.
He looked around—Aquila was gone.
But the spear remained.
Without thinking, he grabbed it.
Ozai's railguns began to sputter, energy waning. The beast's beam pushed forward.
Stefan stepped beside him, gripping the spear tightly.
"Come on, Come on---" He mumbled as the spear flickered, praying it would still work.
It did.
The spear unleashed the last of its energy into a final burst—a plume of white flame spiraled forward, entwining with Ozai's attack.
Ozai glanced at him and grinned.
Then he screamed—defiant.
Stefan joined him.
The flames burned his skin raw, charring his hoodie, blackening his hands. But he didn't care.
Together, they pushed back.
The combined blast struck the monster, sending it crashing into the forest. A shockwave rippled through the air, distorting space. The lingering electromagnetic energy sparked and twisted—until a thin slit tore open in the sky.
A rift.
The monster screeched, a hole blown clean through its side. But the black substance covering its body moved to heal it—shifting, pulsing, sealing the damage with a grotesque hiss.
"That…" Ozai muttered, staring at the rift.
Stefan collapsed to his knees, scorched and shaking. His hoodie was gone, his body seared and scarred.
"Stefan, get up!" Ozai barked, dragging him to his feet. "That's one of the portals I saw before—that's our way out!"
He half-carried Stefan toward the slit in the air.
But before they could reach it, the monster returned.
The hole in its side had reformed and mutated into a secondary head—grotesque, distorted, fanged, and glowing with a massive purple eye.
"Shit," Ozai muttered.
He threw up a protective bubble, crimson light surrounding them as the beast slammed into it again and again, trying to shatter it.
"Stefan, is your Signature out of energy?" Ozai asked.
"M-my Signature?" Stefan echoed, dazed.
He remembered the strange feeling from earlier--- That surreal disconnection as he fought Aquila, It felt as if he were watching himself in third person.
"I—I don't know!" he shouted.
Ozai cursed.
"On my count, I want you to jump through the rift!" he yelled as the bubble began to crack.
"Wait—what about you?!" Stefan cried.
"I need to stay," Ozai said grimly, glancing at his arm.
The black mass had spread farther along his arms.
"If I don't kill it here, it'll just follow us through."
He turned and looked back at Stefan.
"Listen, Stefan, I'm sorry we couldn't find your friend..." The bubble cracked louder now, sharp splinters of red energy flaking off.
"I let you die... and I couldn't keep my promise." His voice trembled.
"But that power you used— I've never seen anything like it!" He smiled despite the pressure, a warm, proud smile.
"You have to harness that power.Grow strong enough to wield it in its absolute form!"
The shield crackled.
Ozai grunted, sweat dripping down his face as chunks of the bubble began to shatter entirely.
"I can feel it—this is just the beginning of your story, Stefan Hart! You must live... so we can figure out what's going on and put an end to it!"
"Ozai..." Stefan whispered, watching him strain to keep the shield together.
"I know you're scared. I know you're confused—" Ozai yelled, voice rising above the noise.
"But that fear? It needs to become courage. It's the only thing that'll keep us moving— in either Enimda or New Jersey!"
"You're the only one I can count on. We have to fight. We have to win. We have to save our worlds!"
He turned, locking eyes with Stefan. "And I'm ready—are you?!"
Stefan stood still for a moment, processing Ozais question as he stared at his hands. Shaking.
He thought back to that feeling from earlier... the immense power he had, the pride, the clarity. He'd never felt so sure of himself, So... capable.
Maybe he wasn't as helpless as he thought he was this morning.
"Yeah..." Stefan said, a strange sense of purpose suddenly flooding his mind, replacing fear.
Ozai grinned. "That's the spirit!" He crouched low, positioning as he readied himself.
"On my mark!" he yelled, holding up three fingers.
"Three!"
The monster screeched, raising a claw cloaked in lightning.
"Two!"
Ozai conjured a red-hot morningstar, flames licking around its spiked head.
"One!"
The last of the bubble faded. Ozai raised the morningstar, bracing himself.
Zero.
The shield burst. The monster's claw came down in a blur of violent energy.
Ozai swung.
The impact detonated like a cannon, the shockwave ripping through the air—too strong.
Stefan ran towards the rift, but the force of the clash threw him off his feet, flying straight into the gate—
—and into the world of Enmida.