The sky above the Central District was dead.Nael's presence had erased color, sound, and even the breath of the world. Mountains floated in unstable orbits, shattered buildings drifted like deformed moons, and entire seas had been swallowed by rifts of void.
At the center of this ruined battlefield, two rays of pure fury clashed.
Ethan Stormbreak, Raijin and Arashi daggers in hand, stared at the enemy who seemed to devour everything with his very existence. The crimson glow of his lightning was distorted, tainted by a shade of black, as if chaos itself had seeped into his soul.
Nael, the Man of Gravity, smiled. His laughter echoed like thunder muffled by the weight of the universe.
— "So you're the little son of the great Inavy Stormbreak…" he said, twisting his hand in the air. Space warped around him, the battlefield bending like melting glass. "But all I see is a boy trying to hide behind his father's thunder."
Ethan clenched his teeth.— "Shut up."
Nael tilted his head, his abyssal eyes reflecting the death of stars.— "You'll never be like them. Not like Inavy. Not like Ron. Not like Ray."His laughter deepened, dripping with madness.— "You are the flaw of the Stormbreak line. A fragile echo amidst the cosmic thunder."
Crimson lightning burst around Ethan, cracking the very air. But something was wrong: the darkness corroded its edges, staining it black. Along with it, his daggers — Raijin and Arashi — shone with a distorted glow. The chaotic aura merged into the blades, making them heavier, sharper, more divine. The metal vibrated as if ready to cut even the concept of reality itself.
Ethan surged forward.Nael raised his hand.
Singularity Field.
A miniature black hole formed between them, devouring everything around. The ground was pulled, stones crushed into dust. Gravity pressed Ethan down like billions of invisible hands, trying to reduce him to ashes.
But Ethan did not yield.His eyes burned red and black.— "I am not a flaw…"
The daggers slashed through space, unleashing crimson thunder entwined with chaos. The impact cracked the gravitational field, forcing Nael's gaze to narrow.
— "Hoh… so you can bite as well." He spread his arms, his body shining like a black sun. "But how long until the weight of infinity crushes you?"
Collapse Stomp.
Nael struck the ground, and gravity multiplied a thousandfold. Mountains imploded, building fragments crumbled like paper, even the air seemed crushed. Ethan was driven to his knees, his body trembling.
— "All yields to the weight of the universe… even you," Nael said, his laughter reverberating.
Ethan bit his tongue, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. The daggers burned in his hands, resonating. And then, something inside him broke.
The crimson lightning became a black mantle edged with scarlet. His eyes gleamed with the storming fury of generations. His aura roared.
Nael's grin widened.— "Yes… let the darkness of thunder consume you!"
The air vibrated. Ethan vanished in absurd speed, reappearing before Nael with swift cuts, each dagger leaving trails of black rifts in space. The cosmos twisted with every strike, as if on the brink of collapse.
— "Not bad… but still insufficient!"
Nael raised his hands.
Inverse Gravity.
Ethan's body was torn from the ground and hurled against the invisible ceiling of the gravitational domain, crushed from within. The air burst from his lungs in a spray of blood.
— "You see… even your very existence bends before me," Nael mocked. "You will never surpass the name you carry."
Ethan screamed, his pain twisting into fury. His lightning exploded, shattering the gravitational cage around him. He descended like a comet, daggers blazing with chaotic energy.
Nael lifted his gaze.
Event Horizon Gaze.
For an instant, Ethan felt his mind being dragged away. The void beckoned, distant voices echoed inside his consciousness, pulling him toward eternal nothingness.
But crimson thunder shattered the darkness.Ethan roared:— VOIDREND FANGS!
The daggers crossed, carving two arcs into the air. The blades left behind rifts that disobeyed gravity, sliding like invisible fangs through space.
Nael's eyes widened.— "Defensive Singularity!"
A miniature black hole opened before him, trying to devour the fangs. Space groaned, dead stars trembled. But the rifts ignored it, slicing through the event horizon itself.
— "Impossible…!"
The fangs of the void tore through the gravitational field. The universe screamed. The black hole shattered like glass.
And then, the impact.
Absolute silence spread. Matter was shredded, light consumed, sound folded. A black scar hung suspended in the air, whispering voices of worlds that should never exist.
Nael was hurled into the crushed ground of his own domain, his body twisted, blood spilling from his mouth. Yet still, he laughed.— "Hahahaha… hahahaha… that's it, little Stormbreak…! Now you're finally becoming… interesting!"
Ethan collapsed to his knees, gasping, his daggers still vibrating in his hands. The power was consuming him. The corrupted thunder still roared around him, and his allies watched from afar in horror — they no longer recognized who stood before them.
The cracked sky reflected the truth.Nael was defeated. But Ethan was in pieces.
The silence was broken by footsteps.Two figures approached among the floating ruins. Kane Jayson, slightly wounded but standing firm. Beside him, Zen Kagetsune, vice-captain of the Phoenix guild, walked with his rare smile.
Ethan lifted his hazy eyes, recognizing the figure before him.— "Z… Zen…"
Zen sighed, but couldn't hide his ironic smirk. He bent down and lifted the boy onto his back.— "Who would've thought… I'd be the one carrying you."
Even exhausted, Ethan let out a tired smile.— "…Yeah…"
And before he could say more, he fainted.
Zen adjusted Ethan's weight on his shoulders and glanced at Kane.The sky was still scarred by the boy's strike. The cosmic wound lingered, alive, like the fangs of the void still gnawed at reality.
Kane frowned.— "Ethan… is becoming something even he doesn't understand."
Zen only smirked at the corner of his lips.— "And that's what makes him dangerous."
They walked through the dead battlefield, leaving behind Nael's fallen body and the black scar that still pulsed, as if the void itself had sunk its fangs into reality.
The chapter ended in silence.