The celestial chains of the Asura Gate hissed violently, glowing a blinding, molten scarlet as they relentlessly siphoned the primordial dark ether from Lord Ghost Demon's pinned form.
Yet, as Kaelthar's ashes scattered into the void, the demon monarch did not scream. He did not beg.
A low, guttural vibration began deep within the demon's core—a dark, boundless laughter that warped the air around him.
"You believe a mortal gate can hold the ocean of the Nether?" Lord Ghost Demon's crimson void eyes flared with an apocalyptic, bottomless darkness. "You want my power, boy? THEN TAKE IT ALL!"
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Instead of resisting the extraction, Lord Ghost Demon deliberately flooded his entire primordial reservoir into the celestial links. A terrifying, boundless tide of pitch-black and violet sovereign aura erupted from his silhouette. The sheer, infinite density of his demonic essence overwhelmed the extraction threshold of the ancient relic.
CRACK! SNAP!
The glowing red chains began fracturing like brittle glass under the immense volumetric pressure. The catastrophic feedback tore straight across the spiritual link, slamming directly into Zahir's battered core.
"GRAAAAGH!"
Zahir fell to one knee, coughing out thick torrents of crimson blood. The seals etched into his flesh began splitting open, tearing his skin and rupturing his spiritual meridians from the inside out. Yet, with sheer, terrifying willpower, Zahir kept his hands locked in the binding sign, refusing to let the heavy iron gates swing open.
Seeing Zahir's body tearing apart, Rehan blurred into motion.
"Ishita! Reinforce the perimeter!" Rehan roared.
Ishita wiped the tears from her face, pouring every remaining drop of her sacred life-essence into a massive, multi-layered radiant barrier that locked around Zahir, stabilizing his shattered physical frame against the crushing gravitational backlash.
Simultaneously, Rehan arrived beside the gate. Channeling his Zenith Sovereign Domain alongside the Death God's Life-Reversal Authority, Rehan slammed his palms against the heavy iron doors, driving golden-emerald anchoring stakes of absolute authority into the hinges to assist Zahir in keeping the gate sealed shut.
Through the blinding storm of clashing energies, Rehan looked down at Zahir, his voice tight with profound concern.
"Zahir! Where did you learn such a suicidal technique?! This isn't standard Vanguard cultivation!"
Zahir gave a weak, blood-stained chuckle, his vision blurring into heavy static as he leaned his trembling weight against his broken broadsword.
"It wasn't... taught, Rehan..." Zahir wheezed, fresh blood dripping steadily from his nose and ears. "It was... a divine curse born into my bloodline... a god-gifted seal. My ancestors said... the day an iron vanguard opens this gate... is the day he trades his very last breath for a miracle."
Zahir looked at the fracturing chains inside the threshold. His analytical battle senses, sharp even in the jaws of death, recognized the grim reality.
"It's not enough..." Zahir whispered, his voice trembling with bitter clarity. "He is too ancient... This gate won't kill him."
Suddenly, the gravitational flow inverted.
VUMMMM—!
The dense, pitch-black miasma inside the gate began to reverse its spin. Instead of the gate siphoning the demon, Lord Ghost Demon began ruthlessly consuming the ambient life-force of the Asura realm, violently siphoning Zahir's very own azure battle-aura directly into his shadowy chest.
Zahir's lifeforce plummeted. His skin turned ghostly pale, and his hair began turning a brittle, snowy white.
He knew his time had come to an absolute end.
Zahir slowly turned his head toward Rehan, his eyes clear and peaceful despite the agonizing drain on his soul.
"I can't hold it any longer, brother..." Zahir smiled weakly, a brotherly warmth shining through his fading gaze. "I've reached my limit. I lost... but I leave the rest of this war... to you, Rehan. You are the only one... who can bury that monster."
He turned his gaze toward Ishita, who was desperately trying to funnel healing light into his collapsing chest, sobbing hysterically.
"Ishita... stop..." Zahir whispered softly, raising a heavy, blood-soaked hand to gently brush against her trembling fingers. "Don't waste your light on a broken shield."
"Zahir, please! Don't talk! Just let me heal you!" Ishita cried, her voice breaking into agonizing sobs.
Zahir looked into her eyes with an unmasked, tender vulnerability he had buried behind steel and armor for years.
"I've stood in front of you in every battle... not just because I was your vanguard..." Zahir smiled, tears mixing with the blood on his cheeks. "...but because I loved you, Ishita. Ever since the day we met... my only dream was to protect your smile. In another life... I would have asked you to stay by my side forever."
With those final words, the last spark of azure flame in Zahir's chest extinguished.
His hand slipped from her fingers, falling limp onto the cold, cracked bedrock.
CRASHHHHH—BOOM!
Without Zahir's lifeforce holding the ancient catalyst, the Gate of the Iron Asura detonated into a million jagged shards of iron and divine dust.
From the burning wreckage of the shattered gate, stepping through the violent smoke with unbridled, suffocating malice, emerged Lord Ghost Demon.
His eyes blazed with a terrifying, bloodthirsty crimson fire, his aura crushing the entire dimension under the weight of pure, unbridled wrath as he locked his gaze directly onto Rehan.