The Skydome shimmered with radiant hues of violet and gold, suspended high above the clouds like a celestial fortress.
Its dome-like structure pulsed with cosmic energy, a place where only the most powerful beings dared to train.
Inside, Paulo Satoshi, the Cosmic Vessel and Monarch of Radiation, stood motionless, his eyes closed, his breathing steady.
His cosmic katana rested against his shoulder, humming with latent power.
Beside him, Riku Masusa, his first-in-command and Light Tengu Hybrid, twirled his dual light daggers with precision, their blades leaving trails of luminous arcs in the air.
Antares, the Monarch of Dragons, towered before them.
His scales shimmered like molten stars, and his voice echoed like thunder wrapped in wisdom.
"The Zone is not just power," he said, pacing slowly, "It is clarity. It is control. It is the edge between existence and obliteration."
Paulo opened his eyes, their irises glowing with cosmic radiation, "I feel it… but it slips away like stardust."
Riku nodded, "Five minutes of absolute power. But it feels like holding a supernova in your palm."
Antares snorted, "Then you must become the hand that commands the supernova."
Meanwhile, far below the Skydome, in the Terra Universe the Cosmic Base lay nestled within a crater of crystallized energy.
Its walls were forged from meteorite alloy, its halls lined with relics of ancient battles.
Inside, Paulo's commanders rested, unaware of the storm brewing beyond the horizon.
Yuki Fujimoto, Paulo's Tengu girlfriend and second-in-command, lounged in the meditation chamber.
Her Tengu claws retracted as she exhaled slowly, sensing a disturbance in the blood currents of the cosmos.
"Something's coming," she whispered.
Rajin Mori, the third-in-command and Tengu warrior, sat nearby sharpening his blood scythe, "I feel it too. Blood magic trembles. It is her… Momo."
Tetsuya Saito, the fourth-in-command, practiced lightning strikes in the training hall.
His katana crackled with electric fury, illuminating his focused expression, "If Momo's coming, she's not alone."
Above the base, the sky began to darken unnaturally.
Clouds twisted into crimson spirals, and the wind carried whispers of vengeance.
Momo Yokoyama, the Monarch of Death, descended from the void, her blood scythe gleaming with ancient wrath.
Beside her floated Rin Sakuma, the Mistress of Blood, her shadow katana pulsing with forbidden energy.
Rin's voice was calm, almost melodic, "Aliya's death will not go unanswered."
Momo's eyes burned with septillion-level fury, "They will bleed. All of them."
Back at the Ghostface main base, Oliver Sly paced through the war room.
Flames flickered around his gauntlets as he reviewed holographic maps of recent raids.
Skeletons had attacked one of his outposts, and the trail led nowhere.
"Who sent them?" he muttered, "And why?"
His lieutenants offered no answers.
The Ghostface base was a fortress of fire and shadow, but even its walls could not shield Oliver from the growing unease.
He stared at a transmission beacon, wondering if Paulo's group had answers.
"I should reach out," he said, "But I don't even know what they're facing."
Back in the Skydome, Paulo activated a sliver of the Zone.
His aura exploded outward, shaking the dome. Antares roared, "Control it!"
Riku shielded his eyes, "That power… it's beyond comprehension."
Paulo collapsed to one knee, panting, "Five minutes… feels like eternity."
Antares approached, placing a clawed hand on Paulo's shoulder, "You are close. But you must master it before the storm reaches your base."
Paulo's eyes widened, "The base…"
Riku's daggers flared. "We need to go."
Antares raised a claw, "Not yet. If you leave now, you will face Momo unprepared. And she… is not the same as before."
At the Cosmic Base, Yuki stood, her claws extended, "They're here."
Rajin grinned, blood magic swirling around him, "Let them come."
Tetsuya joined them, lightning dancing across his blade, "We hold the line."
Above them, Momo and Rin hovered, watching.
They had not attacked yet.
They were savouring the moment.
The silence before the storm.
Inside the Ghostface base, Oliver clenched his fists, "I will find the truth.
Even if I have to burn through every shadow."
And in the Skydome, Paulo stood once more, his katana glowing, "We finish the training. Then we end this."
***
The air around the Cosmic Base thickened, charged with the scent of iron and ozone.
A blood-red mist rolled in from the horizon, curling like tendrils of vengeance. At its centre hovered Rin Sakuma, her eyes glowing with a malevolent crimson hue.
Her Shadow Katana pulsed with dark energy, its blade humming in anticipation.
Across the shattered courtyard of the base, Rajin Mori stepped forward, his blood scythe spinning once before resting on his shoulder.
His tengu wings flared behind him, catching the wind like sails of war.
Beside him, Yuki Fujimoto crouched low, her Tengu claws extended, her eyes locked on Rin with a predator's focus.
"You shouldn't have come here, Rin," Rajin growled, his voice low and steady, "This isn't your battlefield."
Rin tilted her head, her expression unreadable, "It became mine the moment Paulo took Aliya from us."
Yuki's voice was cold and sharp, "Aliya chose her fate. You are just here to die."
Rin's lips curled into a smile. "We'll see."
Without warning, the ground beneath them cracked as Rin raised her hand. Blood erupted from the earth like geysers, forming jagged spears that shot toward Rajin and Yuki.
Rajin spun his scythe in a wide arc, slicing through the crimson projectiles with ease, while Yuki darted forward, her claws slashing through the mist.
Rin vanished into the blood fog, reappearing behind them in a blur. "Too slow," she whispered, swinging her katana in a crescent slash.
Rajin blocked just in time, the clash of weapons sending shockwaves through the courtyard.
Yuki leapt into the air, wings spread wide and came down with a spiralling claw strike.
Rin twisted midair, narrowly avoiding the blow, but Yuki's talons grazed her shoulder, drawing a thin line of blood.
Rin's smile widened, "Good. Make me bleed."
Rajin's eyes narrowed, "You'll regret that."
He slammed his scythe into the ground, summoning a wave of blood magic that surged toward Rin.
She countered with a wall of coagulated crimson, the two forces colliding in a splash of red energy that lit up the sky.
Above them, the clouds churned as if the heavens themselves were watching.
Inside the base, Tetsuya Saito stood at the ready, lightning dancing across his blade.
"They've engaged," he muttered, "Time to move."
But outside, the battle had only just begun.
Rin hovered above the battlefield, activating a sliver of the Zone.
Her aura exploded outward, distorting the air around her, "Let's see how long you last against me at full power."
Rajin and Yuki exchanged a glance. No words were needed.
They launched forward together, blood, lightning, and claws against the Mistress of Blood.
The war had begun.