They stared at each other.
A brief silence hung between them—broken only by Kael's heavy breathing and the low hum of the white expanse.
Then—
GROOOOSH!
All four of Noxis's arms shot forward at once.
And...
BRAAAK!
They smashed into the massive cube Kael had been standing on.
The cube shattered instantly, fragments exploding outward like shards of gray glass. But Kael was no longer there. His body had already shifted—reappearing atop another floating cube higher above, Astra gleaming in his grip.
From below, Noxis's red lenses flashed."Heh…"
But the hands did not stop.
Suddenly—
The air itself tore open with small crimson flares, one after another. Not large portals, but narrow slits—opening and closing in the blink of an eye.
From within, Noxis's two Serpent Blades lashed out, their tips gleaming with heat as they bombarded Kael with a relentless storm of thrusts and slashes.
For a heartbeat, Kael froze.
Then his body moved before his thoughts could catch up.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Astra deflected strike after strike, forcing Kael back half a step. But one of Noxis's Serpent Blades slipped in too close—its edge slicing across Kael's shoulder, leaving behind a thin, searing cut.
Red blood dripped, mingling with the cold gleam of Astra's steel.
"Tch—" Kael hissed softly.
His gaze hardened.Not panic.Not fear.
"So it's not just reach…" he muttered, drawing a short breath, "…you can strike from anywhere."
His lips pulled into a faint, bitter curve.
"Annoying."
The assault did not relent. The thrusts came again like a storm. Kael parried one, then two, then three—his body swaying left and right, yet his footing remained precise.
Meanwhile, on another front...
ZRRRRRRT!
The sound of a saw rang out—but this time, it wasn't aimed directly at him. The circular blade scraped through empty air, slicing the white dimensional space vertically from top to bottom—directly above Kael's head.
As if reality itself were being cut apart.
A glowing red fissure split open, widening, until a large portal yawned wide.
And from within—
Mauler Maw burst forth, its massive fist driving straight toward Kael, intent on crushing his entire body in a single, overwhelming blow.
Kael turned, eyes narrowing. With a push from his right foot, he leapt sideways, evading just in time and landing on a smaller floating cube nearby.
The massive hand slammed into empty space—and the cube that had stood behind Kael exploded instantly under the force of the impact.
The battle turned into a chase.
Kael ran, leaping from one cube to another, his body blurring with speed, his sword cutting whenever an opening appeared. But Noxis's four arms pursued him without pause, emerging from crimson portals in every direction—sometimes from below, sometimes from the side, sometimes from directly behind him.
Whenever a cube stood in their way, they did not hesitate to destroy it.
BRRAK! BRAK! BRAAANG!
The crimson cubes shattered one by one, bursting into fragments that filled the white space with drifting debris. The thunder of impacts and the tearing of space blended into a brutal symphony.
And Noxis—he did not move from his spot.
He simply stood below, arms crossed, mask tilted slightly upward.
Watching.
As though the destruction unfolding around them were a performance staged solely for his amusement.
At last, Kael leapt high and landed against the side of a massive floating cube. He hit hard, breath ragged, blood seeping faintly from his shoulder, sweat dripping from his jaw.
Now he stood above—surrounded by dozens of remaining cubes still adrift.
For a moment, there was a pause.
The crashes ceased, leaving only the sound of Kael's breathing.
Kael stood atop the massive floating surface, his body swaying slightly as he fought for air. His shoulders rose and fell, sweat dripping freely—yet his eyes remained sharp and cold, as if sheer will were forcing his body not to collapse while his lungs screamed for oxygen.
I can't keep going like this…
The thought echoed only inside his mind.
If I keep defending, sooner or later I'll be cornered. They won't stop.
I need something that can match them—something that can tear through them before I'm torn apart myself.
Not long after....
The cubes around him began to collapse one by one, crushed by Noxis's four rampaging hands. Red dust scattered, fragments floated, and heavy detonations rang out each time a massive cube cracked and exploded. The space itself became a stage of ruin, with Kael standing at its center.
He clenched his teeth, eyes darting rapidly, tracking the rhythm of the approaching threat.
I can't hesitate. Those two weapons… it's time to call them back. If my body still remembers Astra, then it must remember the other form as well.
Kael closed his eyes briefly, then crossed his arms over his chest. A pale gold-silver light slowly bloomed from his wrists, spreading outward, forming glowing line-patterns along his arms—Aetherial energy carving itself directly into his body.
His voice trembled, almost metallic in its echo, as a short incantation slipped from his lips.
"Return to me. Astron… Fiyn."
At once, the light pulsed—not exploding, but splitting cleanly, precise and orderly, like a system reactivating.
From his grasp, two weapons took shape almost simultaneously.
In his right hand, Astron formed with a dense, tightly packed metallic sound—a futuristic pistol with a thick structure, clad in white metallic plating, its edges framed by gold. Thin red lines ran along its body like living circuits, reflecting a faint glow each time the energy within stabilized. Its barrel was not long, yet it felt solid and heavy, as though it had never been designed for rapid fire—but for a single shot meant to decide life and death.
In his left hand, Fiyn manifested as a single, slender blade. From a mechanism along his forearm, white-gold metal extended downward with near-perfect precision, forming a straight blade with razor-sharp angles. Black accents and thin red lines were embedded at its base and joints, like tightly sealed energy channels locked within the weapon's frame.
Its shape bore no resemblance to an ordinary dagger—no decorative curves, no excessive ornamentation. Every edge was firm and cold, as if Fiyn had not been forged by human hands, but assembled by a logic of combat that knew only efficiency and destruction. Its tip gleamed faintly—not from reflected light, but from a sharpness long accustomed to resistance.
Neither weapon felt foreign in his hands.
They fit—perfectly—as if they had always been meant to be there.
Kael opened his eyes, drew a deep breath, and lowered both weapons.
For a brief moment, the surrounding space fell silent—broken only by the residual ripples of energy from the shattered cubes—before the rumbling roar returned.
From far below, Noxis's voice thundered upward, heavy with mockery, as though he could see and sense everything Kael was doing.
"So you've finally stopped running, little Assassin. Let us see… whether your new toys can withstand my wrath."
The four hands vanished once more—only to erupt simultaneously from crimson portals tearing open in the air. The sound of cracking space and a low, ominous hum accompanied their emergence, making it feel as though the very space around Kael had become a tightening snare.
They closed in tightly, sealing every angle, leaving not even the smallest gap for escape.
Kael lifted his gaze briefly, eyes fixing on the threatening silhouettes hovering around him.
His breathing was heavy—but steady. "Calm down, Kael… don't panic."
He lowered his head slightly again, his grip on Astron and Fiyn tightening, joints in his fingers tensing. His eyelids closed once more—but not to flee from fear.
This time, it was to assemble victory.
"Every one of their movements… I have to see it before it happens."
Slowly, he raised Astron forward, level with his shoulder, the weapon angled slightly to the left—like a spear poised to pierce through space itself.
His other arm lifted Fiyn, resting it above his right elbow, forming a layered stance—one that defended and attacked at the same time.
And when Kael opened his eyes again—
His gaze had changed.
It froze into something cold and absolute. A faint red light swirled within his irises, glimmering subtly. His jaw tightened, and a low, steady voice slipped from his lips.
"I'm ready."
And in that instant—
The first impact struck. One of the Serpent Blades lashed out like lightning from the left, mercilessly aiming for his neck.
By reflex, Kael snapped his head around. His body leaned forward, then turned left, and in that motion Fiyn rose, tracing an arc of light. Metal crashed against metal, the shock rippling through the air as sparks exploded violently before his eyes.
KRENNGGGKK!
—slow motion.
The sparks froze midair, each flash suspended as if held in place by his will alone. Between those frozen fragments of light, Kael's eyes sharpened.
He raised Astron.
His finger pulled the trigger.
Three flashes.
DAR! DAR! DAR!
The bullets ripped through the Serpent Blades, overtaking the sparks still frozen in the air. When time began to flow again, the Serpent Blades were hurled aside, their organic metal shredding like paper torn without mercy.
But it wasn't over.
A second Serpent Blade came slashing diagonally, followed by two rapid thrusts, before finishing with a swift horizontal sweep—every strike aimed at Kael's neck.
Yet Kael's body moved as though he had read the pattern before the first blade had even been swung.
He tilted his torso, stepped lightly to the right, slid his head left and right like passing wind, then ducked sharply forward. Each lethal strike cut nothing but air—shearing strands of his hair, yet never once grazing his skin.
His gaze remained cold—no fear, only a silence ruled by control.
Before the Serpent Blades could strike again, Kael twisted his body. His leg snapped upward, slamming hard into the enemy's head.
GRAACKKK!
The crack of organic metal rang out as the creature's head twisted violently. Yet something strange happened—Kael did not slow.
The world did.
Time stretched, dragged as if sinking into thick mud.
Within that suspended space, Kael raised Astron. One steady breath—
Then three consecutive shots rang out.
DAR DAR DAR!
The bullets tore straight through the hollow of the Serpent Blade's head. And when time began to flow again, everything detonated at once—thunderous impact, a burst of sparks, the Serpent Blade's hurled violently away, smashing into floating cubes and shattering them into debris.
For a brief moment, both Serpent Blade's vanished from his sight.
Then a new threat came from behind.
A heavy rumble thundered as the cube floor split apart. From below, Mauler Maw lunged upward, its gaping jaw-like grip opening wide, intent on crushing Kael's body in a single grasp.
Kael sprinted forward at once, his breathing steady, never looking back.
But in the very next second—
A crimson portal slit open directly in front of him, horizontal, like a wound torn through the air. And from it emerged the danger that had been waiting all along.
Gnashing Saw.
With the wild screech of its spinning wheel, it lunged out, its rotating blade aimed straight for Kael's neck as he ran directly toward it.
Yet Kael did not waver.
He knew exactly what to do.
His foot lifted—half his sole pressing against empty air, as though even the void itself bent into a foothold. His body leapt backward, graceful and precise. Not a panicked escape, but the motion of an acrobat who had repeated it a lifetime.
Mid-leap, he threw Astron and Fiyn upward into the sky.
—slow motion again.
His body floated, spinning through the air.
As the rotation carried his gaze downward, his eyes briefly locked onto Mauler Maw surging up from below, its fingers snapping shut just inches away from his body.
But when he turned again, facing the sky—another death awaited him.
Gnashing Saw spun wildly right in front of his face. The rotating blade was so close it nearly grazed his nose.
Kael's eyes widened, pupils dilating. His breath caught—raw terror, sudden and real. Only a razor-thin margin of luck kept him alive, trapped in the narrow gap between two converging deaths.
And yet, within his grasp, Astra began to form—golden light slowly coiling around it.
With a single twist of his body, he swung the blade.
Fast. And powerful.
Golden light swept through space, cutting cleanly toward both hand cores.
—time resumed.
SRINNCGGG!
The slash rang out.
Gnashing Saw and Mauler Maw were severed in a single strike. Their cores shattered, bodies reeling, collapsing—obliterated by the golden flash.
The massive cube beneath Kael trembled violently, cracks racing across every surface.
For the first time since the battle began, all four of Noxis's hands shuddered—weakening.
Kael landed lightly, his knees bending perfectly as Astra vanished from his grasp. From the sky above, Astron and Fiyn fell neatly back into his palms, as if guided by fate itself.
The arena fell silent. Only the distant collapse of other cubes echoed far away.
Amid the devastation, Kael stood tall. His new weapons gleamed, his aura cold and resolute—unyielding, like an immovable pillar.
Slowly, Kael lowered one arm. Astron angled downward—not toward the cube beneath his feet, but into the open space between the floating structures, aimed at the presence watching him from below. The barrel remained steady, calm, as though distance and altitude held no meaning to him anymore.
"Now… it's my turn."
***