The battlefield stood silent for one final moment.
A moment before the world drowned in blood.
Darkness stretched endlessly across the horizon while Dominion's gathered forces stood behind towering defense walls beneath crimson skies.
Humanity against extinction.
And at the center of it all—
Kaien stood alone before the advancing apocalypse.
The Entity stared toward him from within the ocean of corruption afterward.
Its enormous body twisted unnaturally while darkness moved like living flesh around it. Countless manifestations screamed beneath its presence while the earth itself cracked apart simply from the pressure of its existence.
Then its eyes settled completely on Kaien.
And suddenly—
it smiled.
A horrible smile filled with recognition.
"Suryaputra…"
The battlefield trembled from the weight behind that word.
Not Kaien.
Not warrior.
Suryaputra.
Son of the Sun.
Karna.
The Entity's voice echoed across the wastelands like thunder from another reality itself.
"You may have managed to kill my brother…"
Kaien's eyes narrowed instantly afterward.
Brother.
Fragments of memory flashed violently through his mind.
The previous Entity.
The being he destroyed as Arin using Brahmashirastra.
The monster that vanished alongside an entire fractured world.
So that creature…
was not the true source.
This one was greater.
Older.
And infinitely more terrifying.
The Entity slowly raised one massive hand afterward toward Kael standing beside it.
"But this time…"
Darkness exploded outward violently.
"…you face me."
The corruption surrounding Kael erupted instantly afterward.
Kaien's expression changed sharply.
"KAEL—"
Too late.
The Entity's body collapsed completely into shadow before surging directly into Kael's corrupted form.
The entire battlefield shook violently.
Kael screamed.
Not human anymore.
Not entirely alive anymore.
His body arched unnaturally while black energy exploded from every part of him. Massive fractures spread across the sky above while the earth beneath his feet shattered endlessly outward.
Soldiers across Dominion lines visibly panicked.
"What the hell is happening—"
"It merged with him—"
"That pressure…"
Kael slowly lifted his head afterward.
Only now—
his face no longer belonged entirely to him.
One crimson eye glowed like a dying sun while black veins spread endlessly across his body. His armor had fused directly into corrupted flesh while darkness poured constantly from his skin.
Then he smiled.
But it was not Kael's smile.
The Entity had fully taken control.
And suddenly every manifestation across the battlefield roared simultaneously.
The sound shattered the skies themselves.
Then the army moved.
The apocalypse advanced.
Darkness surged across the wastelands like a tidal wave swallowing the world whole. Corrupted soldiers sprinted forward alongside manifestation beasts larger than buildings while gigantic abominations crawled through fractures overhead.
Millions upon millions charged simultaneously.
The ground itself disappeared beneath them.
Humanity's soldiers froze momentarily seeing the scale of the advance.
It looked endless.
Like the entire world had turned against them.
Then Kaien's voice thundered across Dominion lines.
"HOLD FORMATION!"
Golden solar energy erupted violently around him afterward.
"ARTILLERY PREPARE FOR IMPACT!"
Commanders snapped awake immediately hearing him.
"All batteries ready!"
"Defense sectors activate!"
"Solar Guard forward divisions move now!"
The battlefield exploded into motion.
Massive resonance cannons lit up Dominion's defensive walls while aerial fleets shifted into attack formations overhead. Mechanized units advanced toward frontline positions as millions of soldiers raised weapons simultaneously.
And then—
the two armies collided.
The first impact looked like the end of civilization itself.
Resonance artillery fired across the battlefield in blinding streaks of blue light tearing directly into the corruption tide. Entire sections of manifestation armies exploded instantly beneath bombardment while Solar Guard snipers targeted elite corrupted units from the walls above.
But the Entity's army did not stop.
Even destroyed manifestations continued crawling forward through missing limbs and shattered bodies. Corrupted soldiers climbed over their own dead without hesitation while gigantic beasts smashed directly into Dominion's outer defenses.
The sound became unbearable instantly.
Explosions.
Screaming.
Gunfire.
Manifestation roars.
War consumed everything.
Kaien launched himself directly into the battlefield afterward.
The earth beneath him shattered from the force alone.
Golden light exploded outward as Vijaya pierced through the frontlines of corruption like divine lightning itself.
The first manifestation giant rushed toward him roaring violently—
Kaien moved once.
Vijaya split the creature entirely in half.
Solar energy erupted through its body afterward reducing the monster into ash before its corpse even hit the ground.
Another hundred corrupted soldiers charged immediately afterward.
Kaien raised one hand calmly.
"Agneyastra."
Fire exploded across the battlefield instantly.
A massive inferno consumed entire sections of the advancing army while soldiers behind him watched in stunned silence.
He looked less like a human warrior now.
More like a force of nature.
The Son of the Sun returned to war once again.
Nyra and Lyss fought together along Dominion's central defensive line meanwhile.
Their movements synchronized perfectly despite battlefield chaos surrounding them. Solar resonance blades cut through corrupted troops while specialized rifles destroyed manifestations attempting to breach the walls.
Nyra blasted a manifestation hound directly through the skull afterward before shouting,
"LEFT SIDE!"
Lyss reacted instantly slicing through another corrupted soldier approaching from behind.
The battlefield around them already looked horrific.
Bodies everywhere.
Fire spreading through broken terrain.
Manifestation corpses piling against defensive structures.
Yet despite humanity's preparations—
the Entity's army still kept advancing.
Because there were simply too many.
Far too many.
High above the battlefield aerial fleets engaged monstrous flying manifestations emerging through fractures in the sky. Massive carriers exploded one after another beneath attacks from corrupted leviathans while fighter squadrons desperately attempted holding formation against impossible odds.
Dominion fought with everything it had.
And still—
the darkness kept coming.
Then suddenly the battlefield pressure changed completely.
Kaien felt it instantly.
Every instinct screamed danger.
He turned sharply afterward toward the center of the corruption tide.
And there—
stood Kael.
Or rather—
the Entity wearing Kael's body.
Black energy exploded endlessly around him while the very space nearby distorted unnaturally. Every manifestation army instinctively moved away from him as if afraid.
Then the possessed Kael slowly lifted one hand.
And an entire Dominion armored division vanished instantly.
Not exploded.
Not destroyed.
Erased.
Reality itself collapsed around them before swallowing everything into darkness.
The battlefield froze.
Humanity stared in horror.
The Entity smiled afterward through Kael's face.
"Do you understand now, Suryaputra?"
Its voice echoed unnaturally from Kael's body.
"This war was lost before it began."
Kaien gripped Vijaya tighter instantly afterward.
Golden solar energy erupted violently around him again.
"No."
The battlefield shook from the sheer force of his voice.
Kaien slowly pointed Vijaya directly toward the Entity afterward.
"As long as humanity still stands…"
The crimson mark between his eyes ignited like a star.
"…this war is not over."
Then both monsters of this battlefield moved simultaneously.
Kaien shot forward like golden lightning.
The Entity rushed toward him through collapsing darkness.
And the true battle for humanity finally began.