As the battle raged on, Miguel could feel the leader's power growing—but also see the strain it was taking. The stolen nodes across his body were beginning to conflict with one another, their energies clashing and causing him pain.
"You're struggling," Miguel said, dodging a rain of corrupted energy blasts. "Stolen power doesn't work in harmony—it fights against itself."
"Silence!" the leader roared, his form twisting and contorting as different energies warred within him. "I am strong enough to control it all!"
But Miguel could see the truth. Every time the leader absorbed more energy, his movements became less coordinated, his attacks more wild. Miguel used this to his advantage, weaving between strikes and using the environment to his benefit.
He called on the wind like Lia, creating a vortex that forced the leader to focus on maintaining his balance. He drew on the stars like Rene, sending beams of light that targeted the conflicting nodes in the leader's body. He used the earth like Kiko, raising pillars of stone to redirect the leader's attacks.
Below, his allies were holding strong—working together in perfect harmony, their different cultivation paths complementing one another. The evil cultivators were being pushed back, their numbers dwindling as balance began to turn the tide.
But the leader was still too strong. With a final roar of rage, he gathered all his stolen energy into one massive blast. "If I can't have this world," he shouted, "no one will!"
Miguel knew he had to stop the blast at any cost. He gathered all his Enlightenment energy, plus the combined strength of his allies flowing through the crystal, and met the attack head-on.