The sky collapsed.
It did not simply darken or threaten rain. It tore open with violent purpose, as though the heavens themselves had decided the battle below had gone on long enough. Lightning did not flicker or dance across the clouds in random streaks. It fell with surgical precision, each bolt aimed like a spear thrown by an angry god.
Masszio's eyes sharpened, the faint glow of his spatial awareness flickering across his irises. He had felt the shift in the atmosphere seconds before the first strike.
"…Here it comes," he muttered.
He raised both hands. The air around the group tightened, compressing into an invisible dome of distorted space. It was barely visible to the naked eye—just a faint shimmer, like heat rising from pavement—but it was there, a fragile shield against the storm's fury.
Then the lightning struck.
The first bolt slammed into the barrier with catastrophic force. The impact sent a violent tremor through the ground, cracking the asphalt and sending shards of concrete flying. Explosions ripped through the streets as bolt after bolt hammered down in rapid succession. Buildings groaned under the pressure, windows shattering, walls splitting with deep, jagged fissures. The noise was deafening—a constant, roaring thunder that drowned out everything else.
But the barrier held.
Barely.
Masszio's arms trembled under the strain. Sweat already beaded on his forehead, trickling down the side of his face. His jaw was clenched so tightly it ached. Each successive strike felt heavier than the last, as if Raizen were deliberately stacking power behind every attack, layering intensity until something gave way.
"…This is too much," Laura whispered behind him, bracing herself against the shaking earth. She kept one hand lightly on his back, offering what little support she could while staying ready to move.
Zyren narrowed his eyes, watching the pattern of the assault with clinical focus. "He's stacking attacks," he said quietly. "Testing how long you can last."
Another wave came crashing down.
Masszio gritted his teeth, forcing more energy into the distortion field. "Not… yet…" The barrier flickered dangerously for a split second. One bolt slipped through the weakening seam and struck nearby with a deafening crack. Debris exploded outward in a violent spray of stone and metal.
Laura reacted instantly, throwing herself sideways to shield a civilian who had frozen in terror. The shockwave knocked her off balance, but she held her ground.
"Masszio!" she called out, concern cutting through the chaos.
His breathing had grown ragged. His vision blurred at the edges from the sheer pressure bearing down on him. He was being pushed back, one reluctant step at a time, his boots scraping against the broken street as each impact drove him further from his original position.
Above them, Raizen hovered in the churning sky, arms loosely at his sides, watching the scene unfold with cold detachment.
"Is this your limit?" he called down, his voice carrying clearly over the thunder despite the distance. There was no mockery in it—only mild disappointment, as though he had expected more.
He raised his hand once more.
The storm answered instantly. The lightning intensified, bolts thickening and multiplying until the sky seemed to bleed white fire. The pressure on Masszio's barrier doubled, then tripled.
"…Disappointing," Raizen said.
From the ground, the team refused to stay passive.
"Enough of this," Darius growled, stepping forward. His body erupted with intense heat, flames licking across his skin and clothing without burning them. The air around him warped from the sudden temperature spike. His eyes burned with determination as he lowered his stance.
"I'll break through."
He charged straight into the storm.
Lightning struck him repeatedly, each bolt exploding against his reinforced frame with brilliant flashes and deafening cracks. The impacts should have stopped him cold, but Darius powered forward, each step cracking the pavement beneath his boots. His muscles strained, veins standing out sharply against his heated skin, but he kept moving—closer, closer—until he finally broke through the outer layer of the barrage and reached Raizen's position in the air.
"Got you—!"
Darius swung with everything he had, a blazing uppercut that could have shattered stone.
Raizen vanished in a flicker of electricity.
He reappeared directly above Darius, almost lazily.
"…Too slow."
A single, precise kick connected with Darius's shoulder. The force was immense. Darius was slammed downward like a meteor, crashing into the street hard enough to carve a small crater. Dust and debris billowed upward in a choking cloud.
Malik stepped forward next, his expression grim.
"Then we restrain him."
His shadows surged outward, spreading across the battlefield like living ink. They rose into thick, coiling tendrils that twisted and writhed with dark energy, closing in from every direction at once. The tendrils converged on Raizen with terrifying speed, aiming to bind and crush.
For a moment, Raizen hung motionless in the air, completely surrounded.
Then he exhaled.
"…This again?"
A violent burst of electricity exploded outward from his body. The shadows ignited instantly, burning away into harmless wisps of darkness. The backlash sent Malik staggering backward, his face tightening with strain.
"He's overpowering everything…" Malik muttered, breathing heavily.
Zyren exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders as if preparing for something he'd rather avoid.
"…Alright. Guess I gotta try."
For once, his usual casual demeanor slipped away. His eyes sharpened with genuine focus. He raised both hands, and hundreds of crystalline blue constructs materialized around Raizen—perfectly formed, layered in multiple overlapping shells, each one reinforced and stabilized with meticulous precision. They locked into place like an intricate cage, sealing every possible escape route.
"…Try breaking that," Zyren said, a faint smirk tugging at his lips despite the tension.
Raizen hovered inside the construct prison, studying the layered barriers with what almost looked like mild interest. He glanced down at Zyren.
"…Better."
His body began to glow brighter. The air around him vibrated with raw power. Then, in one violent instant—
Everything shattered.
All the constructs exploded outward at once in a brilliant cascade of blue fragments. The backlash hit Zyren like a physical blow. He stumbled, catching himself at the last second, eyes wide with genuine surprise.
"…Nah. That's not fair."
Masszio dropped to one knee, his barrier flickering dangerously. Cracks were forming across the distortion field now, spiderwebbing outward with every new strike. The lightning showed no sign of letting up. If anything, it grew stronger, more relentless.
Raizen raised his hand once more. A concentrated bolt began forming above his palm—thicker, brighter, far more devastating than anything that had come before.
"…Let's end this."
Masszio looked up, his vision swimming. His control was slipping. The pressure was too much. For the first time, real doubt crept into his mind.
…I can't…
Then a memory surfaced, clear and unbidden.
Artermis's voice, calm and steady:
"Stop forcing it."
Masszio's eyes widened slightly.
"…Right."
He stopped pushing.
The tension that had been locking every muscle in his body began to ease. Instead of fighting against the overwhelming power raining down on him, he let himself connect with it. His breathing slowed. The frantic resistance melted away, replaced by something deeper—something intuitive.
The space around him shifted.
Not with violence, but with quiet, profound control.
The falling lightning slowed, just slightly at first, as though time itself had grown reluctant. Masszio rose back to his feet, steady now, no longer shaking.
"…I see it now."
Above them, Raizen paused, his head tilting slightly in curiosity.
"What?"
Masszio raised his hand again. This time there was no trembling, no visible strain. Only calm, absolute control. The lightning strikes that had been hammering his barrier began to bend—subtly at first, then more noticeably—curving away from their intended targets, redirected by the invisible manipulation of space.
Raizen's eyes narrowed.
"…You're adapting."
Masszio's voice came out calm, almost serene.
"I'm learning."
For the first time since the battle had escalated, the momentum on the battlefield shifted. The oppressive weight of Raizen's storm no longer felt absolute. The team, battered and pushed to their limits, felt a spark of renewed possibility.
The lightning still fell, but now it answered to more than one master.
And high above, Raizen watched the change with a new glint in his eyes—something that might have been intrigue, or perhaps the first trace of genuine interest.
The sky continued to rage.
But the ground below was no longer simply enduring.
It was beginning to push back.