Nyxveyra's hand reached for Kai's head.
The fused god's fingers glowed with black and gray energy.
"It is time, little thief. Your body will belong to us now."
Kai was on his knees. Blood dripped from his mouth. His body felt heavy. The Dual God Whisper had drained him completely.
He looked up at the fused god with tired eyes.
"I said… this body is mine."
His voice was weak, but it was still his own.
Mira screamed from behind the shadow wall.
"Kai! Do not give up!"
Lira pushed against the dark barrier with all her silver threads.
"Fight! You are stronger than both of them!"
Elder Voss tried to send more blue energy, but his power was almost gone.
Nyxveyra laughed softly.
"Such loyal friends. They will make good servants once we control you."
Her hand moved closer.
Kai felt the two gods pulling at his mind again.
Nyxar roared, "Submit!"
Veyra whispered, "It will be peaceful."
Kai closed his eyes for a second. Then he opened them with fresh fire.
He remembered the morgue.
He remembered the first Echo and the funny rich voice.
He remembered laughing with Mira and the way Lira looked at him when she worried.
He remembered he was Kai Voss. Asmall spark of will ignited inside him.
He grabbed Nyxveyra's wrist with both hands before her fingers touched his head.
"I will not submit," he said through gritted teeth. Power surged from deep inside but not from the gods. It was from him.
All the Echoes he had collected started to vibrate. They were not listening to Nyxar or Veyra anymore. They were listening to Kai.
For the first time, the Echoes answered to the real Kai.He used that power.
He pushed Nyxveyra's hand away.
The fused god looked surprised.
"What is this?"
Kai stood up slowly.
His body glowed with a new light, a mix of all his stolen skills but controlled by his own will.
He spoke clearly.
"You both wanted a vessel. But I am not a vessel. I am the owner."
He punched forward.The punch was simple, but it carried the force of every Echo he had ever taken.It hit Nyxveyra in the stomach.
The fused god flew back and crashed into the broken gate. The shadow wall blocking Mira and Lira shattered.
Mira ran forward and threw every card she had left.
"Take this! And this! For scaring my friend!"
The cards exploded around Nyxveyra with fire, wind, chains, and light.
Lira sent her strongest silver threads yet. They wrapped around the fused god and pulled tight.
Elder Voss poured his remaining power into the broken sealing circle. Blue light rose again.
Kai felt the two gods panicking inside him.
Nyxar shouted, "Impossible!"
Veyra hissed, "He is resisting us!"
Kai smiled weakly.
"That is right. I am resisting." He stepped forward.Every step hurt, but he kept moving.
He raised his hand and used the last bit of Dual God Whisper under his own control.
Black and gray energy gathered in his palm.
He threw it at Nyxveyra like a spear.
The attack hit the fused god hard.
Nyxveyra screamed. Her form started to crack. Pieces of black shadow and silver mist broke off and floated in the air.
Kai felt some of the god power leaving his body but it was not enough.
The fused god stood up again. She looked damaged, but still dangerous.
"You are strong," she said. "Stronger than we expected. But you are still one boy. We are two gods."
She raised both hands. The giant eye in the sky opened wide. A massive beam of mixed energy started to form above the camp.
It was going to be powerful enough to destroy everything.
Kai looked at Lira and Mira.
He knew he could not win this alone.
He turned to the tower where the broken crystal still pulsed weakly.
Then he made a crazy decision.
He ran toward the tower instead of attacking Nyxveyra.
Mira shouted, "Kai! What are you doing?"
Lira understood immediately. "He is going to use the crystal!"
Kai reached the tower door.
He placed both hands on the broken crystal.
The crystal reacted to him. Blue light mixed with the purple and gray still inside him.
Kai spoke loudly.
"If you want my body so badly, then come and take it here! Inside the crystal!"
Nyxveyra's eyes widened.
She realized what he was trying to do.
She charged toward the tower at full speed.
But Kai had already started.
He pushed all the god power he could control into the broken crystal.The crystal glowed brighter and brighter. It started to pull at the fused god.
Nyxveyra screamed as parts of her form were dragged toward the crystal.
"No! You cannot trap us!"
Kai held on tight , his body shook.
The pain was unbearable.But he did not let go.
Mira and Lira ran to his side and added their power.
Mira threw her final cards into the crystal.
"Take this too!"
Lira wrapped her silver threads around Kai to give him strength. "We are with you!"
The crystal shone like a small sun. The giant eye in the sky closed halfway, as if in pain.Nyxveyra was being pulled in.
But the fused god fought back with everything she had.
She reached out and grabbed Kai's arm.
"If we go, you go with us!"The pull became stronger.
Kai felt himself being dragged toward the crystal along with the gods.
He looked at Lira and Mira one last time.
His voice was calm. "Thank you… for everything."
The light became too bright to see.A massive explosion of blue, purple, gray, and silver light filled the entire camp.When the light finally faded,The tower was gone and the crystal was gone too.
Kai lay on the ground, motionless.
The giant eye in the sky had disappeared.
The Veil Quake had stopped.
Silence fell over the broken camp.Lira and Mira ran to Kai's body. They knelt beside him.
Mira shook his shoulder gently.
"Kai? Wake up… please wake up…"
Lira checked his breathing.
He was alive but his eyes were closed.
And no one knew what was left inside him.
Was the real Kai still there?
Had the two gods been sealed?Or had something even worse happened?
The answer would decide everything.