Far beyond the ruins of the Endless kingdom, where the shattered sky now glowed with streaks of molten gold and night due to the battle between Aegon and the Eternal of Dominion, four figures stood atop a cliff overlooking the devastation below.

The air trembled with power — and this is from both the battle between Aegon and the Eternal of Dominion and the one on the ground.

Neana's voice broke the silence first, hoarse with disbelief when he took sight of the battle on the ground.

"…That's… Endless."

Down below, across the fractured landscape, the battle raged like a storm within a cage. Every time Endless moved, the earth screamed. His shadow split into a thousand forms, each strike devouring the light around it. And within that darkness, flashes of defiance — Kaelen's golden and light blue arc, Lila's divine magic, Guinevere's flame, Eirana's Juggernaut's abilities, and Kelvin's void and chaos magic coupled with his red Qi lightning — all trying desperately to resist being snuffed out.

Drake's fists clenched until his knuckles bled. "They're fighting him… alone."

Velyrian's sharp, crimson eyes flickered as he scanned the battlefield, assessing in silence. "Their coordination's barely holding. That being is really far beyond any ordinary Eternal… he's unstable but inexhaustible."

Maeralyn grimaced, her silvery aura dimly flaring. "They can't hold much longer. Kaelen's group is already battered from Aegon's strike."

The wind howled across the cliffs, carrying the faint screams of dying soldiers — the remnants of Eldoria's legions who still scattered across the field, terrified and broken after the Eternal of Dominion's massacre.

Drake's jaw tightened. "We can't send them into another slaughter. Evacuate them all."

Neana nodded immediately. "I'll cover the retreat for the scattered ones." Her voice quivered, but her will was solid as stone. "Kaelen and the others… they'll need a clear field if we're to stand a chance of aiding them."

Drake looked at her — and for a fleeting second, something heavy passed between them. Guilt. Pain. Hope.

Then he exhaled through his teeth. "Do it."

Maeralyn placed her hand against the earth, sending waves of calming light through the ground — guiding the panicked remnants toward the east, away from the growing void. Velyrian spread his wings, dark and metallic, hovering briefly above the ridge as he watched the raging storm that was Endless.

The Eternal's voice echoed faintly even from there — distorted, layered, and filled with malice.

"You think your light defines you? It only marks where the darkness must begin."

Drake's grip tightened on his blade. "We'll finish this before it consumes them all."

He turned to the others, eyes burning with unyielding resolve. "Once the survivors are clear, we move in. Kaelen's not facing this alone."

---

Down below, the battlefield was a nightmare brought to life.

Every motion of Endless tore reality apart — his limbs morphing and stretching into obsidian arcs that defied reason. Kaelen dodged one, only to be slammed aside by another, his sword scraping sparks against the corrupted ground.

"Guinevere!" he shouted hoarsely. "Flank him from the left!"

Her flames blazed, consuming the air with a roar, but Endless merely absorbed the inferno. His laughter — low, hollow, merciless — reverberated across the void-riddled land.

"Your fire burns bright, yet you still fight for order. How naïve."

A blast of black energy hurled Guinevere aside. She screamed as she crashed into the remnants of a ruined temple.

Lila's eyes widened. "Guinevere!"

Before she could reach her, Endless appeared before her in a blink, his face mere inches from hers, his presence suffocating. His voice was almost gentle — too gentle.

"Why do you fight for the one who carries Eternity's sin of abandoning you all?"

Lila froze, her aura trembling. "He's not a sin!"

"Then why do you decide to flee to fend for yourself when you got the chance?" Endless whispered, before Kaelen appeared in a golden flash, his blade slicing through the void and forcing Endless back.

Kaelen stood protectively before Lila, panting, his aura flaring like a dying star. "Stay away from her! Stay alert guys!! He is trying to get into our heads!!"

Endless's grin widened. "You really aren't making things easy for your friends here, why don't you just do us all a favor and give it up?"

"In your dreams!"

Kaelen lunged, roaring, but Endless parried effortlessly. Each impact was like a clash between heavens and the abyss. Kaelen's arms screamed with pain; his body barely held together.

Inside him, Eternity's voice whispered — calm, authoritative, cruelly pragmatic:

"You cannot win this way. His essence mirrors mine. Without claiming what is yours — Kelvin's fragment — you will fall here."

Kaelen gritted his teeth. "Shut up."

"He carries what belongs to you. Take it, and you can end him and finally be whole."

"I said shut up!" Kaelen shouted aloud this time, driving his sword through a surge of shadow that erupted from Endless's chest. But the blow phased through, passing into nothingness.

Lila gasped, "Kaelen, your energy— it's dispersing!"

Kaelen staggered back, light flickering from his aura. Endless raised a hand lazily, summoning a tidal wave of void energy that crashed down upon them.

Kelvin and Ethan barely managed to intercept it, their combined mana forming a barrier that cracked like glass on impact.

Eirana, teeth clenched, extended her hands, weaving the threads of her Juggernauts abilities into a protective cocoon. "He's tearing through dimensional layers!" she hissed. "He's not even fighting — he's unraveling reality itself!"

Kaelen steadied himself, eyes burning gold. "Then we hold the threads together."

Guinevere's flames reignited in the distance, Lila's divine magic surged to fuel them, Kelvin's lightning tore through the storm, and Rodriguez emerged from the smoke with his shattered Abyssal sword reforged by pure light.

They formed a circle — burned, bleeding, exhausted — but together.

Endless tilted his head, watching them. "You still resist." His tone almost softened, like wonder. "Why?"

Kaelen's answer came steady, fierce, unbroken.

"Because this world isn't yours to end. Not while we're still breathing."

Endless blinked. "So be it."

He spread his arms wide. Shadows erupted from his body, spiraling into a maelstrom that blotted out the horizon. The very ground beneath them inverted — sky and soil twisting in his wake.

Kaelen yelled, "Hold your ground!"

Their combined energies met the storm — fire, lightning, wind, void, and light — clashing against an infinite darkness that swallowed everything.

High above, Drake and Neana saw the explosion bloom — a dark sun consuming the plains.

Maeralyn's hands trembled. "Kaelen…"

Drake's voice was low, trembling with restrained rage. "We move now. No hesitation."

The cliff shattered beneath their feet as they launched into the air, diving into the storm below, into the eye of the chaos — toward their friends, toward Endless, toward the inevitable end.

And as they descended, the voice of Eternity murmured faintly within Kaelen's mind once more:

"You defy inevitability again, Kaelen Dragonyx. You would rather die with them… than live as me."

Kaelen's answer, drowned by thunder and fire, was simple:

"Exactly."

-----

At this moment, Endless stood tall amidst the destruction, his massive, shifting form blazing with boundless malice. His voice was a low rumble, distorted by layers of ancient power.

"Do you still stand against me, after all this time?" he hissed, his eyes—like collapsing galaxies—piercing through Kaelen's trembling figure.

Kaelen's friends had formed a defensive arc around him—Guinevere's flames wove barriers that flickered like dying stars, Kelvin's spear trembled under the weight of the energy surrounding them, and Lila's barrier spell shimmered weakly, on the verge of collapse.

Each breath they drew was heavy, every movement a struggle against the crushing pressure radiating from Endless' presence.

Then, in a sudden surge of blinding light, two new figures descended like divine comets—Neana, her aura blazing with Juggernaut force, and Drake Grey, electricity wreathing his body as his snapped broadsword sang with living thunder.

"Kaelen! Everyone, Don't falter!" Drake's voice cracked through the storm, his sword igniting with lightning as he charged forward.

Neana followed, her entire body reinforced with her Juggernaut's core. Every step she took shattered the ground beneath her, her gauntlets glowing with golden runes. "We stand together this time," she said firmly. "No more holding back."

They both collided into Endless simultaneously—Drake's lightning-streaked slash clashing against the void-like density of Endless' arm, while Neana's fist, wrapped in blinding force, connected with his chest and sent shockwaves erupting in all directions.

For a heartbeat, it looked like they'd broken through.

But then, Endless laughed.

A cold, empty, soul-chilling sound.

"You bring strength and courage," he said darkly, his many arms spreading wide, "but you bring nothing new."

In a single motion, he unleashed a blast of dark mana that swallowed the battlefield whole.

Drake was flung like a ragdoll, blood arcing through the air as his sword spun out of his grasp. Neana slammed into a cracked boulder, her armor denting, her breath leaving her lungs in a painful gasp.

"DRAKE!!"

Kaelen tried to rush forward, but Endless' hand closed around him like a collapsing star, dragging him up into the air.

"You can feel it, can't you?" Endless snarled. "The fear of losing them all again. The dread of being too weak."

Kaelen's eyes blazed with resistance. "You're wrong," he coughed, his body trembling against the pressure. "I'm not afraid… I'm just not done yet!"

Endless' grip tightened, the void compressing around Kaelen's body until his bones began to creak.

Morris shouted from below, trying to cast a spell, but the air around them twisted with such density that even mana couldn't flow right.

Guinevere screamed his name. Lila collapsed, barely keeping the last barrier alive around Kelvin, who was struggling to stand, blood running down his arm.

Then, a faint hum began.

A pulse.

It came from Kaelen's chest—an ancient rhythm that resonated with the very heartbeat of his being.

The ground trembled.

The clouds froze.

Even Endless faltered for a moment, his expression turning to confusion.

And then—it erupted.

A monumental draconic roar tore through the atmosphere, splitting mountains, shaking the firmament, and echoing across continents.

The energy wave that followed was so immense it flung Endless backward like a broken comet, ripping through his dark aura.

Kaelen's body was engulfed in a surge of golden-blue light. Scales of pure, radiant ether began forming along his arms and neck, his eyes shifting—vertical slits blazing with ancient power. The energy of countless storms and infernos swirled into his form.

Ethan fell to his knees, shielding his face. "What… what is this?"

Guinevere could only stare in awe. "That's… Kaelen?"

Even Endless, recovering mid-air, looked on with stunned disbelief. "This resonance… impossible!"

Kaelen hovered above the battlefield now, his hair flowing like molten silver, his skin emanating threads of energy that tore apart the void. His aura was no longer that of a human—or even a mage—it was draconic divinity.

And deep within him, in the endless expanse of his inner realm, Eternity stood frozen.

The cosmic figure trembled, his endless eyes wide.

"This can't be," he whispered. "He's… whole."

He could feel it—no fragments missing, no voids left unfilled. Kaelen was complete in a way that transcended both man and god. The draconic essence within him had awakened and fused with the boundless core of his being—an alignment even Eternity couldn't comprehend.

Kaelen slowly descended, his aura settling but still burning with celestial fire. His eyes locked on Endless, who was already reforming his shattered arm, hatred gleaming in his hollow stare.

Endless growled, "What are you?"

Kaelen's voice was calm, but every syllable reverberated through existence itself.

"I'm Kaelen Dragonyx," he said, his gaze unwavering. "And I'll end this… together with everyone."

Behind him, the battered yet unbroken figures of Kelvin, Guinevere, Ethan, Lila, Drake, and Neana stood up once more. Their pain, their exhaustion—all dwarfed by the sheer hope surging from the being now standing among them.

The winds howled again as Endless raised his hand, darkness spiraling.

Kaelen tightened his fist as he mutters....

"It's about damn time"