A shriek of wind split the battlefield as Reece raised both arms, the storm answering his command. The air twisted into a massive spiral, raw and hungry, ripping trenches into the ground as it carved a path forward. Loose stone, shattered bark, and splintered bone were lifted into the whirling vortex.
A slab of earth the size of a carriage tore free and hurled straight for Sosuke.
His grip tightened.
He dropped into a low stance, eyes tracking the incoming mass. A single, fluid motion. Lightning surged up his arms, down the blade—alive, crackling. He cleaved through the boulder. The halves split cleanly past him, never touching his body.
He didn't slow. He turned and ran—not away, but around the eye of the tornado, boots grinding into broken dirt, body low and fast. The wind clawed at him, trying to pull him in, but he moved like lightning itself. Not blind anymore. Focused.
He saw them up ahead. His team. Still alive. Watching him. Waiting.
He stopped.
Dirt scuffed beneath his heels as he slid, then stood tall, feet planted. He raised his blade and pulled in a long breath. The whirlwind screamed toward him. He didn't flinch.
Lightning built along his spine, rolling down his shoulders, crackling around the hilt. Not a charge. A resonance. His mana rippled into the blade until the steel began to glow, then hum, then tremble—like it couldn't hold his power anymore.
He slashed. Not at the tornado itself, but through the current of wind circling it. Once, twice, then faster. Each arc of the blade split the flow, unraveling the vortex layer by layer. The wind cracked apart, the storm crumbling inward. With a final strike, Sosuke pierced the core and the tornado collapsed in on itself—ripped apart by the very force it tried to harness.
The dust cleared.
"Stop hiding behind your magic, Reece!" Sosuke shouted. "If you're going to fight, then fight me! Or are you just stalling, hoping reinforcements show up?"
Reece stood in the distance, unmoved. "And what if I am?" He raised one hand.
The forest answered. Entire trees were torn from the roots and launched like spears. Sosuke slashed through each one before they reached him, his blade moving in furious, brilliant arcs. Bark exploded into dust.
He burst forward, lightning exploding at his feet. Sparks scorched the dirt in his wake as he raced straight for Reece.
That's all I need. Get close.
But as soon as he appeared in striking distance
The wind snapped back.
A ring of air coiled around Sosuke, whirling faster, tighter, until he was trapped in the eye of a sudden cyclone. He staggered, eyes darting. Reece was just outside the current, his outline warping behind the moving air.
"I knew you'd try to close the distance," Reece said, stepping in just enough. His fist gleamed with charged mana. "It was only a matter of time."
The punch landed square into Sosuke's jaw.
Then his gut.
The cyclone muffled the sound but not the impact. Sosuke was thrown to the ground, body cracking against stone. He coughed blood and caught himself on one arm.
Reece vanished into the storm again.
Sosuke didn't rise right away.
He looked up, his vision swimming—his breath sharp and uneven.
Coward.
But the moment he said it, he caught himself.
No. Reece isn't a coward. He's playing this like a war. I was the one rushing in. I almost lost because I believed I had to win alone.
He let go.
His katana dissolved in a shimmer of violet mana, flickering into the air like it had never existed. His aura stilled, drawing everything inward. The wild energy calmed, compressed, refined.
From the edge of the cyclone, Reece saw the light vanish from Sosuke's body.
"What are you doing?" Reece narrowed his eyes. "You've got no power left."
He dropped from above, ready to slice downward with twin arcs of wind. His arms carved through the air, his movements flawless.
But Sosuke didn't dodge.
A pulse detonated from his chest.
One flash. White-hot lightning burst outward in every direction, tearing through the cyclone's walls, splitting open the pressure system, unraveling the spiraling wind at its seams. The explosion flattened the terrain in a perfect radius around Sosuke, turning the air electric and bright.
Reece couldn't escape.
He was caught mid-descent, his body slammed by the lightning storm and hurled into the ground. Sparks danced over his limbs. His armor cracked. His aura vanished.
When the smoke faded, only fragments of mana remained, drifting above a ruined crater.
Sosuke stood at the center.
He approached Reece, his breathing shallow, boots dragging slightly in the dirt. He reached down and lifted Reece by the collar, locking eyes with him.
"I've learned that people can change," Sosuke said quietly. "That's what I've come to believe. And I want to believe that maybe you can, too. But all I feel from you is hatred. No remorse. No guilt."
He loosened his grip, letting Reece collapse in a heap.
"I won't kill you," Sosuke continued. "But I hope the others show you more mercy than I can."
Reece's fingers twitched. He tried to crawl away.
"Don't treat me like this…" he rasped.
But he didn't finish.
His body stilled.
Sosuke let out a breath, shoulders sagging. He turned away from Reece and limped toward the smoke beyond.
Toward the battlefield's edge.
The smoke began to thin, rolling off in ghostly ribbons across the battlefield.
Sosuke's silhouette emerged first. Staggered steps, shoulders slumped, blood crusting the corner of his lip. Before anyone else moved, Rin was already at his side. She slipped beneath his arm and wrapped her hand tightly around his waist.
"Are you okay?!" Her voice cracked slightly, fierce with worry.
Sosuke blinked, then looked down at her—really looked.
"Are you?" he asked.
"…Yeah." Her answer was quiet.
"Then I'm okay." He offered her a tired smile.
Lightning still flickered faintly across his fingertips, crackling before it faded entirely.
He glanced over Rin's shoulder. Elowen knelt beside Reid, her hands glowing with soft light as they hovered over his chest.
Sosuke moved to pull away. Rin hesitated, but let him go.
He limped toward them. "What happened?" His voice had sharpened. "Is he alright?"
Elowen looked up, sweat on her brow, breath shallow. "The Imperial Knight got him. Deep cut through the ribs. I'm stabilizing the bleeding, but full recovery'll take a little longer."
"We don't have longer," Arthur muttered, pacing just a few feet back. His hand never left the hilt of his sword.
Lyra dropped beside Elowen, her fingers weaving into a sigil over Reid's wound. "He's my brother," she said. "If it's time we need… then we make it."
Arthur stopped, turning slightly. "You were the one warning us about the time limit not five minutes ago."
"I changed my mind," Lyra said, not looking up. "It's allowed."
Sosuke exhaled slowly and stepped closer, looking down at Reid—then beyond him, at the faces of his team. "Sterling's still out there," he said. "And this was just his guard detail. But if Reid's down, even for now… we're walking into the last fight with a gap in our strength."
His voice trembled, just barely. "So why does it feel like I'm the only one worried?"
"You're not," Rin answered softly. She stood just behind him, hands folded across her chest. "But maybe the rest of us have gotten better at hiding it."
She looked toward the scattered remains of the battlefield. "These weren't just any soldiers. They were Imperial Knights. And we beat them. All of them. Sterling trusted them with his life—and we broke through. That means something."
"That's optimism. Not fact," Ren added flatly. He adjusted his glasses with two fingers. "Raw strength doesn't always determine outcome. If we get comfortable, we die."
Lyra winced at the bluntness. "Don't say it like that."
Ren met her gaze, then dipped his head. "Apologies."
"We've come this far," Nina chimed in, skipping lightly down a ledge of debris. "So maybe… just maybe we keep believing we'll keep going. Crazy, I know."
"Blind belief won't protect us," Isabelle murmured. She stood off to the side, arms crossed, gaze fixed on nothing in particular.
Rin elbowed Sosuke. "She's spiraling. Go fix it. You're the only one who can."
Sosuke looked at her. "You sure I'm healed enough for this?"
Rin tilted her head, smirking. "Emotionally or physically?"
"…Point taken."
She gave him a gentle shove forward. "Go."
Sosuke sighed, rolled his shoulder once, then walked to where Isabelle stood.
He took his time. His feet dragged slightly through ash and cracked stone. When he reached her, he stood beside her but didn't speak.
"Are you going to say something?" Isabelle asked, not turning.
Sosuke rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm… sorry," he said. "I didn't think things would end up like this. And I didn't mean to—"
"Don't apologize yet," she cut in.
He looked at her, surprised.
"I hated you," she said. Her fists clenched. "Because everything you said was true. Every flaw, every weakness… you put a mirror in front of me, and I wasn't ready to see what stared back."
"I didn't want to hurt you," Sosuke said quietly.
"I know," she breathed. "I saw something in you. Something I wanted to be. But I think I tried to become it for the wrong reasons."
Sosuke stayed quiet for a moment. "I don't think I ever meant to lead you on," he said. "I just… didn't know you long enough to understand what you really needed. Or what I was even to you."
Isabelle's hands relaxed, her eyes softening just a little. "You weren't cruel," she said. "Just… caught in something neither of us really thought through."
Sosuke nodded. "It all happened too fast."
They stood in silence for a breath.
Then he turned, heading back to Rin.
Rin waited with a knowing look. "You good?"
"I said what needed to be said."
"That's rare for you."
He smiled, just slightly. "Hey."
"Come on," Rin said, grabbing his hand. "We've got a world to finish saving."
The others began to gather around Reid again. Clyde had stirred, groaning softly. Nina helped him sit up. Elowen wiped sweat from her forehead and pressed on, still focused on Reid's wound.
The sky above them had begun to clear. Not entirely—but just enough to let the sun break through the clouds.
———
Sosuke stepped in close and gave Reid a light tap on the shoulder. "You still breathing?"
Reid winced, then forced a grin. "Alive enough to take down the big bad."
Sosuke raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
"He's lying." Lyra's voice cut in as she passed with Ren beside her, arms folded tight. "He's probably aching just from standing."
Reid glanced over his shoulder. "I can feel the care in your words."
Lyra didn't stop walking. "Shut up." she muttered with a small grin.
Rin came up next, eyeing Reid with concern. "If you're not ready, don't pretend you are. You've got nothing to prove."
Reid's smile faded. "I do, actually." He met her eyes, voice flat. "I'm fighting. No matter what."
She studied him for a second, then nodded once. "Okay."
"You're gonna hurt yourself again, idiot." Lyra stopped beside him now, gaze flicking toward the bandages. Her arms were still crossed, but her eyes lingered. "You get one set of ribs. Don't be stupid with them."
Reid smirked, trying to ease the weight in the air. "I'm good. She caught me off-guard, that's all. I still got a few swings in me."
Sosuke crossed his arms, amused. "Off-guard, huh? Pretty sure I watched you eat that hit with your whole chest."
Reid gave him a flat look. "Cool. Glad we're keeping score."
Arthur let out a short laugh from a few feet away. "I don't think you've ever won a fight clean. That Imperial Knight barely counts."
Ren added with a faint smile, "Let me know when you beat someone strong without being half-dead after."
Reid turned in a slow circle, arms raised. "Is this what betrayal feels like?"
Lyra looked away, but a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Maybe you deserve it."
Their laughter—scattered and genuine—briefly lifted the weight hanging over them.
Sosuke's grin faded. He turned to Rin, voice quieter now. "I… need to say something."
Rin tilted her head. "Go ahead."
He shifted his weight, eyes dropping briefly to the ground. "I need you to stay safe. More than anything. I know it sounds selfish, but… if something happened to you, I don't know how I'd stay focused. I'd lose it."
Rin blinked, caught off guard by the softness in his voice. She crossed her arms but didn't turn away. "You think I don't know how dangerous this is? I'm not new to this, Sosuke."
"I never said you were," he replied, quickly. "It's just… I can't help it. I spent so long hoping I'd see you again. I don't want that time cut short."
She looked at him for a long moment. Then sighed. "You're worried. I get it. But while you were gone, I didn't just sit around waiting. I trained. I got stronger. And I've already decided—we're seeing this through. Together."
He met her eyes again, the words landing deeper than he let on.
"Alright," he said. "I trust you."
She leaned in slightly and bumped her shoulder into his. "Good. Then stop stressing."