The skies, already torn by fire and chaos, fell into an unnatural stillness.
Mai stood above the ruins of the Aqua war fortress, body pulsing with aftershocks of the Ixora. Her breath was ragged, her fingers trembling — but her eyes remained sharp, sweeping the horizon. Duncan climbed beside her, bloodied but conscious. Tiffany lay against a broken vent, one eye swollen, lips cracked, but still alive.
And then... they heard it.
A low hum.
No, not a hum.
Atone— ancient and piercing, like the scream of something buried for millennia.
The clouds above twisted inward, forming a spiral. The light dimmed. Static filled the air. Even the wind halted.
Duncan whispered, "No... Not now."
From the center of the spiral, a shadow fell.
A single figure descended slowly — almost casually — as if gravity obeyed him. His long blue hair floated behind him like a royal banner, and his armored cloak flapped in silence. His boots didn't clank on the steel. They simply touched it.
Gigel had arrived.
Mai's body tightened. Even the Ixora pulsed defensively.
He looked different now. Broader. Taller. His aura wasn't just blue — it was electric smoke, coiling around him in rhythmic, pulsing clouds. His face was calm, but behind his eyes burned a rage too old for words.
He looked at the three of them like a disappointed god surveying broken offerings.
"You've made quite the mess," he said.
Duncan stood up. "Stay back, Mai."
Mai didn't move.
"Where's your army?" Tiffany rasped.
Gigel chuckled. "I don't need them anymore."
A long silence fell.
Then he turned to Mai.
"You've gotten stronger. The Ixora suits you. But that flame... it still burns like a child."
Mai stepped forward. "And you still talk like someone who lost the right to feel anything."
Gigel tilted his head. "You think power comes from feeling?"
He raised one arm.
With a wave of his fingers, the steel under their feet rippled like water. Duncan and Tiffany stumbled, barely regaining balance.
Mai launched a bolt of orange flame.
Gigel didn't even raise his hand. The flame split in two, veering harmlessly past him.
He spoke softly.
"Try again."
She did.
She screamed, charging him with a vortex of Ixora rage. Her fists blazed as she struck — once, twice, three times.
He moved like a wraith.
Every blow passed through the air.
Then came his counter.
One flick.
Her body flew fifty meters across the deck, shattering through two exhaust towers. Duncan ran to her. She was alive — just barely.
Tiffany tried to stand. "Leave her alone!"
Gigel looked at her like one might look at a bug.
"Be silent."
A shockwave hit her — not physical, but mental. Tiffany dropped instantly, eyes wide, blood from her nose.
Mai struggled to rise.
Gigel walked toward her.
"I once thought flower-bearers were divine. Chosen. But we are merely vessels. And you... You are a cracked one."
Mai coughed. "You're scared."
He stopped.
"No. Just disappointed."
He raised his sword, long, jagged, black with blue pulses. His aura swelled.
And just as he prepared to strike, Duncan leapt in front of Mai.
"NO!"
Gigel paused.
"...Still clinging to ghosts?"
He stepped back and vanished into blue mist.
His voice echoed from the clouds:
"I'll return when you've decided what kind of monsters you truly are."
The sky quieted again.
Mai sat up slowly.
Duncan knelt beside her.
Tiffany groaned. "He didn't kill us."
Mai stared at the mist. "He doesn't need to—not yet."
To be continued...
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