The battle raged into the upper air.
Above Vel Talem, two opposing gravitational fields twisted the clouds into spirals. Birds fled. Communication satellites stuttered. Even the ocean near the coast rippled unnaturally.
Kael and Nex clashed midair again, locking hands.
"You're wasting everything you were given," Nex snarled. "I could rebuild this entire world in hours. Kill its kings. Tear down its Choir. Rule it in clarity."
"That's not clarity. That's tyranny with better lighting," Kael snapped back.
He twisted, shifting his staff and launching Nex backward with a carefully crafted singularity burst—not destructive, but disorienting. Nex tumbled through warped space and slammed into a half-floating skyscraper.
Kael followed. Fast. Efficient. Relentless.
But as he struck again—Nex caught his staff.
And smiled.
"Then die with your leash still on."
He unleashed something deeper.
A scream tore from Nex's throat—not human, not even Vessel.
The singularity at his core split.
And suddenly the battlefield inverted.
The city tilted sideways.
Time staggered.
Kael's ears rang as the sound of reality breaking echoed through the air.
"That pulse..." Liora gasped, watching from below. "He just ruptured his own gravitational anchor. He's unchained."
Kael fell to one knee midair. Blood dripped from his lip.
"So this is what it feels like... to fight myself at my worst."
Nex hovered above, burning brighter than ever.
"Let's see how long your conscience holds out."
Then Nex dived.
Kael rose to meet him, both fists charged with opposing gravity poles.
They met in a shockwave that tore the cathedral apart.
Time flickered. For a second, Kael saw an alternate version of himself—alone, crowned in galaxies, kneeling before a world in ruins.
"Never," Kael muttered, slamming gravity downward.
Nex screamed, tumbling into the earth.
But even then, he laughed.
"You're starting to feel it, aren't you? The pull. The temptation."
Kael dropped to the ground, panting. Eyes locke
d on his twisted reflection.
"Yeah," he said. "And I'm still choosing me."