The golem's hammer descended like a falling mountain.
Eris didn't dodge this time.
He met it head-on.
His right arm ignited with fiery red, his left charged with crackling blue lightning. His legs glowed with wind and stone, stabilizing him on the breaking platform.
Nymera gasped from behind him.
"He's… channeling four elements at once?!"
The hammer struck—
BOOOOOM!
Dust erupted. The entire vault trembled. The shockwave blasted Seris and Liora backward, though Astra quickly anchored them with a starlit barrier.
But when the dust cleared…
Eris was still standing.
One knee bent, both hands bracing against the massive stone hammer—
holding it in place.
The golem's glowing eyes flickered, confused.
Eris grinned shakily. "So this is the 'final trial'? You've underestimated me."
His internal aura surged again, swirling like a chaotic storm.
Astra shouted, "Eris! Your energy is destabilizing—slow down!"
He shook his head.
"No time. If I don't master this now, Mars dies. Earth dies. Everything dies."
The golem pushed harder.
The ground cracked.
Eris' arms shook violently, veins glowing with multi-colored force.
Nymera suddenly sprinted to his side, thrusting her spear into the hammer's edge, diverting some pressure.
"You don't face trials alone," she said through gritted teeth.
Seris appeared on the other side, blade flashing.
"Besides, you'll never hear the end of it if you die before teaching me that lightning trick!"
Liora flipped forward, planting her burning staff into the ground.
"Let's melt this oversized rock!"
Astra raised her hands, cosmic symbols floating above her palms.
"I will stabilize his aura!"
Seven beams of starlight linked to Eris' back, slowing the chaotic swirl inside him.
Eris inhaled sharply.
The elements inside him stopped fighting each other…
and started to spiral in harmony.
Fire fed lightning.
Lightning sharpened wind.
Wind balanced stone.
Stone grounded spirit.
Shadow intertwined with water.
And spirit unified everything.
For the first time…
The Seven Elements became one single force within Eris.
His aura erupted—
A pillar of pure prismatic light.
The golem staggered back.
The vault ceiling cracked open, releasing rays of golden ancient energy.
Eris lifted his hand.
"Trial accepted."
He clenched his fist.
KRAAAAAAAASH!!!
A rainbow shockwave blasted outward, shattering the golem into millions of glowing fragments that scattered like falling stars.
Silence fell.
Nymera caught her breath. "Eris… you… you awakened something new."
Astra stared at him, stunned. "Your aura… it's not seven separate elements anymore. It's a single unified core."
Seris smirked. "Great. Now our enemies are extra dead."
But before anyone could relax—
The ancient vault began to crumble.
The broken golem's voice echoed one last time:
"TRIAL COMPLETE.
DESCENDANT ERIS… THE HEART OF MARS NOW RESPONDS TO YOU."
Eris glanced at his glowing hands.
"What does that even mean?"
A massive tremor shook the entire vault—
worse than anything before.
Astra whispered, horrified:
"…It means Mars itself is waking up."
The ground shattered beneath them—
and everything fell into darkness.