The room was shrouded in an awe-inspiring silence, broken only by the faint hum of a magical screen. Saruto's body lay stretched out on the floor, bearing the marks of a battle beyond human comprehension. His body was covered in blood, his breath heavy and ragged, as if each exhalation carried the weight of thousands.
Ethan stood before a system screen, his clear eyes studying the indicators that vibrated violently with every beat of Saruto's heart. He reached out and pressed a button in the center of the screen, and a wave of healing energy swept through the room, enveloping Saruto in a luminous green aura. His wounds began to heal slowly, and his body gradually regained its warmth.
"You've crossed the line this time, Saruto," Ethan whispered, his voice low, as if addressing his son after a deadly battle. "The Fourth Founder is no opponent to be taken lightly."
As he spoke, flashes of memory began to dance through Saruto's unconscious mind, fragmented images of the terrifying battle he had fought moments before in the Founder IV realm.
At that moment, Saruto was facing Adrian, the Founder IV, amidst a shattered world, a hell of ash and ruins. The sky was purple, cleaved by black lightning. Adrian stood firm on the cracked ground, his massive sword gleaming with a dark energy emanating from the very depths of the earth. Saruto's body trembled under the immense pressure of his opponent's power.
Adrian raised his sword and looked at Saruto with merciless eyes. "So you think you can defeat the second and third?" he said. "How thin time has become..."
Saruto bowed slightly, exhaling heavily. Then he raised his head, his eyes blazing with a dark purple light. "He's strong," he thought to himself, "but I won't back down... even if it means the end."
Energy surged from his body like a storm, and he advanced swiftly, brandishing his two chained swords, delivering blows with lightning speed. With each strike, the ground seemed to explode; with each step, the very air itself seemed to burn. Yet Adrian didn't budge an inch. He deflected every blow with his sword with effortless ease, as if he were a child trying to keep up with a hurricane.
Saruto retreated, his sweat mingling with blood, then unleashed his full power of 55%, exploding from his body and creating a raging vortex of shadows around him. He charged again, this time with all his remaining strength, striking, screaming, and breathing purple fire from his mouth… but Adrian simply raised his hand, and the flames dissipated into thin air.
Despair gnawed at Saruto's heart. In a moment of distraction, he found himself receiving a powerful blow to the stomach from Adrian, and his body was sent flying, shattering against the rocks. Adrian moved toward him in a flash, grabbed him by the neck, tossed him into the air, and struck him again before he crashed to the ground.
It was like a storm battering a fragile creature. Each time Saruto fell, he rose wearily, but refused to give up. Then, he heard a familiar voice inside him—Void's—sharply, "Leave it to me now, Saruto. This enemy is different. Surrender."
Saruto closed his eyes and surrendered control. His features vanished for a moment, and when he opened them again, they had transformed into the eyes of a dragon. He raised his head and said in a voice that blended his own with Void's, "Now it's my turn, Founder. Prepare yourself."
In a flash, Void vanished and reappeared behind Adrian, delivering a devastating blow to his neck. Adrian was sent reeling backward, the ground rattling beneath his feet. Adrian raised his head, a chilling smile playing on his lips. "Ha... I haven't been hit like this in thousands of years... This body seems to harbor a rather interesting beast within."
Then, closing his eyes, Adrian whispered a single word: "Common Consciousness..."
A cosmic energy erupted from his body. The earth trembled, and dark purple clouds rose into the sky. Void and Saruto sensed another presence within Adrian... another dragon!
"Impossible... he has a dragon inside him too?!" Void's voice trembled with rare astonishment.
In an instant, Void received a swift blow from behind, piercing his defenses completely. Adrian grabbed his leg and slammed it repeatedly into the ground until the rocks shattered. He then flung his body into the air, and on his shield, Adrian formed a dragon's head that gathered immense cosmic energy in its mouth, unleashing it upon Void in a black explosion that consumed everything in its path.
As the attack subsided, Saruto's body plummeted from the sky, his armor shattered, blood spurting from his mouth. Before he hit the ground, Adrian appeared behind him, grabbing him by the neck and gathering his energy in his finger, preparing to deliver the final blow. But suddenly, Saruto seized his wrist with all his might, his voice a scream from the depths of his being: "I'm not... finished yet!"
Then, he landed a punch directly to Adrian's face, summoning the last vestiges of his power and propelling him into the air. Adrian managed to catch himself mid-air, blood still gushing from his mouth, then unleashed the energy he had previously gathered at Saruto, exploding all around him.
When he opened his eyes again, he was on the floor of the Time Chamber, his body riddled with wounds, everything blurry. Ethan approached him slowly, placing a hand on his shoulder, and said with a calm smile that masked deep concern: "They warned you about dealing with him, but now you realize the extent of his power."
Saruto fainted while receiving treatment in the Time Room, realizing that he still had a long way to go to defeat Adrian.