In the morning frost of the snow lands, a vicious snowstorm rages across the cliffs. Lars dives down fast from the sky, hurling toward the Power Dragon. The beast snarls and unleashes a massive energy blast from it's mouth. Lars braces himself, crossing his arms as he tanks the full force of the blow.
From behind, Atheen shouts, "Don't forget the plan!"
Lars shakes his head, blinks a couple of times. "Right... I need to focus on what we discussed."
He steadies himself and watches as the dragon's entire body begins to flicker with a strange white light. Atheen acts quickly—she thrusts her wand forward and casts a spell. A massive ice spike erupts from beneath the dragon, launching it into the air. More blocks of ice rapidly slam into it from every angle. The dragon lets out a piercing cry as blood spills from its mouth.
"I told you!" Atheen yells with a proud smile. "It only takes damage during its buffering phase!"
Lars stares at her, stunned—not just by the effectiveness of the plan, but by her radiant expression. Something stirs inside him... a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time. Was this admiration? Was this... love?
His father's voice echoes through his mind. Zion's words return in haunting clarity:
"I thought I had found the strongest-willed noblewoman on Planet Isha. I wanted to combine our genes and create children with her willpower... my intelligence... the best of both of us."
A flashback strikes Lars. He sees his mother cradling him as a baby. Just meters away, Zion is already training a two-year-old Dustin with grueling intensity. His father's voice continues:
"I thought we could be the first noble family to produce children strong enough to win the Star Games... but I was wrong."
More memories flood in—his mother showing Dustin a world beyond training: singing, dancing, all kinds of entertainment and even introducing him to a new friend around his age... Gaia Frostsilver.
"She changed," Zion's voice booms. "She had forgotten the noble goal—Godhood. She filled Dustin's mind with distractions. He had the most potential in all of Oasis... and she made him weak."
Lars watches as Zion, in rage, drags his beaten wife away. Dustin sobs, reaching out desperately, only to be restrained by noble robots.
"So I took her away," Zion says flatly. "I hoped Dustin would return to the noble path, but he was broken. You, Lars... you're the only one who can save our family name."
Lars snaps back to the present just as the Power Dragon roars and breaks free from the surrounding ice blocks, its flickering light fading.
Atheen cries out, "The theory was right! We need to hit it harder and make the buffering phase last longer!"
Lars then finishes her sentence. "Only then can I slay this dragon."
The dragon charges forward, slamming its head into Lars. Lars retaliates with a powerful punch, the impact shaking the entire snow lands and triggering avalanches that surge across the terrain. Despite being consumed by the swirling snow and debris, Lars and the dragon continue to clash, locked in a brutal battle amid the chaos.
Atheen glides above the storm on a floating ice block and shouts, "Keep at it, Lars! Don't give it a break, or it'll enter into it's power mode and release all the energy it just absorbed!"
"I know!" Lars yells back, his voice cutting through the roaring snowstorm. He hammers the dragon's face again, sending it crashing into the sea of avalanches.
But then—he hesitates.
Once again, his mind slips into a trance.
He sees Kayle—her face from their first duel underground, the moment she kicked him. He shakes his head, trying to stay focused. Then the memory shifts to their second duel above the ocean. He sees her face again, determined and relentless in battle. A strange feeling creeps over him—familiarity. As if he's seen her somewhere before, long before their fights. But he can't quite place it.
Suddenly, Atheen's voice snaps him back.
"LARS!"
Lars blinks, and from within the avalanche, dozens of energy lasers blast out in all directions.
"Shit, I lost focus again!" he groans.
"It's in power mode! Watch out!" Atheen warns.
"These thoughts… they keep holding me back! Stop coming into my head!" Lars yells in frustration.
The Power Dragon erupts with intense energy, halting the avalanches mid-motion and striking Lars with its blast. Atheen shields her face with her arms, barely maintaining her balance on the floating ice.
As the smoke and snow settle, she spots Lars lying wounded and unmoving on the ground. Her eyes widen as she sees the dragon's body flickering with white lights once again—its buffering phase has begun.
"We talked about this!" she exclaims. "It's too soon to let it reach it's power mode again! And you already know that I don't have enough power to kill it by myself!"
She flies down and lands beside Lars, channeling her magic to heal him with shimmering waves of icy energy.
Lars wakes up and slowly rises to his feet, his aura flaring with newfound intensity. The snow around him begins to melt from the sheer heat of his presence.
"I won't fail again this time," he says, his voice firm. "Cover me—I need some time to power up."
He starts charging his energy, the aura around him pulsing brighter and stronger with each passing second.
Atheen glances at him, concern mixed with hope. "I don't know what's going on with you," she calls out, "but please, focus—we can win this! After all, we're going to celebrate afterward... and I'd love to know more about you."
Lars turns to see her smiling. That smile—so soft, so warm—briefly overlaps with a memory of his mother's blank face, distant expression... but now, he remembers her smile too.
Atheen takes to the skies, summoning hundreds of ice spikes above her. With a wave of her wand, she sends them flying at the dragon. Still in its buffering phase, the dragon manages to dodge some of the incoming barrage, but many spikes strike its body, bursting with icy explosions.
With a loud roar, the dragon lifts into the air, spinning rapidly to evade further attacks. Its buffering phase ends as it tail-swipes away the remaining ice projectiles. It bursts through the fading smoke and lunges forward, slashing with its massive claws.
Atheen leaps off her ice platform just in time. Using her magic, she begins skating through the sky—thin sheets of ice forming beneath each step as she dances across the air. She fires block after block of ice, but the dragon tanks the damage, slashing its wings and whipping its tail in retaliation.
Unfazed, Atheen glides gracefully around the beast, leading it toward a trap. Without warning, spikes of ice erupt from the ground, piercing the dragon's body from below. Seizing the opportunity, she conjures a massive spell—a shower of a million shimmering ice blocks rains down, forming an enormous frozen sculpture shaped like a flower onto the beast.
She skates toward the sculpture, touching it gently with her wand. "White Bloom!" she chants.
The ice flower glows brightly, then detonates in a brilliant burst of white magic.
In one last act of defiance, Atheen twirls in midair, gathering snow and ice from every corner of the battlefield. A raging snowstorm forms above in the sky, swirling with divine energy. Blood drips from her nose as she casts a final spell.
From underground a colossal ice hand forms and punches the dragon skyward into the eye of the storm. The dragon ragdolls helplessly, buffeted by shards of ice, magical blasts, and the unrelenting cold in the snow storm in the sky.
Atheen collapses to her knees, panting heavily. She looks up toward the sky.
"That should be enough time," she says, her voice trembling. "Lars!! It's your turn!!!"
Lars charges upward, his aura blazing brighter than ever. With a deafening roar, he launches a devastating energy punch straight into the dragon's chest. The impact halts the snowstorm instantly, and the blow explodes with such force that it turns into a blinding beam—launching the dragon straight into space, where it crashes violently into a massive meteorite.
Lars lands hard, panting, steam rising from his body.
Atheen watches, wide-eyed.
"That was so much power you unleashed... but do you still have enough to finish it off?"
Suddenly—
In the void of space, the dragon erupts with a blinding cyan aura, obliterating nearby meteorites. Its roar echoes across the cosmos, so powerful that it's heard across Doom Planet.
It begins to descend.
A massive meteor of pure dragon energy, glowing with apocalyptic force, hurtles toward the planet.
Atheen's face goes pale.
"If that hits the planet... that'll be it for all of us! Lars!"
Lars slowly lifts his head, breathing steady, eyes sharpening.
He flashes back to his second duel with Kayle—how he once corrupted her divine arrow and turned it into his own weapon.
He clenches his fists and mutters:
"I am the strongest... and I will be the one to become a God."
He launches.
Jetting into the sky, Lars rockets toward the incoming dragon meteor. Both hands crash into it—slamming against its immense force. The planet quakes beneath them.
Lars grits his teeth, skin searing, gauntlets cracking, his hair catching fire as he begins to push back.
The meteor resists, shaking violently.
Then—
From his burning gauntlets, a surge of purple aura erupts, spreading like veins across the meteor's surface. The magic pulses, creeping, corrupting the very essence of the energy.
From Taeo City, Gaia looks up and sees the giant meteor blazing through the sky. Gilga stands beside her.
Gaia says, "You sure we don't need to interfere? That's enough power to destroy the whole planet."
Gilga replies confidently, "We don't. If that's Lars up there, then he's got it. That man is strong—he won't let himself lose with the brightest spotlight shining on him."
Meanwhile, from the floating village, Kayle and Nox also witness the clash of power in the sky.
Kayle says, "That power… it's Lars…"
Nox smirks and responds, "Interesting. At this rate, he might even surpass me—though only in raw power."
Back in the sky, Lars's purple magic spreads across more than half the meteor. He roars louder, his inner strength awakening further. Suddenly, metal boots materialize on his feet, firing powerful beams that stops the meteor's descent. The purple magic rapidly spreads, completely engulfing the meteor as Lars gains control and begins pushing it upward.
With a defiant roar, Lars enters the meteor itself and faces the dragon head-on. The entire meteor pulses with his purple magic. In mere seconds, the energy surges into Lars's body, consuming the meteor. The dragon watches in shock, its scales flickering with white lights as it enters a buffering state.
Lars clenches his fist and unleashes a devastating Meteor Punch, striking the dragon directly. The impact launches the creature through space in a blazing purple comet, which then explodes high above Doom Planet. The purple shockwave illuminates the entire sky.
His gauntlets and boots dissolve as Lars plummets back down, crashing into the snowy plains below—unconscious.
Atheen runs up to him, ecstatic. "You did it, Lars! That was beyond amazing!"
Suddenly, a cyan orb descends from the sky, landing softly beside them.
Moments later, in the afternoon, Lars awakens inside an ice cube. Cracks begin to form around him until he bursts out, falling to the ground as he coughs. Atheen rushes into the room and rushes to his side,
"Wow! Just as I expected—you heal fast as usual! I'm proud of you!"
She hugs him tightly as Lars tries to gather his thoughts.
"The entire village is celebrating our victory," she adds. "They all want to thank you for saving them."
She takes his hand and guides him outside, where they're greeted by a sea of joyful villagers, dancing and singing. Many rush to offer Lars gifts and blessings. He looks around, overwhelmed by the happiness, but then... he hears that familiar voice echo in his mind—his father's:
"Strong women are only there for you temporarily. Once enough time passes, they grow weak—and they spread that weakness to those around them. If you want to become a God of the Star Games, don't get distracted. That will only weaken you at the end game. You must do what it takes to win. When you have no distractions holding you back, you won't have to question their worth. Every second matters, my son. Don't let weakness grow in your heart."
Lars glances over at Atheen, who's happily waving at the villagers. She turns back to him and, without hesitation, kisses him on the lips. The affection calms him. His eyes close as he begins to embrace this moment—the warmth, the peace, the celebration. He pulls Atheen closer and deepens the kiss.
But suddenly—visions return.
He sees Dustin, his brother, laughing with Gaia… putting on makeup… skipping training.
Lars thinks to himself,
"This must be the feeling of love… the feeling my brother once had… It feels…"
The memory sharpens—Dustin's exile from Oasis, his body falling from the floating city into the abyss below. Then the voice returns, louder, colder:
"Don't let weakness grow in your heart."
Now Lars sees himself falling alongside Dustin.
His eyes snap open.
Reality rushes back.
He quickly pulls away from Atheen, heart racing, breath erratic. A panic attack seizes him.
He collapses to his knees, struggling to steady himself. The sounds of celebration become a noisy blur, pounding against his mind.
Atheen kneels beside him. "What's wrong, Lars? Are you still tired?"
She then hears it—he's crying.
Lars lifts his head, eyes filled with sorrow.
"I'm sorry… you'll only make me weaker later…"
Atheen freezes in confusion. Suddenly, purple light begins to leak from Lars's body. Her eyes widen in shock.
Without warning, Lars unleashes a massive explosion of purple energy that shakes the entire village. Panic erupts. People scream and scatter as the earth trembles beneath them.
Explosions rip through the snow village, turning celebration into chaos. Screams echo as fire and purple magic consume homes. Smoke rises into the cold sky.
In the center of the destruction, Atheen lies wounded, her face scraped, clothes torn. Blood trickles from her forehead as she drags herself across the snow, clutching her wand. Her body shakes, barely able to rise.
She lifts her wand with trembling fingers and points it toward the smoke—toward the source.
From the thick haze, Lars emerges. His body steams with purple energy. The gauntlets on his arms hiss as magic vents out like exhaust, his eyes cold,
Atheen, voice strained with pain:
"Why... Lars... we could've—"
Lars, interrupting flatly:
"This is the only way to become a God."
Without another second, he charges forward. The ground beneath him cracks. He throws a single punch—
A meteor-sized explosion erupts, swallowing what remains of the village center in blinding purple light.