The gates of the palace groaned open, a rumble that shook the mountain. From the widening crack spilled golden light, and with it came the marching.
Clank. Clank. Clank.
Dozens of golden droids poured forth, their movements inhumanly precise. Polished helms reflected Henry and Elara in distorted, faceless images. Their weapons gleamed—glaives humming with golden energy, rifles glowing with coils of molten light.
Henry stepped forward, fists already sparking with heavenly blue.
Henry: "They're just machines. We can take them."
Elara's hands trembled as she summoned her aura. Emerald energy flared, unstable but stronger than before, curling around her arms like living fire. She whispered under her breath.
Elara: "Let's do this; we won't back down."
The first line of droids lunged.
One glaive came down toward Henry's skull. He blurred into blue light—Shooting Star—appearing behind the droid in a flash. His fist, wrapped in heavenly energy, slammed into its chest. The machine shattered in a burst of sparks, crumpling to the ground.
Elara raised her hand, releasing a wave of green energy that exploded outward. Bullets dissolved mid-air as her shield expanded, then twisted into a spear of light. She hurled it—the projectile pierced three droids at once, melting through their black-gold plating.
Henry disappeared and reappeared behind one droid after another, smashing them with his heavenly blue fists.
Elara's fists lit up in emerald green, shooting and punching through one droid head after another.
But more came. Rows upon rows, rifles blazing. Golden beams seared across the battlefield. Henry dodged and weaved, the afterimages of his glowing form scattering across the canyon. Elara staggered back, pouring her strength into the barrier shielding them both.
Henry leapt into the air, spinning. His fist collided with the ground—Heavenly Burst—sending a shockwave of blue energy through the canyon floor. Dust and shards of gold rock erupted, toppling droids off their feet.
Elara seized the moment. She slammed both hands together, her aura surging. Green balls of light lashed outward, wrapping around fallen droids and crushing them into molten heaps.
Her eyes glowed faintly, hair whipping in the storm of her own power. For a second, Henry could only stare.
Henry (breathless): "Elara…"
But then her aura flickered violently. The balls broke, and Elara dropped to one knee, clutching her chest.
Henry darted to her side, blocking another glaive strike with his forearm, sparks scattering. He shoved the droid back with a flare of blue energy.
Henry: "Don't push yourself too far!"
Elara: "If I hold back, we die!"
A droid ran towards Henry, but before Henry could react, Elara shot through the droid's body with a green energy blast.
High above, Ravenous stood at the window. His breath came fast, fists clenched.
Ravenous (whispering): "So much power… so much truth. Master was right."
Zorath's laughter flickered in his skull, visions of gravity swallowing stars. But Ravenous's eyes locked only on Henry—the boy marked by Heaven, blazing against impossible odds.
For the first time, something like envy curled in Ravenous's chest.
The droids adapted. Their rifles synchronized, beams forming a lattice of golden fire. Henry dove, barely slipping between lines of death, then reappeared in a blur beside one of the shooters. His punch tore the weapon in half.
But three more filled its place.
Elara stood, blood trickling from her nose. Her aura flared again, wilder this time. She thrust both arms outward—a dome of green energy exploded around them, repelling the beams and sending them scattering into the cliffs.
Her voice cracked as she shouted:
Elara: "Henry! Now!"
Henry didn't hesitate. He dashed forward through the opening, fists glowing like suns. Every strike was thunder. Every impact shattered metal and sent golden shards flying. For a moment, the machines faltered, overwhelmed by the raw force of the Heavenly Awakening.
But still, more emerged.
The gates had become a wound, vomiting endless droids into the canyon. Their faceless helms caught the light of Henry's aura, an army of empty eyes watching him.
Henry panted, chest heaving, sweat and blood streaking his face. He turned to Elara.
Henry: "There are so many, and even if we beat them, only more will come."
Elara, trembling, wiped blood from her lip. Yet her eyes were fierce.
Elara: "Then break through."
Henry nodded once. He wrapped his fist in the full blaze of his Heavenly Awakening, the light so intense it cast long shadows across the canyon.
Elara mirrored him, her aura crackling brighter, threatening to consume her. She didn't flinch.
Together, they charged.
Henry smashed through the front lines, his strikes carving a path like meteors through the dark. Elara followed, her fist lighting up in green energy, creating chains and sweeping aside those he didn't crush, detonating weapons before they could fire.
For a fleeting moment, they moved as one. Scarred souls, broken pasts, but unbreakable now, the world seemed to hold its breath.
The canyon walls trembled as their light fused—blue and green intertwining in a storm of color. Henry's fists struck like meteors, carving shockwaves through the battlefield, while Elara's chains of emerald wrapped around enemies, detonating them mid-charge. The droids faltered, their perfect synchronization unraveling under the raw chaos of human willpower unleashed. For a fleeting instant, the machines seemed almost afraid, their golden helms reflecting not victory but annihilation.
Their combined power tore through the golden ranks. Smoke and shattered metal filled the air. The canyon shook as the last line of droids collapsed in ruin.
At last, silence.
Henry and Elara staggered to a halt, standing before the yawning gates of the palace. Behind them, the battlefield smoldered with wreckage. Ahead, only darkness.
Henry's chest rose and fell, sparks still flickering off his fists.
Henry (panting): "We… made it."
Elara's green aura dimmed. She leaned against him, trembling but smiling faintly.
Elara: "Together."
Above, Ravenous pressed his palm against the glass. His whisper was almost reverent.
Ravenous: "The boy of Heaven… and the girl… powers resembling the very force that creates stars. Perhaps… not even Master understands what they truly are."