A shockwave rattled the earth—then silence.
The air shimmered, dense and heavy with intent.
Riah's eyes narrowed. "Something's coming."
Before anyone could react, she stepped forward and raised her hand. A golden-white sigil flared before her as a barrier of flame and light engulfed the group. The moment it solidified, a destructive blast struck from above—screaming like a storm of broken stars.
The impact cracked the clouds... and vanished.
When the dust cleared, a figure approached, bathed in wrath.
Ingress. His skin glistened with molten veins, and his molten orange-red eyes blazed with fury.
"You bitch..." he growled, teeth grinding. "Don't get cocky just 'cause you landed a good hit." His voice thundered with rage. "I'll kill you. I'll gut you, you disgusting woman!"
Vanessa didn't flinch. She simply rolled her neck, brushing away a strand of dark violet hair.
"As I said," she replied, her voice sharp and detached, "this battle isn't mine. If it were, this entire planet would've already been swallowed by the Void." She stepped back, giving a cold smirk. "But someone else is here to fight you. He's finally... awakened from his nap."
Ingress burst into hysterical laughter.
"Haha—HA! Who? That fraud Kazimir?" He spread his arms wide. "Good! I've been waiting for him to crawl out of his pit! I'll kill all of you in front of him, and then I'll tear open the Maw and show these people what real horror looks like!" He pointed skyward, where drones and dimensional telepads hovered. "The world's watching now! Let them witness another disciple of Nebula rise!"
Vanessa tilted her head, expression flat.
"I don't care about humanity. I'm not on your side, or theirs." She clicked her tongue. "I'm sparing you, but gods—you talk too much. It's annoying."
A ripple of laughter broke out behind her—Riah, Felicia, Kamaki, Gendai, Tyrone, and Lihanna all laughing at Ingress's misplaced arrogance.
"...Tch!" Ingress's jaw tightened, fury building.
Then, Vanessa smiled. Just slightly.
"He's here."
A soft hum echoed through the air, and the crimson sky began to shudder.
A dark blue spacial aura pulsed in the distance, expanding like the breath of a collapsing star. The sky shifted—red fading into a glowing cerulean blue—as Kazimir slowly rose from the rubble, his form draped in energy.
Gendai dropped to her knees behind him, eyes wide in reverent awe.
The pressure was suffocating.
Kamaki shielded her face, wind tearing through her. "H-Holy shit—what is this?!"
Felicia's gaze trembled. "I think... we're about to see Kazimir's true self."
His hair, once a mix of black and cobalt, now shimmered with dark, spacial blue. His eyes were no longer just glowing—they were galaxies, burning with unfathomable depth and emptiness.
Riah took a step forward, a smile playing on her lips. "Welcome back, Kazimir."
Vanessa's eyes widened, a rare expression of open wonder crossing her face.
"There he is," she whispered. "Show them... the beauty of destruction, my King."
Ingress froze, his lips quivering.
"He revealed it...!" he gasped. "HAHAHA! He actually revealed it! The Eye of the Nullity—let the world see it!"
Suddenly, Riah's eyes flared, as Kazimir's voice echoed telepathically in her mind.
"Shield them."
Without hesitation, Riah raised her arms. Flames roared around her, forming a radiant phoenix barrier around the group.
Then—detonation.
The blue sphere surrounding Kazimir expanded, violently rupturing into a massive spatial wave. It swept across the battlefield, erasing everything in its path. Buildings, debris, drones—gone. Even the skies seemed to collapse.
It was his technique—Stargazer of No Return.
A silence followed. Devastation lingered in the air like ash.
Ingress, wide-eyed, trembled in disbelief. A hand reached toward him just in time—Barrack, appearing through a portal, shielding him from the worst of the impact.
Vanessa smiled softly, her gaze calm. "Yes... Stargazer of No Return. What a lovely mess."
Kamaki screamed, hair wildly blown back. "WHAT THE HELL?! I'M SCARED NOW!"
Felicia shot her a look. "NOW you're worried?!"
As the dust settled and the light faded, Kazimir stood alone amid the obliterated city.
His eyes gleamed like two black holes rimmed in blue starlight.
His hair, now nearly black with subtle glowing streaks, drifted in the residual energy. Riah approached slowly, heart pounding.
"Your eyes..." she whispered. "Last time, in the Maw of the End—they were blue, but not like this. Your hair too... darker now... Is this... the complete form?"
Vanessa stepped forward. "Yes. This is it." She glanced at Kazimir with something bordering reverence. "He's accepted it. That essence—destruction. That's how our powers work. The moment we abandon our path, we weaken... but when we embrace it?" She smiled faintly. "We ascend."
"But he's not doing this for humanity," she added quietly. "Right now—he's not here to protect. He's here to destroy. This version of him? The most dangerous one yet."
Gendai moved beside her, staring with a mix of fear and fascination.
"Your eyes... your hair," she murmured to Vanessa. "They're the same. Spacial. Purple."
"I know," Vanessa said. "I'm the Warden of the Nullity. I protect my kin. But Kazimir... he's the only one I truly care for." Her tone softened. "They call me the Black Halo because I stayed true. I never strayed from my path."
The mist from Stargazer of No Return finally dispersed.
Kazimir's form became fully visible.
Ingress and Barrack, bruised and panting, emerged from the rubble. Ingress stumbled, sword trembling in his grasp.
Kazimir descended slowly. Each step felt like the world holding its breath.
Kamaki, shivering, murmured: "Now put him to sleep…"
Felicia added, "You've nullified his energy. You're back at full strength. Don't make the same mistake again."
Vanessa stepped aside. "He's all yours, King."
Riah smiled, pride and desire mingling in her eyes. "I wanted to deal with him myself... but seeing you like this?" She chuckled. "I might not stand a chance. So I'll allow it—for now. Go get him... my love."
Kazimir stopped for a moment—then smiled.
His hand rose.
A crack echoed.
A spark of spacial lightning erupted from his palm, twisting through the air. A pulse tore reality apart—his nodachi formed, floating in a vortex of warped energy.
The chains around it snapped and scattered like stardust.
He gripped the hilt with one hand, the blade glowing with the void itself.
Twilight Deliverance.
Kazimir exhaled, gaze locked onto Ingress.
He stepped forward.
Next Chapter Preview:
"Ingress of Despair: Twilight Deliverance vs The Maw Revealed."
"I will bury you where the stars forget to shine."–Kazimir