The air cracked.
Rubble from the arena floated slightly off the ground. Dust trembled. Even the sound of battle halted for a breath as Kael looked toward the scream.
His heart dropped.
Across the field, Tetsu lay on the ground, bleeding from his chest, eyes barely open. Hana, her arm twisted unnaturally, blood smeared across her face, was struggling to crawl toward him.
Standing above them—Lilith, unfazed, emotionless, a faint smile on her lips.
She twirled a clock-hand shaped shard of energy between her fingers.
"Two down," she said coldly. "Next?"
Kael's eyes widened.
No.
His breath became shallow. His fists clenched. His legs wouldn't move fast enough.
"Tetsu!""Hana!"
Kael fell to his knees mid-run, his whole body trembling. The edges of his vision blurred, not from pain—
But from rage.
Something inside him was breaking. Not like glass—but like chains.
His aura, once restrained and quiet, began to ripple… no, scream.
A low hum built from his body, growing louder with each second. Winds spiraled around him, his cloak fluttering violently.
Ryuu turned from his own battle and gasped.Kaede's eyes went wide.Even Lilith paused, her smug expression faltering.
"What… is that…?" Veyron muttered.
From Kael's body, a new energy began to surge—familiar yet ancient. It wasn't just Will energy.
It was something older.Something deeper.Something that didn't belong to this era.
His hair flickered between black and silver-white.
The ground beneath him cracked in a perfect circle.
Kyoushiro, still clashing with Azrael, suddenly looked back—his sword stopping mid-swing. His eyes narrowed.
"It's starting," he whispered.
Kael rose to his feet.
His eyes glowed a brilliant white-blue hue, no pupils visible.
He didn't scream. He didn't speak.
He ascended.
A pulse shot outward, knocking back both Veyron and Raven.
Azrael stopped fighting. Lilith took a step back for the first time. A chill ran through every elite.
Kael looked straight at Lilith, expression empty, voice low—
"You shouldn't have touched them."
The sky darkened slightly.
A storm of Will, Void, and something unknown—something Primordial—began to swirl around Kael.
This wasn't just power.
This was Legacy.