The night was anything but ordinary.
Both sides of the villagers had been moved to safe ground, yet in the very heart of the battlefield, the fight still raged.
The woman knelt in the dirt, gasping for breath, her body trembling. Ari stood before her—her face lit not only by the glow of her magic, but by a resolve Gray had never seen in her before. He could see it in her eyes—this wasn't just another battle. This woman was one of the reasons her parents had suffered in the past.
Ari tightened her grip on her blade, holding it low at her right side. Light vapor shimmered off its edge like heat haze.
"Light Magic: Ray of Blade."
A magic circle bloomed beneath her feet, radiant and intricate. In an instant, luminous clones of Ari materialized around her, each holding the same poised stance.
They charged.
Light slashes rained in from every direction. The woman conjured a swirling dark void shield, the black sphere crackling as it absorbed blow after blow. Cracks spidered across its surface, but with a roar, she reinforced it and withstood the assault—barely.
She didn't have time to recover. From the distance, Ari was already charging her next attack. The woman's gaze flicked instinctively toward the glowing figure—only to realize too late that Gray and the guardian beasts were already closing in from all sides.
Four devastating strikes converged at once. She threw up a dark barrier in desperation, but the sheer force of their combined assault was overwhelming. Her shield shattered, and the attacks were moments away from crushing her—
When a sudden, immense magic wave tore through the air.
The magic attacks forces collided, creating a blinding explosion of light and darkness. The ground quaked violently, the shockwave ripping through the night with a sound like the sky itself was breaking.
Ari and Gray staggered back, breathing hard. That attack was too powerful to be brushed aside by anyone—yet they remained on guard, instinct screaming that something worse was coming.
As the dust cleared, the moonlight broke through the clouds for just a moment, illuminating the battlefield.
The woman was gone.
Both Ari and Gray felt it at the same time—a suffocating surge of magic. They looked up.
High above, a man floated in the night sky, his presence heavy and cold. He raised a single finger, and without warning, the guardian beasts vanished as if erased from existence.
Ari: "What…?!"
The man: "You children have given her far too much trouble. And, as we suspected… you're becoming quite the threat to us. Better to kill you here and now, before you grow into something even more… difficult.
The man stepped forward, draped in dark cloth, his face hidden just as the woman's was. His voice was calm, almost bored.
"Space Lock."
In an instant, Ari and Gray felt their bodies seize. Every muscle locked tight, as if the very space around them had turned to solid steel. They couldn't move—not even enough to blink freely.
"Dimensional Fold."
With a casual flick of his hand, a beam-like slash ripped through the air between them. The cut wasn't just deep—it was absolute. The very ground it touched vanished; leaving a sharp wound in reality.
Ari's heartbeat pounded in her ears. They both knew it—he hadn't missed. He had deliberately aimed between them, not out of mercy, but to show them exactly what he could do.
Then his voice came again, low and deliberate.
"Dimensional Fold."
This time, two razor-sharp lines of warped space flared into existence, orbiting him like deadly satellites before locking onto their positions. With a snap of his wrist, they shot forward—straight toward Ari and Gray, moving faster than their eyes could follow.
Tracey remained inside the protective mercury sphere, safely sealed away by Gray's magic.
Ari and Gray stood side by side, eyes locked on the incoming attack—a monstrous wave of power tearing through the air toward them. Ari's chest tightened. Was this it? Six months of brutal training… just to die here so easily?
The attack was almost upon them when—
A figure dropped down between them and the strike, blades in hand.
One sword shimmered with crackling lightning, the other radiated a deep dark energy. The air around him split with the clash of opposing auras. Ari's eyes widened—the magic signature was familiar.
With precise motion, he crossed both blades in an X-formation, catching the incoming dimensional flood slash. The force was immense, pushing him backward, his boots grinding against the ground—but he didn't yield.
With a sudden twist, he opened the X-formation, releasing a burst of magic. The slash was deflected, its deadly arc diverted away from them in a violent shockwave.
Ari blinked. The pressure that had been locking their bodies in place vanished in an instant. She and Gray could move again.
They turned—and their eyes widened even further.
Behind them stood three more figures. One of them, a woman with a calm but focused expression, was kneeling beside Tracey's mercury sphere. Her hands glowed softly as she worked, a red healing spell flowing into him through the silver barrier.
Gray's eyes shifted to the other two arrivals. His gaze locked onto one of them.
Gray: "Jack…? What are you doing here?"
Jack didn't answer—his expression unreadable.
Instead, the other man stepped forward, his tone sharp.
???: "If you punks value your lives, the smartest thing you can do right now is run."
The healer finished tending to Tracey, and Gray dissolved the mercury sphere. Tracey was conscious again, though still pale and weak.
A sudden explosion shook the ground. They turned toward it—
Imperial and the mysterious man were already clashing at full speed. The exchange was so fast, even Ari and Gray could barely follow the movements. Lightning and darkness clashed in sharp bursts of shadow.
The man: "I didn't expect you to show up here… Alden kid."
Imperial: "Funny—you're the one asking me that? What's wrong? So afraid of them that killing them is the only option you've got left? Pathetic. I didn't think the so-called servants of him were such cowards."
His eyes narrowed.
Imperial: "And as for why I'm here… simple. I'm not letting my pieces get wiped out early. That's all."
In the blink of an eye, Imperial appeared behind the man, his lightning blade flashing. One clean strike sent the enemy hurtling into the ground. Before the dust could settle, Imperial vanished again—reappearing behind him mid-fall.
This time, his palm was raised, a swirling sphere of dark magic forming in his hand—its destructive energy eerily similar to the attack the woman had used on Ari and Gray earlier.
Imperial: "Sphere of Destruction."
The blast slammed into the man, launching him even farther—but just before impact, his figure dissolved into shadows. He reappeared high in the sky, glaring down.
Imperial glanced over his shoulder at Jack.
Imperial: "You know what to do, right?"
Jack didn't hesitate. In a single motion, he teleported Ari, Gray, and Tracey to the villagers' safe zone—well away from the battlefield—before returning instantly.
The man in the sky looked down, his tone calm but edged with warning.
The man: "I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now, Alden. But when the time comes… you'll know the true power of a god's servant."
With that, his presence vanished into the night.
The battlefield lay in ruins, every crater and shattered stone a silent testament to the clash of power that had just unfolded.
Imperial and other also teleported from there.
[Scene Shift – Water Village, Morning]
The village was in ruins. Broken walls, collapsed roofs, and scattered debris told the story of last night's chaos. Despite the destruction, the villagers worked together, hauling wood, carrying water, and patching what they could.
Gray walked down the battered street, the morning air still heavy with the scent of damp ash. Ahead, he spotted Dawn sitting alone on the steps of a small house, her expression distant and heavy.
He approached quietly.
Gray: "What's wrong?"
Dawn looked up at him for a moment before answering.
Dawn: "It's Ari… she's been acting so unlike herself."
Gray's gaze narrowed slightly.
Gray: "Imperial is the reason."
Dawn blinked in surprise.
Dawn: "What?!"
Gray let out a slow breath and recounted the events of the previous night—how Imperial had stepped in at the last moment, blocking the enemy's strike and saving their lives.
Dawn's eyes softened with understanding.
Dawn: "I see… So she's feeling this way because she was saved by the one person she hates the most—the same person she's been determined to defeat."
Gray nodded.
Gray: "Exactly. And it's not just her. Tracey's acting the same way."
Dawn: "What do you mean?"
Gray: "He's blaming himself. Says that last night, he couldn't do anything… that he was just a burden to me. And honestly, in that fight, he was a burden—but because of what happened, he's been stuck in that mindset since then."
Dawn lowered her gaze, understanding the weight both Ari and Tracey were carrying.
The sound of hammers and shovels stopped. Gray noticed the villagers abandoning their repair work and moving toward the village center. Dawn and Gray exchanged a glance before following them.
When they arrived, a large crowd had already gathered. At the center stood the leaders of both villages—the Water Village and the Sky Village. Between them, lying on the ground, was a lifeless body.
Dawn's eyes widened.
Dawn: "What… happened to him?"
Gray's tone was grim.
Gray: "That's Ben. This morning, when I went to check the battlefield, I found him like this. And it's strange—because last night, I protected him in the exact same mercury sphere I used for Tracey. No matter how strong the enemies' attacks were, they couldn't even make a dent in it… so I don't understand how he could have died inside."
The Water Village leader stepped forward, voice heavy with both authority and apology.
Water Village Leader: "Before we begin… we are deeply sorry for the trouble caused. This man—" he gestured to Ben's body "—betrayed our village. Because of his actions, the guardian beasts went out of control."
The Sky Village leader was about to speak, but before he could, angry voices rose from some of the Sky Villagers in the crowd.
Sky Villager 1: "Because of you, our homes were destroyed!"
Sky Villager 2: "We lost people too! Don't think we'll just forgive this!"
A tense silence followed—until the Sky Village leader raised his hand, calming his people. His voice was steady and understanding.
Sky Village Leader: "Enough. This is not the fault of the Water Village. Ben alone is responsible for what happened yesterday. And now… our own guardians are gone. Both villages suffered equally. This is not the time to fight each other."
Gray stepped forward, reinforcing the leader's words.
Gray: "He's right. Yesterday wasn't a victory for anyone—it was a loss for all of us. If we turn on each other now, we'll just make it easier for our real enemies to win. We rebuild together… or we fall apart alone."
The murmurs in the crowd quieted, the tension easing slightly as both sides seemed to accept the truth in those words.
After a long and tense discussion, the two village leaders finally reached common ground.
Both the Water Village and Sky Village agreed that from this day onward, they would no longer be enemies. They would cooperate, rebuild, and protect each other against future threats. The crowd slowly began to disperse, the tension easing into a cautious sense of relief.
Gray let out a slow breath as the meeting wrapped up. Dawn, who had been standing beside him the entire time, gave him a small nod.
Gray: "I'll go check on Tracey."
He made his way toward one of the temporary shelters where Tracey had been resting. The young beast master was sitting on a bench, still looking worn but more alert than the night before.
Gray: "Come on, we've got somewhere to be."
Tracey pushed himself up, and together they headed toward the far side of the village. There, in a quiet corner away from the noise of repairs, stood a small house.
Inside, Ari and Dawn were already seated. From the way they leaned forward, speaking in low, deliberate tones, Gray could tell it was an important conversation.
As Gray and Tracey entered, the talking stopped for a moment—the air in the room carrying a quiet, serious weight.
Gray reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, handing it to Ari.
Ari: "What's this? And what's the important thing you wanted to tell us?"
Gray: "Open it—you'll see."
Ari unfolded the paper, her eyes widening slightly. The ink was faded, the script uneven, clearly centuries old.
Ari: "An ancient text…"
Gray: "I found the pillar inside the Cave of the Sky Beast. This is a copy I made—now, read it and tell me what you think it means."
Ari's gaze scanned the words carefully.
Ari (reading aloud): "Follow the lightning—don't trust anyone just because of hate."
For a moment, the room was silent. The message was short, but its weight was heavy. Ari felt a flicker of determination replacing the heaviness she'd been carrying since yesterday. It wasn't gone completely, but Gray could see it in her eyes—she was remembering why they were here in the first place.
She folded the paper again, set it on the table, and stood.
Ari: "Alright, everyone. We're heading out—now. For the fifth pillar, we move fast… destination: Aetheris Empire."
Tracey straightened, Dawn exchanged a quick glance with Gray.
After packing their belongings and preparing for the road ahead, the group gathered at the village gates. Just as they were about to leave, both village leaders approached, their expressions filled with gratitude.
They bowed deeply.
"Thank you," one leader said, his voice steady yet warm. "For risking your lives yesterday to save our people. We will never forget this debt."
Ari smiled softly, her hands resting on the hilt of her blade. "We only did what was right."
With a few final words of farewell, the team set off. Snowflakes began to drift gently from the sky, coating the rooftops and fields in a quiet white. Their footprints marked a winding trail as they left the water village behind, heading toward the lands of the Aetheris Empire.