The battle dragged on. The great throne hall was in ruins, marked by craters where Aeron's sword had struck the floor and blackened gouges where Nyxra's daggers had scraped against metal. Aeron's HUD blinked frantically with damage alerts.[CRITICAL STRUCTURAL DAMAGE: 45%. LEFT ARM MOVEMENT COMPROMISED. OPTICAL SENSORS FLUCTUATING.]
He was a besieged fortress, and the walls were about to fall. Nyxra, in contrast, barely seemed out of breath. She danced around him, a predator toying with her prey."This is the end of the line, machine," she purred, watching Aeron stagger after a particularly vicious blow that nearly tore his arm from its socket. "It was an impressive show of strength, I'll admit. But strength without speed is just a bigger target."
With one last burst of speed, she lunged—not to strike, but to disable. Her daggers moved in a complex pattern, hitting pressure points and internal locks that only a master assassin would know. There was a series of metallic clicks, and Aeron's right arm—the one holding his sword—went limp at his side. The sword itself melted into liquid metal and splashed to the ground.
Next, she attacked his legs. More snapping sounds, and the servos in his knees gave way. Aeron Mithraldrake, the metal colossus, collapsed to the ground with a crash that shook the castle—first to his knees, then forward, motionless.
Nyxra circled the fallen body, prodding him with the toe of her boot. No response."What a disappointment. In the end, you were just an empty shell."She turned and walked back toward her damaged throne."Clear out this scrap," she ordered into the shadows, assuming her guards would soon arrive.
She turned her back on him. It was her final mistake.
On the ground, Aeron was not dead. He was rebooting.[EMERGENCY PROTOCOL: 'LAST RESORT' ACTIVATED. DIVERTING ALL CORE ENERGY TO RECONSTRUCTION AND FOCUSED ATTACK. ESTIMATED TIME: 3 SECONDS.]
The liquid metal that had spilled from his sword stopped spreading. It shimmered, then shot back into Aeron's body—not to reform the sword, but to crudely and temporarily repair the broken joints in his right arm.
The moment Nyxra sat on her throne, Aeron rose in one smooth motion.
Nyxra turned, her eyes widening in genuine shock for the first time. She had no time to react.
Aeron didn't form a sword. He transformed his entire forearm into a long, sharp blade of pure metal. He crossed the hall in an instant, the force of his charge cracking the floor beneath his feet. Before Nyxra could even stand, he drove the arm-blade through her abdomen, piercing both armor and flesh, impaling her against the back of her own throne.
She gasped, dark blood spilling from her mouth. Her feline eyes stared into his, full of disbelief and rage."How...?"
"You were right," Aeron's voice sounded, cold and devoid of emotion, right beside her face."Strength without speed is just a target. But sometimes... the target bites back."
She was a Commander, a fragment of a god. A wound like that wouldn't kill her instantly. She raised a trembling hand, claws of shadow forming for one final desperate strike.
Aeron didn't give her the chance.
He withdrew his blade with a horrible sound. As she gasped, he raised his free hand. A beam of concentrated blue energy, thin as a scalpel, shot from his palm. The light sliced through the air—and through Nyxra's neck. Her head fell to the floor with a dull thud.
The decapitated body remained impaled on the throne for a second before dissolving into dust and shadow.
From the ashes, a pulsating purple orb emerged—Nyxra's soul, her core essence of power. The orb floated in the air for a moment before darting toward Aeron, plunging into his chest.
He screamed—a distorted sound of metal and agony—as the energy surged into him. His metal body began to change. Armor plates reshaped themselves, becoming sleeker and more aerodynamic. The dark metal took on a faint purple sheen, and the blue lights in his joints were streaked with violet. He felt... lighter. Faster.
[COMMANDER ESSENCE ABSORBED. NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: SHADOW STEP.][STATS UPDATED: AGILITY +50, STEALTH +40, STRUCTURAL WEIGHT -15%.]
The sounds of battle downstairs had ceased. Rushing footsteps came up the stairs, and the team burst into the throne room—panting, bruised, but victorious. They froze, staring at the scene: the shattered throne, the dust that had once been Nyxra, and Aeron, standing tall, wrapped in a new aura of bluish shadow power.
"Aeron!"
Mika was the first to move. Seeing he was standing and whole, the worry on his face turned to pure joy. He ran and threw himself at Aeron, hugging his waist with all his might."You did it! You did it! I knew you could!"
Aeron looked down at the femboy hugging him so fervently. He placed a hand on Mika's head—a gesture almost paternal. The weight of his destiny felt just a little lighter in that moment.
"We did it," he corrected. His voice now carried a slightly different tone—softer, with a subtle echo of shadow. He looked to his team, to the destruction around them, and to the road still ahead.
He turned to Mika, a faint glimmer of something resembling a smile in his glowing eyes.
"Serene Brook Village is free. One down, nine to go."