Chapter 53: The Final Showdown
The battlefield was a wasteland of ruin and despair. The sanctuary, once sacred ground, was now shattered into craters and broken stone, swallowed by shadow and scorched by endless flashes of light. The Celtic Highs stood as a monstrous silhouette in the chaos, their fused form burning with an aura so suffocating that the skies themselves twisted in fear.
All around, the rebels lay scattered and broken, groaning beneath the weight of hopelessness. Hanks struggled to breathe, his colossal power spent, his shield fractured. Kaya knelt in tears, her water spirit form flickering weakly. Xerx, battered but still chanting, fought desperately to complete the spell he had promised. And at the center of it all—floating, defiant, glowing with the Matrix's light—was Moro.
The Highs sneered, their voices fused into one thunderous mockery.
"You are but a boy with broken dreams. We are eternity. You will die as the world is reborn in our shadow."
Moro clenched his fists tighter, blood dripping from his knuckles. His aura, bright as burning steel, expanded against the crushing waves of darkness. His heart thundered with the weight of every face he remembered—his father, his friends, Kaya, the rebels who bled for Shinya. The Matrix pulsed with his conviction.
"No," Moro growled, his voice carrying across the battlefield. "I won't let you take them. Not Kaya. Not Shinya. Not my people. If I must burn everything I am, then so be it—I will burn brighter than you ever could."
With a roar that shook the earth, Moro charged. The Highs thrust their colossal spear downward, darkness splitting the sky. The collision was apocalyptic—light and shadow clashed, creating shockwaves that toppled the last standing structures of the city. The ground shattered, winds roared, and the heavens wept sparks of fire.
The rebels shielded their eyes, watching as Moro fought like a man possessed. He weaved between the spear's swings, his body glowing with impossible energy. Each strike of his fists sent sparks of blue and white cascading into the night. The Highs staggered back, snarling in disbelief.
"You dare resist us?"
"I dare," Moro spat, his fist cracking against their chest.
The Highs unleashed another surge of darkness, swallowing the battlefield whole. Kaya cried out as the shadows pressed against her chest, suffocating. But even in the suffocating black, a single glow remained—the Matrix pulsing within Moro's body.
Xerx's voice trembled as he forced his spell higher, chains of light weaving into existence above. "Moro—hold them! Just a little longer—I can bind them!"
The Highs, enraged, swung their weapon for the killing blow. Moro met it head-on, grabbing the spear with both glowing hands. The darkness burned his skin, carving into his arms, but he held on, teeth bared through the agony.
"You call yourselves gods," he hissed. "But you bleed like anything else."
With one final surge of strength, Moro snapped the spear in two.
The battlefield detonated in light. The Highs screamed, their form cracking with fissures of white fire. Xerx seized the moment, his spell complete. "Now—by the light of Shinya, by the blood of those we've lost, I bind you back into the void!"
Chains of radiant brilliance wrapped around the Celtic Highs, constricting them, dragging their monstrous form into submission. Moro hurled himself forward, slamming his fists into their chest with every ounce of power left in him. The Matrix ignited, surging through the cracks in their body.
The Highs let out one last, horrible wail before exploding into nothingness, dissolving into dust scattered across the wind.
The world went quiet.
Moro's body floated gently to the ground, his glow dimming. His legs buckled, but Kaya rushed forward, catching him before he collapsed. She held him tightly, her tears soaking into his chest.
"You idiot," she whispered, trembling. "Why do you always make me cry like this?"
Moro gave a faint, exhausted smile. "Because I don't know how to stop fighting. Not when it's you."
Her heart caught at his words. Around them, the rebels lifted weak cries of victory. Xerx fell to his knees, drained but relieved. Hanks managed a smile through his battered face. "Welcome back, Moro. You did it."
But Moro wasn't listening anymore. His eyes, glowing faintly blue, were locked only on Kaya's. The chaos around them melted away, the pain faded. There was only her—the girl who had fought by his side, who had cried for him, who had believed when he could not.
Kaya tried to speak, but her words caught in her throat. Moro, weak but resolute, lifted his hand to her cheek. "Kaya… thank you."
And then, without hesitation, he leaned in and kissed her.
The battlefield seemed to stop. The rebels froze, watching in silence. Even the broken earth and shattered skies held still for that one fragile moment. Kaya's eyes widened in shock, but then softened as tears streamed freely. She kissed him back, holding him as though the world itself might try to steal him away.
When they finally pulled apart, Moro's glow flickered once more, dim but steady. Kaya smiled through her tears, pressing her forehead against his. "Welcome back, Moro," she whispered. "Don't you dare leave me again."
The chapter ended with the Matrix's faint light still shimmering around them, the broken city bathed in a fragile hope. The war with the Highs was over, but the bond between Moro and Kaya had just been sealed.
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