Drayke moved.
There was no wind, no warning, no sound—just absence, as if space itself forgot to remember where he was supposed to be.
Three bodies dropped almost at the same time.
Peppy was slammed into the ground hard enough to leave a crater beneath her back, the air ripping out of her lungs before she even realized she had been hit.
Water Beauty skidded across the surface of Marsh, rolling helplessly until her oxygen stabilizers screamed in protest.
Clementess barely had time to widen her eyes before she was struck from the side, her body spinning away, voice stolen before a single word could leave her mouth.
It all happened in less than a second.
The team froze—not because they wanted to, but because their brains simply could not keep up.
Bandy staggered forward, eyes wild, power trembling inside him as he shouted,
"W-Where's Tema?! Why isn't she here?!"
No one answered him. Nobody knew.
Bear clenched his fists, teeth grinding as he activated the communicator inside the helmet.
"CHITKI,"
he said sharply, forcing calm into his voice, "we need a plan. Right now. Where are you?"
For a split second, there was only static.
Then Chitki's voice came through, slightly breathless but still sharp.
"I'm analyzing his movement pattern—he's not random, Bear, he's conserving motion, aiming to—"
She never finished the sentence.
Drayke appeared beside her mid-word, his fist already moving.
The impact cracked her mask instantly, spiderweb fractures spreading across the visor as Chitki was sent flying, her body skidding violently across the surface.
Her helmet alarms screamed as the oxygen seal destabilized, flickering between red and orange.
"CHITKI!" Bear roared.
Drayke didn't even look impressed.
He vanished again.
The next moment, Bear felt it.
A force so overwhelming it didn't feel like a hit—it felt like being erased.
Bear's body launched backward at impossible speed, tearing through the thin atmosphere, past the curve of Marsh itself, vanishing beyond the horizon as if the planet had rejected him entirely.
Silence followed.
Bandri stared down at her dagger, hands shaking as she tightened her grip and charged anyway, screaming through clenched teeth.
The blade struck Drayke's forearm—and shattered.
The metal snapped cleanly in half.
Bandri froze, disbelief flashing across her face just before Drayke backhanded her away, sending her tumbling across the ground.
Bandy dropped to one knee, breathing hard, power still surging but his body failing to keep up, his eyes darting around desperately.
"Tema… Tema, where are you…?"
No answer came.
Smoke drifted.
Broken gear scattered the battlefield.
And through it all, one figure remained standing.
Tuka wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, only for more to spill from his nose and lips, dripping onto his helmet.
Tuka finally removed his mask while holding his breathe.
His legs trembled, muscles screaming, vision blurred—but he straightened anyway.
No powers.
No armor.
Just will.
Drayke finally turned toward him, eyes narrowing slightly, as if seeing something worth noticing for the first time.
Tuka took a step forward.
Then another.
Still standing.