The Throne Room — The Final Minute
The green serum hit Renji's bloodstream instantly.
He didn't scream. He didn't convulse.
He went silent.
The black veins on his neck turned a blinding, neon emerald green. His eyes, filled with tears a moment ago, erupted with white light.
The air in the Throne Room began to scream. The obsidian floor tiles floated into the air, disintegrating into dust simply because Renji's body was vibrating so fast it was shattering molecular bonds.
Kaelen Rhyne took a step back. For the first time, the King looked afraid.
"You... you reject of nature," Kaelen hissed. "You'll burn to ash before you take a single step."
Renji looked at his hands. They were dissolving into light.
"I don't need to live," Renji's voice echoed, sounding like two people speaking at once—his voice and the roar of the universe. "I just need ten seconds."
0:10
Kaelen slashed his hand. [SPATIAL SEVERANCE].
A tear in reality cut through the space where Renji stood.
But Renji wasn't there.
BOOM.
A fist made of green lightning slammed into Kaelen's face.
The impact was so hard it created a vacuum in the room. Kaelen was launched backward, smashing through three pillars of solid stone.
0:08
Kaelen recovered mid-air, blood streaming from his lip. "Impossible!"
He raised both hands. The entire ceiling collapsed, bringing down tons of debris to crush the Speedster.
Renji didn't dodge the rocks. He ran up the falling debris.
He moved so fast the falling rocks looked like they were frozen in time. He used them as stepping stones, ascending into the air.
0:06
Renji reached Kaelen in the air.
He grabbed the King by the throat and dove.
They hit the floor with the force of a meteor.
The entire floating fortress shuddered. The Throne Room floor cracked wide open, revealing the gears of the Causal Anchor beneath.
Renji stood over Kaelen, hammering him with punches that broke the sound barrier.
Left. Right. Left.
Each hit was a shockwave. Kaelen's forcefield shattered like glass.
0:04
"Kazuki!" Renji roared, turning his head. His skin was flaking away, revealing glowing energy underneath. "The Anchor! Destroy the Anchor!"
Kazuki snapped out of his shock.
The suit rebooted.
[VELOCITY CORE: SYNCED WITH EXTERNAL ENERGY SOURCE.]
Renji's energy was feeding Kazuki's suit.
"I'm on it!" Kazuki yelled.
Kazuki sprinted toward the towering black machine. He raised the broken half of his Fulcrum Staff.
"Eat this!"
He jammed the staff into the exposed core of the Anchor.
0:02
Kaelen screamed in rage. He kicked Renji off him with a blast of gravity so strong it flattened the gold throne.
"NO!" Kaelen shouted, reaching toward Kazuki to stop him.
But Renji was there.
One last time.
Renji intercepted Kaelen. He wrapped his arms around the King from behind, locking him in a bear hug.
Renji's body was brighter than the sun now. He was burning up.
"Let go!" Kaelen shrieked, struggling.
"See you in hell, Your Majesty," Renji whispered.
0:00
Renji exploded.
It wasn't a bomb. It was a release of pure kinetic energy.
The green light consumed the Throne Room. Kaelen was blasted through the wall, out into the open sky.
The shockwave hit the Causal Anchor just as Kazuki jammed his staff into it.
CRACK.
The massive obsidian monolith shattered.
The purple beam in the sky died instantly.
The floating castle gave a groan of dying metal. The anti-gravity engines failed.
Gravity returned.
The Fortress began to fall.
The Ruins of the Throne Room
Silence returned.
The green light faded.
Kazuki stood by the wreckage of the Anchor, panting. The suit was smoking.
"Renji?" Kazuki called out, coughing in the dust.
He looked across the room.
Renji was lying in the center of the crater.
He wasn't glowing anymore. The black rot had covered his entire body. He looked small. Frail.
Kazuki ran to him. He slid on his knees, lifting Renji's head.
"Renji! Hey! Stay with me! The Anchor is down! We did it!"
Renji opened his eyes. They were cloudy. He could barely see.
He coughed, and there was no blood left. Just dust.
"Did... did Kaelen... fall?"
"He's gone," Kazuki lied (or hoped). "You blasted him out of the castle. We won."
Renji smiled. It was a weak, crooked smile. The smile Kazuki saw in the mirror every morning.
"Good," Renji wheezed. "Then the loop... is broken."
The castle lurched violently. They were plummeting toward the ocean.
"We have to go," Kazuki said, trying to lift him. "Come on. I'll carry you."
"No," Renji whispered. He grabbed Kazuki's wrist. His grip was weak. "My legs are gone, kid. I can't feel them."
"I don't care!" Kazuki was crying now. "I'm not leaving you! You're... you're me!"
Renji looked up at Kazuki.
"No," Renji said softly. "I'm the mistake. You... you are the correction."
Renji reached into his pocket with a trembling hand. He pulled out a small, silver data chip.
"Take it," Renji gasped. "It's the schematics... for the Mark II suit. Vaunt's secret files. You'll need it... for the war."
Kazuki took the chip. "Renji, please..."
"Go!" Renji barked, summoning the last ounce of his soldier's voice. "Don't let me die for nothing! Live, Kazuki! Live a life I never got to have!"
Renji shoved Kazuki away.
"Aeva is waiting! Go!"
Kazuki looked at the dying man. He wanted to stay. He wanted to scream.
But the castle was tilting. The ocean was rushing up to meet them.
"I won't forget," Kazuki sobbed. "I promise."
Kazuki stood up. He engaged the suit.
He turned and sprinted toward the edge of the open wall.
He jumped into the sky just as the ceiling of the Throne Room collapsed, burying Renji in the tomb of the past.
[To Be Continued…]