The battlefield had gone cold.
Not with wind, nor with the quiet descent of night, but with something deeper—something that pressed into the bones and dulled the will to move. The air itself felt heavier, as though it resisted every breath drawn into the lungs.
Even the beasts had stopped.
Creatures driven only by instinct now stood frozen, their senses screaming at something they could not understand.
At the center of it all stood Ty'tilian.
Facing Crystal.
"Leave her to me."
His voice carried across the silence—calm, steady, and completely devoid of emotion.
Crystal didn't respond immediately. Her body remained still, but her mind raced, trying to reconcile what stood before her with the person she thought she knew.
"…Ty…?"
He vanished.
There was no warning—no shift in posture, no surge of visible power.
One moment, he stood at a distance.
The next, he was right in front of her.
Her instincts reacted instantly. Ice surged over her arms, forming a defensive layer just as his fist came forward— And shattered it.
The impact didn't just break through her guard—it obliterated it. The ice exploded outward in shards as the force carried into her body, launching her violently across the battlefield. Her back scraped against the broken ground before she crashed and rolled to a halt.
Pain barely had time to settle before he was already moving again.
He closed the distance in a blur.
A fist came from her left—too fast.
Another from the right—too precise.
Then one from above—too heavy.
Each strike landed cleanly, with no wasted motion, no hesitation. There was no pattern to follow, no rhythm to read. Crystal tried to raise her guard, tried to anticipate the next blow, but her body couldn't keep up with what her mind couldn't understand.
This wasn't Ty'tilian.
Or if it was— Then this was something far beyond the version she had ever faced.
The attacks continued, relentless and suffocating, until her defenses began to collapse under the pressure.
And then— A gap. Small. Fleeting. But enough.
She swung.
Ty'tilian tilted his head slightly, her strike passing just beside him. In the same motion, he stepped to the side and drove his fist upward into her jaw.
The crack echoed sharply.
Crystal's vision snapped white as her body lifted from the ground before crashing back down with brutal force. The world spun violently around her, sound fading into a distant hum.
For a moment, she didn't move.
Not because she didn't want to—
But because her body refused to respond.
Through the haze, she felt him again.
Standing. Watching. Waiting.
And somehow, that was worse than the blows.
She forced air into her lungs, coughing as blood spilled from her lips. Her arms trembled as she pushed herself up, every movement heavy, every muscle screaming in protest.
"Why…" she managed, her voice unsteady. "…were you holding back?"
Her eyes lifted to meet his. And that was when she saw it.
The stillness in his expression wasn't control.
It was absence.
"…Now I get it," she whispered, her voice quieter now, sharper. "You're not really Ty'tilian… are you?"
He disappeared again, reappeared directly in front of her.
"You talk too much."
The punch that followed was different. Heavier. Final.
The impact sent her flying across the battlefield, her body tearing through the remains of a ruined structure before crashing into stone and debris. Dust and fragments collapsed around her, burying her in silence.
For a brief moment— Everything was still.
Then, through the darkness pressing at the edges of her vision, a voice surfaced.
Soft.
Familiar.
"People say no Flow is stronger— only stronger users."
The Water Elder.
"But some water Flow users has known to be stronger."
Crystal's fingers twitched against the ground.
"And you… are one of them."
Her eyes opened. Slowly.
Pain flooded back into her body as she drew a sharp breath, coughing as blood struck the frozen dirt beneath her.
"…Then I guess…" she whispered, forcing herself upright despite the trembling in her limbs, "…I can't hold back anymore."
The temperature dropped. It wasn't gradual. It was immediate.
Her breath slowed, each exhale turning visible as frost formed along her skin. The wounds across her body stiffened, freezing over as ice crept outward in thin, jagged patterns. Her hair lost its color, turning pale beneath the spreading cold, while her eyes ignited with a deep, piercing blue.
For a single, suspended moment— There was silence. Then the world broke.
Ice erupted outward from her body in an explosive wave, racing across the battlefield with terrifying speed. It didn't simply spread—it consumed. It moved with a soul... Freezing only the enemy.
Beasts froze where they stood, their forms locking mid-motion before shattering into fragments. The ground crystallized beneath the advancing cold, and even the air itself seemed to harden.
Above, those in flight lost control, their bodies dropping as the temperature stole movement from their limbs.
The Golden Guardian turned facing it source.
"Crystal…" the Golden Guardian breathed, barely audible.
At the center of the destruction, she stood unmoving.
Power poured out of her in waves—wild, unrestrained, and far beyond anything she had ever released before.
Ty'tilian stepped forward.
For the first time— He slowed.
Frost crept along his legs, climbing upward as each step became heavier than the last. The ground beneath him resisted, the air thick with freezing force.
Around them, even the generals had stopped. Watching. Measuring
.
For the first time, something on that battlefield was pushing back. But this wasn't victory.
Because Crystal wasn't controlling it.
Her body trembled violently, her breathing uneven as the power continued to surge beyond her limits.
"…I can't… stop…" she whispered, her voice breaking.
Her knees gave out beneath her as a scream tore from her throat.
Has never used the power before. Never had a reason to. Learned how to use it from the Water Elder. Put the Golden Globe in an adventure but for a great cause— her life.
The ice surged further, cracking through everything in its path.
Slowly and painfully.
Frost began to overtake her body, spreading, mercilessly, locking her in place piece by piece. The same power that dominated the battlefield was turning inward, consuming her just as completely.
And then— He arrived.
Ekekiri.
There was no dramatic entrance. No explosion of power. He simply walked forward. Through the frozen battlefield. Untouched. Unaffected.
The ice that consumed everything else didn't slow him. It didn't even acknowledge him. It was as if the very force of nature refused to oppose his existence.
He stopped in front of her. Lowered himself slightly. Studied her.
"What is the use of great power…" he said quietly, "... If you can't control it."
Tears slipped from Crystal's eyes— Freezing before they could fall.
She couldn't move. Couldn't resist.
And he knew it.
His arm moved with terrifying speed. The strike landed cleanly. Brutally.
Her body went limp instantly.
And just like that— The ice stopped.
The battlefield fell silent once more.
The frost that had consumed everything began to crack and fade. Ty'tilian stepped forward again, the ice along his body shattering away as warmth returned to him.
Behind them, the war shifted again.
The Golden Guardian felt it wanted to go and check on Crystal.
She turned— Eyes widened.
Too late.
"Pretty impressive," a voice said behind her, almost amused. "You managed to dodge in time."
Zarin. Ekekiri's eldest son.
A flash of movement— And then pain.
Blood splashed... her right arm fell before she even registered the strike.
Blood followed.
She didn't scream. Ignored the pain. Didn't hesitate.
She turned immediately, driving her remaining fist forward with everything she had left.
Zarin moved at the same time.
Both surged toward each other— And collided head-on.
Elsewhere, the lean general stepped forward under Ekekiri's gaze.
"Why are those houses still airborne?" Ekekiri asked, his tone indifferent.
"…Sorry, my lord."
Metal bands locked into place around the general's wrists as energy began to gather, condensing rapidly into a dense, unstable force.
Then— it rained.
Massive beams tore through the sky, descending with overwhelming force as they struck the floating buildings above.
They weren't destroyed. They were erased.
Entire structures vanished in an instant, leaving nothing behind. No debris. No remnants.
No time for screams.
The beams continued downward, cutting through the battlefield without discrimination. Allies and enemies alike were caught in the devastation, their existence wiped away in moments.
The beams hit the Golden Tower. But a force field protected. Trembled violently.
Far below the Tower, in the depths of confinement, Max, Bel and other Anti members sat quietly within his cell.
The walls around him began to crack. At first, faint. Then spreading. Until they finally gave way, collapsing outward. Dust filled the air.
Max smiled.
Back on the battlefield, a portal opened behind Ekekiri, its edges distorting the space around it as the Old Witch stepped through.
"Old witch…" Ekekiri said without turning. "I thought you said that child was here."
"Yes…" she replied softly. "I sensed Ikua's power. And with the gods gone… it could only be her."
Ekekiri's gaze darkened slightly. "She escaped death once."
A brief pause followed.
"I won't allow it twice."
"As you wish."
She bowed her head— A portal opened and swallowed the old witch.
The battlefield remained. Broken. Shattered. Unrecognizable.
And for the first time— Hope didn't feel fragile. It felt distant. Very distant.
To Be Continued.