The vast, cerulean sky poured down golden light upon Joy's back, a warmth that did little to ease the cold dread coiling in her gut. She stood, gasping for breath, hands braced on her knees, her eyes squeezed shut, trying to fight the pain. The distance she had run… it had felt endless. She didn't know how far Tyler had taken her. It felt like an eternity.

With a shuddering sigh, she straightened, her gaze drawn to the sky. Thousands upon thousands of shimmering arrows still hung suspended, a terrifying, silent army. Her green eyes widened, a sliver of fear piercing her resolve, as she witnessed a terrifying spectacle. The arrows, as if drawn by an invisible, inexorable force, began to converge, pulled towards the small, white figure floating in the sky.

The figure, a tiny mote against the vast expanse, began to glow. A star, born in the middle of the day.

The sight both terrified and fueled her. Her concern for Tyler, a burning, visceral emotion, propelled her forward. She sprinted, her legs screaming in protest, each muscle aching, threatening to give out. But she ignored the pain, grit her teeth, and ran.

The agonizing question of what she would do when she reached him plagued her. This enemy… the woman was obviously far, far stronger than she was. She was certain she would lose in a direct confrontation. But Tyler… Tyler was paramount.

She needed to reach him. Quickly. She had to. Once she was there, she would figure something out. Maybe, just maybe… if they work together… The faintest glimmer of hope flickered within her. Maybe they could win. The thought offered a fragile solace.

Joy watched, breath catching in her throat, as the star plummeted from the sky. It left a shimmering trail in its wake, a fiery comet's tail that slashed across the blue canvas above. Then, with a deafening crash, it slammed into the ground far, far ahead. The impact, a raw, primal force, sent tremors through the earth, vibrations that even reached her, causing her feet to tremble beneath her. But she didn't stop. The shock did not halt her relentless sprint.

Tyler was still alive, the realization, a wave of bittersweet relief, washed over her. This fight… this meant Tyler was still fighting. It also meant he was still struggling, and struggling was the very last thing she wanted for him.

She pushed harder, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She was getting closer. Closer. The thought filled her with a fragile, precious hope.

Meanwhile, a brutal clash echoed across the landscape. White and black sparks danced as Anna's white blade met Tyler's, now imbued with a terrifying, abyssal darkness that consumed his eyes, leaving only a void. They stared directly at each other, locked in a brutal contest of wills. The crater deepened, widening with each second.

Anna's teeth were clenched, the fury simmering within her, threatening to boil over. "You are not stronger than me!" she spat, pouring every ounce of her power into her next strike. She shoved with all her might, pushing Tyler's blade back, and then, with a spinning motion, slammed her foot into Tyler's gut. The white crystal armor, gleaming as it connected with his abdomen, unleashed an explosion of pure, white light.

The impact was devastating. Tyler's entire abdomen was instantly encased in ice, a freezing cage of agony. A massive spike of ice erupted through his body, piercing his abdomen, ripping up the side of his back, propelling him upward, a frozen effigy of pain. He was flung into the air, a helpless target against the now vast and frozen expanse.

Anna clenched her fist, her teeth grinding together, and with a thought, an invisible force seized Tyler's body, ripping him back from the momentum of the attack. The crystal-white blade, still glowing, thrust forward, sinking deep into Tyler's chest. Light, pure and blinding, erupted from his back, a searing torrent of energy. A mixture of steam and light, leaving a stark white line in the sky as it disappeared, then burst outwards in a blinding white flash that erased the world for a heart-stopping instant, and then… silence.

Joy, still running, her breath ragged, saw this. A bead of sweat traced a cold path down her forehead, then snatched by the wind. She spared a glance at the sky, but her focus remained unwavering.

Tyler's body fell to the ground sliding off of Anna's blade, the motion limp and unresisting, thudding against the plain with a dull impact that scattered loose soil.

The white blade hissed as it burned the red blood that remained on the blade, the crimson sizzling into wisps of acrid smoke that curled upward, turning to a complete white again, the surface gleaming pristine once more under the lingering glow.

She stared at Tyler, her eyes unblinking.

Tyler's eyes were still black, abyssal and unchanging, reflecting nothing but void.

There was a gaping hole in his chest, raw edges exposed to the air, the wound silent and stark against the stillness.

It looked like he was dead, but something felt off, the air around him humming faintly with unnatural tension, a subtle vibration that prickled the skin like static before a storm.

There was no reaction, nothing, the body lay inert, chest neither rising nor falling, yet the presence lingered, heavy and watchful.

It just still looked like he was alive, but hollow and unmoving, the form rigid in its emptiness, the surrounding grass whispering faintly against it in the breeze.

Then, suddenly... His gaping hole, small, sticky shadows started to connect with each other, spiderwebbing within the hole itself, the tendrils slithering with a wet, adhesive slurp, weaving together in slow, deliberate patterns that filled the hole with shadow, the process emanating a faint, musty chill that hung thick in the immediate air.

Anna realized what was happening, her eyes widening with a sharp intake of breath that carried the faint, metallic tang of blood still lingering in the air, immediately swinging her blade in a swift arc aiming for Tyler's neck, the edge whistling through the wind with a keen slice, trying to decapitate him, her muscles coiling tight with focused fury, the grip on her hilt slick with residual warmth from the earlier clash.

But Tyler's hand shot up and countered with his own blade, the movement precise and unyielding, the black shadow sword rising like an extension of the void itself, the clash ringing out with a resonant clang that vibrated through the ground like a struck bell.

The force erupted a shockwave from it, ballooning outward with a thunderous boom that whipped dust and grass into a gritty whirlwind, the air compressing and releasing in a rush that tugged at Anna's hair with insistent pressure.

Anna put her other hand on the blade, her palm pressing firm against the cool, crystalline surface, forcing Tyler's blade down as she grunted, the effort straining her arms with a deep burn, her voice rough and edged with disbelief: "How is this possible? You shouldn't be able to regenerate from that kind of wound. Just what are you?" The words hung heavy in the charged space.

Tyler didn't answer, his form silent and impassive, but immediately she felt it again, almost as if the mana around him was getting absorbed again, a subtle drain that hummed in her senses like a vacuum pulling at the ambient energy, the air growing thicker and heavier with an unnatural chill, and he was absorbing more and more mana faster now, the flow accelerating into a palpable rush that stirred faint sparks of corrupted essence flickering at the edges of her vision.

The mana pathways immediately erupted, exploding with a violent crackle that released all the mana that had been collected in his body, the surge building to a crescendo of raw power.

But it was corrupted, and black, an almost transparent shockwave erupted from Tyler's body, the blast rippling outward like ink through water, dark and viscous, slamming into Anna's with a concussive force that rattled her bones and filled her nostrils with a acrid, shadowy reek, throwing her into the air, the world tilting in a dizzying spin.

Anna's body spun uncontrollably in the air, the wind howling past her ears with a deafening roar, her white hair lashing against her face like stinging whips, until she stopped herself as she held her blade, twisting mid-flight with a grunt, the hilt's glow pulsing warmly in her grip to anchor her descent, her feet skimming the air with a faint, ethereal hum before she stabilized.

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Then immediately Tyler got up, she didn't even see it, the rise so instantaneous it blurred like a shadow snapping into place, he was already standing , the motion devoid of effort or transition.

He looked at his hand, the fingers extending with a slow, deliberate flex, curling it into a fist and opening it and then curling it again, almost as if testing if he was alive again, the shadows along his skin rippling faintly with each movement, like oil shifting under pressure.

He then stared at Anna, but the eyes, they were not black anymore, they were white, sclera gleaming with an unnatural pallor, but the pupils, they were glowing a faint dark blue, almost black, piercing through the haze with an abyssal depth that sent a involuntary shiver down her spine.

And he spoke in a deep voice, resonant and hollow, echoing faintly as if from a distant cavern: "He is not here anymore. There is no reason to waste my time on you." The words carried a chilling indifference.

"Wasting your time?" Anna spat, fury surging within her. How dare you? The words, dismissive and arrogant, stung. She felt like an annoyance, not a threat. You think you're all-powerful? I'll show you. I'll show you what true power really is.

Anna raised her blade, both hands gripping the hilt, and it began to glow, the light intensifying. Simultaneously, crystal-like objects, scattered and shimmering, materialized around Tyler, a cage of mirrors. He didn't react, his gaze locked on her, unwavering.

Anna burst forward, her blade a blazing streak. Then, something impossible happened. Tyler's blade, a conduit of dark energy, passed right through her. She didn't falter; she continued. It was as if she had become light itself, intangible. She then dissolved into one of the mirrors, disappearing from sight, and erupted again, her blade slicing across Tyler's side.

She vanished into the other mirror, and shot out again. Her blade slashed at his neck, but no blood spilled. Faster and faster, she moved, a laser of light, bouncing from one mirror to the next. The lines formed. Each strike, relentless, the light shimmering from each pane, always present. Tyler was cut again and again, each gash a shallow wound. Still, he didn't react.

She aimed for his neck again, and Tyler's blade swung up, a counter that met hers. The force, a surprising jolt, ran through her body.

She gritted her teeth, the enamel grinding with a low, gritty rasp that echoed in her skull, thinking, *What? But how? I should be intangible. He shouldn't be able to counter this.* The confusion boiled in her mind like acid, twisting her gut into tight knots of disbelief and rising panic, her pulse hammering erratic and hot against her temples.

Immediately, Tyler pushed her back, the shove landing with unyielding force that sent a jolt through her frame, pushing back into the mirror, the surface rippling cool and glassy around her like plunging into chilled water, the transition disorienting with a faint, echoing hum that vibrated in her bones.

And then she shot out from behind him, bursting forth with a whoosh of displaced air that whipped at her hair and carried the faint, metallic tang of shadowed energy.

Her teeth clenched harder, the pressure aching in her jaw as she thought, *I don't understand. What kind of class is he? He should be an assassin. No. He shouldn't even be able to touch me. No class can do that. But how? How is he countering me?* The questions churned relentlessly, laced with a bitter frustration that burned in her chest.

Tyler turned around in an instant and countered her again, his blade meeting hers with a sharp clang that rang out like struck iron, the impact sending sparks scattering in fleeting bursts of shadow and light.

She returned into one of the panels, the entry smooth yet jarring, the reflective surface closing around her with a subtle, sucking pull that left her skin tingling.

She came out, emerging with a swift rush that tugged at her hair like invisible fingers.

Tyler then countered again and again, each clash a resonant boom that vibrated through the air and into her grip, the hilt jarring in her hands with numbing force.

He wasn't even turning this time, his form unnaturally still and adaptive, he was just countering with his sword, the blade moving with mechanical precision, flexing with effortless twists that defied expectation.

The frustration grew within her as he repeated this, building like a storm in her core, hot and suffocating, her muscles straining with each futile strike, *No, no, this shouldn't be possible. How could he?* The denial clawed at her thoughts, raw and desperate, amplifying the ache in her limbs and the sting of repeated failure.

She was immediately interrupted as she was soaring through the air, the wind howling past her ears with a deafening roar, ready to slice Tyler, her blade humming with pent-up energy that warmed her palm.

But he immediately turned, the pivot seamless and predatory, and then his hand wrapped around her neck, fingers clamping down with iron-cold pressure that constricted her throat, grabbing her immediately, the grip unyielding , a sonic boom erupting outwards from the impact, the blast thundering in her ears and rippling through her body like a shock of compressed air that left her vision blurring at the edges.

She put her left hand on his, her fingers digging into the slick, shadowy skin with desperate urgency, the contact sending a chill seeping into her own flesh, and then swung her blade, aiming to strike him right in the shoulder, the arc swift and fueled by adrenaline that surged hot in her veins.

But he countered with his right sword, the black blade intercepting with a violent clash that shattered the air into sparks, causing her sword to disperse, the metal hissing as it vaporized in a puff of acrid mist, disappearing almost as if obliterated, the loss hitting her like a gut punch of bewilderment.

She didn't understand what was going on, the confusion crashing over her in waves, her heart pounding frantic and wild, a mix of fear and rage knotting her insides as the world spun in disorienting haze, the scent of scorched essence thick in the air.

"Let go of me!" Anna screamed.

She slammed her palm against his wrist to break his grip. A blast of compressed air distorted the space between them, rippling outward, but his hand didn't budge. Instead, the bracers on Tyler's arms began to hum. The metal drank in the force of her blow, igniting with a dark, chilling purple glow.

He looked directly into her eyes,or rather, through them.

"Your light," he said, his voice deep and vibrating in her chest. "It is weaker than my shadow."

He pulled his fist back, the purple light intensifying.

Panic surged through Anna. She unleashed a relentless flurry of kicks into his abdomen, channeling explosions of mana into every impact. Bam. Bam. Bam. White light flared against his chest, but Tyler stood immovable, a statue of apathy.

"That is simply because," he murmured, "your light is not hollow."

The floating mirrors surrounding them reacted to the spike in energy. As if drawn by a magnetic singularity, they collapsed inward, rushing to crush Tyler between them.

He didn't even look. A pulse of invisible, black energy erupted from his body.

CRASH.

The mirrors were blasted into oblivion, raining down as harmless, glittering dust.

Anna grit her teeth, trying to summon the cold. She reached for her ice magic, but the connection was dead. The mana around her felt suffocated, dampened by the oppressive darkness radiating from his skin while he held her. She was powerless.

Tyler's fist shot forward.

The punch rammed into Anna's gut.

Her crystal armor shattered like brittle ice.

The force accumulated in the Tempest Bracers was released all at once, tenfold.

Anna's eyes went wide, the air driven from her lungs in a spray of blood. The energy didn't just hit her; it traveled through her. A beam of concentrated purple light erupted from her back, tearing through the air behind her like a railgun shot.

It stretched into the distance, expanding, until,

BOOM.

A sphere of purple darkness consumed the horizon. The ground caved in, flattened instantly into a perfect, terrified circle.

"Your energy is too concentrated within your flesh," the entity observed. It didn't bother to wipe away the blood that had sprayed onto its face from Anna's mouth; it wore the crimson like a mask, indifferent and cold.

The Tempest Bracers flared again, drinking in the ambient power, glowing a deep, ominous violet.

Anna's eyes widened. She knew that glow. She scrambled mentally, reaching for her magic, clawing for the light to escape. But there was nothing. It wasn't that her power was gone, it was suffocated. It felt cut off, as if a wall of silence had been erected around her soul.

"Let go," she choked out, thrashing. "Let go of me, you bastard!"

Unexpectedly, he obeyed.

His fingers uncoiled from her throat. For a microsecond, she was free.

Then, he striked.

His fist blurred, driving into her chest with the force of a falling anvil. It slammed her into the earth.

The sickening sound of ribs shattering echoed instantly. Blood sprayed from her lips again.

The ground couldn't handle the impact. It detonated. A crater erupted beneath her, but Tyler wasn't done. His fist drove her deeper, the force ballooning outward, pulverizing stone and soil. A roar like thunder shook the plain as debris launched skyward, raining down like hail.

Slowly, Tyler straightened.

He looked down at her with those dead, abyssal eyes. Thick blood drenched both of her cheeks, staining her face crimson as she coughed, gurgling on the fluid filling her lungs.

Tyler raised his arms.

CLANG.

He slammed the bracers together. A visible shockwave rippled out, violent enough to whip Anna's hair across her face.

CLANG.

He hit them again. The purple light pulsed, heavy and domineering.

The shock was the final straw. The white, ethereal glow of Anna's hair flickered and died, bleeding back into a dull, defeated raven black.

"Your energy," the entity stated, its voice vibrating through the air. "It needs to be dispersed. Only then can I absorb it."

He slammed the bracers together again.

CLANG.

The purple light flared, brighter now, burning with the intensity of a miniature star. It washed over the crater, searing white-hot against Anna's retinas.

CLANG.

Another impact. The shockwave was physical, a stinging slap against her skin.

Anna gritted her teeth, blood bubbling between her lips. *He's insane,* she thought, terror piercing through the haze of pain. *If he releases that... it won't just be me. He'll eviscerate everything. The entire region will be wiped off the map.*

She had no choice.

Fighting the agony in her shattered chest, she forced her hand to move. It trembled as she reached into her pocket, her fingers closing around the cold, smooth surface of the Messenger Stone.

*I can't believe it has come to this.*

With the last reserve of her strength, she squeezed.

CRACK.

The stone shattered in her grip, crumbling into glittering blue dust.

A silent signal ripple out, a scream for help. She knew what this meant. Every Pale Reaper, anyone holding a matching stone, would feel it. It was the ultimate admission of failure: The threat is overwhelming. I cannot handle this alone. She had never thought, in all her years of combat, that she would be the one to break the stone.

The Void entity stopped moving.

The Tempest Bracers were screaming now, a high-pitched whine of metal pushed beyond its limits. They had accumulated over 8,000% capacity. The structure couldn't hold it; a spiderweb fracture appeared on the metal, leaking pure, unstable violet light.

Tyler coiled his hand into a fist.

Anna tried to move. She wanted to crawl, to drag herself even an inch away, but she was paralyzed. It wasn't just fear. The purple Corrupted light was so dense, so concentrated, that it possessed its own gravity. The pressure pinned her to the earth like a giant hand.

The humming sound deepened into a roar. Tyler's arm, his fist, and even his eyes were consumed by the violet glow.

He was a living bomb, and the timer had just hit zero.

"Tyler!"

A voice sliced through the roaring tension, cutting through the hum of the charged energy.

The Void Entity froze. For the barest fraction of a second, the abyssal darkness in his eyes widened. The accumulation of power stalled.

He turned slowly, looking back over his shoulder.

It was Joy.

She was running towards the crater's edge, chest heaving from her sprint. Her eyes were bright, filled with a terrifying, genuine relief. She didn't see the monster; she only saw that her human was alive. Her green skin shimmered, painted in the sickly violet hue of the death energy radiating from his fist, but she didn't care.

She waved her hand, a smile breaking across her face.

Anna saw the hesitation. The pressure holding her down flickered for just a moment. *He's distracted.*

She gritted her teeth, screaming internally as she forced her battered body to move. She dug her fingers into the dirt, trying to drag herself out of the blast zone, inches at a time.

But the moment was fleeting.

The Entity turned his head back. The recognition in his eyes vanished, replaced instantly by the cold, mechanical void. His gaze locked onto Anna again, heavy and suffocating.

Joy was ignored. The distraction was irrelevant.

His fist retracted once more, the 8,000% charge screaming for release.

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