Helping each other no matter the cost… that is the quality of a true friend.
Gerald's eyes shot open with a gasp of realization - Saul's speech, the endless sky, the final words his idol spoke, all swarming his head like angry bees. Most importantly, the echo of Kevin's words sparking a flare of hope within the enemy domain. The endless canvas of a blue sky, shrouded with white, puffy clouds, enlightened Gerald's eyelids with a bright presence. Climbing the sky with an upward burst, the emerging scent of Saul's power inhabited his mind. "His power levels are growing rapidly…"
---
"Everything feels so abnormal… so unusual." Saul clenched his hands, directing his stare out into the everlasting sky. A wispy strand of condensed power wrapped around his arms, entreating his skin with a smooth caress. "Power like this hasn't surged within me in a long time… With this much, I can use it…"
Tightening his chest with a slow exhale, a glowing-blue coat of surging energy wrapped around him, its gut-wrenching presence resonating with his loosening muscles. "The ultimate technique - Sky Force."
Bolts of crackling lightning branched from the unsettling shroud, dancing across the endless skyline in scattered directions. With another relaxed breath, the coat grew, and the glowing lightning intensified. He shoots his hands upward, exposing them to the boundless sky. The clouds accommodated Saul's outstretched hands, reeling closer with a steady approach. Entering Saul's cloak of warmth, the clouds looped his arms with the wind's swirling blows. "Lightning… clouds… wind…"
A flicker of recognition blew through his eyes. The sun's alluring warmth was the final ingredient required to activate Sky Force. Small, controlled sparks of crackling lightning emerged between his extended palms, establishing a sensation of gradual heat outward. The fray ended in a radiant-blue flame, illuminating Saul's face with a satisfied yet mischievous smirk. "All of them are now in my grasp."
A roar of booming thunder forced a startled sputter within Gerald's flames. "Four fronts of power, each of them drawing into a singular position…" His eyes followed the alluring scent of power, coming to an abrupt halt at Saul's glowing chest. With a controlled scoff, Gerald met Saul's glance for the first time since his fall - a new scent, even more unsettling than before, raced through his pulsing veins like a soaring rocket. A gentle clench of his fists, and the coat exploded outward with an ear-piercing boom. "This will be your final stand," Saul muttered, covered by a transparent, glowing ember. "Songnote is my home now - therefore, I shall protect her."
The realization of Songnote's silence struck Gerald like a smooth assassin. "She hasn't talked in a whi-"
A large crack struck upward as if the domain were a large pane of glass. That same moment, a weak echo entered the scene. "Saul of the Skies… now in his final form… rests his eyes on the trembling boy!"
Gerald scoffed, detecting the uneasiness in Songnote's words. Saul's power, the growing crack - could both be a side effect of power overload? Another layer of wind bursted outward, intensifying the surging ember. A breathtaking spectrum of blue, gray, yellow, and red painted the flame. Suddenly, its vibrance dissolved, pouring into his heart like water soaking into a sponge. "With his… power… he…"
That same moment, the vibrant glow sprung out his pulsing heart. The phenomenon was enticing but overwhelming - pillars of crackling lightning danced through the sky, mixed with the flame's undying roar, the cloud's peaceful swirls, and the wind's demanding slaps. Each of these powers rose within Saul, testing the limits of his failing body. "This is what happens when I become one with the sky!"
Gerald's eyes shot open, accompanied by an unsettling bulge. The brown glow of Saul's floating hair and the glowing bracelets of cloud across his wrists illuminated the warping domain. Coated with a shroud of lightning, the persisting bulge in his arms loosened. "The sky's four elements," his voice projected, "are now one within me!"
Volume 13, Chapter 76 - Sky Force
6 months ago, Crystal City Library
"Sky Force - the ultimate attack of old-generation hunter Saul of the Skies," Kevin read, sliding his finger across the pages of a bulky, red book laid on the wooden table. "By using the sky's power to its full advantage," Gerald continued, "he can use four elements at once - clouds, fire, wind, and lightning."
A rush of shock dominated him as he slouched deeper into his chair. "Four elements… how are we going to take someone like that down?"
"We?" Kevin replied, altering his glance to the towering ceiling. "Saul's your opponent, not mine!"
With an overwhelmed exhale, Gerald wandered into a forest of thought. Saul of the Skies, the man he was planning to meet and duel someday. Four elements? Complete control of the skies? A callback of Le's speech rang through his mind. Serious training. Skywater Incident. Saul of the Skies, not just the wind.
---
It was as if the sky had turned against him.
An expanding web of flashing lightning plunged downward towards Gerald's trembling gaze. Invasive thoughts of his helplessness invaded his mind like destructive termites. The bolts swallowed him whole, dissolving his shadow with its blinding radiance. A split second of silence gave way to the web's detonation, shaking the realm with an enormous blast. "Lightning Style - Facilitated Destruction." The explosion faded, reverting the sky to peaceful silence. Saul's frown persisted for a moment, shocked by their power imbalance - was his expectations too high for such a young opponent? That same moment brought a shroud of dark flames, accompanied by small strands of white opposing the heavy inferno. Gerald's burn-covered face emerged from the flame's head, plagued by intervals of expanding strain. "Many years ago at the 28th Entity Hunter Expo, you specified your dream opponent. A man with an undying sense of courage and a feeling of protection!" Among the flame's darkness thrived a scent of tainted peace within its glowing, white strands. Saul examined the approaching flame with a cautious glance - something about Emberatalia felt unusual compared to moments ago. Blasting beyond the shrouding clouds further into the star-spangled sky, Gerald's flames shot upward, confronting Saul's rocket-like fists with a sudden clash. "Cloud Style," Saul's voice boomed, clutching Gerald's leg within the bustling embers. The cloudy bracelet across his right arm widened, solidifying into a large, whirring drill. "Heavenly Spiral!" Gerald's body jerked upward at the movement of Saul's hand, fixing his gaze onto the sky above. "The clouds are protecting the anchor… not only that, but they're spinning in unison with the drill!?" Saul's arm struck upward towards the whirling circle of clouds, filling the cloud with a charge of crackling lightning. "The power of the heavens lives in my grasp - strong enough to kill your flames!" Saul's drill pierced through Gerald's flame like a harmless cloud of fog, reducing the flame to nothing more than crackling, white strands. "Its as if your flames hold another soul - I'll deteriorate them if its the last thing I-"
Gerald's opposite leg shot upward with a frantic counter. "He extinguished Emberatalia on my right leg!?"
Saul's arm was forced backward from the darting kick, breaking his iron grasp on Gerald's leg. He watched closely as his opponent plummeted deeper into the sky, burying him in a cloak of clouds with the snap of his finger. "You continue to try and reach the anchor, knowing you're no match for me! Your childhood dreams are one thing, but your current strength is another! IF YOU CAN'T WIN, GIVE UP!"
"And what makes you think I'll do that?" A pulsing ember engulfed Gerald's left leg, followed by the flame's echoing roar. "You can take away Emberatalia, but you can't TAKE AWAY MY COURAGE!" He shattered the fall, rocketing upward with a fierce thrust.
"In this world, courage is the same thing that will get you killed." Erupting rays of booming flame downward towards the encasing clouds, a smirk of confidence stretched across Saul's face. "Cloud-Flame Style: Enlarging Cloud!" The blazing pillar ripped through the bordering clouds, doubling in size with a thunderous roar. "The same thing that'll get me killed!? For almost a year we've been at it, and we're nowhere close to stopping!" He infiltrated the ray of concentrated flames, bursting above the rumbling clouds. Approaching Saul for a determined kick, the smile across Gerald's face widened, until…
A sharp pain raced through Gerald's heart, as if a sword had just punctured his heart. He met Saul's pitiful gaze, returning it with a nonchalant glare. "Enlarging Cloud amplifies anything that passes through it, even human power! Since your body is unable to handle the soul thriving within, you can't fight up here!"
"Sure I can!" Gerald clapped back, his flames sputtering like a broken vehicle. Saul had temporarily disrupted the power flow to his right leg, leaving nothing but scattered, white wisps across his leg.
Saul's palms rubbed together, forming a ball of concentrated air. "That look on your face… In my days as a professional hunter, it wouldn't have been worn BY ME!" The ball started with a sudden burst, breaking apart into miniature projectiles dancing across the skyline. "Sky Force - Underwhelming Air Dance!"
Gerald's gaze shot upward towards the second layer of clouds - once he got up there, all he had to do was break the anchor. "I don't care if you think another soul is thriving within me! I'M GOING TO FREE YOU, NO MATTER WHA-"
His gaze flashed towards a stray sphere of compressed air, carving a narrow wound into his flesh. A streak of gushing blood erupted from the intersecting wounds, falling deeper into the vast skies below. Following the heartstopping moment, each breath drew a sharp pain through Gerald's heart. The seconds of silence, interrupted by Gerald's desperate wheezes, waned with Saul's growing rage, reflecting throughout the darkening skies. "A wound inflicted earlier, alongside a wound inflicted recently. Both injuries unite, releasing a sensation of gushing blood." The distance between his palms widened, making way for a rupturing sphere of fog-covered lightning. Releasing the sphere with an outward push, Gerald's power grew colder with each incoming attack - each scream, each cry. "Your misery ends here, boy."
Gerald's eyes bulged, his wheezes worsening. "He's… going to… use… the…"
Saul's body lifted further into the air, radiating an near-divine presence through the endless skies. His body rose above the final wall of thundering clouds, extending his arms outward with a victorious smile. "The stability of Songnote's domain may have sustained a great challenge, but this will be the last time a performance as great as this occurs - for I will stand by her side, pushing my lord's dream into reality!"
A bolt of lightning pierced the shrouding wall, emitting a muffled light luring Gerald's eyes upward. The scent of Saul's power was too overstimulating, as if he were to faint in its presence. Bolts of swatting lightning bloomed from Saul's glowing skin, chilling Gerald's spine with the wind's unforgiving howls. Songnote's distorted, painful cries mixed with the surging phenomenon like a howling whirlwind born from a woman's desperation. "SAUL, YOU'RE GOING TO DESTROY THE DOMAIN! PICK A SIDE, DAMMIT!"
The ruffling sounds of her fingernails digging into her violin mixed into the developing fray. "I watched as my own family was killed before my very eyes! The world of entity hunting will destroy you, filling you wi-"
"You've said that already," Gerald clapped back, darting through the flashing clouds, "but that isn't going to stop me from saving you! I'm doing this for Team ENTITY and Team Pyron, and I won't fail to stop you all!"
"SAUL, STAND DOWN! THE DIMENSION IS AT ITS MAXIMUM - CONTINUE, AND IT'LL FALL!"
Gerald met Saul's ice-cold eyes with an observant glance. "The anchor's pulse thrives in the center. Once it's broken, the domain will fade once and for all." A swirling whirlwind of clouds inhabited the skies, straining Gerald's movement with its consistent pull. The sky seemed to move alongside Saul's arms, as vulnerable as putty in his breezy grasp. "My family, my life, everything was taken from me years ago! Entity hunting brings me no good - therefore, turning against it is my ultimate destiny!" The slapping wind caused Gerald's eyes to wince - above him stood not only his idol, but also the very asset capable of freeing him. The strands of Emberatalia roaring across his right leg faced an inconvenient sputter, reeling him closer towards the revolving whirlwind. "Out of all times, Emberatalia chooses to act up now!?"
"The current generation of hunters seems unpromising," Saul hissed, "unprepared for the coming events!" A ray of compressed, booming air raced across the skyline, flickering Gerald's sight with its demanding slaps. Then, using the weak strands of white across his opposite leg, broke through the restraint with a mighty push. "Even if your words are true and I do hold another soul, I'm still Team ENTITY's Gerald Romanti!"
Saul's face dimmed with an annoyed frown. "This is it - the clash that will determine everything!"
"BRING IT ON!" Gerald screamed, the image of his dark flames roaring like a pitch-black sun. His legs collided with Saul's outstretched fist, resisting the overwhelming scent of his enemy's power. The collision started with a thunderous roar, pushing the clouds back with its ferocity. A large sensation of crackling lightning followed, reacting to the power of both sides with an uncontrollable wave. "Even if you become the sky, I'll keep fighting!" Gerald's right leg advanced further, the enticing scent of his power trapping Saul's nostrils. "Your era is long gone - IT'S TIME TO PUT A REST TO YOUR TROUBLES!" The fronts of power reacted with an explosive blast, finalizing the crack in Songnote's domain. From the expanding cloud of dust emerged Gerald, who, with his trembling, dark eyes, observed the skyline for Saul's body - nothing. A strong aroma of shattering power lured his attention upward onto an open circle at the sky's ceiling. Its outlines shined a pure gold, merging perfectly with its alluring scent - one of absolute relief. "The domain's end…" Gerald muttered, climbing upward with a series of powerful thrusts. Squinting his eyes in happiness, the circle expanded, swallowing the vast sky in a matter of seconds. The catacombs' charred brick walls reinhabited Gerald's eyes. On the floor lay Songnote's violin, its strings sticking upward towards Gerald's knees. "Songnote… She broke her own violin?" His eyes detected her outstretched arms, tracking them back to her unresponsive body. A striking pulse erupted from Gerald's X-shaped scar, forcing him onto the ground beside his opponent's violin. The battle had ended, but the pain persisted.
???
A weightless flame of glowing white.
Gerald's heart skipped at the consuming flame's sight. Before him stood a smiling Saul, his gaze fixed onto the weightless ember. It radiated a sense of peace - a sense of freedom, a sense of protection.
"I see," Saul's voice boomed with a hopeful grin on his face. "Take care of that flame, for it will be the one that saves the world."
Before Gerald could ask any questions, Saul's body faded into the boundless domain of enclosing white, the aroma of his consciousness fading like a burnt-out candle. Then, seconds later, everything went dark.