His tunic split apart at the seams, shredded by the surging power beneath. His chest was bare now, carved with ancient symbols of storm and ruin—lightning-script etched into flesh like brands. Electricity arced over his form as a suit of jagged, glowing armor formed around him, wrapping his limbs. The snow at his feet vaporized in an instant, replaced by hissing clouds of steam and raw heat.
Malrik surged forth like lightning—no, as lightning.
The air split, cracking with a sound that made several clan members instinctively flinch. Blue-electric current exploded in his wake, shattering the snow beneath him into scorched glass and ash. Steam hissed upward, veiling his motion like a storm given shape.
Jade moved only a fraction of a second before impact.
Her right foot pivoted in the snow with a soft crunch, the motion perfectly fluid. [Ice Dancer] activated once again, and her entire body flowed like water made cold and sharp. She sidestepped his blade—a living thunderbolt—by inches, the residual force still slicing a tear into the left sleeve of her coat.
Malrik didn't stop.
He spun, dragging his bolt-blade around for a brutal arc meant to split her in half. Jade bent backward into a flawless backstep, one hand on the ground as her ice blade sang past her face and met Malrik's electric sword mid-spin—
CLANG—CRACK—SHATTER.
Sparks and shards of ice exploded in every direction.
The snow beneath their feet had completely melted where Malrik stood. Steam and sparks hissed around him in violent clouds. Meanwhile, Jade landed cleanly several meters away, knees bent in a controlled slide, snow kicked up behind her like a ribbon trailing a dancer's final spin.
From the crowd, more murmurs—no longer whispers, but stunned commentary:
"He's using Thunderbreaker's Requiem?! That's a forbidden form...!"
Malrik roared, his voice distorted by the current screaming across his armor.
[Thunderbreaker's Requiem: Second Pulse]
He extended his hand, and the sky answered.
A jagged bolt of lightning fell from the clouds above, slamming into his form, charging his body like a living core. His sword howled with unstable energy, vibrating so fast it distorted his silhouette.
Snowflakes hovering mid-air shimmered with sapphire light. Her [Resonance Echo: Ice Spears] activating again.
With a breath like glass cracking, she clenched her fist—and the spears moved.
Dozens of them: some surged from the snow below, others zipped through the air, glinting as they spiraled toward Malrik in multiple trajectories.
He raised his sword and shouted—his armor glowing blindingly bright. Electricity flared outward in a spherical burst, vaporizing the first wave of ice.
But the second wave came from behind—Jade had redirected several spears mid-flight. They bypassed his armor completely and two hit his shoulder, another slammed into his thigh, and one grazed across his back, drawing a hiss of pain and flickers of blood across the snow.
Malrik's eyes widened as pain surged through him, hot and sharp. Blood trickled down his side before he turned his gaze toward her.
'What the hell is this?' he thought, unable to comprehend how the spears of ice had pierced through his armor of electricity.
He let out a guttural roar.
[Resonance Echo: Storm Break]
The clouds above began to shift violently, coiling into a spiral directly above the battlefield. The sun vanished behind the gathering storm, and lightning surged between the churning clouds. Bolts slammed into the ground, one after another, forming a crackling, dome-like barrier of electricity around Malrik.
He reached upward, grabbing a falling bolt mid-air with his hand, unflinching as it twisted and sparked in his grip.
[Resonance Echo: Electric Needles]
The electric dome around him shimmered, and the bolts that had struck the earth reshaped—condensing into countless glowing needles, each one humming with lethal charge. More lightning struck, and with every flash, more needles formed, hovering in the air like a sea of floating daggers.
Malrik exhaled slowly, letting the bolt in his hand dissolve into the air. It, too, joined the swarm.
Then he raised his hand toward Jade.
All at once, the needles screamed forward.
Jade's eyes narrowed the moment the swarm of needles shot forward.
She moved like wind over snow.
Her body twisted with flawless precision, each step flowing into the next as though she were skating on air. She pirouetted between the first wave, snowflakes gliding off her blade, her coat fanning around her like the petals of a frozen flower. The needles screamed past her face, cutting through strands of her blue hair. She leaned backward, one palm grazing the snow as more needles sliced overhead.
But just as her foot came down after a flawless aerial twist, it landed on a patch of compacted snow—flattened by Malrik's earlier steps. Her boot skidded.
It was the slightest slip.
Her balance broke.
Thirteen electric needles tore through her coat and into her side, and around her chest. Another seven sank into her shoulder, shattering through her combat dress like paper. The final nine needles struck her thigh, piercing deep before cracking with energy.
Electricity surged into her body.
Jade's eyes went wide, her lips parting—but no sound came out. Her sword fell from her hand, embedding into the snow beside her, fading away into snowflakes. She collapsed to her knees, her fingers digging into the snow, clenching tight as spasms rocked her frame. Her breathing became ragged, her head swaying as currents of energy tore through her veins like wild serpents.
Jade screamed—short, sharp, and broken—before her voice choked off in her throat. Her vision blurred, static buzzed behind her eyes. Her body felt like it was fraying from the inside out, nerves short-circuiting from the electricity still dancing across her skin.
Malrik stepped forward, slow and deliberate, each step melting snow beneath his feet as electricity crackled around him in quiet violence. His bolt of pure lightning—hummed in the air as he raised it.
Low and cruelly, he laughed.
"There was never any chance in hell you could win," he sneered, the distorted voice beneath his armor crackling like thunder. "You should've known that from the start."
Zay turned his head toward Mike. He didn't say a word—but he didn't have to.
Mike met the glance and grinned around his cigar. "Are you sure about that?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
Zay nodded once, without hesitation.
Mike took a slow drag, then flicked the cigar to the side as a thin layer of grey aura snapped across his skin and clothes like smoke coming to life. "Then go ahead," he said, stepping forward just enough that his presence could be felt like pressure pressing on the lungs. "Not a damn fool's gonna intervene. I'll make sure of it myself."
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
The snow beneath his boots didn't crunch—it fractured, splintering from the pressure of the violet aura pouring off him like liquid flame. His hand gripped the hilt of his katana, and the blade whispered from its sheath in a slow, controlled draw. As it came free, the air around him pulsed.
Midnight-blue surged through the violet.
His aura roared.
The katana's edge shimmered with spectral light, its surface crackling. In an instant, Zay appeared in front of Jade—his form blurring through the cold mist. He stood over her, katana drawn and held in a stance that split the wind.
Zay exhaled slowly, the air crystallizing around his lips.
"Rin."
That single name cut through the tension, and Rin obeyed without hesitation.
He walked toward Jade, kneeling beside her. Pale violet light glowed at his fingertips as he placed them gently on her shoulders. The light washed over Jade, flickering faintly with instability, but still—it healed. His arms twitched unnaturally—shrinking slightly, unevenly—as the error inside him throbbed against his soul like a pulse of breaking glass.
Not enough. But it was something.
"Hang on," Rin whispered as he helped her up. His breath hitched from the strain, sweat gathering across his temple as he gritted his teeth. "I've got you."
His body shuddered with effort, but he didn't stop. He walked her carefully through the broken field until they reached Mike.
Rin gently laid Jade down onto the snow beside him. Then, wordlessly, he began removing the electric needles one by one. His hands were as steady as he could force them to be. He poured every bit of medical knowledge he had into the act, using aura threads to stem the internal bleeding where he could. For every needle that came out, another breath of pain left Jade's lips.
Mike knelt beside them, grey aura swirling outward like smoke pressed against glass. He didn't say a word—but the moment the crowd tried to rush forward to protest Zay's interference, he moved.
[Blessing of the God, Vaitros]
The earth responded.
Spikes burst from the ground in a wall of jagged stone, cutting off the Raiden Clan members from the battlefield. A few stopped dead in their tracks. Others skidded to avoid impalement. Silence overtook the mountain as everyone realized the same thing:
Mike wasn't going to let anyone through.
Zay stood alone in the snow.
And Malrik was livid.
He took a step forward, electricity hissing from his form. The snow evaporated in a burst of steam around his feet.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Malrik snarled. "You? You're stepping in? The little bastard hiding behind that ghost-colored girl and the weakling medic?"
His lips curled, eyes twitching with fury behind the arcs of blue lightning. "What—do you think swinging a glowing sword makes you strong? You think interrupting a death challenge makes you brave?"
He spat into the snow, steam rising where it landed.
"You're pathetic, just like your damn team. That girl?"—he jabbed a finger toward Jade—"She was never anything. Just a pretty face, and a pretty body that thought she was something special 'cause she could make snowflakes look sharp."
He scoffed, voice growing louder. "And that runt playing doctor? He's not even fit to be called an Arbiter. You saw him limping around like a crippled rodent."
Malrik stepped forward again, blade buzzing like a live wire. The thunderbolt-shaped irises in his eyes pulsed with rage.
"But you?" he growled, electricity coiling tighter around his arm, "You're the biggest joke of all. You walk in here like you've got some righteous cause, some noble fucking backbone, acting like you're the hero stepping in to save the girl."
He pointed his sword at Zay. "You're not a hero. You're just next. And trust me... once I'm done tearing your spine out through your damn chest, I'll make sure they know it."
Lightning surged. The ground trembled beneath his aura.
"Come on, then. Show me what kind of mistake you really are."
Zay said nothing.
He stood motionless in the snow, his midnight-blue katana humming faintly at his side. The aura radiating off him wasn't flashy. It didn't crackle or boom like Malrik's thunder. It moved like a rising tide—deep, immense, and inevitable. Violet and blue aura twisted around his frame, casting a shifting glow across the ice and snow at his feet. His hand clenched around the hilt of the blade tighter as his knuckles turned white.
Malrik smirked, lifting his blade of lightning over his shoulder. "What's wrong? Got nothin' to say now? Just gonna stand there and look—"
Zay vanished.
Snow exploded from where he stood, swirling violently into the air like a cyclone of light. Malrik didn't even register the movement until—
CLANG.
Zay's katana collided with Malrik's electric blade in a diagonal upward slash, sparks flaring at the impact point. Malrik skidded backward, boots digging into the snow, eyes wide.
Zay stepped forward, eyes locked on him—burning with a flame of amethyst.
"Don't speak about them," he said, voice low and cold. "Not Jade. Not Rin. Not anyone."
He moved again—fast. A diagonal sweep. Malrik parried, barely, the force of it vibrating through his arms. Zay pivoted off his back foot, dipped low, and slashed at Malrik's ankle. Malrik leapt back, electricity arcing in a wave to create distance.
"You little freak!" Malrik shouted, gritting his teeth. "What the hell di—"
Zay surged forward again.
Malrik raised his blade, Zay twisted mid-air and brought his knee into Malrik's chest, followed by a reverse grip slash across his armor. Sparks burst from the contact point. The electric plating sizzled, cracking slightly at the edge.
Malrik stumbled back, snarling. He thrust his hand forward.
[Electric Needles]
A wall of lightning-forged needles erupted forward.
Zay exhaled. [Soundless Wind]
Wind—utterly silent—picked up and surged ahead as Zay slashed forward with Evershade. The invisible current twisted through the air, catching the electric needles mid-flight. The wind redirected them, reversing their path. Now facing Malrik, the needles tore through the air, wind coiling around them, amplifying their speed and power.
Malrik raised his bolt and slashed downward in a diagonal arc, releasing a wave of lightning. But the same phenomenon occurred—his own lightning twisted, caught in the wind's embrace, and turned back on him. Wind wrapped around the surge, carrying it into Malrik with brutal force. His armor, already cracked, shattered beneath the impact.
Malrik's irises—once coiled with streaks of lightning—flickered and vanished as his massive frame collapsed, face-first, onto the cold, unforgiving ground. His limbs twitched once, then stilled.
'D-damn it... why did it... have to happen now...' Malrik thought, the words fading in his mind as his heartbeat slowed. Electricity sparked faintly in his chest, desperate and dying.
Zay stared down at the fallen man, head tilted slightly. A long breath escaped his lips.
"Tell me..." he murmured, voice low. "Why are you such a bastard?"
The question hung in the air—half-curious, but Zay scoffed at himself. Midnight-blue aura flared around Evershade in a fine, crackling layer as he stepped forward. Without pause, he drove the blade into Malrik's chest. Blood bloomed up the weapon, and with one push, it pierced the heart.
He twisted slightly, then yanked it free. A clean flick flung the blood from the edge. Zay turned his back to the body without another glance.
Snow crunched beneath his boots as he walked toward Rin and Mike. His eyes fell on Jade, lying motionless on the frost-kissed ground. Rin, kneeling beside her, was carefully pulling out the needles embedded in her skin, his hands trembling.
Zay's jaw clenched as his gaze lingered—on the blood, on the stillness, on the way everything suddenly felt too quiet.
[Arbiter, The Shattered Sequence will end shortly.]
Zay just stood there, Evershade in hand, breath visible in the icy air, eyes fixed on the broken scene before him, unsure what to even think of the message he had read.
"Mike," he said quietly, "can you do me a favor?"
Mike glanced over. He tossed his half-burnt cigar into the snow and made his way toward Zay. "What is it?"
Zay didn't answer right away. His gaze lingered on Jade—still, quiet, barely breathing. Then he exhaled and turned to meet Mike's eyes.
"This... Sequence is ending soon. I just got the message." His voice wavered slightly, but he pushed through it. "Will you take them with you? Both of them. I know it's a lot to ask, but... I just want to make sure they're safe. With someone strong enough to protect them."
Mike looked at Zay for a long moment. The cold wind swept between them, stirring the snow, but he didn't move right away. His eyes drifted from Zay to Jade, then to Rin, still hunched over her, hands bloodied and shaking.
"Tch..." Mike muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "You really know how to pick the worst times for favors."
He stepped past Zay, kneeling beside Rin and Jade. His voice dropped, quieter, more serious. "You're damn lucky I like you, kid."
Then he looked back over his shoulder. "Don't worry at all. I'll make sure they stay alive. Just promise me you won't go out there and die."
Zay nodded, but said nothing. His fingers tightened slightly around Evershade. The cold felt deeper now, heavier. Not just on his skin—but in his bones.
Mike turned back to the others, muttering something under his breath as he started checking Jade's conditions with Rin. Zay took one last look before closing his eyes and turning away, his footsteps crunching slowly into the frost as he opened his eyes.
Rin looked up, his eyes glassy but alert. He saw Zay's back retreating into the snow and ice, his black hair trailing swaying with each step.
"Where's he going?" Rin asked, voice thin, strained.
Mike paused, his hands hovering over Jade's wounds. He didn't answer right away—just sighed and stood up, brushing snow from his gloves.
"Something important came up," he said finally, glancing in the direction Zay had gone. "Something only he can deal with."
Rin's brows knit together. "But—"
"For now," Mike cut in gently, "you two will be staying at the mansion. With me, Spring, ember, and the maid." He gave a faint, almost tired smile. "Don't worry. Zay will come back."
Rin looked back down at Jade, then at the footprints in the snow fading into the mist.
"You promise?" he asked softly.
Mike's jaw clenched, just for a moment. Then he nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I promise. He'll return... one day."
Each step crunched softly beneath Zay's boots, swallowed by the snow and the silence that followed. Behind him, Mike's voice was fading, Rin's question barely audible now.
'They'll be fine. Mike's strong. Rin just needs time. Jade... she'll be okay once she wakes up...'
Zay stopped and looked up at the sky. "Nira... will you watch over the three of them, as well?" he asked in a whispered prayer.
He sighed, lowered his gaze, and continued walking through the forest of thick, towering trees, their limbs weighed down by snow and ice. Vines hung low, frozen in crystal chains. A single tear rolled down his cheek—it froze as it fell.
"I shouldn't have allowed myself... to get close to any of them," he murmured. "That was my mistake, wasn't it?"
His breath left him in a pale cloud, fading into the cold silence as he moved forward once more.
As Zay kept walking, the message echoed through the fading air:
[The Shattered Sequence is ending. Congratulations for surviving.]