The transit tunnel wasn't dark.
It was devoured.
Gravity twisted sideways, light bent into spirals, and ripples of void pulsed along the walls like a heartbeat. The rails beneath Roy's feet hummed and warped, as if afraid of the figure standing at the center of the chaos.
Zorga.
The Umbryon General.
His armor didn't reflect light — it consumed it. Shadows coiled around him like living serpents, whispering and distorting the air. Each footstep he took left the world cracked behind him.
Roy tightened his grip on the Dual-Blade Warden.
Emerald runes crawled up his arms.
Zorga looked at him with hollow, burning eyes.
"You carry the Seed, boy. Yet you cling to humanity. Why kneel in the mud when you were born to rule?"
Roy's violet eyes hardened.
"I'm not you. And I never will be."
Zorga chuckled, a sound like tearing metal.
"You misunderstand, child. I am not a monster."
His armor pulsed.
"I am the inevitable."
---
1. The Duel Begins — Destiny vs Corruption
Without warning, Zorga blurred forward. Roy's instincts screamed, and he barely raised his blades before a void-coated fist smashed into him.
BOOM —!
Roy flew backwards, skidding through metal rails. Sparks erupted around him.
Before he could rise, Zorga was already there.
Roy swung both blades in a cross-slash, emerald arcs slicing the air clean.
Zorga caught them.
With his bare hands.
The blades hissed, biting into the void armor — but Zorga didn't even flinch.
"Your skill has grown," Zorga mused. "But conviction? Still weak."
Roy snarled, twisting his hilts.
"Funny. Conviction's the only reason I haven't collapsed yet!"
He fired a point-blank Puls blast from the pommel, exploding in Zorga's face. The force pushed the General back a step.
Roy took advantage.
He snapped the weapons apart, spun, and unleashed a whirlwind of dual strikes.
He became a blur.
He became the forest wind.
He became the A-rank Warden.
Zorga raised an arm, but Roy's next slash cut deep across his chest, emitting a burst of emerald and violet light.
Zorga stumbled.
A pause.
Then the wound closed — sealing like liquid shadow.
Roy's heart dropped.
"You regenerate—?"
"No," Zorga corrected. His voice was calm and cold.
"I never break."
---
2. Above Ground — The Academy Burns
While Roy battled a god underground, the Academy above was slipping into chaos.
Jean — Central Plaza
Jean blasted a circle of white-hot fire around herself, vaporizing seven Neutron creatures in an instant.
"MOVE!" she yelled to a group of students. "WEST GATE! NOW!"
One student stumbled. Jean grabbed him by the collar, dragging him clear as a Neutron Alpha lunged.
Jean turned, eyes blazing.
"Wrong person to jump, idiot."
Her flames exploded point-blank, disintegrating the creature mid-pounce.
Her voice cracked with worry.
"Roy… don't you dare die."
---
Seris — East Rooftops
Seris stood on a rooftop, lightning coursing around her body like a storm given flesh. She clapped her palms together.
"VOL-TERRA—!"
A golden bolt slammed into a hulking Neutron tank-beast, blowing a crater under it.
"Eat sparks, furball," she muttered, brushing hair from her face. "If Roy dies fighting that void-freak, I swear I'll resurrect him just to punch him."
A scream below. Civilians cornered.
Seris leapt off the roof, landing like a thunderbolt.
"Anyone touches them, I fry you twice!"
---
Lyra & Taro — Medical Bay
Lyra stood barefoot in a hallway of frost and ice. Her breath fogged the air. Neutron creatures froze mid-charge, their bodies crystallizing.
Taro held a flux-barrier in front of a group of nurses and patients.
"Taro," Lyra whispered, "Roy is fighting Zorga."
"I know," he said, teeth gritted. "I can feel the energy spikes. They're— they're unreal."
Lyra closed her eyes.
"Please survive, Roy. I… haven't even yelled at you properly yet."
---
Kira — Western Gate
Kira, the silent Sentient-Blade user, moved like a ghost. Her sword, Veilrend, sliced through the air and left afterimages of silver light.
A massive Neutron brute roared and swung a hammer-fist down.
Kira didn't blink.
She whispered, "Voidstep."
She vanished — reappearing behind it.
One slash.
A clean, perfect arc.
The beast collapsed.
A group of trapped engineers rushed toward her.
"Kira! The gate's failing!"
Kira nodded once.
"Reinforce it. I'll handle the southern flank."
Her voice remained calm, but her eyes flicked toward the ground.
Toward where Roy was fighting.
"Roy… don't lose."
---
3. Back Underground — Zorga's Wrath
Roy lunged again, blades flashing. Zorga caught one strike and deflected the other, twisting Roy's wrist painfully.
Roy flipped back, landing with a skid.
Zorga tilted his head.
"Holding your own. Impressive."
Roy spat blood and grinned.
"You talk too much."
Zorga's eyes narrowed.
"Do I?"
He vanished.
Roy's senses flared — too late.
CRACK!!
A massive blow slammed into Roy's ribs, lifting him off the ground. He crashed into a pillar, coughing hard.
Zorga appeared behind him instantly.
"You inherited the Umbryon's might…"
A fist slammed into Roy's spine.
"…but lack the Umbryon's resolve."
Roy gasped, staggering up.
"And whose fault is that? You're the one who made the Seed!"
Zorga grabbed Roy by the throat and lifted him effortlessly.
"I made a miracle. YOU made it weak."
Void surged into Roy's skin like venom.
Roy screamed.
Darkness poured into his Puls core, clawing at his nerves, digging into his mind.
LET IT IN.
LET IT CONSUME.
LET IT FEED.
Zorga leaned close.
"Assimilation is inevitable. You ARE Umbryon."
Roy's voice was a hoarse whisper.
"No…"
His hands trembled, runes flickering.
"…I'm…"
He forced his fingers around Zorga's wrists.
"…not…"
His entire body ignited with emerald light.
"…YOURS!"
---
4. Roy Awakens the Void-Breaker
Roy's eyes exploded with white-violet power.
His heartbeat synced with the Dendron's Spark inside him.
His voice became steady.
"I am the Warden."
Zorga's expression finally cracked.
Roy slammed his blades together, igniting the full length of the Warden Staff. The emerald-white flames spiraled around him.
"VOID—BREAKER!!"
He thrust the staff into Zorga's chest.
The impact was cataclysmic.
Lattice-vines of living energy erupted from the blade, piercing Zorga's void-armor from all sides.
Zorga howled as reality dragged him downward.
"NO—! THIS IS NOT—!"
Roy roared back, voice ripping from his lungs.
"GET!
OUT!
OF MY WORLD!"
Roy unleashed a Harmonic Overdrive that vaporized the tunnel in pure light.
The explosion was silent…
But absolute.
When the brightness faded — the void was gone.
Zorga was gone.
Only particles of white-gold dust drifted in the air.
Roy collapsed to his knees, panting.
---
5. Epilogue Scene — The Cost
Roy staggered out of the tunnel, limping into the scarred Academy courtyard.
Jean ran to him.
"ROY!"
She slammed into him with a hug so fierce he nearly fell again.
Seris landed beside them, lightning fading.
"Took you long enough, Warden."
Kira approached silently, offering a small nod.
"You did well."
Lyra and Taro arrived moments later, relief flooding their faces.
Roy looked at his glowing hands.
"…It's not over."
Jean touched his cheek gently.
"We know."
She smiled — tired but fierce.
"But next time? You're not fighting alone."