Saruto advanced step by step, dark energy erupting around his body, making the very air groan under its pressure. Each step he took heralded the approach of an inevitable end.
On the other side of existence, deep within the Chamber of Time, that vast space suspended beyond the laws of the world, Darius was bound by black shackles that prevented him from moving, but not from feeling.
The shackles trembled slightly as the immense wave of darkness swept through. Darius smiled and murmured in a low voice laced with malicious admiration, "My lord Umbra… Saruto has exceeded your expectations. His strength has grown beyond what you planned… thanks to your own plan."
The scene returned. Saruto stood before Niraval, his swords drawn, rage blazing in his eyes. "Do you think you can defeat me just because your power has increased?" Niraval said, drawing his blade, his voice still defiant. "I will take the throne from you… just as I would have done to your father."
In an instant, Neraval vanished. He reappeared directly in front of Saruto and unleashed a swift strike with his blade. But Saruto blocked the attack with one of his swords. In the same motion, his second sword hurtled toward Neraval. Neraval moved with lightning speed, dodging the blow, but when he turned, Saruto was gone.
He froze. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming aura behind him. He teleported immediately, but the aura was there too. Time and again, with each movement, the aura pursued him, clinging to his back like an inescapable shadow. Neraval screamed and released all his energy at once.
The moment his vision cleared, Saruto was standing right behind him. He placed a hand on Neraval shoulder and delivered a devastating blow to his back. Neraval was sent flying through the air, shattering the space behind him.
But before he could regain his balance, Saruto reappeared and delivered a second strike that sent him flying again. This happened again and again, as if Neraval had become a puppet tossed about by Saruto. With great difficulty, Neraval finally regained his footing. "Enough!" he roared. "I'm tired of playing with you, boy!"
He unleashed his full power at once, so much so that the Time Chamber shook. He finally managed to stop Saruto onslaught. The two of them stopped. Rage still clung to Saruto features, but his eyes had transcended it. Niraval smiled maliciously. "Did what happened to your father sadden you? Don't worry… I'll send you to him soon."
At that moment, Niraval sensed something was wrong. The dark energy that erupted from Saruto was unlike any he had ever felt. It was deeper. Heavier. And more monstrous. "This is the end for you, Niraval," Saruto said, his voice cold and unwavering. "I intended to torture you before you died… but I've changed my mind."
He took a step forward. "I will kill you now. And after the Abyss Prison is repaired… your soul will be returned to it. And there… I will summon you and kill you again and again… until you wish you had never been born."
Niraval shuddered. For the first time, hesitation crept into his heart. "As if you were capable of—" he said, struggling to compose himself.
But the sentence was cut short. Saruto uttered a single word: "Consciousness..."
At that very moment, deep within his consciousness, Void stepped forward, his face contorted with utter fury, and finished the sentence in a unified voice: "Unified."
A blinding light erupted. It flooded the entire space. Niraval recoiled with a scream, and when his sight returned, his heart froze. There was another being. A being whose energy surpassed anything he had ever seen.
A body covered in dark scales, eyes like a dragon's, hands and feet bearing the features of dragons, and a smoky breath that escaped its mouth with every inhalation. "Who...who are you?" Niraval trembled.
"I am Side," the being replied in a deep, existence-shaking voice. "The being who has come to mourn your wretched life."
And it gave him no more time. A single blow landed on Niraval face, violently knocking him to the ground. Then came a barrage of punches. One after another, each shrouded in a dark aura. Niraval ribs shattered, his body battered and battered. Finally, Sid stopped.
But not out of mercy. He grabbed Niraval's arm and yanked him from the ground like a rag doll. "Weakling!" Niraval cried defiantly through the pain. "How dare you—"
But his voice cut short as Side tightened his grip on Niraval arm. It snapped. A scream of agony ripped through the room. "We're not finished yet," Side said, raising his hand, enveloped in aura.
He delivered a punch to Niraval stomach. Niraval vomited blood. Then Sid hurled him high into the air. Side raised his hand and began to gather destructive energy. He unleashed it.
But at the last moment, Niraval teleported and escaped the Time Chamber. Holding his broken arm, he thought to himself, "How could a boy like him do this to me? Where did he get all this strength?"
Side looked at the fading trace and said coldly, "Do you think you can escape me?"
Then he disappeared. He followed him.