"Boundless."
His aura erupted, multiplying nearly tenfold as he entered the berserk state he had been avoiding from the very beginning. The air around him trembled, cracks spreading along the cave walls as loose stones vibrated and fell.
He did not want this.
But with the way the battle was unfolding, hesitation meant death.
"This will take a toll on me. I'll lose control… lose clarity," he thought, jaw tightening. "But Bot 067 has to go. He will not survive this."
Across from him, Reever stood unmoved. With the helmet masking his face, no one could read his expression.
But behind the visor, he was smiling.
Not nervous. Not pressured.
Excited.
"Being ugly sucks. I would've removed my mask and given him a proper terrifying smile. Wait… am I even ugly? After my rebirth, I actually look younger. It's just the skin tone that changed. I hope people aren't racist when this mask finally comes off."
Even in the face of overwhelming power, his thoughts wandered strangely. It was less fearlessness and more detachment.
"Limitless Assault!"
Conner roared, and the cavern shook violently.
Weapons of every form manifested in the air — blades, spears, halberds, constructs of pure force — far larger than before. They hummed with unstable energy, the distortion around them warping the space faintly.
They were not just stronger.
They were unstable.
"Deploy."
With a sharp motion of his hand, the weapons vanished — only to reappear in front of Reever, traveling at impossible speed. The air shrieked from the pressure.
"Time to give out some despair," Reever muttered calmly as he activated Camouflage.
His body dissolved into the cave's texture once more.
The weapons crashed into stone, detonating sections of the cavern. The ground split. Dust and debris swallowed everything in a choking storm.
When the haze finally began to settle, Reever materialized on the opposite side of the chamber.
"You should stop doing this."
His tone was almost gentle.
"Look. We've been friends for a while, and I don't want you traumatized. You're young. You still have a life to live. Just end yourself, and all of this will be over."
He fired a volley of bullets mid-sentence.
Conner parried them effortlessly, blades moving on instinct rather than calculation now.
Inside, however, Reever's thoughts were sharp.
I need to catch him off guard.
The bullets were useless. They only provoked him further. Especially against those twin blades — a mystique-ranked weapon. Compared to his own rare-tier gear, the gap was enormous. Only the trident held real killing potential.
But getting close enough to use it decisively?
With Conner's heightened awareness in Boundless mode…
It was easier imagined than executed.
The aura around Conner pulsed violently, almost breathing. The berserk state was amplifying everything — strength, speed… instability. His movements were faster, but less measured. Every strike carried catastrophic force, but less precision.
The cave would not endure much longer.
MEANWHILE, IN AN UNKNOWN PLACE.
"I think it is time for the next move, Dawn."
A middle-aged man with jet-black hair and flowing robes stood across from a younger man reclining lazily in a wide stone seat.
"Do we have to?" Dawn replied, stretching as he rose to his feet. "It feels early. Let's wait another hundred years."
His voice carried no urgency. Only mild inconvenience.
"We have already delayed this for over five hundred years," the man responded, pacing slowly. "The others have noticed the anomaly. If we remain passive, we risk total destruction."
He stopped and sat beside Dawn.
Dawn exhaled quietly.
"It's not that I don't understand that, Drex. But this universe hasn't matured enough yet. They are not strong enough to face what's coming on their own."
He paused.
"If you believe this is necessary, I won't stop you. Just act quickly. Carefully. Before the others detect our interference. We are losing control… little by little."
He placed his head on the table and, as if the matter were minor, drifted back into sleep.
Drex watched him for a moment before nodding.
"Very well."
He vanished.
The next instant, he stood in open space. Stars shimmered in silent brilliance, galaxies stretching like luminous rivers across the void.
A tear split reality before him — not violently, but surgically. A golden door materialized within the rift, intricate patterns shifting across its surface.
He entered without hesitation.
Inside stood an entity — vast, undefined, its presence bending perception.
"It is time," Drex said, bowing slightly.
"I have upheld my terms. I ensured prosperity in this plane. The rest now lies with you. Make your move wisely. If you miscalculate, we lose everything."
The entity did not speak. It simply raised a hand.
Another golden door formed.
Drex stepped through.
The palace faded. Space sealed behind him.
"If only we had more time," he murmured to himself.
"I would have secured survival for all races. But these so-called gods… they lack patience."