Movie—196 Auramaster and the erased world.
The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the city in shades of orange and bruised purple. For most, it was just the end of another Tuesday. For Luke Hanazawa, it was the final few hours of being seventeen.
Next day while walking toward the university district, a familiar vibration hummed in his pocket. He pulled out his phone. A message in the AuraFiest group chat.
> **Marin:** Luke! Emergency meeting at the base tonight. 8:00 PM sharp. No excuses!
Luke sighed, a small, tired smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He knew exactly what an "emergency meeting" meant on August 8th. He wasn't the type of person who enjoyed being the center of attention, especially for something as simple as a birthday. To him, it was just another day to maintain his "Average" status.
> **Luke:** Copy that. I'll be there.
He pocketed the phone and continued his walk. He moved through the college corridors like a ghost, blending into the background, his 1-Star panel flickering quietly above his head. No one looked twice. No one suspected that the boy with the bag over his shoulder was the anchor of the world.
Night fell, and the city lights took over. Luke arrived at the AuraFiest base, the heavy industrial door creaking as he pushed it open.
**"SURPRISE!"**
Confetti exploded in the air. Uno was holding a party popper, grinning ear to ear, while Chika cheered. Liod and Shuri stood nearby, looking far more excited than usual. Marin stood in the center, holding a large, beautifully decorated cake.
Luke stopped, blinking. He wasn't surprised that they remembered; he was surprised at the effort. The base was covered in decorations, and the table was overflowing with food.
"Why all this?" Luke asked, his voice calm but genuinely curious. "It's just a normal day."
"Why are you always like this, Luke!?" Uno shouted, throwing his arms up. "It's your eighteenth! Just enjoy it for once!"
Marin stepped forward, her expression firm. "Uno, let him breathe. But Luke, he's right. You're celebrating tonight. No more words about 'normal days.' We worked hard on this."
Luke looked around at his friends. He saw the genuine warmth in their eyes—the connection they had built through dungeons and battles. He nodded slowly. "Okay. Thank you."
"Can we cut the cake now?" Chika asked, her eyes fixed on the frosting.
"Wait," Marin said, checking her phone. "Evelyn isn't here yet. I'll call her."
The room went quiet as Marin dialed. After a few rings, Evelyn's voice came through on speaker.
"I'm on my way, Marin! Traffic near the center is a nightmare. Don't wait for me—cut the cake before it spoils! I'll be there by the time you're finished with the first slice."
"Are you sure?" Marin asked.
"Yes! Go ahead. Happy Birthday, Luke!"
"Alright," Marin announced, setting the cake down. "You heard her. Luke, blow the candles."
The group gathered around. The tiny flames flickered, casting long shadows against the walls. Luke leaned in, closing his eyes to make a wish. *I wish for a life where I can protect this peace,* he thought.
He blew.
The candles went out. But when Luke opened his eyes, the world didn't return to the warm glow of the base.
A sharp, electric blue light was radiating from the floor, pulsing like a heartbeat. Luke looked up. His friends were still there, but they looked... different.
"Luke? Come on, cut the cake," Marin said, her voice sounding strangely distant.
"Do you see that?" Luke asked, pointing to the blue light swirling around their feet.
Marin frowned. "See what? Luke, there's nothing there. Are you okay?"
Luke's heart hammered against his ribs. He looked at Liod, then Shuri. They were looking at him with normal, confused expressions. They couldn't see the blue veins of energy surging through the air.
"Nothing," Luke replied quickly, his mind racing. "I was just... thinking out loud."
Suddenly, Marin's phone vibrated violently on the table. It was Evelyn again. Marin picked it up, but before she could say a word, Evelyn's voice came out in a panicked rush.
"Marin! Is everything okay? Answer me!"
"Evelyn? Yeah, we're fine. We're here with Liod, Chika, Shuri... we're just about to—"
Marin stopped. The phone slipped from her hand, clattering onto the floor.
Luke watched in horror as his friends' eyes went dull. Their bodies began to fade, becoming translucent, like smoke in a breeze. One by one, they disappeared from the room.
"Hello? Hello! Marin, can you hear me!?" Evelyn's voice screamed from the dropped phone.
Luke didn't move. He realized instantly that the world had split. The normal side of reality had been wiped away, leaving only the auramaster.
A small, high-pitched gasp came from the corner of the room. Mie, Marin's aura creature, manifested in a flurry of sparks. She looked around the empty room, her wings trembling.
"What is happening?" Mie cried. "I can't sense Marin's presence! Luke, what's going on?"
Luke's face hardened. The time for the normal was over. "I don't know yet. But if you're still here, it means Marin isn't gone—she's just been moved to a different layer of the System."
Auru and Koru materialized beside Luke.
"The Luke is right," Koru said, his dark, shadowy form swirling. "I am his negative aura can sense Something is erasing the physical presence of those with lower aura synchronization."
Mie jumped back, startled. "You have two!? I met Auru, but this black creature..."
Koru bowed with mock elegance. "Hello, my lady. I am Luke's negative reflection, Koru. Though, usually, I'm much more—"
"No time for introductions," Luke interrupted, his voice cold and focused. "Auru, Koru. Unify."
The two spirits dissolved into Luke's body. His cloth shimmered, transforming into the dark, sleek attire of Auron. He turned to Mie. "Let's go outside. We need to see how far this reaches."
They moved toward the exit, but Mie stopped abruptly, hitting an invisible wall. She pushed against the air, her face pale.
"Luke—I mean, Auron—I can't go!" she cried. "A force is holding me here. Marin isn't in this room, but her command and her bond are still anchored to this place!"
Auron looked at the invisible barrier. "The System is locking the familiars to their masters' last known location. Stay here, Mie. Keep Marin's phone. If she returns or if Evelyn calls, I need you to answer."
Mie nodded, clutching the phone to her chest.
Auron stepped out of the base. The street was empty. No cars moving . No pedestrians. No wind. The entire city was a graveyard of silent buildings, bathed in a haunting, blue glow.
He was alone.
The Silent Descent
The sky above Japan hung in a bruised, static violet. Auron sliced through the clouds, his cloak
parting an atmosphere that felt unnaturally fluter. Beneath him stretched Tokyo—a vast metropolis that once thrummed with the pulse of millions. Now only a profound, hollow silence answered.
"Auru," Auron said, voice ringing in the emptiness. "Tell me you see someone or Anyone."
Auru partially materialized, golden eyes sweeping the deserted streets. "No one, Luke. The life force of the 'everyone has been completely plucked from the loom of reality. It's as though a hand reached down and erased the ink while leaving the paper untouched."
"But we are still here," Luke muttered, banking sharply toward the city center.
"The Auramasters," Auru answered. "There is something about Divine energy—it refuses to let go. Whatever caused this erasure cannot digest the complexity of an Auramaster's soul. We are the stubborn remnants of a world that has been deleted.Or we have been chosen to be exist."
Auron gaze hardened. If their power was somehow tied to the cause, then the Auramasters were both culprit and only possible remedy. "We need to move. We should head to the central hub toward Kaizen."
Across the silent city, a top the Japan World Guild Headquarters, Evelyn appeared in a flash. She shed her public disguise without hesitation; illusions held no meaning now. Her heart pounded as she spotted a lone figure at the rooftop's edge.
Kaizen Ryuga stood with hands clasped behind his back, staring at the unnaturally still horizon.
"Kaizen!" Evelyn's voice cracked—a rare fracture in her usual composure. "You… you know what's happening, don't you?"
Kaizen gave a slow nod, face carved from stone. "I was in my office. A meeting with the High Council. We were discussing ley-line stabilization when, one by one, they simply vanished. Voices cut off mid-sentence. Bodies dissolved into mist. I watched the world fall quiet in the space of a single heartbeat."
"Do you feel nothing?" Evelyn's tone sharpened with anger and fear. "Millions of lives… gone! How can you stand there so calm?"
Kaizen turned his head just enough for their eyes to meet. "Panic only accelerates our own erasure, Evelyn. To solve a catastrophe of this scale, we must become the calm at the storm's center. If we lose ourselves, who will be left to remember them?"
Evelyn drew a trembling breath and forced her racing mind to still. She closed her eyes and centered herself. Just as calm settled over her, a streak of blue light descended.
Auron touched down, presence heavy and commanding. He glanced briefly at Evelyn, then at Kaizen.
"No time for greetings," Auron stated. "You're both are intelligent enough to grasp the situation. The world has been placed on standby. We must unite every remaining Auramaster on the planet , Scattered."
Kaizen inclined his head. "I agree with the Auron. We designate a single rally point. We gather the survivors and convene at the World Guild HQ in America. It is the only location with sufficient residual energy to sustain us."
As Auron launched skyward to begin mobilization, he activated his comms device. "Mie? Do you read me?"
Mie's reply sounded thin and fragile. "I'm here, Luke… or Auron. I'm fine, but… I'm turning a bit transparent. I'd estimate I'm at about 95% of my original density. I can feel the 'Now' slipping away."
Auron tightened his grip on the flight controls. He had tracked the rate of temporal decay since the lights went out. "Listen carefully, Mie. Stay anchored. I've run the numbers. Based on the fading we're seeing among Aurmasters, we have exactly 24 hours. After that… the outcome is unknown. We may simply cease."
"I'll hold on," Mie said softly. "Just hurry."
One hour later, the Grand Meeting Hall of the World Guild Headquarters in America held a somber, diminished assembly. The chamber—built for hundreds—felt oppressively empty with only a few dozen Auramasters present.
Chaos simmered beneath the surface.
"What happened to my family and friend?!" one cried.
"Was this a strike from the Aura devil?" another demanded.
Many sat in catatonic shock, staring at hands that flickered in and out of visibility.
Kaizen stepped to the podium. "We cannot sit paralyzed! I dont think this can be done by devil becuse they want to slave human,Silence is our true enemy!"
Auron entered; his shadow stretched long across the marble floor. "We must discover why this is happening—and why we alone remain."
The room stilled. Many Auramasters regarded Auron with surprise; few had not expected the reclusive Aura Master to step forward, let alone lead.
"This is a global extinction event," Auron declared, voice carrying to every corner. "Egos and borders are dead. We act as one or we perish as nothing. If anyone has even the smallest clue, speak now."
All eyes shifted to Kaizen and Evelyn. Auron's gaze narrowed with sudden suspicion. *Why are they looking to those two specifically?*
Kaizen exhaled, shoulders dipping slightly. "This time, my friends, I have no concrete knowledge of the event itself. It is genuinely new… absent from our recorded history."
The Aurmaster of Brazil surged to his feet, fist striking the table. "Kaizen! You know more than any of us! Your archives, your bloodline—surely you have *something*!"
"I am telling you the truth," Kaizen answered evenly. ".But…" His eyes unfocused as memory surfaced. "There is one possibility. A place concealed within the dense ancient forests of Siberia a temple. There may be a clue waiting there."
"Siberia?" Auron asked. "How do you know of a temple that isn't documented and also in dense forest of Siberia?"
"It is a long story, Auron," Kaizen said, brushing the question aside. "We must focus on the present. You said we have 24 hour ,So The 24-hour clock continues."
Auron studied him a moment longer, suspicion lingering, then nodded. "Siberia it is. Volkov, Auramaster of Russia—can you guide us?"
A rugged man with ice-blue eyes rose. "The taiga is my home. If there is a needle in that forest, I will find it."
They crossed continents with desperate velocity. Upon reaching the Russian wilderness, Volkov turned to Kaizen. "The forest is endless, Ryuga. Give me any landmark or hint of location."
Kaizen pressed fingers to temples, eyes closed. "I see a lake… vast, ancient, ringed by jagged mountains. It feels like the eye of the world."
Volkov's expression sharpened. "That can only be Lake Baikal. Twenty-five million years old. The deepest lake on Earth."
They descended toward the frozen shore. Auron scanned the horizon. "Anything more, Kaizen? We stand at history's edge. Where is the temple?"
"The sun…" Kaizen murmured, watching the fading light. "The sun was setting behind the mountain. The temple aligned perfectly with the peak. The mountain and temple must stand in line with the west."
"West is that direction," Auron confirmed, pointing. "The temple should lie directly ahead."
"Spread out!" Auron ordered. "Any anomaly—a ripple, a misplaced stone—report immediately."
For an hour they searched with every sense, tool, and ability. Nothing but snow and pines answered.
Evelyn drew close to Kaizen, breath clouding. "Are you certain, Kaizen? We're burning hours we don't have."
"Yes," he insisted, voice tight. "I remember it. But I'm missing the trigger." He began reciting words that seemed carved into his very being:
> "Neither too far, neither too close, balance its beauty as it stands still fro. Hidden beneath the land of wildlife, comes out when called with Divine."
Kaizen met Auron's eyes. "In the text I saw, the word 'Divine' glowed brilliant blue."
Auron stilled. He glanced at his hands, then at his Aura Ring pulsing Divine Blue. "The signature of an Aura Ring… And 'neither too far, nor too close' suggests a precise focal point of energy."
Auron strode to the center of Olkhon Island. "Everyone, back away!"
He knelt and drove his palm into the snow, releasing his Aura Ring at full resonance. Blue light surged outward like a tidal wave.
The air cracked like shattered glass. A temple of white marble and sapphire crystal materialized—impossibly beautiful, perfectly still.
"It's real," Auron breathed, studying the architecture. "Neither too far, neither too close. Its beauty stands firm fro. Let's go inside."
Kaizen advanced first, hand extended. "Beware traps. A place this ancient rarely welcomes strangers."
Yet the temple remained eerily silent—no guardians, no pressure plates, no shifting mechanisms. It felt like a home awaiting its long-absent master.
They reached the central domed hall. At its heart rose a single obsidian pillar crowned by a stone hoop. Several key-like structures hung from the hoop, emitting a soft, rhythmic glow.
Auron stepped forward and lifted the artifact without resistance. "What is this? A weapon?"
"I have no idea," Kaizen admitted, studying the hoop with authentic puzzlement. He attempted to decipher the pillar's carved text, but the script lay beyond even his vast learning.
Volkov approached, eyes widening as he examined the writing. "I know this tongue… the old speech of the North. Another riddle."
He translated the glowing inscription:
> "When the United Divine reach the gates, they shall turn the key that opens the path to Aetheria—the Realm of Grace."
"Aetheria," Evelyn whispered. "A realm of grace… like a heaven that is not heaven."
We should go outside this temple and discuss about it ,there can be anything happen inside here.
They go out of temple. As all came out the temple again go beneath the land like there was nothing.
In the riddle there was written united divine so this could be the the key to Aetheria.
Auron tightened his grip on the hoop. His Aura Ring's blue light began pulsing in perfect synchrony with the artifact. "Then our course is set. We do not merely seek the cause—we travel to its origin."
But nothings happens.
Auron flinch.
Kaizen said " It does nothing."
Auron replied"So there is an another meaning of this."
The tension in the Grand Hall of the World Guild Headquarters was reaching a breaking point. The air itself felt thin, not just from the lack of people, but from the fading essence of the Aura Masters themselves.
On the center table sat the artifact—the obsidian hoop with its strange, jagged keys. At the temple, Auron had tried to manifest his Aura Ring to trigger it, but nothing had happened. The temple remained silent, and the artifact stayed inert.
"It did nothing," Kaizen whispered, his voice heavy with the weight of the ticking clock. "The riddle... we must have misinterpreted it."
"We have very little time left!" the Aura Master of Brazil roared, pacing the hall. "Kaizen, you led us to a frozen lake in the middle of nowhere for a keychain! We could have been searching for a real solution, and instead, we followed a ghost story!"
The Aura Master of Egypt stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "He is right. Aetheria? The Realm of Grace? It sounds like a myth to keep us busy while the world finishes deleting us. We cannot even solve the problems of our own Earth, and you want us to find a door to another?"
While the debate turned into a shouting match, Auron stood apart. He wasn't listening to the insults. He was staring at the hoop. He picked it up, his fingers moving methodically over the metal. He began to count the jagged, key-like structures attached to the ring.
"Auron, what are you doing?" Evelyn asked, her voice hushed. "I already inspected them. There are 196 keys."
Auron didn't look up. He continued to count. One, two, three...
"Kaizen, stop playing with our feelings! You know all our family are in danger" the Brazilian Aura Master shouted. "Kaizen needs to answer for this waste of time!"
Auron completed the counting of keys in hoop. They where 194.
But Evelyn said they where 196.
Auron tell Evelyn about this.
Evelyn frowned, stepping closer. "That's impossible. I counted them twice. It was 196."
"Count again," Auron challenged.
Evelyn quickly ran her fingers over the keys. Her face went pale. "194... but... two of them just... vanished? How? There are no cut in the hoop."
The argument between the Masters was escalating. The Aura Master of Brazil was now inches from Kaizen's face, accusing him of treason against the delay. The Egyptian Master was calling for a vote to strip Kaizen of his authority.
Suddenly, Auron walked straight up to Kaizen. He grabbed him by the collar, his eyes flashing with an uncharacteristic rage.
"Kaizen! You are the one responsible for all of this!" Auron shouted, shocking everyone in the room. "If the world stays empty, it will be your fault! Your incompetence, your obsession with old scrolls—you've doomed us all!"
Kaizen looked at Auron, his eyes wide with shock and hurt. He didn't fight back as he never expected to Auron react like this. "If you believe that, Auron... then perhaps it truly is my fault. I thought I was leading us to salvation."
In that moment, Auron felt a shift in the hoop he held in his other hand. He looked down and saw a visible gap in the circle of keys. He let go of Kaizen and stepped back, a sharp smile touching his lips.
"The riddle is solved," Auron announced.
The room fell into a stunned silence. Kaizen smoothed his robes, looking confused. "Solved? How? Auron explain it clearly to us."
Auron said, holding the hoop up for everyone to see. "Evelyn, you counted 196 when we were all united came here in the hope of finding a solution. But as soon as the Aura Masters of Brazil and Egypt started this debate and broke our unity, two keys vanished—this keys representing our connection."
Auron looked at his palm. "And when I shouted at Kaizen—when I pretended to break my belief in him—another key vanished right before my eyes, leaving a gap. The hoop isn't a keychain. It's a Resonance Meter."
The Aura Masters of Egypt and Brazil looked at each other, their anger turning into sheepish confusion.
"The riddle said 'When the United Divine reach the gates,'" Auron explained. "The 'Divine' isn't just the energy in our blood. It's the bond between us. The blue highlight on the word 'Divine' in the scroll didn't just mean the color of our Aura; it meant the frequency of our collective will."
Kaizen's eyes lit up with understanding. "So, the keys appear and disappear based on the state of our union."
"Correct," Auron replied. "We don't need to find a key. We are the key itself. To open the gate to Aetheria, we have to be perfectly synchronized."
Evelyn stepped forward, reaching out her hand. "Then let's stop fighting. We have less than an hour of the 12 left."
One by one, the all 196 Aura Masters joined hands in a massive circle around the central pillar of the Guild hall. The Aura Masters of Brazil and Egypt took their places, their faces determined. Auron and Kaizen closed the circle.
"Now," Auron commanded. "Every one of you—manifest your Aura Ring. Do not push, do not pull. Just... resonate."
One ninety six pulses of light erupted at once. Individually, they were different shades of blue and white, but as they focused on their shared goal and believes, the energies began to bleed into one another. The hoop in the center of the room began to spin, the 196 keys reappearing in a blur of golden light and floted in the air.
The sound was like a thousand crystal bells ringing at once. The sapphire glow became so intense that the walls of the Headquarters seemed to dissolve into pure light.
"It's opening!" Evelyn cried out.
A blinding white flash consumed the room. In a single heartbeat, the heavy silence of the empty Earth was replaced by a rushing sound of wind and starlight. When the light faded, the Grand Hall was empty. The last of the Aura Masters had vanished, leaving behind only the cold, silent world, as they crossed the threshold into the Realm of Grace.
The transition from the world of silence to the Realm of Grace was not a journey of distance, but of essence. As the white flash consumed the Guild Headquarters, the sensation of the other Aurmasters' hands—once warm and solid—began to dissolve. One by one, the physical connections snapped, leaving each Master drifting in a void of blinding purity.
When the light finally receded, Auron found himself standing on a surface that defied logic. Beneath his boots lay a floor of rolling, silver-white clouds, firm as marble yet soft to the touch. Above him was a sky of endless, crystalline blue, devoid of a sun yet radiating a perfect, ambient warmth.
"Aetheria?" Auron whispered, his voice sounding oddly flat in the vast expanse.
He turned in a full circle. He was alone. Th other Aurmasters were gone.
"I can't sense them, Luke," Auru said, manifesting as a flickering golden spark. "Either they are miles away, or the very air here is designed to block our resonance."
Koru swirled out from Auron's shadow, his dark energy looking out of place in this radiant world. "Try to fly. Get a bird's eye view of this place."
Auron crouched and leaped, spreading his cloak with a powerful thrust. But instead of soaring, he hit an invisible ceiling barely ten feet up. He tumbled back onto the cloud-floor, landing with a soft thud.
"The laws of physics are different here," Auron grunted. "Gravity is a suggestion, but flight is a forbidden luxury."
Suddenly, the air vibrated with a voice that didn't come from any direction—it came from everywhere. It was melodious, ancient, and chillingly detached.
> "Welcome, all 196 Aurmasters. I am deeply grateful that you have arrived. You have successfully solved the riddles of the old world and entered Aetheria, the world fashioned by my Master."
The Voice continued:
> "You seek to restore your broken world. Very well. Reach the center of the Great Maze of Aetheria and defeat me. If you win, your world returns to its normal state. If you fail... forget that it ever existed. But heed this: the center is a prize for the united, yet only one entry point exists at the heart. Once a person reaches the center, the door seals. Choose your path wisely."
A small, blue crystal materialized in front of Auron's face, floating steadily.
> "A gift of communication, so you may hear the screams of your friends as they wander. Good luck."
Auron grabbed the crystal. Immediately, it buzzed with a chaotic symphony of voices.
"Auron? Evelyn? Can anyone hear me?" Kaizen's voice was the loudest, steady despite the confusion.
"I'm here," Auron replied. "Evelyn, Volkov,Kaizen ,Mizu ,all—report your surroundings."
"Walls," Evelyn's voice came through, sounding strained. "Massive, translucent walls of light. I can't see over them, and I can't break them. It's a maze, Auron. A literal maze."
"I have the same," Volkov growled. "Every time I turn a corner, the path behind me vanishes. It's shifting."
Auron stood still, observing the way the clouds moved beneath his feet.
"Listen to me! The Voice said it is 'impossible for anyone to reach the center alone.' This isn't a test of navigation. It's a test of the same unity that got us here. If we all try to find our own way, the maze will keep us separated forever."
"He's right," Kaizen agreed through the comm-link. "The walls aren't physical. They are manifestations of our isolation. We need to move in sync, even if we can't see each other."
Auron began to walk, but he didn't look at the walls. He closed his eyes.
"Evelyn, tell me what you see to your left. Kaizen, describe the floor pattern."
Through the communicator, the 196 Aurmasters began to piece together the map. They realized that their individual mazes were pieces of a single, giant puzzle. When one Master moved North, another's wall would drop. When a third Master stood still, a bridge would form for a fourth.
"It's a collective mechanism!" Evelyn shouted. "I'm at a dead end with a blue pedestal!"
"Don't touch it yet," Auron commanded. "Volkov, you should have a red one. On the count of three, we all trigger our respective nodes. We move as one mind, or we don't move at all!"
The coordination was agonizing. For hours, they spoke over the crystals, guiding each other through traps that required simultaneous actions across miles of cloud-land. But slowly, the walls began to dissolve. The isolation faded.
Finally, with a thunderous sound like a closing book, the last of the walls vanished. Auron looked up and saw the others. They were standing at the edge of a massive, floating plaza.
In the center stood a castle that defied gravity—a structure of spinning towers and waterfalls that flowed upward into the sky.
"Incredible," Evelyn breathed, staggering toward Auron. "We actually made it."
They approached the massive, seamless gate of the castle. There were no keyholes, no handles. Only a single indentation in the center of the door—a mold shaped like a human hand.
Kaizen stepped back, looking at the ominous structure. "This is the source. The voice we heard... it came from behind these walls."
Auron stepped forward. He felt the weight of the all missing souls on his shoulders. He felt the flickering life of Mie, and the hopes of his friends who had vanished during his birthday.
"Everyone, stay back," Auron warned, his voice low and dangerous. "We're entering a castle now. In the worlds below, a castle meant loot and levels. Here, it means survival. Be aware—anything can happen the moment this door opens."
Auron placed his hand into the indentation.
The stone wasn't cold; it was burning with a strange, humming intelligence. The castle groaned, and the massive gates began to grind open, revealing a hallway draped in shadows and flickering blue torches.
"Let's go," Auron said, his Aura Ring beginning to glow with a fierce, defiant light. "It's time to meet the Master of this silence."
They stepped into the darkness of the castle, the gates slamming shut behind them with a final, echoing boom.
The heavy gates of the Aetheria castle ground open with a sound like grinding starlight. As Auron, Kaizen, Evelyn, and the others stepped inside, they found themselves not in a dark castle, but in a corridor of blindingly polished white marble. The floor reflected their figures like a sacred mirror.
There were no traps.
No hidden weapons.
Only an oppressive, holy silence that pressed against the soul.
At the end of the corridor lay the heart of the castle—a vast, circular hall suspended in the middle of a swirling nebula, stars drifting slowly beyond its open edges.
"So, you have finally reached the core," a voice resonated, vibrating the air itself. "I expected as much from the survivors of the blue anchor."
"Where are you?" Auron shouted, gripping his Aura Shaft. "Why did you erase them? Why did you take every human life from Earth?"
From the center of the hall, a figure slowly materialized.
He was tall, draped in robes that shifted like the night sky itself. His face was a calm, porcelain mask—smooth, featureless, emotionless.
"Why such a hurry?" the figure replied. "I am Aetherion, the Echo of the First Will. I have guarded this place for millions of years. My Master commanded me to erase the world at this specific date, and I obeyed."
"If you want your world back," Aetherion continued calmly, "you must prove you are worthy of having one at all."
"We have four hours!" Kaizen shouted.
"Time here obeys different rules," Aetherion said, snapping his fingers.
Instantly, tables appeared—laid with tea and coffee, steam rising gently.
"On Earth, only one hour has passed. You have time. But since you prefer blood to tea…"
With another snap, the tables vanished.
A dome of shimmering violet energy erupted outward, sealing Auron and Aetherion inside. The other Auramasters were hurled back violently, unable to cross the barrier.
"If you want your family back, Auron," Aetherion said softly, "then fight."
Auron lunged.
His Aura Shaft roared through the air, but Aetherion moved like flowing liquid, parrying every strike with open palms. Each clash echoed like thunder through the hall.
Aetherion struck forward. A shockwave slammed Auron into the barrier.
Auron staggered, blood trickling from his lip—but he charged again.
He unleashed a relentless flurry of attacks.
Aetherion caught the shaft mid-swing.
With effortless strength, he snapped it in half.
"Is this all?" Aetherion asked.
Needles of condensed energy erupted forward, piercing Auron's shoulders. Auron collapsed to his knees, shaking violently.
He was losing. Completely.
"Auron, get up!" Evelyn screamed,
"What are you creature." her hands pressed against the barrier.
Aetherion replied,"I am aura creature of my master who createdr me to gaurd this land
Kaizen asked "You are like our aura creature."
Aetherion replied "You can say but my Master delibrately made me for his job.
Kaizen replied"Just open this barrier I will teach you who I am."
"Auron what happen why are you still lying on the ground. "Aetherion asked.
Auron's vision blurred. The floor faded.
He saw Marin's smile.
His friends laughing.
The candles on his birthday cake.
I will never be defeated.
I will not let their light go out.
He screamed.
A raw explosion of sapphire energy burst from Auron's core.
For the first time, his feet lifted from the ground.
From his back, two massive wings of radiant blue fire unfurled, blazing with untamed power.
"Finally,My job is done." Aetherion whispered.In his eyes the Auron reflection.
Auron surged forward, soaring through the air. He gathered his power into a colossal Aura Sphere—a miniature sun of condensed blue fire—and hurled it with everything he had.
Aetherion raised his hands to reflect it.
But the power was too great.
The sphere deflected wildly—straight toward the barrier where the Auramaster of France stood.
The barrier would not hold.
In that instant, Aetherion stopped fighting.
He turned his back to Auron and threw himself in front of the attack.
BOOM.
The castle shook violently.
When the smoke cleared, Aetherion lay broken on the floor, his porcelain surface cracked, his light-core fading.
Auron landed beside him, his wings dissolving into light,he was totaly confused with Aetherion this act.
"Why?" Auron asked, his voice trembling. "You were winning. Why you go to save her?"
Aetherion looked up, a peaceful smile forming across his mask.
"Finally… my Master… my task is complete."
"I am not your Master," Auron whispered.
"My Master lived millions of years ago," Aetherion gasped, his body beginning to disintegrate into white petals of light. "He bound me to this duty—to erase the world… and promised I would find freedom only when defeated by one who loved the world more than power."
"I have fulfilled my purpose."
"Now… give me my freedom,my master."
"Aetherion, wait! Tell me more!" Auron cried,*Why I am feeling I am losing somthing*.
"The world is yours now," Aetherion whispered. "I got defeated ,all will return in your world as they where.
At final movent Aetherion sees his master in his eyes"I see you… finally… Master…"
His body vanished completely—just as humanity had once vanished from Earth.
Auron felt an unexpected pain. A loyalty born from loss.He take oath in his mind that he will try to find his master for all his questions and to revive Aetherion.
Silently, he swore to uncover the truth of the First Master.
A blinding white flash consumed everything.
Luke opened his eyes.
He wasn't in armor.
He stood in his normal clothes, inside the AuraFiest base and Auru and Koru in his bag.
"Luke! Cut the cake already!" Marin laughed. "We've been waiting forever!"
Music played. Candles flickered.
It was as if the Great Erasure had never happened.
Luke stared at his friends, a single tear rolling down his cheek.
"Luke? Why are you crying?" Marin asked.
"I'm just… really happy to be here," Luke said softly.
The phone rang.
It was Evelyn.
I am gratefull you pick the call. Did you cut the cake.
Marin replied. No why?
Evelyn said "Nothing,i what to see you all."
She arrived minutes later, eyes red, smiling through tears.
"Why are you talking like that we where disappeared."Marin asked.
"I'm just being dramatic," she joked.
But she and Luke shares the same fact that no one knows.
They remembered.
That night, Luke lay in his bed.
"A very challenging day, Luke" Auru whispered.
"If days go like this, I'm ready for the next one," Koru added.
Luke smiled.
His 18th birthday had ended.
The world was loud.
Messy.
Alive.
He closed his eyes and slept peacefully—knowing that across the globe, 195 Auramasters slept as well, guarding a secret that had saved the world.
The End.