The corridors of the Cartenone Temple twisted once more, but this time the distortion had a strange, almost playful rhythm. Cards fluttered in the air, flattened and stacked in impossible angles, forming walls, floors, and ceilings. Each card depicted distorted figures—heroes, villains, and random bystanders—all endlessly looping through repeated motions.
"This is Hero Smasher's domain," Brush said grimly, eyes scanning the shifting battlefield. "Every attack, every barrier… it's based on repetition. Nothing here is real, but everything can kill."
Equinox's violet mane glimmered as she leapt onto a floating card platform. "Then we make it real. I'll cut a path through the illusions. Brush, keep your Erasure ready—these aren't just physical attacks, they're… persistent loops."
The first wave of flattened hero-cards shot forward, spinning like razor-sharp fans. Brush teleported, Erasure expanding in perfect coordination with Creation and Interception, erasing clusters of cards mid-flight. Each strike tore through not only the physical manifestations but the loops themselves, destabilizing the domain.
"Persistence is useless!" Hero Smasher's distorted voice echoed through the stacked cards. "Every victory you achieve… I will flatten it, loop it, repeat it!"
Frostbinder's ice streams shot through the air, freezing cards mid-spin, but new ones appeared instantly from hidden portals. RobbRox rebuilt small platforms beneath the team, but each construction risked being flattened into cards themselves.
Equinox struck, violet lances slicing through the stacks. Each swing left trails of stability in the air—paths where the team could move safely. "Brush! Your Erasure can stop the loops temporarily, but I'll need constant support to keep them open!"
Brush clenched his fists, energy flaring. All his powers worked as one now, responding instantly to every hazard. He teleported, destroyed, and reconstructed space, countering loops before they could even fully form. "Then we make them permanent! Interconnectivity—link our zones!"
Streams of light and ice connected platforms and safe corridors, giving the team stable footing. FooTube's illusions distracted Hero Smasher's perception, while Melody Guard harmonized to suppress chaotic energy. Slowly, the loops began to wobble, then falter.
Hero Smasher roared in frustration as Brush and Equinox combined their attacks. Erasure cut the core loop, while Equinox's lances pierced its center, leaving behind a glowing streak of reality. The flattened hero-cards lost cohesion, collapsing into harmless fragments.
The domain shivered, almost as if it were alive, then began rebuilding itself one last time. Brush stepped forward, white void flaring. "This ends now!"
With a synchronized strike, Erasure engulfed the remaining stacks. Creation Guardians intercepted any last attacks, while Interception redirected the residual loops back into themselves. Equinox leapt through the chaos, violet glow streaking the collapsing cards.
The last of the flattened heroes disintegrated. Silence replaced the chaotic fluttering.
Brush exhaled, energy still pulsing but controlled. "Another one down. Six to go."
Equinox landed beside him, hooves gently pressing the platform. "We're getting stronger… faster. But the next one… I can feel it. It's different."
From the far end of the temple, faint echoes of Dan Da Dan Roller's chaotic orbs rippled through the walls—a warning that the next domain was already shaping itself.
Brush's white void aura pulsed brighter. "Then let's not wait. We move forward. Together."
The team nodded, readying themselves for the next impossible trial.