A great beam, like a river from hell, surged from his palm towards Ryo. The air tore from its intensity, and space itself fractured in the beam's path, as if the laws had abandoned their place.
Ryo did not retreat. He raised his spear with all his might, planted his feet on the ground, his eyes burning with resolve.
But he didn't know… that this was not ordinary energy, but atomic energy, feeding on matter itself.
And the moment the beam touched the spear's blade…
Everything exploded.
It wasn't just an explosion… but annihilation.
Energy leaked in all directions, scattering like waves of cosmic fury, and the sky ignited with colors never seen by human eyes before. The great pine forest, which stretched over fifty thousand square kilometers, a forest inhabited by talking trees, immortal spirits, and sacred beasts… turned to ash.
No fire remained, no smoke… only gray ash slowly drifting in the air, flowing through the silence as if mourning those who had departed in eternal stillness. The sky returned to darkness, and a cold breeze swept across the scorched earth, dragging the echo of the explosion behind it.
And when the dust settled, Hiro appeared. Standing with difficulty, his body covered in deep wounds, dark blood oozing from his shoulder and ribs. But his eyes… still glowed. As if the fires he unleashed were not only to annihilate his enemy…
In the moment he lowered his guard.
Ryo stood behind him, his body shattered, holding his spear. A mass of red energy was at the tip of his spear. Behind him, Stella and Wendy's bodies were completely burned. Ryo struck Hiro with his spear in the middle of his face, causing a powerful fiery attack that erased the upper part of Hiro's body, leaving his legs floating in the air. In that second, Ryo used his Reflection ability to return his body to health and full vigor. He then applied Reflection to both Wendy and Stella's bodies, returning them to their normal state. Wendy woke up in a state of terror, unaware of what had happened.
"Did you use your ability to heal us? But how did you manage to survive that explosion? Did you really use Aka to absorb the attack?"
"No, it was simple. This Summer Spear has one last trump card. When danger accumulates on the spear wielder, it uses all the energy in that body to deliver a sure strike. To achieve that strike, the body becomes immortal for a short period, allowing it to survive under any circumstances until it launches its attack. Thanks to that, we all survived. And it seems my Aka technique has indeed been perfected. This battle is over."
The smoke receded, and the earth settled, while Hiro stood in the heart of the chaos, his burned body rebuilding itself with terrifying serenity. Bones forming from nothingness, muscles knitting together, pristine skin returning as if never touched.
Hiro returned to his form, but he was not as he was. He stood still, motionless, breathless, as if a statue of a destiny yet to be understood.
Then...
The crown appeared.
Threads of light, faint at first, began to gather above his head. Golden lines spiraled as if writing celestial symbols, belonging to no language known to ancient kingdoms. In an instant, a crown of golden twilight formed.
And suddenly...
The trumpet sounded.
It emerged from nowhere, its source unknown, but it filled all the spaces between heaven and earth. A sound that was not only audible but felt, shaking souls to their depths.
Then the stars fell.
In broad daylight, the blue veil of the sky tore, and shards of light began to fall from above.
And on the other side, the moon… was approaching. It was no longer a distant disc in the sky, but a giant celestial body looming over the forest, as if the sky itself was bowing towards the earth.
Amidst this overwhelming cosmic scene,
Another light emerged.
Not the light of an explosion, nor the glare of battle, but a warm, gentle beam, flowing into the heart before the eye. An inexplicable tranquility, flowing through souls despite the devastation, despite the ash, despite the trumpet's cry.
That light did not come from the sky… but from Hiro himself.
And from his sixth wing.
The last wing was different from the rest of his wings. It was not made of gold, nor crystal, nor even energy… but of pure light. Light that wove itself from the core of life, from absolute truth.
And when he spread his sixth wing, light filled the forest,
And the creatures trembled.
There, in the sky of the Dream Forest, stood the first Jinn…
He was no longer a boy. His long white hair fluttered like a curtain hiding the past, his face devoid of human features, and his body radiated power beyond comprehension.
Six wings, and a crown of light.
That entity was the beginning… and the end.