The underground trembled as the battle dragged on.
Skyla floated above the cracked stone, eyes scanning the chaos below. Water dripped from the frozen walls, hidden in the earth, buried in pipes long abandoned.
Her gaze sharpened.
"The only valuable resource here… is the water."
She raised her hand.
At once, every drop answered her call.
Streams tore from the walls and ground, spiraling upward, merging into a massive sphere above her palm. It churned like a contained ocean, dense and heavy.
She watched Zain carefully.
"…I understand now, Captain Zain."
Realization flickered across her face.
She turned and shouted across the battlefield.
"Rimazu! The blade — in my pocket!"
Rimazu didn't hesitate. He sprinted forward through the debris.
As he passed Scarlet, she grabbed his sleeve and whispered quickly into his ear.
He frowned. "You really think that'll work?"
Scarlet's jaw tightened, eyes locked on her sister. "We won't know unless we try. Now go."
Zain clashed with Skyla again, forcing her attention on him. The ground cracked beneath each strike.
Meanwhile, Rimazu slipped away to a corner of the underground where a single shaft of sunlight pierced through a broken opening above. A rare beam cutting through the darkness.
He inhaled slowly.
"Stage Two."
His presence faded.
Completely invisible.
Blade in hand, he stepped into the sunlight. Carefully, he angled the steel until it caught the light—
And reflected it directly into Skyla's eyes.
She flinched.
Just for a second.
That second was enough.
Zain surged forward and drove a devastating punch into her, sending her flying across the underground chamber.
She skidded across stone, stretching unnaturally as she absorbed the impact.
Her breathing grew uneven.
"…Someone's here," she muttered. "I can sense it… but where?"
Before she could regain control—
Scarlet stepped forward.
The massive sphere of water hovered above her now.
She stared at her sister.
Her voice broke.
"How could you…?"
Skyla looked at her.
"Mom and Dad… they ended their lives thinking you were dead," Scarlet continued, tears streaming down her face. "And you're alive. You're alive… and this is what you chose?"
Her hands trembled violently.
"Just die!"
She released the sphere.
The water crashed down, flooding the entire underground space.
Skyla's rubber-like body reacted instinctively. She stretched, absorbing the water into herself. Expanding. Swelling.
That was the plan.
Overwhelm her from within.
Water poured into her endlessly. Her body grew unstable, trembling under the pressure.
She struggled to speak.
"Scarlet… I knew about our parents."
Scarlet froze.
"The masked figure told me… when I came here. He said if I did what he wanted… there might be a way to bring them back."
Her voice cracked.
"I thought… if I could bring them back… you'd be happy again."
Scarlet's resolve wavered for a split second.
"Wait— I can pull the water back—"
Zain's voice cut through the chaos.
"No. It's too late."
Skyla's body trembled violently, reaching its limit.
Her eyes found Scarlet's one last time.
"I'm sorry."
A violent shockwave tore through the underground.
When the water settled… Skyla was gone.
Silence followed.
Scarlet dropped to her knees.
A scream ripped from her — grief, rage, heartbreak all at once.
Rimazu stood frozen, the blade slipping from his hand.
Zain wiped the blood running down his face, staring at the space where Skyla once stood.
"That masked coward…" he muttered. "I'll kill him."
They returned to the surface.
Benjamin, Abraham, and Aisha were just waking up from the sleeping pills Skyla had given them earlier at her house. Confusion filled their faces — until they saw Scarlet.
No one needed an explanation.
And then—
It hit.
The drawbacks.
Benjamin staggered, the air around him distorting violently. Abraham dropped to one knee as his body locked up from overexertion. Scarlet clutched her chest as her control over water completely vanished. Rimazu flickered in and out of visibility, struggling to stabilize.
Even Zain swayed slightly.
The cost had come.
Benjamin forced himself upright, breathing heavily.
"…Ryo. He's still fighting his."
The cold wind swept across the snow-covered kingdom.
And somewhere far from there—
Ryo was still locked in battle with his own drawback.
Alone.