The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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Seeing Walter disappeared as the pile of destroyed Xy’phers crumbled, Detective Spawn looked around. “Stay alert. I don’t see him anywhere.” He informed the others. “Walter has a very predictable movement, so I should be able to determine where he’ll try to opened his next set of portals—” Before finishing his sentence, Spawn felt his entire body froze.

He couldn’t speak, or even move his pupils. “What?” The hellspawn thought to himself. He felt a immense pressure of energy billowing up around his body. His cloak and his ghouls, without Spawn controlling them, squirm erratically in attempt to force him to move. Soon after, Spawn felt his body flung back, crashing into various debris until his back slammed against Bernkastel. “Argh!!” He let out an inaudible grunt. “Damn Psychic powers…!” He expressed his disdain.

Cuki crashed against his stomach, causing him to cringe slightly. And got headbutted by Berserk right afterwards. His cloak was detached itself from the hellspawn and attempted to pull him out from the compact circle of pure psychic energy. But due to various debris hurling in its way, and due to how heavy Cuki, Vegetto and Berserk were, it proves very difficult to release Spawn from that powerful psychic grasp without using force.

“Don’t… we’ll find another way…” Spawn spoke to the cloak with his mind. “Should I do it now? No… I can sense Bernkastel behind me. What’s taking you so long?”

----


As horde of Xy’phers jumped forward, Spina flashed his violet aura briefly, pushing them away with ease. “No more excuses.” The older Saiyan scolded the Detective. “Either you put it up or stay out of the way. Go mop elsewhere.” As Vegetto used Spina’s chest as a springboard to gain momentum towards Panich, he simply let out a grunt. It left a feet impression on his chest as a result as the wave of rocks burrowed behind him.

Spina held Bage close to his face, his eyes fierce with determination. “You’re a Saiyan, right? You’re a Detective, right? You’re a warrior, right?! Are you satisfied with just leaving things because your heart isn’t in it?” Spina stared at Bage’s eyes. A simple glance, he knew the deeper aspect of what his situation. “Then tell your heart to beat it. She needs you, right?”

The older Saiyan turns to the battle between Vegetto and Panich; they were going back and forth, but none could secure a upper hand. The rising power of dark energy; however, piques his curiosity. “Out of my way, fusion. This is my—” His eyes narrowed, unable to let out anymore words in. His body completely froze. “Huh?!” He thought to himself. He noticed that the others were the same way—only exception was Panich.

Moments later, Spina felt his body was levitating against his will. He attempt to force himself to remain on the ground, but it was a futile effort. He was hurled into the air, crashing into the compact ball with the others; due to grabbing Bage’s hair, he pulled him along for the ride. He crashed against Berserk and Vegetto.

“Arggh!!!” Spina forced his pupils to dart around, looking down at the Red King who made his declaration of ending the battle. “Don’t… fuck with me.” He said in his mind with disdain. He roared loudly, and the flames surrounding his face spread like a wild storm. As Nia’s barrier collapsed due to the continuous barrage of debris slamming against it, Spina’s raging flames spread out to act as a cushion to lessen damage taken, blowing up any debris close enough. Even though his body was starting to twist in strange places, Spina still rages on. “You think… twisting me… can kill me…!?”

“Dumbass, watch where you spread those things--!” Spawn thought to himself, still thinking of a way to take out of the situation. The hellspawn felt his entire body started to consort, twist and turn in places not meant to be turned. “Shit…!”

===


Lucifer smirks. “Well, this was quite an interesting development.”

“I shall free them.” Lilith said, but Lucifer shake his head side-to-side.

“You’ll get caught in that psychic grasp.” Lucifer warned. “Besides… I believe we’re about to see the real show.”



[Plane of Clear Mind]

Guardian nod once when Bernkastel did not react to anything regarding to Gogeta’s death nor Vegetto’s dishonesty. “You’re the first to pass this threshold. Consider me… impressed.” She smirks, but it leaves a hollow feeling to it. There was nothing “genuine” behind that smile.

She took several steps back and pressed her hands on her pelvis, revealing it to be her “eye”. The pupil narrowed, as rainbow colors flashed before Bernkastel.

“The one that lurks in the darkness. He was before my time. Even before Jinaira’s time. Or Voice, as you referred him as such.” Guardian said. “His presence alone can bring down entire worlds.” Behind Bernkastel, there was a single ball of light. It quickly transformed into the creature that Bernkastel saw in the Red King’s demonstration.

It was gigantic—it easily eclipses even Guardian in terms of sheer size. The creature had a purple body; red and black roots growing out from the back. His multiple eyes, including his “main eye” on his chest were bright red.

“The creature you see now is lifeless. This is where Clear Mind comes in.” Guardian explains. “To create an authentic illusion, you need to ensure you capture everything as accurately as possible. Even their mannerism and body language, to make it as true to actual reality. Otherwise, it’ll fail, and your enemies will see right through you.”

Guardian’s main eye widened its pupil. “To demonstrate.” Her tone deepens. “A creature that detest the mortal world. A creature that detests the concept of life. A creature that sought to devoured life to feed its own ambitions. The creature venture into the darkness, waiting for anyone to tempt their endless desire. His presence oozes a cold aura, freezing everything in its path—both physically and mentally.”

Suddenly, the lifeless body sprung to life and slammed both hands against the ground. The coldness aura brimming from it, causing chills around the two. Even the darkness, somehow, froze. As it stood up in an uncanny manner, it spoke, strikingly like its tone during the Red King’s demonstration.


“I hear you.”

“Dance in the cold, lost. Burn you with flames, Come.”

“Seek me.”

After a slight pause, the creature disappeared into particles as Guardian’s main eye closes. “With Clear Mind, you can easily extract information from anyone for this purpose. Say a few words about their traits, personality and their ambitions, and you’ll form an illusion so real that its impossible to tell otherwise. Of course, this is incredibly taxing on the body at your level, little one, so you will only be able to pull it off once.” Guardian looks up briefly. “For now, simply recite what I said…, and if you have something extra, feel free too. Any who, good luck.”
 
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May thinks as the rounds hit Zenta "the only concern is piercing and knowing the brakers that should not be able to cause too much concern. The anti-cystal properties will do too much harm to him he should not be crystal base." May starts to change positions in order to tray to shoot the king once more.

May movement was stopped once the king used the orb. May thinks "what ant-psychic gear will help me get out this and not impact the team's combat effectiveness." May eyes light up and orders the orbs that are all over "Mute the orb Psychic impact." May thinks "this should help us at least resist. I hope this will buy time for the others to do something about this." May puts away her rifle in order to not harm any the others with it.
 
Majin Bara on the other hand grunted as her body was contorted, however as she was a Majin, she had no issues with it whatsoever. Her body was mallable after all. With veins potruding from her arms and legs, Majin Bara was angered enough that steam bellowed from the holes on her head, chest and arms, and even with the short breath, she inhaled as best she could, before she emitted a ferocious Vice Shout, a prolonged scream that was intended to relieve pressure out of everyone... It was the same type of scream that Kid Buu used once he was reborn on Earth many years ago, a scream that had cataclysmic results on the planet in his case, causing earthquakes, typhoons and all sorts of natural disasters moments before he would use a Super Vanishing Ball to destroy the planet. On this occasion, Bara intended to use her Vice Shout as a distraction, wanting to throw the Red King off-guard and causing debris to fall on anyone of the Xy'phers that were still present, even if it was to give just a little time for any of the others to capitalize on this distraction to deal damage to the Red King. It should be obvious that Bara, like Brachi, did not believe in a no-win scenario, and as such was doing whatever she could to turn the tide of this battle, no matter the opposition. This was a kind of improvisation that she was known for, coupled with her Body Manipulation and other skills she naturally had on her as a Majin.
 
Berserk was unable to assist due to her facing the group directly with her forehead pinned to Spawn's, as well as being unable to breathe very profoundly.

"O-okay, nobody panic, but anyone have an idea for plan B? Anything at all? Dying is not going to be our Plan B!!!!" She shouted urgently, a few veins popping in her forehead from trying to break out of the King's psychic grasp by force. "Spawn, get your knee out of my kidney!"

Bernkastel was buried deep within the pile of Breakers, yet her unfazed expression didn't flinch even in this precarious situation. However, her eyes slid around beneath her lids as if she were dreaming; searching for something.

[The Plane of Clear Mind]
Bernkastel listened intently to Guardian's instructions, instinctively shivering from the chill brought on by the mirage. Even she wasn't completely impervious to the creature, but that was likely the strength of Guardian's power being showcased in such a simple manner.

"So one shot and that's it." Bernkastel glanced around them pensively, pondering how she'd go about it. She began to notice there was a heavy pressure over her, and while it wasn't painful it was a warning that time hadn't actually stopped-- it was a mere crawl at the moment but she still had less of it regardless. "Let's see where the Xy'phers are all positioned at the moment."

On command, the background allowed for her to see the silhouettes of the army as well as the King and his Elites. Bernkastel noticed the Red King was towering directly over her. The army, in a swarm that covered nearly every inch of barren earth below. Just the creature wouldn't be enough; if it does work, they were still an obstacle that awaited them immediately after.
This is fine. The only way to disrupt order of this magnitude is with chaos in kind, the witch decided before outstretching an arm towards the sky, past the King's shoulders and just beyond the moon; the Bernkastel in reality remaining immobile.

'The creature that lives in darkness. That detests the mortal world; the concept of life itself. That which seeks to devour life itself to feed its ambition. Seek out that which beckons your endless desire, come forth from the abyss of darkness... let your aura freeze everything in your path.' As she recited Guardian's words, Bernkastel focused her memory of the creature into conjuring that small ball of light up above. The white edge of her eyes overtook the entire iris; as she visualized a bright white crack around the ball of light, the creature's fingers the only contrast. "Manifest!" She ordered, throwing forth an open palm.

....
....
....


Just as the King's psychic pressure exerted on the Breakers reached their bodies' breaking point, something sailed down from the sky at a blur-- landing right in front of the King's now-solitary crystallized throne. It impaled the crystallized ground with the sound of shattered glass: the object in question was... a staff. It visibly vibrated like a tuning fork, yet the impact did not echo throughout the valley, even though all manners of logic dictated it should have given the distance at which it traveled to reach the earth.

In fact, no sound rang out in the battlefield the moment that staff made its landing-- everything was suddenly muted. Bara's soundwaves were cut off as well as the sounds of popping joints and strained muscle. Spina's flame breath lost its intense heat. Out of nowhere, an overwhelming pressure of dread washed over every entity in the area before an eerily familiar, bone-chilling cold took over their bodies.

"There you are... I finally found you, Lost One." Came a booming voice from the sky behind the Vortex Moon. The source of the familiar voice came from a pitch-black opening, a white hand coming out and curling around the edges of the hole... before a multitude of bright-red irises appeared, staring down at them all, the largest eye pointed directly at the Red King.

There was no mistaking it for anyone that saw the King's memory: it was none other than the creature behind the barrier, coming into full view.

"Your indignance, I felt it... your desire for conquest, it called out to me. Your determination powered your strength enough to find me. Our encounter cannot be attributed to anything other than fate. Yet before I could meet your burning desire in kind, lost one, we were separated once more. But waiting was of ill use to me. I met much resistance... but my boundless determination allowed me to break past it."

In its other hand's grip was the lifeless corpse of the enigmatic rabbit-like woman from before, her broken body limp. The staff that fell from the sky was hers. Its eyes darted around, meeting the frozen gaze of everything in its view.

"I was wise to follow you here, lost one. I felt the desires of so many more seeping out into my abyss... I hear them all. It seems that you have led me to a delectable feast." The creature's main eye squinted as if thrilled by what it saw. "Out of gratitude, I shall devour your prey in my flames first... and leave you for last. As I do, perform your dance in this frigid air once more, lost one."

======

"Now, while the iron is still hot. Come out, my kitties..." Bernkastel glanced towards the Xy'pher army. Using her advanced magic, thousands of cat eyes littered the void around them. Slowly, she aimed her other hand down at the valley below in a silent order for them to converge. They all swarmed past her to where her finger pointed, gathering into a giant mass with the form of a colossal whale.

"Leviathan, obliterate."

=======
Once the creature finished speaking its intentions, the leviathan appeared on cue in the valley; its giant set of jagged teeth was the first thing the army would see before its giant tunnel of a mouth. Its body thrashed and swam through the Xy'phers like water. Taking countless of its victims in like krill, the leviathan devoured hordes of the Xy'phers with a predatory fervor and sent countless more flying into the air from its giant thrashing tail.
 
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“Crap..!” Cuki said under her breath. “It’s getting harder to breathe…! Damnit, we gotta do something! We’re going to get crushed!”

Each Breaker felt their bodies contort worse and worse. Some felt their bodies ready to snap, others were unable to breathe. All of them had their heads pushed back by an invisible force, bending their spines backwards on the border of the breaking point. Zenta snarled under his breath as he struggled to prevent his body from bring wrung out. His head turned to face Avalon, who was unable to keep his posture and heard a sickening snap before the body went limp. However, before the Breakers could say much, Avalon’s body started to dissolve into water, getting the Breakers wet. The one that was pulled up with the Breakers was a clone!

“A clone?!” Nia gasped. “So… where’s the real one…?”

A cloud a smoke suddenly appeared in front of the ball of Breakers and from it flew a paper bird with Avalon riding its back. His face was full of sweat and worry, but his hands were quick to perform signs.

“It’s now or never! Multi Water Clone Technique!” Avalon shouted as hundreds of clones appeared in front of the Breakers as a means to protect them. “Now, combust!”

Each of the clones exploded in small water particles that turned into shuriken, identical to the attack he pulled on Walter. The King did not seem phased, barely turning to face the ninja. Thousands of shuriken rushed towards the King and stopped moments before touching him thanks to his psychic powers. The water shuriken began to circle the King like a river before they started to crystallize into tiny javelins. Avalon’s face turned pale as the King slowly turned his head to face him.

“Annoying little fly, begone.” The King’s eyes shined briefly before the crystal javelins flung out towards Avalon.

Hundreds of crystal needles stabbed Avalon and his paper bird from every angle. The bird screeched in pain before disappearing into a cloud of smoke. As Avalon fell, his body stopped in midair from the King’s psychic powers. His entire front side was impaled by the javelins, all of which skewered him, yet he was still alive. This time, there was no trick, no clone. Several of these spears struck him right through the chest, pushing out through his back. Blood dripped from the tips of the crystals as Avalon let out a gasped cough. He floated closer to the King as his body began to show cracks.

“Your tricks could never work on someone like me.” The King flung more javelins into Avalon’s body, watching the ninja’s body go limp. “How disappointing.”

Finally, the psychic hold on Avalon’s body ended, letting the ninja fall onto the ground with a thud. He did not move while his blood pooled around him. His eyes were hazy and glazed over as he stared at the Breakers in the air. The last thing anyone heard was his gasped cough and a final breath.



Within the confines of Avalon’s mind, there was a darkness so deep that the ninja lose all sense of direction. He had no idea if he was falling, standing still, or floating. Everything around him was an abyss with no end. Avalon looked at his hands, which were slowly being eaten away by the darkness, then the rest of his body suffered the same fate. He showed no signs of struggling, no sign of fighting back as he slowly leaned his head back to accept his fate.

“Well, this is it, huh?” Avalon said as his body started to flake away and disintegrate until only his face remained. “I let everyone down yet again… So much for helping the Breakers out.” The ninja let out a defeated sigh. “Maybe being a Xy’pher will be better for me… At least I won’t feel so…worthless.” Finally, Avalon closed his eyes, waiting for the darkness to consume him.

“Is that what you think?”

A voice rang out which caused Avalon the open his eyes again. For a moment, he looked around and saw nothing before he felt himself move. His body felt as if he was in the current of a raging river, floating like a leaf downstream. Although he had no body left, he felt himself struggle against the current and swim against black waters. Waves crashed against Avalon’s body, diving him deeper into the abyss of dark water. No matter where Avalon swam, he could not tell where up and down was. The torrent of water continued to push him deeper into the unknown, filling the ninja’s lungs with water. As Avalon kicked and flailed himself back to the surface, a heavy wave crashed down on him, pushing him back underwater where the currents grew stronger and stronger. So strong that it felt like they were punching the air out of him.

“You are not in any danger here.” The mysterious voice rang out again. “The struggles you face are created by your own insecurities. Every motion you make ripples the water, and with every ripple, a wave is born.”

H-Help me, please! I-I’m gonna drown…!

“You are in no danger here, Avalon. It is as I said; every motion you make creates a ripple that turns into the very waves crashing down on you.” The voice sounded louder and closer to Avalon. “These ripples reflect your mind.”

My m-mind?! Avalon thought. But…! I’m not strong enough to help the Breakers! I’m weak and I let them down! I’m… I’m not able to fly like them or lift buildings! I’m nothing like them! That’s the truth—

Another powerful wave crashed onto Avalon as more water went into his lungs.

“If you do not wish to drown, you need to see your own strength.”

I… I!

For a moment, Avalon stopped moving, allowing the water to take him wherever it wanted until he began to slow down. Suddenly, the waves felt light as they crashed on him. It wasn’t as heavy, and they did not knock him around as much. Avalon kept his eyes closed while he thought about his adventure with the Breakers. Each time they had a fight, he managed to come out on top with them. The battle with Roya when he combined his skills with Berserk’s bombs, then his mastering of the clone transformation. Then he remembered his combo with Vegetto against Detective Goku. Finally, he thought about his recent fight with Walter. His combo with Spawn, Nia, and Cayde allowed them to figure out and beat Walter.

Hey… I did help them out. In the end… we won, didn’t we? They got their way, and I got my own…

The longer he thought about his part, the more the water started to settle. No longer were the waves crashing down with a heavy might or the currents flowing unpredictably. Instead, Avalon felt the water around him feel like a warm embrace or a gentle rain tickling his body. He floated in the ocean of an endless abyss before he felt his back land on a hard surface. When he opened his eyes, he saw a light, similar to a moon on the surface of the calm waters, one he never noticed before.

What the...? Was that always there…?

As Avalon stared at the light, he sat up on the surface his back pressed against, and his entire body broke the surface of the water. He gasped profusely for air, coughing and wheezing after nearing drowning, but when he looked around, he noticed he was in a large room with a single, giant lotus flower and a beautiful stain glass window. The room was very quiet despite the chaotic noise of the water Avalon was in. There were several incenses burning, but no smell came from them. When Avalon rose to his feet, he realized the water nearly drowned in was barely over his ankles.

“What the hell? Where am I…?”

Behind the lotus flower rose a figure entirely made of water, and as the figure took a step on the flower, the water slid off its body. On top of the lotus stood a man wearing an extravagant blue kimono. His hair was a mix of light and dark blue clusters, almost matching Avalon’s style. He had similar markings on his face like Avalon and sprouted identical horns. Around his forehead was a band with a single blue jewel. His presence caused Avalon to freeze, not in fear, but in awe.

“A-Are you…?”

“Yes, I am Seilong.”

“Holy crap! I got so many questions to ask! Like, why pick me?! Not that I’m complainin’ but I’m just curious! Oh! I wanna know if you know what happened to my sister—”

“You are dying, Avalon.” Seilong said, deadpanned.

“W-What…?”

Seilong gracefully moved his hand to the stained glass window where it morphed into Avalon with several crystal javelins in his chest. Like a mirror, these same spikes suddenly appeared on Avalon as he stood before Seilong. While Avalon did not feel any pain, he couldn’t help but drop to his knees.

“I vaguely remember the King attacking me, but…”

“His attack fatally wounded you.” Seilong said as he walked towards Avalon. He walked on the surface of the water, not bothering the water in the slightest.

“Where am I?”

“You are in the confines of your own mind. I lurk here, listening and watching. I can help you get back, but you must prove to me that you are ready to go back.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am going to share my strength with you,” Seilong held out his hand to the ninja, it barely peaking out from his kimono. “This new strength will flood your senses and drive you mad. Your mind will no longer be yours. The pain will be unbearable, and you will lose control of yourself. If you are able to balance this new power within your body, then you will be able to return to normal, back to the others.”

“What happens if I fail? What if I can’t control the power?”

“Then you will die.” Seilong stared at Avalon with emotionless neon blue eyes. “What will you do, Avalon Sai’ji?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“If you wait any longer without making a decision, then you will die regardless. Your wounds are too great to ignore.”

Avalon gasped, his eyes darting to the javelins impaling his chest. Seilong’s presence intimidated him, and when presented with death, Avalon froze. Either way, he felt that he would die regardless. How could he control the power of the Divine Being if he was just a mortal? As the seconds ticked away, he glanced behind Seilong to the stain glass window as it showcased the Breakers struggling to breathe, each one moments away from having their necks or spines snapped. The way they contorted and screamed in pain while the King played with their bodies woke something inside of him. They all were trying their hardest, even in the face of death.

A fire sparked in Avalon’s eyes as he glanced up at Seilong.

“I don’t care if I die! If you lend me this power, then I’ll use it to help the Breakers out!”

“Very well, then. Take my hand, Avalon. Show me that you are ready.”

Without wasting a moment, Avalon slapped his hand against Seilong, grabbing it tightly. All around the two, the room started to erupt in a blinding light that consumed the two.



“Now then, where was I?” The King turned back to the Breakers as his hold tighten. “Farewell, Breakers—”

Before the final twist was done, the King quickly whipped his head back to the sound of the crystal throne shattering. The sudden chill caught his attention as he looked up towards the moon. The King’s body froze, and, in turn, as did every single Xy’pher. The mysterious creature from his memories appeared right before him!


“Y-You!” The King’s voice shook for the first time. “Nnngh...! Walter!”

Walter was paralyzed and frozen in his spot, as if to reflect the King’s innate fear of the creature before him. The King’s hold on the Breakers was released, allowing them to fall on the floor moments before death. No Xy’pher made an effort to catch or attack them since, they too, were paralyzed with fear. The King, meanwhile, was visibly shaking.

“You were on the other side of the barrier!” The King yelled. “No! You will not control my mind like last time! You will not make a mockery of me, The Red King!” The crystal ground under the Breakers started to crack and shatter from the psychic powers of the King. Each shard turned into a spear that all aimed towards the mysterious creature in the sky. However, once the javelins came close to the creature, they immediately turned into ice and fell to the ground, shattering. “What?!”

The King’s fear was still strong, but now, the Xy’phers were able to move. Walter gasped, as if holding his breath the entire time. On instinct, Walter held out both his arms and opened a massive portal in the sky where millions of Xy’phers fell onto the battlefield. Finally broken from their paralyzing grip, each Xy’pher was able to move and attack. Many of them gathered around their King with weapons for him to throw at the creature. The King did not care, as he not only used the weapons offered to him, but the Xy’phers themselves. His fear was showing!

Since his fear was so strong, the connection he had with his dear Xy’phers was severed! No longer was he able to see what his Xy’phers saw or communicate with them. His orders would no longer reach them and their warnings would no longer reach the Red King. The Xy’phers ran without order and aimlessly. While their primary objective was to protect their King, several began to act on their own as a collective mind. The hive was disconnected from their ruler! The King did not care, his sole target now was the creature before him.

“I am your King, fool! I am the grand conqueror of the universe! I am the King of the Xy’phers! I am the Red King!” The King shouted, losing his composure. He flew at incredible speeds around this creature, firing an arsenal of weapons and Xy’phers, all while whipping up wild winds and changing the landscape with his psychic powers. “You’re nothing!”

Due to the severed connection between the King and the Xy’phers, Panich’s mind was free from his hold. A sudden shock zapped through Panich’s body followed by a sense of euphoria. Her mind was no longer clouded by red crystals or the King’s voice. The image of the King and the Xy’pher army shattered before her very eyes, and she was set free. Now, Panich’s true power surged within her body, as if being a Xy’pher held her back from her true potential. Her body was still that of a Xy’pher, but her mind was finally her own.

“Holy crap, what the hell is that?” Cuki said looking at the creature in the sky. Her skin turned cold and the hairs on the back of her neck rose. “I got a bad feeling about this…”

“It’s the creature he saw beyond the barrier.” Nia said, also taken aback by the sheer scale of how big the creature is. “I didn’t think it’d be that big… But how did he find us and how did it break the barrier?”

Cuki turned to face Zenta who was about as frozen in fear as the King.

“Master, you okay?”

“I…. I can see it.” Zenta murmured. “Just like the Lady in the Dress…”

“Huh? Lady in a dress?” Cuki noticed her Master shake, then it clicked in. She said nothing. He has no eyes but he can see this thing? …What kind of monster is this and who's the lady in the dress he's talking about?

As the Xy’phers ran amuck, Nia noticed that they were not unified as they were before. They worked together, but very sloppily, as if not knowing how to approach the problem, similar to a mob mentality. Her eyes scanned the movements of each Xy’pher then glanced back at the King flying overhead. Suddenly, her eyes widen and her head quickly turned to the Breakers.

“The connection between the Xy’phers and the King is severed!” Nia shouted urgently. “They cannot relay information to each other!” Nia quickly used her psychic powers to twist and crush a Xy’pher to bits. The Xy’phers around it showed no concern or reaction as they rushed onwards, following their King. “Their minds and the King’s are no longer connected! If the Xy’phers are vulnerable, then so is the King!”

“That’s fine and dandy, but there’s way too many Xy’phers!” Cuki shouted. “ Even if we manage to tackle the King, there’s gonna be a horde of Xy’phers to see us! We can’t land a good punch of him if they keep getting in the way!”



As the Leviathan killed and ate the hordes of Xy’phers, more and more started to appear, so much that more were spawning than dying. The Xy’phers climbed out of holes and broke through the crystal floors in order to reach the surface. The Xy’phers would begin to cling on to Leviathan and stab at it with their arms, slowing it down. The stronger Xy’phers grouped together and held on to its tail to keep it from moving while the Leviathan was slowly getting consumed by the Xy’phers. Leviathan was slowly cracking from the weight of the Xy’phers and, eventually, it was entirely gone from view.

A loud rumble was heard, and the earth began to shake, but not from the King’s psychic powers. Not too far from the Breakers shot up a massive torrent of water that blocked the view of the moon. Inside the water was a shadow of something that swam up. Upon reaching the top the water pillar exploded into rain that poured on the entire battlefield. From the water tower emerged a liquid snake-like dragon with Avalon inside its chest. Avalon’s entire body was covered in blue energy, with only his eyes showing. It was identical to how Cuki first turned into Byakko-Cuki.

“Seems like he’s tapped into the power with Seilong,” Byakko commented, rolling his eyes. “You had a similar form, Cuki~! You lost total control and even attacked your friends. Hmm, I wonder how little Avalon will fair?” Byakko smirked.

Cuki stared in awe at Avalon’s new transformation. I turned… into that?

Avalon gripped his head and let out a mighty shout of pain. The dragon, in turn, released a massive roar, grabbing the attention of the Xy’phers nearby. Without skipping a beat, Avalon looked around the battlefield and noticed the Leviathan on the verge of being destroyed. The water dragon quickly rushed in and consumed Bernkastel’s Leviathan in its mouth. The Xy’phers that clung onto Leviathan began to dissolve and fizzle into nothing inside the dragon. Eventually, even Leviathan suffered the same fate, however, the green aura from the Leviathan stayed, quickly being absorbed into Avalon’s scroll. Avalon moved up the dragon, standing atop its head as he began to conjure up hand signs.

“Water Style! Jaws of Leviathan!” Avalon’s voice echoed and was a mix between his own and Seilong’s.

Avalon reeled his arm back and flung his scroll into the sky. The massive dragon pulled its head back and fired a powerful burst of water into the air, taking Avalon’s scroll with it. As the water and scroll entered the sky, it began to turn into a strong and heavy rain, however, this rain was glowing an emerald green. Avalon looked down at the massive Xy’pher army and clapped his hands together, releasing a massive yell.

Each jade raindrop turned into the Leviathan that Bernkastel conjured.

Millions (maybe billions!) of Leviathans fell from the sky, each one opening its massive jaws to consume a mouthful of Xy’phers. Every inch of the field was showered with Leviathans! This instantly caught the attention of Walter who created portals to slip away from the jaws of the Leviathan but, unfortunately, could not escape fast enough. Right before he created a portal to help his King, he was consumed by a Leviathan and his portal fizzled out.
 
May says as she looks at the Xy'phers "Without the red king those xy'phers are just a mob and I doubt our group can't hadal a ununified mob. Besides that, A large number them were civvies so they should not have any real fighting skills. I have an i deal on how to make them even less of a factor given if Nia is able to pull it off."

May asks as she takes out a gun after the group was able to move "Nia can you take control of the xy'pher that are now free in an identcal way as the red king?" May thinks "I may have a device that may help her do it if she can." May try to recall the device in question.
 
At the apparent death of Avalon, and Red King strengthening his psychic hold, things seem rather bleak for the Breakers. The silence came as the cold swept the land.

The creature was gigantic—easily eclipsed everything around it. As it spoke, a cold feeling rushing through everyone’s spines. It’s frightening aura it emits made it hard to breathe. Just by observing its appearance long enough can cause exhaustion.

“That… creature.” Lilith took several steps back. “Where did…? Did Bernkastel create that… or summon… that?” She turns to Lucifer for answers, only to see the fallen angel drenched in cold sweat. “Sir?”

“Oh.” Lucifer wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief. “Ah, don’t worry too much. It’s just fear.” He did a half-smile, accompanied by his tired eyes. “A wonderful feeling; and I was just starting to think my heart was cold.” He jokes, but his tone was sliding on the side of caution. He didn’t know how to react to such a thing. “To see in someone’s memories is one thing, but to see it in reality is quite another…”

The angel could not decipher whether the creature was real or Bernkastel created a very convincing illusion. “Tread with caution and stay near in my presence; I’m not sure if I could offer protection if it decides to attack.” He pondered, recalling a moment where the Red King claims its mind was instantly taken over by that thing. “Is it playing with him?”

Lilith simply nodded once without saying a word.

===

A mere glance caused Spawn’s costume to retreat to the center of his chest, exposing his human form. Overwhelmed with so much intensity from the monster, Spawn could not muster a single word. Once the Red King released his psychic pressure on the Breakers, Spawn fell straight down, unable to recall his power.

A sudden torrent of water erupted near him, getting caught in it. Spawn was in shock to see Avalon not only survived that fatal attack, but seemingly transformed as a result. He was flung away, colliding onto a water Levitation that was raging havoc on the disorientated Xy’phers. “Hah!” He caught out water. “… Avalon…?” He looked down, seeing numerous Xy’phers perishing instantly—even Walter died in the chaos. “Argh… I should help—” He tried to get up but collapsed due to his body still stressed from the psychic crush. “C’mon, damnit. Why are you so damn scared!?” He cursed at his cloak, still not responding to his command. “Bage?! May!?” He shouted out for them. “Are you guys alright!?”

====

Spina landed on the ground, leaving a crater underneath his boots. He fell on his knees, panting hard after having his body twisted to such levels of contortion. As rain came falling, completely drenching everything in its vicinity, the old Saiyan raised his head to stare at the creature above them.

He could not tell whether it was real; all he knew was that Bernkastel created something that strikes fear into the Red King’s heart—and that was accomplished. Yet, he couldn’t move his body at all. Is the creature’s mere presence that strong? Is his body experiencing fear?

The old Saiyan frowned. The flames burst wildly despite the pouring rain. His eyes locked onto the panicking Red King attacking the creature. He wasn’t sure if the creature would attack him, but the Xy’phers are being taken care of, and the Red King is distracted. It was an opportunity to attack now that his defenses are lowered.

“Now or never.” Spina forced his body to stand, going against its apparent fear of the creature. A wild aura exploded around him, clearing away the rain in his little area before blasting upwards in the direction of the Red King. In breakneck speeds, Spina cocked his right hand back. “Flowing Strike: Water Fist!”

A cackling water formed around his fist. Each time he tightened his fist, powerful shockwaves burst forth. It was an excellent example of controlling his energy thoroughly, building up energy before striking a destructive blow. Upon reaching the front of the Red King, Spina launched his fist at the King’s face.
 
Bara on her turn blinked as she saw this creature coming from above and facing the Red King, and in turn noting that the Xy'phers were disoriented. Regaining her composure, Bara easily reset her own body and moved towards Spawn, ignoring the Red King and this creature for the moment, and directed some of what she could spare of her energy into him to revitalize him for a bit, knowing that he was needed, before she noted Avalon's state and in turn moving towards him in kind to check on him, feeling that he could do his part in fighting the Red King as well.
"With that fear he displays, the Red King will soon be the Dead King." she thought to herself and herself alone as she made her move.
 
As the Red King's psychic hold over the Breakers diminished, both Vegetto and Cayde fell to the floor with a loud thud. Vegetto quickly shook his head, his eyes narrowed in frustration and whirling around initially in an attempt to yell at the person he couldn't see crushing into him. However, his eyes instantly caught the creature that loomed over the battlefield, widening while his skin turned pale and the Potara fusion froze instantly in his spot like the others.

Cayde rose up to his feet slowly, a loud mechanical gulp ringing out from his throat once the creature had finished speaking. Yet the man focused his mind towards the first thought he could muster, and immediately turned towards Vegetto with a haughty tone.

"Alright...go get him, asshole! You want your old life back so badly...all you have to do is kill that thing!"

Vegetto stood frozen admist the taunting, his head forward while the android yelped at the emerging chaos of the Xy'phers swarming the field once again. The gunfire and explosions...the hurried planning and dialogue, all of the noise itself continued to ring in Vegetto's ears while he stood completely still. Within the confines of his mind, Vegetto had immediately attempted to morale himself forward with Cayde's words. The sole target he sought for his freedom was now in plain view, ready to face his challenge. Yet no matter how much Vegetto pushed himself to act, no matter how his ego stoked and fanned the flames, he could not escape the chill. The toxic fire itself began to wither and shrink, and soon, the flames died out entirely.

As the Xy'phers piled onto him, the Potara fusion made no effort to defend himself. The claws and strikes from the creatures slammed and rocked him around freely; threatening to unmake him. However, despite the toxic fire within fully extinguished, heat swirled around the man as his only source of an unnatural defense. Initially, his mind only raced on the desperate attempt to continue his will in remembrance of his goals. The will to revive his old life, return to his dominance in a past life time and to find his own peace despite his best efforts all began to fade to the chilling cold that gripped him. He had felt this sensation once before; the first attempt to empty his mind and commit himself to the flame of battle against an overwhelming Zamasu. The reward for proper execution and flow being the coveted ascendance of Ultra Instinct.

Yet once again, Vegetto felt not an unyielding and eternal light, but the darkness consuming his every thought. The void continued to grow and seemingly devour him completely; a strange reverberation of his own dual voice the only semblance of reality left within his brain.

"S̼̯̖̖̠̤l̻͕e̗̲ep... ͅt͖̟͓̺en͎a̩͔c̙̫͉͇̰i̜͕o̥u̗̭͕ͅs ̭̬̥s̰̪̦̳͓o̹̟̦͉̻u̥̖l̯̙.̯̱͇ L̻e̜͚̦̝t̼͓͚͔̱ ̪̞̪̮̳̻̭meͅ f̺̰i̮̱na͎lly̠̩͙͔͉ ̦̤̺͖t̼̤̣̟as̝̖t̝̞͕e͓ ṭ̜̖h̪̼͍̦e̺̘̟͍͈ ͕ḇ̮̦ḙa̞̦̬u̲t̮̣͚̺y ͎o̦̗f͈̟̦̤̞͖ ͖̬̞̼t͎̘̪͕̝hi͖̣͕s̱͎͇...n͎̪ͅe̥͈̟̫̣͕̦w̭ ̦͓͓͖̣w͙̩̬̻ọ̠͙̝̲̞̖r̘̝͈͉̼ld̹͕͍.͖͉͚̪͍̹"




As the pile of Xy'phers swarming on Vegetto grew, he soon disappeared from sight while he was barraged. A traditional explosive wave would've sent all the creatures flying, but despite the hundreds of crystalized beings now all clawing at a chance to tear him apart, Vegetto slowly rose to his feet with the creatures all over him. His arms shifted slightly and swayed; one by one, the Xy'phers themselves cracked and shattered into multiple pieces. The entire formation of Xy'phers piling Vegetto soon crumbled like a mountain of boulders onto the floor while the Potara fusion stepped out from the debris left in his wake. Now stepping into open once more, the silver gleam of his hair shined outward in the light's rays while narrowed silver pupils sporadically shot from side to side to take in his surroundings. The intense silver energy swirled around the man in a strange alteration from before, however; an intense silver flame aura was replaced by a cold, glittering vapor. Vegetto spoke no word as he crouched down, a reaction to the swarm of Xy'phers rushing him from all sides.

However, Vegetto let out a small roar as he seemingly shouted himself apart; his entire body silently blasting outwards in small pieces like shrapnel in every direction. Each piece glowing a bright silver shine in easily dismantling every Xy'pher caught in the blast, before quickly retreating back to the center point of the noiseless explosion. Soon reforming piece by piece, Vegetto straightened himself out and relaxed his stance with the open field of space he had given himself. He reached up slowly, lightly touching the lone white bang mixed into the silver bundles of hair for a moment and his eyes swiftly turned towards Zenta. After a silent observation and seeing nothing happened to the beast, Vegetto turned back towards the sight of Avalon's arrival in his new form. The clones of the Leviathan suddenly rained down on the battlefield like a storm shortly after, prompting Vegetto to bolt forward in a quiet dash. His silver aura crackled like ice in the flight forward with silver ice crystals falling off his body, as if the silver fire of Ultra Instinct had weakened and withered. Yet the pressure and power around the man only grew without force or cause to match his need against the threats he faced; a strange hollow sensation to his normal energy signature both confirming and denying Vegetto's existence while he shot towards the distracted Red King while weaving through the mountainous rain of Leviathans crashing down around him.

Meanwhile, Cayde hacked and cried out in narrowly dodging as many of the strikes as he could; having initially fired his gun as indiscriminately as he could against the hordes but ultimately giving up now with the stampede of Leviathans slamming the ground.

"I was not ready for today!!"

The gunslinger howled in the adrenaline induced frenzy, stumbling around until he could catch a breath of air. His bright eyes watched on at the sight of Spina hurling his fist forward towards the Red King's face, and within an instant, Vegetto had flown up to the opposite side. The Potara fusion crouched lower once he reached the Red King, throwing his fist forward at the King's stomach while Spina swung up towards the face.

Cayde quickly unholstered his handcannons again, both barrels raising to aim at the Red King's back while the two Saiyans swung at the opponent's front.
 
Bage looked into the older Saiyan’s eyes as he continued to scold him, the fear in his eyes slowly fading as Spina spoke. His eyes narrowed weakly, “R-Right!” Before Spina’s words could finish seeping in, He was jerked into the clump of Breakers, His body being twisted and squashed by the pressure of the Red King’s Psychic energy. The detective could feel his bones preparing to snap at any moment and he couldn’t speak to the others due to his lungs being crushed under the pressure.

Panich quickly turned her head as Spina, Bage, and Vegetto were hoisted away and compressed into a tightly knit ball along with the other Breakers. Her frustration began to bubble over, once again having her fun interrupted. The purple energy swirled around, and she glared down the one holding onto the Breakers. Her King. As she lowered down, her body began to twitch as if it were trying to forbid her from taking a fighting stance against the King. The Saiyan Xy’pher clenched her fist and prepared to launch herself at the Xypher ruler, but then suddenly, she froze in place like a statue. A sudden wave of intense fear washed over her, and any attempt to move became futile. The Xypher Hero was silent until the instant the King began to panic. Then suddenly, her power surged around her crystallized body and she could see. Panich’s newly regained consciousness stalled her for a moment. She looked around, the anger that she had felt before seemingly vanishing as she looked down at her crystal hands, a sense of calm replacing the emotion.

“What…?” Panich mumbled to herself. She turned to view the massive creature covering the sky and the familiar fear she had once had in connection with the King was back. Just what was that thing… She felt like she could barely stand feeling the pressure from it. However, once she saw the commotion nearby, her eye locked on the Red King. She hesitated a moment before clenching her fists, her anxiety being eaten up by rage. it only took a moment for her memories of her execution to come flowing back to her. ”You.” she growled ferociously.

----------------------------------------------

Bage landed on the ground gasping for air as he lifted himself up with burning limbs. Staring up at the sky the fear that once debilitated him returned as the massive shadow loomed over everyone on the crystallized battlefield. He was back here again, unable to muster any strength to move, helplessly bound by his fear. He shut his eyes and clenched the dirt into his fists. The sting of fear was too great, but then he remembered Spina’s words.

Tell your heart to beat it. She needs you, right?

Bage took a few shaky breaths to try and calm his nerves then turned to hear Spawn calling to him, seeing him in his human form. Despite the trembling in his hands, he sprung up.

”Managing…!” He replied as he made his way to Bara and the Hellspawn to help him to his feet.

----------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Panich raced through the battlefield of Xy’phers, tearing them apart as she barreled her way toward the Red King and Spina. Her anger was the momentum thrusting her forward. She dodged the Leviathan attacks swiftly, even going as far as pushing some Xy'phers in the way instead.

I’m sorry I was too weak Cuki... Panich thought to herself, But I’ll end it this time... I promise!

In a flash, she was in plain view of the Breakers, passing each one of them without so much as a glance. As she passed Spawn and Bage however, the detective's eyes widened as she sped by, fearing that she would try to stop Spina's attack. "She's trying to protect the King! I have to stop her!" He told Spawn before raising to his feet and darting off toward Panich.

I won't hesitate anymore. Even if I'm terrified... I will save you!

Bage disappeared from sight, and before Panich could move any further, a kick was shot her way. She quickly blocked the kick and was sent skidding back from the force. The Xy'pher Saiyan glared at the person who dared stop her. She wasn't able to sense the being in this crystal form and that irritated her. "I don't have time for this, get out of my-" She spoke up but immediately stopped as her glistening eyes were met with familiar determined, and dutiful ones. It was as if the entire world stopped, there was no longer a battle to be won at this moment. She was sure her eyes were deceiving her until he spoke up.

"I'm... going to put an end to your suffering now... I know I was too late. And I froze up, but I'm going to get you back! You won't have to be this way anymore!"

He sounded just like she remembered. How long had it been without him? She slowly began to step toward him, causing Bage to ready himself in a fighting stance. She couldn't muster any words, which, she was sure made him even more suspicious. she continued to walk and Bage narrowed his eye, finally leaping forward to attack before being tackled into a bear hug by Xy'pher Panich. He braced himself for any oncoming force like a wall of crystal he would be slammed into, but Bage opened his eye and looked down to see her... Hugging him. No crushing force or slamming him into the dirt, just a light squeeze.

"I missed you so much..." She spoke into his shirt.
 
“Well, aren’t you going to do something?” Byakko asked Cuki.

“…” Cuki didn’t respond much to Byakko’s comment. Avalon’s sudden transformation was strikingly like hers. If anything, the way Avalon moved so brilliantly, and in control, that she couldn’t help but feel envy towards him. With the destructive presence of the creature above, she felt like she couldn’t move at all.

“If you have time to pout, then you have time to fight.” Byakko somewhat understood Cuki’s feelings. He feels a dark presence weighing down his shoulders by the creature above. Whether or not the illusion was real, its mere appearance shook everyone here. Yet, somehow, Avalon managed to push himself forward. Byakko studied the ninja carefully. “Seilong… even though you are feeling the same way I’ve felt, you still somehow push yourself to move your student and yourself forward.”

Byakko smirked with beaming confidence. “I suppose Avalon is faring better than you makes sense. He does have Seilong after all…”

“Byakko.” Cuki snapped back.

“Hmm?”

“Shut up.” Cuki slapped her cheeks to snapped out of it. Despite the weighing down presence, she was determined to not be left behind. She clapped her hands together and from her feet, a burst of white energy shot out. The tips of her hair started to turn white and dissolve into particles made of pure energy. Cuki turns to Byakko with a serious expression on her face. “Spear.”

“Gladly. Unlike him, I can push you even further. Your determination is second to none!” Byakko’s icy blue eyes shined with glee as he praised Cuki.

Byakko gently cupped Cuki’s hand in his own, and, in a bright flash of light, an enormous spear-sword floated above her hand. Its handle was a white color while the blade was a reflective silver. On the bladed end were markings and near its base was the maw of a tiger, where the blade came out. Cuki gripped onto the handle and swung the blade with grace.

As the Leviathans fell, Cuki sliced through each of them with ease, causing a cloud of smoke to engulf the area around them. Seeing that Walter is taken out, Cuki sought to take out Panich, feeling responsible for her state. She rushed towards her in breakneck speeds; easily closing the gap between Panich and herself, but just enough that Panich wouldn’t immediately attack her.

Once Cuki was at a reasonable distance, the grip on her spear-sword tightened, readied to launch it at her fallen friend. “Forgive me—”

Just before Cuki tossed the spear, Bage hugged Panich and stopped her movements. As Bage and Panich embraced one another, the latter seemingly returned her senses strangely enough, Cuki lowered her spear. Bage wasn’t in danger, and it seems that Panich was back to herself, but there is still sadness in her eyes.

Zenta caught up to Cuki, seeing the Red King attempting to fight off the creature. “Cuki…” He’d sensed Byakko nearby, scoffing at him before focusing his attention on his student. “Are you alright?” He knew the answer of that question, but wanted to see if Cuki will be honest with him.

“…. Yes.” Cuki said coldly.

“…I see.” Zenta thought as much.



“Take over the Xy’phers?” Nia questioned May. “No… I can’t control them, sadly.”

Nia bit her lip as she watched the creature loom over them, sending a chilling sensation down her back. However, as she thought about even if she could take over the Xy’phers, the Leviathans started to rain down on the battlefield, taking down a majority of all the Xy’phers. Even if she could take over, it would be difficult.

“If you have anything to help me out, I can try to form a connection between the few remaining Xy’phers. I need something that can boost my psychic powers for a while. I can’t promise it’ll work, but we have to try!”



As the King continued to fight against the mysterious creature, he failed to notice Spina rush towards him. Once Spina was close enough, the King’s face turned to the Saiyan and lifted am arm towards him, as if to stop him. Every time the King laid his gaze on anyone, any attacks would prove useless, and being at such close range would prove deadly to Spina.

But not today.

A loud shattering noise came from the moment Spina’s fist slammed against the King’s face. The magnificent diamond crown on the King’s head shattered to bits as his head and body flung backwards from the hit. The King was unable to understand what had just happened. For the first time, the King felt pain. Physical pain. It surged through his body and caused him and his robe to twitch violently. He tried to take his composure again but felt the powerful punch to his gut from Vegetto, causing him to heave over his fist in pain. Once again, he did not understand the new feeling as he slid off Vegetto’s fist. Finally, his back felt Cayde’s bullets, and that caused him to go limp for a second, falling straight to the ground.

Before he hit the ground, Cuki and Zenta appeared in front and behind him. Cuki tossed her spear into the air, and her hands started to glow identically to Zenta’s. Both of them started to slam their palms against the King’s body, creating massive shockwaves at each impact. They mirrored each other’s moves perfectly in an elegance dance until Cuki slipped behind the King, slamming her palm against his lower back to fling him up towards Zenta. The Beast reeled his hands back and shot both out towards the King’s chest, but never touched him. There was a moment of pause there were hundreds of shockwaves that came from behind the King followed by a massive one that shattered the crystal earth beneath them. Finally, the spear Cuki threw earlier shot back down, stabbing the King right on the shoulder and pinning him to the ground.

The King rested in the crater, not moving an inch, no doubt from both shock and pain. His senses were all over the place and he could not tell what was overcoming his body. All the King could do was stare at the moon until Avalon and his Water Dragon came into view. All it did was raise an arm and point it directly at the King, which allowed several Leviathans to fall and cover and consume the Red King.

What is happening to me…? The King thought to himself I am the great King of the Xy’pher army. I am… untouchable. This sensation… what is it? I am the Great Conqueror of the universe… No one has been able to stop me, so why are these humans able to cause me distress…? No… No…! NO. I am the greatest creature to ever live! I am the strongest esper known in the universe! I am… I am…!!!

There was an explosion after the Leviathans piled up on the Red King, covering the entire area with smoke. His energy signature was gone, unable to be sensed. The few remaining Xy’phers stood in shock as their King disappeared beneath the mass of Leviathans. Everything was still and the King was gone.

“I… I don’t feel him anymore.” Nia whispered. “His presences is gone!”
 
Cayde braced against the torrent of wind and smoke that engulfed him in the final strike against the Red King, disappearing for a few moments in the intense chaos. As the wind died down, however, the android slowly straightened himself out and stepped forward, an edge of tenseness still present in his movements. Nia's proclamation prompted his head to turn, and upon looking back at the crater one last time, Cayde exhaled a large sigh while his bright blue eyes glanced around, the man quietly walking over to the gathered team that was present and dusting his gloved hands.

"Looks like we're all done and dusted here, kiddos. Ramen's on me!"



Vegetto's silver eyes followed the Red King as he fell towards the ground, having prepared to follow after and resume the assault. Yet once Cuki and Zenta rushed the King, Vegetto relaxed his tense arms; the silver pupils watching on while the Red King was engulfed in a massive explosion of smoke and wind. The Potara fusion barely moved as his gi and hair ruffled violently against the winds, the gleam of silver still shining through the darkness left in the wake of the smoke and explosive corrosion.

Once the Red King was gone from view, Vegetto briefly paused at the glance on the ground before slowly turning his eyes out to the horizon. His eyebrows furrowed, and like a curious mind exploring a strange land for the first time, he reached up slowly and swiped at his aura with his left hand. The crystal-like ice that swirled around him faded at the command, the entire aura dissipating away while Vegetto floated forward a few meters; speaking outwards to no one in particular.

"The wind feels...familiar, yet different without him."

Exhaling deeply, the steely glow of silver from his pupils resonated brightly, Vegetto's stare forward without a target to focus on.

"But finally...I have a moment of peace."
 
May says handing a circlit with a blue stone in the center "This is a Psy-amplifer this should give you plenty of abilty to do what i ask. Just put it on your head." May thinks "Good thing I made note it was one the idioms that my base sold before being my base." May asks "so once Nia has the Xy'phers what do we do with them?"

May says "Can someone confirm the king is dead?" May thinks "I gest I will be asked to restore this place." She takes out orbs in order to search the doom's castle and assess it.
 
Once the violet stream of wind and smoke subsided, the creature hovering above them started to become transparent. The heavy pressure from its presence alone fades; the dark sky disappears, returning to normal. To any outsider, Bernkastel remained in the air, unmoving. Her facial expressions were dull; almost blank.

“Congratulations, little one. You somewhat managed to perform your first illusion without issues. They couldn’t not tell whether its real or not… brilliantly done.” Guardian appeared in front of her, towering over her. She placed her right index finger on Bernkastel’s lips and looked directly at her eyes. “Half already gone.” She nods once, gently brushing away the Witch’s hair to check something. “I was half expected for you to hesitate—not everyone is willing to forgo a chunk of their emotions.” She was looking for something, but after moments of searching, she stopped. Whatever she was looking for, she couldn’t find.

“I’ll have to alter my approach since this is the first time someone made it this far.” Guardian pondered. “We’ll deal with this in the future.” She looks at the illusion of the creature disappearing. “Making an illusion that elaborate, especially for a first timer, takes a large toll on your body. You won’t be able to move for a while. Use the time to properly rest. Until next time, little one.” Guardian vanished from Bernkastel’s sight.


The illusion of the creature fades away until there is not a single trace of it left. Immediately, a sudden jolt of force whipped around the Witch’s body. All her energy simply vanished due to the effects of using Clear Mind to create such a masterful illusion. Gravity became heavier for her, forcing her to the ground from the sky, followed by a sudden urge to vomit increased rapidly.

--

“Thank you,” Spawn expressed gratitude to Bara. He noticed the sky-blue sky; no longer red nor red. The creature was done, and the Red King, at least implied by Nia, is thoroughly defeated. No longer under that constant dark presence from the creature, his body relaxed and took a deep breath. The cloak was still taking its time coming out; however.

“That… was an illusion?”

--

“An illusion….” Lilith said, relieved. “I couldn’t tell… my senses were…”

“Manipulated? Warped?” Who knows.” Lucifer wiped the sweat from his forehead. “If a mere illusion can put all of us at a loss, imagine the actual thing.” The angel recalled that the King had its mind took over the instantly he attempts to escape this world.

“And Bernkastel?”

“I don’t know what kind of ability she displays to perform something that bypass our senses of reality and fiction.” Lucifer said. “A truly frightening ability.” Taking a deep breath, he’d turned to the crater where the Red King fell in. “Nevertheless, that provided the Breakers the opportunity to strike. Even that ninja boy transformed, although it is quite a shame I didn’t have a chance to enjoy every aspect of Avalon nearly perishing earlier. Next time.” He adjusted his suit and dusted off any excess dirt that accumulated from the Red King’s fall. “Heh… it seems that Red King experienced something new… pain. And like that, he folds like a house of cards.” The angel stared towards the crater covered in thick smoke. “What will you do, now?” He questioned, pondering if this was truly the end of the Red King.

--

Detective Spawn jumped off the dragon. “You did good, kid. Thought you were a bit of a try hard. Reminds me of a certain someone back in my world. But you did good.” Straight away, the hellspawn noticed the embrace shared between Bage and Panich.

[Flashback]

“I’ve met her. Somewhere in my memories, she was… a friend.” Detective Goku held a mug of black coffee, taking small sips. “Sister of Vegeta… This world is all kinds of crazy.”

“Why did you lie?” Spawn said. “Could’ve spare her some heartache.”

“… because eventually, I will feel nothing.” Goku responded. “Better to stop it now before then. I’ll eventually inform Bage once he gets back. Assuming I still maintain these emotions that long. Maybe I’ll have enough to at least do a proper apology.”

[Flashback]


The hellspawn felt sympathetic that Bage was thrown into chaos. With the death of Goku, his secret mission of tracking down Bernkastel, Zenta and Lucifer, the connections with Valeria, and the investigation of the Red King scenario; it can become a burden. Seeing Panich at such a state… its no wonder that Bage felt like he couldn’t go on. But somehow, the Saiyan Detective managed to pull through and go after her. It’s only fair to let Bage cherish this moment a little longer.

Spawn placed his hand on Nia’s shoulders. “Are you sure the Red King’s dead? He doesn’t have a transformation or hidden power, right?”

----

A sudden jolt of power brushes past Vegetto, followed by Spina speeding through. Pushing the fusion aside, the old Saiyan, back to his base form, landed on the edge of the crater. Moments passed, and the Red King didn’t rise at all, much to the Saiyan’s disappointment. “All talk, then. Few punches and you’re down for the count.”

“Another debt down. Just a little more…”

Spina did a few stretches to get a feel for them after the psychic hold force their bodies to bend in places it shouldn’t have. His tail swayed back and forth; his muscles tightened greatly. He stares into the blue sky, seeing that it was an illusion done by Bernkastel. His eyes narrowed at the Witch with desire of battle. “Soon.”

He lowered his head, staring at the crater once more. Spina spoke more loudly for anyone to hear. “Pathetic. I have no uses for those who’s stuck in stagnation.”
 
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"There shouldn't even be any question what to do with 'em, May," Berserk finally spoke up after the creature in the sky disappeared. It was the first time since her nightmare that she experienced such bone-chilling fear at the sight of a monster. The illusion was so real that she couldn't will herself to move or even budge under the pressure it exerted over them; it made her feel utterly helpless that she could do nothing for Avalon. Berserk still looked pale and clammy, though her expression was now replaced with simmering rage as her eyes began to glow. "I think now's as good a time as any to wipe out the stragglers now that the link is gone. I doubt they're good for anything otherwise so let's crush 'em. It'll only take me a few seconds once Nia gets ahold of the survivors."

====
"It's not like I wanted to get rid of them... but recently they've begun to manifest and... exacerbate the situation," Bernkastel replied to Guardian, her eyes softening slightly. "Failure is unacceptable... not an option at this point. I can't hesitate just because some feelings get in the way. But now that I have Clear Mind, I can easily control things to sway as the need fits. Not just for my own agenda, it's all for the greater good of the team; the strife that had its chokehold on us will be no more so long as I use this. The price is a pittance for the results I'm getting," she declared confidently. Her parting words came as the illusion dissolved before them. "...I'll have questions for you next time we meet. Later."

Then came the sudden jolt through Bernkastel's body, as if lightning struck all of her nerves at once. Her once collected expression wiped away as her eyes widened, taken aback by the suden sensation. Was she being attacked? No-- in a millisecond, she found herself back in reality. The bright blue sky the first thing she saw as every ounce of energy left her body. Then came the pull of gravity practically throwing her down towards the ground.

"Wha--" her eyes widened even further seeing the ground get closer and closer-- nevermind the explosions and chaos going on below. She barely could process what was happening to herself. Flailing her arms weakly, Bernkastel failed to float or regain her footing as she normally could. "Agh-- my... my head!" Flinching her eyes shut, she recoiled and gripped her head. Her body broke out in a cold sweat through the splitting headache, her vision filling itself with stars. Unable and unaware, the Witch landed on the ground with no move to break her fall. Groaning in pain, Bern rolled to her side to push herself into a kneeling position on all fours. Her pallid face drained itself of whatever color left before she tried to cover her mouth with a hand-- dark blood seeped through her fingers, heaving it up as the puddles on the ground were stained in red splatters. It even dripped out of her nose, the iron scent nauseating Bernkastel even more. This must be the compensation-- not good... I can't move... at all... it hurts just to breathe...
Breathless, she glanced at the plumes of smoke and making a hurried assessment of the current situation. Berserk floated over, grimacing in mild disgust from the sight.

"You're finally back-- but whoa. You uh, look like shit," said the Powerpunk, helping Bern sit up to a more comfortable position. After giving Bernkastel a rundown of the battle, she patted the Witch on the back. "But it's all over now, yeah? Nia said so, she can't feel the King's presence anymore! He got folded like paper-- we just have to finish cleaning house and this'll all be behind us."

Bernkastel shook her head in disagreement. Seeing the Breakers near the smoking crater evoked a terrible flashback to the Doom battle. Doom let them think they won and struck after their guard was down. "Back..." Her voice was hoarse and barely audible. "Get... back!" Since she couldn't go back into Clear Mind due to the exhaustion, Bernkastel was evidently suspicious and tried calling out to them. Berserk glanced back at the others with confusion, shrugging at a loss for what to say. "Wh-what for? C'mon now, you're makin' me nervous here, Bernie..."
 
Panich held tight onto Bage’s shirt, if she were able, she’d be crying. After all this time, he was finally in her arms. She feared letting go as if he would be taken away from her. Bage on the other hand was in disbelief, as if this were some cruel trick being played on him before his demise. He was silent for a few seconds before lightly embracing the crystalized Saiyan in his own arms. The world was quiet. There wasn’t any more battling around them. The Vortex was quiet.

”Is it really you…?” He asked, “You’re not trying to trick me…?”

Panich let out a tired chuckle, loosening her hold on her sweetheart to look up and into his eyes. “of course it is. At least now.”

The detective was completely welling with emotions. It was Panich. HIS Panich. A sense of relief washed over him as he relaxed into her hold. He wrapped his arms tightly around Panich's Xy'pher body. It was almost like a dream, but she was here, right in front of him. And soon before he knew it, all his worries, all his fears came pouring out in tears. “PANICH! I've missed you more than you could ever imagine! I thought I'd never get to hold you again! I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry I took so long to find you…! I felt so terrible when I saw you like that! You were hurt! You were turned into this and I-”

“Hey, hey!” Panich stopped the big lug in his tracks before continuing. “It's just like you to worry so much. Don’t blame yourself, you’re not responsible for this.” It warmed her heart to see how much he cared for her. The Xy’pher Saiyan simply wiped away his tears with her thumb. Bage went silent for a second, his skin feeling cold at the crystal finger on his cheek.

“Right… There’s just so much I wanna say... I really missed you.” He spoke up again, taking her hard, cold hands in his own. Panich frowned slightly, as she couldn’t feel the touch.

”How were you able to find this place…?” Panich asked, but she seemed to perk up at the thought of something. “Did Cuki bring you?! Is she here?”

“Oh right, actually, she and the rest of your old team helped me,” Bage answered, turning toward where the others had blown up the king. “We should probably meet up with them.”

Panich grimaced slightly, her mind taking her back to her Breaker betrayal, she seemed reluctant but nodded in agreement if only to follow him and see Cuki. “I suppose.”

"Don't look so discouraged, they came all this way didn't they?" Bage tried to reassure before rising to his feet and holding out his hand to take hers. Panich gave a small smile before reaching up and grabbing Bage's hand.

"I guess your right. Let's go." She replied.
 
Majin Bara relaxed for a moment, but overhearing Bernkastel's words, she cautiously stepped back from the crater that was ahead, her guard raised up.
"These villains need to learn that when they're defeated, just stop trying to still upend things..." she muttered, "It's getting a bit of a cliché to see them still trying to make any victory costly for us when it already has cost us this much; when they're down, they need to STAY down and AT LEAST face their defeat with SOME level of dignity and honor."
 
May says "My vote is to save those that coins were crystals if they want to go back to befor they were xy'pherd but in a unity since those naturally accruing xy'phers I think could be useful in restoring doom castle." May taps her foot to indicate that they should be near if not in doom castle. May says "That is if Nia's mind can hadal being the over mind for this group."

May says "You all can take my thought under advisement and a bit of optimum." May thinks "I gest I should start mapping doom castle see what needs fixing. I wonder how extensive the damages are add to the fact we may have to deal with a hostile A.I."
 
Is this truly it? Have I been bested by the mortals? Did these mortals defeat the ultimate lifeform..? Did they defeat… The Red King, the strongest Esper in the whole universe? The perfect lifeform..?

Although he was in a crater, the Red King could still see the illusion before him. He remained frozen in fear, however, once the illusion started to fade away, his mind began to try to fill in the gaps.

What..? An illusion? The King paused to himself. Did these lower lifeforms… trick ME? Did they make a mockery out of ME?! They dare touch me, then mock ME?!

The ground around the King started to rumble before grinding itself into dust. All around the Red King was a scarlet aura that started to burn away the debris crushing him. His usually vacant eyes, for the first time, changed shape, showing rage. The aura burned away at a boulder that had cracked the front part of his face, almost giving him a mouth. The energy seeped through this jagged scowl like a wisp, and his new mouth hissed with the intense heat he was releasing.

No! NO! I will not let these mortals turn me into a fool! NO!



An illusion..? Zenta thought as his ‘vision’ of the mysterious creature faded, returning everything to black. Was it Lady Bernkastel’s doing? Only she could wield that type of magical power… but how was it so real? It was like the Lady in the Dress… or was that Bernkastel’s magic too…?

So that thing in the sky was an illusion the whole time
? Cuki pondered. It felt so real… but what was that thing? As soon as I saw it, everything got… cold.

“Cuki,” Zenta said as he landed softly next to her. “Nia said that the King has perished.” The beast sounded excited, mostly because he finally got to see his student again. His tails were wagging with joy. “Come, let us regroup and—"

“So that’s it?” Cuki spat. “Hmph. What a waste of time.”

“Tell me about it… Oh well.” Byakko sighed exaggeratedly. “Kinda boring if you ask me.”

“Now that he’s dead, we should get going.”

“Hold on, Cuki.” Zenta said, placing a hand on his student’s shoulder. “You just got here, at least catch up on what the rest of the Breakers are doing.” His shoulders slumped slightly at the state of his student. “Besides, I missed you.”

“I… I…” There was a small pause for Cuki. Her dead and vacant expression changed, and a tiny smile formed. Her cold personal warmed up slightly as she gazed at her Master. A weight was lifted from her shoulders with his words. “I missed you too, Master. I missed all of you…”



“I can’t sense him anymore,” Nia replied to Spawn. “And no, he doesn’t have any transformations. His frail body took a thrashing, so I doubt there is anything left of him.” She started to clap her hands, proclaiming the Breakers victory. “The Red King is dead! His reign of terror will vanish like his legacy! The Breakers are the Heroes of this world!”

As Nia looked around the battlefield, something caught her eye. Very few Xy’phers remained, spread sparsely throughout the entire land. Some were wounded, and some were rising to her feet, but there were still Xy’phers. Nia continued to look, almost as if waiting for something to happen but never did. The clapping stopped, as did her cheering; her expression slowly went from happy to anxious. She started to shake slightly.

“They aren’t disappearing…” Nia said softly. “The Xy’phers… they aren’t disappearing. Why aren’t they disappearing?!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Cuki stared at Nia.

“All Xy’phers usually disappear once the King is dead. I-It’s supposed to happen! It’s coded into all of us!”

Fissures began to shift the ground around the Breakers as a red, glittering aura seeped through the cracks. “Breakers! The King! He’s—"

Before Nia could finish her warning, a violent explosion came from the crater. Scarlet energy flew into the sky, turning it entirely red, making the field a reddish hue. Fissures started to form and lift the ground apart. A shining red orb flew into the sky, taking Spina with it. Within the orb was the Broken Red King as he held Spina by his shirt with his arm-robe.

“Pathetic am I?!” The King shouted. “You dare speak to me as if I am beneath YOU?! I am your superior! I am your lord!”

Suddenly, Spina’s arms and legs broke at the same time, but he was unable to scream due to the King grabbing his face and inching closer.

“I AM THE RED KING!”

The King’s eyes shined brightly, blinding Spina. To Spina, all he felt was a numbness from the middle of his chest to his feet. To the Breakers, however, they saw his entire body torn in half by the Red King, creating a waterfall of blood. In order to taunt Spina in his final moments, The King laughed as he held the other half of Spina’s body in front of him.

“You’re all talk. Just a few twists and turns, and you’re already down for the count.” The Red King mocked what Spina said to him. “Pathetic!

red-king-jpg.195


BOSS FIGHT [ FINAL BATTLE ]: THE RED EMPEROR [EVOLVED]
SURVIVAL CHANCE: ???%
STATUS: The Red Emperor is constantly evolving now that he's broken his limits!

The two halves of Spina flung away from each other as the King gazed directly towards the Breakers, particularly at Bernkastel. A loud rumbling came from in front of them as the King began to lift the entire crystallized Doom castle. Doom’s moving castle continued to float in the air until it was above the King and covered the Vortex Moon from view.

“You Breakers truly are fascinating! This surge of power, I have broken my own limits! I am above flaws! The true pinnacle, the image, of perfection! I AM REBORN, BREAKERS!” The King laughed before flinging Doom’s massive castle towards the Breakers. “I will conquer every corner of this pathetic world! If you won’t bow to me, then I’ll force you!”

As the castle flew at high speeds to the Breakers, the dragon Avalon was inside slammed its hands against the castle, trying to slow it down. However, before Avalon’s dragon could do much to deter the castle, the Red King flew by the Dragon’s side and used his robe-fingers to mimic the act of slicing. Not even a moment later, the scarlet energy that came from the King’s body manifested itself by the dragon’s neck and followed the King’s motion. In one clean slice, the dragon had been decapitated. The body went limp before falling on top of the Breakers as a very heavy rain. The head, however, stayed intact, and Avalon was seen bleeding from his side as he writhed from pain, even in his state.

“I am no longer the Red King! I am the Red Emperor!!!”
 
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