The chains constricted around Cocolia's neck with ruthless precision, their golden links grinding against the blackened ice that formed her body.
Sunny did not mistake the act for a decisive victory.
The force was enough to crush most beings outright, enough to end a life before resistance could even begin, yet Cocolia no longer existed within those limits.
They tore across the fractured terrain together, their bodies dragged by momentum as the world beneath them continued to fail. The ground split and shifted, cracks widening into jagged trenches while debris fell endlessly from above. Each impact reverberated through Sunny's frame, sending tremors through bone and shadow alike, yet his grip did not loosen. The golden shackles around his wrists pulsed in steady rhythm, feeding power into the chains as they tightened around her throat, anchoring her to him despite the chaos threatening to separate them.
His condition worsened beneath the surface of movement and force.
The cold that had taken root within his mind and soul deepened with every passing second, slowing his thoughts and dulling the sharp clarity that had once guided his actions. The damage to his true shadow remained unresolved, an unseen fracture that introduced subtle delays into his movements. Silent Mist resisted the encroaching freeze, its haze forming a barrier that kept him from collapse, but the cost was constant. Shadow Essence drained steadily, the expenditure mounting with every second he forced himself to keep moving.
His gaze shifted, tracking the instability around them as they tumbled. The terrain itself had become unpredictable, waves of force distorting the ground in ways that defied natural behavior. He did not know what caused it, but understanding was unnecessary. Instability created opportunity, and opportunity was all he required.
Above, fragments of stone and ice fell in an endless cascade. Among them, Hail Sorrow spun in silence, having been torn free when he had embedded it earlier. For a brief moment, it seemed suspended against the fractured sky, distant but unmistakable.
Sunny reacted without hesitation. One arm snapped outward, and a chain followed, its motion precise despite the disorder surrounding them. The golden links wove through falling debris before coiling tightly around the weapon's hilt. The moment it connected, the blade stabilized, drawn firmly into his control as the chain anchored it.
He swung.
The chain moved sharply, and Hail Sorrow followed in a clean arc through the air. The blade descended toward Cocolia, its trajectory guided with exacting intent even as she struggled against the constriction at her neck. She retained enough mobility to respond, her strength preventing full immobilization.
Her spears rose to meet the strike, intercepting it with perfect timing.
Yet the nature of the attack had shifted. As the blade descended, golden light enveloped it, Destruction flowing across its surface until it became more than steel. It was no longer simply a weapon. It was an extension of the force that defined Sunny's existence in that moment.
The collision released a violent surge. Energy burst outward, scattering debris and forcing both of them deeper into the fractured ground. Cocolia's focus sharpened entirely, her attention locked onto deflecting the blade as she committed fully to resisting its force.
That focus created an opening.
The instant the weapon was forced away, Sunny dismissed it. Hail Sorrow dissolved into white sparks, returning to his soul sea before it could be redirected or contested.
His chains shifted immediately. One lashed toward a falling mass of stone, wrapping around it with the same controlled precision. Golden fractures spread across the rock the moment the chain tightened, Destruction infusing it completely.
He swung again.
The stone struck Cocolia's head with brutal force, shattering it into fragments of ice and corruption. The pieces scattered outward before beginning to reform, but the impact had already driven her downward, disrupting her rhythm long enough for him to continue.
It did not matter what he used.
Any object, any fragment of the battlefield, could become a weapon. The chains imposed Destruction onto whatever they touched, turning the world itself into an extension of his Will.
For Sunny, Destruction was not an end. It was a means. A tool that bound him to his opponent, forcing them into a cycle where conflict persisted until something gave way completely. It was not about efficiency or elegance.
It was about vengeance.
Ironic, considering his sole purpose was to spite the world.
The Shadow Lantern opened the Gates of Shadow, and darkness spread outward in response. Sunny pressed his hand against the ground, and the chains sank into the shadows as though merging with them.
They erupted a moment later. Tendrils of shadow burst upward, each threaded with golden cracks that pulsed with destructive force. They lashed toward Cocolia from multiple directions, their paths shifting unpredictably.
She reacted with immediate precision. Her body twisted unnaturally, limbs elongating as she evaded the first wave. Her claws cut through the air as she adjusted her position, golden eyes burning with focused malice.
The chains remained around her neck, and they interfered constantly. Each movement she made was subtly altered, her balance disrupted at the worst possible moment. The interference did not stop her entirely, but it created fractures in her defense.
The tendrils struck repeatedly, yet her form endured. Damage appeared and vanished in rapid succession, her Corrupted soul reinforcing her existence faster than the attacks could dismantle it.
Still, she did not see him.
Sunny used the chains as leverage, pulling himself forward through the battlefield with force that bypassed distance. He closed the gap while her attention remained divided.
Beyond them, the clash between the Wolf Devil and the Drake Devil reached a critical point. Their attacks collided with catastrophic force, releasing shockwaves that rippled across the environment. The spores released by the wolf ignited upon contact with the sparks from their clash, triggering a massive explosion that tore through the distance.
The shockwave expanded rapidly, distorting the terrain as it advanced.
Sunny felt the pressure build before it reached them, even as he questioned what was even happening. He adjusted instantly. As he reached Cocolia, he seized her face without hesitation.
The shadows responded.
A sphere formed around them, dense and absolute, sealing them within a confined space as their momentum carried them forward. The outside world vanished, replaced by darkness that held only the two of them.
Then the shockwave struck.
The sphere was launched backward, propelled through the air as the explosion tore across the landscape. Inside, there was no room for distance or reach.
Cocolia's spears vanished. Her claws replaced them.
She lunged, her fingers tearing into Sunny's armor. The Transcendent protection and Marble Shell resisted, but the force behind her strikes broke through in places.
Sunny did not yield space. He met her directly, striking back with controlled violence. Fists, elbows, and knees drove into her chest repeatedly, each blow carrying Destruction as he attempted to break through the armored ice protecting her core.
It did not break.
He shifted tactics without hesitation.
As they rolled, their positions changing constantly, he lunged forward and sank his teeth into her shoulder. The sensation was cold and unnatural, but he tore through it regardless. A portion of her flesh came free, golden blood spilling as he ripped it away.
The wound closed almost immediately, freezing over as though nothing had occurred.
He did not pause.
Weaver's Mask formed over his face, its lacquered surface shaping into the visage of a horned demon. His Flaw reversed in that instant, turning him into a compulsive liar.
He drew back and drove his head forward. The impact shattered hers completely, pulverizing it under the force of a Divine Memory.
Before the effect could settle, he dismissed the mask.
His next action followed immediately. He bit into her exposed spine, tearing a portion free with force that disregarded resistance. Gripping her shattered horn, he drove both into her chest, piercing through the armored ice.
The strike faltered at the final moment. The motion of the sphere, the instability of their rolling momentum, altered the angle just enough.
He missed her heart.
The sphere shattered upon impact with a mountain. The shadows dispersed, releasing them back into the collapsing battlefield.
Sunny was thrown backward across the snow, the force of the collision disorienting even through his defenses. Pain registered distantly as he felt the damage across his back, two long wounds frozen into place where her claws had struck.
The cold intensified further. It pressed into his mind and soul, accelerating the freeze that threatened to halt him entirely. Silent Mist thickened its presence, a black haze forming within to protect him, but the cost rose sharply. His reserves diminished as he forced himself upright.
He steadied himself and focused.
Cocolia stood near the mountain, her body reforming as she tore the embedded remnants from her chest. The damage sealed quickly, her armor restoring itself without hesitation.
Behind her, the mountain shifted. The structure had been compromised, its balance unstable.
Sunny's lips curved into a restrained grin, golden blood marking his expression.
He raised his hand.
Morgan's Warbow formed within his grasp, its presence solidifying as he prepared his next action. The battlefield continued to collapse around them, sky fractured and ground unstable, yet neither paused.
A white flake fell between Sunny's eyes. Then, another. A few moments later, countless white specks gently fell to the snowy lands.
Snow continued to fall from the heavens as Sunny drew on the crimson string, a black arrow forming.