The Tokyo battlefield had become a living nightmare. Flames and debris tore through the city, molten rivers flowed through crumbled streets, and floating fragments hovered as if reality itself had cracked. Rehan moved through the chaos, golden aura blazing, sword clutched tightly in hand. Across from him, Morgath, Upper Rank 2, hovered with green-black aura twisting space around him.
"You cannot escape the void, Rehan," Morgath hissed, claws slicing the air.
Rehan lunged, Phantom Severance cutting through the first of Morgath's rift-spikes. Gravity shifted beneath him, tearing at his balance, but his golden aura flared in response, stabilizing him mid-air.
"I will not fall… I will protect humanity!" Rehan shouted, every swing of his sword resonating with golden light.
Morgath's eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction.
"You fight well… but this world is not yours to command."
He extended both hands, creating a whirling vortex of green-black energy beneath Rehan. The rifts twisted space violently, pulling at Rehan's very being.
"What… what is happening?!" Rehan shouted, aura flaring wildly.
In an instant, the ground beneath him vanished. Floating debris, twisted steel, and fragments of concrete all dissolved into nothingness as Rehan was dragged into a separate void — a dimension completely controlled by Morgath. The air warped, gravity inverted, and a sickly green-black mist swirled around him.
"Morgath… you tricked me," Rehan muttered, gripping his sword. His golden aura pulsed, stabilizing him against the chaotic shifts.
This new dimension was a mirror of Tokyo, shattered and twisted, with fragments of streets and buildings floating in mid-air, all warped by Morgath's aura. Here, Rehan realized he was completely isolated from the rest of the battlefield.
Rehan remembered the moment Morgath first created the rifts. His initial strike had countered Morgath's mini-dimensions while still on the surface. But Morgath's smirk had been a warning — the Upper Demon had been studying his aura, waiting for the perfect moment. Then the vortex opened, and Rehan's footing gave way as Morgath's dimensional pull activated.
"A separate dimension… he's isolating me," Rehan thought, golden aura flaring like a sun in the dark void. "This is his test. I can't rely on anyone else… only myself."
He took a deep breath, aura stabilizing. His sword glowed with Phantom Severance energy, each swing cutting through fragments of unstable terrain.
"I'll turn his own dimension against him," he whispered.
Back on the surface, Ishita's scarlet aura flared uncontrollably. She had sensed Rehan's golden presence disappear abruptly, leaving a vacant space in her perception.
"No… he's gone!" Ishita screamed, hands clawing at the air as pulses of scarlet energy radiated outward, scattering nearby demons.
Li Wei's blue aura formed a stabilizing dome around her.
"Calm yourself, Ishita. This is Morgath's doing. He has pulled Rehan into a separate dimension — a trap specifically designed to isolate him."
Ishita's eyes widened, tears threatening, but she nodded.
"Can we reach him?"
Li Wei shook his head. "Not yet. That dimension is unstable and exists outside our perception. Rehan must stabilize his aura from within. But he is strong — he will adapt."
Ishita clenched her fists, scarlet aura flaring again, a visible pulse of determination.
"If he's trapped… I'll reach him. No matter what."
Inside the void, Rehan leapt between floating fragments, gravity twisting and inverting around him. Morgath hovered, green-black energy crackling, opening new rifts to destabilize him.
"You think you can outmaneuver me here?" Morgath hissed. "This void obeys me!"
Rehan ignored him. His golden aura flared, each swing of his sword cutting through the energy distortions. He discovered that each rift could be severed, redirected, or stabilized, allowing him to manipulate the chaotic terrain.
"If I fight carefully… I can use his own powers against him," Rehan muttered, moving with calculated precision.
Shards of floating debris became his battlefield, his strikes landing with lethal accuracy. Each swing of Phantom Severance sliced through Morgath's energy projections, gradually giving him control over small portions of the void.
Back on the surface, Ishita focused her scarlet aura, feeling Rehan's flickering golden light somewhere in the void.
"Li Wei… I can feel him! He's struggling!" she shouted, aura flaring in desperation.
Li Wei nodded, calm but tense. "Yes, but this is his trial. He must adapt. When he stabilizes, we can find a way to reach him."
Rehan floated amidst the shattered void, golden aura blazing, sword ready, facing Morgath's looming green-black form. On the surface, Ishita channeled scarlet energy, her gaze locked on his invisible struggle.
The split battlefield emphasized the stakes: Rehan alone in a warped dimension, Ishita and Li Wei preparing for the next move, and Morgath testing the limits of Rehan's power.