The battlefield had become a graveyard of fire.
Blue plasma beams tore through the shattered skyline, carving molten scars into the broken towers of Delhi. The red sky above trembled beneath the roar of alien warships, while the earth below cracked under the pressure of colliding auras.
At the centre of the storm stood Rudra.
Blood covered half his face.
His breathing had turned ragged.
Yet his eyes burnt brighter than the flames surrounding him.
The alien soldiers rushed forward in endless waves.
Rudra lifted his hand.
Purple lightning burst from his palm.
BOOM!
The front line of enemies was blasted apart, their metallic armour melting into pools of glowing slag.
But more came.
Always more.
Like an ocean with no shore.
And then—
A silver figure landed before him.
Luna.
The Sword Saint.
Her white hair fluttered in the burning wind, stained crimson at the tips.
She had already died once.
At least, that was what fate had decreed.
But in this moment, time itself seemed to slow.
This was the memory Rudra's heart had tried to bury.
The moment that haunted every breath of his final hours.
"Master," Luna said softly, her silver blade pointed toward the sky, "you must survive."
Rudra's expression twisted.
"No."
The word came out as a growl.
"No one dies today."
But even as he said it, he already knew.
This was the path that had led to his destruction.
The first warship cannon fired.
A beam of pure blue annihilation descended.
Luna moved.
Too fast.
She stepped into the light.
Her sword flashed.
For a single second, the heavens split.
Then the beam pierced straight through her body.
Silence.
Rudra's pupils shrank.
The silver blade slipped from her fingers.
Her body swayed.
Blood bloomed across her chest like a crimson flower.
She turned to him.
And smiled.
The same smile she had worn the day she first became his disciple.
Warm.
Gentle.
Unshaken.
"In every life… I would choose to stand beside you, Master."
The world stopped.
Rudra lunged forward.
But he was too late.
Luna's body dissolved into countless silver motes, rising into the burning sky like dying stars.
The first star had fallen.
"LUNAAA!"
His scream shook the battlefield.
But fate was not finished.
A roar thundered from behind.
Scarlet flames erupted as Aria, the Crimson Spear Queen, charged into the alien ranks.
Her spear spun like a storm.
One strike.
Ten enemies shattered.
Second strike.
A war beast's skull exploded.
Third strike—
A plasma cannon pierced through her side.
She staggered.
Then laughed.
"Looks like… I'm still faster than them."
Her eyes found Rudra.
"Don't look like that, Master."
She coughed up blood.
"I never regretted following you."
Then she turned and threw herself into the enemy core.
BOOM!
A blinding explosion consumed half the battlefield.
The second star had fallen.
Rudra's knees trembled.
"No…"
One by one, they came forward.
Mira, the Divine Healer, stepped beside him.
Golden light flowed from her hands, sealing his poisoned wound.
Her face had gone pale.
He knew what that meant.
She was burning her life force.
"Stop!" Rudra shouted.
She shook her head.
"Your life is worth more than mine."
Tears blurred his vision.
She smiled sadly.
"In the next life… please take better care of yourself."
Her body collapsed into golden dust.
The third star had fallen.
Then came Selene.
The Celestial Seer.
Her violet eyes glowed with divine symbols.
She raised both hands.
A forbidden formation spread across the sky.
Time slowed.
Warships froze.
Even the flames halted in midair.
Blood ran from her eyes.
Her soul was breaking.
Rudra stepped toward her.
"Selene—"
She whispered without turning back.
"I saw countless futures."
Her voice trembled.
"And in every single one… I chose you."
The formation shattered.
Her body vanished into violet light.
The fourth star had fallen.
Then the fifth.
The sixth.
The seventh.
Each death carved another wound into Rudra's soul.
Every one of them died smiling.
Every one of them died protecting him.
By the time the smoke cleared, only two remained.
Nyla.
And Elena.
No—
not Elena.
His eyes narrowed.
Elena had already crossed over.
Then the truth hit him.
Only one disciple remained.
Nyla, the Shadow Hacker.
Her black coat fluttered as holographic symbols surrounded her.
She was controlling the city's remaining defence satellites.
"Master," she said with a grin, even as blood trickled down her chin, "I always did like going out with a bang."
The satellites fired.
Warships exploded across the sky.
But then a spear of void energy descended from above.
Straight toward Rudra.
Nyla saw it.
And moved.
The spear pierced through her back.
Her body jerked.
Rudra caught her before she fell.
Her fingers weakly gripped his robe.
Her usual playful smile had softened.
"You know…"
She coughed up blood.
"I really loved you."
Rudra froze.
Her eyes slowly dimmed.
"In every timeline."
Her hand slipped from his robe.
The final star had fallen.
Silence.
Ten empty spaces.
Ten shattered promises.
Ten women who had once called him Master.
Gone.
Rudra knelt amidst the ashes.
The red sky loomed above.
His body shook.
Not from fear.
Not from pain.
From grief.
From rage.
From regret.
He slowly rose.
His aura darkened.
Purple lightning and crimson flames erupted together.
The entire battlefield trembled.
His voice came out cold enough to freeze the heavens.
"I will make the world remember this night."
Above him, the largest alien warship began charging its final cannon.
A voice echoed through the sky.
"Eradication sequence initiated."
Rudra lifted his bloodstained face toward the heavens.
And smiled.
A smile filled with madness.
A smile born from absolute loss.
"Then let the heavens witness my wrath."