Lune's whisper was almost lost beneath the roar of collapsing buildings.
"Something else... is watching us."
Mika looked toward the Rift, but all she saw was an endless sea of crimson darkness.
"I don't see anything."
"You wouldn't," Lune replied, her voice trembling. "It's looking through the Rift... not standing inside it."
Kael heard her.
His eyes narrowed as he slowly lifted his gaze toward the golden eyes hidden beyond the darkness.
For the first time since the battle began, he frowned.
"So... you've awakened."
The Warden followed Kael's line of sight.
Its grip on the spear tightened.
"It wasn't supposed to notice this world."
The golden eyes blinked once.
Nothing happened.
Yet every Judge immediately lowered its head.
Every Herald dropped to one knee.
Even the crimson Rift became perfectly still.
It was as if reality itself was waiting for permission to continue.
Ari felt a chill run through his body.
"Who is it?"
No one answered.
Not because they refused.
Because none of them truly knew.
The Seven Rulers, watching from their chamber beyond the dimensions, suddenly stood from their thrones.
One of them spoke for the first time since the battle had begun.
"Close the Rift."
Another turned sharply.
"What?"
"Close it now."
"The Observer has awakened."
Panic spread through the chamber.
The eldest ruler remained seated, but even his calm expression had disappeared.
"We've made a mistake."
Back above Earth, the golden eyes slowly disappeared into the darkness.
The pressure vanished with them.
The Judges immediately regained their composure.
The Warden looked toward Kael.
"It has lost interest."
"For now," Kael answered.
The Warden nodded.
"That buys us time."
Ari looked between them.
"You both sound relieved."
Kael remained silent.
The armored warrior answered instead.
"You should be relieved too."
"If that thing had stepped through..."
He looked toward the crimson Rift.
"...there wouldn't have been a battle."
"There would have been an ending."
Before Ari could ask another question, the city shook violently.
Dozens of new Rifts opened across the skyline.
Unlike the crimson one above them, these were deep violet.
Monsters poured out in endless waves.
Beasts covered in obsidian scales.
Winged creatures with burning blue eyes.
Towering giants carrying clubs carved from crystal.
The surviving hunters immediately moved to intercept them.
"They're attacking the evacuation routes!"
Leon drew his sword.
"I'll help the guilds."
Kael nodded.
"Keep the civilians alive."
Leon vanished into the city.
The armored warrior looked toward Ari and Mika.
"This is your battlefield."
Ari understood immediately.
Kael and the Warden were about to clash again.
The city needed defenders.
He turned toward Mika.
"Let's split up."
She smirked.
"Try not to fall behind."
They shot in opposite directions.
Lune remained beside Kael.
"I should help them."
"You will."
Kael placed a hand gently on her shoulder.
"But first..."
He looked directly into her glowing golden eyes.
"...tell me what you heard."
Lune closed her eyes.
For a long moment, she remained silent.
Then she spoke.
"It wasn't speaking to everyone."
"It was speaking to you."
Kael's expression hardened.
"What did it say?"
Lune hesitated.
"It called you..."
She swallowed.
"...the Last Anchor."
Silence.
Even the Warden looked surprised.
"The Last?"
Kael whispered.
Lune nodded.
"It said..."
Her voice grew quieter.
"...'When the Last Anchor falls, every door shall open.'"
The Warden lowered its spear.
"So that's why."
Kael looked toward him.
"You know what it means."
"I know enough."
The Warden turned toward the crimson Rift.
"The Anchors weren't created to stabilize reality."
"They were created to keep something imprisoned."
Ari, who had not gone far, froze as those words reached him through the communicator.
"Imprisoned?"
Kael sighed.
"I wanted to tell you when this war was over."
Mika's voice crackled through the communicator.
"I don't think we're getting that luxury."
A deafening roar echoed from the eastern district.
A giant beast had emerged from one of the violet Rifts, towering over the surrounding skyscrapers.
Its body resembled a wolf forged from black crystal, with six glowing tails sweeping through the streets and destroying everything in their path.
Hunters attacked from every direction.
None of their attacks left a mark.
Ari sprinted toward the creature.
His barriers slammed into its jaws just as it lunged toward a crowded shelter.
The impact threw him backward, but the civilians escaped.
The beast turned its glowing eyes toward him.
Then it smiled.
"Interesting."
Ari stopped.
It had spoken.
Monsters didn't speak.
The crystal wolf took a step forward.
"I wondered what descendants of the First Hunter would look like."
Ari felt his heartbeat quicken.
"You know Kael?"
The wolf laughed.
"I knew him..."
Its six tails spread behind it.
"...before your species learned how to make fire."
Ari's grip tightened.
The battlefield was becoming larger than he had ever imagined.
This wasn't simply an invasion.
It was the return of beings who had witnessed the beginning of history itself.
High above, Kael slowly lifted the Blade of Ending once more.
The Warden mirrored the movement with his spear.
Neither man spoke.
Words had become unnecessary.
Old friends.
Ancient rivals.
Two Guardians burdened by different beliefs.
Their final duel was about to decide far more than the fate of one city.
And somewhere beyond the reach of every world, the unseen Observer opened its golden eyes once again, watching the battle with growing curiosity.