Everything slowed.
The world… was breaking.
The tear in the sky stretched wider.
Reality cracking like fragile glass.
The entity stood before them.
Damaged.
Flickering.
But still alive.
"Final… attempt…"
Its hand rose.
Power gathering—
Warping everything around it.
Juvy couldn't move.
Her body trembled.
Light barely responding.
"…No… not yet…"
Maxruell tried to stand—
His legs gave out.
Shadows scattered.
"…Damn it…"
They had nothing left.
Nothing to stop it.
— The Decision —
Juvy looked at Maxruell.
For a moment—
The battlefield disappeared.
No war.
No enemies.
Just them.
"…We can't stop it like this," she said quietly.
Maxruell didn't argue.
"…Yeah."
A pause.
"…So what are you thinking?"
Juvy's eyes hardened.
"…We push past it."
Maxruell frowned slightly.
"…That's not how limits work."
Juvy shook her head.
"…Not separately."
Silence.
Maxruell stared at her.
"…You mean—"
"…Yes."
— The Risk —
The entity's power surged.
Closer.
Closer.
Juvy stepped forward.
Her light flickering violently now.
Not stable.
Not calm.
Dangerous.
"…We don't merge completely," she said.
"…Just enough."
Maxruell stood slowly.
His shadows reacting again.
Unstable.
"…If this goes wrong…"
Juvy finished it.
"…We both disappear."
Silence.
The attack was seconds away.
Maxruell smirked.
"…You really know how to make things complicated."
Juvy almost smiled.
"…You still here?"
A pause.
Then—
"…Yeah."
— The Connection —
They stepped closer.
Not touching—
But close enough.
Light and shadow reacted instantly.
Stronger than before.
More intense.
The connection formed.
Not natural.
Not safe.
But real.
Juvy's eyes widened.
"…This is—"
Maxruell's voice dropped.
"…Different."
Their powers began to overlap.
Not blending—
Colliding.
The air cracked.
Reality bent around them.
The entity reacted.
"…Correction… required…"
Its attack released.
— Final Stand —
Juvy and Maxruell moved together.
Not perfectly.
Not cleanly.
But powerfully.
Light surged.
Darkness followed.
But this time—
They didn't stay separate.
They intersected.
A violent reaction.
A new force.
Unstable.
But overwhelming.
They pushed forward.
Against the attack.
Against reality itself.
Step by step.
The entity's power resisted.
But for the first time It was being pushed back.
— Breaking Point —
Juvy screamed.
Her light breaking apart.
Maxruell roared.
His shadows tearing at him.
Their connection—
Unstable.
Cracking.
"…JUST—A LITTLE—MORE—!" Juvy shouted.
"…DON'T STOP—!" Maxruell yelled.
Everything shook.
The sky screamed.
And then—
— Impact —
A blinding explosion.
Light.
Darkness.
Colliding completely.
The tear in the sky shattered.
Reality snapped back.
The entity—
Was consumed.
Silence.
Everything stopped.
The storm disappeared.
The sky healed.
The city… remained.
Two figures stood at the center.
Barely.
Then—
They fell.
At the same time.