The Observer flew through the dark void like cosmic debris, the words of truth tearing at what remained of his core. He whispered to the depths of his soul, his bitterness overflowing with poison: "What is this that is happening? For all these eons, I was the dagger that stabbed my own family's heart! If I hadn't pursued the obsession of false revenge, would all this hell have begun? Damn me... what a despicable wretch I am! I killed my children, and I killed an innocent woman who had no fault other than being the mother of someone my destiny wronged!"
He looked down and saw a silver flash cutting through the darkness of the void. It was Arius, who had just returned to his bright "Silver" mode, rushing toward him like an executioner. Arius suddenly appeared above him, delivering a focused [Nysfair] strike that shattered the remains of his rocky armor and crushed him physically, causing the Observer to crash onto the dead floor, completely surrendering.
Arius stood over him, his silver hair swaying with the energy of the void, his silver eyes remaining as motionless as the surface of stagnant water.
The Observer coughed up black-tinged blood and said in a hoarse, broken voice: "I... is this what you really feel?" Arius did not answer; he remained steady like a statue of ice.
The Observer continued with a desperate smile: "Do you feel what I feel? This power must be draining your emotions severely right now, just as it did to me. It is a terrifying feeling... for although I saw the corpses of my family and saw the face of my miserable old self, I felt nothing! I didn't cry... I didn't get angry... I didn't even blink. And you now, you just lost your mother, and you are supposed to be torn by tears, yet you stand before me like a cold slab of ice... This power is not a means, Arius; it is a cage that makes us merely machines of annihilation, it seems."
The Observer sighed with difficulty, looked up at the dark sky, and said: "I apologize... although my apology will not bring back your mother, nor will it bring back my children and wife, whom I did the impossible to save. But I apologize because I hated you and harbored resentment toward you when you were never the cause of my problem. I wronged you and destroyed your life while you did nothing to me... I am truly sorry."
The Observer closed his distorted eyes and stretched his neck in absolute surrender: "You can kill me now if that satisfies you... take your revenge on a wretch like me, and I swear I will not resent you in my death... just... relieve me of this cursed existence!"
Arius remained silent, but the lavender aura around his hand began to intensify, taking the shape of a sharp blade of silver light. Time seemed to stop, waiting for the decision of the "Void" that resided in the depths of Arius. Arius spoke finally, his voice terrifyingly calm, devoid of any vibration of anger or hatred, a voice emerging from the depths of the void's stillness: "Tell me... why? You said earlier that someone was the one who granted you this immortality... who is he?"
The Observer looked into Arius's silver eyes, and in that moment, he saw no human, but a mirror reflecting his own end. He answered in a broken voice: "It is someone who wanted you erased from existence... He told me you were a very dangerous entity, and he was the one who planted in my mind the idea that you were the one who crushed my family... He gave me enough power to kill you and promised me freedom if I were finished with you."
The Observer coughed violently and continued bitterly: "I tried using this power of his millions of times to go back to the past and save them... I was obsessed with it. But I failed every time! Every time I went back, I felt strangely restricted, my path of movement forced in a specific direction, as if someone was manipulating me like a puppet in a pre-written play."
The Observer sighed and added: "And when I 'apparently' succeeded in saving them, a new timeline was immediately created, and I would return to my present to find nothing had changed... just endless timelines branching out that never touched my bitter reality. I even stopped trying and despaired... until I fought you today. When we returned together, I felt a strange freedom in that timeline, as if my chains had shattered just by your presence with me there... as if you were the only one capable of breaking that person's 'rules'."
Silence prevailed once again, but this time it was a silence heavy with truths. Arius did not waver, but his mind was analyzing every word; this "manipulator" who granted the Observer power and immortality, and who falsified the truth for him, aimed for one thing: to make Arius and the Observer destroy each other in a vicious cycle of hatred.
Arius slowly raised his hand, gathering a soft lavender energy that possessed the density of black holes. He looked at the Observer and said in a mechanical tone: "You were merely a tool in a story you did not write... and yet, this does not deny that I will finish you here. What you did to my mother is unforgivable, and I am not ungrateful for your remorse, but it is revenge... and revenge must be reclaimed now, otherwise everything that happened is worthless."
Arius was about to unleash the erasing strike, but his "own" instinct suddenly erupted; he felt a tearing in the fabric of reality behind him, and with a cold, spontaneous movement, he rushed hundreds of meters away to see who dared to intrude on his execution field.
From the heart of the void, the mysterious masked figure appeared. He slowly descended before the broken Observer and looked at him with a gaze of contempt and disgust that was evident despite the cloak hiding his features. Then he turned toward Arius, and his malicious smile, appearing from under the mask, widened: "You have exceeded my expectations, Arius... I didn't think you would reach this stage of coldness so quickly."
The masked figure looked again at the Observer, who was taking his last breaths, and said in a sadistic tone: "However, I am not finished with the fun yet... I need more chaos." The masked figure scratched his finger with his nail, and a single drop of blood, black as tar, fell onto the Observer's distorted body.
In an instant, the Observer began to thrash madly, and a dense black energy surged from him, tearing through what remained of his consciousness. The Observer screamed in a terrifying, overlapping voice: "What... what have you done to me?!" The masked figure laughed lightly: "Did you forget the price for that power you received? The price was to become one of my personal possessions! And now... you will go and get rid of him, otherwise I will blow up this blood clot of yours and turn you into a puddle of foul blood!"
The Observer's body rose automatically, and the look of remorse disappeared from his eyes, replaced by absolute whiteness and barbaric rage. The masked figure smiled as he stepped back: "Come on, Arius... show me how you will deal with my puppet now!"
The enraged Observer rushed toward Arius with insane speed, turning the void into a hell of explosions that wiped out entire universes in their path. The Observer was no longer fighting with consciousness; he had become a projectile of raw energy that knew no pain. Arius avoided the first attack with skill, but the Observer was faster and fiercer than before; he managed to grab Arius and pin him with tremendous force, then pulled him into a temporal rift he created by tearing space with his hands.
They were thrown again into that extended web of timelines. Arius managed to break free with a strike of his silver energy, but he was shocked when his opponent landed in front of him; the Observer's black aura was consuming the surrounding timelines to grow stronger.
The system window appeared before Arius's eyes, and the color red covered it entirely: [Dangerous Warning: Opponent's biological limits have been broken] [Observer's current power: 260 Septillion... and trending toward insane escalation]
Arius looked at the Observer, then at the masked figure watching from afar with coldness, and realized the real battle had begun now; he was not fighting just an "Observer," but the power of the "Masked Figure" embodied in this broken body.
The enraged Observer, having lost every grain of his humanity, rushed toward Arius like a hurricane of nebular darkness. Arius noticed coldly that his opponent's body began to crack and fracture terrifically; "Arius" realized that the Observer's body could not withstand the power of the "Silver Transformation" he had copied, as it was a void energy that tore weak vessels from the inside.
Their fists collided in the heart of the temporal web, causing a cosmic shockwave that shook the fabric of dimensions, leading to the collapse of the temporal rift and their violent return to the world of the broken Observer. Below, Raimus, Arlin, and Wang stood in astonishment, watching the sky as it tore apart and folded onto itself; they were unable to perceive the nature of the fight, for no energy could be sensed and no movements could be seen with the naked eye, only the roar of unknown explosions tearing the place, while the legions of the dark army continued to descend upon them like endless waves.
Up above, the fight turned into a crazy "digital race." The system window was flashing with numbers rising every millisecond: [Warning: Opponent's copied power exceeds cell stability limits] [Arius's power: Increasing... Observer's power: Increasing...]
Arius succeeded in penetrating the opponent's defenses and delivered a crushing punch that shattered his distorted ribcage. The Observer staggered for a moment, but he screamed madly: "It's useless! I regenerate every second, and my power increases thanks to you... thanks to your energy that I am stealing!"
Arius's coldness increased, and his features turned into an absolute stillness resembling the stillness of the grave. They clashed again and flew through space, pushing each other, leaving behind debris of matter and space. Suddenly, horror froze in the eyes of the enraged Observer; he felt a terrifying gap beginning to appear between him and Arius. It was not just an increase in power; it was a full evolutionary leap.
The system screen flashed with a bright golden and silver glow: [Alert: Full Transformation capabilities reached - Absolute Mode] [Ability Jumps: From 270 Septillion to 9 Nonillion]
The balances of existence shifted at that moment. Arius pounced like a thread of lavender light, and his strikes began to leave "erasing" wounds on the Observer's body, wounds that no longer regenerated no matter how he tried, because Arius's energy was erasing the concept of "healing and immortality" from his cells.
Arius delivered a direct punch, which the Observer avoided with great difficulty, but he was shocked to see that just the "twist" of the strike—that is, just the air displaced by the fist—had created a deep rift that broke an entire region of the world, turning it into a broken pit hanging between heaven and earth, as if reality itself had shattered like broken glass.
The Observer tried to escape, but Arius was following him with his glowing silver-lavender gaze, his face covered by absolute darkness so no features were visible. He looked like the storm of merciless death. With one motion, Arius delivered a "single bare" punch that landed on the Observer's heart, shattering it completely and casting him as an almost lifeless corpse among the rubble.
The Observer reached his final breaths, his body fading like black smoke, while Arius stood over him, watching the fading of his enemy with impeccable coldness. The Observer looked at Arius for the last time, and in that brief moment, he regained the old sparkle in his eyes before hatred polluted it. Two tears fell from his eyes, not reaching the ground, but turning into ashes scattered by the wind, and he whispered with a sincere voice unmarred by distortion: "Thank you... my friend."
With these words, his body crumbled completely, and his nebular texture vanished, turning into atoms of nothingness that faded into the ether of the place. Upon his death, a solemn event occurred; the entire dark army that was tightening its grip on the companions began to crumble and disappear all at once, as if they were nothing more than a nightmare from which the world had awakened.
Raimus breathed a sigh of relief as he wiped sweat and blood from his face: "Finally... it's over. We almost perished under the waves of those monsters."
Up above, the masked figure descended with malicious dignity, clapping his hands slowly as he said: "Exactly as I expected... you defeated my puppet with such ease. You are amazing, Arius."
Arius did not wait for the stranger to finish speaking but launched himself toward him like a merciless silver lightning bolt, delivering a strike that could have erased an entire galaxy. But, in a suspicious way, Arius's body passed through the masked figure as if he were penetrating a mirage.
The masked figure stood a few meters away, smiling coldly: "Don't tire yourself; you will never hit me. This is just a transparent body, a specter I created so I could move in this dimension and watch you closely. Believe me, Arius... we will meet very soon, just when I pinpoint your exact real location, then you will not escape the grip of my destiny."
Arius froze in place, his silver eyes shining with terrifying coldness, and he asked in his mechanical voice: "Who are you? And what do you want from me?"
The masked figure burst into hysterical laughter that echoed throughout the void: "Everything! I want everything from you, Arius!" In the blink of an eye, his transparent body vanished while still laughing, leaving behind a vortex of mystery.
Arius remained standing in space for a short time, analyzing the words of that unknown entity and the gravity of his threat, then turned his gaze downward. He descended quietly to see Arlin, Wang, and Raimus standing amidst the wreckage of the battle. As soon as he touched the ground, his gray transformation disappeared, but the coldness that settled in his soul did not leave; the effect of the "Gray Transformation" was deeper than just an external form.
Arius headed toward his mother Yuna's body. He knelt down, wrapped his arms around her body, and hugged her with a force that would break stone. His face was trembling, and his chest was rising and falling in agony, but his eyes remained completely dry; the transformation had stripped him of every drop of his emotions and confiscated his ability to cry in the most difficult moments of his life.
It was a heartbreaking sight; a cold, emotionless person sitting amidst the destruction, embracing his late mother in a funerary silence, crying with a broken soul and motionless eyes, while his companions stood around him in profound sadness, realizing that the price Arius paid to save them was not just his blood, but his humanity, which was lost in the paths of excessive power.
Raimus dropped to his knees beside Arius, placed his trembling hand on his internally collapsing friend's shoulder, and said in a choked voice filled with bitterness: "Take it easy, brother... I know words cannot heal this wound, but such is destiny... a heroine has departed."
Arlin stepped forward slowly, knelt on the opposite side, held Yuna's cold hand, and pressed it to her chest, whispering agonizingly: "It is a pity that a great woman like her dies like this... I swear she was tougher than a thousand warriors, she had a brave heart that knew no fear. I hope you rest in peace, my lady... you fulfilled your mission to the end."
As for Wang, he stood like a mountain behind Arius, placed his heavy hand on his other shoulder, and in a wise voice that understood the dimensions of the power his student had reached, he said: "I understand how you feel now, Arius... you feel nothing, don't you? The void within you prevents you from even expressing your pain... but I am sure you are collapsing inside even if it does not show on your cold features. It will get easier, Arius... she was a great mother and a wonderful human being, and her memory will remain eternal throughout existence."
Arlin and Raimus's tears began to flow silently as they fell onto the broken ground. Suddenly, the fabric of spacetime tore, and a massive golden gate opened, from which an overwhelming royal aura emanated.
King Karma, ruler of the Ten Realms, emerged from the gate, accompanied by the Grand Master with his usual solemnity. Karma looked around in amazement as he saw the destruction that had befallen the Observer's garden and said in astonishment: "Wow! What happened to this place?! It's a real mess... as if a cosmic hurricane hit the area."
Karma spotted the assembled companions from afar, his features changed to seriousness, and he quickened his pace with long strides, followed by the High Master. When they arrived and saw Arius hugging Yuna's body, and Wang's sad silence, and the tears of Raimus and Arlin, they froze in their tracks.
King Karma's heart contracted as he looked at Yuna's lifeless body, then at Arius, who looked like a statue of ice that did not blink. The Master whispered in a low voice: "Alas... they paid a heavy price for this victory." Wang looked at his father, the Master, in a tone weighed down by fatigue and sadness: "Father... you have come."
The Master replied solemnly while contemplating the surrounding destruction: "Yes, my son, we came to pick you up... but we did not expect all this chaos; it seems the battle exceeded the limits of logic."
King Karma walked with confident, quiet steps toward the kneeling Arius, bowed to embrace him in genuine royal consolation, and said in a firm yet gentle voice: "Take it easy, my friend... it is difficult and bitter, but you are 'Arius,' and I know you will get over this quickly as you always have."
But Arius remained as if he were a piece of nothingness; he did not tremble, did not respond, and no human reaction emanated from him. He simply gazed at the distant horizon with empty silver eyes, while tightening his grip on his mother Yuna's body as if it were all he had left in existence.
Karma wondered at this stillness and turned toward Wang, asking: "What's wrong with him? Why isn't he showing any reaction? He didn't even scream or cry!"
Wang replied in a sad tone: "Please excuse him, sir, he is under the influence of his own power, 'that Gray Transformation he showed in the royal battle you conducted'... He paid his emotions as a price for this level of power again, but I trust he will return to normal gradually once his soul stabilizes."
Karma shook his head with regret and said: "All right then... let's get out of this ominous place, for I loathe desolate places that resemble this cellar... I will erase it from the records of existence entirely."
Arlin stepped forward, tears still making their way down her cheeks, and said in a trembling voice: "Arius... let's go, we are leaving now."
Arius looked at her with absolute coldness—a coldness that sent shivers down her spine—then turned his gaze to his mother's body. With a quiet, mechanical motion, he picked her up in his arms, stood with a stiff body, and began walking toward the gate without looking back.
Everyone crossed the golden gate one by one. King Karma stood alone in the middle of the void, raised his hand high, and with a simple movement of his fingers, an overwhelming governing energy erupted that erased the "Observer's" dimension entirely. The walls, the rubble, and the painful memories faded, and nothing remained behind them but an infinite dark void, as if the garden and its owner had never been part of existence.
After crossing the golden gate, the light of the transition cleared, and everyone found themselves in front of Arius's family's quiet house—the place that was supposed to be a sanctuary of joy. Lina was sitting in the garden, watching the sky with a heart beating in anxiety, and as soon as she saw the gate, she jumped up and ran toward it with overwhelming eagerness to welcome her family.
Raimus, Wang, and Arlin exited first, their broken features preceding their words. Lina shouted eagerly: "You're finally back! I was so worried... tell me, did you find her? Is there any news about my mother?"
At that moment, Arius emerged from the heart of the light. He was walking with heavy steps, carrying a motionless body covered in blood in his arms. Lina froze in her place, and her eyes widened in astonishment as she whispered: "Brother... you've returned... but, what is wrong with mother? Is she okay? Why isn't she moving?"
Arius stopped in front of her. His face was devoid of any expression, and his voice came out cold and broken at the same time: "I'm sorry, sister... but I couldn't... I couldn't."
Arius bent down very slowly and placed Yuna's body on the green grass of the garden, then said in a tone as dry as if he were passing a death sentence: "I'm sorry... I couldn't protect her. Our mother... she is gone, sister."
A terrifying silence prevailed for a few seconds, then Lina began to laugh a light, hysterical laugh, as if she had heard an unbelievable joke. She looked at Raimus with eyes shining with horror and said: "Raimus... tell him to stop, this is a heavy joke, isn't it? You are mocking me because I was worried... Say it, Raimus!"
Raimus could not look into her eyes; he simply shook his head slowly while battling his tears, as if his silence were saying: "The matter is real... and I wish the earth had opened up and swallowed me before I saw you like this."
Lina turned slowly toward the body lying on the ground. She saw the blood that covered Yuna's chest, and she saw the pallor that had invaded her kind face. At that moment, everything collapsed. Lina let out a scream that tore the stillness of the place, a scream with the maximum force she possessed, a scream that expressed all the pain latent in her soul.
She threw herself over her mother's body, hugging her tightly as if trying to bring life back to her with the warmth of her own body, while screaming and crying from the depths of her broken heart: "Moooom! Don't leave me! Wake up, Mother!"
King Karma and the Master stood far away, exchanging looks of pity and sadness. Even as rulers of worlds, they found no words to console this heartbreaking scene. As for Arius, he remained standing beside his collapsed sister, observing the scene with his cold blue eyes, unable to shed a single tear to comfort her, imprisoned behind the bars of his power that had robbed him of the right to cry for the dearest thing he owned.