The orange sky now holds a massive portal, as if a rift has torn open in reality. From it, people, desks, computers, chairs, and countless other objects spill out in chaotic freefall. Wyn stares in horror, his breath hitching as he spots his former boss among them. But with a sharp inhale, he shakes his head, forcing himself to refocus on the battle at hand.

  “Why are you doing this? How can you do this to your own creation?” Wyn demands, his voice strained as Light Force’s figure becomes harder to see through the cascade of falling humans and debris.

  “That’s why we have souls,” Light Force replies coldly. “If humans go extinct, we can simply send souls back to Earth. They’ll understand that this is for their beloved God.”

  Wyn’s frustration boils over, his fists clenching, his body trembling. Despite his control over the cyclone, maneuvering through the human rain is nearly impossible. He knows he can’t save them – that their fates are already sealed – but even so, he fights to avoid lethal contact. He hurls rocks and blasts them away with cyclones, scattering them in any direction – anywhere, just so he doesn’t have to endure the sickening sight of bodies hitting the ground, the sound of flesh crushing against concrete.

  Light Force has placed numerous portals inside buildings, continuously opening more to “refill” the rain while Wyn is distracted. He flies into a downtown area, pulling even more humans into the portal in the sky. Wyn follows, but navigating becomes increasingly difficult – this district is packed with people after work hours.

  Suddenly, multiple arrows curve toward him. Some miss, striking buildings and vanishing, but others embed themselves into unfortunate bystanders, dragging their bodies along as they continue their pursuit. Wyn dodges, weaving through the chaos, but then – impact. A body slams into him, and an arrow tip grazes deep into his side. Pain flares through him, but the tip isn’t long enough to remain lodged. He staggers, gritting his teeth, but quickly regains control and keeps moving, dodging the relentless attacks.

  “You can’t keep dodging forever,” Light Force says.

  “I can when you run out of humans!” Wyn snaps back.

  Light Force chuckles, amused by Wyn’s defiance. Instead of responding, he resumes flying, this time pulling not just humans into the storm but also cars, motorcycles, and even vending machines.

  Wyn has had enough. He surrounds himself with a powerful cyclone and hurls rocks upward, pelting whatever falls into its violent winds. But even as he fights back, he remains an easy target. A golden orb collides with the cyclone and detonates on impact. A beam of light erupts from the sky, slamming straight down at him.

  Wyn barely reacts in time. The force sends him hurtling, but he stabilizes just before crashing, catching himself midair and dashing forward once more.

  “Fuck! I can’t even lay a finger on him!” Wyn mutters.

  Changing tactics, he plants his feet firmly on the ground and unleashes a powerful cyclone, blasting everything away from his position. With the area momentarily cleared, he launches himself upward with a cyclone jump and steps into a mini cyclone, keeping himself afloat.

  “I can do this. I have to! I need to finish this quickly and find my friends!” he says, steadying his breath.

  With a deep inhale, he unleashes four cyclones – two from his hands and two from his feet. One remains behind, continuously clearing the falling humans and debris above Wyn, while the other three twist through the air, slithering toward Light Force like relentless serpents. As they converge, Light Force evades, but the cyclones shift course, crisscrossing in pursuit. Even when Light Force dashes toward Wyn, they curve back, giving chase without pause.

  Closing the distance, Light Force fires arrows and golden orbs at Wyn. Unwavering, Wyn stares him down. He halts all three pursuing cyclones, then almost immediately resumes them, obliterating Light Force’s projectiles. The cyclones crash into the divine entity, dispersing his form entirely.

  “Is this it?” Wyn mutters.

  But he doesn’t have time to ponder – the human rain is still pouring down onto the city. Seeking a safe place to catch his breath, he jets straight up, clearing everything in his path. He pushes higher and higher, aiming for the portal, hoping that entering it will lure Light Force away from the city. However, just as he reaches it, the portal seals shut before his eyes, and with it, the human rain comes to an abrupt end.

  “I can’t find your buddy. Budd, is it?” Light Force’s voice echoes, twisting through the air around Wyn.

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  “Don’t you fucking get him involved! No more getting these people involved!” Wyn shouts, his voice raw with fury.

  “Don’t you want to know what happened after your death?” Light Force taunts, his voice coming from all directions.

  “I don’t care!” Wyn spits out, his eyes blazing with defiance.

  “A handful of people cried for you. Only a few. Two of them were your parents. The rest barely reacted to the news. Someone even said you deserved it. But I can change all of that. I can make them love you.”

  “NO!” Wyn shouts, his voice breaking. “I just want to be with my team. We don’t even care for the war anymore. Please, bring them back to me. They’re all that I have.” His words are choked with emotion, the desperate plea laced with tears and raw pain. “We’ll join you if you let all of us back together, I promise! Please…you can torture me all you want and even kill me, but keep my friends safe.”

  The weight of his words hangs in the air, every syllable dripping with vulnerability and the depth of his sacrifice.

  Light Force doesn’t respond right away, instead materializing before Wyn with an imposing presence. “I can’t fully trust you Hell souls,” he says coldly.

  Wyn lifts his head to the sky, trying to dry the tears streaming down his face, but the frustration that surges within him becomes too much. He roars repeatedly, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dig into his flesh, the pain barely registering. With the final roar, his breath is ragged, eyes wide with an overwhelming surge of anger and desperation. His teeth grind together, a silent vow forming within him.

  With one last furious cry, Wyn dashes downward, charging toward Light Force with everything he has. But he comes to an abrupt halt when he sees Light Force not lifting just one, but two entire skytrains into the air – and all without even touching them. With a subtle motion of his hand, as though manipulating the magnetic forces holding the trains, Light Force swings one of them directly at Wyn.

  Wyn dodges effortlessly, but the agonizing screams of passengers plummeting from the shattered windows throw him off balance. They had likely been hiding inside during the human rain, unaware of the impending chaos. The horrifying sound of their cries distracts him long enough for the other train to swing toward him. He notices it just in time, barely able to form a defense before it crashes into him. Instinctively, he enforces himself with solid rock, hoping to absorb the impact.

  The collision is brutal. The force of the strike shatters the rock like brittle glass, sending Wyn skidding across the road, his body crashing into the bloody piles of fallen humans from earlier. The gruesome scene only sharpens his sense of urgency as he struggles to push himself up. He glances toward the sky, seeing the two skytrains now suspended around the divine entity.

  With a flick of Light Force’s hand, a train car is hurled straight at Wyn. He reacts swiftly, summoning a cyclone of rock to intercept the projectile. The two forces collide with an explosive burst, the car bursting into flames and disintegrating upon impact.

  “Only one can join me, or none at all!” Light Force declares, his voice booming and resonating through the chaos.

  Wyn's gaze hardens as he notices something different about Light Force. The divine entity’s form shifts, returning to the imposing figure he had seen in the throne room. But this time, a glowing halo hovers ominously above his head, casting an eerie light over the devastation around them.

  “And now there’s just you left,” Light Force says, his tone cold and final.

  Wyn feels a sharp, unexpected sting inside his chest. His mind refuses to accept the words. He asks again, then again, his voice cracking with each repetition. But the answer remains the same – his team has been wiped out. The weight of the realization crashes over him, and he feels his body sway, dizziness overtaking him. He crouches, clutching at his chest as if holding onto what little strength he has left.

  Images of his friends flash through his mind, but they come at him in an unorganized blur, each memory distorted and out of place, a jumbled mess. Fast-forwarded sounds blend into an incoherent cacophony – voices he can no longer distinguish, faces he can barely remember. And in this very moment, his world collapses around him.

  The only people who ever gave him the will to keep fighting, the ones who shared in every struggle, every victory – they are gone. His reason, his purpose, has been stripped away. All that’s left is a hollow emptiness, and the overwhelming thought that, without them, he has nothing left to live for.

  With all his forms returned, forming into a single, powerful entity, Light Force flicks the remaining train cars at Wyn, each carrying a golden orb. At this point, Wyn doesn’t even glance up at the sky; his eyes are empty, as though they’ve been sucked into a void. The cars crash to the ground, and golden beams of light follow, smiting from the sky above.

  “My time has indeed run out,” Light Force says.

  Where Wyn should be now is a cloud of darkness. Wyn, still trapped within his trauma, is safe, though lost in his grief.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t reach any of you quicker, and I’m sorry for your losses,” a familiar voice says. “Wyn, I need you on this. Let’s finish this once and for all.”

  Wyn’s gaze doesn’t shift immediately. The darkness is so thick that he can’t even see beyond himself. But then, a ripple through the clouds, a subtle dispersing of the black mist. A figure steps into the clearing, and with it, the presence of something long-awaited – Dark Force.

  Wyn’s body remains motionless, caught in the weight of his shattered heart. He can’t summon the strength to react, his anger still buried beneath the crushing weight of his despair. But as he stares at the figure, something begins to stir deep within him. A slow, searing anger, building and swirling within his chest. It’s the only thing that feels real anymore.

  Slowly, Wyn stands. His body trembles, tears still falling.

  “You’ll pay for this,” he mutters, his voice hoarse, strained, as he stares at the ground, his words both a promise and a prayer. He doesn’t specify who he’s directing it to, the pain and fury encompassing everything, everyone.