The sky was still torn by the trail of the explosion.

Debris from the ship sliced through the air like meteors—some still engulfed in flames, others spinning silently as they plummeted toward the sea and the coastal structures. The wind carried heat, smoke, and the distant echo of destruction. A figure, resembling a streak of green lightning, caught Lilith mid-air, holding her tight.

He descended as if he owned the sky, his feet touching the ground with a majestic, tranquil grace. Lilith kept her eyes closed, her breathing shallow and rapid. Her hands gripped his clothes by sheer instinct.

— ...Are you okay? — Miguel asked, slightly out of breath.

She opened her eyes slowly. Her light brown eyes let the light in, recognizing the unforgettable face of the brother she had been searching for for so long.

— ...Brother, you’re alive!

— Miguel Abelburg, at your service.

She remained silent for a moment, saying nothing, until she squeezed his clothes with all her strength and hugged him tight.

— Brother! What were you doing?

Miguel let out a short laugh, half-tired, half-relieved.

— I was busy, traveling...

He set her down, slowing his momentum until he carefully touched the ground. As soon as her feet hit the surface, Lilith stepped back slightly, still staring at him as if checking to see if he was real.

— I... I was kidnapped by a giant octopus, ended up on an alien ship, and had to help a mutant lizard... and then a pyramid-head fought the octopus.

— Man, I'm just glad you’re in one piece. I was worried sick; I couldn't stop thinking about you.

— Brother, I saw on TV that you had destroyed a city. Is that true? What have you been doing all this time?

— Lilith, I... I blame myself for that. During that time, I met many people and ended up making friends and enemies. And I finally discovered the truth about our mother... that’s why I came to get you. I’m sorry I didn't come sooner.

The roar of the waves against the hull of the Guerrilha echoed like a metallic heartbeat, filling the ship’s interior with an almost suffocating density of sound. On the deck, the air was heavy, thick with the scent of ozone and scorched metal. Silenced alarms and shattered corridors were the only witnesses to the fierce combat.

Hax, the seven-foot minotaur, stood motionless. Before him, Kai remained expressionless—an absolute void in human form. Kai’s dull face seemed to drain the surrounding light, turning the port into a stage of shadows. Hax took a deep breath, trying to contain the fury bubbling in his chest, but patience was never his forte.

— ENOUGH GAMES! — he bellowed.

He charged. The solid steel floor groaned under the weight of his hooves. Every muscle in his legs tensed like high-pressure springs. In response, Kai pressed his palms together, leaving a millimetric space where a sphere of pure darkness began to pulse. He fired it. Hax, confident in his brute strength, tried to swat the projectile away with a punch, but the sphere detonated on contact.

The impact was violent. Waves of searing heat enveloped the minotaur, threatening to melt his skin. Before the worst could happen, Vierius’s arms elongated, transmuting into dense iron plates that wrapped around Hax like an improvised shield. Hax recoiled, panting, looking at Vierius.

— Whoa! Thanks, big Green. That was a close one. — He wiped the blood dripping from his arms and glared at Kai with a fierce gaze.

Vierius, maintaining his usual icy calm, took his stance:

— Hax, I’m going to open portals to disorient him. On my signal, I’ll appear beneath you. Prepare your most powerful strike.

— Right. Let’s end this farce!

Kai moved. His gestures were robotic, a denial of his humanity. Black smoke began to radiate from his shoulders, mixing with the amber Yaol until two monstrous claws materialized on his fists. He didn't run; he flowed across the ship's walls, scarring the steel with his claws. Hax reacted instantly, summoning his Yaol arms, which glowed intensely. The clash between the Yaol and Kai’s darkness generated sparks that illuminated the warehouse. Kai dodged with supernatural agility, sliding across the floor as if gravity were merely a suggestion.

Vierius opened a portal in the air, launching a spinning kick, but Kai dropped to the ground, using his hands as leverage for an impossible evasive maneuver. In the center of the chaos, Kai opened his mouth and fired a shadow spear. The projectile grazed Hax and Vierius, who nearly collided in mid-air. With a roar of effort, Hax propelled himself against the cold metal and landed a double kick to Kai’s chest, hurlng him into the main warehouse.

Kai stood up like a puppet manipulated by invisible strings. In a sudden movement, he projected a shadow-aura raven from his mouth. The bird of prey passed in a blur, severing Hax's Yaol arms before they dissipated into bluish smoke.

Roaring with impatience, Hax elbowed a nearby container, drawing a heavy boomerang. The first throw was deflected, but the return hit the back of Kai’s neck with a dry crack. Dazed, Kai tried to lift his head, only to be met by a sequence of punches from Hax, who had already regenerated his energy arms.

Vierius emerged from a portal, delivering a precise sweep and opening another spatial rift above the enemy's head. However, Kai was faster: in a desperate reflex, he impaled Vierius with his claws and threw him against Hax.

— Vierius! — the minotaur shouted, catching his friend.

— It’s okay... — the hybrid gasped — I’ll regenerate... go now!

Hax didn't wait. He spun his body in a perfect 360, concentrating all his altruism and fury into a devastating impact kick. The blow struck Kai’s chest, launching him off the ship and straight into the dark waters of the harbor.

What happened next was bizarre. Upon touching the water, Kai’s body lost its human shape, revealing the texture of a lifeless mannequin that began to bubble and dissolve. He tried to climb the hull, but his plastic fingers melted at the sea's touch. Within seconds, he was reduced to bubbles and vanished into the abyss.

The two heroes leaned over the edge, staring at nothing.

— Did he have hydrophobia? — Hax asked, confused.

— That was... disturbing — Vierius replied, his voice heavy — I didn't want to kill him. It seems he had a condition... the water was his end.

— Rest in peace, member of the C.E.M. — Hax murmured in a moment of solemn respect.

Vierius still seemed haunted; he joined his hands in a prayer for him. Hax placed a hand on his shoulder, maintaining a firm posture despite the shock.

— Well, Big Green — the hybrid said, trying to break the tension — Let’s meet up with the others. The job here is done.

The heat inside the cave had transcended the natural. The ground, once rocky, now displayed deep cracks where incandescent lines pulsed like the veins of a living organism. In the center of the chaos stood Keon. The C.E.M. Council member wielded the Sword of Cataclysm with authoritative rigidity; the golden blade with a brown center left trails of fire that seemed to burn at millions of degrees Fahrenheit. To him, this fight was more than a duel—it was what would decide his glory.

B34 moved at the vanguard. His steps were heavy and precise, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of steam escaping his vents. The robot adjusted its structure in real-time, distributing the extreme heat through its mechanical vertebrae to prevent a system collapse.

— You cannot distribute heat forever; the blue fire will consume your systems!

He lunged. The Sword of Cataclysm came down like a meteor, colliding with B34’s metal arm. The metal hissed, reaching the point of incandescence instantly, but the robot didn't retreat a single millimeter. It was absolute resistance against brute force. While metal and fire clashed, Michael remained invisible, hidden among the shadows cast by the lava fissures. His eyes, protected by high-tech goggles, processed data. He saw the pattern in the attacks, searching for an opening. Michael adjusted the gauntlet he had stolen from Dax on his wrist, feeling the gravitational vibration distort the air around his fingers.

"I stole this from Dax right when Vierius's portal opened. I need to make it work."

In the heat of combat, Keon spun his body, releasing an arc of flames that pushed B34 back several meters. The impact opened new fissures in the ground, raising the temperature to lethal levels. Keon prepared the next blow. B34 took every hit, trying to absorb the fire so it wouldn't reach Michael. His blue eyes, bright spots on a dark face, blinked as he decided the next move.

*Gap detected. Motor delay: 1.02 seconds due to the weight of the Sword of Cataclysm.*

When Keon moved in for the killing blow, B34 stepped into his guard, throwing himself against him. The robot grabbed the searing blade with both hands, allowing the heat to melt part of its casing to ensure a grip.

— Analysis complete — B34’s metallic voice echoed.

Thrusters on his back ignited, locking Keon in a static struggle of strength that left him vulnerable. It was the signal Michael was waiting for. Michael emerged from the side like a blue specter. With a fluid motion, he activated the gauntlet. The gravity around Keon collapsed, pulling the man off his center of balance.

— B34, now! — Michael ordered.

Keon, disoriented by the spatial distortion, couldn't block Michael’s side kick, which sent him flying violently against the cave wall. The impact made the ceiling tremble, but the counter-attack was only beginning. B34 was already in position. Compartments in his chest opened, releasing a dense, highly volatile gas that saturated the air around Keon. Sensing the imminent danger, the man immediately extinguished the flames of his sword, trying to prevent ignition. For a brief second, silence dominated the cave, broken only by the hiss of cooling metal.

Michael looked at the robot. B34 returned the gaze—a perfect synchrony between man and machine. Michael snapped the gauntlet's fingers, generating a tiny gravitational spark.

The explosion consumed the gas in a blinding flash, engulfing Keon in a sphere of pressure and fire. The impact echoed through the depths of the earth. When the smoke began to clear, B34 remained standing, his grey frame damaged and smoking, but functional. Michael stepped out of the shadows, stowing the gauntlet and adjusting his glasses with his habitual coldness. He let out a faint smile.

— Great timing, B34.

The robot tilted its head slightly, internal fans spinning to cool its cores.

— Shared strategy led to increased duo efficiency.

Michael nodded, absorbing the data.

— We have more to do.

The air around Kutro vibrated with his blue Yaol. He hovered in the air in such a way that his hat obscured part of his face. The small wolf skeleton, despite being only 4 feet 8 inches tall, cast a shadow that seemed to swallow Ari. For Ari, the combat was no longer a matter of strategy, but of survival. Every movement Kutro made was wrapped in a physical Yaol so dense that the sound of impact against the steel floor sounded like hammer blows on an anvil.

Ari retreated, stumbling over his own feet as he tried to weave his threads. He needed support. He needed order.

"Kai! I need your help! Kai, answer me!" Ari’s cry was swallowed by the sound of the waves.

For the first time, the silence on the other side of the radio—or the spiritual connection that bound them—was absolute. Kai’s lack of response acted like a poison, draining Ari’s confidence. He activated his mimicry, feeling his skin harden into cold, rigid plastic, but Kutro gave him no time to breathe.

Kutro did not speak. His eyes, lost under the brim of his black hat with cyan details, glowed with a melancholy, as if he were apologizing. The Yaol around him instantly molded into a solid, pointed mass. With a simple gesture, Kutro fired a concentrated blast of Yaol. The impact shattered the plastic’s resistance and the floor around them.

Ari felt the world spin. Pain was a distant concept as his consciousness faded, but in the void of his mind, the static finally ceased.

— Don't give up, Ari.

Kai’s voice was no longer the authoritative, cold command of before. It was light, almost serene.

— Kai? Where are you? — Ari’s mental voice pleaded.

— I am free, brother. That darkness... that curse that chained me... it was never your fault. You followed the fear because it was all we had. But look at them, Ari. — Kai pointed toward Kutro, Hax, and the others. — They are not the end. They are the way. Follow them. Be an ally to them; be the friend I know you’ve always kept inside that pure heart.

In Ari’s mind, the image of Kai appeared without the impeccable suit or the monotonous face of control. He looked human again, his voice clear and new, as if he had truly seen his older brother one last time.

Ari opened his eyes. The taste of metal flooded his mouth. Kutro stood a few meters away, the energy in his hands fading as he observed his opponent with a seriousness Kutro would normally never show. Ari tried to stand, his mannequin limbs slowly returning to the form of flesh and bone.

The emotional dependency that had suffocated him had been replaced by a new purpose, whispered by his brother’s final words. He looked at the wolf skeleton—not with the hatred of a C.E.M. subordinate, but with the uncertainty of someone who has just been invited to truly live.

Kutro tilted his head under his long hat, waiting for the next attack that might never come. Ari wiped the blood from his face, the weight of the red suit feeling lighter now.