“You’re really going to die!” exclaimed Ray. This was his declaration against the heavens before his death. If he couldn’t pass tribulation, then he would at least go out fighting until his very last breath.

  The climax of the fight was about to begin.

  The green-haired girl flew higher into the air and summoned icicles while shouting, “Winter Storm!”

  Countless icicles rained down toward Ray’s location. He looked at the oncoming barrage and launched into the sky, leaving multiple sonic booms behind. With the staff in his hand, he smashed one of the icicles into pieces while dodging many others. This happened repeatedly and in rapid succession. Sometimes he shattered one; other times, he shattered several at once. Each impact echoed with a thunderous boom as he never stopped moving, continuously increasing his speed.

  The green-haired girl continued summoning icicles until she conjured a humongous wave of water.

  “You’re going to die! Die, die, die, die, die!!”

  She screamed as if she had completely lost her mind. This was the personality of the blue-haired boy—his madness was overtaking the girl. The insanity emanating from his aura had consumed her. The wave of water crashed down onto Ray, who persevered and pushed against it relentlessly. From a spectator’s point of view, it looked like a small man pushing back against a vast sea—like a needle against a lake. Ray’s synergy rotated violently, and his black aura radiated intensely. The same could be said for the green-haired girl.

  “Freeze!!”

  In an instant, the entire pool of water froze solid. Trapped within the ice was a small figure radiating black energy. Even while frozen, Ray’s fire continued to burn. His anger fueled this fire, and he was determined to win for this one moment. His eyes were bloodshot, led purely by emotion. He was going to use everything he had.

  The ice around him slowly began to melt. If anyone looked closely, they would see a black flame—the manifestation of his rage and resolve. The anger from losing his sister and the determination to see her again just once more. The ice continued to melt, and the black aura surrounding him grew larger and more intense. This was the strongest ability he had acquired in his second awakening, surpassing all others in raw power.

  As Ray pushed forward, the ice in his path melted from the black flame he produced. He let out a thunderous roar, and a wave of black flame escaped his mouth, vaporizing everything before him. Ray’s body looked like it was on the verge of exploding. His eyes were bloodshot and focused, veins protruded across his skin, and black flames seeped from his mouth.

  The synergy building inside Ray surpassed that of the green-haired girl. After his roar, he shot straight toward her, black flame blazing a path through the frozen battlefield. From the outside, one could see a jet of black flame slicing through the giant ice structure, racing toward its target.

  Seeing Ray approach, the green-haired girl gathered an enormous amount of synergy in her hand. It was everything she had left in this short moment. This would be the deciding blow—the winner of the battle between two second-awakened beings.

  The green-haired girl drew her arm back, preparing a punch. At the same time, Ray was speeding toward her with all the synergy he could gather in his right hand, now engulfed in black flame. It was the maximum power either could muster.

  Ray broke through the last wall of ice, and their fists collided.

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  The clash released a deafening boom. The shockwave instantly shattered and evaporated the frozen pool behind Ray. The sound was louder than any of the booms from Ray’s earlier movements or even the white-haired man’s.

  As their fists clashed, so did their auras. Her green-blue aura collided with Ray’s black aura, producing countless colored sparks.

  Ray let out another roar as he forced every ounce of his synergy into that punch. The girl did the same, but instead of roaring, she laughed hysterically. Though their powers were nearly equal, Ray slowly pushed forward. The fire of his emotions made him refuse to back down.

  The green-haired girl’s eyes widened. She smiled—not manically, but genuinely—and her laughter turned into the blue-haired boy’s voice echoing through hers. She accepted defeat. Ray’s fist overpowered hers and struck her in the chest.

  A black flame tore through her body and exited her back. At the same time, it reflected back and engulfed Ray. With his body consumed in black flame at the peak of his power, he could no longer endure it. The adrenaline wore off. The girl’s body vanished as the flame passed through her, leaving behind only a single black flame falling from the sky.

  That black flame was Ray’s body.

  Without hesitation, the long, blonde-haired woman who had come from the spiraling black portal flew up and caught his falling, flaming body.

  Though he barely clung to life, he was still breathing. Everything he had done was for this one moment. The moment he saw her step out of the portal, he knew he had to give everything just to be next to her again. Just to see her one last time. He wanted to speak to her, to have one final conversation.

  Ray reached up to touch her face, but his body couldn’t hold on any longer. It turned to ash. The flames vanished, and his ashes were carried away by the wind. Only a small portion of the black flame fell straight down.

  One day—maybe months, maybe years, or maybe centuries—they might stand beside each other once more, if someone triggered tribulation again. The blonde-haired girl slowly flew back into the place from which she came.

  The massive door holding the synergy slowly faded. The thunder rumbled no more, and the clouds dispersed. One by one, six human figures began to vanish—the last being the blonde-haired girl.

  As she disappeared, her lips moved as if speaking, and a tear slid down her cheek and fell from the sky.

  “Brother—”

  The tear landed on the black flame and extinguished it, just as her body fully vanished.

  “Ray…” mumbled Aniya as tears streamed down her face. She and Ray had been close friends, and seeing him die in front of her broke her. Memories of their time together—both good and bad—flashed through her mind. She cherished them all, because even bad memories are precious. Everyone has conflicts with others, but being able to overcome them is rare.

  Ajax wore a sorrowful expression as he witnessed Ray’s death. What hurt him even more was seeing Aniya in such pain. He held her close, letting her cry on his chest.

  Rhosa, unfamiliar with anyone at the sanctuary aside from Rhitta and Aniya, didn’t feel a deep sadness about Ray’s death. What affected her was seeing Aniya cry. She realized she could’ve been in a similar situation if Aniya hadn’t saved her during her village’s attack.

  Rhitta, however, was crying. Not because she had a personal connection to Ray, but because she had to witness his death. For most of the tribulation, she tried to avoid watching by closing her eyes—but sometimes, she couldn’t help but look.

  She thought that the only way to accept this world was to witness it—to see both its violence and its loss. She hated that the heavens opposed humanity. She hated that humans had to constantly fight to survive and grow stronger. To her, it made no sense. It wasn’t right.

  Aniya wiped her tears and looked at Rhosa and Rhitta. Rhitta still had tears streaming down her cheeks, and Aniya gently wiped them away.

  “Rhosa, Rhitta… if you choose to do anything in this world, please, become strong. I don’t want either of you to end up in a situation like that. So, starting tomorrow, I’m sending you both to the palace,” said Aniya, her voice trembling as she tried to stay composed for the young girls. Even in her moment of weakness, she still tried to be strong.

  Rhosa and Rhitta didn’t know what the palace was, but they assumed Aniya would explain either now or when they returned home.

  “Thank you for being here, Ajax. It means a lot.”

  She looked at the girls and asked if they were ready. They nodded, and Aniya stood up, floated to them, and picked them up. She snapped her fingers, and the chairs they were sitting in disappeared.

  Ajax smiled at her as she flew off, then went on his way. Many of the spectators were disappointed they hadn’t witnessed the birth of a third-awakened soldier. Some had ties to Ray, while most didn’t. Others mocked him, wondering why he would challenge the heavens only to die.

  Atop a building stood a blonde-haired girl—the last surviving member of Ray’s family.

  “So you died too, Ray…”

  “The two of you died during the same tribulation. Does that mean my future is set in stone too?”

  She clenched her fists as tears fell from her chin. Then, she took flight and vanished into the distance.

  Ray perished against the heavens and his soul is now apart of tribulation. Meanwhile, to ensure Rhosa and Rhitta never meet the same fate, Aniya will send them to the palace. What mysteries lie within the palace that could help them defy the heavens?!