I’m still glowing.

  The power hasn’t faded.

  For the first time since this nightmare began, I feel whole.

  The ground beneath me feels lighter. The world feels smaller.

  I flex my fingers, watching the swirling nebula-like energy pulse through my veins. It crackles like a living galaxy, wrapping around me in waves of deep blues and brilliant golds.

  Dr. Lynn takes a cautious step forward.

  “…You okay in there?”

  I exhale slowly, rolling my shoulders.

  “Yeah.”

  Then I grin.

  “I feel amazing.”

  The psychic battlefield is gone.

  We’re back in New Tokyo, standing in the ruins of an old district. The real world.

  But something feels different.

  There’s an afterimage of Xal’Zir’s presence. Like a ripple left in the fabric of space.

  I glance at Dr. Lynn. “Did you see it? The… the mind-warping thing?”

  She frowns. “I saw nothing. One second I was fine, the next I was stuck in a time loop.”

  I swallow.

  So it was just me.

  Which means…

  This fight was never about killing me.

  Xal’Zir wanted to see how I think.

  How I break.

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  I clench my fists.

  I don’t like that thought.

  At all.

  We regroup at the safehouse.

  Bao is already waiting, his screens filled with data.

  His glasses are crooked. He hasn’t slept.

  Typical.

  Lynn crosses her arms. “What’s the damage?”

  Bao exhales sharply. “No physical casualties. No public witnesses. But we registered an anomalous psychic event across the city.”

  He turns to me.

  “Yuri… what happened out there?”

  I think about the impossible space.

  The memories being rewritten.

  The moment I accepted the power.

  I shrug. “Some interdimensional horror tried to gaslight me out of existence. Didn’t work.”

  Bao stares. “That’s… horrifying.”

  Lynn smirks. “And strangely on-brand.”

  Bao sighs, adjusting his glasses.

  “Well, we did pick up one very important change.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  Bao taps on the screen. A holographic projection flickers to life.

  It’s a visual breakdown of my power output.

  The chart is insane.

  Massive energy spikes, cosmic radiation levels beyond anything human.

  I point at it. “Uh… should I be worried?”

  Bao shakes his head. “Not worried. Just… prepared.”

  Lynn leans forward, reading the data.

  “His power isn’t fluctuating wildly anymore,” she mutters. “It’s… stable.”

  I blink.

  Stable?

  Bao nods. “For the first time since the fight with Ultrilotus, your energy levels have reached a consistent baseline.”

  He turns to me, his expression serious.

  “Yuri… you’ve finally fully bonded with the power inside you.”

  I let that sink in.

  No more random spikes.

  No more losing control.

  The power is mine now.

  And that means…

  I can finally fight back.

  I step outside, the city quiet in the late hours.

  The air feels different.

  Like something is waiting.

  Like something knows.

  I look up at the sky.

  Somewhere, Akunon is watching.

  Somewhere, he’s waiting for his moment.

  I flex my hands, the energy responding instantly.

  A slow grin spreads across my face.

  “Come and get me.”

  A shadowed throne room.

  The air hums with raw power.

  At the center of it all, seated upon a throne of darkened celestial metal, Akunon watches the holographic projections before him.

  Footage of Yuri.

  Glowing. Awakened.

  A powerful presence kneels before him.

  Vairus.

  Behind him, the distorted shape of Xal’Zir flickers.

  Akunon leans forward, eyes narrowing.

  “The Cosmic Monster has awoken.”

  His voice is measured. Cold.

  Not anger.

  Not fear.

  Something worse.

  Calculation.

  He looks at the next Harbinger standing before him.

  Tall. Heavily armored. A living war machine of cosmic steel.

  A pure executioner.

  Akunon nods.

  “It is time for you to meet him.”

  The Harbinger rises.