Chapter 25: The Real War Begins Part 3

Yihizo Ye Langa, Limpopo – Battlefield

The desert was a furnace of fire, sand, and blood.

 Smoke hung low, mingling with the scent of scorched earth and spiritual residue.

Every heartbeat of the AZO soldiers was a prayer—they were humans caught between gods, mortal pieces in a war played with divine hands.

A young recruit dove behind a sandbag as a shard of blue spiritual fire streaked past. 

He coughed, choking on dust, terrified yet alive—a reminder that even in the presence of gods, mortality still screamed.

John vs Miloslav

John’s grin stretched wide. Time folded under his command, rewinding every strike Miloslav launched.

The battlefield stuttered. John had him. Victory was assured...

Or so he thought.

A torchlight gleamed in the smoke. A sword formed from its glow slashed through the air, piercing John’s chest.

He staggered, disbelief freezing him.

 Behind the light stood Aiden-Miloslav’s  & Mr.X’s secret double agent—unknown to John, known only to Miloslav.

“You… how…” John choked, eyes wide.

Miloslav’s gaze was cold, sharp as a scalpel. “I told you, some pieces you can’t see.”

John tried to rewind, tried to bend time to undo the strike, but Aiden’s blade had ended the loop.

Blood bloomed across his chest. Even time could not save him now.

Noelle vs Kent

Kent’s black flames blazed, arrows streaking through the dust-choked air.

Noelle twisted reality, bending space and creating phantom decoys that forced him to dodge, adapt, and anticipate in equal measure.

“Prison Prism,” her violet left eye glimmered.

The world shifted.

Invisible walls rose, locking Kent in a cage of spiritual essence. 

Every arrow he loosed rebounded uselessly; the prism absorbed and nullified his black flames.

He pounded on the invisible barrier, heart hammering in desperation.

“Damn it!…” he muttered, trapped, powerless, and forced to witness his own limits.

Ava vs Anya

Red flames clashed with probability folds.

Ava’s heart raced, grief and rage warping her focus. She reached for another fold, seeking to turn the tide—but her body froze.

Prison Prism’s extension held her now, binding her alongside Kent.

Time bent but would not obey her. Her hands shook, and her breaths came ragged.

Anya advanced, unaware that the sister she had once known was now trapped by unseen forces.

Luna’s eyes widened—she had seen the danger, and now even her strength might not be enough.

Aries vs Luna

Aries’ blue flames surged like a storm incarnate.

 Luna’s water walls twisted, spun, and crashed against the fire, but the assault of the three Zodiacs pressed her back relentlessly.

Exhaustion painted her movements with a subtle wobble.

Around her, the mortal soldiers screamed as bombs detonated nearby.

 A fragment of spiritual essence exploded just inches from a young hunter; he fell, coughing and bleeding, shaking with the reminder that war spared no one.

Just as Luna teetered on collapse, chains of radiant steel whipped across the battlefield.

Aries, Anya, and Noelle were hurled back, giving her a moment’s reprieve.

From the shadows emerged Keith, Maya, Helena, and Christian, their presence radiating coordinated authority.

“Enough,” Keith’s voice cut like a blade.

 “This ends now.”

The chains constricted further, pinning the attackers temporarily, giving Luna and the surviving AZO forces breathing room.

Chaos and Consequence

The second line of AZO held as best they could, but casualties were mounting.

Young recruits clung to life under collapsing debris.

Hunters cursed, shouted, and dragged their comrades out of harm’s way.

The sand was stained red, the scent of smoke, fire, and blood mixing in a thick haze.

High above the watchtower-the three Zodiacs of the Order pressed forward, relentless and lethal, but the tide had shifted—just enough to buy time.

Ava and Kent were still trapped, their powers neutralized, yet their eyes blazed with defiance.

 Miloslav stood over John’s fallen body, calm, calculating—the battlefield had changed, but the war was far from over.

The first decisive moves had been made, and the real war was only beginning.