Chapter 26: A False Victory

The roar of war did not falter, but for a brief moment hope cut through the smoke.

Three figures emerged from the haze—Maya, Keith, Christian, and the rest—racing across the battered ground to stand beside Luna. Their sudden arrival was like a spark in the darkness.

“Ava and Kent are still trapped,” Luna said sharply, her gaze locked on the violet prison that pulsed with unnatural light.

“Noelle’s prism—nothing escapes once it closes. If we don’t break it, they’ll suffocate inside.”

The Ten exchanged grim looks. Even in the heart of the battlefield, the weight of her words was heavier than the fire and blood around them.

Aries’ laughter split the air. The sky burned blue as he conjured a colossal sphere of hellfire. Beside him, Anya mirrored the motion with her crimson blaze—twin suns of death spiralling toward Luna’s group.

“Brace yourselves!” Keith shouted. The Ten raised their defences, aura flaring. The ground itself shuddered.

And then—nothing.

The fireballs dissolved midair, as though erased from existence. Warped away in an instant. The battlefield trembled with confusion. Luna’s breath caught as her eyes locked on Noelle. The Zodiac’s left eye shimmered, glowing with that impossible, devouring purple.

“Noelle…” Luna whispered, realization dawning.

But there was no time. Aries and Anya surged forward, exploiting the distraction.

Flame screamed through the air as Anya’s katana carved a horizontal arc, splitting the battlefield apart in a sheet of fire. Dirt and blood scattered as the Ten were forced into separate fronts.

Luna and Keith found themselves staring down Aries’ smouldering form, his grin hungry for carnage.

Christian raised his blade against Anya, whose eyes burned with both confusion and loyalty. Maya tightened her fists, stepping toward Noelle, whose calm, violet gaze cut deeper than any weapon.

The war fractured into duels—but each clash carried the weight of existence itself.

Fractured Fates

Yihizo Ye Langa, Limpopo – Battlefield

The battlefield fractured into fire and steel.

Luna & Keith vs Aries

Aries’ blue flames swirled like a living storm, licking across the battlefield with cruel hunger. His smirk cut through the smoke, sharp as a blade.

Luna’s water surged upward in tidal walls, hissing as it clashed against fire. Every movement was slower than before, fatigue gnawing at her body.

 She gritted her teeth, refusing to fall.

The impact rattled her bones, heat blistering her skin even through the mist. She gritted her teeth—every defence costing more than the last.

 

Each clash brought a flicker of memory not her own:

–        A woman kneeling by a river, her hands cupped in prayer.

–        A soldier drowning in a flooded trench.    

–        A girl dragging her brother through a storm, crying his name.

 

The past lives screamed through her veins, urging her forward.

Beside her, Keith stepped forward, two steel chains unraveling from his hands like serpents of light. They writhed, alive with his Soul Energy.

“Keith of the Ten,” Aries mused, fire dancing across his shoulders. “I’ve heard of you. The man bound by his own vow.”

Keith’s eyes were cold. “Then you already know—once these chains bind you, you won’t burn anything again.”

The chains lashed forward, searing through flame. Aries roared, unleashing torrents of fire that scorched the ground black. Water and fire clashed, chains slicing through the inferno—each exchange shaking the battlefield apart.

Christian vs Anya

Christian’s heartbeat slowed, his focus narrowing to a razor’s edge. The world around him blurred, his instinct pulling him toward every threat before it came. Danger whispered to him in the silence.

Anya’s red katana gleamed like a wound in the smoke. She rushed, every swing carrying the weight of fire. The air sizzled as arcs of flame cut through dust and stone.

Christian’s body moved on its own—ducking, weaving, sidestepping the blade by hairs. Each dodge was perfect, each reaction instantaneous.

“You can see me before I strike?” Anya asked, eyes narrowing.

“No,” Christian said softly, his stance calm. “I feel the danger. And I answer it.”

But her gaze hardened, crimson fire flaring around her. “Then I just need to make you feel too much at once.”

She split her flames into dozens of mirages, arcs of red light screaming from every angle. Christian’s eyes widened—the danger signals flooded his senses. His gift became a curse; too many warnings, too much noise. His breath hitched. Focus threatened to collapse.

If I break my concentration… I’m finished.

Maya vs Noelle

Noelle stood serene in the chaos, her violet eye glowing like a void. The Prism shimmered behind her, Ava and Kent still trapped inside its walls of light.

Maya adjusted her stance, her aura flickering. “That eye of yours… it’s more dangerous than any fire.”

Noelle tilted her head, almost smiling. “And you still step forward? Admirable.”

In a blink, Maya vanished. Air warped as she reappeared behind Noelle, fist raised—then again above her, then to her side. One hundred jumps in a second, her speed was a storm of movement.

But Noelle did not flinch. Space bent around her like a shield. Every strike warped away, redirected into nothingness.

“Futile,” Noelle murmured, her calm voice carrying over the battlefield. “You’ll exhaust yourself. And then, I’ll end you.”

Maya panted, SE draining fast. One more push… if I can just slip through her defence—

But Noelle’s left eye blazed brighter, locking onto her. The violet glow burned like the heart of a star. Chains of warped space curled around Maya’s body, catching her mid-step.

She froze. For the first time, she was cornered.

Noelle raised her hand, energy coiling for the final blow.

The Shatter

But then—her body convulsed.

Noelle’s eye flared, shifting from violet to a blinding, unnatural red. A scream ripped from her throat, raw and broken. She clutched her face, trembling.

The ground itself quaked, splitting beneath their feet. The air screamed as if reality itself was tearing. From her left eye, something pressed outward, clawing against existence.

“Noelle?!” Aries snarled, spinning toward her. But it was too late.

The warped fireballs—those massive spheres she had erased earlier—suddenly reappeared above them, plummeting down without warning.

The world exploded.

A wall of flame consumed the battlefield, erasing soldier and stone alike. Mortals screamed once, then silence. Those too weak—hunters, AZO recruits, innocents—vanished in the inferno. Only the strongest endured, thrown across the smoking crater.

The Arrival

Dust hung thick. Ash fell like snow.

Then—footsteps.

 

Soft, deliberate. Cutting through the silence.

A faint glow pierced the smoke: silver shimmer, golden blaze. Two silhouettes walked side by side, untouched by ash or ruin.

Through the haze, two figures stepped forward.

One shimmered in radiant silver, their presence calm and cold as moonlight. The other burned in resplendent gold, blazing like a sun at dawn.

Luna staggered, shielding her eyes. Her heart froze when she finally recognized them.

“No…” Her lips trembled. Confusion and awe mingled in her voice. “What are they… doing here?”

The Smoke Clears

The battlefield groaned beneath silence. Dust drifted like a second sky, and through its veil, the two figures walked side by side—one glowing gold, the other shimmering silver.

The survivors stirred. Luna pushed herself upright, coughing blood. Keith steadied her. Maya pulled Ava and Kent close as the last remnants of Noelle’s prison prism dissolved around them. For the first time since the battle began, they could breathe freely.

Noelle lay collapsed on the ground, her violet eye dim, body trembling with exhaustion. She was unconscious, drained by the violent eruption the newcomers had forced out of her.

Kent narrowed his eyes at the silver-gold glow ahead. “Are they with the enemy?” His voice cracked, wary but firm.

Luna shook her head slowly, her tone carrying both awe and unease. “No… not them.”

The figures came into focus. Their steps were steady, their presence oppressive. Even amidst the chaos, they seemed untouched—two pillars of inevitability.

Aries snarled when his eyes landed on them. “You two…” His flames surged, climbing into the sky.

 “I’ll just put you back to sleep.”

The ground shuddered as he began gathering his SE, blue fire spiralling upward into a colossal sphere of destruction—larger than any he’d conjured before, its heat wilting the desert air.

But the golden and silver figures did not flinch.

The smoke parted around their forms at last, and recognition hit like a blade.

Jordan—bathed in radiant gold, every breath humming with raw power.
Richard—cloaked in silver, his aura cold, sharp, and unyielding.

They said nothing. They only looked at Aries, their combined presence heavy enough to warp the battlefield itself.

The False Victory

Aries’ flames spiraled higher, the fireball swelling into a miniature sun. Heat rolled across the battlefield, melting sand into glass, setting corpses alight. Even the Zodiacs’ own shadows flinched beneath its glare.

But Anya moved first.

“Dragon Dancer.”

Her voice rang like a war hymn as she twirled, red fire unraveling from her katana. Flames coiled into the air, sculpting themselves into twin serpents of living fire. Their roars shook the desert. With a lash of her wrist, they surged forward, tearing through the ranks of AZO soldiers, scattering Hunters and Ten alike, forcing them back from the two radiant figures.

“Keep them busy,” Aries snarled, his focus locked on his growing inferno.

Anya obliged, her blade cutting arcs of fire as she charged at the golden and silver silhouettes. The dragons circled above, hemming the battlefield in flame.

Jordan stepped forward, her golden aura flaring. She cracked her neck, her voice calm but sharp.
“I’ll take this one. I still owe her from last time.”

Anya lunged, katana raised. The vertical slash cut for both figures, flames flaring in her wake. But Jordan did not move.

With one bare hand, she caught the burning edge of the blade. Sparks erupted, fire clawed against her palm—but she held it still, grip unyielding.

Anya’s eyes widened. She strained, muscles burning, trying to rip her weapon free. Jordan’s gaze pierced through her like sunlight on ice.
“Too slow.”

A golden strike crashed against Anya’s chest. The Leo Zodiac was hurled back, flames scattering into embers, her body crumpling unconscious in the sand.

Meanwhile, Aries’ sun finally fell.

The fireball plummeted like judgment itself, the air searing, the ground screaming. Buildings blackened to ash before the impact. AZO soldiers braced, but terror carved itself into their faces.

Richard raised one hand.

Silver light rippled. The fireball bent—folded—then vanished into his body like water drawn into a well. The battlefield trembled at the impossible sight.

When the smoke cleared, Richard stood with one boot pressed against Aries’ chest, the Zodiac writhing beneath him.

To the stunned soldiers, it looked like salvation.

To Luna, Ava, and Kent, it felt like a tide turning.

To the Ten, it was victory within reach.

 

Noelle lay broken.
Anya unconscious.
Aries crushed.

It seemed the Zodiacs had finally fallen.

But they were sorely mistaken…