The battlefield lay silent, the dust settling like a thin veil over broken earth.
Riku's footsteps were steady as he approached the fallen Queen, her form still twitching with fading Essence.
Without hesitation, Riku clapped his hands together sharply.
"Absorb."
A gentle, almost mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.
"Soul Assimilation Initialized. Four of Twelve Unlocked."
The Queen's Essence, fragile and pulsing, was drawn like a tide into Riku's core, weaving itself into the intricate web of his power.
Next, he turned to the King.
Again, hands clapped.
"Absorb."
The air around him shimmered as his Essence deepened, shadows and light intertwining in perfect balance.
"Soul Assimilation Initialized. Five of Twelve Unlocked."
Riku's aura flared violently, glowing with a brilliant silver and deep midnight blue.
His eyes sharpened, now glowing with a faint blue-white flame. His hair lifted slightly, radiating with raw Essence energy.
The transformation took hold.
He had ascended into his Fourth Divine Avatar: Celestial Nexus (C.N.).
With power surging through every fiber, he turned his back to the ruin and began to walk away — calm, unshaken, the embodiment of a force far beyond mortal reach.