The shadows twisted into monstrous forms, lunging at the group.
Gabriel swung his staff, releasing bursts of holy spells.
"Tailon, you fool! Do you even know what you've done?"
Tailon chuckled.
"Oh, I know exactly what I've done. You think you can stop Seth? You don't even understand what he is, and you don't know what he can do. I've seen his powers firsthand, and I must admit—there is no one in the world that can stop him."
As they were arguing with Tailon, the statue moved. As soon as Tailon realized it and was about to tell the others… he saw the statue right in his face.
"He's fast," Tailon said, his eyes wide open in terror. He was punched straight in the gut, with an intense breeze like a tornado bursting out from his back. He coughed up blood and teleported to the door of the temple, then fell unconscious.
As Jasper was about to turn to Rey, he saw the statue—but his body couldn't react. This time, the statue's hand was heading straight for his face. Before the statue's fist made contact, Gabriel cast an advanced hardening spell on Jasper's face. After taking the hit, Jasper's body lifted off the ground, suspended in the air. The statue jumped above him and landed another hit—this time in the stomach. Jasper took the second blow and crashed to the ground at incredible speed, falling unconscious.
Elsa shouted,
"Gabriel, get Tailon and Jasper together and heal both at once!"
"It's gonna take time," Gabriel said.
"Just do it!" Elsa replied as she ran to Rey and drew her twin daggers.
"You ready, Rey?"
"I'm always ready," Rey replied, drawing his sword.
They ran straight at the statue. The moment the statue looked down, it saw Rey swinging his sword at him—and then he smiled.
Rey's face shifted in fear as his sword made contact with the statue's body—and shattered like glass.
The statue picked up Rey from the ground, punched his face, threw him into the air, and then jumped after him.
The air was painted red as both Rey and the statue rose. The second they were airborne, it was as if time stopped. Rey couldn't move, but he felt his body twisting in every direction at once as the statue offloaded punches into him mid-air.
In that moment, Rey could not see, nor hear, nor control his body. The only thing he could do was feel the agonizing pain of being struck from every angle. The final punch sent him flying into a wall.
Rey tried to get up, but his body did not respond. He was too weak. His vision was red from the blood pouring from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
Elsa shouted,
"Reeeeyyyyy!"
She ran toward him, and as she reached for his hand, the statue appeared and delivered a brutal uppercut to her chin, sending her flying—slamming into Gabriel, who was healing Tailon and Jasper.
As Elsa's blood splashed on Rey's face, he snapped.
His hair turned black and lifted slightly, black flames burning at the edges. His eyes turned red, and a pure purple flame laced with golden flickers surrounded his body. A dark crest mark appeared on his forehead. But the most stunning transformation was the yellow crown floating above his head.
He stood, smiled, and teleported to the statue before it could realize what was happening. The whole temple turned black and white, and a clock appeared behind the statue, ticking.
As soon as the clock stopped, everything went silent.
Rey punched the statue. His fist never made contact—it stopped just short—but the sheer force of it shattered the statue into dust.
Rey grabbed the Dreambinder, and the moment he touched it, a shockwave of light burst from his body, sending the shadows recoiling. His body returned to normal.
Tailon's smirk faltered.
"Tch. So that's how it is."
Elsa lunged at him, but Tailon vanished into smoke.
"See you soon," his voice echoed.
Rey walked up to Elsa.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Gabriel healed us," Elsa replied.
The shadows dissipated, but the damage was done. The temple was collapsing.
"Move!" Rey shouted.
They barely made it out before the entrance crumbled behind them.
Outside, Rey gripped the Dreambinder.
"Tailon betrayed us… but now we have what we need."
Elsa looked at him.
"Then let's end this."