Amidst the chaos outside, James and Violet find themselves once again in the same garden. Everything remains the same, yet upside down. As they step down from the ceiling, gravity pulls them swiftly toward the underside of the rising platform that had previously sent the army into Ra’s chamber, passing the still-ongoing disco lights. The platform doesn’t cover the entire floor, so Violet carefully flies them both to the other side, where they return to the chamber. Inside, it's dark, but the neon strip Charlotte and James had pulled from the side of a wall, still functioning, provides just enough light, though a bit dim. They can see the battle raging outside, but it seems the others cannot see them.

  “Glad you can fly us, eh!” James says, glancing down at the pyramid’s tip, which still appears to be open.

  Violet carefully flies them through the tip and into the saucer. But suddenly, the pyramid flips, sending them both tumbling to the floor. Before they can recover, several freed souls fall from the tip, their eyes wide with terror.

  “There’s no way out!” the droopy-eyed boy shouts in panic. “Oh! It’s you guys! Whatever you do, don’t go inside!” he warns.

  “Actually, that’s why we’re here,” James replies.

  “It’s a living being! It’s pulsating! There are monsters inside, and…and the flesh! It absorbs you if you touch it! We’ve lost so many!” the boy exclaims, his voice trembling. “We reached what we think is the brain. It was full of wires!”

  “Wires, eh?”

  After some debate, James and Violet decide to investigate. Inside the saucer, the walls, ceilings, and floors are made of pulsating pink flesh. The first area they encounter is filled with cows, the ceiling and floor covered in grass atop the throbbing flesh. They carefully maneuver, doing their best to avoid contact with it.

  “How did that kid say he got to the brain again?” Violet wonders.

  “Crawling through the ceilings, I think,” James replies.

  The two carefully continue on, and with Violet’s gust, they manage to find an opening in the ceiling, leading them to another vast area filled with mutated cows, seemingly trapped in some kind of fleshy captivity. They backtrack several times, exploring new openings as they encounter dead ends. Finally, they find the sole opening to an area above. This time, it’s the dome.

  “These are neutral links, not wires,” Violet remarks.

  “Bingo! We should start cutting them!” James suggests.

  The two get to work, with Violet controlling the gust while James cuts through the links with his rapiers and icicles. Their effort is unchallenged, allowing them to continue with relative ease. However, as the very last link falls, the flesh begins swelling. Quickly, they try to make their way to the exit, but a sudden bump causes them to lose precious time as Violet struggles to restabilize midair. By the time they near the exit, it’s too late – the path is blocked by the swollen flesh. Desperately, they try to destroy it, but the swelling rate outpaces their efforts.

  “No, no, no!” Violet screams.

  “Is this really it for us?” James says, his eyes welling up with tears.

  “Come, James.” Violet pulls him into a tight hug, her voice tender.

  “Looks like this is it…Fuck! I don’t get to say my goodbyes again. I have so much to say to each of my teammates…,” James’s voice cracks, tears falling.

  “Then say them now.”

  “I love them all…Goddammit! Wyn, keep going! Keep everyone alive and take them all the way to the end…for me…for us…,” James pauses, his voice trembling. “But I’m glad none of you have to see me in my final moments…”

  They hold each other tightly, their faces resting on each other’s shoulders, eyes closed as the flesh squeezes them, crushing them with relentless pressure. Then, a violent explosion erupts from within, tearing through the flesh.

  Yu, Mira, and Lisa stand at the edge of the saucer, feeling the tremors reverberate through the air. Instinctively, Lisa urges them to jump. As they plummet, Yu channels a powerful water stream, softening their landing. Despite this, the fall from such a height still leaves them all injured – Yu and Mira in the back, and Lisa with a broken arm.

  They look back at the pyramid and watch in horror as the saucer explodes. Yu immediately dashes everyone further away, propelled by a water stream. But as they glance back, something strange catches their eye – no chunks from the saucer are falling. Instead, the explosion seems to be sucked into the pyramid.

  Within moments, the pyramid erupts, but the blast doesn’t radiate outward. Instead, it remains contained, expanding within the shape of the pyramid itself. Then, the sand atop it surges outward, frozen in time for a brief moment. Beneath it, the crystal shatters, its shards hovering in midair before both the sand and crystal fragments slowly disintegrate into dust.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “My team!” Wyn exclaims, supporting David who is still conscious.

  “My cows!” Ra shouts.

  Suddenly, the cow-like features on Ra begin to fade, his form reverting to its original state as the solar disk reappears above him. At the same time, Wei’s sword slowly fades from his neck.

  “Don’t say a word,” Wyn tells David firmly. “We’ll end this now and get back to our teams.”

  Ra attempts to take the fight to the air on the solar baroque, but Wyn conjures cyclones, trapping him in place. With no choice but to stay grounded, Ra braces as David charges in with his shield raised. As Ra steadies himself for impact, a sudden lightning strike hits the solar disk, sending it spinning away from his head and momentarily distracting him. Seizing the opportunity, David switches his attack, driving his sword into the god’s stomach before slamming his shield into Ra’s face. With a swift leap backward, David creates distance, preparing for the next exchange.

  While Ra writhes from the burning wound, David leaps in for another strike. But before he can connect, Ra spins, transforming into a falcon. With a powerful sweep of his wings, he flips David over himself, sending him tumbling across the battlefield. Wyn halts his cyclones, concerned for David’s safety.

  Seizing the moment, Ra begins a fiery rampage through the army, his falcon form rocketing through their ranks, leaving a trail of chaos. Flames engulf him as he soars, striking down soldiers and scattering their formations.

  The carnage grinds to a halt as Yu, Mira, Lisa, and the rest of the army regroup. Together, they summon an array of barricades, pooling their powers to block Ra's advance. Forced to revert to his human form, Ra prepares to unleash a scalding sand shockwave.

  Before he can, a powerful stream of water, fused with elements from the army's combined efforts, bursts through the barricades. The force knocks Ra backward, and Wyn seizes the opportunity, trapping him within four cyclones, immobilizing the god once again.

  In a dazzling display of control, Wyn commands the cyclones to swirl around Ra, their speeds intensifying with each passing second. David watches in awe, captivated by Wyn’s mastery over the roaring winds.

  Ra, unfazed, summons the solar disk once more, unleashing a massive flame in front of him. However, to his frustration, much of the fire is drawn into the cyclones, reducing its range. Seizing the moment, David conjures a towering fire pillar beneath Ra, followed by a thunder strike from above, while Ra retaliates by engulfing Wyn in a searing sand pillar.

  Despite the intense heat, Wyn presses on, his cyclones unyielding as they orbit Ra with increasing ferocity. A new cyclone, filled with rocks, crashes down in the center, breaking through the sand shield Ra is only just beginning to form and pinning him further. The sand pillar surrounding Wyn dissipates as he strides out, enduring the searing pain.

  “Close in on him, just in case, David,” Wyn instructs, his voice steady despite the strain.

  In an unexpected move, the orbiting cyclones dissipate as Wyn propels himself into the central cyclone pinning Ra down. Using its force, he thrusts his chakram blades forward. Ra, lying back against the ground, blocks Wyn's advance with the solar disk, which begins to emit flames.

  Wyn quickly widens the descending cyclone before summoning an ascending one from below. Caught in the turbulent vortex, Ra loses his grip on the solar disk, its flames spiraling chaotically within the raging winds. Wyn seizes the moment, cyclone dashing downward before canceling the ascending wind and summoning a rock pillar in its place. A deafening crash echoes as Wyn’s chakram blades carve through both of Ra’s arms, grazing his torso in the process.

  Relentless, Wyn narrows the remaining cyclone, pinning Ra's head and feet in place. But Ra, summoning every ounce of his strength, engulfs himself in flames and flips sideways, displacing Wyn and momentarily trapping him in his own cyclone. Forced to react quickly, Wyn disperses it and stumbles free.

  “Shit, my blades didn’t lodge!” Wyn exclaims.

  Immediately, scalding sand engulfs Wyn, concealing him from view. Ra, though seriously injured, struggles to his feet, limping heavily toward the regrouped army now standing with David. Despite his worry for his team, whose presence he cannot sense among the remaining fighters, David takes the lead, rallying the army behind him. Yu, Mira, and Lisa spread out, ready to flank Ra.

  Before anyone can reach the god, however, Ra collapses to the ground, his body betraying him. Wyn’s team decides to instead rush to check on Wyn, now freed from the searing sand. Meanwhile, David sits atop Ra’s back, his form still engulfed in flame.

  David growls lowly, his jaw trembling with pain as he forces the words out. “Stay...down!”

  Ignoring the searing pain, David delivers a series of powerful strikes – his sword and shield slamming into the back of Ra’s head in tandem, like twin fists hammering down. With each blow, a thunderstrike crashes from above, amplifying the force of his relentless assault.

  The other souls, seizing the moment, strike at Ra's lower half from afar with weapons and elemental attacks. The onslaught is relentless, but it doesn't last long. Soon, Ra becomes completely motionless, the flames die out, and the sun that illuminated the level crumbles into sand. Its light flickers out as the dust scatters into the air.

  Before celebrating, Wyn and David rush into the army, ignoring their pain as they desperately ask for their friends’ whereabouts. David is left devastated when he’s told Jesús and Eugene are gone. Unable to say a word due to his broken jaw, he looks down, fists clenched, until he remembers there's a glimmer of hope that Violet might still be alive. Pointing toward the pyramid, where both Violet and James were last seen, David signals for them to head there.

  They rush to the area where the giant pyramid once stood, finding multiple bands scattered around the large essence dust pool. Despite clearly remembering Violet’s band, David quickly reports the situation to the nerds, clinging to a glimmer of hope as he asks for their help in identifying the bands – just in case she might still be alive elsewhere.

  The wait feels like eternity for David and Wyn’s team. Mira, anxious, holds one of the ice blue bands, pressing it against her chest as she silently prays for James’ safety. Then, the nerds reply, congratulating the army on their victory but also expressing their deepest condolences for the losses. They inform the group that Dark Force has acknowledged the passing of Lust, Steve, and Wei. The second part of the reply discusses the summoning of the moderators, assuring the team that they will receive updates before the army moves on to the next level. The final part of the reply pertains to the owners of the bands. The nerds have activated a feature where pressing the center of the band for a few seconds will display a virtual profile of the previous owner.

  Mira quickly presses on the ice blue band, with the whole team gathering around her. As the screen confirms the band belonged to James, a striking numbness fills their chests, the pain a sharp reminder of their loss.