Flashback
"Aldaeem, you must become stronger," his father's voice thundered with fury. "And when you do, bring down this impure world. Tear down the unworthy rulers who sit on their thrones as if they deserve it. Do everything in your power to leave your mark on this world."
Aldaeem stood still, just a boy then, but his father's eyes—burning with rage—etched those words deep into his soul.
---
Back to the Present
Sultan lay sprawled across the battlefield, the dust settling after the intense brawl.
Above him stood Blaze and Dark Flame, their postures relaxed, grinning like they hadn't even broken a sweat.
Blaze stepped forward, his voice taunting.
"Hey, get up. Don't tell me you're already done?"
Dark Flame chuckled, his arms crossed.
"Come on, Jakson. Stop picking on the weak."
Blaze glanced at him, amused.
"You and I both know—the fun in picking on the weak."
Sultan's mind was spinning.
Weak?
Did they just call me weak?
Me? Sultan?
His fists clenched against the ground.
His blood boiled.
Now they've done it.
"You mortals dare speak to me in such a manner?! I'm going to—"
Before Sultan could finish, Blaze cut in with a smirk.
"Guhhhh, there he goes again. 'Mortals this, mortals that.' You keep talking like you're not human yourself."
Dark Flame chuckled, turning to Blaze.
"You got that right. Always calling himself a god... but look who's down there, and who's still standing."
He made sure Sultan heard every word.
"Yeah, yeah," Blaze added with a laugh.
"What a weakling."
Their voices echoed in Sultan's head like a blaring boombox.
Mockery. Disrespect. Humiliation.
Weakling?
The word bounced inside his skull, over and over again.
Sultan's fists clenched. His breathing grew heavier.
His eyes, once dull with defeat, now glowed with pure fury.
He looked up, teeth gritted, rage pouring out of every fiber of his being.
"I'm going to kill you two..." he snarled, voice dripping with hate.
Blaze didn't flinch.
"Then come on, Mr killer. We're waiting."
Sultan stood motionless, head lowered, fists trembling.
Then it happened.
A dark aura erupted around him, spiraling upward like a violent storm. The wind howled. The ground cracked beneath his feet. Shadows clung to his body as if drawn to something ancient and forbidden.
In his palm, a dark orb flickered to life. It pulsed, unstable, alive, and overflowing with raw malice.
Without hesitation, Sultan raised the orb to his lips.
He swallowed it.
His body shuddered. The aura around him flared with terrifying intensity, turning the air dense and suffocating.
High above, Blaze and Dark Flame froze mid-flight.
"Do you feel that?" Blaze muttered.
"That aura… it's thick," Dark Flame said with a grimace. "Like trying to fly through a black hole."
They dove toward Sultan, but the energy surrounding him formed a barrier. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't break through.
---
Elsewhere…
Far from the battlefield, Vilex stopped mid-run. A chill crept up his spine.
He couldn't sense magic, but this wasn't just magic. It felt like bloodlust, raw and overwhelming.
He turned sharply.
"Sage… can you feel this?"
Sage narrowed his eyes, fingers at his temple.
"I sure can. That aura... where did he get those orbs?"
"What orbs?" Vilex asked.
Sage's tone turned serious.
"We need to get to Jakson and Rudy. Now."
He raised his hand and conjured a glowing portal. Without hesitation, the two heroes stepped in — heading straight for the heart of the storm.
On getting there, they stood with Blaze and Dark Flame. The wind blowing heavily.
Blaze asked Sage,
"What's going on with him?"
"What did you see him take?" Sage asked.
"I didn't see him take anything," Blaze replied.
"I saw something with him… like a ball," Dark Flame said.
"I knew it. He took the orbs… but where did he find them?" Sage said.
"You've been saying orbs… what orbs exactly?" Vilex asked.
"What he took are the orbs of Omanses. They are dark orbs that were lost during the fall of Dahavi Kingdom," Sage said as something just sank into his head.
"Dahavi Kingdom…"
He paused.
"He is from the Dahavi Kingdom. That's the only way he could have gotten them," Sage said.
"I've heard about the kingdom. So they made this? They were wiped out during the war," Vilex said.
"Now I understand. Dahavi is not far from here. Ultra City was one of the cities that funded the war. His kingdom was the battlefield. And now… we are facing the wrath of the only possible survivor," Vilex added.
Suddenly, a call came through to Vilex's comms. It was Commander Layla.
"Hey Timothy, what's going on?" she asked.
"He took an orb filled with dark energy, and now he's powered up. Looks like this fight is going to take a while. But don't worry, we will get this done."
"Just get it done. I know it's not easy," said Layla.
"One more thing, Commander… he's a survivor of Dahavi."
Vilex ended the call.
Layla was just trying to remember Dahavi, until she said,
"Johnathan, search for Dahavi."
"Dahavi… Dahavi… got it," said Johnathan.
"Wait—Dahavi is no more. It's destroyed. Off the map," Johnathan added.
"Shit… how could we not have known? He's taking revenge for his kingdom," Layla said.
"So it's one of those kingdoms that got affected in the war?" Johnathan asked.
"Yeah, but that doesn't give him the right to take other lives. We must bring him down," Layla added.
Back to the battlefield.
"Guys, the wind is calming down, and I think the barrier has dropped a bit. Get ready—once we see a chance to attack, we go in," Vilex said.
"Are you good now, Sage?" Dark Flame asked.
"I'm not fully fit yet, but I'll support with what little I can," Sage replied.
"Good," Vilex nodded.
As the wind slowed, Sultan stared them down. "I didn't want to use it, but you forced my hand. Now you pay the price."
His lithokinesis flared, sharper and stronger than before. He hurled razor-edged rocks at the heroes, and the fight erupted once more.
Blaze was attacking from right to left, Dark Flame from left to right. Fire combos were spamming out from both of them, lighting up the battlefield. Vilex, sharp as ever, was throwing punches—quick, clean, deadly—and with Sage opening portals for him to launch out from right after he fired an arrow or threw a punch, the combo was nasty. Sultan couldn't even tell where Vilex would pop out from next.
But even with all that, Sultan didn't seem hurt that much. Yeah, he was getting hit—but he was dishing it right back. And as the fight dragged on, it became clearer: this four versus one wasn't working the way they hoped. Sultan was getting stronger. The orbs he swallowed were kicking in, and he was feeling it.
The heroes took a step back, spacing out, catching breath. Sultan stood in the center, ready to move in again—but then, out of nowhere, like a blizzard from the heavens—
He dropped.
Frost landed from the sky, aura cold, eyes locked.
"Nice, Vice Cap is also here," Blaze said with a grin.
"Good to have you back, brother," Vilex added.
"Thank you," Frost replied calmly.
"So now we're five. This is getting better," Dark Flame said, a little smirk on his face.
"No—six," came another voice.
Thunderstorm dropped down beside them.
"Cause I'm here too," he finished.
"So happy you could join us, Tyler," Sage said.
"Now he's cornered," Frost added, eyes still locked on Sultan.
Sultan laughed low and dark.
"You think you're cornering me?" he said. "I have the orbs of Omanses. I'm getting stronger every damn minute. You should be worried."
"You think you're invincible?" Vilex said. "You're not. You think those orbs will save you? You must be joking."
He stepped forward.
"Get ready... your end is near."