Cosmic Ruler

Before they could move—

Ordis vanished.

Not in speed.

Not in teleportation.

In absolute absence.

One moment, he stood before them.

The next—

He was upon Vael'Zyr.

And everything shattered.

—𝘊𝘙𝘈𝘊𝘒—!

The impact broke the sky.

The air split open, a jagged scar forming as if reality itself was screaming in protest.

Vael'Zyr, the being of shifting forms and incomprehensible existence—staggered.

For the first time—

It felt pain.

Ordis's hand gripped its core, silver eyes burning.

"You call yourself an echo of creation."

"But you are nothing more than a mistake."

—𝘚𝘕𝘈𝘗—!

Another chain shattered.

The Rift Begins to Collapse

The battlefield lurched, gravity twisting as the Rift began to unravel.

Ordis wasn't just breaking his own seals.

His presence was unraveling the very fabric of the Rift itself.

Aiden felt the shift instantly.

The world was breaking.

And if it continued—

Nothing would remain.

"Nihlus!" Aiden roared, golden flames surging around him. "We have to act now!"

The void-user's gaze snapped to him.

Then to Ordis.

Then to the Rift.

His expression darkened.

"Damn it."

—𝘍𝘞𝘖𝘖𝘚𝘏—!

Nihlus moved, his form blurring as he reappeared behind Ordis.

His void energy coiled, forming razor-thin threads of anti-reality.

And he struck.

Stopping the Unstoppable

—𝘚𝘏𝘙𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘒—!

Ordis turned, his eyes locking onto Nihlus in a fraction of a second.

His presence expanded, pressing down on both of them like a force of nature.

"You would challenge me?"

Nihlus didn't answer.

His void-threads wrapped around the shattered chains, trying to seal them once more.

But Ordis simply moved.

Not dodging.

Not defending.

Just existing beyond the attack itself.

And then—

He reached for Nihlus.

Aiden reacted instantly.

—𝘊𝘓𝘈𝘕𝘎—!

His sword clashed against Ordis's strike, divine golden energy burning against the being's unnatural force.

Their powers erupted, shaking the battlefield as golden light and silver void collided.

Aiden's feet dug into the ground, every muscle straining to hold his position.

But Ordis barely even pushed.

His eyes met Aiden's.

And for the first time—

Aiden saw something beneath the rage.

Something deeper.

Something ancient.

Something desperate.

Ordis was not simply attacking.

He was seeking something.

And that was far more terrifying.

A War Without Sides

Vael'Zyr, still reeling from Ordis's blow, finally moved, its form shifting between countless possibilities in an instant.

It did not attack Ordis.

It did not defend itself.

Instead—

It looked toward Aiden and Nihlus.

"Now you understand."

"He is no ally."

"He is no enemy."

"He is something far worse."

Aiden's breathing was heavy, golden light crackling across his body.

Ordis's eyes narrowed.

"And you are something far weaker."

The chains around his form shook again.

More would break.

And when they did—

Not even the Rift would be able to contain what came next.

Aiden knew it.

Nihlus knew it.

Vael'Zyr knew it.

The battlefield shook, caught between forces that defied existence itself.

Ordis's chains rattled, fragments of his seal crumbling away as more of his true power began to seep into reality.

Vael'Zyr, for all its incomprehensible nature, had been forced into a defensive stance.

Nihlus stood rigid, void energy spiraling violently around him as he calculated their next move.

Aiden gritted his teeth, golden flames flaring around his form.

Everything was on the edge.

And the next move would decide everything.

"This has to stop." Aiden's voice was sharp, resolute.

"If we keep fighting, this entire realm will collapse."

Ordis turned toward him, silver eyes narrowing.

"That is not my concern."

—𝘊𝘙𝘈𝘊𝘒—!

Another chain snapped.

And the Rift screamed.

The Fracture in Reality

The very air shuddered, existence folding in on itself as Ordis's power grew.

The battlefield, once unstable but still holding together, began to warp.

Gravity distorted.

Light bent unnaturally.

Sound became a distant, broken echo.

Nihlus cursed, his voice distorted through the shifting reality.

"If this continues, there won't be a battlefield left."

Aiden gritted his teeth.

They had to act now.

Vael'Zyr, still reeling, finally made its move.

It wasn't an attack.

It wasn't a retreat.

It was something far worse.

—𝘞𝘏𝘜𝘜𝘜𝘔—!

The Rift twisted.

And then—

It began to consume itself.

The Rift's Final Gambit

Aiden's eyes widened.

"No—"

Vael'Zyr's form fractured, dispersing into the Rift as if it were being absorbed back into the void.

Not dying.

Not retreating.

Merging.

Ordis turned, watching the phenomenon unfold, his expression unreadable.

"So, you would choose oblivion over defeat."

Vael'Zyr's distorted voice echoed from all directions.

"You cannot be allowed to break free."

"This existence was already doomed the moment you awakened."

Aiden felt it.

The Rift was collapsing.

Not just the battlefield.

The entire space itself.

If they didn't leave now, they would all be erased.

And yet—

Ordis did not move.

He simply watched.

As if he had expected this.

The Only Way Out

Aiden turned to Nihlus.

"Can you open a way out?"

Nihlus's eyes darkened.

"I can."

"But if I do…"

He glanced at Ordis.

"He comes with us."

Aiden clenched his fist.

They didn't know what Ordis was.

But leaving him here wasn't an option.

Because if he wasn't stopped—

He would break every chain.

And then—

There would be nothing left.

"Do it."

—𝘍𝘞𝘖𝘖𝘚𝘏—!

Nihlus raised his hand, void energy ripping open a pathway through the collapsing Rift.

The exit flickered, unstable but just enough.

Aiden moved first, stepping through—

And then—

Everything vanished.

Aiden felt himself being ripped through dimensions, his very existence stretching thin as the Rift collapsed behind them.

The gateway that Nihlus had torn open flickered violently, threatening to seal before they could all pass through.

Aiden burst through first, his golden aura stabilizing as he landed on solid ground.

The energy around him was… familiar.

They had made it back.

A world of reality, of law, unlike the abyssal chaos they had just escaped.

Then came Nihlus.

The void-user emerged next, his body still shifting with unstable energy, his breathing heavy from the strain of controlling the Rift's pathways.

And then—

Ordis.

The being of broken chains stepped through as if nothing had happened, his silver eyes calm.

And that was the problem.

He was calm.

Not weakened.

Not disoriented.

Not suffering from the collapse of the Rift.