The storm clouds around Moon slowly evaporate as Moon confidently steps out into the large hallway. Massive chandeliers, and a throne room at the back. Moon could feel a strong aura pouring off the throne as a lady walked from behind it. Moon grits his teeth.
"Commander 3… Zephyra" Zephyra sat on the throne. Zephyra was ethereal, with flowing white hair and wings that shimmer like the dawn. She wore a dress made of soft feathers that appeared to float around her. Moon steps into an open arena, winds swirling around him. Zephyra descends gracefully, her voice like a gentle breeze.
"Do you think you can catch me in this storm?" She spins, creating a whirlwind. Moon steadies himself, determined to face her unpredictable nature. A powerful gust sweeps through the arena, making the chandeliers sway and the walls creak. Winds spiral around her, forming small tornadoes that make it nearly impossible for Moon to get close. She darts through the air, her wings creating blinding flashes of light, as she launches sharp wind blasts toward Moon.
"Wind, huh?" Moon narrows his eyes, staying calm despite the chaos. With a subtle motion, he activates his Mantra, slowing the flow of time around him. The gusts that once roared become manageable breezes. Moon steps forward, weaving through the slower blasts of wind, but Zephyra's agility makes her difficult to pin down. Even with time slowed, she moves like a whisper in the storm. Zephyra smiles, feeling the shift.
"Slowing time won't help you, Moon… Wind is untouchable," she says, her voice carried on the breeze. Moon lifts his hand, freezing time for just a fraction of a second, allowing him to throw a blade directly at Zephyra. She narrowly dodges, her feathers barely grazing the blade.
"Fast, but not fast enough," she teases, retaliating with a whirlwind that knocks Moon back. He slides but steadies himself, realizing he needs to conserve his energy for the right moment.
"Constantly moving is a good tactic…" Moon, adjusting to her constant movement, manipulates time to create brief windows where he moves at hyper-speed. This allows him to throw several attacks in rapid succession, catching Zephyra off guard for the first time. His blasts graze her wings, but Zephyra reacts swiftly, summoning a massive gust of wind that sends him crashing into a pillar.
As the storm intensifies, Zephyra hovers above, hands raised to the sky. Lightning crackles through the air, and the wind grows fiercer. She aims to overwhelm Moon with sheer force.
"You won't keep up for long," she says, sending a barrage of lightning-infused wind slashes at him. In response, Moon manipulates time to slow the storm, moving through it as if it were a maze. His focus sharpens, and he begins to predict Zephyra's movements within the storm. He charges forward, freezing time in short bursts to deliver consecutive punches that land solidly against her stomach.
"I won't be knocked down!" Zephyra is not easily subdued. She takes advantage of Moon's split-second pauses between time freezes, sending whirlwinds to disrupt his footing. When she manages to land a solid hit with a powerful gust, Moon is thrown across the room, his body skidding across the floor.
"Cheap shot…" Breathing heavily, Moon gets to his feet. He realizes that to defeat Zephyra, he needs to manipulate more than just time—he must bend the storm to his will. Concentrating, Moon taps into his mantra at a deeper level, creating a time vortex around him. Everything within a small radius around him moves in slow motion, while he remains at normal speed. This creates a calm eye in the center of the storm.
"What the-" Zephyra watches with interest, her smile fading as she sees Moon gaining control.
"I WON'T LOSE TO THE LIKES OF YOU!" She summons a colossal whirlwind that fills the entire hall, winds howling violently as debris flies around them. But as the whirlwind approaches the Moon, it slows dramatically upon entering his time vortex.
Moon takes several calm steps forward, unfazed by the wind. Suddenly leaping toward Zephyra at lightning speed, fists glowing with temporal energy. They clash in midair, exchanging powerful blows—Zephyra's wind slashes and aerial agility against Moon's precise, time-altered strikes. Each hit sends shockwaves throughout the room, creating cracks in the walls and floor. Moon lands a solid punch that sends Zephyra crashing into the ground.
"You can't outrun time," he says, his breath steady, but his body bruised.
"Who says that? Not me…" Zephyra rises, her ethereal form glowing as she unleashes her final attack—a swirling vortex of wind and lightning that converges around her. The room darkens as the storm closes in, and Zephyra becomes one with the winds, her body dissolving into the tempest itself.
In the center of this chaos, Moon stands still, concentrating. He extends his hands, manipulating the flow of time around the storm, forcing it to slow to a crawl. With every ounce of strength he has left, he isolates the core of the storm—where Zephyra's essence resides.
"Time mantra: Temporal glitch" Using his final reserve of mantra, Moon freezes time completely, allowing him a single chance. He leaps through the frozen storm, heading straight for Zephyra. With a single, powerful strike, he disrupts her mantra, shattering the storm and sending her spiraling out of control. A shockwave of wind explodes from her back.
Time resumes. Zephyra collapses to the ground, her wings broken, her dress tattered, coughing up blood. She gasps for air, stunned by the sheer power of Moon's time manipulation.
"You... really can bend time to your will..." she whispers, her voice weak. Moon stands over her, victorious but drained.
"No storm can last forever," he says before turning away, the winds settling into an eerie calm.