Future Lyria watched with a serious expression as Lucilius had stopped responding moments ago. She could see his wings diminishing from eight to six, his power halved.
"It's already started," Future Lyria said, her face tense.
There was nothing more she could do now except trust Rei and her past self to handle the rest. Still, it was a shame she couldn't personally beat Lucilius for what he did to her future. After all, his body now wasn't only Lucilius's but also partly Rei's.
"Hey, Future Lyria, you're finally here!" Djeeta's voice called out from behind her.
"Hello, Djeeta. It looks like you're getting used to that power," Future Lyria replied with a graceful smile.
"Haha, nope! I'm still not used to this at all. I can barely handle this Boundary Power," Djeeta laughed, scratching her head.
"By the way… is that Future Vyrn?" Djeeta asked, glancing toward the small, dark, silver dragon flying beside Future Lyria.
"That's supposed to be me in the future?" Vyrn exclaimed, shocked that the little dragon was his future self.
"Hm!" was all Future Vyrn said before disappearing back inside Future Lyria.
"Aww, he's gone," Future Lyria giggled softly. "Sorry about that. He's a bit shy, and he's really different from the Vyrn you know."
"So… you're Lyria from the future? Will our Lyria end up like you, too?" Katalina asked hesitantly.
"I can't say," Future Lyria answered. "Even if timelines start the same, they all end differently. I'm Lyria from Djeeta and Rei's time."
"Different endings? Like, what kinds of endings do we get?" Gran asked, curious.
Future Lyria's smile turned sly as she began sharing some of the outcomes she'd seen.
She described one where Gran stopped adventuring to settle down and marry, another where they roamed the skies endlessly before reaching Estalucia, and even one where they fought aliens from the moon.
"I get married!?" Gran cried.
"Gran's getting married!" everyone except Djeeta exclaimed in shock.
---
Meanwhile, with Rei and the others…
They stepped out of the portal and found Lucilius seated on a throne, one hand propping up his head, eyes closed as if awaiting them.
While Rei remained calm and fearless, Lyria, Lyria², Orchid, and Ferry looked tense as they gazed at Lucilius.
"You've finally arrived," Lucilius said, opening his eyes. His intense purple gaze fixed on them.
"Yes, it's time to end this fight, Lucilius… No, it's time to end this, me," Rei replied, pointing his sword at him.
"The plan failed the moment I created you," Lucilius responded, standing from his throne and stepping forward.
"Too many irregularities… just like before." Three pairs of dark wings unfurled behind him. "Even the future has become entangled in this scheme," he continue, summoning the Sword of Repudiation into his right hand. "But none of that matters now." He pointed his sword at Rei.
Both Rei and Lucilius had only half of their powers, yet there was a difference. Rei's wings radiated with various colors, while Lucilius's wings glowed only with a dark hue.
"We're here to support you, Rei!" Lyria's voice came from behind him.
Hearing this made Rei smile as he tightened his grip on his sword. "I know."
With that, both Rei and Lucilius channeled their powers, rushing toward each other and clashing their swords.
*BOOOOOM*
Both of them struggled, trying to overpower one another.
"This weapon… How did you manage to find it?" Lucilius questioned, realizing what kind of weapon Rei wielded.
"Does it even matter?" Rei replied, pushing more of his strength into his weapon to overpower Lucilius's sword. Cracks began forming along Lucilius's Opus sword.
In an instant, Lucilius's Sword of Repudiation shattered. Rei seized the opening, following up with a powerful punch that sent Lucilius flying backward.
Without wasting any time, Rei took off after him, wings propelling him forward as Lucilius struggled to stabilize.
"Sword of Renunciation!" Lucilius said as he flew, summoning two crimson swords that floated around him, then sending them hurtling toward Rei.
Seeing the incoming swords, Rei's green wing glowed. "Tiamat: Supercell Tempest!" Harnessing Tiamat's power, a massive typhoon spiraled around Rei, deflecting the crimson swords and scattering them away.
With Tiamat's protection, Rei continued his pursuit as Lucilius steadied himself in midair, then used his own wings to retreat, putting distance between them.
"Yggdrasil: Axis Mundi!" Rei's brown wing flared with Yggdrasil's power as he extended his left hand forward.
In front of his hand, a glowing brown magic circle appeared, and from within it, a massive earthen hand emerged, reaching quickly toward Lucilius to grab him.
Seeing the giant hand, Lucilius retaliated with his own power. "Axion Vanitas!" Huge beams of light shot from each of his fingers, obliterating the approaching hand.
But the attack had slowed Lucilius down, allowing Rei to catch up.
"Colossus: Dimensional Cleave!" Rei's golden sword shifted to a blazing red, radiating intense heat as it vibrated with immense power.
Without hesitation, he swung it toward Lucilius, using Colossus's most powerful strike.
"Phosphorus Apocalypse!" Lucilius's Sword of Repudiation reappeared, but this time it shone with a silver hue, signifying he'd activated the weapon's next stage.
Their attacks collided, the clash shaking the entire realm and filling the air with a deafening explosion.
While Rei and Lucilius clashed fiercely above, Lyria, Lyria², Orchid, and Ferry stayed on the ground, observing the intense battle unfolding.
"I'm kind of glad they didn't fight in the Sky Realm… the pressure and impact from their fight would have already destroyed several islands by now," Ferry said, watching the powerful explosions from each strike.
Lyria² kept a barrier up around them, shielding everyone from the blasts that erupted each time Rei and Lucilius's swords collided.
"Yeah… seeing two Astrals fight like this is overwhelming," Orchid added.
"So, what's the plan now?" Orchid asked Lyria.
"At this point, we need to wait and look for an opening to attack. With how intense their fight is, we'd be at risk if we tried to intervene directly," Lyria replied.
"Even if I could help, none of my attacks could really harm Lucilius… so all I can do is watch. I'm sorry," Ferry said, disappointed.
Although she had fully merged with Celeste's power, it still wasn't enough to deal significant damage to Lucilius.
"That's fine; just keep an eye out for anything around us," Lyria² reassured her.
They turned their focus back to the sky, where Rei and Lucilius's swords clashed relentlessly. Their battle continued for a few moments, with Lucilius summoning the Sword of Renunciation to attack Rei, who defended himself with the powers of the primal beasts.
Finally, both fighters stopped mid-air, visibly exhausted. Lucilius had been fighting for a long time and faced so many opponents, while Rei had only just regained his strength and wasn't fully recovered.
Both hovered in the sky, catching their breath while maintaining a wary eye on each other.
"It's a shame, Lucilius," Rei spoke, breaking the silence. "Even though we're essentially the same, you're too obsessed with your goal."
"Eliminating dependence on the Omnipotent Bahamut isn't a bad goal in itself," Rei continued, "since Bahamut basically never do anything. There's no reason for them to keep worshipping him, not even when in our world when we played the game and saw everything Bahamut never do anything at all during all the incident, except for that one time incident with Phoenix."
"And that's why I intend to rebuild the Sky Realm and all timelines to resist Bahamut," Lucilius replied.
"But your approach is stupid. Killing everyone and remaking them to fit your vision is just such stupid idea," Rei countered.
"And do you have a better way to make them evolve? They can barely hold their own against primal beasts, let alone otherworldly threats." Lucilius said to him.
"No, I'm not as brilliant as you, and I can only progress from the start—from the moment you created me. But what I know is…" Rei's mind drifted to all those he'd met in the Sky Realm: Djeeta, Vyrn, Lyria, the grandma in Zinkenstill, Katalina, Rackam, Eugen, Rosetta, Io, and even those from his journey like Vira, Tweyen, Narmaya, and Rossie.
"I'll protect them and stop you from erasing them!" Rei's eyes gleamed with blue light as his wings flared, surging with more power.
"Protecting… such a waste of power." Purple lightning crackled around Lucilius, and a massive, dark-colored magic circle materialized behind him. Rei knew exactly what he was about to do.
"Paradise Lost!" Lucilius shouted.
"Efes," Rei called to his golden sword, which instantly responded to his command. "Evangelium!" The sword glowed with a brilliant golden aura as he swung it, slashing multiple times in front of him.
Each strike sent waves of golden energy racing forward, cutting through the rays of Paradise Lost that bore down on him. The waves pressed onward, nearly reaching Lucilius, who vanished just in time to evade them. The golden waves continued, finally striking and shattering the massive magic circle of Paradise Lost.
But that wasn't all—Rei easily sensed where Lucilius had teleported nearby. Without a moment's hesitation, Rei disappeared and reappeared directly in front of Lucilius, just as he emerged from his teleportation.
"!?" Lucilius hadn't expected Rei to be right in front of him. Rei swiftly swung his sword at Lucilius, who tried to block with his Sword of Repudiation. But as the two swords were about to clash, Rei's blade phased right through Lucilius's weapon.
"What!?" Lucilius saw a purple mist covering Rei's body, then suddenly felt a slash strike from behind, severing all six of his wings.
"Argh!"
Rei had actually appeared behind him, cutting off Lucilius's wings, while the Rei in front was an illusion created using Celeste's power to distract him.
With his wings gone, Lucilius began to fall from the sky, but Rei wasn't finished yet.
"Luminiera: Rain of Brilliant Spears!" A multitude of spears materialized around Rei, his golden wing glowing with Luminiera's power.
The spears pointed downward, and in an instant, they shot toward Lucilius as he continued his descent, bombarding him relentlessly.
"It's time! Everyone, help me! Lyria², let's do it like before!" Lyria shouted to the others.
Without hesitation, they all moved into position. The two Lyrias joined hands, channeling their combined power as Vessels of the Astral God. Orchid stood behind them, placing her hands on top of theirs, merging her energy with theirs.
Ferry stood by, unable to contribute directly but watching intently.
The three of them began pooling their powers.
"I command, under the protocol of Arcus, that all my power be granted to the administration," Orchid declared. Her clothes and hair began to sway, as if caught in a powerful wind.
"We accept—administration receiving Arcus's power," the Lyrias chanted together, and Orchid's energy flowed into them.
The transfer took a toll on Orchid, weakening her until she collapsed backward. Ferry managed to catch her just in time.
"Nice catch, Ferry," Orchid whispered, exhausted.
"Haha, it's all I can do. Let's move back for now," Ferry said, carrying Orchid a safe distance away from the Lyrias.
Both Lyrias' long blue hair began to glow, and the crystals embedded in their chests shone brightly—Lyria with her purple crystal, radiating a deep violet glow, and Lyria² with her blue crystal, glowing an intense azure. Their energies intertwined, merging blue and purple with Orchid's contribution.
An aura surrounded them, radiating in the colors of all element: red, green, blue, brown, dark, and light. Every element pulsed together in harmony.
*BOOOOM*
Rei's relentless assault continued, spear after spear raining down on Lucilius, pinning him down and preventing any attempt to escape.
While continuing his relentless attack on Lucilius, Rei suddenly sensed a surge of power radiating from where the Lyrias and the others were gathered. He turned to look at them, feeling the unmistakable pull of Lyria's energy resonating in the air.
Moments later, Lyria's voice echoed in his mind. "We're ready, but we need more of your power, Rei."
"More power?" Rei thought, shocked. Who in the world are they trying to summon? He could feel the sheer magnitude of the energy both Lyrias were gathering, and even that seemed insufficient.
Without wasting any time, he flew over to them, landing right in front of the two Lyrias, who stood with their hands clasped together, energy swirling around them.
"Give me your hand," one of the Lyrias said urgently.
Rei placed his left hand atop theirs, feeling an immediate pull as his energy was drained into their combined power. His wings, once glowing brightly with the hues of each primal beast, began to dim as their strength flowed into the Lyrias.
The aura around them grew stronger, more intense, as their powers converged.
"A Blaze of Carnage, Chiaroscuro Chaos, awaken it. Rebirth and Destruction at our command, Rebirth and Destruction Awaken!" they chanted in unison, their voices harmonizing in an incantation that seemed to shake the very air around them.
"COME FORTH, ULTIMATE BAHAMUT!" Together, they lifted their hands toward the sky, Rei's hand still pressed against theirs.
From their raised hands, a beam of light shot up into the sky, ascending until it paused, its energy coalescing, taking form. Slowly, the light transformed into an enormous dragon—its body vast, powerful, and awe-inspiring.
"ROOOAAARRRRR!" The dragon's roar reverberated through the air, shaking the entire place. The sheer intensity of its presence made everything around them tremble and vibrate under its power.
Lucilius's body was full of wounds after being hit by Rei's attacks. At this point, he was struggling to move.
With all the battles he'd fought before—against Djeeta, Sandalphon, Gran and the others, and now fighting himself—his energy was almost completely depleted, and he could do nothing but watch as they summoned Bahamut.
He still had one last card to play: his "The End" ability, which he hadn't used after gathering power earlier.
But then…
He saw his other self standing beside the girl in blue while looking up to where the dragon was.
"It no longer matters," he thought. Even if he used The End and defeated them here, there would still be other irregularities outside.
"There's just too much irregularity…"
"This plan was doomed to fail from the start… But," he looked toward Rei, or rather, toward his other self.
He still didn't understand what his other self saw in these people, but at least his plan was still in motion, and he wouldn't have to be the one to see it through.
The alternative plan—if he couldn't recreate the world from the beginning, then he would create better people in the Sky Realm in the future, by breeding and ensuring his other self had many half-Astral children, to change the entire Sky Realm.
He despised this plan, but at least he wouldn't be the one carrying it out…
"SKYFALL ULTIMA!" he heard their shout, and Ultimate Bahamut began gathering massive amounts of energy inside its mouth.
And then BOOOOOOM—a piercing sound so intense that it made everything vibrate echoed out as Bahamut unleashed its attack.