The sterile hospital room was suffused with the soft hum of machinery, the quiet beeping of heart monitors, and the distant footsteps of nurses walking down the hall. Kai lay still in the bed, his body wrapped in bandages from the recent explosion, his mind slowly coming back to reality. The faint ache in his newly installed prosthetic eye was a constant reminder of the battle he'd just endured.
But something tugged at the edge of his consciousness—a distant whisper, an energy, a pull that he couldn't quite understand. It gnawed at him, growing stronger with each passing second, as though the universe itself was calling to him.
Kai stirred, glancing around the dimly lit room. He was alone for the first time since his surgery. The team, weary from watching over him, had left to rest and gather their strength. Kai swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up slowly, testing his body's limits. Every movement sent a dull pain through his muscles, but the pull he felt was stronger than any physical discomfort.
As he stood, a sharp voice rang through his head. "Kai!" It was Yuta's voice, a projection, clear as day but distant, as if carried on the winds of space itself.
"What... Yuta?" Kai whispered, confusion clouding his mind. "What's going on?"
"Kai," Yuta's voice continued, more urgent now, "You need to get out of there. Something has happened—Zephyrus... he's changed. He's no longer the same being we faced before. He's become... Cosmic Zephyrus."
Kai's heart skipped a beat at the words. Cosmic Zephyrus? The name alone sent a chill through him. The word "Cosmic" wasn't just a title—it was a designation, a rank of immense power in the vast hierarchy of the universe's beings. Cosmics were rare, almost mythological, possessing abilities that far surpassed any normal human, demon, or even deity.
He remembered the stories. There were only a handful of beings across galaxies who had ascended to Cosmic status, and those that did were nearly unstoppable. They could bend the laws of physics, manipulate reality itself, and had powers that dwarfed even the most powerful beings of their time. The universe had legends of entire planets crumbling beneath the weight of a single Cosmic being's will, stars bending in their light, and time itself warping in their presence.
Kai stood frozen for a moment, trying to comprehend the magnitude of what Yuta was telling him.
"How did this happen?" Kai asked aloud, his voice barely more than a whisper, but the desperation in his tone was clear.
Yuta's voice answered with grim determination. "We don't know all the details yet, but Zephyrus found something—a fragment of a Cosmic relic, perhaps. Whatever it was, it has given him power beyond anything we've seen before. He's left Earth... he's out there, somewhere in the vastness of space, and he's building his strength. If we don't stop him now, he'll become unstoppable."
Kai clenched his fists, the pull in his chest now undeniable. He knew he couldn't stay here, lying in a hospital bed, while Zephyrus grew stronger by the second. His body was weak, but his mind was resolute. His friends, his city, the entire world—they were all counting on him to stop Zephyrus, no matter the cost.
"I have to go after him," Kai murmured, his voice low but filled with determination. He straightened up, forcing his sore muscles to comply. "I can't let him destroy everything we've fought for."
Before he could second-guess his decision, Kai slipped out of the hospital room, moving quickly and quietly through the halls. He kept to the shadows, avoiding the nurses and staff, his mind singularly focused on the task ahead. The cool night air greeted him as he exited the building, and for a brief moment, he stopped to take in a deep breath.
Kai felt the cosmic energy tug at him once more, a sensation that seemed to resonate with his own developing powers. His training with Sensei Raika had unlocked abilities within him that he was only beginning to understand—teleportation, energy manipulation, and something deeper, a connection to forces beyond the ordinary.
In an instant, Kai tapped into his teleportation abilities, focusing on the faint energy signatures of the cosmos, his mind zeroing in on the vast, cold darkness of space where he knew Zephyrus would be waiting. With a flash of light, Kai vanished from the Earth, leaving the hospital behind as he shot up into the stars.
---
The void of space stretched out endlessly before Kai as he reappeared, floating among the stars. The silence was deafening, but he could feel the presence of something far greater looming in the distance. His newly implanted eye—now fused with the residual energy of Zephyrus's dark power—allowed him to see things beyond the visible spectrum. Cosmic waves of energy rippled through the expanse, leading him toward the center of it all.
It didn't take long for him to sense Zephyrus. The villain's aura was different now, no longer the dark, twisted energy that had once infected Yuta's body. It was vast, powerful, pulsating with an energy that seemed to vibrate with the rhythm of the stars themselves.
And then, Kai saw him.
Zephyrus stood on an asteroid, his form towering and magnificent, glowing with the light of a thousand suns. His body had undergone a transformation—he was no longer the man they had once faced in battle. His skin shimmered with a cosmic brilliance, his eyes burning like the heart of a star. Nebulae swirled around him, and the space dust gathered in his wake as though the universe itself bowed to his presence.
"Kai," Zephyrus's voice boomed, echoing through the vastness of space. His tone was cold, yet laced with an arrogant satisfaction. "You came after me? Foolish, but commendable. You should know by now that you cannot stop me. I've transcended the limitations of our previous battles. I am Cosmic now."
Kai's heart pounded as he hovered in the void, staring down at the newly ascended Cosmic Zephyrus. The sheer power radiating from him was overwhelming, but Kai knew he couldn't back down. "I won't let you destroy everything!" Kai shouted, his voice filled with conviction. "This ends now, Zephyrus. I don't care how powerful you've become—I'll find a way to stop you."
Zephyrus chuckled, the sound resonating through the stars like a shockwave. "You still don't understand, do you, Kai? You're nothing more than an ant in the presence of a god. I've become more than you could ever comprehend. The power I possess now... it's beyond your wildest imagination."
Kai tightened his fists, feeling the energy pulsing through him as well, but he knew it wasn't nearly enough to match Zephyrus's newfound strength. He could sense the Cosmic energy swirling around his opponent, a force that could bend reality itself.
Cosmics were known for their ability to warp the very fabric of existence. They could manipulate time, space, and matter on a scale that no other beings could comprehend. Entire galaxies could be erased with a single thought, planets crumbled under their will, and the very laws of physics meant nothing in their presence. Zephyrus had become one of them—one of the strongest beings in the universe.
But Kai wasn't about to give up.
"I may be just an ant," Kai replied, his voice steady despite the overwhelming odds, "but I've got something you don't—something you can't ever understand."
Zephyrus raised an eyebrow, amused. "And what's that?"
Kai's eyes glowed with fierce determination. "Hope. And the will to protect the people I care about. No matter how strong you are, Zephyrus, that's something you'll never have."
With that, Kai charged forward, his body glowing with energy, ready to take on the impossible.