The battle raged on, and it seemed Midnight Specter had the upper hand. Ronan, now held tightly in Midnight Specter's grip, was moments away from being killed with his own sword. Hiro's heart pounded in his chest, and time seemed to slow down as the cold, menacing laughter of the Abyssal Commander filled the air.
Hiro felt helpless. His mind raced, and his vision blurred with desperation. Ayla and Aqua were too far, and they were reeling from their last attacks. He couldn't lose Ronan. Not now. Not ever.
Suddenly, a surge of energy, unlike anything Hiro had felt before, coursed through his veins. His light soul burned within him, demanding to be unleashed. He didn't think. His body moved on instinct.
The world around him shifted as Hiro tapped into his pure light energy, his entire form shimmering as if he had become one with the very essence of light itself. His speed exploded in an instant, accelerating to even faster than the speed of light, faster than even his light powers had ever allowed him to move.
Midnight Specter barely had time to register the sudden flash of light before Hiro was upon him.
In less than a heartbeat, Hiro materialized behind the Abyssal Commander, the speed leaving a trail of glowing afterimages in its wake. Midnight Specter's eyes widened in shock as Hiro drew the Sword of Eternal Shadows from the void.
Before Midnight Specter could react, the dark blade sliced through the air in a swift, decisive motion.
The Abyssal Commander's head separated from his body, falling to the ground with a thud. For a moment, it seemed as if time stood still. The once terrifying specter, a commander of darkness, crumbled into nothingness, leaving only wisps of shadow behind.
But Hiro's victory came at a cost.
The overwhelming speed he had just tapped into had wreaked havoc on his body. His skin was badly burned, singed from the intense friction and energy of traveling at light speed. His muscles screamed in agony, and he could barely stand as pain overwhelmed him.
His breath came in ragged gasps, but before he could collapse, Hiro summoned the remnants of his shadow energy. Shadows coiled around him, mending his burns, while his light soul worked to heal the internal damage. Yet, even with this desperate attempt at healing, Hiro could barely stay on his feet.
Ayla and Aqua rushed over, their eyes wide in a mixture of awe and concern. Ayla knelt by Hiro's side, her fiery aura flickering uncertainly as she tried to assess his condition. Aqua quickly joined, her hands trembling as she pulled out her notebook to try and understand what had just happened.
Ronan, who had collapsed to his knees after being freed from Midnight Specter's grasp, looked up at Hiro with sheer disbelief.
"Hiro, what... was that?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Hiro tried to speak but winced in pain. "I don't... I don't know," he muttered, his voice strained. "It just... happened."
The adrenaline began to wear off, and fatigue took over. Hiro's healing was working, but his body was exhausted. Midnight Specter, the second strongest of the Shades of Darkness, had been defeated—but at what cost?
Ayla looked at Aqua, her voice tense, "We need to get him back. Now."
Before Hiro could protest, he felt darkness encroaching on his vision. His last thought before slipping into unconsciousness was the chilling realization that his powers were growing far beyond what he could control.
Hiro being carried back to safety by Ronan, and the weight of what had just occurred starting to sink in. Aqua, ever the analyst, is left reeling at the idea that Hiro's full potential might be far more dangerous—and uncontrollable—than any of them had ever imagined.