The moment Vanessa and Bagga's attacks were about to collide, the entire void trembled, a crack in the fabric of existence itself. Time seemed to stutter, freezing the raw elemental fury and the boundless, berserk rage into suspended moments. Then, as if the very fabric of reality itself was being rewritten, a ripple spread across the battlefield.
In that brief instant, before the clash could obliterate everything, he appeared.
A figure materialized between the two titans of power—a seamless apparition of metal and shadow. He stood tall, cloaked in sleek, polished armor that shimmered like starlight, etched with intricate geometric patterns that pulsed with a faint blue glow. His hood covered most of his head, leaving only a smooth, metallic mask beneath—a visor that concealed his face but reflected the chaos of the battlefield. The subtle hum of advanced technology seemed to follow him, his presence exuding a mechanical precision unlike any other.
This was Stryde-4, "The Paradox". The legend whose existence blurred the lines between man and machine, reality and illusion. His armor was of unknown origin, a hybrid of both technological and cosmic materials, flowing as if it was part of the void itself.
With a single finger from each hand, Stryde-4 stopped the attacks aimed at him. Bagga's berserker fury vanished into thin air, absorbed by the void like a wisp of smoke, while Vanessa's swirling elemental powers dissipated instantly as though they had never existed.
"Enough," Stryde-4's voice was calm, a deep, resonant sound that cut through the stillness like a blade. His tone held no hint of strain, no effort, only absolute command. "I won't allow you two to destroy everything out of petty rivalry."
Bagga, who had been rampaging with unstoppable fury moments before, took an involuntary step back. The Boundless Tyrant, now facing someone who could dismiss his power so easily, let out a low growl. His eyes burned with fury, his fists still clenched tight as his muscles rippled beneath his dark, stone-like skin.
"Stryde-4," Bagga growled, the rage still thick in his voice. "You think you can just walk in here and stop me? I was about to—"
"Crush her skull?" Stryde-4 cut in, his voice dripping with boredom. "You always have the same solution, Bagga. Smash, crush, destroy. Do you ever get tired of being so predictable?"
Bagga's growl deepened, but even in his boundless rage, he hesitated. Stryde-4's presence was no trifling matter. He was the living embodiment of unpredictability—The Paradox—a being who existed outside the normal flow of time and space, who could change reality with a thought.
Vanessa, however, reacted differently. Her expression remained composed, even as the powers swirling around her calmed. Her icy gaze flickered toward the armored figure, her lips curling into a small, amused smile.
"Paradox," she said, her voice laced with amusement. "I was wondering when you'd finally show up. It's been a while since we last crossed paths."
Stryde-4 didn't respond immediately, but his head turned slightly, his visor catching the faint, eerie light of the void. "I didn't come to play, Vanessa," he said evenly. "This pointless fight serves no purpose."
Bagga sneered, his anger still simmering. "Pointless? This is about dominance, Paradox. It's about showing her—"
"It's about nothing," Stryde-4 interrupted, his voice sharp. "You two have fought a thousand times over the centuries, and each time, the outcome is the same. A stalemate. Neither of you will ever truly defeat the other."
With a sigh, Stryde-4 lowered his hands. The ground beneath them, torn and cratered by their earlier clash, rippled and reformed, becoming a smooth, dark expanse once more.
"We have more pressing matters to discuss," Stryde-4 said. With a wave of his hand, a circular table of black metal appeared, hovering just above the ground, its surface shimmering with strange, otherworldly symbols. Without waiting for a response, Stryde-4 moved to one of the four chairs that appeared around the table and sat, crossing his arms as though daring the others to challenge his authority.
Bagga let out a snarl but followed, his massive frame causing the ground to tremble slightly with each step. He begrudgingly took a seat, though his fists remained clenched, his rage barely contained.
Vanessa, with a flick of her wrist, teleported to her chair in a swirl of ethereal mist, her dark gown flowing around her like liquid night. The orb of elemental energy that had floated beside her dimmed, casting a faint glow across her pale skin.
For a moment, the tension was palpable. The ancient animosity between Bagga and Vanessa lingered, but Stryde-4's presence held them in check. However, there was one seat still unclaimed.
"Before we begin..." Vanessa's voice cut through the silence, her eyes narrowing as she glanced toward the empty seat. "It seems we're missing someone."
Suddenly, the void around them darkened even further, the blackness deepening into an almost suffocating abyss. From the shadows emerged a figure—graceful, yet imposing—her presence commanding and eternal.
A woman stepped forward, draped in a cloak of deep green and gold, her flowing hair shimmering with an array of colors that seemed to shift with the light—fiery red, golden brown, and emerald green. Her eyes were an unsettling shade of gold, glowing faintly with the intensity of a predator.
This was Phoenix, The Primordial Druid, the first of their kind and the most powerful of all. Her title, whispered through legends, was The Eternal Flame of Creation. She was a being who had mastered the very essence of nature, time, and life itself. Where Vanessa wielded the elements and Bagga embodied raw, relentless rage, Phoenix controlled the very fabric of existence. Life, death, rebirth—it all answered to her.
With each step she took, vines and flowers bloomed at her feet, only to wither and die moments later, the cycle of life and death playing out in an instant.
Phoenix took her seat without a word, her eyes glowing as they glanced over the others. Her power was suffocating, a weight that pressed down on everyone in the room. Even Bagga, in his boundless rage, seemed to still in her presence.
Stryde-4 inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment. "Phoenix."
She returned his gesture, her voice soft, yet commanding. "Paradox."
The tension that had gripped the room earlier was now replaced by a heavy silence. All eyes were on Phoenix, the druid whose very presence shifted the balance of power.
"So," Phoenix said finally, her voice echoing through the void like the whisper of a forgotten storm. "What brings us together, Paradox?"
Stryde-4 leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest. "Luca."
At the mention of the boy's name, Vanessa's smile deepened, but her amusement was shadowed by something else—curiosity, perhaps? Bagga's fist tightened, his bloodlust flickering in his eyes. Phoenix, however, showed no emotion, her golden gaze unblinking.
"Why do you care about the boy?" Vanessa asked, her voice cold and dismissive. "He's nothing. A speck of dust."
Stryde-4's visor gleamed in the dim light. "Because he's not just a speck. He's the catalyst."
For a moment, no one spoke. The weight of those words settled in the air like a thick fog.
"And what do you propose we do about this...catalyst?" Phoenix asked, her tone measured, her eyes never leaving Stryde-4.
Stryde-4's visor gleamed as he leaned forward slightly. "We observe. For now."
Vanessa tilted her head, amusement playing in her eyes. "Observe? That's not like you, Paradox."
"Things are changing," Stryde-4 said. "Faster than any of us expected. Luca's rise is not something we can ignore. He's already crossed paths with Vanessa and survived. But the real threat isn't just him. It's what he represents."
Phoenix nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing. "The Abyssal Chaos System."
The mention of the system sent a shiver through the void. Even Bagga, in his rage-filled state, seemed to falter for a moment.
Stryde-4 stood, his armored form casting a long shadow over the table. "Luca isn't just another hunter. He's the beginning of something far larger than we've seen before. And if we're not careful, it could be the end of everything we know."
The weight of his words hung over them, and for the first time in millennia, the four greatest beings in existence felt the stirrings of something beyond their control.
And from the shadows, something darker watched.