The Hollow Sentinel reeled back, its form flickering erratically. The golden fire that coursed through his veins had left a scar—a wound that refused to regenerate.
It felt pain.
For the first time, the creature—a being that existed beyond the limits of flesh and time—feared destruction.
He stood there, his breath uneven, his fists still burning with golden fire. The energy within him surged and crackled, raw and untamed, but it felt right. Like it had always been there, waiting.
Elya stepped beside him, her violet eyes gleaming with interest. "You've finally touched it," she said.
He turned to her, still catching his breath. "Touched… what?"
She smirked. "Your true self."
The Sentinel screeched, its form distorting. The sky behind it warped as space itself seemed to bend around its presence. It was trying to escape.
"Oh, no you don't," he muttered.
Without thinking, his body moved.
The fire in his veins exploded outward, wrapping around his arms and legs. The next moment—he was rushing forward, moving faster than he ever had before.
The Sentinel twisted in an attempt to dodge, but he was already there.
His fist—**burning like a star—**struck its center.
BOOM!
A shockwave tore through the battlefield. The golden flames surged through the Sentinel's body, consuming the void-like mist that made up its form.
The creature screamed—a sound that shattered the air.
The golden fire expanded, growing brighter, hotter—until the Sentinel could no longer hold itself together.
Then—it shattered.
Like a dying star, the Hollow Sentinel collapsed into itself, vanishing in an explosion of golden light and black mist.
Silence followed.
He stood there, panting, the energy in his body slowly fading. His arms still trembled from the sheer force of what he had just unleashed.
Elya walked toward him, looking pleased. "You did well," she said. "Though… that was reckless."
He let out a breathless chuckle. "I won, didn't I?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Did you?"
Before he could answer, something shifted.
The space where the Sentinel had fallen twisted. A ripple of darkness formed in the air, like a wound in reality itself.
From it, a voice emerged.
"This is only the beginning."
The ripple expanded.
And then—without warning—he felt himself falling.
The world fractured around him.
And then—everything went dark.