"SCREECH!"
The deafening cry of the Phoenix Empress reverberated across the skies as she unleashed a ferocious firestorm of unimaginable magnitude. The fiery storm lit up the evening sky in a blinding, ominous red hue, turning the horizon into what resembled an apocalyptic scene. The golden flames twisted and roared like living entities, casting shadows of terror over the sprawling Phoenix Capital City below.
"Oh... God!"
Citizens from miles away froze in fear as they witnessed the radiant spectacle of their revered Eternal Phoenix soaring through the heavens, her majestic form dominating the skies.
"Run!"
Those closer to the epicenter—especially the nobles in the Royal District—abandoned all semblance of dignity and fled for their lives, their thoughts racing: Who could have provoked the Empress to such wrath?
High above the city, Aengus, a mere silhouette against the raging inferno, stood unyielding.
From below, Bella, Vira, Chrystia, and others stared in awe and apprehension as the young Rebel Emperor faced the overwhelming storm with a calm that bordered on arrogance. His small figure seemed almost insignificant against the grandeur of the Phoenix Empress' might, yet his presence exuded an unshakable confidence.
"Shua shua shua..."
As the firestorm approached, consuming everything in its path, Aengus prepared to meet it head-on.
With a single motion, he summoned his weapon—the God Slayer Sword, Aegis, its blade radiating a chaotic brilliance that seemed to pierce through the fiery chaos.
"Chaotic Maelstrom (SS)"
In a single, devastating horizontal arc, he swung the sword, unleashing a colossal storm of multicolored destructive energy. The energy roared to life, creating a violent maelstrom that swirled with chaotic, overlapping hues—red, blue, black, and gold. Its raw, unrestrained power surged forward, tearing through the Eternal Firestorm with an overwhelming might that eclipsed even the Empress' flames.
"BOOOOM!"
The clash of the two attacks was nothing short of cataclysmic.
The multicolored Chaotic Maelstrom swallowed the firestorm whole, its destructive energy spreading outward like an unstoppable tide. A shockwave of energy rippled through the atmosphere, shaking the city and the surrounding lands. Buildings trembled, the ground quaked, and the skies themselves seemed to groan under the pressure of the opposing forces.
Aengus' dragonic form rumbled with a deep, guttural laugh, his voice resonating like thunder across the burning landscape.
"I am your Salvation. Let me clear your head to give you some peace of mind."
Aengus' massive, abyssal wings clamped shut, creating an impenetrable cage that encased the struggling Phoenix Empress within their blackened embrace.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The Empress lashed out with all her might, her fiery attacks crashing against the dark barrier, but to no avail. The cage, fortified by Aengus' immense power, absorbed her blows as though they were nothing more than flickering embers.
Inside the suffocating darkness, a sinister shadow began to take form. It was the Shadow Monarch's Dominion, a nightmarish construct born from Aengus. The ethereal shadow snaked its way toward the Phoenix Empress, reaching into her mind with tendrils of unstoppable purpose.
"No... get out of my head!" she screamed, her voice trembling as the Dominion burrowed into her thoughts.
But it was too late. The Shadow Monarch's Dominion began to awaken the deepest parts of her psyche—those buried desires and fragmented memories of joy, love, and happiness that she had abandoned long ago in service to her throne. Images of a time before she became the Phoenix Empress flashed before her eyes:
Her younger self, laughing freely with her mother. Moments of tender affection with Vira, the sacrifices they made for each other.
The love and happiness she had forsaken when she took her oath of duty and power.
The overwhelming flood of emotions caused her fiery aura to waver, her resolve cracking under the weight of what she had suppressed for so long.
Inside her mind, there was a different deal was happening between Aengus and Claudia.
Meanwhile, outside the cage, Vira approached Bella and Celeste with desperate eyes. His once-proud demeanor was now overshadowed by fear and anguish as he watched his wife, the love of his life, trapped in a battle of wills.
"Bella, Celeste... please. Stop him!" Vira's voice cracked with emotion. "I know she has done terrible things, but she is still your family. She was very nice to you all in the past. I can't lose her like this... not like this."
Bella looked at her grandfather with sympathy. "Grandfather, if he succeeds, you might finally get her back—the woman you fell in love with. Not the Empress, but the real her. Trust him. Your Grandson-in-law will fix this."
"Ohh, Is that so..."
Vira could only pray for her safety as Aengus' clone stood like Impenetrable Wall.