"Sylver, now!" Aeric's voice rang out in desperation. "Ultra Attack Mode: Silver Blast!"
Sensing the urgency and becking to his master's call, Sylver reared back up and began to suck in all the Divinity around him.
As he pumped it into his body, he started to pulse, silver energy building at his core, the light growing so intense that shadows melted away.
Aryanne and everyone else turned around to look at what was happening, eyes widened.
"What in the..."
"Draxon! Defense Mode: Umbrage Shield!"
They all thought it was going to be a destructive explosion, but it wasn't. In a climactic surge, the Silverwolf unleashed a blinding explosion, but this one didn't come with fire or destruction.
It was a storm of silver radiance that instantly erupted outward, overtaking everything. The entire maze vanished in bright, blinding silver. Aryanne, Melina, the Twilight Twins, Rosette — everyone shielded their eyes, struggling against the sudden blindness.
Some seconds after, it was over.
Slowly, the silver brilliance faded and their vision started to return.
Melina looked left and right. Nyx rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. "By the Divinity, what the hell was that? Was he trying to make me go blind?"
At first everything looked normal, but they found the clearing eerily empty. Aryanne snapped her head down and saw that Aeric had vanished.
She turned to where his beast was and saw that it had disappeared too. And even worse and more infuriating, all the flags they had gathered had vanished.
/Team Twilight has lost their Tokens to Team Dawnstar. Team Dawnstar now has Four Tokens/
Murmurs rang out in the crowd above.
He was going to win the game!
"Ngh!" Aryanne clenched her fists in frustration, her gaze burning with fury as she spun around to survey the space one more time.
"Where the hell is he?" She glared at Celestia, who was surprisingly still on the ground, looking defiant yet vulnerable.
"Wow," Nyx placed a finger on her jaw. "That kid really is smart."
Aryanne glared at her.
"What?" Nyx shrugged.
"Stop giving him compliments and find him!" the Moonlight princess snapped with fury. "Do you know how disgraceful it would be if he wins his first ever Heart Hunt with us as the participants? Find him now!"
Without hesitation, the pack mounted their beasts, and their expressions were now set in determination to find Aeric of Starlight.
In unison, they surged forward, claws, talons, and hooves striking against the ground as they raced into the twisting corridors, all of them fueled by the thrill of the hunt and their combined hatred for the Only Son.
~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, further along a narrow passage, Aeric and Sylver darted through the maze. He was now clutching four Heart Tokens in his hand and on his face was a growing smile.
"Attaboy, Sylver! You did it! You bloody did it!Our Synergy is going to get stronger, boy and we're going to rule this world, you and I? You hear me, we're going to rule it!"
He grabbed tighter on the reins and rode forward as Sylver howled excitedly.
'Just one Heart Token left. I have the Twilight Twins', and the Elysium and Moonlight Daughters'. Which means all that's left is my sisters'.'
/Team Starlight has lost their Token to Team Dawnstar. Team Dawnstar now has all the Tokens/
Moments later, Rosette arrived. She halted her Owlbear right in front of Misty, taking note of her disheveled expression and tense posture. "Where is he?" she snapped. "Did you see him?"
Misty hesitated, then lied, "He... he maneuvered around me and took the flag."
"What?" Rosette frowned. "He maneuvered you? How could you let that happen, Misty? He could be in any of these corridors, leaving the game."
Misty watched as her sister turned her beast around, trying to decipher which path Aeric went. "Did you see which path he took?"
"Rose?" She called her sister.
"What, Misty?!"
"Don't you..." she gathered her courage to speak. "Don't you think that what we're doing is wrong? Aeric is our brother."
"Huh? No no no no no." Rosette's eyes narrowed in annoyance and she steered her Beast towards her sister. "I told you, Misty, he's not right, there's something evil about him, and Mother doesn't see it." She touched Misty's arm, eyes serious. "He's dangerous, I need to make sure that you're in this with me, Misty. Don't go second guessing now."
They shared a long gaze, all their memories as sisters dancing through their minds in that moment.
"Okay?"
Misty looked at her, troubled, but nodded in reluctant agreement. "Okay."
"Good. Now, let's go," Rosette commanded, steering her Owlbear to the path ahead.
~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, Celestia has struggled to her feet and was about to mount her Pegasus, which had fully healed. Aeric then appeared around the corner with his Beast and he brandished all the flags in his hand.
Relief washed over her as he approached, his handsome smirk in place despite the chaos they'd just endured.
"You got all of them," she said with a beam on her face.
"Yes," he responded. "All that's left now is to get out of here."
"That's usually the hardest part," Celestia pointed out.
Aeric looked at her, concern flickering in his eyes. "Are you okay? Sylver hit you hard there when he attacked."
Celestia nodded. "I'm fine. Lumi's gotten better as well. Come on." She climbed on the Winged Pegasus and adjusted herself. "Let's get out of here."
Aeric's smirk broadened. "After this, maybe... we could go for a walk or whatever you want."
Celestia smiled back. "Maybe."
But before they could make any move, the walls around them shattered with a deafening crash. Aryanne, Melina, and the Twilight Twins burst into view, carried by their beasts, eyes fierce and intent.
"You're never going to win this game, you abomination!" Aryanne snarled in fury as they charged forward as a pack, driving toward Aeric and Celestia with all the power they could muster.
"Like I said," Celestia glanced at Aeric, "usually the hardest part."
There was no point in running as Aryanne's Dreadhound was faster. The smartest move now was to fight and find a way to escape with all five Heart Tokens.
"Get ready!" Aeric yelled, grabbing Sylver's reins as Celestia urged her Winged Pegasus upward.
Everyone seemed to yell at the same time.
"Beast Companion! Attack Mode!"