Above the valley between the ruins of Gaia and Oda, black and purple clouds swirl like a vortex of death, forming a giant hole that swallows the sunlight. Blue-violet lightning dances in the sky, slicing through the air and leaving a burnt smell along with shards of magic that cut through every living being. In the midst of this dark moment, a sense of despair begins to envelop the remaining souls. Each heartbeat feels like a death song, reminding them that hope may have died.
At the center of the storm, Tiamat's portal gapes like an open wound in the sky. Within it, a glimpse of an incomprehensible giant body can be seen—spines, scales, and wings made of bone and voidlight continuously shifting, as if the world itself cannot fully accept Tiamat's form. Every dragon eye gazing down spreads a double curse: destruction and doubt about the meaning of life. The rumbling voice from the portal echoes in the hearts of those who remain, instilling deep fear. "Do we still have time? Can we still fight?" asked a young warrior standing among the ruins, his voice trembling with unrestrained panic.
Rinoa stood at the forefront, wearing a white-gold battle robe stained with blood and dust. In her eyes, the embers of Michael and the old wounds of Sheena glowed, adding a fragile yet majestic aura. Unable to contain her heart's voice, she murmured, "I cannot fail now," with each word feeling like a heavy burden pressing on her chest. Gabriel stood beside her—his remaining angel wings now full of wounds, yet his determination remained intact. "Rinoa," he said gently, "don't let yourself be consumed by fear. We have each other. We can fight this." In an instant, Rinoa felt the warmth of Gabriel's courage, reminding her that even in the deepest darkness, friendship could be the light guiding them toward the hope that had faded.
Rinoa stood at the forefront, wearing a white-gold battle robe stained with blood and dust. In her eyes, the embers of Michael and the old wounds of Sheena glowed, adding a fragile yet majestic aura. She felt a weight in her chest, as if every heartbeat reminded her of the sacrifices they had to make. Gabriel stood beside her—his remaining angel wings now full of wounds, yet his determination remained intact, as if signaling a faith that never faded even as darkness threatened. Oda Nobuzan and several samurai, protectors of the people and the remaining angels, formed a shrinking defensive circle in the valley, trying to maintain hope amidst the void. In the tense atmosphere, Rinoa could hear the whispers of fear from her comrades, but she tried to drown out that voice with the conviction that they must not retreat.
The air vibrated every time Tiamat moved its wings. Shadow monsters emerged from the ground, their forms grotesque—some resembling small dragons with human faces, others merely swirling mists that ensnared anyone touched. The chilling rumble echoed throughout the valley, further adding to the emptiness in Rinoa's heart. Every spirit of past victims now returned, becoming Tiamat's harbingers of destruction, and Rinoa felt that those hollow faces were familiar—demanding revenge for the wrongs that had been done. In that moment, a thought crossed her mind: would they become like them? Would this struggle end with them trapped in the same shadows?
Rinoa raised her sword to the sky. "This is the last defense," she murmured in her heart. She glanced at Gabriel, who responded with a nod of confidence. Within her, Rinoa felt a wave of fear mixed with hope, each heartbeat vibrating with the awareness that this might be the end. Rinoa knew that if they fell today, no hope would remain.
The first wave of monsters surged. Gabriel recited the Light of Redemption spell, his wings radiating a white explosion that burned through the darkness. In her heart, Rinoa prayed that this power would be enough to give them a little more time. Rinoa attacked with Michael's Blade, slashing at every creature that tried to approach, feeling each strike as a gamble of life and death. Mitsuyori controlled illusions, making Tiamat's forces attack their own shadows, but her magic was quickly drained—Tiamat could disrupt the illusion's order with just a whisper.
The valley transformed into a battlefield where reality and nightmares clashed. The human and angel protectors fell one by one, their screams and roars blending into a symphony of horror. Yet every time a protector fell, a circle of light appeared, delaying the next wave of monsters for a few seconds, providing a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness.
In the increasingly fragile hiding place, Iris and Nobuzan embraced, supporting each other. Their bodies were cold with sweat, often convulsing as they endured contractions and unbearable pain. The suffocating fear reminded Iris of the past, how they once planned a beautiful future. Every time Tiamat roared, they felt their wombs tremble, as if something was trying to escape before its time. "Do we still have time?" she thought, tension and anxiety wrapping around her heart.
Iris closed her eyes, trying to reach Fitran through the remnants of the spiral essence in her body, but the voice of her beloved grew distant—seemingly separated by an ocean of time and emptiness. In the enveloping darkness, she felt as if the air pockets around her were tightening, creating a choking sensation that added to the anxiety in her chest. Her cells struggled to warm themselves, but the unrelenting cold crept into her soul.
"Nobuzan, do you feel this?" Iris asked softly, her lips barely able to move. Uncertainty hung in the air, like a thick fog enveloping her soul, and in her heart, she hoped Nobuzan could feel the depth of the emptiness she was experiencing.
"Every second... it feels like I'm being torn apart. But I won't give up, not even to a dragon," Nobuzan replied, his eyes staring blankly, yet his spirit remained alive. But as he spoke those words, a tremor flowed through him, awakening a hidden fear that all of this might be the end, and he struggled against that shadow, targeting the hope that still remained.
Blood flowed from both women, mingling with the glowing spiral magic in the dark. They knew that if Tiamat managed to breach their hiding place, the world would not only lose hope—but also lose its future. The dreams they once envisioned seemed no more than an illusion, and as they drew closer, the deeper despair gnawed at their thoughts.
The sky darkened completely as Tiamat's first avatar emerged from the swirling mist in the portal. The deafening roar echoed, as if the universe protested against its presence. A giant dragon figure with a thousand eyes hovered above the battlefield. Every gaze shattered reality, instilling delusions and fear in every soldier below. Each flap of its wings radiated evil energy that sent chills down their spines, as if the promise of pain was about to arrive.
Rinoa felt an almost impossible pressure to resist. She unleashed Michael's Final Flame—a blue-white fire magic that shot into the sky, burning the dragon avatar's body until it cracked. But the wound healed instantly, and from the cracks in the dragon's body, new monsters emerged, wilder than before. Stunned, Rinoa felt as if her hope shattered along with the pain piercing her soul, deepening her urgency to fight for a future that might already be lost. In her heart, she urged herself, 'I must not give up, not now...'
Gabriel tried to hold back the dark magic vortex with the Angel's Shield of Patience, but Tiamat's energy penetrated all defenses. The remaining angels began to fall, their wings turning into black shards, sucked into the portal's vortex. "We cannot lose!" he shouted in despair, his voice drowned in the approaching onslaught. In his heart, he felt as if every fallen wing was a hope extinguished.
Rinoa fell, her knees touching the blood-soaked ground. She gazed at the sky—visions of Michael and Sheena swirling in her mind, their voices echoing: "Don't give up, Rinoa. Our blood, our essence, is the last boundary of this world." Each of those words felt like a knife, tearing at her deepest wounds, making her feel trapped between the dedication to survive and the exhaustion that shackled her soul.
With the last of her strength, Rinoa rose. She shouted the names of Iris and Nobuzan—not just a prayer, but a final invitation for all the spiral essences in the world to unite. "Come, you all!" she cried, feeling wild energy gathering around her. Rinoa's voice echoed throughout the Sanctuary, piercing the small dimensional barrier created by Mitsuyori. In that desperation, she felt something stirring within her soul, as if the world was listening.
In the ruined villages and cities, the remaining people heard Rinoa's cry. Children born with spiral marks cried out loudly, as if feeling their blood's call answered by a new power emerging from the destruction. Mothers prayed, fathers embraced their families, bracing against the quakes and storms that destroyed everything. In their eyes, hope was no longer a certainty, but a dim light in the darkness waiting to be reignited. Every pause between the screams was a wordless prayer, a voice of the heart yearning for a miracle.
Rinoa, Gabriel, Mitsuyori, and a few remaining protectors formed the last line in the valley now filled with corpses and shards of magic. Every attack from Tiamat's dragon and monsters grew increasingly brutal—the ground split, rivers flowed backward, and the air was thick with the fog of death. In the chilling silence, Rinoa felt her chest tremble. She remembered the lost faces, the laughter that once filled this world. Pain enveloped her, making it almost hard to breathe.
Mitsuyori sacrificed most of her life force to maintain the illusion of hiding. She created hundreds of shadows of herself, diverting Tiamat and its monsters' attention. Each time one shadow was destroyed, Mitsuyori felt a part of her soul vanish. A voice echoed in her mind, reminding her of reason and hope. "What does it all mean," she thought, "if I cannot save them?" She knew this responsibility was greater than herself, and she felt as if that burden would bury her alive.
Gabriel looked at Rinoa, his remaining wings darkening: "This is the end of everything... or the beginning of something we've never known." A doubt haunted his words. Did they truly have the power to change a fate that seemed predetermined? He felt despair wash over his heart like a tidal wave, but within the pulse of his spirit, there was a flicker of hope, however small.
Rinoa nodded, tears streaming down her face. She knew there was only one chance to hold Tiamat back so that Iris and Nobuzan could survive. In her heart, she promised herself, "No more will be lost. I will fight until the last drop of blood." That confidence stirred her, igniting a torch of courage even in the deepest darkness.
Suddenly, Tiamat's voice echoed from the sky and the earth: "Give me the children of the spiral essence. If not, I will destroy this world to its roots."
The entire world trembled. From the portal, the form of Tiamat's female head emerged—crown of shattered worlds, seven-colored eyes glowing like meteors, and tears of blood falling, flooding the valley. Rinoa felt her heart seize at the sight of such an extraordinary manifestation of hatred. She remembered all they had fought for, and a lump of emotion surged within her, "No one will give up!"
Rinoa shouted, challenging Tiamat: "Take me! But do not touch them!" Her voice was filled with courage and sorrow, as if the entire weight of the world was wrapped in that one phrase. She knew the risks, but it was better to be the target of Tiamat's wrath than to see others suffer again.
Blue and gold magic burned the air. Rinoa poured all the legacy of Michael, Sheena, and her own spiral essence into the attack. With every breath, she felt the heavy responsibility binding her, as if every drop of energy leaving her body was a sacrifice for the safety of those she loved. Michael's fire sword transformed into the last beacon of hope, shining brightly in the midst of the threatening darkness. Gabriel and Mitsuyori held back Tiamat's monster forces at the rear, knowing that every second was a luxury that was becoming increasingly expensive. "We cannot give up!" Mitsuyori shouted, her eyes glistening, witnessing the many friends and allies who had fallen. Rinoa could feel the anxiety in her heart, as if a hint of fear would drag them all into the void.
The cracks in the sky widened. Every tremor made her heart race, fighting against the despair that continued to press down. New monsters—Tiamat's children—began to emerge from the pools of blood on the ground, marking the destruction of an old era. Disgust and anger surged within her, envisioning the innocent faces that had now become part of that horror. Rinoa stood at the boundary between the world and the void. She felt the weight of the decision that had to be made; if she failed, the entire world would vanish along with their hopes. Everything depended on the remaining courage and love in the hearts of those who endured, and she was determined to change fate even if she had to fight alone.
And at the last moment, before the portal completely collapsed, Tiamat revealed its full dragon form: five heads, voidlight wings, a tail full of human hands, a body like a mosaic of shattered worlds—and the world stopped breathing. Rinoa could not look away, as if all the horror and beauty entranced her while trapping her in fear. "This will not end here," she whispered to herself, challenging an apparently unavoidable fate with a spirit that was nearly extinguished.