The passage beneath the coliseum reeked of sweat and rot. Rhea's boots splashed through puddles of blood gone black with age. Ember stayed low on her shoulder, nearly invisible, tail twitching with anticipation.
They moved fast, silent as shadow and fire.
Vexa took point, blades at the ready. They passed cells full of broken people—some too afraid to speak, others too far gone to try. But none of them were Jalen.
Not yet.
"Third level," Vexa whispered, eyes locked ahead. "That's where they keep the ones they want broken slow."
Rhea didn't answer.
Her eyes burned too brightly for words.
Up above, the coliseum gates exploded outward in a blast of dust and steel.
Lucio emerged through the smoke first, rifle raised, cloak snapping behind him like a banner. To the left, Nathan walked out slowly, hands glowing with time distortion, eyes already narrowed on the enemy ranks.
The front line of Kieros' forces barely had time to react.
Lucio fired first—three clean shots, each one enhanced by Jalen's glyph still flickering on his arm. Time twisted around the bullets, dragging them into their targets with unnatural accuracy.
Nathan blurred forward. A soldier raised a spear—
But Nathan had already reversed the moment, appearing behind him. "Wrong move."
A backhanded pulse sent the man flying.
More soldiers rushed in.
And the real battle began.
At the base of the fortress steps, Kullen stood atop a broken pillar, eyes blazing green.
"Hold the line! Push forward—don't break!"
His voice boomed across the canyon, infused with authority that made the magic in the air listen. Shields locked. Blades clashed.
Kuromi stood at the front of the charge, moving like death in motion. Her blade gleamed as she carved down soldiers. She didn't hesitate, didn't stop, didn't miss.
A hammer-bearing zealot rushed her. Kuromi met him head-on, parried once, and then drove her knee into his chest hard enough to fold him in two.
"They're holding stronger than expected!" she shouted.
"They're stalling," Kullen muttered. "Kieros knows we're here."
The air in the cell crackled faintly.
Divine power—not fully awakened, but rekindling—moved through Jalen's bones like embers clinging to life in a dying hearth. His skin stitched itself back together in slow, pulsing waves. Bones realigned. Bruises faded. Muscles reknit.
A quiet, rhythmic pop-pop-crack echoed through the stone chamber.
Rhea froze in the hallway, her hand pressed to the doorframe. "Uh…"
Vexa stepped forward first, daggers drawn, then hesitated.
Inside the cell, Jalen stood at the center, his spine arched slightly, and his arms hung at his sides. Steam rose from his shoulders. Light bloomed faintly beneath his skin like buried sunlight.
And he was completely, unapologetically naked.
He turned around slowly, his eyes clear, and his body whole again for the first time in days.
"Wow," he said, voice hoarse but casual. "You guys are super late."
Rhea immediately spun around. "Nope. Absolutely not. I'm not doing this again."
"I didn't ask you to look!" Jalen called out, laughing despite himself.
Vexa blinked once, caught somewhere between a frown and a smirk. She turned away, her voice low. "You couldn't wait until after we rescued you to grow your skin back?"
"Honestly? Not how I thought this reunion was gonna go."
He conjured a set of basic clothes around himself—not divine, not flashy, just practical. Simple shirt. Worn pants. Old boots. The effect was instant. He looked like himself again.
Rhea, still facing the wall, finally glanced back. "Are you… clothed?"
"Yes. You're safe."
She turned, crossed the room, and threw her arms around him without hesitation.
"Don't do that again," she muttered against his chest.
He hugged her back, quieter now. "I'll try not to."
They parted.
Then Jalen turned to Vexa. "You didn't have to come."
"I didn't," she replied coolly. "But I did."
"Thank you."
He looked past them, toward the far end of the corridor. "The others?"
Vexa nodded. "Lucio and Nathan have Kieros' attention. Kullen and Everlock's army are at the gates."
"And the prisoners?" he asked.
"Still locked up," Rhea said. "But we're close."
Jalen exhaled, stretching one arm with a quiet wince. "Good. Then we're not done."
He moved toward the doorway, eyes sharper now.
"There's a holding corridor three levels down from here," he said. "Packed cells, minimal guards, probably expecting the prisoners to stay quiet and afraid."
"They're not wrong," Vexa said.
"They will be."
Jalen pointed at both of them. "Get down there. Unlock every door you find. Don't split up unless you have to."
Rhea hesitated. "What about you?"
Jalen's eyes drifted upward, and his aura began to flare.
"I've got to go support Nathan and Lucio against Kieros. Stay safe."
The coliseum thundered with chaos.
Lucio ducked beneath a swinging halberd, rolled, and fired a clean shot to the knee. The soldier went down screaming, only to be flattened a moment later as time folded in on itself.
Nathan stepped through the slowing moment, eyes blazing.
"Kieros is close," he said calmly, letting the timefield ripple around them. "Can you feel it?"
Lucio reloaded with practiced speed. "I can hear it. Big bastard's stomping like a pissed-off elephant."
A deep roar rolled across the arena like an avalanche. The dust shifted. The flames burned brighter.
Then Kieros appeared.
The war god descended from the upper stands in a plume of crimson smoke and divine pressure. His form shimmered—part lion, part ash, all fury. His mane burned with wildfire, and his claws left molten prints with every step.
"You're not the ones I want," Kieros growled, voice booming through the walls. "But I will break you just the same."
Lucio raised his rifle. "Get in line."
Kieros surged forward.
The coliseum cracked as his foot slammed down. Nathan moved first, time-bending like glass. He reappeared behind Kieros and drove a strike into the god's side—but the war god barely flinched.
Lucio fired three rounds. They hit Kieros in the shoulder, but he rotated with inhuman speed and batted one away mid-air. The others ricocheted off glowing plates of god-forged armor.
"You test my patience!" Kieros roared.
He slammed his hand into the ground, and the floor ruptured. A shockwave tore through the battlefield, throwing Lucio and Nathan apart. Lucio hit the wall hard, coughing blood. Nathan rolled, disoriented, his timefield flickering.
Kieros stalked forward toward Lucio, lifting his massive blade.
Then—
A blur dropped between them.
Dust exploded outward.
A familiar laugh cut through the ringing silence.
"I swear," Jalen said, standing with his back to Lucio, eyes gleaming with golden light, "I can't leave you guys alone for five minutes."
Lucio blinked, chest heaving, blood on his chin. "You're late."
Nathan wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "Way late."
Jalen glanced at both of them, amused. "You've had my glyphs this whole time. You should've been fine."
Nathan shrugged. "Yeah… but he's actually pretty strong."
Lucio smirked, reloading. "I could take him."
Jalen arched a brow. "Mmmm..."
Lucio looked sideways at him. "Don't look at me like that."
"Do you actually think you could?"
Before Lucio could respond—
"ENOUGH!"
Kieros' roar split the coliseum like thunder. His blade struck the sand beside them with a quake that rocked the entire arena.
"NO MORE TALKING. WE BATTLE!"
Jalen turned back toward him, rolling his neck.
"Finally," he said. "I'll let you know now, this isn't going to end like it did the first time."
Kieros took a single step forward, and the ground groaned. Flames curled from his fists, his mane flickering like wildfire caught in a storm.
Jalen exhaled once, and his aura began to rise—not in a burst, but in a slow, glowing pulse that bent the air around him. The sand under his feet began to shift, curling upward as if gravity had been redefined.
Ash clashed with gold. Fire met starlight.
And then, they moved.
The world snapped back into motion.