Kenji didn't feel tired.
He felt… hollowed out. Drained. Each step felt hard, and every breath was a struggle against the heavy air of this cursed place.
His System screamed [CRITICAL! Corruption Overload Imminent! System Integrity Failing! Sacrifice Required!] a constant, blaring siren in his mind.
The shocking news from the last Reality Anchor still haunted him. Noxius's cosmic assimilation was a disturbing truth deep in his soul.
"We need to move. Now. We can't let him consolidate his hold. This is it. The next Anchor has to be the way out. Or… it has to be the way we hit him."
He clenched his fists, the Shadow Brand burning.
Kaito was limping, his every movement stiff, his face grim.
His specialized tech, once gleaming, was now a patchwork of sparking wires and makeshift repairs.
"My energy cells are practically running on fumes! We're talking less power than a dying glowworm. This whole place is a giant battery drain!"
He glanced nervously at a pulsating, ethereal mist ahead.
"And watch out, that patch of ground just tried to whisper my deepest regrets at me. Apparently, I really should have bought that extra-large coffee machine."
His voice was a strained mix of frustration and forced bravado.
Elara, her face pale and drawn, shivered despite the oppressive atmosphere.
Her Lumina light flickered, struggling to maintain its presence.
"The illusions are getting stronger. The Blight is trying to break our minds now. And… the pure energy… It's being siphoned. I can feel my light being pulled away."
Her voice was tight with fear. Her eyes sparkled with a desperate hope as she gazed at the faint blue pulse of the fourth Reality Anchor in Kenji's System.
The journey to the fourth Anchor was a gauntlet of psychological warfare.
The Blight didn't just attack them physically; it attacked their minds. Illusions of their deepest fears or regrets shimmered in their peripheral vision, a constant mental assault.
Kenji saw familiar faces, twisted by blight, accusing him. Kaito hallucinated his tech failing completely, dissolving into dust.
Elara saw her light dying, her purpose consumed.
They trudged through fields where the air sapped their energy, leaving them breathless and weak.
Psychic resonators pulsed from hidden blight-growths. They amplified the corrupting whispers of the Heart of the Eclipse in Kenji's mind.
This made him fight even harder to maintain control.
"Ignore it! It's not real!" Kenji roared, shaking his head against the maddening whispers, his body trembling from the effort. He pressed on, a grim and determined force. His Shadowfang sliced through illusory barriers that felt all too real.
They finally reached the fourth Reality Anchor. It was unlike any they had seen.
It wasn't a towering crystal or a twisted ruin. It was a large, round dip in the damaged land.
It held a glowing, nearly clear membrane that pulsed with a soft, pure light.
It felt… abandoned. Ancient. A profound silence hung around it, disturbed only by the distant, malevolent hum of the Blight. No guardian. No immediate threats. Just… a portal.
Elara gasped and rushed to the edge of the dip. Her hands hovered above the shimmering membrane.
Her Lumina light flared, weakly at first, then with a surge of pure, agonizing recognition. Tears streamed down her face.
"I can… I can feel it! A thread! So faint, so far, but it's our reality! This Anchor… It's a gate, Kenji! It's waiting for a catalyst, a surge of pure energy to open it!"
Her voice held a desperate, growing hope that broke through the heavy fear.
Kaito joined her, eyes wide. His sputtering scanner picked up familiar, broken signals.
"She's right! It's a dimensional convergence! A pathway! But it's dormant. It needs… a hell of a kickstart. A precise frequency modulation, a massive energy surge, and… a spiritual alignment. It's like a cosmic tuning fork that needs to be played by three very different, very tired musicians."
He looked at Kenji. "And it's going to take everything we've got."
Kenji nodded, his gaze fixed on the shimmering membrane. This was it. The way home. But also, the final test.
"Elara, focus your Lumina light. Purest energy. Kaito, channel what you have into frequency alignment. I'll provide the raw power. But… I'll need to push past my limits. Further than ever before."
He could feel the Heart of the Eclipse thrumming, vibrating with a terrifying anticipation. This was what it wanted. To be unleashed. He had to use it, without letting it use him.
They positioned themselves around the massive Anchor. Elara knelt with her eyes shut.
Her body shook as she focused on her Lumina energy. A thin, bright beam shot towards the centre of the glowing membrane.
"I'm… I'm giving it everything!"
Kaito gritted his teeth.
He slammed his last working energy cell into a console he had built from salvaged parts. Sparks flew, and a low, high-pitched whine filled the air.
"That's it! Everything I've got! Running on fumes and pure stubbornness! It's up to you two now, the cosmic battery and the light show!"
Kenji took a deep breath, the metallic air burning his lungs. He pressed his hand on the Anchor's surface.
He felt the dormant power and the raw, potential energy of a gateway. He closed his eyes and focused.
He channeled the power of the Dark Knight. Still, he pushed against the loud roar of the Heart of the Eclipse.
The Corruption Influence meter blazed a solid, furious red.
[CRITICAL! Corruption Overload Imminent! System Integrity Failing! Sacrifice Required!] Every fiber of his being screamed.
He felt like he was ripping himself apart, pouring dark energy into the Anchor. It was a painful, controlled explosion.
The Anchor roared, a triumphant, resonant hum that vibrated through the very ground.
The shimmering membrane pulsed, expanding, its light intensifying. It opened slowly at first, then burst open with a bright flash.
Inside was a swirling vortex of pure, familiar light. A tear in the fabric of reality. A gateway home.
But the moment the portal appeared, the Blight retaliated. Noxius, infuriated, poured its essence into the area.
The ground around them twisted. Tendrils of blight shot up, clawing at the new portal.
A massive wave of pure evil rushed from Noxius's core. It aimed to collapse the gateway and swallow them before they could escape.
"Go! Now! Get through!" Kenji roared.
His voice was raw, and his body ached. He channeled a final, desperate burst of Dark Knight energy.
This surge of power was wild and uncontrolled. It held back the creeping Blight for just a moment.
He was pushing past his absolute limits. His vision flickered, blurring with corrupted energy.
Elara, tears still streaming down her face, grabbed Kaito's arm.
"Come on!"
She pulled him, half-dragging, towards the shimmering portal.
"This is insane!" Kaito yelled, but he ran, his limp forgotten in the sheer terror and urgency.
Kenji unleashed one last Void Blast. This surge of raw power was wild and uncontrolled.
It sent out a wave of pure destructive energy. For a brief moment, it held back the Blight, creating a narrow and frightening opening. The very air around him warped, screaming.
"Run!" He pushed Elara and Kaito through the portal with a final burst of power.
Then, with a loud roar, he jumped after them. The collapsing dimension tore at his heels. Behind him, the terrifying roar of Noxius echoed.
He felt the familiar pull, the sensation of being stretched thin, and then… darkness.