The final wave hit like a scream from the void.
Dark clouds coiled above Kharzad as the last of the Renegade forces entrenched themselves behind corrupted walls and faltering wards. Thunder rippled through the sky, echoing the fury surging through the rebels as they gathered outside the shattered gates. The air trembled with anticipation, heavy with the weight of vengeance.
Maika stood at the front lines, her eyes narrowed on the towering obsidian spire at the heart of the compound. The Taiyo no Men flared on her back, golden sunfire dancing along her shoulders, her blade already shimmering with time-imbued light.
She could see the cult leader—a twisted echo of what once might have been a noble Hi Okami warrior—standing atop the spire with a crooked smile and crimson-rimmed eyes.
"You survived longer than expected," he sneered. "But it ends here, Princess of Ashes."
"No," Maika whispered, her voice calm and deadly. "It ends with you."
The cult leader laughed, his voice jagged and cruel. "Still clinging to that title? You think draping yourself in the sun's fire will make you stronger? You're just a scared little girl playing knight. Your Loyalists fell like wheat to a scythe. Your father? He died like a coward, begging to save you."
Maika's jaw clenched, her knuckles whitening around the hilt of her blade.
"He fought to protect what mattered," she hissed. "He gave his life so I could finish what he started. You defiled everything the Hi Okami once stood for. But no more."
The cult leader spread his arms mockingly. "Then come, daughter of dust. Show me your vengeance."
Without another word, she vanished.
The cult leader blinked as a shockwave tore through the tower, and Maika reappeared behind him. She struck, but he twisted, catching her blade with a crescent-shaped blade of void-forged metal. The clash sent sparks and sunfire spiraling into the air.
He roared and swung at her, forcing Maika into a backflip down the collapsing staircase. She skidded to a stop amid swirling sand and raised her blade just as he landed, shaking the stone with his fall.
"You're fast," he hissed, lunging. "But not fast enough."
They clashed. Metal rang like bells of war. Her blade, bright with sunlight, collided again and again with his blackened steel. Sand erupted around them, each impact cracking the stone floor. A corrupted statue crumbled nearby, sending shards raining like daggers.
Maika's breath was ragged. She ducked under his sweeping slash, and countered with a rising arc. He caught her foot with a blast of void energy, hurling her across the altar platform.
She crashed into a pillar, coughing blood, her blade slipping from her grip.
The cult leader advanced. "You carry that mask, but you haven't earned it. You're not your father. You're not even a shadow of him."
Maika struggled to rise, her crest flickering.
Father... I can't lose now. Not when I've come this far...
She forced herself up, vision blurring.
The Taiyo no Men flared.
The time around her slowed. She darted forward with blinding speed, reclaimed her blade mid-stride, and launched into a flurry of strikes. Her form blurred in gold. The cult leader reeled, parrying desperately.
Then she slipped past his guard.
She drove her blade through his chest.
He staggered.
"This... isn't over. You and that Soma filth... will bow down before the might... of the true Hi Okami Clan," he gurgled.
Maika stepped back as her sunfire erupted, engulfing him. Flames burst from his eyes and mouth, and with a final scream, he disintegrated.
The spire cracked in half as Maika leapt away, golden flames exploding behind her. She landed on the sand below, her crest burning bright. Above, the corpse of the cult leader crumbled to ash, swept away by the storm.
Laverna raised both arms, her jamadhars sparking. The lightning storms surged at her command, arcing across the battlefield and striking down scattered cultists who attempted to flee. Her eyes glowed with purpose, her wind and flame converging into a radiant pillar.
The rebels roared in response.
Zera stood nearby, her blade bloodied, her expression steely. She looked toward Shin and gave a single nod.
Tessara's foxfire flickered through the wreckage, her illusions guiding survivors to safety. Her voice, gentle and firm, echoed through the crest bond. The enemy's morale is breaking. We must push.
Shin stood tall in the center, his hand over his heart, crest blazing in deep crimson. Through the bond, he felt the surge of their emotions: relief, fury, hope. And from Maika—absolute resolve.
Maika turned toward him, her golden eyes fierce.
"It's done," she said, her voice trembling only slightly. "The leader is gone. The blood they spilled is avenged."
Shin nodded, his gaze steady. "You carried your father's honor to the end. He would be proud."
She looked away for a moment, the wind catching her long hair. "I finally understand why he followed your father, Shin. I see it now—in you. In all of us."
Her thoughts echoed through the crest. I was born into a dying legacy. But you gave it a reason to live.
Around them, the harem gathered. Laverna stepped beside Maika, offering a nod of acknowledgment. "You ended him. That was for all of us."
Zera followed, wiping her blade clean, her eyes calm. "Justice served with the blade is still justice."
Tessara approached, her hand glowing faintly with lunar magic. She placed it gently on Maika's shoulder. "And mercy follows it. Rest now, Maika. The worst is over."
Maika exhaled, her strength holding, her pride unwavering. The light of the Taiyo no Men pulsed behind her, its warmth no longer heavy, but free.
Shin took one final look toward the fallen spire.
Then he turned toward the horizon.
The storm had begun to clear. But far to the east, beyond the sand-blasted cliffs, he could see it.
The dark clouds were reforming.
Tristan's shadow still loomed.
Kharzad was nearly free. But the war for the continent had just begun.
The group stood together, shoulder to shoulder, their crests pulsing in unison.
This was not the end.
It was the reckoning.