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The grand chamber of Luminaris Hall fell silent as Queen Lila faced Tenzin, the echo of his ultimatum hanging in the air between them. The Elders watched with bated breath, the tension suffocating as two formidable powers stood in opposition.
"Tenzin, stop this madness," Queen Lila said, her voice calm but firm. "You know it doesn't have to go this way. Think of Elara—would she approve of this?"
At the mention of that name, something flickered in Tenzin's eyes—a brief shadow of doubt, quickly replaced by hardened resolve.
"I don't bow to other Queens," he replied coldly. "I serve Queen Elara and I will do anything necessary to save her. Your antics of trying to be nice are over. You WILL submit yourself to King Arion to help us for the greater cause against The Eclipse Sovereignty."
Queen Lila's brow furrowed slightly. "You don't bow to other Queens, but you bow to King Arion?"
Tenzin chuckled, the sound devoid of warmth. "I don't serve King Arion. We agreed to work together because we share like mindsets. My whole purpose is to help him do what he needs, and in return, we will defeat The Eclipse Sovereignty and retrieve Queen Elara."
"And why do I have to submit myself?" Lila pressed, her divine aura flickering faintly around her. "So you can turn me into one of those monsters outside? I want to save Elara as well. We just have to go about it the right way to help maintain peace."
Tenzin's laughter was sharp and bitter. "Peace? Peace was long gone." His expression hardened as he shifted his stance. "I'm done talking. One more chance, or destruction will be brought upon this planet."
Queen Lila didn't respond immediately. She breathed slowly, her mind racing back to all the times she had hesitated, all the moments when her anxiety had overwhelmed her ability to act. The weight of her crown, the responsibility for billions of lives, pressed down on her shoulders.
Elder Morvath, the most senior among those present, stepped forward. His ancient face was creased with concern as he addressed his queen. "My Queen, why don't you settle this with him already? Talking isn't going to do it."
Lila gulped, shaking her head slightly—not in refusal, but in uncertainty. That momentary hesitation was all Tenzin needed.
In a blur of motion, Tenzin activated Celestial Step, disappearing from where he stood only to reappear directly in front of Queen Lila. His fist glowed with golden energy as he unleashed Infinite Fist, delivering a thousand strikes in what appeared to be a single blow.
The impact sent Queen Lila flying backward, crashing through several ornate tables before slamming into the rear wall of Luminaris Hall. The marble cracked beneath the force of her impact, fragments of stone raining down around her slumped form.
"Queen!" Elder Narine cried out, her wizened hands raised in alarm.
When the Elders turned back toward Tenzin, something had changed. He stood in the center of the hall, eyes closed and hands pressed together in a meditative position. His lips moved in a whisper that somehow carried throughout the chamber:
"Niè pán de huái bào."
Tenzin's physical form began to dissolve, replaced by an ethereal being of pure energy. His body glowed with transcendent light, each movement leaving trails of cosmic energy in the air. He had activated Nirvana's Embrace—ascending to a higher spiritual plane, becoming immune to physical attacks and unleashing his chi's fullest potential.
The ground beneath Luminaris Hall trembled, the very foundation of the building groaning under some invisible pressure. Cracks appeared in the floor, spreading outward like a web from where Tenzin hovered.
"Queen Lila!" Elder Thaddeus shouted. "Do something!"
From where she had fallen, Queen Lila struggled to her feet, blood trickling from a cut on her forehead. "Please, Tenzin," she called out, her voice strained but resolute. "Think about what you're doing here. This isn't the right path!"
But Tenzin was beyond hearing. His eyes, now glowing with gold-white light, focused on some distant point as he raised both hands toward the ceiling.
"Nirvana's Embrace: Sǐwáng," he intoned.
Tenzin's form ascended, phasing through the solid roof of Luminaris Hall as if it were nothing but mist. As he rose higher into the atmosphere of Stellara Prime, pieces of the city below began to lift into the air, defying gravity. Buildings, streets, vehicles—all torn from their foundations as if by an invisible hand.
From his elevated position, Tenzin witnessed the devastation below. The grand boulevards of Celestial Avenue, once the pride of Stellara Prime, now lay in ruins. The floating gardens of Astral Heights had crashed to the ground, their centuries-old trees uprooted and dying. The crystalline towers of Lumina District, home to billions of scholars and scientists, crumbled into dust.
The streets were littered with bodies—civilians caught in the relentless assault of the First Generation Sentients. Among them lay Leonidas "Aegis" Phobos, his armor cracked and his mighty spear broken beside him. The spectral forms of his Phalanx Formation had dissipated, leaving their leader alone among the fallen.
Across the planet, the destruction spread like wildfire. In the seaside community of Nova Harbor, tsunami-like waves crashed over the protective barriers, dragging ships and buildings into the depths. The agricultural center of Helios Fields watched in horror as the very soil split open, swallowing entire farms whole. Even the remote meditation retreats of Mount Zenith, far from the capital, felt the ground shift beneath them as ancient rock formations began to crumble.
Back in Luminaris Hall, the Elders scrambled for safety as the floor broke apart beneath them. Several fell into the widening chasms, their screams fading as they plummeted into darkness.
Queen Lila remained frozen, watching the destruction unfold with wide, disbelieving eyes. Her hesitation had cost them precious time—time they no longer had.
Then, she felt it—a presence darker and more foreboding than Tenzin's power. The same sinister energy that had claimed Bjorn and Maximus now lingered at the edges of her awareness, watching, waiting.
Something within Queen Lila finally snapped.
"No," she whispered, then louder: "No! I won't cower away this time!"
Her aura erupted in a blinding flash of divine light, enveloping her body and expanding outward in pulsating waves. The power she had kept restrained for so long—her Divine Magic—surged through her veins.
Gone was the water magic she had wielded as a young mage in Squad Seven with Kaipo. After the resurrection, Queen Erisa had helped her unlock something far greater—a power somehow woven into the fabric of her being, waiting to be awakened.
"Heaven's Aegis!" Queen Lila commanded, her voice resonating with authority.
A barrier of pure divine light expanded from her form, racing outward at impossible speed. It spread across Luminaris Hall, then the capital city, continuing to grow until it encompassed the entire planet of Stellara Prime. The impenetrable shield of celestial energy halted the destruction in its tracks.
Floating debris froze in mid-air before gently descending back to earth. Chasms in the ground began to close, buildings reconstructed themselves brick by brick, and the wounded found their injuries healing as the divine light washed over them.
Queen Lila rose into the air, her celestial robes billowing around her as she ascended through the broken roof of Luminaris Hall to face Tenzin. Her eyes, once clouded with doubt, now blazed with righteous determination.
"Tenzin," she called out, her voice carrying across the devastated landscape. "You will pay for the destruction you have caused today!"
The two figures hovered above Stellara Prime—one a being of transcendent chi, the other a vessel of divine protection—as the fate of the "Seventh Universe" hung in the balance.
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