Chương 43: Episode 40: Ultra XK, ARISE

I quickly sprinted towards Olsen, who was slumped against a rock, sitting with his back to it. He had an axe pierced straight into his chest, and his face was bloodied, breathing heavily—fighting for dear life.

"You alright, bro?" I said as I swiftly yanked the axe from his chest, tossing it to the ground. Olsen slowly pushed himself off the rock, beginning to limp a little, and just before collapsing, Lonnie Mae's vines caught him and shot through his chest from behind. The vines glowed a faint, soft green, and they gradually healed Olsen's wounds—the blood washing clean off his body. After a few minutes of healing, Lonnie gently pulled the vines out, leaving Olsen to stand on both of his legs. He was alright.

He was finally breathing normally, and he could move freely again. He groaned, "Yeah… I'm alright…" The sky was still in its war form. Dark gray clouds and thick sheets of smoke draped over the earth, and the ground was pitch-black, with flames blazing and burning wildly across the area. This was Celestia now. It was all… gone. The ground was torn apart, scorched by fire, and once-tall buildings were crushed and collided together, now reduced to a ruined wasteland.

From afar, the city looked destroyed—like someone stomped on a pile of fragile Legos. Celestianites lay dead across the ground, blood everywhere. Millions of them scattered around the battlefield. They fought well… but I guess the enemy was just too much. I shook my head, staring into the flames.

"How are we gonna fix this now?" I turned around completely, facing everyone else. They walked towards me with tired grins on their faces.

"I see what you mean, Don… the place is—just like Scarletsville," Sophia said, her eyes scanning the ruined battlefield. Starla looked up at the sky and saw her brother, Prince Lock, flying toward her in full Celestianite Dragon form. His armor glittered and sparkled, splattered with blood—everywhere. His spear was crimson red, and so were his talons. He landed slowly on all fours right in front of Starla, then gradually transformed into his base form, staring straight at her.

The two of them narrowed their eyes at each other, then Lock shook his head in disappointment.

"Where were you the entire time?!" he yelled.

"I had to fight millions—and I'm not kidding, MILLIONS—of Lunaranites! There was blood everywhere—EVERYWHERE! And YET YOU DIDN'T COME!"

"Brother, it's not my fault!" Starla said as she steadily walked toward him, her eyes wilting.

"Look, I'm sorry for leaving, but I can't just let Dreadixz collect all the Power Gems!"

"Where is Scorch? What happened to your guardian?!" Lock barked.

"He's supposed to protect you—he's supposed to ALWAYS be with you!"

"Lock, I'm old enough to take care of myself! I don't need Scorch to protect me all the time! I fought in this war like everyone else, and ever since Dad was gone, the last thing he told me was that sometimes people have to walk alone!" Starla snapped, gripping her brother's arm. Lock stood there, staring deeply into Starla's eyes. She stared back, her glare firm and serious. Then Lock sighed, pulled away, and turned around to walk off.

"Fine. Just remember… don't get yourself killed." I stood beside Starla, watching Prince Lock walk away.

"Some sibling dynamic, huh?" Starla sighed, rolling her eyes.

"He's just like that all the time." William suddenly noticed something. His eyes darted around the field as if he were trying to spot something. Then they widened as he turned back to the crew.

"Uh, guys… where are the Officials?"

"The Officials?" My head perked up. I raised my eyebrow at William.

"What do you mean? Did they fight with you guys or something?"

"Yes!" Kwa'asja nodded.

"Guervens and Coltz—they were with us, right? The only Officials we have here are Jaylen and Lock! But where are the others?" Jaylen looked up into the sky, peering from afar, then squinted.

"I think I already found our answer…" Everybody turned their attention toward Jaylen. He was pointing at something way off in the distance. We all shared glances, then walked toward Jaylen to stand beside him. I stared across the valley of fallen Celestianites and raging flames—and then I saw something… HUGE. It was a massive castle—the Castle of Celestia. It was still golden, still standing. It looked completely intact. It shimmered from afar, glistening despite the lack of light.

The tower reached high above the clouds, nearly touching space. But something wild was happening… A streak of blue energy was flowing from the top of the castle and shooting straight into the sky. I could see it through the smoke and dust—it was a bright, glowing line of Power Gem energy. I whispered under my breath, shaking my head in awe, "Dammit…" Ella screeched, "It's Dark Don! The Power Gems must've gotten into the Celestial Pillars—and he's probably right there!"

"You're not wrong, Ella. incarceration literally told Dark Don to get to the celestial pillars before we even started fighting!" Mason cried, wiping blood from his nose. I clenched my fists, and violet celestial energy—like flames—erupted from them. I gritted my teeth, staring into the sky, finally realizing what it meant. The rest of the Officials were probably over there—fighting Dark Don in the castle. And it looks like… Dark Don won.

As we gazed up at the towering structure, a radiant lunar explosion bursts from the castle— and I saw Dark Don and Coltonz flew out of the castle, which appeared to be surging with streaks of white and green energy. They both started clashing in mid-air, punching, kicking, and launching energy blasts that exploded all around them, shaking the very ground and tearing into the atmosphere like thunderclaps.

Then suddenly, Dark Don delivered a brutal punch straight into Coltonz's gut, launching him straight down toward the earth like a missile. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The green streak fell through the sky, and then— BWWWWWOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!! A massive green shockwave roared across the battlefield, rattling both the ground and the air itself. I held on tightly to the ground, gritting my teeth against the wind, my eyes squinting shut.

Then, in a flash, I forced them open—and celestial energy erupted from my right eye like a flare. Once the chaos simmered down, I rose up, holding my arm and scanning the wreckage. My tail whipped rapidly behind me as I spotted the white streak jetting back into the air—now clashing with a bright red one. The white streak suddenly spun at rapid speed, morphing into a tornado of blinding light, and hurled the red streak down into the ground, causing another massive eruption.

This time, chunks of earth were launched sky-high—actual slabs of land exploding into the air. Things briefly calmed again. I glanced back up at the glowing white streak. Behind me, I heard everyone murmuring, just as stunned as I was. Then the glowing white figure looked down at me—and my eyes widened. In a blink, before I could even react, he was right in front of me, gut-punching my stomach so hard I went flipping backward across the scorched ground, my back scraping it at full speed.

The impact unleashed an enormous white lunar shockwave that quaked the area all over again. I accidentally leapt sideways mid-roll, but then I crashed into a jagged boulder—shattering it into fragments that exploded outward.

"DON!" I heard everyone shouting from the distance. I forced myself up, clenching my fists and slipping into my fighting stance. Celestial energy crackled around me violently, pulsing like raging violet flames. My eyes darted across the battlefield for the figure. And then— BOOM —he came soaring down toward me, his arm reeled back, ready to throw another devastating blow. I barely managed to launch myself out of the way.

His punch smashed into the ground instead, creating an explosive shockwave so intense it launched me into the air like a trampoline rebound. Chunks of earth and rock scattered into the sky, and I flipped mid-air before landing with dramatic flair, skidding across the ground. He landed hard in front of me, fists slamming into the ground with force—yet I stood firm, bracing against the quake. Wind howled around him, his glowing white aura pulsing in flashes.

Rocks flew around him in a spiral, the wind itself seemed to obey him—swirling, bending, amplifying. I finally peeled my eyes open—and I looked at the figure. It was Dark Don. Except… it didn't even feel like him. I only guessed it was him because of the lunar energy—and because the others told me. He looked like a full-on lunar god now. A glowing, silver being made entirely of celestial light. An energy even brighter than my KX form. His pupils? They were replaced with glowing letters: "XK". Excuse me?!

Is this dude trying to be an off-brand me right now?! XK?! Okay… now he's just being extra. His hair had six spikes—two large ones curling back from the top, two arching upward from the bottom, and two more sprouting out from both sides of his head. All of them glowed with a radiant silver hue. The lunar energy flared and cracked around him like lightning, his glowing white eyes locked onto me. Then he snapped his fingers. The chaos around him stopped. Everything.

And even though I couldn't see his mouth, I swear I saw the smirk.

"It's nice seeing you again, KX…"

"WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO COME BACK?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE PARALYZED!" I yelled, wings twitching, eyes wide in disbelief. He laughed. A deep, dark, menacing laugh. Slowly, he levitated into the air, arms folded. Everyone around us froze, watching him rise. Dark Don hovered mid-air like some kind of divine being, his eyes glowing like searchlights. He looked like a lunar deity ascending to the heavens. Then he just stopped, floating effortlessly. His light was so bright… I could feel it.

I could tell—it was visible around the entire world. He was outshining all of Celestia. Arms and legs crossed. Floating. Silent. Dominating. He took a few glances at his body, shifting and flexing it slightly, then turned to me and muttered in a cold, deadpan voice, "Great…" He floated still in the air.

"Now that I have the most powerful form in Avangard's entire existence… I will finally—annihilate you…" I smirked, placing my hands on my hips, my tail flicking and dancing behind me with rhythm.

"You sure about that? I've fought beasts, monsters, even King Dreadixz — took him out too. Don't forget Incarceration — his decapitated head's rotting just on the far side of you!" Dark Don scoffed, motioning with one arm while the other stayed folded across his chest.

"Do you really think you still have the will, the nerve, and the strength to defeat me? Think again, Don… I already dropped two Officials, nearly killed your friend Jaylen. Remember what I told you back at Insane Middle School?" I rolled my eyes casually, tail still whipping back and forth like a banner in a storm.

"I didn't forget, Dark Don. You're a bounty hunter, a Scarrist, a version of me that thinks it's better in every way, shape, and form… But you wanna know something?" Dark Don narrowed his glowing eyes at me, hovering with that same menacing, soul-chilling demeanor.

"What?" I clenched my fists tight, flooding them with raw celestial energy. I clenched again, and the entire area began to tremble violently. I stomped my foot with all my force, and it tore right through the solid ground like a jackhammer, shaking the earth once more. Celestial energy warped and swirled around me like a growing vortex, and I snapped my head upward, eyes blazing a radiant violet hue. My tail whipped furiously, my wings twitched like they were preparing for liftoff.

Celestial sparks danced along my body, crackling like electricity from my feet to my head. The earth below began to quake — no, erupt. A whole earthquake was tearing through the battlefield. Everyone around struggled to stay upright, but the seismic rumble just kept getting worse. It quaked, trembled, quivered, and shook — over and over like a living beast. My eyes flared with the glowing letters KX. The energy spiraled around me like flames on overdrive.

My eyes were already bursting with celestial fire, and my hair was going wild. It started morphing — two massive spikes forming. One sprouting from the crown of my head, arching backward. The other from the back of my skull, pointing straight up like a blade. Cracks erupted from the ground below me, and my eyes blazed brighter and brighter. Celestial power crackled harshly and wildly, winds screamed around me, and debris started floating in the air. Then — with a fierce shout — I roared: "RAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Celestial energy erupted from my body in a violent explosion. A massive, dark violet beam launched from me like a cannon blast, rocketing toward the sky at lightning speed. My neckerchief scarf flailed wildly in the storm, tail thrashing faster than ever. The light radiating from my body was blinding — a whole purple comet hurtling toward the heavens, ready to shatter them. Stones spun and whirled around me faster than sound itself. Wind twisted into a full cyclone, the landscape shook beneath me.

Dark Don gave me a sinister, disapproving glare. The energy around me surged and flamed like wildfire, then suddenly — woosh — the beam faded into the wind. I was left, cloaked in pure violet celestial energy. My eyes glowed brighter than ever, teeth clenched, fists ready to bash in some Lunaranite jawlines. One pupil had a glowing "K", the other an "X" — both burning with dark violet fire. Stars shimmered and rippled around me like cosmic waves. Then, I lifted off the ground, rising into the air.

Everyone looked up in awe, silent. I struck my fighting stance midair, squaring off against Dark Don. He mirrored me — copying the stance like a challenge. I narrowed my eyes and whispered with a grin, "KX FORM: Enganged."