The Price

It felt as if he was in a dream, as he walked through a forest, similar to the one in his neighborhood. Confused on why he was there and what he was supposed to be doing. Suddenly, the path opened up to a massive clearing with hills and rich green grassland as far as the eye could see, except it wasn't empty.

Instead, there were an incredible amount of people there. Hundreds of millions, dressed and resembled Rennayans from all tribes in different eras.

Tobi looked out over the crowd, as each one of them turned their eyes onto him. A child about ten years old, walked up to him, as he started to back away. "Who... who are you people?"

The child spoke up, and they all spoke in unison. "We are your strength." Tobi was creeped out as he looked around at each one of them. The child continued speaking. "You have lent out our blessing without our consent, now you seek for more. Everything comes at a price, young one."

Tobi stared at the child, as he wondered what he was speaking to. "Darkness consumes all." She followed up, then grabbed his arm, making him instinctively yank it away.

The people sitting, all got up, then one by one, they all began to march, converging towards him. Tobi spun around and immediately began running, not noticing the spot she touched, starting to invade his body, like a contagious infection .

He collapsed unable to move within a minute, while the mob engulfed him.

At Beyond HQ, Medbay...

Saphyra had recovered all of the Novas back to Medbay for checkups and treatment. Helio, Amaara, and Carina waited patiently by cryomeds, where Simon, Runa, Karim, and Osei were being treated for critical care.

The ones up, crowded around the TV's in the rooms, broadcasting the fight in Dargan's space. Each of them was shocked by what they were witnessing. Hoping it wasn't all true.

"This can't be happening! Is he going to be alright?" Sofia asked, anxious about the situation.

"I'm not sure anymore, I mean his heart stopped for a moment. Whatever that is, isn't human." Koji replied to her.

Norah shook her head. "He's still Tobi, he just has to wake up. It feels like he's stuck in a nightmare."

Kalista looked at her, wondering what she was going on about. She was still dressed in her battle suit, refusing to check-in. Saphyra needed Kalista's help to force her into the Medbay.

"Norah, what are you talking about? Kalista asked, curious.

She finally turned away from the screen and sat down on a nearby seat. "I'm not sure why, but I can feel his anger, and it's not his."

Kalista walked up to her and sat down. "If anyone can get through this, it's him."

Norah nodded. "I just hope he and Kiala can make it back to us in one piece. I have a few words I need to give her. Do you think it's true, Kalista?"

Kalista sighed and then looked up. "I'm not sure what to think anymore."

The rest of them glanced back at them for a moment, then turned their attention back to the screen, watching the fight escalate even further.

On the outskirts of Dargan's Atmosphere...

"Solkyr Altania!" Mado swung down towards Tobi, as black electric flames compressed and followed through with telekinetic force, cutting through the ground.

Tobi reacted instantaneously raising a wall of ice, reinforced with a forcefield to block the attack. Resulting in a large shockwave followed by steam bursting forth clouding the area.

Tobi, still in the lost form, roared and then disappeared into the smoke. Making the king brace, by coating his sword in black electric flames. He felt a blur from behind him as Tobi roared once again and swung down with his full might.

Mado quickly placed forth his left hand, which had stayed closed, while he prepared a condensed sphere of black fire within. Just as it was about to shatter forth, Tobi grabbed his left wrist to push the devastating beam away from him, as he continued to swing down the middle, colliding with the king's blade.

They crashed down together still engaging in a violent exchange, as Mado struggled to bring the beam around towards his head. Breaking a piece off it, as he clipped him. Steam burst forth from Tobi's mask, as he growled at the king.

Mado could feel nothing but malicious intent through his gleaming red eyes. "You've completely lost yourself haven't you?"

Tobi pressed down closer, drawing blood with the king's own sword. He felt the pain and used the adrenaline to turn his wrist enough to completely blast the monster off of the asteroid. Then, began to heal himself over and repaired his crushed, frozen wrist.

"A long drawn out battle in space isn't favourable. I have to get back to Dargan somehow, but if I jump that far again, I won't have the strength to fight him." He shook his head, as he looked up in the direction that Tobi flew in.

He had landed on a small comet that he had summoned and was already racing back to the king. Mado's eyes grew wide as he teleported onto another orbiting asteroid nearby.

Then watched the comet continue to crash into the asteroid, smashing it together into smithereens, with an incredible explosion. He thought he was watching the attack from a safe distance, however, Tobi reappeared above him, swinging down once again.

With quick instincts Mado placed up his sword to block it, however, the force between them broke apart the small asteroid, as he tumbled down, hurdling toward Dargan. He caught himself, floating in space just as he was about to enter orbit, but Tobi wasn't letting up, teleporting in, once more with a loud roar and aiming to cut him down.

The King yelled in return, as he fought back, pushing himself to his limit, while healing himself, as he raised the heat. Their swords collided producing a blinding light, visible to half of the planet, followed by a shockwave rippling through and causing tsunamis on Dargan.

Mado continued his struggle to push him back, but before he could, out of Tobi's mouth, a beam of violet, electric fire struck him, at point-blank and back down to Dargan. Incinerating the ground around him, as he produced a forcefield to protect himself.

The beam suddenly stopped, leaving only a loud roar filling up the sky. The temperature started to rise, as the sky darkened with a tint of purple.

Large amounts of purple lightning converged, wrapping around Tobi while he sheathed his sword, and manifested a purple electric armour. Mado squinted, faintly seeing the danger he was in.

"Zolleus's Armour!" He yelled out, as black electric armour wrapped around him, at his will.

Tobi zipped down, like a lightning strike, placing his entire force into his fist.

Mado returned back his charge, with equal force, as their surroundings, leveled away from the collision and the strikes after, as they continued to trade blow for blow. Tobi caught Mado's right arm and acrobatically flipped over to hurl him flying into a mountain.

The landing produced a massive crater on the side of it, as the king was forced to cough up blood. Yet he grinned. "No one has pushed me this far, in such a long time. You're making me feel alive again."

Tobi had just appeared above him, letting out an intense roar, then raised his right hand in front of him and clutched it. The mountain and ground, for several kilometres, started to shake.

Then, rumbled intensely, as the mountain erupted in a magnificent fashion. Lava and debris rained concavely around the mountain, trapping the king in.

He quickly healed himself and teleported out, behind Tobi, then knocked him flying into the lava. "You can have that back." He said to him, however the lava unnaturally moved away and avoided him, as he landed in Mado's original position.

He then watched as Tobi pointed his hand towards him, beckoning the lava to whip together again into a bubbling pillar of magma and arc-ed it towards the king, with incredible speed. Mado jetted up, dodging the flow of lethal whips, then looked back down, to his dismay, as it snaked back after him.

He retreated, as fast as he could, flying as far away from the volcano, while he ignored another roar from the monster in the the distance. Magma infused with dark energy, crashed around him, as he zig-zagged along hills into a desolate plain.

He turned around to face it, giving up on an escape. Only to meet silence, as he watched a bright figure soar up into the sky.

The purple armour around Tobi, converged, as fuel for his next devastating attack. The continent they were on, shook, with immense amounts of seismic activity.

Native animals began to scatter, but Tobi was unbothered. "Grr..."

He was still in a trance, as he poured in incredible amounts of energy, from an unknown source. All to power a rotating electric sphere of lava, coated in violet fire. An attack meant to end any life it may reach, for it had grown to over ten times his size, then condensed to about half, within seconds.

The king looked up knowing there was no way to escape. "He's trying to take us, all out with him."

He gritted his teeth, then placed his hands in front of him, holding together a blazing sphere of electric black fire, then added more as fast as he could and condensed it further. He wrapped the sphere with force trapping the air within, to thousands of atmospheric pressure.

Cracks of air, lined the sphere as he struggled to keep it together. "Solkyr's Sun!" He yelled out, matching Tobi's timing, and launched it with his life at stake.

The collision between both attacks caused devastating consequences to Dargan. Turning everything in their vicinity, for thousands of kilometres into a wasteland, as the largest mushroom cloud seen in history rose through Dargan's skies.

The two were sent hurdling to different parts of the continent, sustaining heavy injuries. Mado got up, healing his wounds slowly, while searching the constant massive explosion in the distance for his opponent.

Only for Tobi to appear in front of him, with cracks lining the air around him. He had a beam prepared in his mouth, about to unleash it once more, point-blank at the king.

Mado was taken aback, seeing how Tobi had recovered so quickly. He started to raise his right hand to brace for impact, however, the sphere froze in front of his mouth, then moments later shattered to the floor.

"Having trouble brother?" The king looked back, as Rael descended down behind him.