A blinding white light engulfed everything as the Hellion's final explosion of Rift energy rippled through the battlefield.
Luna felt her body lift off the ground, as if gravity itself had been ripped away. The sheer force of the blast made her ears ring, her vision blurry.
Somewhere in the chaos, she could barely make out Kai's silhouette, his figure flickering against the raw energy surging around them.
Then— darkness.
A Vision in the Rift
Luna suddenly found herself floating. There was no ground, no sky—only an endless void of swirling black and violet mist.
The Black Hole Rift was everywhere—alive, pulsating, whispering in an ancient, forgotten language.
Then, she saw something.
A figure stood before her, wrapped in shadows. Its glowing red eyes pierced through the void.
"You are not ready."
Luna's heart pounded. "Who… are you?"
The figure stepped closer. The air cracked around it, as if the Rift itself was bending under its presence.
"The cycle begins again."
Luna's body tensed. The energy around her shifted, and suddenly, she wasn't in the void anymore.
Back to Reality
A sharp gasp escaped Luna's lips as she snapped back to consciousness, her body collapsing onto the academy's battlefield.
The explosion had subsided, but the destruction was clear. The training field was in ruins, black scorch marks carved into the earth.
And in the center of it all—
Kai stood, breathing heavily, his hand gripping his energy blade. But something was wrong.
His aura was flickering—unstable. Blue lightning cracked wildly around him, his eyes glowing faintly with a different kind of energy.
Luna pushed herself up. "Kai…?"
Kai blinked at her, his expression dazed, like he had seen something he shouldn't have.
Then, his energy blade shattered into nothingness.
Kai staggered forward, gripping his head. "What… the hell was that?"
Luna steadied herself. "You saw it too, didn't you?"
Kai's jaw tightened. "Something—someone—was inside the Rift."
Luna nodded. "And they're watching us."
The air remained heavy, the unnatural presence of the Rift lingering long after the battle had ended.
One thing was clear—this wasn't just another invasion.
Something bigger was coming.
And they weren't ready.
Elsewhere…
Deep within the shadows of the Rift, a pair of crimson eyes flickered open.
A low, amused chuckle echoed in the void.
"Let's see how long they last."