The Shattered Entity

The arena trembled violently beneath Eren's feet, the earth cracking as the skeletal deity loomed overhead. Its hollow eyes glowed with a cold, divine malice, and its form flickered and writhed like a dying nightmare. Eren's body was drenched in sweat, muscles burning from the effort. He was tired, battered, but not done. Not this time.

The entity's claws shot forward with terrifying speed, the air crackling with energy. Eren's heart raced. He barely had time to react. His body instinctively leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the swipe that would've cleaved him in half.

Temporal Echo.

Time fractured around him. The deity's attack slowed to a crawl, its jagged claws slicing through the air like molten iron. Eren's muscles screamed in protest as he ducked, moving with the precision of someone who had seen the future. His sword flashed in the dim light, a silver arc as it cut into the entity's form. Dark ichor exploded, splattering across the ground with a sickening hiss.

The entity screamed in pain, but it wasn't done. Its claws reformed, faster this time, more vicious. It lurched forward with a new kind of rage, slashing with an intensity that made the ground beneath Eren's feet tremble. The earth split open as the creature attacked again, the air thick with the smell of burning magic and divine wrath.

Eren staggered back, his vision swimming as his mind threatened to split apart. The memories of past cycles flooded him—each battle, each loss—crushing his resolve. His hands trembled as he fought to stay focused.

"Focus, Eren!" Jace's voice cut through the haze like a blade. "The past doesn't control you."

Eren gritted his teeth, pushing past the memories that clawed at his mind. He could hear Jace fighting beside him, his sword clashing against the entity's claws with deadly precision. Together, they were holding their ground, but only just. The entity was adapting, its form shifting and changing with every strike.

Shifting Realms.

Eren's thoughts sharpened, and his mind reached out, pulling on the threads of past battles. The world around him bent, reality warping under his command. Ice erupted from the ground, jagged peaks shooting upward like the fangs of some ancient beast. Stone walls rose from the earth, splitting the arena into a maze of deadly terrain.

The entity recoiled, its claws scraping against the shifting landscape as it stumbled, disoriented by the sudden change. This was their chance.

"Now!" Eren shouted, his voice raw with determination. His sword was raised high, crackling with the power of time itself. The deity was exposed. The moment they'd been waiting for.

Jace didn't hesitate. He moved like a shadow, darting forward with impossible speed. His blade cut clean through the air, striking the entity's clawed hand with a resounding crack. The force of the blow sent the creature reeling back, giving Eren the opening he needed.

Eren surged forward, charging with everything he had left. His sword came down in a brutal arc, cutting through the air with the force of a storm. The blade cleaved through the entity's chest with a sickening crunch, and divine ichor poured from the wound like molten lava.

The arena shook violently. Eren's vision blurred with the aftershock, his body trembling under the strain of wielding such power. He could feel the burn of time itself inside him, the cost of using his abilities. But he couldn't stop now.

The entity screamed in agony, its form flickering as it tried to heal, to restore itself. But it was too slow. It was weakening. The cracks in its body spread like a spider's web, but it wasn't done yet.

The ground beneath them cracked open, sending jagged shards of stone flying. The entity's energy surged, exploding outward like a storm of lightning. Time warped again, and Eren was thrown backward, his body crashing against the rocky ground.

"Get up!" Jace's voice was urgent, panic lacing his words. "This isn't over!"

Eren's body felt like lead, his limbs refusing to obey. The force of the attack had nearly shattered him, but he wasn't about to let it end like this.

"Just a bit more…" he muttered through clenched teeth, trying to push himself up.

"No!" Jace snapped, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him to his feet. "We're out of time!"

The world around them was falling apart. The entity's final act of desperation had torn through the arena, splitting reality at the seams. Time fractured again, the fabric of the Crucible twisting like a wounded beast.

Jace didn't hesitate. He yanked Eren toward the rift in reality that had opened before them—a jagged tear in the air that pulsed with dark energy. The ground cracked beneath them, the world shaking with the final death throes of the dying entity.

Before they could reach the rift, the entity unleashed one last wave of destructive energy. Its form exploded in a burst of divine fury, the shockwave ripping through the arena like a tidal wave of pure chaos. Eren and Jace were thrown off their feet, their bodies sent flying by the force of the blast.

Time twisted around them, reality warping and folding as the entity's final scream echoed in their ears. But it was done. The dying deity, a shadow of what it once was, was no more.

The world cracked open. The arena shattered.

With a violent jerk, Eren and Jace were pulled through the rift, the sound of the world unraveling deafening in their ears. The last of the entity's divine energy faded into nothingness.

Then, just as quickly as it all started, everything went still. The arena, the shattered form of the entity, the chaos—they were gone.

They were somewhere else.