The silence was broken by a low hum—dark, unnatural, and rising in intensity like a cursed chant.
Kael and Kaito both froze as they watched the God Beast's body begin to glow. Not with light—but with something far worse.
A sickly green hue began to spread across its pale flesh, branching like a corrupted mark, twisting through its skin like veins of poison.
"What the hell is it doing now?" Kaito muttered, tightening his grip.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "This isn't just regeneration… it's an awakening."
From the distance, Azephon's eyes widened. "That mark… it's ancient. That's not just evolution—that's a transformation tied to the original cosmic beasts that roamed before the Fracture."
Liora stepped forward beside him, her tone suddenly urgent. "It's using Corrupted Ascendance. A forbidden state. It's not just becoming stronger—it's rejecting all limits."
The beast raised its head to the sky and screamed, its cry laced with pure cosmic distortion. Thunder cracked open the heavens as the green glow fully consumed its body.
Its arms elongated, now covered in serpent-like scales, glowing runes etching into its hide. Its once-pale face twisted into something demonic, eyes now pure black with slits of jade fire.
Kael took a step back. "Kaito. This just became something else."
The beast vanished.
In an instant, Kael was slammed into the mountain wall, a crater forming behind him.
Kaito reacted, barely blocking the next strike—but it still sent him skidding dozens of meters across the field.
The beast now moved faster than before, its corrupted aura warping the space around it.
"Kael!" A voice rang out—it was Renzo, running toward the battlefield.
"No!" Liora held him back. "You'll die. It's too strong now."
But Kael, groaning from the rubble, stood up slowly. His aura flickered—black and silver merging into a new shade.
"I won't let this thing destroy what we've built," he whispered, cracking his neck. "Kaito. Round two. We hold until the others join us."
Kaito grinned, blood on his lip. "I thought you'd never ask."
The two brothers stood side by side again—wounded, but far from finished.