[i][b]Unity[/b] entered the main room at the center of the [b]Omninavus[/b], leaving [b]Alignment[/b] and [b]Dominance[/b] to their battle. It was pitch black; the dim blue lining that was scattered across the walls was unable to reveal anything inside. She continued to examine the room to see if she could find anything of interest until, finally, a small blue light brighter than those on the walls appeared in front of her. The light came from a large crystal. [b]Contrast’s[/b] crystal. The grin on his face was highlighted in blue and his top hat prevented the light from illuminating anything above him.[/i] [b]Contrast[/b]: “Welcome. I must say, I’m just as surprised as everyone else to know that you’re still alive. It’s very rare to survive the Omninavus’s assimilation, especially when it is interrupted by a violent explosion.” [b]Unity[/b]: “I survived thanks to the King.” [b]Contrast[/b]: “No, you almost died because of him. If Dezi hadn’t used all of the Principles to stop the Omninavus from completely assimilating Paradisum, you’d be with your sister by now, safe from this pointless conflict.” [b]Unity[/b]: “Pointless? You are almost beaten, Contrast. It’s over.” [i][b]Contrast[/b] softly chuckled [/i] [b]Contrast[/b]: “My dear, are you referring to your little stunt? No. You haven’t stopped this assimilation. Those pods were mere extensions to the energy of this ship. THIS is what gives us strength! THIS is the heart of the Grand Colony!” [i][b]Contrast[/b] raised his arms and the room became illuminated by a bright blue light from the center of the room. The source of the light was a giant blue sphere that gave off a heat that filled the room. [/i] [b]Unity[/b]: “What is that?” [b]Contrast[/b]: “A star. An artificial one, to be more precise. The Grand Leaders before me made it to power the entire ship and extract materials from its core when needed. Materials such as the crystals you’ve seen on every machine and Colonist the Grand Colony has.” [b]Unity[/b]: “And why reveal it to me? If I destroy it, I win, right?” [b]Contrast[/b]: “I was really expecting that you would be smarter than everyone else. But then again, you’re still a child. If the main source of power for this colossal piece of metal in the sky were to be taken away, what do you think would happen? Said piece of metal would crash down onto the land you so desperately want to protect and take a huge chunk of it with it. And the only person that can move the ship is the mind of the Grand Leader, also known as yours truly. I’m telling you this because I want you to be—“ [b]Unity[/b]: “I think I understand now.” [i]From [b]Unity’s[/b] sleeves emerged a set of chains that extended onto the floor.[/i] [b]Unity[/b]: “In other words, all I need do is to beat you.” [i][b]Contrast[/b] looked down and sighed heavily.[/i] [b]Contrast[/b]: “Of course. There was one thing I completely forgot about.” [i][b]Contrast[/b] quickly points his cane at [b]Unity[/b].[/i] [b]Contrast[/b]: “You’ve always been a stubborn brat!” [i]The air between the two began to combust into flames. [b]Unity[/b] extended her chains on her right arm to the ceiling. The tip of the final chain unified with the metal ceiling, allowing her to pull herself forward and swing away from the fire. She then circled around the room while swinging and kicked [b]Contrast[/b] on the side of his head, knocking him down. [b]Unity[/b] followed up the attack by tearing off a chunk of the ceiling her chains were attached to and threw them at [b]Contrast[/b]. The Grand Leader extended his cane and transformed the chunk of metal into a small cloud, but [b]Unity[/b] went through it and landed a strong punch on him. After the strike, her chains began to wrap around [b]Contrast’s[/b] body, rendering him completely immobile.[/i] [b]Unity[/b]: “I expected you to be stronger.” [b]Contrast[/b]: “And as I said before, I expected you to be smarter.” [i]As [b]Contrast[/b] finished his retort, [b]Unity[/b] felt a burning pain in her back that dug into her body. She fell onto the ground and turned her head around to find that the attack didn’t come from one of [b]Contrast’s[/b] tricks, but from a rifle fired by [b]Repetition[/b].[/i] [b]Repetition[/b]: “Statement: Target has been disabled, master.” [i][b]Contrast[/b] then turned the chains that bound him into liquid and stood above the wounded [b]Unity[/b]. He then placed his cane on her cheek.[/i] [b]Contrast[/b]: “Don’t worry. You are still to become my successor, so I won’t kill you. Of course, I can’t just leave you here the way you are.” [i][b]Unity’s[/b] body began to morph, starting with her head. It began to shrivel up while simultaneously bubbling as the rest of her body began to curl up to where her head was, becoming a ball of flesh and cloth. [b]Contrast[/b] picked up the new [b]Unity[/b] and handed her over to [b]Repetition[/b].[/i] [b]Contrast[/b]: “You’ve done well, my servant. Watch over her for me. I must take care of the last threat.” ——— [i][b]Dominance[/b] cornered [b]Alignment[/b] with a barrage of quick, yet heavy strikes with his greatsword. [b]Alignment[/b] barely managed to block all of them in time with the laser in between his ball configuration. Before [b]Dominance[/b] managed to land another strike, the professor faded away and reappeared behind the student and backed away. He then deactivated the laser and merged his balls into one, only to split it up into 8 and scatter them in front of [b]Dominance[/b]. [b]Alignment[/b] snapped his fingers and a series of lasers formed in between each ball in front of [b]Dominance[/b]. The large man ran through the lasers, crossing through them with minor burns on his head and armor. He then went for a downward slash, but before it could land, [b]Alignment[/b] bit a red fruit he had hidden behind his back and through another ball at Dominance point-blank in his forehead. His crystal shattered and [b]Dominance[/b] stared at the ground wide eyed for a moment. [b]Alignment[/b] slowly took a single step forward, but stopped as his friend slowly lifted his head up and stared into [b]Alignment’s[/b] eyes with a sorrowful expression.[/i] [b]Alignment[/b]: “...Domund.” [i]He stayed silent for a while until he finally responded[/i]. [b]Dominance[/b]: “I only wanted to help my—“ [i]Before he could finish, a large explosion appeared in the air surrounding [b]Dominance[/b] that tore up the left side entirely.[/i] [b]Contrast[/b]: “I’m growing really sick of hearing you prattle on about your dead kingdom, boy.” [i][b]Dominance[/b] fell onto the ground, bleeding out and dying while [b]Alignment[/b] watched in horror and screamed the name of his student and best friend.[/i] [spoiler]Fades Away[/spoiler]