Twilight.

Alora was the first to make her move—arms crossing and forming daggers between her fingers. She swiftly lunged at them, watching Monstrum approach with demonic claws. He swatted the knives aside and leaped into the air.

Talen intercepted him in mid-air, snatching the Disaster by the face, and guiding him to the ground. Malum rolled away, dodging Amit's sudden Fate bolts with precise acrobatics. The young man's teeth were frustratedly clenched.

'He's fast…'

Monstrum swiped the air with one hand. "Veil," he said.

Alora's eyes widened, reflexively dodging by backflipping once and landing on one knee; drawing a long sword and slashing up at the Displacement's face. Pushing away her attack, his knuckles started sinking toward the young lady's skull.

Once his arm was inexplicably sliced off, Uriel entered the fight with Talen beside him. Using a heavenly lance from one of his many golden gates, the Prince immediately started attacking—slashing and thrusting at every possible angle.

The two of them were locked. At base strength, Uriel knew he wasn't strong enough to match the Displacement's power. However, because of the divine Fate sharpening his reflexes, he could steadily adapt to Monstrum's speed.

'Interesting,' Malum thought, consistently dodging. 'His attacks are faster than the girl. But, I doubt he has any individual strength to go off of. It's undeniable. These two are fodder. Except for his ability to summon mindless Displacements semi-rank 1 or higher, he's not a threat. The most dangerous one is—'

Monstrum hastily spun around, spotting Talen's fist and catching his knuckles with one hand. Uriel was stunned; two more arms shot out of the Disaster's back to halt the Prince's incessant movements.

'Crap! He's ignoring Alora and me and going after Talen! Tal's the strongest of us but his technique is tiring. He might stand a chance… that is if he doesn't pass out first.'

Tal clapped both palms together in mid-air, sending a shockwave that threw Monstrum off-balance. As he attempted to stand straight, he noticed limitless Fate bolts start raining from the clouds. Monstrum aimed one hand at the sky, summoning a black bubble that effortlessly deflected the descending projectiles.

'Where is that black-haired brat?'

His eyes widened. Falling like a diver piercing through the air, Talen's feet decimated the Disastrous's darkened shield—leaving him disoriented. The Unconquerable immediately vanished, producing limitless copies that fled the smoke surrounding Monstrum to begin striking him all over.

Overwhelmed by the attacking barrage, Malum was cornered into a deadlock. The more legs and fists came flying at him, the more pain he felt plagued his inner body. He was unable to move.

"He's doing it…" said Alora, eyes wide.

Uriel nodded. "Yeah. But there's only so much he can do before his energy runs out. If Tal can't do this, we both have to use the extent of our power to push him back. Got it?!"

"Got it!"

Monstrum reshaped the darkness—utilizing weaponry to repeatedly slice the incoming clones; eventually watching them gradually lessen. However, not only did they decrease in numbers but also strength. His eyebrow raised.

His destructive movements halted. In one move, he dashed through the limitless clones, simultaneously throwing a punch. As expected, another Talen clone caught his knuckles; eyes bright green.

'I knew it. The copies' eyes are lifeless. The real one is the one with colorful eyes that glow because of the technique's activation. That's why you destroyed the ground around me. To limit that drawback and increase the power. However…'

Talen gasped. Another fist struck him hard—heartily launching him from the surrounding smoke cloud. The young man wiped the blood from his face and nose, steadily recovering to stand tall once more. Monstrum exited the mist with one raised hand, his demonic claws enveloped by aura.

"You're starting to falter." Monstrum smirked. "That technique… uses boundless 'energy' to manipulate the self and grant the user any ability they see fit. It's essentially capable of warping reality. I doubt your body is human if you're able to manipulate such an omnipotent ability," said the Disastrous.

Tal scoffed. "What do you care? How my ability works don't matter to you at this point!"

'If Fate-users are capable of being born with the natural ability to manipulate reality, they're stronger than I realized. When this boy grows old, he will likely master his technique's secrets and grow to become the strongest being this Empire has to offer. And once that happens I…' Monstrum chuckled.

Talen clapped both hands, manually distorting reality with a tear in space generating between his hands in the form of a hole.

The Displacement's eyes widened. 'What the—?! His energy's increasing again! Is it endless or something…?!'

Talen tightly clenched his teeth. "Agh… the ability to warp reality is taxing, but depending on the conditions I set upon myself—I can manage the pain! As long as you die first, I DON'T CARE IF I LOSE MY LIFE IN THE PROCESS!!!"

The beam shot forward. Once light burst from the space-tear between his palms, the air around them increased its heat by tenfold. Uriel and Alora barely ignored the instincts to rip off their clothes for the little time Talen's blast took to travel.

Even so, something stood out to the Prince. The Disastrous was an unstoppable being of immeasurable chaos that moved nigh-instantaneously. So why hadn't he appeared behind Talen already to continue their bout? There was only one reasonable explanation. When Alora's head turned, her ally had all but vanished—appearing before the enemy with arms spread out.

"WAIT!!!"

His scream resounded through the clouds and kingdom. Instantly, Talen's technique released and the beam blasting toward Uri had all but vanished. Holding the vessel's immobile body in his arms, both of the Prince's comrades approached hesitantly as the boy slowly awakened.

Alora stared. "Woah, he's—"

"He CAN switch between hosts. Even his hair is different," said Uriel.

"That should be impossible though," Talen said, shaking his head. "Any Displacement incarnated into this world through objects easily dominates the original host's conscience. How is this random kid… still alive?"

Sirens started entering their area. Talen clicked his tongue, turning to Alora.

"Can you warp us outta here?" he asked.

"I can't! I can only use my Area to move others to places I've been before, it won't work now!" Alora responded.

Tal groaned. "Dammit!"

"We're not dead yet, you two. Indeed, my princely immunity might not work for this one, but we can still run. You two advance, find somewhere we can use to hideout! I'll hide out in the meantime. When you have the location, send it to me!" Uriel hastily ordered.

"But—"

"No buts, asshole! Now go already, stupid brats!!"

Talen snatched Alora's arm. "Roger!!"

The two squads dispersed in unison before the authorities' arrival. Talen and Alora fled on foot as Uriel warped with the captured Anthony. Unbeknownst to them all, two silhouettes watched from the rooftops once they all fled.

Apollo scratched his neck, kneeling on the rooftop verge. "Did you expect that?"

"I honestly assumed Monstrum would rather sacrifice Whitlock than give up control. Then again, we're betting on him for this exact reason. He's not exactly the most orderly being," said his conspirator behind him, shadowed in darkness.

"I don't understand." Moloch stood tall and turned around. "Atlas, tell me something. When you summoned me, you promised me that my every desire would be granted. No questions asked. But what makes you so confident this scheme of yours will succeed?" he asked.

Atlas exited the shade, smiling. "If you don't believe in me then walk away. There are always other Displacements. Those non-compliant are virtually useless."

"Oh please." Moloch scoffed. "I'm asking because Monstrum's arm was a valuable resource, wasn't it? So what's next? Where do we go from here?"

"I've already taken steps. I purposefully sacrificed that limb knowing Monstrum's chaotic nature. There are always other pawns…"

Atlas licked his lips and stared straight ahead.

Above the clouds and earth was the sun gradually lowering behind distant mountains. Slowly, the sky's azure coloration faded, allowing the kingdom's subjects to remain ever dormant under the imminent twilight.

Trivia: Atlas is an ancient Fate-user from Kismet's golden age. He knows things long forgotten by the other kingdoms. He is the mastermind of the Monstrum and Anthony scheme, born with long black hair and a thick, darkened turtleneck.