◃ Final Battle ▹

Part 1

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1 Week Later
Planet Ingenium

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A week passed for the heroes, in which they spent their time training for their upcoming battle.

Additionally, they also saved many worlds that Li had attacked, all without bumping into him. After their many preparations, half of the recruited teams helped the many worlds that were still being affected, while the others followed Renjun and his team to Tristin's hideout.

However, they end up getting trapped on a neighboring world once they got close, unable to crossover to the unfamiliar domain for the time being. Despite not wanting to leave them behind, Renjun and his team advanced to confront Li themselves.

-

Li Family Temple

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"This place looks exactly the same as the first time Renjun and I were here"

"I guess it's a good thing that it hasn't changed. But this appears to be the temple that belonged to Tristin's family. I wonder why he would make this his hideout of all places"

"Mind your own business"

Li floated down from the sky and landed in front of the group.

Once he made his appearance, they were able to see just how unstable Tristin had become because of Li. His eyes had no sign of Tristin in them whatsoever. His power kept rising, and every step he took towards them slightly shook the ground. And their voices seemingly mixed together every time he spoke.

"I told you all to leave us be. Do you wish to throw your lives away that badly?"

"Not at all. We just want to save yours"

Taeyong frowned.

"A futile effort"

"How can we know if you won't let us try?"

"That's easy. You should know this yourself Renjun, but you and I have an unpredictability that is completely unmatched"

"That may be, but I'm not the unstable one here"

"Our instability makes us all the more stronger and harder to predict. And besides, only a very select few of us are immortal here. And among those few, that does not include you Renjun"

The select few he was referring to happened to be Taeyong, Jaehyun, and himself.

Jisung, Jean, and Junsung did not count seeing as they were only demigods; despite being half-god, they aren't immortal.

"The majority of us may not be immortal, but that's never stopped us before. If any of us dies, I can bring them back. We'll continue to live on no matter how many times you might kill us"

Renjun insisted.

"But does that include you? The last time you died was by your own hands. You had your power to resurrect then, yet you couldn't bring yourself back. None of your teammates can resurrect the dead other than you, and that pesky satyr isn't here to use that fleece to help bring you back again. If you die here, you'll die for good Renjun"

Li smirked, seeing when that realization finally hit him.

"Dad.. I hate to admit it, but he's right.. If you fall in this battle, there's no way to bring you back.."

Xinrei held onto his father's wrist, already thinking of the worst possible outcomes of their battle.

"...Even if that happens, I'll find my way back. There's more to light that meets the eye"

Despite knowing the risks they were taking, Renjun stood his ground.

"As long as we fight together, we still have a chance"

Tayden gained confidence from Renjun's determination, and stood his ground alongside his hero.

"Then you can all perish along with your savior"

Before they could all confront him at once, Li snapped his fingers and separated the team into random groups.

This way, Li could fight each group at the same time, using different power sets based on the groups' members.

-

Zone 1

-

All of the Keyblade Wielders in the team were teleported to Li's first artificial zone.

Out of all forty members, only Taeyong, Jaemin, Jamie, Sungmin, Tayden, Renjun, Robin, Xuefen, Xinrei, and Xinya were present, as well as Yukhei and Jungwoo in their regalia forms.

"What is this place..?"

"Li might've copied this tactic from Xansho years ago. He split us into random groups just like this, but instead of random locations, we were on different levels of his old tower"

Taeyong predicted.

"..I don't think these groups that we're in now are completely random. We might've been spilt up based on our power sets this time"

"I think Renjun-hyung is right. The only power we all have in common here is being Keyblade Wielders. That may not apply to Jungwoo-hyung and Lucas-hyung, but they might just be here since they were already in their regalia forms"

Tayden explained.

"Tayden is right. The others should be spilt up into designated groups like we are then, just in different locations"

Jaemin predicted.

"But something feels off. It kind of feels like part of my consciousness is split apart from me. It's almost like I'm in two places at one. I don't just see you guys. I see Jisung, Jean, Jaehyun, and Junsung too.."

Taeyong explained.

"I feel the same way. But instead of just two places, I'm in four.. I'm in four different groups at once, and Taeyong-hyung is in two.."

Renjun had a hard time comprehending exactly what was going on, while Taeyong was trying to figure it out.

"I think I understand. Both of you fit into more than one group because of your different power sets. Taeyong-hyung is in this Keyblade Wielder group with us, but he's also in a group consisting of gods and demigods. But since Renjun-hyung isn't a god nor demigod, he's not in that group"

"So, we were split up into five groups all together"

Jamie and Sungmin concluded.

"I think that's exactly what's happened. There's one group for Keyblade Wielders, one for gods and demigods, one for shapeshifters, one for elementals, and one for those who have powers that can't fall into any of the other categories"

Renjun explained as he examined the similarities between him and his different teammates, while also adding Taeyong's specific group into the equation.

"So that must mean since dad and Taeyong-hyung feel and see that their consciousness is spilt of in multiple locations, the same must go for Li"

"He wants to fight all of us at once with his varying power sets.."

"Right you are"

Li suddenly materialized into the area with one of his Keyblades in hand.

"Isn't it a bit cowardly to split us up like this hyung?"

Robin questioned his former caregiver.

"Whether it's cowardly or not, I've got nothing else to lose. You'll each die by my hand all the same"

Seeing how tightly Li was gripping his key, they all summoned their Keyblades as a precaution.

"For experienced heroes, all of you sure seem jumpy. Renjun is the only one out of you that looks calm"

Li smirked by their reactions, seeing that he had an impact on them before the battle even started.

"And I don't blame them. With everything you've done, I don't see how anyone else wouldn't be intimidated by you. Regardless, we're not leaving you alone to suffer anymore, either of you"