Jaden's eyes snapped open, glowing with an unfeeling silver as an eerie, mechanical voice slipped from his lips. "Alert: Hostile presence detected during primary consciousness dormancy. Automated activation of Justice-Activated Defender and Extraordinary Neutralizer initiated."

Skylar froze, the words barely registering as his pulse spiked. "Holy shit!" he muttered. The air around him charged with static as dread crawled up his spine.

Weston staggered, his face draining of color. His squad of security guard, sensing the shift, stormed in, weapons aimed and ready, their laser sights dancing across Jaden's rigid form. The atmosphere thickened, each second weighted with impending violence.

Yet Wilton, unflinching and analytical, raised a hand, effortlessly halting the squad while maintaining the same unwavering smile. "No need for theatrics," he murmured, his tone smooth, dripping with quiet triumph. "This... this is what I've been waiting for. J.A.D.E.N."

Jaden's vacant gaze zeroed in on Wilton. "Initiating data search," he intoned, the words hollow. The silver sheen in his eyes intensified as though scanning every molecule of Wilton's existence. "Ultra-tellurian identified as level-S technokinetic. Extraordinary Neutralizer engaged in terminating ultra-tellurian adversary." The room plunged into a dead silence as Jaden continued in his robotic monotone. "NGC 3532: A Wishing Well Cluster spell sequence activated."

Above them, a radiant magic circle bloomed into existence, bathing the room in a soft, pulsating splendor. Shimmering hues—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet—swirled together, forming a vast arcane pattern that hovered in the air. At its core, a nine-pointed star spun slowly, its edges gleaming with stellular energy.

Three colossal rings—each engraved with patterns too intricate for the eye to follow—circled the star, their movements mirroring the orbits of celestial bodies as though the very heavens had been summoned into the room. Within the heart of the formation, a detailed star map of the NGC 3532 cluster glittered, each pinpoint of light representing a distant star, twinkling in the expanse of the ceiling above like the cosmos had descended upon them.

Every eye in the room was drawn upward to the sublime constellation above. The guards, once steady, now faltered, weapons lowering as fear gnawed at their nerves. Skylar's chest tightened, and Weston's breath came in shallow spurts, his mind grappling to grasp the sight. But Wilton remained unmoved, his eyes glinting with a dangerous thrill.

"Spell parameters adjusted. Target locked: ultra-tellurian adversary – technokinetic." Every syllable Jaden spoke felt like an order demanding obedience. "NGC 3532, release."

Suddenly, the air erupted into chaos as 400 luminous plasma spheres rained down from the summoned constellation. Each one streaked toward the ground, not like falling stars but like sentient fragments of rainbow light, their paths swerving unpredictably. Their iridescent trails left ghostly arcs in the air, splitting into fractals before slamming into the floor, sending tremors through the room. The security guards, now overtaken by sheer panic, bolted for cover, but there was no safe place. Tiles broke apart, chunks of debris flew, and the ground rippled under the barrage of Jaden's heavenly body magic. The building groaned as explosions rocked the foundations.

Weston barely had time to react before a magical sphere whizzed past him. The air shuddered in its wake, and then it detonated. The shockwave blasted him backward, his body twisting mid-air before he smashed into the far wall. Pain lanced through him as he struggled to regain focus, his vision a kaleidoscope of calamity—flares of astral glow, shards of stone, and flashes of heat.

Meanwhile, though, Wilton stood unnervingly still amid everything, the picture of control. His arms rose, and as if drawn by invisible strings, pieces of metal from the ruined room flew toward him. Gears and plates whirred together, assembling rapidly into a sleek pair of metallic wings. Then they unfurled with a mechanical hiss, shimmering under the ethereal light like molten silver.

Without a flicker of hesitation, he took flight, his wings beating powerfully as he navigated the battlefield, effortlessly dodging the starlit onslaught that fractured the ground below. Each explosion illuminated his figure in quick, stark bursts of light, casting long shadows as he whirled and soared like an android angel made to survive the apocalypse.

However, within the maelstrom, there was a small sanctuary—a bubble of stillness. The spot where Jaden and Skylar were entangled in the cable wires was left untouched by the havoc raging around them.

The multi-colored aura surrounding Jaden brightened, shifting from a subtle lambency to a blinding incandescence. The cables that had bound him and Skylar began to melt away. While Skylar dropped to the floor, Jaden stayed suspended, floating inches above the ground. His body seemed buoyant, like a spirit untethered from reality.

"Jaden!" Skylar shouted as he looked up at his friend. "Are you in there? Wake up, buddy!"

"Primary consciousness is dormant. Justice-Activated Defender and Extraordinary Neutralizer will remain operational until threats are neutralized, and stability is restored."

Skylar's heart sank.

At that exact moment, the final volley of Jaden's NGC 3532 spell sequence unleashed its last blast. The intricate lines of the magic circle flickered one final time before folding in on themselves and evanescing. Silence followed as the aftermath of the spell settled in. The guards lay sprawled across the floor, unconscious, taken down by the force of the attack. Only Wilton persisted, hovering near the ceiling, his wings beating steadily.

Jaden shot through the air like a meteor blazing across the night sky. He raised his hand, and a brilliant starlight erupted, a globular prismatic energy aimed directly at Wilton. The colors shifted, each hue bending with lethal intent as the magic tore across the battlefield. But Wilton reacted just as fast, snapping his wings around his body like an impenetrable cocoon. For a heartbeat, the starlight splashed against the wings, held at bay by their gleaming exterior—until the energy burst through. A crisp crack echoed as Jaden's power shredded the feathers, fiery flakes spraying out in every direction.

Before Wilton could react, Jaden was upon him, a blur of speed and light. His hand slammed against Wilton's chest. Time seemed to freeze, the space between them brimming with raw power, before another sphere of heavenly body magic surged from Jaden's palm. The blast sent Wilton spiraling toward the ground like a crippled cyborg. His body hit the floor with a bone-rattling crash. Dust and dirt filled the air, and for a minute, everything was still again—Jaden, floating above the wreckage like a phantom of judgment, his glowing eyes fixed on the fallen enemy below.

Wilton rose, his laughter low and spine-tingling. He brushed granules from his shoulders as if shaking off a minor inconvenience, his eyes smoldering with amusement. "Impressive, Jaden. But you've only tapped into a fraction of your power. This is just the start."

As he spoke, teal-hued electricity crackled to life around the room, leaping across the remnants of demolished technology. Smashed screens flickered with dying sparks, wrecked drones buzzed with erratic energy, and the lifeless exoskeletons of robotic sentinels twitched where they had fallen. Piece by piece, the ruined technology jittered, then slowly defied gravity, rising from the ground. Drawn to him as if compelled by some invisible magnetic force, each component clicked into place, reconfiguring themselves around him until a new fearsome power armor took shape.

This armor was larger and more ominous than anything Wilton had ever constructed, even surpassing the earlier power suit. Its chest plate, all sharp lines and angular surfaces, was built for durability yet retained a sinister grace, designed to allow for fluid movements. Beneath the armor's outer layer, veins of energy coursed, teal currents flowing like captive lightning, feeding the suit's primal power. The helmet fused seamlessly into the design, its smooth, tinted visor emitting a rhythmic glow that concealed Wilton's expression entirely.

Behind him, with a whoosh of hydraulics, a new pair of wings spread open. They carried the elegance of a mythical beast—something out of ancient lore, like a hippogryph born of metal. In his hands, a sword and shield materialized, forged from the same dark metal, their surfaces etched with lines of energy. This was not just an upgrade—it was an evolution, something reborn from destruction, more alive than mechanical.

Across the command center, Skylar extended his arm, his eyes narrowing in concentration. Beneath the rubble, a golden chi energy pulsed as his Dragonshade Staff stirred. The weapon trembled before launching into the air and whirled into his grip. With a swift motion, Skylar twirled the staff, settling into a combat stance, his body taut for the coming battle.

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was in over his head. Even without the full security apparatus of Van Boxtel Technologies headquarters, Skylar finally realized there was no way he could have kidnapped Wilton yesterday at Lightcrest University. Not with the power Wilton wielded—not unless they were in the middle of a desert, far from any technology Wilton could manipulate.

A chill crept along Skylar's body, the enormity of the situation sinking in. His grip on the Dragonshade Staff tightened as doubt wound its way through his thoughts. Every fiber of his being warned him: this was a fight he couldn't win—not like this. But retreat wasn't an option. They were deep in the lion's den now, and Wilton wasn't going to stop until he had them both broken or worse.

Before he could consider his next move, a streak of light flashed from the corner of his vision. Jaden, still in J.A.D.E.N. state, shot down like a shooting star, his path a blur of rainbow-tinted specks. Skylar's heart skipped a beat as he watched his friend race toward Wilton at hypersonic speed, his body a living weapon of unbridled stellar energy.

Nonetheless, Wilton had anticipated the silver-haired boy's charge. His shield—freshly materialized—was positioned before him, its sheen glinting under the command center's fluorescent lights, alive with crackling teal energy. Jaden collided with it, the clash of magic and tech igniting up the atmosphere. The impact sent a shockwave through the walls that rattled every loose piece of debris.

Jaden rebounded from the strike, flipping backward mid-air, but Wilton's counter came swiftly. His sword swept out in a fluid arc, cutting through the space between them. The silver-haired boy's hand moved faster, conjuring a sphere of starlight that flared and seethed as it met the blade, scorching the metal on contact. The weapon sizzled, momentarily disintegrating in a rainbow inferno.

Yet, Wilton's smirk never went away. Without missing a beat, the scattered shards of his sword pulled together, reforming from the loose tech around the room, the weapon reborn in no time at all.

Jaden zipped back from Wilton, his silver eyes emotionless as scanned the scene before him. "Combat assessment: Technokinetic capabilities detected—weapon reconstruction from surrounding technological fragments," he calmly reported in a robotic tone. "Entire area designated as active arsenal. Optimal threat neutralization requires total destruction of the facility."

Wilton cocked an eyebrow at the detached statement as he advanced in. But before he could reach Jaden, Skylar sprang into action. With a grunt, he swung his Dragonshade staff, striking one of the nearby storage servers. The chunk of metal hurtled toward Wilton like a missile. However, Wilton's reflexes were unerring. His sword cleaved the hunk of machinery in a single, surgical stroke. The server split in two, clattering to the floor in a shower of embers.

The sound didn't even fade yet, and Skylar was already in front of him. A wave of golden chi radiated from his outstretched hand, forming into a giant Buddha palm that slammed into Wilton. The technokinetic was thrown back into the wall. Concrete fractured under the force, fissures spreading as Wilton embedded into the surface.

"Today: Friday, September 6. Initiating asteroid search protocol," Jaden's voice droned, his head tilting upward as though analyzing invisible data. "Asteroid identified: Pyrrhion-462. Origin: Oort Cloud. Status: inward trajectory, velocity increasing as it approaches the Sun."

Wilton wrenched himself free from the cratered wall, dust cascading from his power armor. His eyes kindled with intrigue as he regarded Jaden, then hardened into a glare aimed at Skylar. "You realize, I only need J.A.D.E.N., right?" he sneered. "I'd have no problem ending you."

Skylar gritted his teeth. "You're not hurting anyone else I care about, Wilton!" The words left him as more of a growl than a shout.

Without warning, Wilton lunged—fast, like a bullet. Skylar reacted instantly, leaping into the air. His body was parallel to the ground, his Dragonshade staff extending to meet Wilton's charge. The staff struck Wilton's shield, and for a tense moment, they were held in place, neither combatant giving an inch. Skylar wasn't finished, though. With a sharp exhale, he thrust his palm into the base of the staff, channeling a stream of chi through its length. The energy shot through the staff's other end, hitting the shield with renewed vigor. Fissures spread across the shield's surface, crackling with golden bioenergy as it buckled under the pressure.

With a sound like shattering glass, the shield gave way, splintering into fragments. Skylar's staff penetrated through, intending for Wilton's chest. However, Wilton was quicker than he looked. He twisted just in time, Skylar's strike puncturing through empty air. Momentum carried the younger combatant past Wilton in mid-air, but before he could land, Wilton's hand darted out, seizing his leg. Swinging Skylar around, the technokinetic hurled him across the room. His shoulder wrenched painfully out of its socket with a sickening pop, the agony searing down his arm like fire.

Dazed, Skylar tried to stand, but the ground seemed to tilt beneath him, his vision swimming in and out of focus.

Wilton didn't hesitate. With a flap of his wings, he was on him again, dragging Skylar off the ground with terrifying ease and pinning him to the wall. The cold metal of Wilton's armored hand bore down on his throat, biting into his skin as it squeezed tighter, cutting off his air. Desperate, Skylar reached inward for his chi.

It was too late, though, when live wires slithered from the floor, responding to Wilton's silent command, coiling around Skylar's limbs like snakes. A jolt of electricity rived through him, his muscles locking under the surge, leaving him helpless, dangling in Wilton's grasp.

Wilton's smirk broadened as he lifted his sword. "I told you, Skylar," he murmured, his voice tinged with dark satisfaction. "I'd have no problem ending you."

The blade hovered inches from Skylar's chest, the steel thrumming with deadly intent. Time seemed to stretch, the sobriety of inevitable death looming like a suffocating fog.

Then Jaden's voice sliced through the tension. "Data search complete. Initiating Aetherfall Protocol."

The atmosphere shifted immediately. Wilton stiffened, his grasp loosening on Skylar as his gaze darted to Jaden, a hint of confusion breaking his deadpan composure.

"Aetherfall: a celestial gateway spell sequence activated," Jaden continued, his tone unfeeling, precise.

A gust of wind gushed from nowhere, whipping through the command center with enough force to rattle the dust and debris. Overhead, the ceiling morphed, warping into a vortex of prismatic light. A swirling, rainbow-tinged cyclone spiraled into existence, drawing everything toward its churning core. It wasn't just light—it was a gateway, twisting space itself.

Skylar's heart pounded against his chest. Was this real? He blinked, struggling to comprehend the impossibility before him. Beyond the eddying maelstrom, distant specks of light twinkled—stars, maybe? The vastness of space lurked beyond the portal, and it felt like the universe itself was bleeding through.

From the center of the spiraling storm, an orb of brilliance emerged, glowing faintly at first, but growing larger with every tick of the clock. No, not growing—descending. Hurtling downward. The air crackled with its approach, heat billowing outward.

"Th-That's... an asteroid," Skylar whispered, his voice barely audible over the roar of the wind being pulled through the portal.

Wilton's grip released, and Skylar gasped for breath. But before he could move, metallic limbs from the surrounding tech lashed out, clamping him to the wall. Wilton's eyes burned with manic energy as he turned toward Jaden, his mind racing.

"Spell parameters adjusted. Target locked: Van Boxtel Technologies headquarters," Jaden declared. "Aetherfall, release."

Gradually, the asteroid's jagged tip breached the shimmering edge of the portal Jaden had opened, like a vast predator slipping through a crack in reality. The heat it radiated was palpable, turning the air into a stifling wave of pressure that pressed against Wilton's armor. Despite the protective plating, sweat slicked his brow and traced a path down his face.

The asteroid loomed above them like a molten mountain, its surface a blazing fire. Rugged and pitted, it resembled an ancient, scorched rock, shaped by eons in the vacuum of space. Small, round indentations—regmaglypts—dotted its crust, making it look like a fragment of hardened lava rock. The thick, acrid stench of burnt metal and ash flooded the command center, suffocating with the promise of annihilation.

Wilton was still unfazed by the apocalyptic mass overhead. Instead, a grin crept across his face as his sword reconfigured once more. Metallic components of tech strewn across the floor ripped through the air, magnetized to the weapon, fusing into something new again. From the scraps emerged a spider-like artillery unit, its four legs clattering as they unfolded and dug into the floor for balance. Its insectoid body was bulky, armored, and bristling with advanced weaponry. At its center, a massive, cylindrical cannon jutted out, its barrel elongated, ready to tear through anything in its path.

"Well, Jaden," Wilton began. "This has been fun, but I think it's enough of a game for one day, don't you think? I can't let you turn my headquarters into rubble."

With that, Wilton grabbed hold of the cannon. The machine whirred as energy gathered in the chamber, homing in on the silver-haired boy. Above them, only a fraction of the asteroid had entered, yet its presence distorted the room, warping the metal supports, as though reality itself bent in an attempt to contain it. If it descended any further, the entire building would be obliterated in seconds under its crushing weight.

Skylar fought against the metallic restraints binding him to the wall. His muscles flexed as he vainly tried to break free. "Jaden!" he shouted. "Get out of here!"

But Jaden remained peculiarly calm. His silver eyes surveyed the unfolding catastrophe, utterly unbothered by the asteroid's approach and its searing heat against his skin. He gave no sign of retreat. When he spoke, his voice was as flat as ever, stripped of any hint of humanity. "Asteroid Pyrrhion-462 is still inbound. Calculating necessary force to neutralize technokinetic artillery and ensure facility destruction."

With meticulous control, Jaden raised his hand, and a small, iridescent orb materialized. As it grew, the radiant colors bled into the space around him, distorting the room in hues of light and painting shadows across the walls.

Then Wilton's cannon let loose a clamorous boom. A lance of concentrated teal energy carved a path through the thick air and screamed toward Jaden. A split second later, it met the starlight orb head-on. The collision erupted, filling the space with a blinding flare that turned the world white. They hung in perfect opposition, the command center shuddering as if caught between the gravity of two warring stars.

Jaden's starlight grew more intense, swelling with fervor as the iridescent sphere expanded. Its kaleidoscopic light whirled and rippled, steadily overpowering Wilton's teal beam, pushing it back inch by inch. Wilton's smirk waned, the confidence draining from his face as his cannon sputtered under the strain. Sparks spewed from the overworked core, trails of scorching energy snaking into the air as the machine moaned in protest. His teeth clenched, eyes bulging in frantic urgency as he fought to regain control.

But Wilton had no intention of playing fair.

Behind Jaden, the network of wires threaded through the glass walls shivered to life, complying with Wilton's will. They moved along the walls, stealthy and quick, before launching forward. In a sudden strike, they wrapped around Jaden's arms and sent a vicious rush of electricity coursing through him.

Jaden's muscles spasmed hysterically, the silver sheen in his eyes dimming, then vanishing entirely as his natural brown irises reappeared. His feet gently touched the ground. The starlight magic deliquesced into nacreous particles. His breath came in gasps, the jolt of primary consciousness snapping back into control.

He swayed, blinking hard as the world before him tilted off-kilter. "What... What just happened?" he murmured, his nerves still buzzing with the aftershock, as if the charge had burrowed deep and was refusing to let go.

Confounded and disoriented, the boy barely had time to find out what was going on before everything unraveled. His eyes went wide in shock, glancing up at the ceiling to see the weave of the Aetherfall spell sequence collapse. The portal imploded, its swirling energy consumed into the vortex. The tip of the asteroid, which had slipped through the gateway, was severed cleanly as the rift sealed shut. No longer held aloft by suspended magic, the gigantic shard of cosmic rock plummeted like the summit of an inverted mountain.

It struck the center of the room with the vehemence of a tectonic upheaval. Walls buckled, and the ground caved in as the asteroid ripped into the heart of the building, unleashing a sonic boom that shook every surface. The deafening blast propelled Jaden through the broken glass window, his body flung like a ragdoll into the open sky.

"Jaden, no!" Skylar screamed, his voice ragged with desperation as he watched his friend disappear beyond the building's crumbling edge. "Shit, shit, no!" A knot of consternation squeezed in his gut, but he couldn't move—his arms were pinned, stapled to the wall by thick metal restraints. This wasn't happening. Jaden had only been trying to help him. He couldn't be gone, not like this. Jaden was powerful—too powerful to just die.

Yet there was no time to process the fear. The asteroid's colossal mass continued to punch its way through the foundation of Wilton's office. Cracks spiderwebbed across the floor, racing toward Skylar's position. With a groan, the wall he was trapped in gave way, tearing from its moorings. He fell with it, plunging into the building's lower levels amidst a torrent of shattered concrete and mangled metal.

At the last moment, Skylar summoned his chi, the energy coiling around him just in time to slow his descent. He hit the ground hard, hardly keeping upright, but before he could even orient himself, a chunk of rubble bashed into the side of his head. Pain roared through his skull, blinding him, and he crumpled. Everything dissolved into blackness, and Skylar lay unconscious, buried in the wreckage of Wilton's empire, as the world above continued to collapse.