The Elder Nexus, stabilized from Chronos's temporal assault, now vibrated with the raw, destructive fury of Astraeus. His triumphant shriek echoed as he finally breached the outer defenses of the Elder Construct, his shadowy form filling the gaping hole he'd torn in the crystalline wall. He was no longer just an enforcer; he was a force of nature, driven by the collective wrath of the Divine Sovereigns and his own burning desire for retribution.
"Chronos may be subtle, but I am absolute destruction!" Astraeus roared, his voice laced with unbridled rage. He surged into the central chamber, his cosmic-ice eyes immediately fixating on Aziel and the still-glowing Key of Resonance. "You defied Dominus, you defy Chronos, but you will not defy me! This relic of forbidden power will be mine!"
Aziel, still recovering from the intense focus of the Chrono-Harmonic battle, felt the sheer weight of Astraeus's malevolence. The Key of Resonance hummed in his hand, ready, but he was weary. The Mana Core, having exerted itself against Chronos, was still far from full capacity.
"He's coming straight for us!" Rylan yelled, already zipping into a defensive position, throwing out rapid mana bursts to try and draw Astraeus's attention.
"Maintain formation!" Lena commanded, her voice cutting through the chaos. Kael and Valerius formed a defensive line in front of Aziel, their weapons ready. Mara stood beside them, her makeshift bludgeon humming with mana.
Astraeus, however, ignored them, his gaze locked on Aziel. He unleashed a devastating torrent of concentrated dark mana, aimed squarely at the Lord of Mana. This was no casual blast; it was a targeted, overwhelming strike designed to vaporize Aziel and the Key.
Aziel, reacting purely on instinct, raised the Key of Resonance. He didn't have the mana to generate a full purity counter-frequency like he did against Dominus. Instead, he channeled the raw mana from his still-recovering Mana Core through the Key, creating a rapidly expanding mana shield imbued with the subtle purity that was now his inherent strength.
The dark mana blast slammed into Aziel's shield. The impact was shattering. The ground beneath him cracked, and the shield pulsed violently, struggling to hold. Aziel gritted his teeth, pouring every ounce of his remaining strength into maintaining the defense. The force was immense, pushing him back, threatening to break his very bones.
"Aziel!" Seraphina cried out, her own mana flaring as she struggled to send a small, bolstering surge towards him.
"His power is overwhelming!" Jax yelled, trying to recalibrate the Mana Nexus Amplifier for a defensive burst, but it was too slow.
Just as Aziel's shield began to visibly crack, a massive, crystalline arm lashed out from the very wall of the Elder Construct itself. It wasn't a physical arm, but a solidified manifestation of the Nexus's pure mana. It slammed into Astraeus's side with incredible force, disrupting his concentration and briefly pushing him back.
"This realm protects its chosen!" the Elder Construct resonated, its voice now filled with a powerful, protective fury. "You will not defile this sanctuary!"
Astraeus shrieked in pain and rage, his shadowy form flickering from the impact of the pure mana. "The Construct interferes?! No matter! I will shatter it as well!" He redirected his fury, unleashing a barrage of dark mana blasts at the Elder Construct itself, attempting to crumble its defenses and expose Aziel.
The Elder Construct rippled, absorbing the blasts, its pure mana slowly being eroded by Astraeus's relentless assault. Cracks spiderwebbed across its luminous walls. The ancient entity was powerful, but it was not designed for sustained, physical combat.
"He's focusing on the Construct!" Lena shouted. "We have to draw his attention back to us!"
Koram, quickly consulting the Celestial Archive, suddenly yelled, "The Archive! It shows Astraeus's vulnerability! His rage makes him predictable! He seeks to control, to dominate! If we can introduce true, uncontainable chaos, it might disrupt his focus!"
"Chaos, huh?" Rylan grinned, a mischievous glint in his his eye. "I'm good at chaos."
He zipped forward, creating multiple, rapid mana clones of himself, each radiating a slightly different energy signature, and scattering them around the chamber. They zipped and darted, firing small, erratic mana blasts at Astraeus from all directions, each one unpredictable in its trajectory and power.
Astraeus roared in frustration, his focus splintering as he tried to pinpoint the source of the irritating, chaotic attacks. His dark mana blasts became less precise, less overwhelming, as he was forced to react to the scattered clones.
"Now, Kael! Valerius! Mara!" Lena commanded, seizing the momentary disarray. "Flank him! Force him to divide his attention!"
Kael, letting out a primal roar, charged with Valerius, both striking Astraeus's flickering form with mana-infused blows. Mara unleashed a flurry of rapid, jarring mana bursts, designed to further disorient him.
Astraeus was furious, caught between the chaotic clones, the physical attacks, and the Elder Construct's defensive surges. He was a force of absolute destruction, but his rage was now being used against him, exploited by their combined, unpredictable assaults.
Aziel, his shield still holding but severely weakened, saw his chance. He channeled the last of his mana into the Key of Resonance, not for a complex purity wave, but for a direct, focused blast of pure, untamed mana, guided by the chaotic energy his team was creating. He aimed not for physical damage, but for the fundamental 'order' within Astraeus's enraged form.
A powerful, precise beam of golden-purple light shot from the Key of Resonance, piercing through the swirling chaos and striking Astraeus directly in his flickering core.
Astraeus shrieked, a sound of agony and immense frustration. He was being overwhelmed, his controlled fury turned against him by their calculated chaos and Aziel's precise strike. His shadowy form began to destabilize, dissolving at the edges.
"Impossible! Such unpredictable defiance!" he roared, his voice laced with disbelief. He lashed out one final, desperate, sweeping attack, a wave of dark energy that sent Aziel and his team sprawling across the chamber. Then, with a final, furious, and agonizing howl, he tore open a dimensional rift and vanished, retreating once more, heavily damaged and utterly enraged.
The Elder Nexus sighed, its crystalline walls glowing faintly as the pure mana began to mend the damage. The immediate threat was gone. But the cost was evident. Aziel was utterly drained, collapsing to one knee, the Key of Resonance falling from his grasp. His team was bruised and battered. And Astraeus, though defeated, was clearly not done. The true war, orchestrated by the surviving Divine Sovereigns, was only just beginning. The Cosmic Rebirth had gained a powerful weapon, but the road ahead was paved with blood and immense sacrifice.