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A Hero Tale {Complete}

Jenso's energy rushed through the chaotic swirling mess like a knife through butter, growing closer and closer until it ground to a halt merely a few feet from Yzeira, stopped only by a sudden burst of power that he'd been saving for just this moment. His smile returned while he slid one foot back and pulled away from the beam, suppressing it with a barrier of energy.

"It just might be."

With a thrust of his arms, a sudden rush of hyper-focused energy tore down the center of Jenso's attack, pushing away his energy as it quickly cleared the distance between the two of them. It looked as if there was no chance of stopping it. For a moment, hope was not enough to keep the heroes safe.

A large hand clasped around Jenso's other shoulder and imbued him with a sudden surge of power. Zios stepped up once again, and empowered Jenso's energy so that it was just barely able to stop the oncoming surge of power. But his Meta energy wouldn't hold for long. Zios felt his soul being torn apart as the seconds slipped away.

"You must defend it all, you mustn't fall!" He roared.

All of Jenso's friends stood at his back while Yzeira's beam continued to grow and grow, quickly becoming too powerful to overcome through raw might or precise control, too strong to trick or avoid. It looked like this was the end.

"Do you see it now!? Staring helplessly into the abyss that will force the very fabric of this pathetic little world into tatters, a torrent of malice and pain that will allow the void to flood inwards?! Tell me, Jenso, tell me in your simple way!" Yzeira's beam pulsed again and again every few seconds, matching a ferocious rhythm that fueled his passionate anger. Tears welled down Yzeira's bare face, and the tattoo below his eye hummed with inner might. "Tell me what you SEE!"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

It was working. Yzeira's beam did not falter, but the distance between the center of the energy and where he stood was shrinking gradually. His smile faded, shrinking to a scowl.

"What do you know of Rage? What pain could you have born through such trivial trials in such a short lifespan? They are infinitesimal, insignificant, immutable scrapes!" Yzeira's beam grew wider, and more chaotic, bringing Jenso's advance to a halt with a far less dignified form that resembled smoke more than raw light.

Jenso felt something pushing at his back.

"Do not fear it Jenso. He is desperate. Use that. Push harder, now!" Bruce shouted over the noise that engulfed them.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Yzeira cringed, but his smile didn't fade. His beam halted Jenso's advance, evening out once again in an even more powerful, more focused display. Now the effects it had on reality were beginning to shine through even more viciously. Physical cracks of light began to form. Small, almost invisible to the eye, but dangerous enough to destroy anything that got too close to any of them.

"Haha, we're doing it, Jenso. Together. You'll be accountable for the end, just as much as I am."

Jeff held a firm grip on Jenso's shoulder and pulled himself closer to his friend's ear.

"Distort it, Jenso! If you match his power, it were merely expedite the process! You gotta make his energy flee!"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Alvios struggled against the power that suppressed his energy, but couldn't muster anything to aid Jenso. Instead he gripped his foot tightly and shouted as loudly as he could over the beam.

"Don't panic Jenso! Remember your training! Focus your power!"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Seconds passed. The struggled remained even. Space warped all around them, bending the very ground that either side stood on. The air itself began to contort, looking as if it could rip apart at any second. Streams of purple energy crackled out like lightning from where the beams met, adding further destruction to their surroundings. But that only lasted for so long. Yzeira's eyes kicked into effect. Suddenly, his beam shrank down until it was slightly smaller than Jenso's, pushing his energy aside and slowly closing the distance between them.

"Even now you will fall prey to your utter lack of control, Jenso!"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

~ Chapter 217 ~

_{Chaos Armageddon}

The two beam-like attacks clashed at the center of the tower's rooftop, crating a schism between the two forces of power that not only rend the tower in two, but threatened to shatter the very fabric of reality. Yzeira stood his ground, channeling more and more power into his attack while beginning to chuckle absentmindedly to himself. There was no grace to his energy like before. No precision. It was fueled by an internal conflict that he didn't quite understand himself. This was the power of chaos.

The beams seemed even at first, projecting enough sound both ways to nearly deafen their casters. A battle that the universe's very existence hinged on was going to be decided right here, right now. But in the process of fighting against the man who sought to destroy their work, Jenso was inadvertently contributing to a power source that could rend the fabric of space time much faster than Yzeira's magic ever could.

From behind, Jenso felt a hand on his shoulder. Then one on his foot. Another on his neck. Afourth on his back, and the encompassing presence of Zios all around him.

"You're matching him Jenso.." Zios' voice echoed.

"It's enough to keep him from destroying us, but..." Bruce moaned.

"That energy! It's starting to tear a hole in space time!" Jeff warned.

"If you keep this up for too long..." Alvios worried.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

---

~ End Of Chapter 216 ~

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Yzeira's mask tore away completely - piece by piece - to reveal a vicious smile. "I see it, the determination in your eyes. I see it now, different than before. But you possess nothing that I have not already conquered." He began to laugh as the energy around his fingertips crackled and burned brightly, darkening more and more until it was condensed into a single sphere of chaotic energy. "Those... Feelings, those... Emotions! Alexis knew it from the very start. They are the downfall of all who wish to attain power! They are a limiter, nothing more than a hurdle. But you embrace them so foolishly!" His eyes went wide and pulsed with streams of crimson power.

"OH HOW I HATE THAT LOOK OF YOURS!"

The cascading energy at Yzeira's beck and call vibrated and pulsed across the entire battlefield, cracking the ground that they stood upon and forcing it apart. Jenso's allies flinched, but kept steady despite their prone positions.

"I W I L L E R A S E I T!"

There was a flash, and the energy was unleashed in an overwhelming torrent of blood red catastrophe.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"I've cut off your friend's restorative energies," Yzeira howled, his voice growing more irate by the second. "This is your last chance." His eyes narrowed to a pair of eager slits. "No," He muttered, "This will be my last chance." Energy began to whirl around Yzeira's hands in a typhoon of madness and desperation, so brightly that it nearly blinded Jenso's allies. "My last chance to reclaim solitude."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

~ Chapter 216 ~

_{One Last Push! Today We Fight, Tomorrow We Smile!}

Yzeira tightened his stance.

"No, for once, you're right." A sudden ferocity burned in the man's eyes as they snapped from Alexis to Jenso. He slowly reached for the collar of his coat and grasped it tightly. "I've lost more than I care to admit, today." He tore the plastic-like fabric down, tearing it from his body and tossing it aside. The vicious winds wound up from the scathing energy of Yzeira's aura threw up up into the air until it was lost to the space surrounding the floating tower. "My projects, my family, and now, even my loved one fades. All because of you." A pulse of energy erupted from the surface of Yzeira's skin, tearing his shirt to shreds until his upper body was bare. The reddish hues in his hair darkened until they were nearly black. "My pride, my composure, the footholds I'd so dearly clung to in spire of the wretchedness that brims from every pore in my history." His voice began to boom louder. He rose his hands slowly until they were parallel to one another. A well of infinite energy began to rise up from the pits of his darkened soul. Alvios began to float the the ground, unable to move. His light form faded and he returned to normal. A similar effect overtook his other allies, all but Zios, who couldn't move, and refused to let Alexis go.

"Uh..." Jeff muttered aloud, slowly falling to the ground next to his allies, "Jenso?"

The only one who could stand in the wake of the gathering storm was none other than Jenso.