Sapphire's flame roared across the sky like a divine comet, pushing the Empress's ice back into the abyss from whence it came. For a moment, the balance seemed stable—two extremes dancing on the brink of collapse.
But it was only for a moment.
A sharp crack cut through the air. Almost imperceptible.
As if something, right at the center of the clash, had... cracked.
Vergil narrowed his eyes.
"Sapphire... overdid it."
Sepphirothy felt it before he even saw it — the flow of mana had changed. The air began to grow heavy, bending in on itself as if space had begun to collapse. An invisible crack snaked between the two colliding powers.
Then, everything that had been contained collapsed.
A silent explosion engulfed the battlefield. There was no sound. Only light.
White. Pure. Blinding.
When vision returned, the world was no longer the same.