The battlefield stood frozen in eerie silence. The arrival of the Arbitrator of the Forgotten Path had shattered the rhythm of war. The celestial warriors hesitated, their divine radiance flickering as if uncertain.
The hooded figure, the self-proclaimed enforcer of the old gods, gripped his crimson-silver spear, his voice laced with venomous disbelief.
"You should not exist."
The Arbitrator, cloaked in twilight energy, tilted his head slightly. "And yet, here I stand."
A surge of power pulsed through the air. The celestial gate overhead trembled, its divine light wavering, as if even it feared the Arbitrator's presence.
Mary, Lela, and Loosie stood ready, their weapons raised, their bodies aching from battle. They had fought against impossible odds for hours. But with this new arrival, the tides of fate had shifted.
The hooded figure thrust his spear into the ground. A shockwave of divine energy rippled outward, shattering what remained of the city's foundations.
"Interloper. You defy the will of the old gods. You will suffer for it."
The Arbitrator's expression remained neutral. "The old gods have no will—only fear of change."
And then, the battle resumed.
The Final Duel Begins
The hooded figure lunged at the Arbitrator, his spear twisting in an unnatural arc. The air cracked as the sheer force of his attack distorted reality.
But the Arbitrator was gone.
In an instant, he reappeared behind the hooded figure, his palm raised. A wave of twilight energy erupted from his hand, colliding with the divine spear. The impact shattered the sky, sending ripples of light and darkness across the battlefield.
Mary, still catching her breath, watched in awe. This was no ordinary battle.
The hooded figure snarled, twisting midair. With a flick of his wrist, his spear transformed, splitting into a thousand mirrored fragments. Each fragment became a spear of divine judgment, streaking toward the Arbitrator at speeds faster than light.
The Arbitrator merely raised his hand.
Time seemed to slow as a barrier of void energy materialized around him, absorbing the attacks like a bottomless abyss.
The hooded figure's frustration was palpable.
"You meddle in matters beyond your understanding!"
The Arbitrator stepped forward. "No. It is you who clings to a world that no longer needs you."
With a flick of his fingers, the barrier shattered outward—and the void energy swallowed the hooded figure whole.
For a brief moment, it seemed as if the battle had ended.
But then—
A deafening boom shook the battlefield.
The void energy erupted like a dying star, and from within, the hooded figure emerged, his form now fully unleashed.
His cloak burned away, revealing a body forged from celestial fire and abyssal shadow. His spear was no longer a mere weapon—it had become a manifestation of divine wrath, twisting and shifting like a living entity.
His voice echoed across the heavens.
"If this world will not submit, then I shall cast it into oblivion myself."
He raised his spear toward the sky. The celestial gate above expanded, its light intensifying.
And then—
The End of the World began.
A Race Against Time
Mary's instincts screamed at her.
They had to stop him. Now.
Lela cursed under her breath. "He's trying to collapse the entire world into divine nothingness!"
Loosie, gritting his teeth, clenched his fists. "Then we don't give him the chance."
The Arbitrator, unfazed, turned his gaze to Mary. "This battle is yours now."**
Mary's heart pounded. "What?"
The Arbitrator extended his hand, and a pulse of twilight energy surged into her.
A rush of knowledge flooded her mind—the true potential of Saber of Mist.
For the first time, she understood.
Her blade was not just a weapon. It was a key.
A key to sever the chains of fate itself.
Mary took a deep breath, her fingers tightening around her sword.
She looked at Lela and Loosie. They nodded.
No more words were needed.
They charged.
The Last Stand
The hooded figure's spear burned with celestial fire as he swung it downward. The world itself trembled beneath the force of his attack.
Mary vanished into mist, appearing above him. Her sword descended.
Their weapons clashed.
A shockwave erupted from the impact, tearing through the sky, splitting the ground beneath them.
Lela appeared at Mary's side, Gáe Bolg transforming into Angel Bolt.
She hurled the divine lightning at the hooded figure. The moment it struck, Mary's blade followed.
Loosie struck from the opposite side, his flames consuming the very air itself.
For the first time, the hooded figure faltered.
They had broken his rhythm.
Mary seized the moment.
She invoked her Noble Phantasm.
"MIST BLADE—FINAL SEVERANCE!"
A flash of impossible light.
Three archs of mist and energy formed a prison around the hooded figure, sealing him in a space beyond time.
For the first time, the divine warrior's voice wavered.
"No—this is not how it ends!"
Mary's blade descended.
With a final, devastating strike, she severed the hooded figure from existence.
A moment of stillness.
Then, he was gone.
The celestial gate shattered.
The armies of the old gods vanished like dust in the wind.
The war was over.
A New Dawn
The battlefield, once a wasteland of chaos and destruction, now lay silent.
The storm had passed.
Mary, Lela, and Loosie stood amidst the ruins, breathing heavily. The Arbitrator, his duty fulfilled, turned to them one last time.
"You have forged a new path."
His body began to fade, dissolving into the same twilight energy from which he came.
Before disappearing, he left them with final words.
"This world is now yours. Protect it well."
And then he was gone.
Mary exhaled, lowering her sword. She turned to her friends. They had won.
Lela smirked. "So… what now?"
Loosie chuckled. "How about we get something to eat?"
Mary laughed softly. For the first time in what felt like forever, the world was at peace.
And they had earned it.