---
The grand chamber pulsed with malevolence.
At the center stood a twisted throne made of withered roots and bones, and upon it sat a regal figure—a once-noble guardian whose features were now warped by shadow. Crowned in black flame, his once-radiant armor had dulled into a rusted prison. His eyes, flickering with voidfire, locked onto Yuki's group with a gaze that chilled the soul.
"Another dragon…" the guardian's voice echoed, filled with bitter amusement. "Come to claim what was lost?"
Yuki stepped forward, wings partly unfurled. "No. I came to free it."
The guardian's skeletal fingers clenched the armrests. "I protected this forest once. Until it abandoned me. Until the spirits fled and left me to rot in silence."
Elira's voice was soft, yet firm. "You were corrupted. What you became isn't what the forest wanted."
The guardian stood, towering and regal even in ruin. "And yet… here you are, with my power's successors at your side." His gaze passed over Sylvaeria, then Aeiris and Seiris. "So many broken pieces stitched together."
"You're one to talk," Lumi muttered, resting her sword on her shoulder. "Looks like someone skipped leg day for a thousand years."
Seiris snorted quietly despite herself. Aeiris blinked at the unexpected humor, a small smile pulling at her lips.
Yuki narrowed his gaze. "You were once a protector. Now you're the prison."
The guardian's crown blazed brighter. "Then come, children of the new age. Let me show you what true despair looks like."
---
### **The Battle Begins**
As soon as the crown flared, the entire room shuddered. The floor collapsed into layered platforms, floating above an abyssal vortex of void magic. Chains of cursed essence lashed outward, forming barriers and traps midair.
> \[Boss Battle Initiated – Eclipsed Crown Guardian: Thal'Rion]
> \[Level ??? – Status: Corrupted Immortal Vessel]
> \[Special Phase Effect: "Crown of Echoes" – Triggers memory illusions of emotional trauma on contact.]
"I've got the chains!" Lumi called, leaping from one floating platform to another, slicing at the black tendrils.
Elira lifted her staff. "I'll try to isolate his core aura. Seiris, Aeiris, flank him—strike during his charge!"
"Got it," Seiris replied coolly, vanishing into shadow.
Aeiris flickered into motion as well, a spectral double forming beside her as she activated **Soul Reflection**.
Sylvaeria summoned a gale barrier, wrapping it around Yuki. "Go."
Yuki roared, his form blazing with flame and spirit energy. **Warden of Kindred Flames** surged to life, and the spiritual auras of his companions pulsed in tandem.
> \[Passive Activated: "Kindred Unity" – Allies receive 25% stat boost when fighting near Yuki.]
> \[Sub-Skill: "Flamepulse Rebirth" triggered – Auto-cleanses minor status ailments for all bonded allies.]
"Try and match that, you bucket of regrets!" Lumi shouted, kicking a burning chain into Thal'Rion's face.
The guardian didn't flinch. He raised a hand—and instantly, all of them were hit by surging waves of emotion.
---
### **Phase Shift: Illusion Echoes**
Each member found themselves isolated in flickering spheres of memory. Elira stood before a pyre of her old coven, Sylvaeria in the ruins of her sealed glade, Seiris alone in a shadowed alley, blood dripping from her blades. Aeiris trembled beside an old tree—where she'd once waited alone, forgotten.
Even Lumi… saw her younger self kneeling beside the body of a fallen comrade—one who had called her "hopeless."
Yuki stood amidst all their pain. His body crackled with power as the flames around him shifted color—white-gold soulfire now blazing with empathy and fury.
"Not again," he growled. "Not while I can stop it!"
He spread his wings wide and activated a new sub-skill.
> \[New Sub-Skill Unlocked: **Soulflare Union** – Breaks mental curses and illusion effects for bonded allies. Triggers stat surge.]
With a pulse of radiant flame, the illusions shattered.
Elira gasped and clutched her heart. Lumi stumbled but laughed through her tears. "You really know how to show up in time, don't you?"
Seiris blinked, then looked to Aeiris, who stood firm beside her. The sisters clasped hands, nodding silently.
Yuki's eyes locked onto the guardian. "Your crown's cracked, old man."
The guardian bellowed in rage, summoning twin glaives of shadowfire.
Yuki met the charge with burning claws.
---