AnnouncementOnce again I'm busy tomorrow so here's an advanced chapter. See you guys in two days.The heart glowed above casting cool hues of sky blue and oceanic colors over the city. The wind drifted zily through the sea-salted air as Helios returned to the familiar spire where he had once spoken with Axel.

  And sure enough, there he was.

  Axel stood near the ledge, back turned to him, the light illuminating his spiky red hair like a crown of fme. A faint grin tugged at Helios’ lips as he approached. Without turning, Axel reached for something and tossed something backward—Helios caught it with ease. A sea-salt ice cream.

  "Thought you might want one," Axel said, licking his own.

  Helios took a bite. The cool sweetness hit first, followed by a surprising but pleasant saltiness. "Strange fvor," he muttered.

  "You like it? I found this fvor recently in a world I visited." Axel asked, a teasing edge in his tone.

  "Yeah," Helios said, chewing thoughtfully. "Sweet, salty, chilled. Like something from a dream. Taste almost like mencholy."

  Axel chuckled. "I could say I like it too, but that'd have to be coming from the heart. And, well..."

  Helios smirked. "...you don’t have one."

  They both ughed softly, their chuckles echoing faintly in the wind.

  "You know," Helios said, eyes on the horizon, "for someone who's supposed to be scouting, you seem pretty rexed."

  "Eh, hard work never suited me," Axel shrugged. "Besides, I remember someone else who liked to stare into the distance and brood a lot. Looks like some things never change."

  Helios arched a brow. "I wasn’t brooding. I was thinking about many things."

  "Sure you were," Axel said, finishing his ice cream. He casually tossed the stick off the ledge. A dark corridor opened behind him. "Come on. Let’s take a walk."

  Without waiting, Axel stepped through. Helios followed.

  They emerged in the heart of the volcano—charred rock, pools of va, and the distant hiss of steam and heat marked the location where Helios, Kurai, and Skuld had once fought the heartless form of Rourke. The oppressive heat clung to the air like a smothering bnket.

  Helios looked around warily. "Why here?"

  "Thought we’d chat without prying ears," Axel said, stepping ahead. "You’re gonna tell me everything you know about the heartless that showed up here."

  Helios raised an eyebrow. "I wasn’t here when it happened. I wouldn’t know."

  Axel’s voice turned dry and sarcastic. "Oh, really? And here I thought we were past the lies. Guess not."

  Helios smirked. "Just like old times."

  Axel stopped walking and turned slowly. "Exactly like old times. Which means it’s time for a little sparring. Y’know, to work off the ice cream."

  Twin chakrams—red, circur weapons lined with silver spikes—ignited in Axel’s hands with a burst of fme. The heat rippled outward as he twirled them effortlessly.

  Fifteen Assassin Nobodies emerged in a tight ring around Helios, seeming to just come into existence with a disturbing silence. Their segmented bodies shimmered silver and purple, cloth veils hanging ominously from their heads.

  Helios took a single step back, his expression calm. His hand reached behind, and in a fsh of dark light, Equilibrium appeared in whip-sword form—Slánú na nDoimhneacht, its bck segmented bde pulsing with ominous dark energy.

  "Fifteen white creatures and you," Helios said. "You sure you don’t want more backup?"

  Axel grinned. "Wouldn’t dream of it. Let’s see if you’ve gotten rusty."

  The first Assassin lunged—Stab.

  Helios spun, catching the spike-like limb with his bde and twisting it aside before shing out with a sweep that severed its arm. A second came in from the fnk—Dive—leaping with a gleam of its silver bdes.

  Helios vanished in a blur, appearing behind it, his bde curling like a serpent and sshing through its back. Two more emerged—Continuous Reaper—tentacles erupting from beneath, sweeping in wide arcs.

  Axel dashed in, flipping over Helios and hurling a fming chakram.

  "Burn!"

  The chakram spun with blinding speed, trailing a serpent of fme. Helios rolled beneath it, narrowly dodging as it detonated behind him in a burst of fire.

  Another Assassin dove at Helios. He struck upward with a spinning crescent ssh, cleaving through its mask. As he nded, Axel was already charging.

  "Here goes!"

  Fmes erupted around Axel as he began to twirl both chakrams with increasing velocity, creating pilrs of fire that surged toward Helios.

  Helios backpedaled, whip-sword crackling with energy. He twisted his weapon outward—Umbral Spiral—unching a wave of dark energy that collided with Axel’s fmes midair, causing a massive explosion that knocked back two nearby Nobodies.

  Axel blurred forward—Assault.

  His entire body ignited as he lunged with a fming shoulder, smming Helios into a rock wall. Helios grunted, flipping upward midair and nding on the wall like a shadow. With a flick, he unched multiple tendrils of darkness to entangle the incoming Assassins.

  They colpsed into disks and slithered along the ground—Cut Off—tentacles rising up to sweep Helios from his perch.

  Helios jumped clear, flipping through the air and nding beside Axel.

  "You’ve gotten faster and also picked up a pretty neat weapon there," Axel muttered.

  "You’ve gotten fshier. Seems like you got the hang of the fire magic I taught you before," Helios shot back.

  They cshed. Steel against fme.

  Helios ducked a spinning chakram, only to be smmed back by a fiery bst. Axel twisted—Continuous Attack—unleashing a relentless barrage of fming sshes. Helios blocked with afterimages, his speed creating echoes of himself to confuse Axel.

  Helios lunged his whip-sword spiraled forward, shrouded in dark energy, aiming to disarm Axel. Axel grunted, catching the whip with both chakrams and hurling it aside. Fmes spiraled from his hands—Fall Attack.

  He vanished, then reappeared in the air directly above Helios, smming down with a wave of fire.

  Helios erected a Reflect barrier at the st second, the explosion cascading around them like a blooming firestorm. The barrier shattered from the force, unching Helios into a nearby cliff.

  The Assassins moved in—tunneling, fnking, surrounding. Tentacles shed, spiked arms stabbed, and veils flowed like smoke. Helios’ eyes fred. Darkness wrapped his form.

  Slánú na nDoimhneacht pulsed.

  He spun, the bde slicing through three Assassins with a single wide arc. A tendril burst from the ground and wrapped around his leg—he growled and unleashed Fang of the Abyss, erupting in a wave of piercing darkness that tore apart the tendril and sent the Assassin flying.

  Axel hurled both chakrams, guiding them telekinetically in wide arcs. Helios warped between their paths, teleporting with precision. He grabbed one mid-spin and hurled it back—Axel caught it without flinching.

  Their weapons cshed again—light against shadow, fme against void.

  Around them, Assassins fell, exploded, or dove beneath the va-scorched ground, waiting to strike again.

  “Well, well, I must say I’m surprised. You’re much stronger than I gave you credit for. I wonder what you did to get this strong,” said Helios as he leapt back.