There was another explosion. A section of the sun temple collapsed, flames erupting from inside.

Maeyune was the first to run, everyone following closely behind. When they reached the entrance, they were met by a few Beran soldiers. They were crouched behind one of the broken pews inside the worship room, clinging their plasma rifles to their chests. Beside them lay a few injured temple guardians, their beige robes splotched with blood.

One of them wore a robe more decorated than the others. The High Priest, Maeyune acknowledged.

"They have the relic, Reo!" a Beran soldier announced.

Reo was about to leap forward, but Jaysek grabbed his arm. "Wait!" the wind celestial yelled.

A piloted automech emerged from a hole in the wall. Its appearance was far more sinister than the new Beran models, with more angles than curves in its overall design. It had not seen them yet.

"Get your relic," Maeyune said to Reo, restraining anger from her voice. "We will handle this."

He had almost had her team killed. There was no way she would risk fighting alongside him again.

He did not object. However, when they stood to launch another offensive, Iron Prophet soldiers rushed out from a doorway in the corner of the room. They came to stand behind the safety of the automech. Everyone saw in their possession a shimmering golden staff.

The topaz at the top of the staff began to shine, as if in greeting. It recognized Reo.

Maeyune heard him swear under his breath.

There was a standstill. The Iron Prophet soldiers continued to aim their rifles at both celestial teams. They stared in shock at the two individuals whom they could only imagine were the two god incarnates.

The automech was the first to move. It raised an arm, his hand transforming into the large muzzle of a gun. When it fired, Maeyune pushed out a palm and parried the bullets with an energy shield. Together with his team at his side, Reo charged forward.

With Aerylis's telekinetic assistance, Maeyune was able to pressure the automech into taking a right step. It continued to stumble and fell against a wall. With the automation moved out of the way, Saber Team had a clear shot at the Prophet soldiers and the sun staff.

Maeyune was not surprised to discover how nimble the automech was. The pilot inside the chest cavity surely knew what it was capable of. Tin had not shown them how to disable these classes of automations yet. She had no other choice but to improvise. If the controls were inside, then they had to force it open.

Clover was injured, but he refused to fall behind. Grunting through the pain in his abdomen, he drove a fiery fist into the automech's right knee. Benny did the same to the left knee with a fist of ice. With its balance skewed, it bent over sideways.

But as it fell, it swung an arm at the nearest pews and sent them flying. They struck Aegis Team, pinning them against the wall behind them. As the others clawed their way out, Aerylis and Maeyune rushed the upended machine.

Together, they grabbed either side of the chest. With their fingers and hands reinforced with energy, they tore off the hatch. They swung the metal scrap aside, exposing a terrified pilot underneath.

Aerylis grabbed him by his uniform's collar, and with unnatural might, pulled him out as if he were merely a bag of feathers. He let loose a shriek as she tossed him aside.

At that moment, the Beran soldiers at the temple entrance began to shout. Maeyune's head spun. More Prophet soldiers had entered. She, Aerylis and Clover confronted the new threat.

A second automech had emerged to face Saber Team in the center of the room. Meera, Trix and Benny joined Reo and his Saber Team.

Benny was able to draw up a wall of ice to stop the automech from advancing, but it did not stand for very long. Fire blasted through the wall, completely melting it to the ground.

"Can't be building walls inside here, big boy!" snickered Oren of Saber Team.

As Oren's flames danced around Benny, he continued to laugh. "What's wrong, big boy? Afraid of fire?"

Benny froze, holding his arms close to his body to avoid burns.

"Stop it!" Meera yelled, shoving Oren off his feet.

The automech swung, narrowly missing them both. Oren fell onto his back, and infuriated, he threw fire at Meera. She screamed, tossing water from her hands to halt the flames. Both elements crashed into each other in a hiss of steam.

Unbeknownst to Maeyune, Clover had turned and witnessed the hostility. With a furious howl, he thrust himself at Oren, driving a fist into the latter's chest. Oren flew backwards.

More fire flew in Clover's direction--this time from Sera.

"Stop it, guys!" Jaysek shouted. He attempted to avert the flames with his wind, but Sera continued to push forward. Meera slapped her across the face with a burst of water.

As Maeyune subdued the last Prophet soldier at the entrance, she heard Trix shouting her name. But his voice was a whisper against the sudden roar that boomed above the chaos. Its voice ricocheted against the walls, sent tremors down her spine. It traveled deep into her core.

"Enough!"

Reo stood on the dais at the opposite end of the room. There were dead Prophet soldiers strewn about his feet, and he held the golden sun staff upright in his hand. The staff's topaz had turned to a sinister red.

But when she turned to him, she saw that he was no longer the charming young man she had met the day before. In fact, he was not even the warrior who killed without empathy.

He was no longer man.

A malevolent, supernatural force stood in his place. She could not tell if her eyes were playing tricks with her mind. Unable to focus on him, it was as if his figure continued to fade in and out of existence, his body disturbing the very space around him.

Reo, a new creature adorn in dark red, plated armor, had scaled skin that was a demonic crimson. On his head was a large, imposing helmet to match his armor, so elaborately detailed with baroque ornaments and carved dragon scales that it might have been the regal headdress of a god of gods.

Reo's eyes had completely disappeared into a deep red, their glow raising the hair on Maeyune's skin. His aura had taken a physical form. It was now a visible red that hugged his body like hypnotic smoke.

The hilt of his sword had transformed into a thick mass of metal, its detailed shapes reminiscent of two serpent dragons. The pommel was a shimmering topaz. Maeyune recognized the sword from Yunra's statue.

And through the helmet from Reo's temples rose the antlers of a stag, turned black and burning like embers.

Maeyune could only stare in dismay, her heart wrenching in her chest.

It couldn't be...

The Sun Goddess.

Without warning, Reo flew across the room. He collided into Clover, launching the fire celestial into a wall. Clover's body fell to lay unmoving on the floor.

Maeyune released a horrified cry. For a long, paralyzing second, she watched as Reo slowly advanced on her friend.

Calling upon her moon bracelet's reserve, she propelled herself forward. And as Reo swung his blade over Clover's head, she was there in a split second, the Moon God's shield conjured on her arm to meet the Sun Goddess's sword.

The contact created a resounding crash of thunder.

Reo pressed down against her silver shield, and she stared up at the red face lined with black, spidery veins. His eyes burned with fury. There was a horrible darkness in them that she could feel seeping into her very soul.

The weight of his force intensified, and his blade surpassed the top edge of her shield. It pressed hard against the kevlar-reinforced shoulder of her battlesuit, piercing through and easing into her skin. She bit her lip against the pain.

In the corner of her eye, she saw the faces of everyone as they watched, petrified. Reo's blood-red aura grew thicker and clouded her vision. As he inched his way to overpower her, her knees began to bend under the force, her body slinking back as her energy exhausted itself.

His face said it plainly. He wanted to kill her.

She squeezed her eyes shut. He is far too powerful. There is no other way...

I have no other choice.

She needed to stop him, and the only way she could do that was to match him.

God against goddess.

She was an eruption of silver light. Blinded, Reo yelled and covered his eyes with his arm. His balance off-center, she sent him flying across the room with one shove of her shield. He flipped in the air and landed on his feet, establishing a defensive stance.

Everyone endeavored to stare through the blinding light, eager eyes seeking to behold its aftermath. They waited as it evaporated. A filmy, white aura drifted around a new creature who emerged in Maeyune's place.

Dragon scales framed her silver face and traveled down her neck. Her scaled skin was hidden underneath a heavy array of silver armor, much like Reo's. On its otherworldly metal was a display of patterns, an overlaying texture of swirls of light. Her long, white hair was gathered above her head in a large, silver headdress the shape of a dragon's head.

And from her temples were the large silver horns of Shivra, the Moon God.

Her bright silver eyes regarded her opponent. Reo made no reaction to her godly revelation, only continued to glower at her from within his red blaze.

"Shivra," he greeted, his voice ominously deep and unnatural. He raised his sword and charged.