Hello, fellow readers! And welcome... to the climax! It has been almost a year since I started this story, and my god was it worth it! As you can no doubt tell, I've been ready for this for a long time as I imagine many outcomes for what is about to transpire. And now, we're about to see if I can deliver on that.
So, before we begin, what do we have:
johannvanguard: Glad you like it, man! Those questions will be answered... right now!
Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it! With that said, let's do this!
Chapter 20: The Silver Bullet
Earlier, Visor's house
"All right, that should do." Ataraxy calls out to the others, signaling them to stop their work.
The driveway was cleaned rather nicely after it was all said and done as the four look at a job well done.
"And you wonder why I don't like the snow." Visor casually comments from all the snow they shoveled.
"As I told you and Levin, it's just frozen rain." Shade recalls from one of their conversations a couple of days ago before getting an idea, "That reminds me! I texted Levin earlier, he wants to hang out when we get the free time."
Visor knows what he was going for and plays along, "I shouldn't be surprised. Mom! May we hang out with Levin!?"
"Well, the driveway is finished and I don't have any other chores in mind..." Ataraxy goes down the very short list before answering, "Go ahead, have fun!"
"Thanks!" The boys made sure to put the shovels they had in hand back in the garage before heading out, "Love you!"
"Love you too!" Ataraxy calls back as the two were going down the street in the direction where Levin's house is.
"Bet it's that 'magic hunt' again." Candid comments on the boys' plans for today.
"It is. Those boys never quit when they have their minds on something."
Soon after, Levin's house
Levin reaches the bottom of the staircase from putting the remaining decorations away as the girls looking at the tree they finished working on, Sonata practically beaming as she lets out a cheer.
"All right! This is the best tree ever!"
"Of course it is." Aria simply agrees with her.
"Now, we just need to put presents under it and it's complete." Adagio points out before turning to Levin who was walking past them towards the kitchen, "Isn't that right?"
"Yup. But first, I was thinking of eating something. We're eating leftovers, all right? No ifs, ands or buts." He didn't leave room for protest, which the girls got the picture with a simple shrug.
Right before Levin opens the fridge, he feels his phone vibrate and pulls it out to see he got a message. It was from Visor:
V: Day off, CHS, magic time, be there soon
L: I'll be ready then
"One of your friends texted you?" He turns around to see Sonata looking at him with a curious expression.
"Yeah, he's very eager for us to finish our 'magic hunt' since we have a day off." Levin honestly answers with a smirk, "You girls don't mind if I leave for a bit?"
"Funny that you mention that..." Adagio spoke up, "I was thinking of talking to you about the whole magic thing."
Levin puts his phone in his pocket before addressing her suggestion, "Actually, I have a few questions of my own."
"Oh?" The three were a bit surprised at this and understandably so.
"Ladies first, if you want." He decides to wait his turn to hear what she has to say.
"...Very well." Adagio took the lead in the conversation as she spoke, "I've heard about this little 'magic hunt' that you three are doing. Tell me, what would you think if what you find turns out to be something... much bigger than what you expected?"
Levin was processing what she meant by bigger as he wonders out loud, "Like how big, exactly?"
"Try a portal to another reality." Aria steps in at this point, "You know, somewhere that's much different than how your world works."
"Like different dimensions?" He was getting excited by that aspect, "Oh, that would be... so cool!"
"Then, what if those from there came here?" Sonata was a bit on the nose with that one, but tries to keep it from being too obvious.
He gave that one a bit more thought before making a deduction, "Well, two things are possible from this. Either the beings are unchanged and are currently hiding in the world since they have no way back or..."
He then looks directly at them, "They gained human forms and are living among us as best they could without revealing their true natures."
The girls were a bit on edge after that, drawing conclusions that he knows more than they thought he did, which he goes on to explain.
"I'll sadly admit, I unintentionally eavesdropped on some of the argument you three had, and I caught a hint or two that may have eluded to your past history. I didn't want to assume or intrude on any of you about it back then as I wanted to get to know you as who you are and not what you were."
They listen closely as his words came out as sincere, even a bit sad as he told them this. He then looks at them with a serious gaze, "Now that I know you all, is it true that you are from this 'other world'?"
"...Yes." Sonata was the first one to answer, "We are Sirens that were banished from our home and sent here."
"Hence the 'old man', right?" He recalls from their first meeting.
"Well, there is an old man at the hotel we stayed at, but yeah." Aria casually answers.
"Then am I right in saying that there is a portal still somewhere in this world?" Levin was back to getting excited about this.
"Yup! It's where that horse statue is." Adagio and Aria were caught a bit off guard by Sonata's answer.
"Really!? The one at-" The four were then interrupted by the doorbell, followed by a familiar voice.
"Yo, let's go!"
"Give me a sec!" Levin calls back as he quickly runs over to get his coat, "We'll continue when I get back."
"Please, be careful!" Sonata was the only one to say something in response as the other two were still processing what was happening.
"Don't worry, I'll be back!" Those were the last words they heard from Levin before he headed out the door, closing it behind him and locking it.
Adagio finally regained her composure before speaking, "Why did you tell him that?"
"They'll find it anyways." Sonata rationalizes her answer to her sister, "Saving them the trouble by doing that."
"...I have a bad feeling about this." Aria said out loud, "We should follow them."
"Definitely." Adagio instantly agrees with her as the two went to get their winter attire.
Sonata understood the bad vibe that Aria was feeling, but was still a bit hesitant since she doesn't think something bad would happen... or rather, she hopes nothing bad will happen. Not wanting to chance it, she goes with her sisters to see for herself.
Current time, Canterlot High
Sunset and her friends were running through the chilling cold towards their high school in hopes of stopping the boys from finding the portal, ignoring the stinging breathing in their lungs as they knew slowing down was not an option. Rainbow was ahead of the group with Applejack close behind, the two being most physically fit along with Pinkie who can just do so because she's Pinkie, the others kept up as best they could when Rarity looks to her left.
To her surprise, she sees the boys across the street also running towards the school while conversing among themselves.
"Are you sure you heard her right about the statue!?" Shade was heard talking, even over the wind blowing past her.
"Yeah! Sunset told me that it wasn't in the school, because she's right! It was outside!" Levin briefly explains to him.
"Then come on, we're almost-!" Visor puts them back on the task at hand before seeing the girls on the sidewalk across from them.
Rarity couldn't help but stare as the others look at where she's looking, Pinkie simply smiling and waving being the exception. Shade and Levin follows their friend's gaze and saw the girls, everyone coming to the same conclusion before going full speed towards their destination.
Upon reaching the sidewalk that the school had in front of the courtyard, the two groups were neck and neck right before reaching the statue, ending with Sunset doing something rather unexpected to stop at least one of them in their tracks:
Diving right for them.
Surprisingly, she manages to tackle one to the snow below and stop the person behind him in the process. Lifting herself back up, she finds out that she got Shade pinned down as his face was buried a bit in the snow.
"Not sure which is worse, the cold snow... or this pain... in my chest." He was being a bit dramatic, though her tackle may have knocked the wind out of him.
Rainbow and Applejack were blocking off Visor as the others were looking on to make sure they stay put, "Oh come on! You're stopping us now!?" He was understandably annoyed at this.
"Pretty much, yeah." The group look at the familiar voice that had recently arrived via teleportation, "You're about to mess with something you don't understand."
Shade and Visor recognized the speaker, "Aeon? What are you talking about!?" The latter questions, which he gets an immediate response.
"Simply put, dark energy is lingering at that portal right now. If it gets out, the last thing you'd be getting is a reward for your efforts."
The two boys were perplexed by this before Shade spoke up, "Dark en- so wait, how do you guys know this?"
"He actually just told us a few minutes ago." Sunset answers this time, which was true.
"And you believe someone you just met over us!?" Visor had a very good point there.
"Well considering our experiences before, this isn't really new to us." Pinkie casually answers, making him think for a second before realizing something.
"It was you guys... the cause of those rainbows!"
"Wait, what?" Shade is processing what he just heard as Sunset clarifies for them, "He's right. The first one was against me and the second one was against the Dazzlings."
"What!?" The two was pretty much stunned at this, trying to take in all this new info dumped upon them.
Aeon was admittedly a bit amused at this exchange, until he realizes something. "Hold! Why do I only see two of you!?"
The girls just realized this too as Shade and Visor were strangely confused, "What do you mean, he was right behind-" The latter looks behind himself to see no one, adding to where he might be now.
Aeon immediately knew where however, quickly turning towards the statue to see Levin reaching his hand inside the portal.
"STOP!" He shouts as he was getting ready to throw his cane for another teleport, getting the boy's attention in the process.
What Levin didn't see as he was quickly moving his arm out... was the dark energy fragment getting bigger inside the portal itself. Aeon hesitated just for a moment at the shocking revelation of his own miscalculation.
"AAAHHH!" The others then heard a piercing scream as Levin was swallowed by a sudden wave of dark magical energy, slamming into the front of the school before wrapping itself around its victim in the air above.
"Levin!" Visor ran on instinct, wanting to help his friend before being stopped by Aeon.
"Idiot, you'll be corrupted too!"
"I don't care, I want-"
"Don't play the hero, boy!"
Visor was ready to shout right back, only to stop when he sees Aeon's face. While his tone was fierce, his expression was one he recognized... sorrow. Begrudgingly, he steps back as the others watch on, after Sunset got Shade back on his feet.
"This looks similar to when I had the crown..." The former mutters to herself.
"You're right, and I think history is about to repeat itself." Pri-Twi agrees with her before a sudden gust of wind burst through the area like a powerful storm.
"Get back!" Aeon warns them, which they do just that as he slowly backs away to prepare himself.
Thankfully, he kept his guard up as large charges of electricity were gathering into the dark sphere above, fueling it as if it was a source of the new host's power and forming a thunderstorm in the process.
The Dazzlings were currently running into the suburbs before almost stopping in their tracks as they hear what sounded like thunder, only to look up and see storm clouds above where CHS is located.
"Oh no..." Sonata felt that bad feeling getting stronger as the three sped up a bit to see what was going on.
"Isn't that Twilight over there?" Aria suddenly spoke up, getting her sisters' attention to where she was looking.
As it turns out, Sci-Twi was currently running towards the storm with some sort of device in her hands that had its readings going haywire.
"It is!" Sonata was glad to see her again as she adjusts her direction to reach her friend with the other two following behind her, "Hi, Twilight!"
Sci-Twi responds to her name being called, which she gives a small smile to who she sees. "Sonata, hi."
"Hey, it's been awhile. Meet my sisters, Adagio and Aria." Sonata briefly introduces the two to her, which they give their little gestures in response before getting back to the task at hand.
"Hi." Sci-Twi simply said to them as her greeting before getting back on task, "I assume you three are seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Clear as day, or rather cloudy." Aria answers, "Most likely, Levin and his friends are there right now."
"Wait, what!?" Sci-Twi was understandably surprised at this.
"We'll explain on the way!" Adagio simply said to her in response as the four kept up their pace in order to reach the storm.
The clouds themselves were swirling around the dark sphere like a vortex, absorbing into it as the others were trying to figure out what to do at a safe enough distance.
"OK, what did you do in order to defeat me?" Sunset took initiative in coming up with a plan, starting with the previous time this happened.
"The magic of friendship, of course." Pri-Twi honestly answers, though it didn't add much to their situation.
"Before the rainbows?"
"Oh! Not much really."
"OK, we can still think of something." Sunset then turns to Shade and Visor, who were understandably stunned by what is happening.
"You said that you've done this before?" The latter looks at the girls as he said this, "Like, facing something... like this?"
"Not something that can create thunderstorms, but yeah." Pri-Twi answers.
Shade simply looks at the dark sphere for a moment longer before averting his eyes to Aeon, who was simply standing there as if he was waiting for something.
"Whatever we come up with, it seems that Aeon has a plan." He said to the others, who notices what he was talking about.
"Wait, is he actually gonna FIGHT that!?" Rainbow was bewildered at that part, "How is he gonna fight a STORM!?"
"Ah don't think the storm is gonna be the problem..." Applejack corrects her friend, pointing towards the dark sphere in the process.
The group watches as the sphere was slowly descending down to the ground, the clouds converging into it entirely before disappearing into it to leave sparks lingering across the surface. Aeon stood ready, cane in hand like a sword, as he stares down the descending sphere. Upon touching the ground, pulses of energy can be seen illuminating the inside. He sees him, a silhouette is in there with the electricity flowing through his body similar to that of a heartbeat.
The sphere shrinks, slowly but surely, into the silhouette until fading away to leave behind the transformed Levin crouched down before standing to his full height.
His appearance now can be best described as some sort of wingless humanoid griffon, only the head was left to look like himself despite the changes. His skin was much darker to a midnight blue color with his shoulders down being covered in an ethereal coat of sharp black feathers. The parts that weren't covered in them were his arms down and his legs down, changed to a more demonic version of his appendages complete with claws for fingers, talons for toes and deep golden scales.
His hair was wild as it stood up and seemed to have grown a bit in length, the golden streaks letting out an equally golden pulse that his nerves were letting through his entire body. The pulse goes through once more as he opens his eyes, revealing them to be nothing like his sapphire pair. The scleras were pure black as the pupils were glowing yellow slits of a demon.
The group were in shock and awe at what has become of him, more so the former since this is a completely different transformation that the girls were expecting. Away from them and standing in the middle of the two sides, Aeon held his cane tightly before speaking.
"Levin?" He calls out, at least something to get some sort of response out of him.
He does, in an unexpected way.
The electricity courses through his nerves, converging into one point as he seems to brace himself for something. Aeon was quick to react, holding up his cane in defense as a powerful burst was unleashed, shattering all the windows and walls of the school in the process as the group defended themselves from the wind that came from it. A bright light was shining from this for a moment before fading, revealing what had transpired.
Wings, fully unfurled to show the full length being a full clawed hand longer than the arms, appearing to be made from some sort of spectral-like energy as lightning dances along the 'feathers' it had. Though, the most defining aspect was the claws that were in place of the alula part, becoming more apparent as the wings furl to a close behind him, placing themselves upon his shoulders between the ethereal 'feathers' that stuck out.
"Are you done?" Aeon simply responds with, slowly placing his cane downwards in case of anymore sudden moves.
A long and deep breath was his response, Levin opening his mouth to let out a deep growl.
"OK..." Aeon then slowly starts to step closer, "Speak. Are you, or are you not Levin?"
Levin stood there, staring at Aeon in silence for what seemed to be an eternity. The latter tries again, repeating the same question.
"Are you... or are you not... Levin?"
The beast looks down at the ground, opening his mouth to show his fangs as he utters one thing.
"I..."
The voice sounded so... distorted, like there was two voices speaking with a dark echo behind it.
Aeon stood there, waiting to see if Levin was actually in control.
"I..."
WHOOSH!
The wind broke, catching the man off guard as he felt his cane get grabbed, almost pushing up against him as Levin was suddenly within arms' length. The yellow slit pupils look right at his eyes before Levin spoke:
"Am not."
WHOOSH!
Aeon was straight up thrown right into the entrance of the school, slamming through the walls to leave a gaping hole in the place of impact. This left everyone else... frozen, to say the least.
"Wha- What just-" Visor was trying to speak through the silence that was suffocating them, "What IS that thing?"
He did not want to believe that his friend became this... beast, despite the proof standing right in front of him- wait.
Horror befell them as the demon was now only a few feet away from them, catching Shade and Visor in his winged claws to lift them off their feet.
"Whoa, he is fast!" Pinkie has a good point there.
No answer came as they watch 'Levin' hold his friends in his wings, staring the others down like a fierce hunter.
"Levin." Pri-Twi tries her hand at speaking to him in a soft tone, "There's no need to do that with your wings, they're your friends. Please, put them down."
The beast didn't move, yet the wings start to move downwards before throwing them away. The two landed in the snow as Levin simply stood there.
"She's right." Sunset steps in this time to speak, "I know what it's like to be overwhelmed by magic. It transforms you into something you don't want to be."
The others were surprised that he was listening, or seems to be, as he was just staring at them with his wings slowly furling back behind his back...
ZOOM!
Until unfurling again to curl around his body as he turns, blocking an oncoming attack with his wing as Aeon tried a sneak attack against him. Pushing his enemy back, Levin then reels his arm back to charge electricity into his claw before unleashing a devastating blast.
BOOM!
The attack collides with the wall of the school, obliterating what was in the blast radius with a thick cloud of smoke to cover it. The wind kicks up again with the girls holding their ground to prevent getting swept off their feet, opening their eyes to see Aeon's cane land in front of them before its wielder appearing soon after.
"That was close." He was quick enough to throw the cane in the air and teleport right before getting hit.
He was quick to deduce that right now, with his energy on low due to no recent recharge, he can't effectively fight Levin head on or even with his bag of tricks without damaging his opponent. However, if he's right about the girls' magic, then maybe-
He quickly goes to them while holding his cane out towards them, "My cane is a conduit for magical energy. If you put your hands on it, your magic should transfer into it."
"Are you sure that'll work!?" Rarity was doubtful of this, but Aeon wasn't having it. "It better, cause this is the only way to save him!"
Upon saying that, Sunset was the first one to place her hand on it followed by Pri-Twi, which everyone else does so as well.
Unbeknownst to them, the Dazzlings and Sci-Twi arrive to see the damaged landscape and school, looking with such disbelief as to what caused it.
"What happened here?" Sonata questions out loud.
"There they are." Adagio points to a familiar group ahead of them at the edge of the courtyard, "Come on."
Before they went any further, a bright light shined from the group before quickly fading down. Turns out, Aeon was among them as his cane was glowing white with magical energy.
"Much better. Get going." He simply says to them as he turns around to face something further up ahead, but not before seeing them and saying something else. "You got some explaining to do."
That understandably confuses them as he runs off, one of them even decides to look behind herself to see what he meant. Strangely for Sci-Twi, the girl that was looking at them was... herself?
"Oh!" The doppelganger lets a surprised gasp out of her mouth, alerting the others in the process.
"Twilight!" Visor was running past them with Shade in tow, the Rainbooms quickly following behind them to reach Sci-Twi's group.
"Guys! What's going on!?" Sci-Twi seriously needed some answers right now, which was being gladly given to her.
"Magic, Storm, Levin, Beast!" Visor was freaking out as he spoke, pausing between each word he said.
Shade took over from here and spoke at a normal rate, "We found a portal with magic, dark stuff came out and got Levin, transforming him into some sort of-"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Consecutive clashes were heard as the snow behind them was exploding at each impact, ending at one near the edge of the courtyard before Aeon was sent flying towards him. He quickly recovers to get some footing before leaping back skywards to avoid another attack from Levin, himself flying over the group as they see the beast sliding from his own impact that broke the ground beneath before stopping.
The Dazzlings and Sci-Twi saw him, their friend Levin, looking almost nothing like who he was before.
"No...no..." Sonata was the only one to mutter words as the other two were just staring in shock.
Sci-Twi was genuinely overwhelmed with everything coming at her at once. Her look-a-like, magic actually being real, dark magic, Aeon, and now this 'Dark Levin' that was staring straight at her. All of it... made her faint.
"Twilight!" Her name was the last thing she heard before blacking out.
Levin suddenly leaps out towards the group, Shade looking back to see him reaching out with his claw before being stopped by Aeon once again.
"Back off!" He shouts at the beast before firing a burst of energy to push his opponent away.
Levin kept his talons firmly on the ground as he tried to regain his balance, only for a blast of energy to hit him straight on. Hitting the ground a few times in a rolling motion, he stabs his claw into the ground to stop himself and get his bearings. Though, Aeon wasn't gonna give him that as he kept up his assault. Swinging his cane like a sword, Levin guarded against a good majority of them with his wings and even his own arms before counterattacking with a blast of his own.
Though, he realizes the blast only hit air before feeling a stinging pain across his back, Aeon managing to land a solid blow against him, which makes him immediately retaliate with a powerful backhand swing. Though his arm didn't hit, the wing copying his move did as Aeon was sent flying into an empty window with him pursuing him soon after.
BOOM! SLAM! CRASH!
Walls being destroyed and hallways in ruins as the two fought intensely against one another, Levin eventually getting the upper hand as he grabs Aeon and throws him into another hallway, the man going right through the lockers and across the wall itself before landing in the foyer. He quickly rolls out of the way as Levin darts right at where he previously was, creating a small fissure in the floor with his wing in the process before firing a lightning bolt right at his enemy.
Aeon was quite agile as he performs acrobatic flips and rolls, narrowing dodging the bolts before leaping off the wall to go up high to reach the second floor and lands on top of the balcony railing. Levin halts his barrage of bolts to then unfurl his wings completely, lifting off to fly right at his enemy to perform a point-blank blast. However, Aeon proved to be quicker on the draw as he fires an energy blast directly at Levin, sending him flying across into the railing and even through the floor before he pops up onto the second floor proper.
"AAAAHHHH!"
A distorted roar echoes in the air as Levin launches off the wall right at Aeon like a bullet, making him quickly sidestep and take the shot at slashing the beast across the torso as he passes him and crashes into another wall. Aeon quickly stood up and readied himself for any projectiles or head-on attacks, only to be met with silence. Eerie silence was all he heard as he watches the smoke start to clear, revealing the hole in the wall... and the floor.
Realizing what was actually happening, it came a moment too late as he felt his leg get grabbed after hearing the sound of the floor breaking beneath him. An spectral claw was the culprit as the floor gave way, him going down much faster than it and slamming into the floor below.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
Levin was relentless with his grapple on Aeon, slamming his enemy into the surroundings like a ragdoll on the floor and through the walls before finally throwing him through the school itself.
The beast was actually get annoyed at this persistent warrior, but now he is down for the count. Looking behind himself to see if the others were still there, he prepares to take flight to find them before sensing a familiar aura again... the warrior was still alive.
"You forced my hand."
All Levin saw was Aeon standing only a few feet away from him, his bandaged hand now no longer wrapped to reveal a corrupted claw of his own. It was an eerie gold glow that looks to be made from sand with a black aura surrounding it, a sharp chain-like tattoo wrapping upwards on his arm like a snake. With it, he held it up to his chest and appears to be holding something in it. However, he just stood there with a menacing gaze... in his eyes.
In Aeon's eyes, time... has stopped.
Only he was in motion, rushing in to unleash a flurry of impossibly fast slashes upon the beast. It was brief, but enough to do effective damage as he lands one powerful downwards slash at the end.
The void ceases to be, making time flow normally once again as Levin was sent flying from the combined impact of the barrage. However, Aeon was not done as he outstretches his cursed hand, ethereal chains shooting out before binding around Levin. Twisting his hand to grip the chains, Aeon spins them above his head with great force before pulling straight down hard.
BOOM!
Levin was slammed into the ground with incredible momentum, even stunning him on impact as Aeon turns his body around, slinging his chains over himself like a catapult to send Levin sky high. The chains broke as the sheer amount of force was enough to send him over the courtyard and into the streets beyond, crashing and sliding across the pavement as he tries to stop himself with any sort of grip he can get. In the end, he eventually stopped and could simply lay on his back to recover from the damage inflicted on him.
He stares at the sky, clouds slowly moving as the snow was starting to fall. The electricity pulsing through his body was starting to slow down, indicating his stamina was now low before hearing a familiar sound followed by a voice.
"Are you finally done?"
Lifting his head up a bit, Levin sees Aeon standing with his cane pointed straight at him. Seeing his enemy on the verge of winning the battle, his pulse quickens with rage as he pushes himself off the ground with his wings. Aeon braces himself as Levin came at him with all his remaining strength, firing punch after punch with his winged claws copying each one to double the assault.
Despite his best efforts, Aeon was able to block and deflect each one of them before pushing him back with an energy pulse. Levin mustered up what he had left in one more attack and ricochets himself right back, making a thunderous boom in the process as lightning dances along his entire arm. It was instantaneous as he fires a pure bolt of lightning:
Right into the sky.
In that moment, Aeon was able to dodge and counter with his own attack, stabbing the ethereal 'blade' of the cane into Levin's chest. A rainbow-colored pulse went into the beast like the electric pulses he has before it was pulled out, the former was crouched down with his face turned away as the rainbow bursts outwards from the corrupted demon, forcing the dark energy out of his body in the process.
What was left in place of the demon was Levin, purified back to normal as he was nearing unconsciousness from the fight.
"Sha... Vi... Twi..." He mutters under his breath before passing out.
Aeon catches the boy in his free arm, holding him over his shoulders as he lets out a heavy sigh.
"You've fought well, kid." The man admits as he stood up, walking off to find the others.
And done! Whoo, that was fun!
The first two scenes are to establish what the boys were doing before the race to the portal, which then leads to the two sides coming together.
The first part is having the boys caught up to speed about the truths behind the magic events before Levin gets caught by the dark energy.
The small scene after that is to bring the Dazzlings and Sci-Twi into the equation. Perhaps not in a battle sense, just more of a narrative idea that'll come into play later.
The second part was mainly to show off the corrupted form and what it's capable of, setting the atmosphere of the dangerous power it had.
The third and final part was the fight itself, intense and destructive to describe how the two fighters fought in their current states. Like I said, this had many different ways to be written, most making Levin be much more violent with his powers, but made the fight more one-sided than I wanted it to be.
Speaking of 'Lethal Levin', the name of the form I gave him, I wanted to make it very different from the other transformations that are mainly based on ponies or just corrupted versions of the villains. Griffons were one of the first choices I thought of and went with it, having different aesthetics from the first drafts I imagined before reaching the final one used here.
When I thought of doing the dark form concept, I immediately went with it being a version of the 'Devil Trigger' forms from the Devil May Cry series. For those who played DMC5, the wings should be an obvious reference to a certain Devil Trigger form, which is honestly my favorite form of the series!
On the other hand, I had various ideas on how Aeon would fight before rediscovering the Prince of Persia series, remembering how flexible and skilled the Prince was in his fighting style. Though, I kept a few from previous drafts such as the teleport skill and combined them into what you see in the battle.
With all that said, we have reached the end as the next chapter is the epilogue (and the Christmas Special I promised after that). I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all next time!
