Suddenly, the ground around them exploded. Lava erupted from beneath them and surged toward them. Margoth clung to one of his swords and rose above a tree, his companions doing the same to escape the volcanic flow. They began to leap between the branches, trying to locate Gaia while cutting down the roots that chased them like serpents and protecting themselves from the dozens of poisonous thorns above.

Suddenly, hundreds of strange, beautifully shaped birds appeared, flying in their faces and attacking. The assault seemed weak, but it disoriented them greatly, their sheer numbers obscuring their vision. Milkon emitted vibrations from his body that made the birds lose consciousness and fall to the ground. But in his distraction, roots grabbed his leg and pulled him down. He shot fire from his foot and propelled himself upward, but the roots continued to multiply, wrapping around him and dragging him down. Margoth sent one of his swords, which severed the roots and saved him.

"Why don't we get out of here and force him to come out?" Valar asked, growing weary.

"Because he won't let us leave as you imagine," Ragoth replied. "And because the entire planet is his source of power. Even if we did get out, the same thing would happen again and again. We are trapped here until we finish him."

The sky began to pour down rain, lightning struck, and the roar of thunder echoed. The lava and roots vanished. They jumped down from the trees to the ground and set off, trying to pinpoint Gaia's location. But bolts of lightning suddenly descended from the sky toward them, and they dodged them with difficulty amidst the sudden darkness and near-zero visibility. The heavy rain and the slick, muddy ground beneath them made it even harder. Milkon was forced to turn the small drones hovering around them into lamps to light their way.

They pushed through the forest, but without realizing it, Dragoth stepped into a mud puddle that began to pull him down. Roots emerged to bind his massive body, but he kept cutting them. Before his comrades could help him out of his predicament, lightning struck him, electrocuting him with a force that made him scream a sound that shook the area. His companions were horrified by his fate. As soon as the lightning stopped, Valar lifted him with her power and brought him closer for them to inspect. They found him standing on his own feet.

"That was painful," he said, seething with anger.

Milkon laughed and slapped him on the back. "Not even lightning can take you down, you giant!"

Suddenly, they heard a noise coming from the forest. Dozens of huge animals charged toward them—massive creatures with three horns, and ferocious, blue, tiger-like beasts that were even larger, with four eyes and sharp fangs. Dragoth advanced toward them. A three-horned creature charged him. Dragoth grabbed its face, lifted it into the air, and threw it far away. Another one attacked him, and he punched it with a blow that shattered its skull. He continued to punch and strike them one after another in a rage until he had finished them all.

Margoth passed by him and joked, "Gaia better pray he doesn't run into you right now."

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook again, splitting open more violently than before. The trees bent toward them, their flowers releasing a poisonous fragrance that filled the forest. Fortunately, the Enix were wearing breathing masks. They ran from the continuous earthquakes and noticed that huge rocks were raining down on them from the sky. They realized Gaia was using the plants to throw rocks at them from above. They dodged and shattered them when they could, but they were growing exhausted from avoiding all the attacks.

Then, the ground behind them split open into a large, fiery valley that looked like hell itself. Streams of water flowed beneath their feet, making it difficult for Dragoth and Margoth to run and escape. Margoth clung to his swords, which flew him away quickly, while Valar lifted Dragoth into the air. They all began to fly, fending off the rocks and trees. But what came next was worse. A fierce, stormy headwind blasted them, slowing their movement significantly until roots grabbed them and began to pull them slowly backward. Margoth kept cutting the roots with his swords, but the force of the wind was too strong. They were gradually being dragged toward the valley of fire behind them. They knew that if they didn't act fast, this would be their end.

Meanwhile, Gaia sat on an ornate throne at the edge of the forest, his eyes closed, his consciousness merged with that of the forest until they were one. He continued to press the Enix, pushing them back so they would burn in the fiery valley and get what they deserved.

"We must do something, or we will perish!" Milkon shouted, pushing against the fierce wind with all his engines, but to no avail.

The Enix were on the verge of becoming food for the flames. Just before they fell into the fire, a circular black portal opened in the air behind them and swallowed them before the fiery valley could. Gaia noticed what happened, puzzled. Suddenly, he felt something he hadn't expected. He returned his consciousness to his body and saw a small portal had opened behind him. A black hand extended from it, reaching for the scepter. Gaia snapped out of his trance, rose from his throne, and leaped away. The hand retreated into the portal, which then closed.

"I expected getting the Crystal wouldn't be this easy," a deep, cunning voice echoed around Gaia, "but this makes it more interesting." A large portal opened in the air, and from it, Gladious emerged.

***

The war between the humans and the Enix against the robots raged on, but Gaia's relentless and merciless machines were making significant progress against the human and Enix army, which was retreating. This was especially true for the humans, who, led by Ivanov and Sairi, were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the machines. The hard metal bodies of the machines proved their superiority over the soft, frail bodies of the humans. The humans fell back under the immense pressure after suffering hundreds of casualties. Ivanov and Sairi continued to resist and attack, surrounded on all sides by the machines trying to capture them. But they fought fiercely until they began to feel their energy was about to run out and that exhaustion had struck their bodies with a whip of iron.

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