The valley floor was a maelstrom of noise, but for JaiZaynclanging stepsJames’s desperate voice

  Jai tried to push himself up, but his attention was snagged by the sight of Zayn crawling

  : Jai was standing over a pile of pulverized stone and human bodies. He held a massive, blood-slicked battle-axe. He saw a child crawlingcutslayed"Please leave my brother. Just kill me."

  In the vision, Jai looked down. He was pinning a smaller boyboth of themruthless execution

  The vision faded, leaving Jai reeling from the intensity of his own historical brutality. It was a stark contrast to the trauma paralyzing Zayn.

  Snapping back to the present, Jai realized they had mere seconds. He shouted an order to Winston

  Winstonwhite magical boundary

  "Hey guys, fight with all your might!" Jai ordered James and Brokk, his voice regaining its command. "After Zayn recovers, I will order you to remove the border, and we attack them fully. Until that happens, protect the boundary with your lives!"

  Inside the temporary sanctuary, Jai knelt on one leg. Zayn was huddled, his face buried, terrifyingly unresponsive.

  "Zayn! ZAYN!

  Zayn still refused to move. Jai grabbed Zayn's shoulder, forcing eye contact, his tone shifting to one of calm, intense focus. "Zayn, what happened in the past? Why are you this broken?"

  Zayn, triggered by the boundary's temporary peace and Jai's demanding focus, began to speak in a strained, rushed whisper:

  "Seven or eight years ago, before Zeron left, he was ignoring me. I still loved my brother. My uncle's kids—Zenos and Rezo—told me they could help me earn Zeron’s approval. They told me to listen to everything they said, that Zeron would like me if I did. So I started doing what they said. But they started doing so many things... brutal things..."

  "Why?" Jai asked, his mind reeling from the intensity of the confession. "Why did you agree? What was the reason?"

  Zayn looked at Jai with naked pain. "Arthur, I think you might understand. My mother died. My father, King Borin

  Stolen story; please report.

  Jai paused, taking a slow breath, controlling the brutal imagery his own vision had just shown him. "What kind of brutal things did they make you do?"

  Zayn didn't answer with words. He slowly pushed himself up, pulling off his shirt. Jai stared, his jaw tightening. A massive, horrifying scar

  Jai understood immediately. "Even if I had been there, in his situation, I would have faced trauma."

  The mental strain was too much. Zayn instantly fell into a deep, painful trauma visionRezofingertips pluckedThe brutal bullying was relentless, stealing his ability to speak.

  In the memory, the sound of the assault abruptly stopped as his older brother, Zerongolden eyes

  Jai brutally forced Zayn out of the memory, shaking him until the golden eyes focused. "Zayn, the trauma was meant to break you, but you must not let it. You must use it to push yourself to be good."

  Jai stood over Zayn, his voice now a low, rough, demanding chant, stripping away pity and offering only a terrifying path forward.

  "Zayn. I don't know the whole story, and I don't need to. I know you were put through hell. I know the kind of brutal mess that leaves behind. It makes you feel like the world is nothing but predators and prey."

  Jai met Zayn's golden eyes

  "But this? This war is your chance to draw the line in the sand. You can stay trapped back there, letting what they did to you define you—the victim, the one who couldn't fight back."

  He leaned closer.

  "Or you can take this fight, and you can let it free you. Every enemy you drop is you tearing a piece of that nightmare out of your own gut. Every person we save is you proving that what happened to you doesn't win in the end. Don't fight because of the past; fight to build a future where you don't have to carry that weight anymore."

  "The war needs silent, ruthless men who know what real fear is, because they know how to beat it. Stop being the victim of the bully, Zayn. Become the reason the bullies fear the dark. Get up, and let's go earn back a piece of yourself they thought they stole forever."

  "You must not be the 'Silenced.' You must become the 'Eliminator.'Digestive Element

  "The war offers a way to cleanse the Stigma. Go out there. Be the terrible, silent answer to oppression. Let your golden eyes become the last thing the enemy sees before they realize they misjudged the true power of the one they thought they could silence. Do not merely fight, Zayn. Ascend.

  Jai’s words, demanding action, hit Zayn hard. The profound fear and shame that had held him frozen began to burn away, replaced by a cold, fierce resolve. The memory of Zeron watching, paralyzed, was no longer a weight of guilt, but a sharp fuel.

  Zayn didn't shout or look up in sudden epiphany. Instead, he pushed off the ground with a grunt, his muscles responding instantly to the need for action. His movements were not rushed, but sharp and purposeful.

  Outside the border, James, Brokk, and Winston

  Inside the boundary, ZaynSilver Ice BowIce Arrows

  "Winston!" Jai commanded, his voice sharp and absolute. "Take out the boundary immediately! Now!"

  The shield vanished.

  Zayn didn't hesitate. He loosed his first volley of arrows, aiming precisely at the approaching Tier 9 and Tier 10

  The moment the barrier dropped, Jai’s teamZayn, the EliminatorZayn's new title is "Eliminator