The tension crackled like the very elements they wielded.
The desert wind howled, sending sand spirals twisting around the battlefield where Arson and Glacius stood shoulder-to-shoulder, an uneasy but effective alliance, fending off Dune's relentless attacks.
Behind them, Peggy and Sylvia worked with fierce concentration — delicate vines laced with glowing particles from Sylvia's touch intertwined with Peggy's shimmering fairy energy, forming a combined force of nature and light that carefully weaved through Kairo's battered body.
The water trapped within the vines helped soothe his injuries, while Peggy's energy accelerated his healing. Yuki knelt beside Kairo, holding his hand tightly, her grip unwavering, as if her sheer willpower alone could pull him back from the brink of death.
Kairo winced as strength slowly returned to his limbs. His breathing, once shallow and labored, grew steadier with each passing moment. His mind, however, was less calm. As the battle raged before him, his gaze locked onto Dune, and with whatever voice he could muster, he said:
"Lord Dune... I don't want to fight you anymore." His voice, though weak, echoed with resolve. "I don't want to conquer anything. Yuki and I... we just want to live a peaceful life together. Away from Aqua, away from Sand. We want to find a place where neither of your laws can touch us."
Dune's expression hardened, his fists clenched at his sides, the sand around him rippling with his fury. "That cannot happen." His voice was a low growl. "The law of the Sand tribe does not permit such betrayal. An undesirable cannot be allowed to find comfort—especially not with a man like you."
Kairo's brow furrowed. "Why do you care so much about what Yuki does? She's nothing to you, just an 'undesirable,' right? So why can't you just let her go?"
Silence fell over the battlefield for a moment — a quiet so deep that even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
It was Sylvia who finally broke the silence.
"Because she's not just an undesirable to him." Her voice was firm yet gentle. "Kairo... Yuki is Dune's daughter."
The world seemed to tilt. Kairo's eyes widened in disbelief. "What...?"
Sylvia, her gaze unwavering, continued. "Dune told us everything. Yuki was born blind — an undesirable, according to Sand tribe law. But she's his blood, his child." She glanced at Yuki, who now sat frozen, her hand still wrapped around Kairo's but her face pale. "His wife died giving birth to her. He tried to raise her in secret within the district, but when the tribe refused to tolerate her any longer, he was forced to exile her to the outskirts."
Yuki's lips quivered. "No... that's not true."
Dune's jaw was tight, his face like stone. He didn't deny it.
Sylvia pressed on, her voice fierce now. "He visited you in secret, didn't he, Yuki? All those years. The 'Lord Dune' you feared was also the father who tried to protect you from his own tribe's laws."
Kairo's mind raced, struggling to process this revelation. He looked at Yuki, whose blind eyes were wide with shock.
The one he vowed to protect — the one who clung to him through battle and hardship was the daughter of the very man who now sought to kill him.
"No... it can't be..." Yuki's voice cracked, her entire body trembling. "He... he never told me... He was just... Lord Dune... He was always so cold... so distant..."
Dune's face didn't soften. His voice was an unyielding wall. "Because I had to be."
Kairo's blood boiled. "You abandoned her. You made her suffer!"
Dune's sandstorm flared. "I followed the law."
Kairo's fists tightened. His strength was returning, and the storm within him was starting to rise once more. "If the law means hurting your own daughter, then it's a law that deserves to be broken."
The battlefield now buzzed with a new kind of energy.
Sylvia's eyes darted between Kairo and Dune, while Arson's flames flickered higher, the air around him growing hotter.
Glacius remained composed but watchful, sensing the impending explosion of emotions and power, Peggy fluttered her wings ready for what comes next.
And Yuki... she just held Kairo's hand a little tighter, even though the world she thought she knew had just crumbled beneath her feet.
The desert air grew heavier — a clash of emotions swirling into a storm as Dune, burning with relentless determination, lunged toward Kairo.
His hand twisted, commanding the very land beneath their feet to rise and twist — an elemental land wrath surging like a wave of stone and sand, ready to crush the weakened Aqua prince.
But before the attack could reach Kairo...
A sudden sandstorm erupted between them.
The swirling cloud of sand lashed against Dune's attack, breaking its momentum and scattering the land wrath into harmless debris. The storm wasn't as massive or refined as Dune's powers — but it was fierce, raw, and undeniably strong.
It came from Yuki.
Everyone froze.
Kairo's eyes widened, disbelief washing over his face. "Yuki...?"
Even Yuki herself stood motionless, her hands still half-raised, the grains of sand slowly settling around her. Her blind eyes blinked in confusion. She hadn't meant to summon the storm — it just... happened.
Dune's shock was absolute.
"Impossible," he muttered. His voice was a mix of confusion and something else — something almost like pride. "You... never had elemental sand powers."
Yuki clutched her chest, breathing heavily. "I... I don't understand... I just wanted to protect Kairo... and..."
Dune's eyes narrowed, but there was a flicker of realization.
"It's the will to protect." His voice was steady now, almost contemplative. "Your senses were always sharp... even without sight. But you never had a reason to awaken your powers until now."
The desert winds seemed to whisper around them, carrying the weight of his words.
Dune clenched his jaw, his fists trembling at his sides. "It seems... my daughter finally found something — someone — worth protecting."
Kairo's heart pounded. Daughter. The word echoed again and again in his head.
Even now, after the storm she summoned, Yuki's hand found Kairo's, her fingers gently brushing his skin, grounding herself in his presence.
Dune's gaze hardened. "But it doesn't change anything."
The ground rumbled again. Dune took a step forward, his elemental power crackling through the sand like a brewing quake.
Yuki's voice, soft but unwavering, broke the tension.
"I always believed... you had a kind side."
Dune's steps faltered.
Yuki's blind eyes gazed past him, her expression a mixture of hope and sorrow. "Even when I didn't know you were my father... I thought you were more than just the 'Lord Dune' everyone feared. I thought... you were like the other Sand people — rough on the outside, but with a heart underneath."
Dune's fingers twitched. His lips pressed into a thin line. He didn't respond.
Then, for the first time, Yuki's voice quivered — not with fear, but with a fragile hope.
"Can I... call you 'Father' now?"
Silence.
Dune's jaw tightened. His breathing grew heavier. The swirling sand around him paused — just for a moment.
But then — his face darkened again.
Without a word, he pushed Yuki aside.
"You broke the law," Dune said coldly, stepping past her. "And I will not let Kairo live."
His hand surged forward — the land wrath returned, tearing through the earth like a tidal wave of sand and stone aimed directly at Kairo.