The battlefield felt heavier than ever — the air thick with tension and sand swirling around like a living storm.
Yuki stood in front of Kairo, her blind eyes burning with a fierce, unrelenting power. She looked nothing like the woman he married — she was a force of nature, a merciless storm, and Kairo knew if he didn’t act now, there might be no coming back for her.
Behind him, Dune — weak, barely able to sit up — rasped, “Kairo… come here.”
Kairo, his heart pounding knelt beside him. “What’s happening to her?”
Dune’s voice cracked from exhaustion, but his words were urgent. “She’s… possessed by the Sand-God.”
Kairo’s eyes widened. “What?”
Dune continued, “The Sand-God… only possesses those from the Sand tribe. It happens when someone’s power surpasses a certain limit — a level too strong for even the God to ignore.” His gaze darkened. “I’ve kept my own power in check my whole life to avoid this… but Yuki… her dormant powers… they must have gone beyond that limit.”
Kairo clenched his fists. It made sense now — Yuki’s sudden surge of strength, her wild and uncharacteristic aggression… It wasn’t just her will to protect anymore. It was the Sand-God's thirst for chaos and battle.
Dune’s voice weakened further. “There’s only one way to break the Sand-God’s hold — someone she loves… someone she cares about… Their presence can reach her.”
Kairo’s breath caught in his throat.
Dune looked him straight in the eyes. “Right now… the only person who can save her… is you.”
Kairo’s heart pounded.
He didn’t hesitate. “Then I’ll stop her. No matter what.”
Yuki, still in her possessed state, was already advancing again — her sand swirling violently around her, cracks forming beneath her feet with each step.
Kairo called out to her, “Yuki!”
Her head tilted slightly at the sound of his voice — but her lips curled into a wild grin.
“Are you going to be more fun than the last one?” she sneered, clearly referring to Wine.
Kairo’s jaw tightened. “If it’s a fight you want, I’ll give you one.”
Without wasting a second, he summoned a massive blast of water — a swirling wave powered by his elemental strength. The water surged forward like a tidal wave, crashing into Yuki’s sand shield with an explosive roar.
But she didn’t flinch.
Her sand twisted and hardened, cutting through the water with ease. Kairo sent blast after blast, but she dodged each attack with inhuman speed, a deadly grin plastered on her face.
“Is that the best you’ve got?” she taunted.
Kairo’s frustration boiled over. “Fine then… Let’s see if you can handle this.”
Summoning all his strength, Kairo unleashed his most powerful attack — the Super-Hydro Cannon. A massive jet of water, glowing and swirling like a sea tornado, shot directly at Yuki.
The sheer force of it made the battlefield shake.
For the first time since being possessed, Yuki staggered backward, her sand shield cracking slightly from the blast’s power. She skidded across the ground, her grin briefly faltering.
Kairo took the opening.
“Yuki,” he roared, “come back to me!”
But Yuki — or rather the Sand-God — didn’t listen.
She lashed out again, sending a violent sandstorm toward him. Kairo braced himself, water swirling around his body to shield him from the assault — but every hit still stung like a thousand cuts.
After taking several more blows, Kairo knew he had to change tactics.
“She’s still in there,” he reminded himself.
Then he saw his chance.
As Yuki turned her back to him, preparing another devastating sand attack, Kairo summoned a towering wave. Knowing it would take her a moment to shield herself, he leapt through the wave — using it as a distraction — and wrapped his arms around Yuki from behind.
Her body jerked in surprise.
“Let me go,” she hissed, trying to break free — but Kairo held on tighter.
“No,” he said, his voice steady. “I’m never letting you go.”
Yuki’s sand swirled dangerously around them, threatening to tear him apart — but Kairo didn’t budge.
Instead, he whispered, “Do you remember how we met, Yuki?”
She struggled harder, but something flickered in her expression — a crack in the Sand-God’s hold.
Kairo kept going, his voice softer now.
“Do you remember when I first saw you — how you were alone, hurt by your own tribe? I thought you were strong even back then. And you are… the strongest woman I’ve ever known.”
Yuki’s movements slowed.
“You’re not alone anymore,” Kairo continued, his words breaking through the storm. “You have me. You have our twins waiting for us — a boy and a girl who need their mother.”
Her breathing hitched.
“They need you, Yuki,” Kairo whispered. “I need you.”
The sand around them trembled — no longer wild and aggressive, but hesitant.
From a distance, Arson, still weak, shouted, “Yuki — you’re not alone! We’re here too!”
Sylvia, her voice hoarse but firm, added, “We’re all with you — you’re more than this!”
Glacius and Peggy joined in, their voices echoing across the battlefield.
The Sand tribe — those who once scorned Yuki — now kneeled and whispered prayers, their fear slowly turning into desperate pleas for her to stop.
Then, Kairo spoke the words that finally shattered the Sand-God’s hold:
“You have a family, Yuki. We love you.”
The sand barrier collapsed.
Yuki's body went limp — her powers fading like a dying storm — and she fell back into Kairo’s arms.
Her voice, soft and broken, trembled as she whispered, “…Kairo?”
Kairo clutched her tightly, his heart pounding in relief. “I’m here. I’m not leaving you.”
Her hand weakly grasped his wrist. “Our… kids…”
“Yes,” Kairo said, his voice cracking with emotion. “They’re waiting for you.”
Tears slid down Yuki’s cheeks as she buried her face into Kairo’s chest — finally herself again.
Kairo still didn’t let go — not for a single second.
The battlefield, once wild with elemental chaos, now lay in silence — not from fear, but from awe.
Even Dune, his heart heavy with shock, could only stare at his daughter — not as an "undesirable" — but as the strongest force the Sand tribe had ever witnessed.
And Kairo, holding Yuki close, whispered softly:
“We’re going home, Yuki. All of us.”