Xavier's crew grouped around him. The fighting had come to a stop, Kingston had been beaten. Jacob was practically holding Atlas up as they recovered. Maya and Luna had tears in their eyes. Arvirdi seemed exhausted and Helena triumphantly clutched these crown in her hands.

"Cute," Oh no.

Xavier turned around and saw Astraeus standing behind them. The warlock had Akira in his grasp. "Hand over the crown. Or I'll collect on an old deal."

Kaitos's eyes widened. "I-is that... Astraeus?"

Jacob scoffed. "Like Hell we're doing that! You're as good as dead showing up here, Astraeus!" The rebel charged at the Guardian with his sword at the ready.

"Wait, Jacob!" Xavier shouted. Jacob came to a stop as Astraeus held up Akira. The boy was squirming in the grasp of the monster. "Put him down. He has nothing to do with any of this."

Astraeus laughed. "On the contrary. Give me the Crown, or I'll have to take a different approach."

Helena sighed. "What is he going to do?"

"Don't know," Atlas grumbled. They tried to summon their weapon but were in no shape to do so. "Something bad, I assume."

"You're too judgemental, Atlas." Astraeus mockingly chided. "I must be off, now. Farewell, Pirates." The Guardian then vanished with Akira in tow.

Xavier balled his hands into fists. "Damn it! That bastard! Where did he go?"

Atlas furrowed their brow. "What did he mean? I can't figure out why he would want the kid."

"Astraeus and the Royal Line, they had a connection," Kaitos's voice echoed through the room. "Long ago, they forged a bond. It seems that the Guardian is going to use that for his plans."

Luna's eyes widened. "Astraeus's plan, he's going to be able to enact it!"

"Where did he go?" Maya wondered. "We need to find him and stop him, now!"

"We need to think, he's going to want to engage his plan somewhere we won't be able to find him, right?" Jacob wondered aloud.

Atlas grabbed hold of the Aero Crown. "Hang on! I've got an idea. I don't know if it'll be right, but it's our best bet. The Aero Crown should hopefully help me pinpoint his location."

Arviridi shook himself out. "Then we're going to face him down, correct?"

"Are you feeling alright, lad?" Xavier asked the Maroki chief.

Arvirdi nodded. "I'm just a bit tired. However, there's no time to waste."

"We should be able to get through Astraeus together," Helena asserted. "After all, there are some scores to be settled."

Jacob and Atlas locked eyes, and Xavier nodded at both of them. "Let's give it a shot, then. Is everyone prepared?"

Maya rubbed her hands together. "Let's get going!"

Atlas had everyone hold hands, and then the group vanished. In an instant, they reappeared on a hill overlooking a massive lake. The giant body of water was Lake Aulaure, found in the heart of Kingston.

By the water, there was a large circle of purple light shining on a stone altar. Green light was swirling into the sky and growing in size. Xavier produced a telescope and confirmed that Astraeus was the one behind the spell. "It's him."

Atlas summoned their sword into their hand. "Just like I thought. This is where the last ancient monster was sealed away. It's a point where immense amounts of magic can be found. The perfect spot to end the archipelago."

Jacob's eyes lit up. "Let's go stop him, then."

They all hurried down the hill. Xavier held out his hand and conjured icicles that sped towards the circle. The icicles were instantly obliterated as they entered the zone. The green magic continued to rise into the air.

Luna teleported to the brink of the circle and stepped inside, running at Astraeus and trying to wrench the staff out of his hand. She struggled against her brother's grasp, eventually being thrown away. "Enough of this! You fools have lost!"

"Not yet!" Helena held out her hand and tried to pull on the golden staff. The magical circle seemed to protect against it.

Atlas rolled their eyes, "Nice trick, Astraeus. It won't work forever!" The Guardian flew directly at Astraeus, driving their blade into his chest. The warlock hissed as his stance was broken and his spell came to a stop. The Aero Crown in Atlas's hand started to erupt with magical energy.

Atlas's eyes widened and they jumped out of the ring, glancing at the crown to ensure it was no longer unleashing the magic. "What... what is this?"

Astraeus chuckled. "You think I don't have a plan for dealing with all your little tricks? I need the power of the Artifacts, and so this fills all of my purposes."

Xavier glanced down at the ground within the circle and saw that Akira was lying there unconscious. The Dragon Fang sat next to him, and both the Fang and the boy were unleashing power into the air.

Astraeus waved his staff around and the magic in the air swirled around it. "You can't stop me now. This was my destiny from the start! The worst of the humans will be your downfall, the ones who wanted power from me so badly they made themselves vessels for my needs. Now, I can use that power to destroy this land! Purge you humans from the world you don't deserve! And build a new world! Caros was only the beginning! I am a God and this land is mine to shape!"

Helena tossed Divios aside and charged into the circle. "Shut up!" The woman wrapped her hands around the Solanjan weapon in Astraeus's hands and tried to pry it from his grasp.

Maya joined her side, slamming a charged fist into Astraeus's face. The being went tumbling out of the ring, losing hold of his golden staff. Xavier grinned and immediately launched a blast of frost into the Guardian.

Arvirdi moved into the circle and picked up Akira, taking him out of the spell. "The Prince is still breathing!"

Luna and Jacob moved in to attack Astraeus now. The Carosite swung his blade down onto Astraeus's body. Then, Luna launched a series of dark projectiles into their foe. Astraeus fell onto his back, and Atlas then appeared from above and jammed their blade into his chest. "Yield, Astraeus! You've lost!"

"Not. Yet." Astraeus hissed, holding up his hands. The green magic surged around his hands and then exploded in Atlas's face. The immense power launched them into the air, and Astraeus was able to teleport off of the ground.

The circle surged with energy as Helena reached for the Dragon Fang. Astraeus appeared from above and then wrapped his hands around her neck, flooding magic into the woman's body. Helena let go of the Solanjan Staff, allowing the Guardian to grab hold of it. He then picked up the Dragon Fang and swung the staff into her face.

The pirate sped through the air and out of the circle, crashing on the ground next to Xavier. Helena had a large gash in her head from the blow, and the Captain started to shake. "Damn it! We need to stop Astraeus, now!"

Maya jumped at Astraeus from behind, jamming her knife into his back. Then, she tried to punch the Guardian in the gut. The electricity in her hands fizzled out as they made contact with him. Astraeus was about to respond when Luna flew directly at him and attempted to rip the Dragon Fang from his hand.

Jacob then drove Lumis into Astraeus from behind. Even though the Light Magic didn't phase Astraeus, the blade still damaged the rogue Guardian. Green energy burst from the Indigo Jewel shard on Astraeus's staff and slammed into all three of his attackers.

They were launched from the circle in different directions. Astraeus teleported to where Jacob landed, cornering the boy at the waterfront. The Guardian then swung his staff at the rebel, who blocked it with his shield.

Jacob tried to land a strike on Astraeus's weapon with his charged blade, though Astraeus was now able to block the blow with his body. Astraeus then tried to slam the top of his staff into Jacob's stomach.

Quickly, Jacob protected his body with a barrier of light magic. Jacob still was pushed into the water. Astraeus held up his staff and the water surged around the hero, carrying him into the air.

Xavier dashed across the ground to try and stop whatever Astraeus was planning. The pirate quickly willed frost out from the water, erupting around the Guardian. Then, Xavier swung his Gunsword into Astraeus's arm.

The foe dropped the Dragon Fang onto the ground and his eyes immediately set themselves on Xavier. "You humans... why are there SO MANY OF YOU?" Xavier parried a strike from Astraeus's staff and then followed up by swinging his Gunsword at the Guardian multiple times.

Their clash was interrupted by Astraeus teleporting away. Xavier had seen this trick far too many times. The man grinned and sent out a wave of ice. Then, he swung his foot out in a kick. The blow made contact with Astraeus, knocking the Guardian over from the strike. "Astraeus, you couldn't beat me before. What makes you think you can win this time?"

Astraeus scoffed. The Guardian's rage was clear to see. "You didn't win! And you haven't won now, either!" He slammed his staff onto the ground, sending a wave of earth into the pirate. Xavier was caught off guard by the move, and it launched him into the air. Astraeus followed this up by appearing in the sky and slamming the staff into Xavier's chest.

The pirate rocketed back into the ground and nearly went unconscious from the strike. Astraeus seemed to be preparing a spell in the air. "Eat this, pirate!" The spell morphed into a volley of green arrows that sped towards Xavier. The man tried to move, but he wasn't going to be able to get out of the way in time.

That was when Arvirdi dashed in between Xavier and the arrows. The man held up his hands and conjured a protective barrier of grass that absorbed the magic. Arvirdi was breathing heavily at this point and fell to one knee from the action. "Go! Now!"

That was when Maya and Luna appeared in the air around Astaeus. Maya began to wrap tendrils of lightning around the Guardian and Luna flew her around their target. They quickly created a tangle that surrounded the Guardian's body.

Then, Atlas appeared with Helena in tow. She drove the axe directly into Astraeus's head, launching the Guardian into the ground. The axes split off of the spear, and Atlas grabbed hold of Divios. They flew down and slammed Divios directly into Astraeus's body as he was recovering from the blow.

The collision created a cloud of dirt that surrounded both Guardians for a few moments.

Xavier staggered to his feet. There was no way it was over. Luna helped Maya and Helena get to the ground around where Astraeus had landed, while Jacob pulled himself ashore. The cloud started to clear, and Atlas and Astraeus could be seen standing.

Atlas had Divios jammed into Astraeus's chest, and the two siblings were having a standoff. Astraeus let out a guttural scream and then slammed a hand into Atlas's chest. Their body seemed to fade in and out for a moment.

Astraeus let go of Atlas and wrapped his hands around Divios, wrenching it from his body. The Guardian then tried to jam the spear directly into Atlas's chest.

Luna appeared between the two of them, grasping Divios as Astraeus thrust it forward. She threw her other hand around Astraeus's wrist and summoned a ball of magic in it. The ball of magic dissipated Astraeus's arm, causing the staff to go tumbling onto the ground.

Astraeus dove down, grabbing hold of the staff. He left Divios behind as he began scurrying towards the circle while Jacob chased him. Astraeus turned around and launched a blast of purple magic at the rebel. Jacob held out Lumis to stop the attack in its tracks.

Astraeus then jumped forward, swinging his staff down into Jacob. The hero blocked the blow with his shield, absorbing the strike. Jacob tried to jam Lumis into Astraeus, but the Guardian grabbed him by the wrist and threw him into the circle. The sword began to explode with power once again.

A blue aura seemed to surround Jacob as Astraeus charged at him again. "Go for it! Now!" The young prince's voice shouted from afar. Jacob seemed to be moving with enhanced speed, similar to how King Aerolph was able to move.

The rebel discarded Lumis and used a ball of light to counter the magic that Astraeus was firing at him. Then, Jacob's shield exploded with Light Magic and he slammed the Solanjan tool into Astraeus's staff.

Finally, after all this time, that damnable staff split into two pieces. Astraeus was blown out of the circle as the shattered remains of the staff landed next to him.

Helena called them away from Astraeus and into her grasp. The Guardian's eyes widened. "No, no! You humans! You don't understand what you're doing! This is my world! You're going to destroy it!"

Jacob scoffed, having retrieved Lumis and now striding up to the Guardian. "Sure we will. As though we haven't been the ones fixing this world, while all you've done is create more problems for people!"

Xavier moved to stand next to Jacob, with Atlas taking the boy's other side. Astraeus conjured the last of his green magic into his hands and sent it into the air. "I-I won't allow for this! My siblings, they died for this! You took each and every one of them from me! I can't let this be the end!"

"We took them from you?" Atlas practically scoffed. "I seem to recall you actually being the reason our family fell apart."

"Shut up!" Astraeus screeched. "You are pathetic, Atlas! Truly! Why must it be your way? Why must we serve humans until our lives come to an end? All they do is hurt!"

Xavier shook his head. "Nobody is serving anybody. We're working together, and making this world a better place for everyone. I guess you just can't understand that!"

Ice started to billow around them. Xavier looked at his friends and they nodded. It was time to finish this.

The cold from Xavier surrounded Astraeus, incasing the cretin in a layer of frost. "This is for Rose!" The pirate raised his Gunsword into the air.

Atlas then drew their blade and sliced it across the ice several times. "This is for Solanja! For Kai!" They held their sword in the air as well.

Jacob spun forward, raking Lumis across the frozen Guardian. "And this, this is for Caros! For every life you've ruined!"

Astraeus tumbled over, the Guardian was finally spent. Lumis, Atlas's blade, and Xavier's Gunsword all held in the air for a few seconds. Then, the trio charged forward and jumped up in unison. Their respective magics surrounded their weapons, and they were all brought down onto Astraeus's body.

The Guardian hissed before his form finally faded away. At long last, Astraeus had been bested.

Xavier took a step back and cheered. "We got him! We finally got him!" A few tears started to stream down his face as he embraced Atlas and Jacob.

Astraeus's magical circle faded away. At long last, it seemed like they had won.

Atlas glanced out at the lake and narrowed their eyes. "This doesn't feel like it's over."

Luna shook her head. "So you feel it too. Something is happening..."

The water on the lake started to ripple. All of the green magic that Astraeus had been concentrating on now soared over the water. The magic dove down into the depths of the lake in an instant.

Then, the surface started to bubble. It seemed that the pressure around Lake Aulaure was increasing by the second. The group prepared themselves for the worst as the water broke.

A giant beast was suspended in midair. The monster bore scales all over its body, and massive wings that were the size of an entire house. The creature's scales were tinted in all sorts of colors. A large tail dangled in the air, and giant claws decorated its four legs and the end of its tail.

The beast flew through the air and roared, sending out a wave of heat. The creature had a maw large enough to consume Xavier and at least two other members of his crew at once. This creature was like nothing Xavier had ever seen before.

"That's the beast that we sealed beneath this lake," Atlas said, practically whispering. "Astraeus must have... he must have broken the seal. One last ploy to make sure we can't get peace on the isles. He's unleashed the Unidragon."