The one retrieved from The Void

It charged like a berserk beast, its massive, cybernetically-enhanced body barreling toward The Cobalt and the students with terrifying speed. The floor cracked under its weight, each step reverberating through the prison like an earthquake.

The Cobalt's instincts kicked in just in time. He surged forward, intercepting The Thing with a resounding clash of metal and muscle. Augmented though he was, The Thing's sheer brute strength was overwhelming. Sparks flew as The Cobalt struggled to hold his ground, his enhanced limbs straining against the monstrous force before him.

"Sis!" Ken called out, his voice edged with urgency. "He's going to need help!"

"I know," Yuu replied, her tone calm despite the chaos. Then, in an instant, she vanished.

She reappeared behind The Thing in a flash, her movements so quick they seemed almost ethereal. Without hesitation, she grabbed hold of the thick, sparking wires trailing from its back. Her grip tightened, and with a feral grunt, she yanked them hard.

The Thing let out a guttural roar, its body convulsing as the sudden disruption in its systems caused it to falter. The opening was all The Cobalt needed. He lunged forward, his cybernetic fist glowing faintly as he drove a devastating punch into The Thing's torso. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the air, and the monstrous figure staggered backward, a deep dent marring its seemingly invincible frame.

But The Thing wasn't down yet. It straightened with a guttural growl, its cables sparking wildly as it prepared to retaliate.

The Warden's melody shifted, growing darker, more oppressive. The battlefield seemed to tremble under its weight.

"Focus," The Warden called out, his voice sharp and commanding. "We can't afford mistakes."

The tension in the air was palpable. Each move felt like a razor's edge, the stakes impossibly high. This wasn't just a fight—it was survival against the embodiment of chaos itself. And even as The Warden's music filled the air, an unspoken truth lingered: the real nightmare hadn't even begun.

The Thing snarled, its body crackling with energy as its systems attempted to stabilize. Sparks cascaded from the frayed wires Yuu had ripped free, illuminating its grotesque, cybernetically enhanced frame. It raised one massive arm, a jagged blade of serrated metal sliding from its forearm with a harsh, mechanical screech.

Yuu didn't flinch. Instead, she shifted her stance, her eyes narrowing as she assessed its movements. The Thing lunged, its blade slicing through the air with lethal precision. Yuu ducked under the strike, the blade grazing the ends of her hair as she twisted into a low sweep, aiming to knock its legs out from under it.

The Thing was faster than it looked. It planted its foot firmly, resisting the force of Yuu's attack, and swung its arm down toward her in a crushing arc. She vanished again, reappearing above it, midair, her foot arcing toward its head in a spinning kick. The impact connected, snapping The Thing's head to the side with a loud crack.

It stumbled but didn't fall. Instead, it roared, swiping wildly at her as she landed gracefully a few feet away.

Meanwhile, The Cobalt had recovered from the clash and was already moving. He launched himself at The Thing's exposed side, his cybernetic arm glowing faintly as he aimed for its midsection. The punch landed with a resounding impact, denting its armor further and sending it skidding back across the cracked floor.

But The Thing refused to yield. Its remaining wires sparked violently, a surge of energy coursing through its frame as it straightened, its movements more erratic now, almost rabid. It let out a guttural growl, its eyes locking onto Yuu and The Cobalt with unrelenting malice.

"Ken, stay back!" Yuu barked, her voice sharp and commanding.

Ken hesitated. "But—"

"Stay. Back." Yuu's tone brooked no argument.

Ken gritted his teeth but obeyed, retreating to the edge of the battlefield. 

The Warden's melody shifted again, growing sharper, more discordant. The air seemed to ripple with its intensity, and The Thing visibly faltered, its movements becoming sluggish, as if the music was somehow weighing it down.

"You're running out of time," The Warden said, his voice calm yet edged with warning. His fingers danced in the air, plucking at invisible strings as the melody grew darker. The Phase, still circling him, paused, his smile gone. He tilted his head, his unnerving, hollow eyes narrowing as he regarded The Warden with a mix of frustration and something else—fear.

The Orphan, who had been eerily still until now, began to move. Its hunched frame straightened slightly, its gaunt, pale face tilting toward The Warden. Shadows seemed to coil around it, writhing like living things, and the temperature in the room plummeted.

"The Orphan's making a move," Ken muttered, his voice barely audible.

Yuu's eyes flicked toward the creature. "Cobalt, switch targets. I'll keep The Thing busy."

The Cobalt hesitated for only a moment before nodding. "Don't die, young one" 

"I don't plan to," Yuu replied with a smirk, her gaze already locked back on The Thing.

The Cobalt turned, sprinting toward The Orphan as it began to shamble forward. The shadows around it expanded, stretching across the floor like an ink spill. As The Cobalt approached, the shadows lashed out, forming jagged tendrils that writhed and struck like vipers. He dodged and weaved, his augmented reflexes barely keeping him ahead of the onslaught.

"You're persistent," The Warden said, addressing The Phase without looking at him. "But persistence isn't enough."

The Phase grinned, though it lacked any real confidence now. He darted forward, his movements erratic and unpredictable, but The Warden was ready. His melody shifted once more, a crescendo of sharp, piercing notes that reverberated through the air.

The Phase faltered mid-step, clutching his head as the sound tore through him. His form flickered, becoming unstable, as if the music was unraveling the very fabric of his existence.

"I told you," The Warden said, his tone almost pitying. "This isn't a fight you can win."

But the battlefield was far from settled.

The Thing roared again, its arm raised as it charged at Yuu. She stood her ground, waiting until the last possible moment before sidestepping the attack and driving her elbow into its exposed side. The impact was precise, shattering one of its internal components with a burst of sparks.

The Thing convulsed, its frame juddering with each malfunctioning pulse as sparks erupted from its exposed circuits. Yuu's dark eyes never left its hulking form, her breath steady, almost unnaturally calm. It swung its jagged arm again, wild and desperate. She ducked under the arc with an economy of movement, slipping to its blind side and striking its joint with a swift, precise blow that cracked metal like brittle bone.

It howled, but Yuu was already moving, a ghost of shadow and momentum. Silence clung to her as tightly as her determination.

The Cobalt's charge toward The Orphan met a wall of psychic force. The air around him thickened, an invisible weight pressing against his chest and limbs, slowing his movements to a crawl. The Orphan's hollow eyes glistened as it unleashed its power, layers of psychic energy distorting the space between them. Cobalt grunted, his jaw clenched as he pushed forward, muscles straining against the unseen restraints. The Orphan tilted its head, and a jagged ripple of mental force sent him staggering back.

Yuu's ears caught the low hum of psychic pressure, even as The Thing lunged again, each step a shaking testament to its refusal to die. She spun, narrowly dodging a flurry of erratic swipes and used its momentum against it, driving her knee into its exposed, sparking abdomen. The metal shrieked and collapsed inward, the creature doubling over with a shuddering wheeze.

Still, she did not speak.

The Warden's melody shifted once more, a sharp, stabbing counterpoint that seemed to pierce the oppressive psychic field emanating from The Orphan. The room trembled with the song's power, cracks splintering the ground beneath their feet as the music strained against the dark force.

The Orphan's lip twitched in a semblance of a smile, and suddenly, it raised one skeletal hand, fingers splayed. The shadows surrounding it writhed and coalesced into thin, barbed tendrils that shot toward The Cobalt with lethal speed. He dodged one, then another, but one tendril wrapped around his wrist and yanked him forward, slamming him into the stone floor with a brutal thud.

"Cobalt!" Ken's voice broke from the sidelines, a mix of fear and frustration.

Yuu's expression didn't change, but her movements intensified. A blur of strikes landed against The Thing's weak points, each one delivered with precise, cold efficiency. Its howls turned guttural, desperate. It staggered, swiping clumsily as its limbs failed one by one.

The Orphan glanced toward Yuu, pale eyes narrowing as it reached into her mind with an invisible, icy hand. A surge of pressure gripped her skull, a raw, psychic assault seeking to fracture her focus. She didn't flinch. Instead, she met its gaze, a silent defiance burning in the black of her eyes. The Orphan's smirk faltered for an instant.

The Warden's song swelled, and a burst of sonic energy crackled through the battlefield. The psychic hold on Cobalt loosened, and he surged to his feet, eyes blazing with renewed determination. He charged at The Orphan again, this time with fists clenched and body low, defying the encroaching shadows.

The Thing let out one last gurgled roar, its broken body shuddering before collapsing in a heap of twisted metal and wire. Yuu stood over it, chest rising and falling with slow, controlled breaths. She turned, her eyes shifting to The Orphan, as if accepting its unspoken challenge.

The Orphan lifted both hands, its psychic energy coalescing into a blinding, coruscating orb of raw power. Yuu's stance shifted slightly, her silence speaking volumes—no hesitation, only readiness.