Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss

The entire sea palace trembled, as if the entire sea was screaming in rage. The pillars holding up the hall cracked as the wave swept through them.

A few seconds later, the tremors slowed to a stop.

Lilith coughed as she rose to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked in concern.

"I'm fine." Lilith wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "All I need is to get to Shing."

"That has to be it." Thorn spoke, getting their attention.

He was pointing towards the gigantic double doors at the end of the hall, where Tam had been standing in front of when they'd first entered the hall.

The doors were unlike anything else they'd seen in the sea palace.

First of all, it was an actual door. It was not made of pressurized water like the walls, but of actual stone.

Each slab was twenty feet high, carved with delicate mosaic-like patterns that resembled veins of roots frozen in time.

"If Shing's not behind that door, I'll eat my shoe." Thorn said, his voice completely serious.

Lilith said nothing, but suddenly, her soul energy began to swirl around her, lighting the water with a brilliant hue of blue.

Soul energy surged through her, and the erratic, painful flares from earlier stabilized.

"This should be enough." She stood to her full height, regaining a healthy complexion.

The poison inside her soul was still there, but for now, it was suppressed by the sheer force of soul energy raging through her body, giving her back her control.

She'd saved this technique for this particular moment. After all, it was temporary, and not a permanent solution.

But that didn't change the fact that right now, she was ready.

Ren looked at her, then at Thorn. "Once we walk through those doors..."

"There's no going back." Thorn finished.

Ren nodded. "Let's end this."

Together, they pushed the stone doors open.

The room inside was vast, cavernous. Its ceiling arched high above, encrusted with bioluminescent algae.

Water shimmered like stained glass. Pillars of water lined the sides of the hall, holding up the ceiling. And at the far end of the room sat a throne of ice.

Upon it sat Shing.

In the space of time since he'd attacked Patino and now, he'd changed.

He was no longer the majestic ancestor that had raced the main island of his descendants to the ground. Now, his body looked like it was deteriorating.

Long cracks ran across his skin, glowing gold like molten veins. His eyes blazed with corrupted brilliance. Golden tendrils pulsed along his arms and chest, like roots growing out from within.

He smiled.

"So you've come." Shing said, his voice layered, as if many things spoke through one throat.

The smile on his face wavered as he followed their eyes to his body. "Disregard this form. It is only temporary. A vessel burning out. That is why I need her."

His eyes rested on Lilith.

"With her Soul Dominion, my soul would merge with the body seamlessly. It would become truly mine."

Lilith stepped forward, her energy flaring around her like a halo of wrath. "You'll never have it."

Ren and Thorn stood still, watching her.

"This is her fight." Ren said.

Shing rose from his throne, tall and regal. As he moved forward, his body began to transform.

Roots burst through his back and shoulders, crawling over his skin like armor. His limbs thickened, grotesque and organic. Fingers lengthened into talons. A crown of jagged antlers, formed from fused roots, grew from his skull.

Ren's eyes widened. The way the roots moved... the way the body warped... it was exactly like Vesper.

The Red Prophet.

A terrible realization struck him.

"He's corrupted by a Tree of Power..." Ren whispered.

Then it hit.

The withdrawal.

His vision grew hazy as a wave of euphoria spread through him. As fast as it came, it was gone, leaving agony behind.

He fell to his knees, gasping. Pain lanced through his body. His vision blurred into violet fractals. The sea around him disappeared. The walls of the palace melted.

He saw it.

Deep within his soul were roots. Thick, divine roots, anchoring him to something far beyond himself. Something ancient. A tree of impossible scale.

It didn't rise into the sky. It swallowed it. Its branches cradled stars. Its roots broke through the crust of worlds.

Yggdrasil.

The Tree of Power.

That was when he understood it. The withdrawal had come from his Divine Gift. It wanted him to see it. Not just see it, but remember it.

Ren realized that he'd seen all this before. The first time after the battle with the Chained Man back in Elnoria. A second time when they'd destroyed the Deep. And this… was the third time.

Unfettered Enhancement was screaming at him, trying to pull free. The pain was his soul attempting to sever itself.

He clenched his jaw. He understood. To be free, he had to cut it all loose.

And this time, he'll remember it.

A monstrous laugh dragged him back to reality.

Shing raised his hand into the sky.

"Come."

The waters trembled.

Above them, in the inverted sea, hundreds of sea dragons stirred. They poured in through the ceilings, ripping through the palace walls like liquid comets. Chaos exploded.

Lilith didn't flinch.

She surged forward.

The throne room warped with the sheer magnitude of energy as Lilith and Shing collided.

The moment their fists met, a deafening crack echoed through the hall, and a shockwave radiated out, warping the pillars of water and shattering the tiles beneath their feet.

She spun midair, her foot trailing soul energy as it connected with Shing's shoulder.

Golden blood erupted from the impact, but Shing retaliated instantly, slamming her into the floor with a backhand.

She rolled, caught herself, and launched forward. Her sword of soul energy appeared in her hand, burning like a sun, and she slashed.

Shing caught the blade in his claws, but the energy burned him, melting through his monstrous bark.

"You are strong." He admitted. "But not enough to stop me."

He opened his mouth and roared.

Golden energy burst from him in a cone, engulfing Lilith. She twisted through it, soul armor forming across her skin just in time.

She stumbled out of the energy, her eyes blazing and hands outstretched. With a grunt, she fired a wave of soul spears from her hands.

They tore through the throne room, piercing through the skulls and wings of the dragons that stood in her way. The rest tore towards Shing, who batted them aside with a wall of roots.

With a loud crack, Shing surged forward, his claws out. Lilith parried one, dodged the second, but the third strike raked across her chest. Her soul armor cracked.

She retaliated with a downward cleave that cut into his leg, staggering him. As he fell to one knee, she delivered a spinning kick that sent his crown of roots flying.

He roared again, this time summoning the sea itself. A whirlpool formed in the air, raining a barrage of pressure bullets.

Lilith raised a dome of soul energy, deflecting most, but one punched through and hit her shoulder.

She screamed, then hurled her sword.

It buried itself in Shing's abdomen. He froze.

She blurred, and appeared above him, summoning a second sword and drove it down into his chest.

The hall exploded with light.

When the radiance cleared, Lilith stood atop Shing, blades crossed, eyes white with fury.

But Shing grinned.

His roots wrapped around her ankles.

"You fight well." He whispered. "But this... is my body now."

The roots surged up.

And Lilith screamed.