Inside her own mind, Stella staggered through distorted corridors, whispering shadows clawing at her ankles, dragging her toward the floor. Echoes of laughter and screams from the past reverberated like knives slicing through her sanity. The faces of her father... her mother... friends she had failed to save... all pointing at her.
— You failed... you destroy everything you touch... — the voices hissed.
She pressed her hands to her ears, screaming silently. Yet something inside her resisted. A flicker of light, small, trembling, yet alive. The natural energy that had always accompanied her... the same she had always suppressed out of fear.
And then, she heard it.
— Tekio...
His voice. Real. Close.
Her chest trembled, as if something had awakened within her. The light inside the darkness began to grow, pushing the shadows back. Memories recoiled for a moment. She staggered forward, a blade of light manifesting in her hand with a brilliant flash. Her eyes opened suddenly in the real world, golden like tamed fire.
— He... is here... — she murmured, sitting up slowly, still weak, yet fully awake.
---
Outside, the storm roared as a harbinger. The air vibrated with electricity and wrath.
Tekio surged toward Velkros like a human incarnation of fury. His movements were raw, visceral, driven by grief transformed into a blade. Velkros smiled through the attacks, narrowly dodging, parrying with his short blade as if dancing atop the embers of a volcano ready to erupt.
— Come on, Tekio! Show me that rage! Give me more! — Velkros shouted, eyes glowing.
Sparks leapt from Tekio's body with each clash. His aura, still unstable, began to crackle, electric energy escaping from his fingers, fissuring the ground beneath his feet.
— You don't understand what you've caused...! — Tekio roared, landing a punch to Velkros' stomach that sent him staggering back two steps.
Velkros spat blood and laughed.
— Oh, I understand perfectly! I created this! Your pain... it's my masterpiece!
Meanwhile, across the battlefield, Dan fought with ferocity. The possessed man, now enveloped in a denser black aura, seemed almost like a wraith made of living smoke. His strikes tore through the air, each motion fueled by the traumas he drew from Stella's soul.
Dan stumbled backward with difficulty, conserving energy just to stay upright. He knew that the more Stella suffered, the stronger the monster became — and she was still fragile.
— Damn it... — Dan whispered, arms trembling. — I can't let her fall again...
— You've already lost. She is sinking — the possessed hissed, voice warped as if more than one creature spoke at once. — And when she breaks... you'll be just another toy for me.
Suddenly, a wave of light cut across the battlefield.
Stella's sword gleamed. She rose slowly, her hair whipping in the wind that began to swirl around the storm. Her eyes, though trembling, were focused.
— I will not... lose myself. Not again.
The possessed turned toward her, confused.
— What?
Stella lifted her blade, and though weak, an arc of light sliced the air, forcing the enemy back.
— I will not let them use my pain against me.
Dan let out a weary smile.
— There she is...
---
Back at the main fight, Velkros kicked Tekio into a wall. The concrete cracked under the impact, dust rising like smoke. Tekio fell to his knees, panting, but his eyes burned brighter than ever. He touched the ground, feeling the vibration beneath his fingers.
— She did not die in vain... — he muttered. — And you... will pay for every word you uttered.
Thunder roared above, and a lightning bolt tore across the sky in the background.
Velkros pointed his blade at him, the scar across his chest pulsing with anticipation.
— Make me bleed, Tekio. Like she did. Make me feel alive again!
Tekio rose slowly, eyes gleaming as if something ancient stirred within him. His rage had surpassed the breaking point — now, it was something purer. A promise.
He took a step. The ground trembled.
Another. The air hissed.
As he launched his next attack, his aura exploded in light and sparks. Lightning struck the roof. And Velkros, for the first time, stopped smiling.
To be continued…