Each impact made the dust rise as if the ground itself were screaming.
The fight was intense everywhere.
There were no distractions, no audience—just two bodies, two souls, and a ruined past.
Tekio and Karmore.
Brothers of fate. Adversaries across eras.
Spiritual energy pulsed between them, dense as invisible smoke.
The blows came like silent thunder—elbows, knees, throws.
It was a fight between those who didn't just want to win…
But to understand.
Or destroy.
In Karmore's mind, disjointed images flashed.
Fragments.
Screams.
Chains.
Yara…
That woman. That damned woman who claimed to be her sister.
-------------"She locked me away… She killed me… She left me…"------------------
Ages ago, Yara fought to bring her back. Cried, bled, defied everyone, even Dante himself.
But it was too late. Dante had corrupted what was Amara.
What remained…
Was Karmore.
He did something to her mind; in Karmore's head, Dante was a savior, and her sister Yara was the one who took everything from her—parents, siblings, a life.
The one who cursed her with a terrible mark on her back, with a bloodthirsty demon.
All misfortune came from Yara.
Now, every time Tekio moved, Yara's reflections pulsed within him—as if that woman still whispered in his soul.
Tekio felt her pain. Her love.
And the desire to rescue, even in the abyss, the last piece of her lost sister.
— I knew you'd come back, Tekio… — Karmore snarled, her feet dragging in the dirt, spinning her body. — I knew you'd try something.
She lunged with a raised knee, aiming for his chin.
Tekio blocked with his forearm and responded with a punch to her stomach.
She arched her body and grabbed his shirt, pulling him and spinning in the air, hurling him brutally to the ground.
The impact cracked the stones beneath.
— For ages, you Sifs never accepted defeat. You're too proud for that! — she shouted, leaping over him with a descending kick.
Tekio rolled to the side, escaping by centimeters.
— It's not pride… — he said, panting. — …It's duty.
She landed on her feet, turning her head. Her white hair danced in spiritual whirlwinds.
— I thought you could do the impossible — she said, advancing with a swift sequence of punches. — But bringing Dante back in his original body… that was stupid.
Tekio tried to block the blows, but her fury was precise. Each movement struck with surgical technique, as if she knew exactly where to break him.
— I don't know how you did it, but I already know your fate.
You don't have the courage to do what's necessary.
You hesitate, Tekio.
And because of that… you'll destroy everything.
With a sharp cry, Karmore spun and struck with both fists wreathed in pure spiritual energy. An invisible explosion shattered Tekio's guard, breaking his posture.
A side kick swept him away like a mere insect from Karmore's sight.
— AGH! — He was thrown into the debris, his body crashing through a stone wall. Dust. Pain. Silence.
Footsteps echoed.
She walked through the wreckage, a shadow with bluish eyes and a shattered soul.
— Of all of them, Tekio… when I watched from the shadows, you were the most mediocre.
Dan and Stella? Bags full of energy. I held back from devouring them right there.
They were intense. Vibrant.
All of them—Mei, Tenklyn, Akira, Fenra—each one, I grew breathless just imagining absorbing their energy.
But you, Tekio… oh, Tekio.
You? An insect.
She stopped before the rubble, staring at Tekio's shadow rising.
Slow. Trembling. But standing.
— But now… you're the one I want to devour the most.
Two souls… the sensation must be MAXIMUM.
Tekio breathed with difficulty. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. But his eyes were more alive than ever.
And then…
Something pulsed.
An instinct.
Not a voice. Not Yara telling him what to do.
It was harmony.
It was synchronicity.
It was the past screaming with the present.
------------------"You have to fight… not as one, but as two…"---------------------
Tekio clenched his fists. Spiritual energy rose through his skin like an invisible mantle. His feet planted firmly on the ground.
His body still ached, but his mind…
his mind was clear.
— COME ON, TEKIO!
SHOW ME MORE!! — Karmore roared, charging with primal ferocity.
They collided.
Karmore's first punch was deflected with Tekio's open palm; he twisted his wrist and trapped her arm, pushing her back.
She kicked. He sidestepped, using the momentum to land a knee in her abdomen.
She staggered, but smiled.
— Getting better… — she said, spitting blood.
They clashed again.
Elbow against face.
Shoulder against shoulder.
Arms intertwined. Strength, technique, instinct.
Tekio fell but spun, grabbing her ankle and unbalancing her.
She fell on her back but rolled on the ground, rising with a leap.
He followed and tried to lock her neck with his arm, but she bent and struck his ribs with her elbow.
Panting.
Sweaty.
Destroyed.
And yet, alive.
— Little star. — he said suddenly, mid-block. A phrase that came purely from instinct.
— Yara… — Karmore whispered in response — …she called me that when we met…
I always wondered why.
Why someone who took everything from me looked at me with those eyes…
— And you still shine — Tekio interrupted Karmore's thoughts.
— NO! — Karmore screamed, pushing him back with both arms, retreating.
She trembled.
— She locked me away! Abandoned me!
— She tried to protect you, Amara.
The word fell like thunder.
Karmore faltered. Her eyes lost focus for a second.
The name she had buried for ages…
— I…
— You're still in there. I know.
— Shut up…
Spiritual energy oscillated around them.
Karmore gritted her teeth. Her eyes shook.
— I will destroy everything.
— Perhaps — said Tekio. — But not without fighting me to the end.
They stared at each other.
And charged.
Once more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The winds roared with fury a few blocks ahead, making shards of glass and dust spin like frenzied dancers of an announced apocalypse. It was the herald of Kaze's arrival—no longer the same as before. Now, he came more brutal. Faster. More savage.
Dan and Stella moved like reflections of each other, dodging in sync, protecting each other with sharp instinct, as if every breath were counted. But the one leading the front line, facing the incarnate storm, was Fenra.
The barrage of attacks ceased—just as Aisha had described, between brutal attack sequences there was always a pause.
Fenra advanced.
Her charge wasn't just physical; it came with presence, with density. Kaze turned his head, and his eyes avoided Fenra's.
— I figured out your technique — he murmured, his voice echoing with disdain. — The trick is eye contact, isn't it? When you look into someone's eyes, you distort space somehow. Good technique. But… it doesn't work twice.
Fenra smiled. A short laugh, almost gentle—but cold as the void between galaxies.
— You're not entirely wrong… however — her voice cut the air like a razor dipped in mist. — Eye contact is just the first beat of the symphony.
She vanished. Shot forward in a straight line, fast as lightning bent by wind. Kaze followed her with his eyes for a brief moment—but something felt off. His body felt… heavy. Every inch of him reacted as if submerged.
Fenra was activating the second layer of her technique.
She distorts space, yes. But not like someone breaking it—like someone tilting it. She warps the laws of speed and reaction. The faster she moves, the more the space around her slows for the opponent. It's like running inside a dream while the other sinks in quicksand.
Fenra closed in, and Kaze tried to raise his arm.
It weighed a ton.
His muscles trembled, as if a thousand needles pressed on his nerves. Time seemed to betray Kaze—or, worse, obey her.
Impact.
Fenra struck with surgical precision: joints, face, stomach, collarbone. Each punch wasn't just force—it was energy infusion, a physical ritual. The second condition of her technique.
With each strike, she injected part of her spiritual energy into specific points of the adversary—not to injure, but to synchronize. Like tuning an instrument before cutting its strings.
It was an energetic pairing. Through physical contact, she connected to Kaze's spiritual current—and began deactivating it.
For a moment, Kaze's body seemed immobile, like a frozen titan.
Fenra exhaled calmly. She couldn't use weapons—that was her restriction. But anyone around her could. And she knew it.
— Now. — she said, without looking. It was a silent order, clear as glass.
Dan and Stella didn't hesitate. The opening was made.
Dan exploded in flames behind Kaze, pushing him with a wave of heat that seemed to melt the air. At the same instant, Stella chained him in mid-air with her spiritual chains and slammed him against the wall with brutality. On impact, she fired an arrow. The ensuing explosion wasn't just sound—it was light, fire, and echo.
Dust. Heat. A moment of silence.
Fenra watched. Not just what they did—but who they were. Her gaze lingered especially on Stella.
This girl… she carries a raw power I haven't seen since Mei. If she can control it, she'll be the only one in this generation with destructive potential comparable to hers.
— Mei… you chose these children well — Fenra whispered. — I don't know how, but… congratulations.
But then…
Blood.
An invisible gust sliced Fenra's back. A clean, murderous strike. Others followed in sequence. Wind blades, so fast they were almost imperceptible.
She fell to her knees, gasping. Dan and Stella took position.
— So it still wasn't enough… — Stella murmured. — I need more power…
Kaze flew among the wreckage like a sadistic specter, the smile on his face overflowing with pleasure. His body regenerated slowly, the marks of their attacks vanishing like vapor in the sun.
He and Fenra—both were high-level spiritual warriors. They could heal wounds, resist death. But Kaze's ability seemed to operate on another frequency.
A mark on his face pulsed with raw, malignant energy.
Fenra staunched the bleeding. Still alive. Still fighting. But now weaker.
Dan and Stella understood. Without hesitation, they stepped forward.
Kaze watched them—eyes sharp as blades.
— Let's start over — he said, and raised his hand.
The air changed. Began to swirl, concentrating in his palm. A massive wind attack, enough to destroy a city block.
But something burned beside him.
Heat. Intense.
Kaze turned his head and saw Dan there, wreathed in flames. But… he also saw Dan farther away, standing still. Two Dans?
Illusion. A fire clone.
Dan exploded right beside Kaze—it was the fake. But the explosion was real.
During training with Fenra, Dan had discovered he could use fire illusions to create flaming duplicates of himself. Now, he used them in combat.
Kaze was caught off guard. His skin burned, and he roared—but not in pain.
In pleasure.
— Great! I love this! — he shouted with a manic laugh. — Come on, boy! Show me more!
The battle was far from over.
To be continued…