"I need someone with beast-type blood... or a beast-type ability. Maybe... Mother, brother, or someone else..." Inosuke muttered, his eyes locked onto the beeping life-support machine beside Kael. The pulsating red light cast a cold glow on his face.
"At this rate, he won't survive the next two hours unless the process is completed…"
Kaena stood beside him, tense and helpless. She understood most of what he was saying but the weight of her own powerlessness crushed her spirit.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, lowering her head, voice trembling. "I'm of no use..."
"Don't apologize," Inosuke replied gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We don't need apologies,we need solutions." A soft, reassuring smile crossed his lips despite the tension twisting in his gut.
"I might be able to help... if I'm allowed to," said a voice from the doorway.
Both Inosuke and Kaena turned sharply.
Darneth stood in the shadows, his eyes reflecting the flickering lights. He stepped forward slowly, pointing back toward the hallway. "But Kael might not like it."
He had overheard enough. While he didn't understand all of the technical details Inosuke had spoken, he understood one thing: Kael was dying and time was slipping away.
"There is someone," Darneth said with quiet urgency. "Someone who holds the same power Kael does. Maybe… just maybe, he can save him."
Inosuke's eyes narrowed. "And who might that be?"
Darneth's lips curled into a grim smile. "Follow me."
Moments later, the trio arrived at the prison wher Kaena was once sent, its cold walls still carrying echoes of pain and betrayal.
Kaena stopped, confused. "What are we doing here?"
"If I had to guess," Inosuke said as they walked past rusted cell doors, "the person we're looking for is locked up here... and was probably imprisoned by Kael himself."
Darneth nodded. "Correct but you missed the most important part."
He stopped before a darkened cell. A man sat within, silent and unmoving, his back turned to them. He wore nothing but tattered beast hides. His long, tangled hair clung to his neck. The air around him felt heavy… feral.
"The one Kael locked away... is his own brother."
Kaena gasped. Inosuke's jaw tightened.
Elsewhere — A Dying World
On a distant planet across the stars, Aetherion stood beneath a burning sky, surrounded by corpses. The palace grounds were littered with armored bodies,his enemies, reduced to ruins.
Atop the throne, a strange alien king—scaled and serpentine—clutched his wounds. His voice trembled in his native tongue, "What brings you here?"
Aetherion didn't flinch. The blood of the Raylors coursed through him, granting him fluent understanding of alien dialects.
"Your planet is filth. It offers no value to the cosmos," Aetherion replied coldly, stepping toward the shattered window. Outside, his armada of Raylor soldiers and warships rained fire and death upon the world.
The alien king fell to his knees, his voice breaking. "Please… is there no way to spare my people?"
"There is not," Aetherion answered. His hand twitched and a spear of molten fire materialized in his palm. "Nothing good can come from sparing the weak."
The spear vanished into flame.
A blink later—blood splattered the throne room walls.
Back on Planet Tharnak
"So... you are Kael's brother," Inosuke said, standing before the ragged prisoner.
"That's right," the man said without turning around. His voice was rough,hoarse, but steady.
"And you are?"
"I'm the new king of Dragrov. And I need your help."
A cold chuckle escaped the prisoner's lips. "No king begs his minions. So I refuse."
Inosuke's eye twitched. "It's about your brother."
"Don't care."
The room tensed. Every breath felt like a needle.
Kael had less than an hour to live.
Inosuke's fists clenched. Enough was enough.
"Fine," he said through gritted teeth. "Let's duel."
Silence.
The man lifted his head. Slowly, he turned. His face was obscured by matted hair and an unkempt beard that hadn't been trimmed in years. But his grin a wild one, twisted grin cut through the shadows like a blade.
"What's the duel?" he asked, voice brimming with dark amusement.
To be continued...