[KANE'S POV]
The waryard vibrated with excitement, every sensor and drone locking focus on the ring. I stretched my knuckles, rolling my shoulders with the old familiar rhythm. Kaiser was already stripping off his jacket, his face all amusement and reckless challenge.
"I'm not going easy on you, brother," I warned, voice carrying over the clang and hiss of tech in the background.
He just flashed a wolfish smirk. "That's the point, you big fuck," he shot back, eyes glinting and unbothered.
[HAWK'S POV]
Tara was clutching my sleeve, her wide eyes dialed straight between terror and thrill. She screamed, "Kaiser, don't get hurt!" but it came out more a command than a plea.
I dropped to one knee and hugged her tight. "Let the grown-ups play. If these two idiots earn scars, they'll wear them as jewelry."
[KAISER'S POV]
I couldn't help but grin at Tara, trying to keep the kid's spirits lifted above the mayhem. "Hey, whatever happens, it's for a cause. Smile up, Star—you don't wanna miss this. Besides, beside me, Kane here really needs a beating."
Karin moved into the center of the crowd, her presence magnetizing every set of eyes. She held out her hand, and the ring lit up with diagnostics. "Ladies and gentlemen—on every channel across Scourge's domain—welcome to what you've begged to see!" Her voice echoed as feeds flashed and drones spun, streaming to a hundred hollowscreens.
"The unbeatable! The unrivaled! The one who has never lost a fight! The Blade of our Emperor—KAAAAANEEEEEE!"
A roar went up. Fighters in the pits hammered on armor; the crowd surged.
"For his challenger," Karin continued, "the outlaw. The trait thief. The famous bounty hunter! Kingpins' nightmare—KAIISERRRRRR!"
The crowd hummed with dark excitement, murmurs and rumors rippling through the network. "Isn't he the one who killed Baron Varn's entire squad?" "Didn't he collapse half of Ashdown?" "He's the trait thief—heard he wiped out a fortress after losing a bet."
I met Kane's eyes and just shrugged it off. All their stories were true, but none of them would help me here.
The bell chimed, heavy with digital overlays and old tradition—a sibling fight about to start.
Kane squared his stance, loose but ready. I mirrored, heart thumping, the old rush rising.
Karin's arm dropped. "Fight!"
My smirk cut through the tension as we closed the distance—brother against brother, ready for violence, ready for history.
[KANE'S POV]
We circle. No powers, no tricks. My fists are callused, heavy—built for breaking bones, not parrying feints. I launch first—haymaker, no warning. Kaiser ducks, sways under my reach, slams a wicked elbow into my ribs. The impact cracks against bone but I barely register pain. I twist, swing again. His speed is inhuman; he's already gone, cutting under my arm, landing a body blow sharp as a shock baton.
[KAISER'S POV]
Kane comes for me like a freight train—shoulder broad, intent pure. I step inside his arc, using momentum to land an open palm across his jaw. He grins, spits blood, barrels at me for a clinch. I let him, feeling the raw power. His grip is iron.
He swings again. I take the hit on my forearm, let it spin me, and kick his knee. He absorbs it, answers with a vicious uppercut. I see stars—then I'm back, peppering his gut with a fisted triplet, each hit fast, precise, a surgeon's rhythm.
[HAWK'S POV]
I flick the Oracle's eye— tuned to combat overlays. It fuzzes and glitches, unable to predict a damn thing. Their moves are pure instinct, the patterns ancient and unreadable. I tighten my arms around Tara.
"Kane's brute force is insane," I mumble. "But Kaiser's speed—he's everywhere at once."
[TARA'S POV]
I'm wide-eyed, clutching Hawk. "What the hell are they doing? How can Kane be so strong? Kaiser's getting hit—"
Beside me, Scourge and Karin just watch, jaws tight, barely blinking. It's raw reverence.
Clara: They are… communicating through every punch, every dodge. Not words, but something deep. Sibling language i suppose .We can't understand it.
[KANE'S POV]
We trade. My left crashes against his guard; his right whips my face. Time thins—the pain is exhilarating, electric. He drops, sweeps my leg. I fall and grab his foot, hauling him down with me, both of us struggling to scramble to our feet. He recovers first, lands a knee in my ribs, but I catch his arm, nearly twisting him into a submission—but he slips free.
Both of us bloody, grinning. This is what family means.
[KAISER'S POV]
One more flurry—my knuckles split, his mouth bleeds. The world tunnels down to his eyes, reflecting every year, every secret grudge and quiet loyalty. Neither of us letting go, neither holding back.
[KANE'S POV]
The surge hit like a furnace blast, white-hot fury coursing through my flesh and bones. My arm coiled beneath the power of Unbeatable—not just raw strength, but a trait honed in every fight that ever mattered. This was more than muscle; it was living history, every broken bone and victory flowing through me in a tide of unstoppable force. The arc of my punch slammed toward Kaiser, a comet of destruction that sent shockwaves through every soul in the arena.
Every inch of my focus was on impact. I sent his ribs shattering, knowing the weight of every fraction of a second counted. The world folded in light and sound—a thunderclap in flesh and pain. Kaiser flew backward like a rag doll flung by a tarrasque, crashing against the fortress wall with a brutal, sickening crack.
Blood flew, sprayed the ruined concrete, and for a frozen heartbeat, the crowd's roar became the closest thing to silence.
[KAISER'S POV]
The impact stole the air from me. White-hot agony lanced through my body as I crashed against the wall, ribs exploding in pain, vision fracturing like broken glass. I tasted blood and dust mixed in heavy breaths, my hand scraping for a hold on the shattered stone behind me. The echoes of cheering and gasps became a muted haze, even as harsh lights seared my senses.
I forced myself up, staggering but unbroken, my chest heaving with ragged defiance. Bruised, bleeding, but still standing. The world shifted around me as power surged within—something deeper stirring with every labored breath. I'd spent years building toward this moment, and I wasn't finished yet.
[KANE'S POV]
I stood tall and bled, adrenaline throbbing in my veins. I expected victory chants and the crowd's wild praise—yet something about Kaiser's presence was unwavered. Bloodied and battered, he was a storm yet to strike.
[HAWK'S POV]
Tara's tiny hand gripped my sleeve, her wide eyes rimmed red with tears. "Is he going to be okay?" she whimpered, panic raw in her voice.
I pulled her close. "Kaiser's not dead, Tara. He's been through hell and back. This? Just another fight."
Around us, the crowd oscillated between cheering and silence, caught in the breathing pause of the brutal contest between titans.
[KARIN'S POV]
I leaned into Scourge's ear, voice low and steady, an analytical chill. "These two? They don't stop ever. Even when blood runs and the world watches. Kaiser's got this certainty—he will win, no matter the cost. That's what they don't understand."
Scourge's smile remained, smug and a little dark, watching futures form with quiet amusement.
[SCROUGE'S POV]
I felt it—an invisible ripple sweeping through the pit as something changed. The air thickened, slow and heavy, bending time itself. Every heartbeat rhythm skipped into a slow descent, like a ticking bomb winding down to chaos.
The crowd stiffened, their eyes drawn to the crater where Kaiser lay still. Something ancient, something deep, was stirring in the arena.
Amid the quiet, Kaiser rose. Blood stained his features, but no fear showed. Energy crackled faintly around his form, ripples of light snapping like live wires.
The monitors and drones suddenly all locked weapons and cameras on him—the arena's very atmosphere shifted.
[TARA'S POV]
I stared as Clara whispered through my mind, synthesizing every flicker of data. "Kaiser's trait is evolving—activating something unprecedented. He's crossing a threshold."
I looked up at Karin. "Hey—Karin, that your name? Kaiser just got a new trait."
Startled, Karin turned. Her eyes widened. "What? He can't just…"
[SCROUGE'S POV]
"Impossible," Scourge breathed. "He has to be bluffing." Screens flashed the data, systems recalibrating. None could deny the raw power humming in the host.
[KAISER'S POV]
I steadied myself, fixing Kane with a grin sharp as a blade freshly forged. "You just used your Unbeatable trait," I said quietly, "Now watch mine."
Drawing every scrap of power into my core, the fusion of traits separated and refined over endless battles whispered back in raw energy.
Then I spoke the name of the my newfound power.
"Convergence."
End of chapter