The aqueduct tunnels were a war zone, water surging around splintered stone, the smell of ozone and scorched earth thick in the air. Riftspawn lay scattered, shattered by previous assaults, but the Riftborn horror — the nightmare incarnate — still towered above them, its second-phase form looming like a living cathedral of bone and shadow.
Kael and Lucien faced it from opposite sides, neither moving first, each calculating the other's instinct, the other's limits.
"You ready, Shadow Prince?" Kael spat, flames dancing across his gauntlets. "Or are you going to hold back for style points?"
Lucien's silver eyes narrowed. "Don't expect me to babysit you, Firestarter."
The words were ice and fire, yet beneath them was a tension neither fully acknowledged.
The Final Assault Begins
Kael lunged first, a spiral of molten fire twisting into the Riftborn horror's chest. The creature roared, staggered, but the shadows seeping from Lucien's hands struck simultaneously, spearing the wound the flames had made.
For the first time, the monster screamed in confusion — fire and shadow striking in unison, impossible to resist, impossible to anticipate.
"Keep moving!" Lucien barked, voice cutting through the chaos. Shadows coiled around his feet, slicing tendrils at incoming Riftspawn while forming a protective sheath around him and Kael.
Kael smirked, grit on his jaw. "You're not so untouchable when you have to cooperate, are you?"
Lucien's lips twitched — almost a snarl, almost nothing. He ignored it, focusing on the monster, the Rift, the impossible rhythm of battle.
Squad Support
Vanguard and Astraeus squads had regrouped, battered but not broken. Their coordinated strikes were surgical, each hunter exploiting weaknesses the two leaders forced open:
Seren's wind blades tore through the creature's limbs, slowing its strikes.
Eira's frost sealed fractured stone, keeping the ceiling from collapsing further.
Caspian's runes anchored unstable debris while sparking chains of energy to trap parts of the Riftborn horror.
Lyra's spears of light drove deep into the monster's antlers, restricting its movement.
The teams' contribution amplified the leaders' synergy, but the focus remained on Kael and Lucien. Every strike they executed together became a study in rhythm and contrast — fire and shadow weaving lethal patterns.
The Moment of Truth
The Riftborn horror, cornered, shrieked, claws smashing the walls, antlers scraping loose stone. Its chest-maw opened for another obliterating blast, but this time Kael and Lucien acted instinctively.
Kael's flames erupted upward, molten wings of fire encasing the creature's chest. Lucien's shadows coiled into spikes, piercing the molten mass, twisting and writhing like living blades.
The creature screamed, a sound that shook the tunnels to their foundations. Energy from the Rift pulsed wildly, trying to heal, to fight back. But the coordinated strike held firm.
Kael grit his teeth, feeling the recoil of the heat against his body. "Now!"
Lucien's voice was icy calm, the final command. "Strike together. All in."
In a synchronized motion that neither would admit was beautiful, fire and shadow surged, tearing through the Riftborn horror from opposite sides. Bones shattered, shadows consumed its essence, flames burned through its core.
The beast convulsed violently, shrieked, and then — silence.
Aftermath in the Tunnels
Water roared down the tunnels, stone groaned, but the Riftborn horror was gone. Only charred obsidian and tendrils of dissipating shadow remained.
Kael collapsed onto one knee, breathing hard, flames guttering from his gauntlets. Lucien stepped beside him, shadows receding, eyes still focused on the Rift's lingering pulse.
Kael's smirk returned, though ragged. "Not bad… Shadow Prince."
Lucien didn't reply immediately. When he did, it was cold, distant. "Not enough to earn praise."
Kael laughed, shaking his head. "Keep pretending."
The City Reacts
Aboveground, Velrith erupted. Fireworks? No — nothing could match this spectacle. Screens across the city broadcasted the climactic moment: fire and shadow destroying a creature thought unstoppable. Citizens cheered, some wept, commentators shouted over each other, and fan communities exploded into feverish speculation.
"They did it… together!" one exclaimed.
"Don't they look… coordinated?" another whispered.
The Fire of the People.The Untouchable Shadow. Legends were born in real time.
Yet in the back of the crowd's mind, unease stirred. The Rift's pulse lingered, faint but present, and rumors of something bigger, older, more dangerous whispered through Velrith's streets.
Unspoken Tension
Kael and Lucien finally stood apart, breathing, surveying the ruin. Neither spoke of the moments they had been forced together, of the flashes of admiration, of the way they had moved in perfect synchronicity.
But something unacknowledged had changed.
Kael's gaze lingered a second too long on Lucien's silver eyes. Lucien's shadows twitched involuntarily, responding to the heat of Kael's presence.
The Riftborn horror was destroyed. The city was safe. But neither of them walked away unchanged.
The rivalry remained. The tension remained. And the whispers in Lucien's mind… were still there, waiting.