The rooftop was a battlefield of broken stone and roaring winds. The crimson glow from Kai's aura clashed violently with the sea of shadows Raven unleashed, each impact lighting up the night sky like lightning strikes. Below, the city seemed so distant, like another world that had no idea its fate was hanging by a fragile thread above its sleeping streets.
Kai stood at the center, his fists glowing with an intensity that threatened to burn him alive. Every breath was heavy, but his eyes—those crimson flames—remained locked on Raven. The enemy's presence was suffocating, but it no longer shook Kai's resolve. Not after all they had endured.
Beside him, Lira held her blade with both hands. Her knuckles were white from the grip, yet her expression was fierce. Sweat and rain clung to her face, dripping down her chin, but she refused to lower her stance. "Kai… if we fall here, the city burns with us."
Kai nodded, voice deep and steady despite the exhaustion in his body. "Then we don't fall."
Raven's laugh echoed, sharp and cold. "You're clinging to hope like it's some sacred weapon. But hope doesn't cut through shadow. And love? Love blinds you. It ties you down." His eyes gleamed dangerously as he raised both arms, summoning a wall of pure darkness that stretched across the rooftop like a tidal wave.
The ground cracked under the pressure, stone tiles exploding upward. Raven's aura swallowed the moonlight itself, leaving only a suffocating void.
Kai grit his teeth. "If love ties me down, then let it chain me forever." He slammed his fists together, sparks flying, his aura flaring so violently that cracks of red light spidered across the ground.
"Chains can break," Raven hissed. "Let me prove it."
The wall of shadow surged forward. Kai braced, thrusting both palms outward. Crimson fire erupted, meeting the shadow head-on. The clash shook the rooftop like an earthquake, shards of concrete spiraling into the sky.
"Lira—now!" Kai shouted.
Without hesitation, Lira dashed into the gap his aura carved open. Her blade gleamed silver under the faint light left in the darkness. She spun, slicing through tendrils of shadow that lashed at her. Each strike was sharp, calculated, fueled not by rage, but by faith in the boy fighting beside her.
She leapt high, her sword aimed at Raven's chest.
Raven blocked with one arm, his body shaking under the impact. For the first time, his smirk faltered, replaced by the grit of his teeth. Kai saw it—the fracture in his confidence.
"That's it, Lira!" Kai roared. "Push harder!"
"I'm not done yet!" she shouted back, twisting midair, kicking off Raven's shoulder to propel herself backward. She landed gracefully beside Kai, her chest rising and falling with sharp breaths.
Raven staggered, clutching his arm. Dark energy dripped from his wound like black smoke. His eyes narrowed into slits. "You… insolent children."
Kai stepped forward, placing himself slightly in front of Lira. His voice was firm, resolute. "We're not children. We're warriors. And we fight for each other."
The words pierced through the roar of the storm, louder than thunder. For a moment, Raven said nothing. His expression shifted—anger, disbelief, then a shadow of something that almost resembled doubt.
Almost.
Then the rooftop exploded again as Raven unleashed another surge of shadow, more desperate than before.
Kai and Lira tightened their stance. Their hands brushed briefly, not enough to distract—but enough to remind them why they stood. Together.
"Ready?" Kai asked, his voice low, steady.
"Always," Lira replied.
And once more, they hurled themselves into the storm.
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