The world didn't stop when Dorian landed.
But it should have.
The ground still trembled. The air still hissed. But in that single mont, when Rivan locked eyes with the man who once shared his childhood breath...
Everything else disappeared.
Dorian stood in gleaming armor, etched with symbols Rivan couldn't read. His hair was longer now, silver-threaded, eyes darker—like they had forgotten how to reflect light. A jagged scar ran from his temple to his jaw, and a black corestone glowed at his throat like a pulsing heartbeat.
"Still alive," Dorian said. "And still stubborn."
Rivan stepped forward. "You're real."
"And you're late," Dorian replied, almost smiling. "I've been waiting."
Selina shifted beside Rivan, her posture tense. Kael didn't move at all—his eyes locked on the six Shades behind Dorian.
[System Alert: Threat Level – Apex. Target Identity: Dorian Cross. System Host: Collector Class. Tier: Unquantified.]
[Warning: Bond interference potential HIGH.]
Rivan ignored the warnings. His heart beat louder than the system.
"I thought you were dead."
Dorian tilted his head. "I was. Then I chose not to be."
A long silence passed. Rivan took a slow breath.
"Why are you here, Dorian?"
His brother's smile didn't reach his eyes. "To see what kind of man you've beco. To see if you're strong enough... to be taken."
Selina moved then—subtle, defensive.
Rivan raised a hand. "No. He's mine."
Dorian's voice dropped. "Still protecting things that break."
"You taught that," Rivan growled.
The Collector chuckled. "And now I'll teach you sothing else."
He stepped forward.
One pace. Two.
Then vanished.
Rivan spun instinctively—just in ti to catch a blow aid for his throat. Dorian reappeared mid-air, blade drawn, swinging.
tal clashed. Sparks lit the sky.
The force of Dorian's strike knocked Rivan back, boots skidding across cracked stone. Heat pulsed through his arms as he absorbed the blow. The blade hadn't cut—but it had marked.
Rivan spun and rolled, avoiding the follow-up slash by inches. Dorian moved like a phantom: fast, clean, emotionless. He didn't waste a single motion.
Rivan, by contrast, fought like fire.
Every move wild but intentional, bursts of energy radiating from his skin with each strike. He tapped the Shared Fla—felt Selina's presence echoing behind his eyes, steadying his breath.
[Fla Sync: Active. Focus Multiplier: 12%]
Their blades clashed again, this ti harder. Sparks scattered across the night like fireflies. Behind them, Kael kept the Shades at bay, his pulse-blade singing with speed. Selina defended the Blood Signal beacon, drawing lines of fire across the ruin stones.
"You fight like you hate ," Dorian said, parrying.
Rivan snarled. "I don't. I fight like you disappointed ."
Dorian laughed, low and cold. "That's worse."
He kicked Rivan in the chest, sending him flying into a stone pillar. Dust exploded on impact. Rivan coughed and pushed himself up, flas licking his arms.
[Internal Damage: 8% – Stabilizing Fla Core]
"You chose them," Rivan shouted, "over your own blood."
"I chose survival," Dorian answered.
He raised his hand. The corestone on his throat pulsed, and the Shades responded instantly—moving to encircle.
Selina started toward Rivan, but Kael held her back. "He needs to burn alone," he said.
Rivan's eyes ignited. His back arched as fla spiraled from his spine.
[LustCore Surge Engaged – Full Sync: 91%]
[New Skill Accessed: Flabind – Convert emotional bonds into temporary power boosts. Duration: 90 sec.]
He rushed Dorian, blade glowing, body afla.
Brother t brother again—and the ruins trembled.
Rivan's blade caught Dorian's shoulder, carving through armor with a sizzle of fire and light. Dorian hissed but didn't stumble. Instead, he countered with brutal precision, slamming his elbow into Rivan's jaw.
Blood sprayed. Rivan grunted, staggered back, but did not fall.
"You always hit harder when you're hurt," Dorian said, wiping the burn from his pauldron.
Rivan wiped the blood from his lip. "You always talked too much."
[Flabind Active – 43 sec remaining. Strength 18%. Reflex 12%.]
The fight turned chaotic.
The brothers clashed again and again—two storms locked in orbit. Flas danced around them, lighting up the sky as if the stars had fallen to the earth.
Kael was holding the Shades at the ridge, but barely. Selina focused her energy on shielding Rivan's bond, drawing glyphs into the air with red-hot daggers, reinforcing their connection with every swirl.
[Shared Fla Integrity Holding at 76%]
Then Dorian changed tactics.
He didn't swing—he spoke.
"Do you rember the lake?" he asked mid-strike. "The one with the cracked dock?"
Rivan faltered.
Dorian's blade grazed his ribs.
"You rember how we used to race to the edge... how I'd always let you win?"
Rivan's eyes blazed with confusion and rage. "Why are you—"
"Because I wanted to protect sothing innocent," Dorian snapped. "But you're not that boy anymore."
"And neither are you," Rivan growled.
He exploded forward, using the last of his Flabind. His sword burst into raw, searing heat—not shaped, not elegant. Just fury.
He swung.
Dorian blocked with both arms—wrong choice. The blade shattered one of his vambraces and sent him flying backward into a ruin wall.
Dust. Silence.
Then:
[Vital Hit – Opponent Temporarily Incapacitated.]
Rivan stood panting, blade smoking.
But Dorian was already rising—smiling.
"That's more like it," he whispered.
Dorian rose slowly from the rubble, silver armor cracked, blood trailing from his lip. His eyes—once calm and analytical—now glead with sothing colder. Not rage. Not hatred.
Disappointnt.
"I hoped you'd be better than this," he said.
Rivan stepped forward, every breath a fla. "You wanted a fight. Now finish it."
[LustCore Level-Up Threshold Near – Next Tier Ability Locked Pending Combat Resolution]
Kael shouted from the ridge. "They're regrouping—Shades on the north rise!"
Selina moved fast, daggers ready, drawing a wide sigil that exploded with a barrier of searing light, buying a few more seconds.
But Dorian didn't press.
He lowered his blade.
"You still don't understand," he said, stepping out of the dust. "This isn't a fight about power. Or mory. It's about control. You don't control the LustCore. It controls you."
Rivan's fist tightened. "That's not true."
"Then prove it."
Dorian tossed a small device at Rivan's feet. It sparked, displaying a flickering mory fragnt—of Rivan, back in Vault 17, in restraints, surrounded by doctors. But this ti... one of the faces was familiar.
Rivan's.
Older. Crueler.
"What is this?"
"A future," Dorian said. "The Core showed what happens if you fail to ta it. You beco what you hate."
Rivan's breath froze.
[Warning: Emotional Surge Detected. Anchor Bond Engaged. Shared Fla Stabilizing.]
Selina grabbed his shoulder. "He's trying to break you. Don't let him."
Rivan looked up. "Why are you really here?"
Dorian paused.
"To offer you a choice."
He raised two fingers. The Shades stopped moving.
"You can join . We can reshape this world together. End the system wars. Rewrite the Core itself. No more chains. Just dominance."
Rivan stared at him.
Then at Selina.
He took one breath.
And stepped back.
"No," he said. "I'd rather burn than be what you are."
Dorian's expression didn't change. "Then rember this mont, brother. The next ti we et... I won't be offering rcy."
With a snap of his fingers, he vanished—along with the Shades.
Silence fell again.
Then:
[System Update Complete – New Ability Unlocked: Core Flare – Tier 4 LustCore Burst Activated under Life-Threat Conditions]
Rivan stood still, fists clenched.
Kael exhaled. "Well. That went better than expected."
Selina stepped beside Rivan. "You didn't waver."
"No," Rivan said, his voice quiet. "But I almost did."
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Coming Next: Chapter 42 – The Fla That Rembers
New abilities, new enemies... and the return of an old na lost in Vault 17.
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