The battlefield twisted into a storm of destruction—wind shrieking, fire roaring, stone breaking apart.
And at the center stood Kael.
He moved like a living fla, untad and wild. Every step scorched the ground, each breath feeding the inferno that wrapped around him. Embers scattered into the sky, tiny burning stars swept up in the chaos.
Then—
BOOM!
Kael's foot slamd into the dirt.
"Enough!"
His voice cracked through the battlefield like a hamr. The ground trembled under the weight of his fury.
A surge of fire burst from him, rolling out in a wave of heat and destruction. The earth split and blackened where the flas touched, the heat bending the air itself. The roar swallowed everything—the clash of stone, the howl of wind—until only fire remained.
Jamie and Reed barely managed to throw up their arms before the blast struck. The force ripped them off their feet, tossing them back like leaves in a storm.
Wind scread. Fire howled.
Kael walked forward through it all, untouched, the fire curling around him like a crown.
Reed lifted a hand to defend himself, but his fingers shook. His breath ca in short, broken pulls. Wind was supposed to be free—untouchable. But fear tightened around him now, heavy and cold.
Jamie's gaze flicked toward Reed, understanding flashing in his eyes. He knew. Fear was the chain that bound a wind users, and when fear took hold, it was the end for them.
Jamie's voice snapped through the smoke.
"We have to retreat. He's too strong."
Reed didn't waste a second. He turned to run—
Fwoom.
Fire roared up beneath him.
His scream never fully ford. The flas swallowed him in an instant, a flash of heat that lit the air and then vanished. When the fire faded, there was nothing left. No body. No armor. Only ash drifting through the broken sky.
Jamie's breath hitched. His gaze snapped to the spot where Reed had stood—nothing remained. His mind struggled to catch up, each thought racing ahead of the next.
Gone. Just like that.
'Wait... no. That wasn't possible.'
He grasped at the pieces, trying to fit them together. Kael had to be at the Master stage. It made sense—power like that fit. But this... this didn't.
His blood froze.
'Was he already at the Grandmaster stage?'
A heavy weight pressed against his chest, cold and suffocating. Fifty of him wouldn't stand a chance. A hundred wouldn't be enough. The thought of fighting back was a joke.
His knees buckled.
"I—I was just following orders! Please!"
His voice cracked, desperation leaking through.
"I'll do anything! Just don't kill !"
The sound of footsteps.
Slow. Relentless.
Kael's steps were like the toll of a bell, each one echoing in the still air. His flas wrapped around him, shifting, alive and waiting.
Kael spoke, his voice quiet—too quiet.
"You killed my brother."
Jamie's heart skipped. It was the calmness that shook him. He swallowed, his throat dry. The mory of Max crushed beneath stone, his body swallowed by the wreckage, flashed before his eyes.
'Shit.'
Jamie barely had ti to react. His hand scraped against the ground, fingers trembling, shaping the earth in desperation. A jagged blade ford, gleaming in the smoke-filled air. He lunged, his heart pounding, ready to strike.
Kael tilted his head, just slightly.
The blade sliced through empty space.
Jamie froze.
The next mont—
A grip like fire closed around Jamie's throat.
Pain exploded, and his skin seared as Kael's fingers dug in. Heat poured from his touch, burning him like molten tal. Flas coiled around his neck, licking at him with hungry, ravenous heat.
Jamie gasped, his vision swimming, air refusing to enter his lungs.
"It's only right,"
Kael's voice was soft, a whisper that cut through the chaos,
"that you die slowly."
The fire obeyed.
It spread, crawling over Jamie's arms, his legs, his chest. It devoured him—piece by piece. His screams tore through the battlefield, raw and desperate, but they were muffled by the intense crackling of the flas. His body thrashed, kicking and flailing, but the fire only burned hotter, fiercer.
Then—
Boom.
Kael shot upward, dragging Jamie with him. The flas surged, wrapping tighter with every passing mont. The sky warped, distorting under the overwhelming force of Kael's power. The higher they rose, the louder the screams—until they weren't screams anymore. There was nothing left but a shriek of agony beyond comprehension.
Higher.
Higher.
Then, silence.
Kael stopped, floating in the sky. His gaze was impassive as he looked down at the remains of what had been Jamie.
A husk. Charred. Hollow. Barely recognizable.
Kael's fingers relaxed.
Jamie's body dropped, disappearing into the storm of battle below.
Kael remained suspended in the sky, flas swirling around him like shadows, his eyes burning with a silent fury.
————
Ash slamd the hilt of his blade against the stone holding his leg. Cracks splintered through the surface, but it held firm. He gritted his teeth and swung again, forcing every bit of strength into the strike. Still, nothing.
Then—
A heavy crash thundered through the battlefield.
Ash's head jerked up. Sothing had fallen. No—soone.
Kael descended, flas still clinging to him, the air warping with heat. His gaze, however, wasn't on Ash or the battlefield.
It was fixed on the wreckage.
Ash followed his line of sight—then his breath caught.
The twisted remains of the Apex ship lood ahead, its hull bent inward, tal crumpled like paper. And crushed between the mangled steel and shattered stone—
Max.
Ash's pulse quickened. He turned to Kael, urgency tight in his voice.
"Check on Max."
Kael didn't answer. He was already moving.
His steps slowed as he reached the wreckage. His fingers twitched. He didn't want to see. But he had no choice.
Kael stopped in front of the ship, fists clenched at his sides. The weight in his chest felt heavier, each beat of his heart sinking deeper.
Then—
Boom!
The stone pillar shattered under his punch, jagged shards flying in every direction.
And there—
Kael's breath hitched.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Knew that wouldn't kill you."
Beneath the broken rubble, wedged into the ship's mangled hull—
Max.
His body was pinned deep, barely visible against the twisted tal.
A groan.
Max's head shifted, his voice strained.
"...That really hurt."
Ash exhaled slowly, tension bleeding from his chest. He let the mont stretch, relief washing over him.
'Good. They're alive. And safe.'
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