Chapter 13: Lines Crossed in Shadow
The first warning came as a distortion in the air.
Another horrid man lunged forward, boots scraping against broken stone as wind screamed around his right fist. The pressure thickened, compressing into a violent blast that tore through the alley like a living thing. Loose debris lifted from the ground, dragged along by its pull as it hurtled straight toward Ed and Janai.
Ed saw it coming.
He reacted without panic, without haste. His hand dropped to the ground, fingers pressing into cold, damp earth as his lips moved in a quiet murmur, the words barely louder than breath.
"Castle fence."
The ground obeyed.
Mud surged upward in an instant, rising into a thick, uneven wall just as the wind attack struck. The impact boomed through the narrow alleyway, rattling the remains of nearby buildings. Cracks spiderwebbed across the muddy barrier before it gave way entirely, exploding outward in wet chunks of earth and stone.
"You're not getting away from me that easily," the man snarled, his voice sharp with bloodlust.
He was already moving.
Ed didn't retreat.
He dashed forward through the collapsing rubble, boots skidding across broken masonry. His palm snapped upward, striking the man's face with enough force to wrench his head back. Before the man could recover, Ed followed through, opening his hand and slamming it into the man's jaw. The sound echoed—sharp, brutal, final.
Janai staggered back, heart hammering as he put distance between himself and the fight. He watched, breath caught in his throat, as Ed squared off against the horrid man. Ed's stance was firm, eyes locked forward, expression unreadable even as violence unfolded around him.
The man grunted and charged again, desperation leaking into his movements. He threw another punch, wind spiraling wildly around his arm.
It wasn't enough.
Ed stepped inside the attack and unleashed a rapid series of jabs. Each blow landed cleanly, snapping the man's head sideways again and again. Then the ground responded once more.
Stone crept up Ed's forearm, rough and jagged, forming a crude gauntlet. The weight settled naturally, as if it had always belonged there. Ed drove it forward.
The impact landed with a sickening crack.
The man reeled, nearly collapsing as blood sprayed from his mouth. Around them, the remaining horrid men hesitated. Fear spread quickly—visible in their eyes, in the way their confidence bled away. They had mistaken strength for weakness. What they believed was easy prey had turned into something far more dangerous.
They were losing.
The man fighting Ed made a choice born of panic.
With reckless speed, he lunged—not toward Ed, but past him.
Ed stepped back instinctively, and in that fraction of a second, realization struck him like ice flooding his veins.
Janai.
His eyes widened. No—
Too late.
The man seized Janai from behind, locking an arm around his chest. Wind condensed instantly, sharpening into a violently spinning blade that hovered inches from Janai's neck. The sound it made was high and shrill, like metal screaming.
The man was barely holding himself together. Blood streamed freely from his nose, his mouth split and bruised, his face swollen and misshapen from Ed's assault. Each breath came ragged, uneven.
He screamed toward Ed, voice hoarse and cracking. "Th-This child—this child is your brother, yes?! L-Leave me alone and I swear— I swear I won't hurt him!"
Tears welled in his eyes as he struggled to stay upright.
Ed froze.
The alley seemed to narrow, the world shrinking until all that existed was Janai's terrified breathing and the blade hovering at his throat. Slowly—deliberately—Ed let his power fade. The stone gauntlet crumbled from his arm, mud sinking back into the ground as though ashamed of its presence.
He raised his hands and stepped forward.
"Drop him," Ed said, voice steady despite the storm inside him. "Slowly. And get rid of that thing around his neck."
Janai didn't move. He understood the truth instinctively—any struggle would mean death.
The horrid man hesitated, then nodded frantically. His breathing steadied little by little as the wind blade dissolved into nothing. With a trembling sigh, he released Janai and staggered backward.
Janai bolted forward, clutching the back of Ed's coat as if it were the only solid thing left in the world.
Ed exhaled, a shaky breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Relief washed through him, leaving his limbs heavy. He turned his back on the man.
"You can leave," Ed said. "And I don't want to see you around here again."
The man nodded repeatedly and backed away into the darkness of the alley.
Then—
A blur of motion tore past him.
"Not yet."
Issac's voice cut through the air like a blade. His white braid streamed behind him as his Zone ignited, flaring violently around his body. A heavy grunt followed—then a sickening spray of blood.
Ed spun around.
Issac stood atop the corpse. The horrid man's head had been smashed into the ground, his body lying limp and broken beneath Issac's feet.
Ed pulled Janai close, anger erupting in his chest.
"He said he was going to leave," Ed shouted. "Why did you kill him?!"
Issac didn't answer.
He stepped closer, gaze lowered—not to Ed's face, but to his feet.
"What the hell is wrong with you—" Ed began.
The blow came too fast to see.
A right jab slammed into Ed's ribs, launching him through the corroded remains of nearby buildings. Stone and dust exploded as his body crashed through debris.
Issac stood unmoving, Zone still burning.
Janai's heart dropped. Did that just happen? His thoughts spiraled as he stared at Issac. He just attacked Ed.
Issac raised his arm, fist clenching—aimed directly at Janai.
Before he could strike, snakes of mud burst from the ground and hurled themselves forward.
Issac flipped back effortlessly, weaving between the enchanted constructs before landing several paces away. He turned toward their source.
Ed rose from the rubble, brushing dust from his coat.
"It seems every effort made to get to you has failed," Ed said coldly. "So from now on, I won't be taking it lightly with you."
He cracked his neck and knuckles, then gestured behind him. "Stay put."
Janai nodded and moved behind him.
Ed faced Issac, who stood twitching, shoulders jerking unnaturally. Ed drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Mud surged upward once more, spiraling around his fists as he activated his Elemental Law. He charged forward.
Issac did the same.
They were seconds from collision when a voice rolled through the alley—deep, commanding, and unmistakable.
It emerged from the shadows of the Delta District like thunder.
Feminine. Foreign. Silken.
"I had really hoped we would meet under different circumstances," the voice said, words melting together with a soft nasal hum. "I'm glad I arrived early… or else this would have been a very different story altogether."