The courtyard's dust hadn't even settled before the temperature dropped—not cold like winter, but cold like emptiness.
The figure on the throne rose slowly, every movement deliberate, almost regal. The shadows clung to him like living smoke, wrapping around his armor in slow, writhing coils. His eyes burned with a red so deep it was almost black.
"You've survived my hound. You've toppled my gates. You've even broken my court," the villain said, his voice calm enough to make Kyle's skin crawl. "But tell me…" He tilted his head. "What will you do when the shadows inside you turn against you?"
Kyle didn't answer—he couldn't. The villain's gaze had weight, a pressure that pressed against his chest like invisible chains.
The Enemy Revealed
Felix stepped forward, his blades loose at his sides but ready. "You're the one who sent the Hunter after us."
The villain's smirk was faint, but there. "The Hunter was nothing more than a leash to drag you here. I don't hunt prey without making sure they understand why they're dying."
Gia's portals flickered open around her like nervous sparks. "You want us because of our powers."
"Because of your potential," he corrected smoothly. "Your abilities are incomplete, raw, shackled by mortal will. I could… correct that. Strip away your doubts, your fears, your attachments." His gaze slid toward Gia then lingered. "Though some of those attachments seem… strong."
Kyle felt something sharp twist in his chest.
The First Move
The villain didn't attack—not yet. Instead, he raised a hand, and the shadows of the shattered statues began to slide across the ground like spilled ink, reforming into long, barbed tendrils.
They moved fast.
Felix barely dodged one that lashed toward him, slicing through it with his blades. Gia flicked a portal open to swallow another, but more kept coming, snapping at their legs, reaching for their weapons.
Kyle's sword met one tendril with a flash of crimson, the impact making the ground beneath him crack. "We need to get him away from that throne!"
The villain chuckled. "You think the throne empowers me? Child… I empower the throne."
A Test of Power
Kyle lunged first, sword raised. The villain didn't block—he stepped aside, moving with unnatural grace, and caught the blade with his bare hand. Shadows bled from his fingers, wrapping around the crimson steel like serpents.
Kyle's eyes widened. The blood in his sword—his blood—began to boil under the shadow's touch.
Gia reacted instantly, opening a portal beneath Kyle's feet to pull him away before the shadow could overtake him. He fell through and landed beside her, panting, his sword steaming faintly.
Felix circled the villain from the other side, striking with a flurry of quick slashes. Every single one was caught by shadow tendrils mid-air.
"You can't cut the dark," the villain said simply.
The Shift in the Battle
Gia gritted her teeth, her portals beginning to stabilize into larger, brighter gates. "Maybe not… but I can move it."
She flung one portal directly beneath the villain's feet, the exit opening high above the courtyard. For the first time, the villain stumbled—but the shadows shot out from him like wings, anchoring him to the ground before he could fall.
His voice lost some of its calm. "Clever… but not enough."
The throne behind him began to glow faintly, the runes carved into it pulsing in rhythm with his words. The ground shook.
The Realization
Kyle's eyes narrowed. "The throne's not a source—it's a seal."
Felix glanced at him. "A seal for what?"
Before Kyle could answer, a deep, inhuman sound rumbled beneath them, something ancient and awake. The villain's smirk widened, shadows curling tighter around him like armor.
"You've been fighting the king," he said, spreading his arms. "But soon… you'll meet the god."
The ground split.
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