Chapter 44: Flames Against the Abyss
The night shuddered.
The golden fire that had clung faintly to Le Wai's broken frame suddenly surged, no longer a flicker but a blaze. The air itself warped under the heat, shadows retreating as though scorched.
Kael's eyes narrowed, his grip tightening on the blackened hilt of his blade. The surge pressed against him like a wave, forcing him back a single step—an insult he had never known in battle.
Le Wai staggered forward. His body screamed in protest, but the flame refused to let him collapse. His blade, once trembling, now burned with a brilliance that carved through the dark.
Kael roared, rushing in, his sword wrapped in writhing black fire. The ground cracked beneath his charge as he brought his weapon down with a force meant to shatter mountains.
But this time—
Steel met steel, and the result was not collapse. Sparks erupted, light and shadow colliding in a storm. Le Wai held his ground, his blade steady, golden flame roaring against Kael's darkness.
Kael's snarl twisted into disbelief.
"You—!"
Le Wai's voice cut him off, raw but unwavering.
"I told you… this fight isn't over!"
He pushed back, and the impact sent Kael skidding across the ground, boots digging furrows in the shattered stone. The black fire sputtered where the golden blaze had touched it, as though the very essence of Kael's power recoiled from the ember's light.
The circling beasts howled, scattering in panic. The shadows peeled away from the battlefield, unable to endure the heat.
From the darkness, the mastermind's voice lost its calm veneer, slipping into something harsher.
"No… this resonance… It's stronger than it should be."
Kael roared, fury boiling over humiliation.
"Don't think this makes you my equal! You're still nothing but a broken husk!"
He hurled himself forward again, strikes faster, heavier, each swing tearing the night apart. Yet with every clash, the rhythm shifted. Where once Le Wai had only endured, now he met each blow with fire answering shadow, his steps growing surer with each heartbeat.
The ember was no longer a whisper—it was a storm rising.
And for the first time, Kael felt the truth pressing against his chest, burning his pride:
He was no longer the hunter.