The group was walking back toward the village, exhausted, bruised, and debatably traumatized, when Ember suddenly snapped her fingers.
Ember: "Wait—where did YOU two even come from?"
Bug and Spirit raised their hands like students caught cheating.
Bug: "Well, we woke up alone… and saw Nyxar and Vespera wearing matching outfits… and overheard something about 'who was better' and 'duel.' So we followed."
Spirit: "Because curiosity is stronger than survival instincts."
Ember pinched the bridge of her nose. Sylas nodded sympathetically because he too was a disappointment magnet.
Ember: "Okay, so we figured out who won between Sylas and me. Now…"
She turned to Nyxar and Vespera.
"…what about you two?"
Nyxar and Vespera slowly pointed to themselves like Wait… us?
Sylas leaned in.
Sylas: "Yeah, actually… I'd like to know too."
Bug and Spirit vibrated with excitement AND fear simultaneously — a very impressive, very concerning talent.
Choosing a Battleground (aka: picking the location that will regret everything)
Nyxar and Vespera walked to a patch of land that looked… weak.
Like it existed purely to be destroyed by anime siblings.
Bug cleared his throat dramatically.
Bug: "AHEM! COUNTDOWN TIME—"
But Ember suddenly yelled,
"WAIT—WAIT—STOP!"
Everyone froze and stared at Ember and Sylas like they just interrupted the Super Bowl halftime show.
Sylas: "Ground rules."
Vespera tilted her head.
Sylas: "Vespera… no full spider form. This is a duel, not a murder."
Vespera nodded, slightly disappointed that she was losing the fun settings.
Ember: "And YOU—Nyxar. No Bella. No mantises."
Nyxar blinked.
Nyxar: "Why?"
Ember blinked back twice as hard.
Ember: "Are you seriously asking why you can't use a battle beast heavier than a DRAGON and two speed-demons that CUT THROUGH ROCK?!"
Nyxar thought for a moment.
"…Yes."
Narrator: I truly cannot with this child.
Ember took a deep breath.
"…Just don't."
Nyxar nodded.
Bug: "Okay. Now the ACTUAL countdown—"
He shot a glare at Ember and Sylas.
"—5!"
Nyxar drew his sword. His grimoire materialized beside him, pages fluttering ominously.
"4!"
Vespera's hands glowed. Silk began forming between her fingers.
"3!"
Both combatants crouched.
"2!"
Ember covered her mouth.
"1!"
The Battlefield Erupts
And they were GONE.
Nyxar slashed downward — Vespera dodged with a smooth twist and countered with a slicing strand of silk.
Nyxar dropped low, rolled, and with a flick—
WHOOM
The UmbrJaguar appeared, landing with a shadowy snarl.
Bug swallowed.
Bug: "Oh that's fair—TOTALLY fair—"
Jaguar: RAWR
Translation: "I'm hungry."
It charged Vespera.
She barely outran it — BARELY — launching silk to bind it mid-step.
Then—
WHACK.
The Deer Summon rammed into her from the side like a magical freight train.
Vespera flew, hit the ground, rolled, and stood up again like she'd done this every Tuesday.
The Mantis Question
Bug leaned in.
Bug: "Wait—why isn't he using the mini bears?"
Ember: "…He gave them to Belos, remember?"
Bug: "OH RIGHT."
Narrator: Thank all gods old and new.
Vespera's Counterattack
Vespera cracked her knuckles and unleashed a hailstorm of glowing silk.
It wrapped the UmbrJaguar, then the Deer, pinning them down like gourmet prey.
She sensed something—
But too late.
SHING—
Nyxar slashed her across the back.
Blood poured.
She spun and launched a silk explosion that forced Nyxar to retreat.
Using her silk like bandages, she sealed the wound—
But the Deer broke free and jabbed right into the fresh injury.
Vespera gasped—
Then a massive SPIDER LEG ripped out of her back, impaling the Deer through the skull.
Narrator: Welp. That deer lived a good… twelve seconds.
The summon dissolved into shadow.
Nyxar froze. The Jaguar broke free, running to his side.
Vespera bound herself with more silk, but now she had a problem:
She was unbalanced.
One spider leg throws off your vibe, apparently.
Nyxar saw the opening.
He and the Jaguar dashed in.
Red silk sliced the air — both dodged.
A spider leg slammed down—
The Jaguar zipped between them and pounced—
Vespera blocked with two legs and countered with another silk slice.
Nyxar dashed in, sword ready—
He cut one of her spider legs clean off.
The Jaguar bit another and crushed it.
Vespera snarled — an actual snarl — and exploded in red silk, blasting both away into trees.
The silk armor shattered.
Vespera staggered.
Her legs retracted.
Her eyes dimmed—
And she collapsed.
Nyxar Awakens Something… Concerning
Nyxar tried to stand—
The last spider leg impaled him through the stomach.
He dropped to his knees, black blood pouring out.
The Jaguar dragged Vespera away to save its master, ripping her free.
Nyxar coughed black blood.
His sclera turned black.
His red eyes darkened further.
His grimoire flipped pages violently.
Black ink wrote itself:
New Skill Unlocked: SHADOW EMINENCE
New Skill Unlocked: SHADOW CLOAK
Ember: "Nope. Nope. I don't like that."
Sylas: "I REALLY don't like that."
Vespera looked up — her eyes went full glowing red.
Two more spider legs tore out of her back.
Now she had FOUR spider legs, glowing red silk, and murder in her eyes.
Bug whispered, horrified:
"They're about to kill each other."
Spirit: "How do we stop them??"
Ember: "WE DON'T KNOW—THEY'RE FERAL."
Final Clash
Nyxar shoved his sword into the ground to stand.
Shadow sealed his wound — temporarily.
He pulled the sword back up.
It turned black, shadow dripping from it.
The Jaguar turned fully shadowy, glowing white eyes like a demon born of bad choices.
Nyxar and the Shadow Jaguar sprinted.
Vespera sliced red silk like razor wind.
They dodged.
Trees exploded behind them.
The Jaguar went in—
Vespera blocked with two legs—
Countered with red silk—
Nyxar slashed—
A shadow arc cut across her—
She healed herself with red silk.
Nyxar cut another spider leg.
The Jaguar ripped a third.
She blocked both with remaining legs—
Then detonated.
A volcanic burst of red silk blasted outward, sending Nyxar and the Jaguar flying into trees.
Silk armor vanished.
Her spider legs crumbled.
Her eyes lost their glow.
And Vespera collapsed from blood loss.
Nyxar stumbled.
The shadow vanished from the Jaguar.
Nyxar's sclera returned to white.
His wound reopened—
He collapsed too.
Aftermath
Ember, Sylas, Bug, and Spirit sprinted over.
Narrator: "So… recap.
Nyxar unlocked Shadow Eminence and Shadow Cloak.
Vespera unlocked Rage Mode, Spider Hybrid Mode, and Red Silk Doom Explosion.
Both collapsed from bleeding everywhere.
Technically, Nyxar won.
BUT also technically—
They both lost.
Because they're idiots."
Spirit nodded solemnly.
Spirit: "We should get them a hobby."
Bug: "They DO have a hobby."
Everyone stares.
Bug: "Chaos."
Narrator: …he's right.