For a moment, silence ruled the battlefield.
Only the faint crackle of cooling magma and the distant hum of lightning dared to speak.
Then—
CRRRAAAKK!!!
A deep fissure tore across Kragar's molten chest.
A dull orange light swelled inside… growing brighter… until it blazed white-hot.
I froze.
Something inside that shell was changing.
The cracks spread like veins of living fire, carving molten scars across its entire body.
Then came the roar — RROOOAAARRR!!!
Deeper. Sharper. Layered with something ancient and terrible.
The ground quaked beneath my feet.
Heat exploded outward.
A tower of flame erupted into the sky, tearing the clouds apart, disintegrating stone and air alike.
A massive shockwave rolled across the land — crushing, devouring, erasing everything in its path.
Through it all, another roar rose to meet it — mine.
The roar of the storm that refused to bow to fire.
I raised an arm to shield my eyes as the light swallowed the world.
The air itself burned — every breath felt like swallowing the sun.
Then… silence again.
The light faded.
And when my eyes adjusted — I saw it.
Kragar… reborn.
Its molten skin had hardened into black obsidian armor veined with rivers of glowing lava.
Steam hissed from its joints with every breath.
Its fists gleamed like twin suns, molten fire dripping from the cracks.
The brute was gone.
What stood before me was something else.
A god of war.
Each breath from its chest sent waves of heat shimmering through the battlefield —
THUD… THUD… THUD…
The sound of a heart forged in magma, pulsing like a war drum.
Then the system's voice cut through my thoughts — cold, mechanical, merciless:
> [Warning: Kragar — Grade B → Grade A]
[Core Ignition detected]
My tail flared with blue lightning. Instinct screamed — Move!
KROOOM!!!
Kragar's fist slammed into the ground where I'd just stood.
The earth caved in.
A crater hundreds of meters wide collapsed inward, magma pooling like liquid fire.
Shards of glowing rock rained from the sky.
I darted backward — feet gliding across the broken stone, blue lightning flaring beneath me.
My heartbeat matched the storm.
ZRAAAK!!!
I vanished — then reappeared before Kragar's chest, fist already flying.
Lightning met magma.
For a heartbeat — the world stopped.
Then — BOOOOM!!!
The shockwave split the heavens.
Fire and lightning twisted together, tearing the sky apart.
We staggered back, smoke and flame curling around us like dueling spirits.
Kragar straightened, obsidian plates steaming.
And for the first time… it spoke — voice deep, grinding, like mountains breaking:
> "You burn bright… little storm."
I clenched my fists.
Blue lightning crackled, wind swirling beneath my feet.
> "Then let's see whose light fades first."
The heavens answered — splitting open as dark clouds spiraled above.
Bolts of lightning rained down, striking molten earth that hissed under the pressure.
And then — we clashed.
Fist met fist.
Each strike shattered the land.
Every miss carved rivers of molten stone.
When I hit him, his armor drank the impact.
When he hit back, the world bent.
Fire. Lightning. Stone. Fury.
The rhythm of destruction played out like the heartbeat of gods.
Kragar's speed was monstrous — his body, a fortress of burning steel.
He learned as he fought — adapting, perfecting, evolving.
One strike — missed.
Another — grazed my neck.
The pain hit like acid. The smell of scorched flesh filled my nose.
The shockwave carved a trench into the lava field behind me — molten blood pouring into the wound.
He was more than strength.
He was endurance. Fury made flesh.
Every movement screamed one thing — unstoppable.
But I wasn't finished.
I ducked beneath his swing — lightning building in my veins.
Then — impact.
My uppercut crashed into his chin.
KRAAAKK!!!
A magma plate shattered — Kragar's head snapped back, his body flung skyward.
No hesitation.
I followed — lightning burning blue and pure.
My right hand glowed brighter than ever — a condensed storm swirling in my palm.
As he fell through the molten haze, I rose above him.
> "Fall!"
ZRAAACK—BOOOOM!!!
The sphere of lightning slammed into his chest.
The explosion tore through the crater — light and fire merging into a blinding pillar that reached the stars.
When the glow faded, the world was trembling.
Magma flowed in rivers below.
Ash drifted like snow.
I hovered, chest heaving, lightning fading softly from my skin.
Silence.
But deep beneath the molten surface…
something still pulsed.
Faint. Steady. Alive.
The storm hadn't ended.
It had only just begun.