Kazan and the man stared straight into each other's eyes.Kai, still behind Kazan, watched in silence, his fingers wrapped tightly around his bow, ready to intervene.Kazan had already unsheathed his two katanas, their blades crossed in a defensive stance before him.
The tense silence was broken by a deep, calm voice.
"Kazan... I didn't expect to see you here, especially after something as serious as the theft of the Heart of Aethril. Don't tell me you're working with the thief..."
Kazan didn't answer right away. His eyes remained locked on his opponent.
"Taren... I thought you retired. Exiled yourself after passing your title to your subordinate."
Kai furrowed his brow, glancing back and forth between Kazan and the man in white.
"You know him, Kazan ?"
Still staring at the figure, He answered gravely:
"Yes. That's Taren Solkar, the old fundament of attack."
Taren stood tall, his large frame wrapped in a white robe too small for him. A serene smile adorned his face. Around his neck hung a beaded necklace with a golden crown-shaped pendant that shimmered in the light.
"Can't you see, dear Kazan, what you're doing is blasphemy ? Weren't you once a devotee of the Three Crowned Kings ?
Kazan tightened his grip on his katanas.
"I told you—I never followed your religion. I reject both your beliefs… and your dogma."
Taren sighed softly, as if genuinely saddened by the words.
"Yet our faith is the cornerstone of human peace. The Three Crowned Kings fought the Calamities and their nightmare spawn. And this is how you repay them ? By stealing a sacred treasure... and aligning yourself with the Yellow Calamity ?"
Kazan, who had remained focused, widened his eyes in genuine surprise.
"The Yellow Calamity ?... I've never allied with him. And I didn't steal anythi..."
But he didn't have time to finish his sentence.
Taren suddenly lunged forward, launching himself with a burst of inhuman speed. His body surged like a predator of shadow, and for a moment, it looked like Kazan had no escape.
But at the very last second, Kazan struck his two katanas together.
"Pure Whistle!"
A metallic sound echoed through the stagnant air of the room, rippling like a wave.Kazan's body dissolved into black sparks, disappearing from his position.
He reappeared across the bridge, unscathed and poised.
Taren, crouched after his missed strike, slowly stood up, pulling his fist from the shattered floor—a fist no longer human. Thick cactus-like spines now covered his hand, his skin a sickly green.
"Still as sharp with your element as in your youth," he sneered.
Behind him, Kazan answered, blades still vibrating in his hands:
"And you clearly haven't lost your touch either."
Then, before he moved, he shouted firmly:
"Kai ! Don't interfere !"
Kai clenched his fists and froze. He understood.This was no longer a mission—it was a clash between legends. With his low level, he'd only get in the way.
Taren slowly turned, a mocking smile on his lips.
"You dare face me alone ?"
Kazan stepped forward.
"I'm already here."
Suddenly, Taren planted his feet into the ground.
"Piercing Vines!"
Pike-covered stalks erupted from the floor in deadly spirals, aiming to trap Kazan.
Kazan leapt backward and clashed his blades together.
"Pure Whistle!"
A piercing high-pitched tone echoed through the hall. Kazan vanished in a sonic flash, reappearing at the other end of the chamber.
Taren frowned.
He struck the ground again with his spiked fist.
"Drilling Thorns!"
More cactus needles erupted in spiraling patterns.
Kazan ran horizontally along a metal wall, dodging the giant needles pursuing him. He struck the flat of his katana.
"Cling!"
The sound burst through the room—Kazan vanished once more.
Taren turned left, ready to counter.
But a slash of black invisible blades cut through the air.
"Sonic Slash!"
The sound-blades hit, but Taren raised his guard.
"Barbed Flesh!"
His forearm turned into a verdant, spiny armor—blades scraped off without real harm.
He retaliated with a massive punch, cracking part of the bridge under Kazan's feet.
Kazan clicked his tongue.
"Harmonic Hook!"
He launched himself upward, suspended by a sonic filament.Then he summoned a compressed orb of sound at the tip of his katana.
"Shockwave Sphere!"
The orb exploded, crashing into Taren.
Taren staggered back, wounded but grinning.
"The walls here are insanely sturdy, so go all out, old rustbucket!"
Tiny green beads dropped from his body and burrowed into the floor.
"Voracious Seed!"
Epine-laced whips burst upward, lashing out at Kazan.
Kazan dodged and struck his katanas in rhythm.
"Ting! Ting-tang!"
Kazan appeared at twelve points simultaneously.
"Sonic Mirage!"
Taren was hit from all sides, unable to land a single blow.
Then silence fell.
Kazan stood centered, eyes closed.
"Null Chamber!"
A soundless void swallowed the room.Only Kazan could move.
He attacked in a violent blur.
Taren tumbled across the floor, green blood staining his cloak.
But then—His body expanded, arms multiplying, covered in spikes.
"Thorned Heart!"
A monstrous plant-form, built to annihilate.
Kazan spread his arms.
"Show me what remains of the desert king."
Taren roared and hurled a storm of whistling spikes.
"Needle Tempest!"
Kazan parried with his blades, deflecting the storm. He whispered, focused:
"Echo Barrage."
His katanas pulsed with vibration, launching sonic blasts that tore through the projectiles.
Taren retaliated, summoning a towering cactus wall.
"Barbed Wall!"
Kazan rushed it, pounding the floor beneath his feet:
"Sonic Wave!"
A tremor broke the barrier.
But Taren's fist struck again—heavy and bristling.
"Iron Green Fist!"
Kazan was thrown back but caught himself midair.
The battle escalated—each clash louder, brighter, deadlier.
Kai stood at the threshold, watching silently. He knew now:This wasn't just a fight.It was a war of titans.
Kazan somersaulted away from a fatal strike. He gritted his teeth and swept his katanas wide.
"Wave Dance!"
Black, razor-sharp arcs slashed at Taren.
The beast roared in pain but kept advancing.
He summoned a forest of spears from the earth.
"Deadly Grove!"
Kazan slid under them, found an opening.He clashed his blades together.
"Pure Whistle!"
He vanished—then appeared just behind Taren.
Before the beast could turn—Kazan drove both katanas into its shoulders.
A shriek tore through the chamber.
Taren whipped his thorned limbs in desperation.Kazan dodged and, finally, sheathed his blades.
He clapped his hands together.
"Final Echo!"
A devastating black soundwave ripped through the hall.The beast's limbs shattered. Its form collapsed.
Dust and silence settled.
Kazan stood tall, bloodied but breathing.
He looked at the fallen monster and whispered:
"It's over…"