---
The lock screamed like steel tortured on an anvil. Ember Edge seared forward, its crimson flame hissing against the black, smoking links of Andrew's chains. Sparks rained in waves, each burst a brief star that blinked out the instant it kissed the earth. Mud steamed. Cracks spiderwebbed across the soil. Two men stood braced inside the storm, faces close enough for every ragged breath to mingle, every word to weigh like a blade.
Andrew's mouth twisted, teeth catching the red gleam. "When you break, I'll tell her you begged for me to end it."
Andy's lips parted around a snarl he refused to give voice. His chest rose and fell fast, but his voice cut through the clash with cold steadiness. "You'll be too busy hitting the ground."
The words landed, sharper than any slash. Then both wrenched free at once. The air detonated as pressure ripped loose. Andy's back arched, Ember Edge slashing a wide arc of red fire that split the night; Andrew spun, chains cracking outward like iron vipers. The ground buckled, lantern flames on the ridge flickering madly. Villagers cried out, some dropping to their knees, others clinging to each other, clutching the dirt as if the world might roll away beneath them.
Andrew spread his arms wide, the chains wreathing his form like a crown of thorns. Shadows thickened, bleeding out of his pores. Flames burned the color of oil, a black sheen that drank light rather than gave it. His laugh rumbled and cracked like glass ground under a boot. "You really thought I'd shown you everything? No. This—this is what it means to consume the abyss! Corrupted Form—Surge MAXIMUM!"
The chains convulsed, expanding, layering until each coil was as thick as a tree trunk. They tore through the clearing, slicing down pine and oak alike. Branches screamed, trunks toppled, dirt geysered upward. The ground itself bent, fissures opening wide enough to swallow oxen. From within, black fire howled, spraying cinders that stank of sulfur and death.
On the ridge, villagers stumbled back. Lanterns clattered to the ground, snuffing in the ash. An old man braced his knees against a staff, shaking his head. "That isn't a man's strength anymore. That's the hunger of something that should've stayed buried."
Chains lashed at Andy in a frenzy, arcs blacker than the void. He planted Tide-Singer into the soil, a ripple of mist spreading outward to blur Andrew's sightlines, but the sheer weight behind every strike shredded his veils like cobwebs. One chain slammed into his guard—Flowing Guard caught it but the force numbed his arm, drove him back three steps. Another coiled low. He twisted, invoked Reverse Current—redirected momentum surged back up the links, forcing Andrew to flinch—but a third strike came unchecked, hammering across his ribs. He grunted, thrown sideways into the churned mud.
His knee hit dirt. Ember Edge stabbed down to steady him. Pain lanced across his chest, hot and bright. His breath caught. Ash clung to his lashes. And still the chains screamed, descending again.
The System's tone stabbed through the haze.
[Duel Status: CRITICAL]
[Threat Escalation: MAXIMUM]
[Form Active: Dragon Warrior — Tier I.5 (Enhanced)]
[Bond Progression: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 70% → 71%]
[Warning: Current Form insufficient to stabilize balance]
Blood traced from his lip to his chin. Andy spat crimson into the dirt. He knew—every strike was heavier, every second slower. Tier I.5 couldn't hold this. It never could.
Then it came—the faint thread, silver and sure, humming through the storm. Not a voice, not quite—but he knew it was hers. Nia's resonance, steady as heartbeat, steady as dawn. Across miles, across ash and stone, she sat with her staff cradled, eyes closed, lips moving in prayer. The bond whispered along his veins like water finding its course. It lifted his chin. It tightened his grip.
In the lantern-lit dark, his breath steadied. He let the air fill his lungs, chest swelling against the ache. Fingers curled hard around Ember Edge. For the first time since he had awakened, Andy stopped holding back.
His voice cut the clearing in two. "Activate—Dragon Warrior, Tier II."
The night erupted.
---
Light burst from his frame, not red flame, not blue water—but both, fused into a white-hot blaze threaded with sapphire. Fire and water no longer fought—they spiraled as one, a storm in perfect balance. The soil beneath his boots cracked in spiderwebs, unable to bear the pressure. The air itself roared, steam and fire whirling together until sparks rained down like shooting stars.
Andrew staggered back a pace, eyes wide. Chains shrieked as if seared, their surfaces blistering under the raw force. "No… no! That's—impossible!"
Andy's silhouette walked forward, slow, deliberate. His eyes burned, one iris ember-red, the other liquid sapphire, both glowing bright enough to pierce the haze. The villagers on the ridge gasped, a wave of awe running through them. Where a moment before had stood a battered young warrior now strode something greater—something closer to legend than flesh.
The System deepened, its resonance a low thunder:
[Form Activated: Dragon Warrior — Tier II]
[Dominance Bonus: +200% Strength | +180% Speed | +250% Mana Efficiency]
[Skill Unlocked: Final Resonance Slash]
A whip of chains scythed down, thick as a pine trunk. Andy didn't dodge. He moved once, a blur of silver and flame. Ember Edge cut, and three links clattered to the earth, molten edges spitting sparks. Another chain coiled to bind; he stepped forward—Dragon Step—and it disintegrated before reaching him, aura burning it away like paper in fire.
Andrew snarled, teeth bared. "This isn't the brother I knew… this is something else!"
Andy's reply was calm, merciless. "No. This is what I've always carried. I just stopped holding back."
The duel shifted in a breath. Every slash of Ember Edge drew fire through the dark. Every sweep of Tide-Singer drowned corruption in rushing force. Chains that had once dominated the field now shattered on contact, fragments tumbling like dead snakes. Andrew was forced back step after step, curses tearing his throat raw.
From the ridge, villagers clutched one another, fear turning to awe. An elder whispered, "By the gods… he's driving the abyss back."
Nia's prayer deepened. She could feel it—the resonance climbing, the bond singing.
[Bond Progression: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 71% → 73%]
Andrew's fury rose, chains hammering the earth until soil churned into craters. But Andy pressed forward, calm, relentless. Tier II was no mere upgrade—it was domination.
The battlefield howled like a beast tearing its own flesh. Andrew's chains spun faster, screaming arcs of metal and shadow that clawed the night into tatters. Sparks spat like meteors each time a link scraped the earth, carving trenches deep enough to swallow bodies whole. The air stank of sulfur and burnt iron; the villagers on the ridge gagged, covering mouths and noses, clutching their lanterns as the light warped in the storm.
Andrew's laugh thundered, raw and desperate. "Do you see it now? This is what happens when you let envy fester! This is the abyss, brother!"
He slammed both fists together. Chains spiraled upward, weaving into a storm wall of iron and shadow. The cyclone bent skyward like a tower, swallowing every star above, then crashed inward, a dome of writhing death.
The System seared Andy's vision.
[Threat Detected: Abyssal Cataclysm]
[Estimated Survival Probability: 23%]
[Countermeasure Required: Final Resonance]
Andy's stance sank low, knees flexing, heels gouging into cracked dirt. His aura burned brighter, fire and water roaring as one. Ember Edge hissed in his grip, its crimson blade lined with molten veins; Tide-Singer pulsed with ocean's wrath, droplets falling like tears that hissed when they struck the ground.
His breath steadied, despite the quake of earth and the roar of chains. Nia's resonance pulsed through him, a song across the distance: her heartbeat within his, her prayer a whisper that sharpened his focus into a blade.
He raised both weapons in a cross before him. His voice rumbled like a vow carved into stone.
"Final Resonance—Slash."
The air ruptured.
---
The surge was apocalyptic. Flame and water no longer warred—they coiled together, one spiral of red and sapphire that ignited into white brilliance. The arc tore through the collapsing dome, cleaving Abyssal Cataclysm in two. Chains disintegrated into searing fragments that rained down like broken constellations. The shockwave followed, rippling outward in violent rings, toppling trees, flattening grass, shaking lanterns from villagers' hands.
Andrew's roar twisted into a scream. He dragged every chain he had left, slamming them down like a hailstorm. Andy moved—Dragon Step fractured the ground beneath each stride, Ember Edge whirling fire arcs that severed three chains in one breath, Tide-Singer crashing torrents that shattered others into steam. Sparks and mist consumed the clearing, the night turned day-white by the clash.
The villagers on the ridge shielded their eyes, staring through slitted fingers. Awe carved itself into their faces. "He's… winning," a boy whispered, voice trembling with both terror and hope.
Andrew staggered back, chest heaving, eyes blazing with denial. "No… you shouldn't… be able to—!"
Andy was already there, his aura tearing shadows apart as he closed the distance. Vortex Cleave – Resonance Mode swept downward, flame and tide entwined, hammering through Andrew's guard. The impact cracked corruption from his body like shattering glass.
Andrew reeled, coughing blood, his corrupted armor peeling away in jagged shards. Chains writhed feebly around him. His knees buckled.
Still he screamed, dragging both arms upward in a final act of fury. "If I fall, I'll tear the world with me!"
The ground split, a final tide of chains surging skyward—Abyssal Cataclysm reborn in one last suicidal wave.
The System bellowed, final and absolute:
[Critical Moment Reached]
[Final Resonance Slash — Executing]
Andy's blades crossed, and with a roar that carried Nia's prayer within it, he unleashed the strike.
The slash bloomed, a radiant arc that cut sky, earth, and abyss alike. The chains dissolved mid-flight, shattering into sparks that streaked upward like shooting stars. Andrew's body convulsed, a searing line of light carving down his chest, extinguishing the corruption that had devoured him.
Silence followed. A silence heavier than thunder.
Andrew fell to his knees, broken, ash peeling from his form, his chains gone. He gasped ragged, eyes wide with disbelief, before the strength bled from his limbs and he collapsed to the dirt.
Andy stood above him, chest heaving, both blades trembling with aftershock. Tier II aura still burned, but now it glowed softer, casting the battlefield in pale light.
The villagers on the ridge whispered in stunned awe. For the first time that night, the stars shone above unchallenged.
---
The battlefield had become a graveyard of silence. What moments ago roared with chains and fire now lay in ruin—trees sundered, earth cracked into jagged wounds, the smell of iron and ash clinging to every breath. The villagers on the ridge hardly dared to move. Some knelt, others clutched one another, too shaken to understand they had survived.
At the center of it all knelt Andrew.
His shoulders rose and fell in shallow gasps. The black armor of corruption that had encased him was gone, scattered like brittle ash in the wind. His body, stripped bare of the abyss, seemed almost fragile, a man weighed down by wounds and regret. His eyes, once sharp with hatred, now flickered weakly, their fire dimming with every breath.
Andy approached, each step heavy but unwavering. Tier II's aura still burned faint around him, less a storm now and more like a mantle settling on his shoulders. Ember Edge and Tide-Singer drooped at his sides, their glow fading as if they too sensed the end. His face was smeared with ash, sweat and blood streaking down his jaw.
Nia's hand brushed his arm as she reached him, breath ragged from her sprint down the ridge. Her staff trembled faintly, light dimming at its crest. "Andy…" her voice cracked. "Are you—"
He glanced at her, eyes steady despite the exhaustion clawing at him. "Still standing."
Her lips trembled, but she nodded, eyes wet.
Andrew coughed violently, crimson staining his chin. His voice rasped but still carried a bitter edge. "Hah… even when I sold everything… even when I gave myself to the abyss… it wasn't enough. You… still surpassed me."
Andy crouched low, his gaze unwavering. "You didn't need to sell yourself, Andrew. You already had worth. You didn't see it… but it was there."
The words cut deeper than any blade. Andrew's face twisted—not with anger, but with something rawer. His eyes brimmed, wet with unshed tears. "I hated you," he whispered, voice breaking. "Because she chose you. Because they all believed in you. And I… drowned in envy. I thought strength would make me whole. But now… I see it wasn't power I lacked. It was… faith."
His gaze wavered, shifting toward Nia. Her breath hitched. She lowered to her knees beside Andy, fingers trembling.
"Forgive me," Andrew whispered.
Nia's tears slipped free, streaking down her cheeks. "Andrew…" Her voice broke. "I… I do."
For the first time in years, Andrew's lips curved into something almost human—a faint, sorrowful smile. Another cough wracked him, blood spattering across the dirt. He forced his head higher, eyes searching for Andy's.
"Listen… I don't have much left. But I'll tell you this. Where the abyss first whispered to me—" His breath shuddered. "East of Solaris. Beneath the mountain scar. It's alive… with its voice. If you go there… beware. The shadow waits still."
Andy's grip tightened around Ember Edge. His voice was steady, though his chest ached. "Why tell me?"
Andrew exhaled, lips curling faint with bitter resignation. "Because… you're the only one who can bury it. And bury me."
His body seized with one last cough, his eyes glassing over. The smile faltered, then faded. Breath rattled out of him, long and final. His body slumped against the broken earth, motionless.
Nia pressed her hand to her lips, a sob escaping as she bowed her head. Andy closed his eyes, lowering his own, letting the silence stretch. For a long moment, the battlefield was a tomb, the weight of choices pressing down heavier than any chain.
The System broke that silence with a chime deep and resonant:
[Quest: The Fallen Heir — COMPLETED]
[Reward Obtained: Blade of Final Resonance (Unique Skill)]
[Bond Progression: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 71% → 75%]
[New Quest Unlocked: Shadows of the Mountain Scar]
Andy lifted his gaze slowly. Nia's tears still streaked her face, but she reached for him, her hand trembling until it found his. Their fingers laced tightly, grounding each other in the midst of sorrow.
Behind them, villagers stepped hesitantly into the clearing. Some stared at Andrew's body with fear, others with pity. A few older voices murmured broken prayers. One elder bowed his head low, whispering, "May his soul find peace… even in ruin."
Andy rose. The Tier II aura around him dimmed at last, folding back into his skin. He stooped, sliding his arms beneath Andrew's broken frame, and lifted him gently. His voice was quiet, hoarse, but steady as stone.
"We'll take him home."
Nia stepped closer, never letting go of his hand, her tears still falling as she looked at the man who had once been their enemy—and their kin. The villagers stood back, silent witness to a night that had ended one life, and bound another tighter in resolve.
The ashes of chains drifted like snow through the clearing, dissolving into the night air. Above, the stars blazed bright again, cold and eternal, as if to witness both tragedy and promise: the fall of a brother, and the vow of those left standing.
---