With a clash of energies—one fighting to save his family out of obsession, the other fighting to protect his beloved out of possession—Michael and Yinka stood as contrasting forces of desperation.
Michael launched himself forward, muscles bulging, fist aimed with unrelenting force. Just before the jab made contact, Yinka's voice erupted—a sound of pure distraction, anger, and raw emotion, fractured yet deafening.
"PHOTOCOPY – BLINK!"
Michael's hand struck nothing but air. Yinka appeared next to Elizabeth, knife glinting in hand. Elizabeth, barely holding herself up, was furious, her exhaustion a testament to the energy she had spent fighting Yinka.
Yinka's lips curled into a twisted smile. "So, Michael, since I can't have her, why don't we both lose her?"
Michael froze, every part of him trembling—not in fear but in a desire so violent it consumed him. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to grab his neck, twist it like a screw. I wanted to plunge my claws into his chest and rip out his heart. The thoughts clawed through his mind, relentless, unhinged.
His gaze shifted to Elizabeth, his hollow eyes suddenly brimming with emotion. For a moment, humanity flickered in him. "Please, Yinka. Don't."
Yinka's laugh was sharp, mocking, and final. "PHOTOCOPY – FIREBALL!"
A flash of fire shot forward.
And in that moment, Michael let go of his humanity. His eyes bled as his pupils burned with fury. Teeth sharpened into fangs. His muscles surged unnaturally, a monstrous transformation overtaking him. A voice echoed in his mind, low and primal: "KILL HIM."
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he propelled himself forward like a bullet, the air around him exploding with force. In a single motion, his claws elongated, burying themselves into Yinka's neck. With an unrelenting grip, Michael dragged Yinka across the ground, smashing him spine-first into a shattered tree.
Elizabeth couldn't even process what had happened. She turned to where Yinka had been and saw him on the ground, broken, while a red blur flashed before reappearing in front of Yinka.
Michael. Her Michael. But something unrecognizable.
Michael was unrelenting, his every action fueled by rage. He drove both feet into Yinka's chest, the sickening sound of bones breaking filling the air.
"PHOTOCOPY – HEAL!" Yinka screamed, desperation thick in his voice. His body began to mend, but Michael didn't give him the chance to breathe. A kick connected with Yinka's head.
"Iron!" Yinka gasped, reinforcing his body. But even that wasn't enough. Michael's blow shattered the reinforcement, sending Yinka hurtling back toward Elizabeth, coughing blood.
Elizabeth stared at the broken man before her and, to everyone's shock, burst into laughter.
Yinka's face contorted in confusion, but Michael wasn't finished. His eyes dripped blood, his body growing thinner, paler—a nightmarish figure. He launched himself forward, ready to end it all.
Elizabeth stepped between them. Her voice was calm yet firm. "You're lucky I care about you," she said, staring down at Yinka.
Michael, without a shred of hesitation, slammed his leg into the ground so violently that the air itself seemed to ripple and take form. The force shifted his trajectory entirely, bypassing Elizabeth in an instant. He appeared right before Yinka, his eyes bloodshot and wild, his presence radiating unrestrained fury.
"YOU HUMANS!" Michael's voice roared, cutting through the tension like a blade. "ALL OF YOU JUST WANT TO TAKE WHAT I LOVE, WHAT I CHERISH! CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE? CAN'T I HAVE JUST HER? IT'S ONLY HER I WANT! TAKE EVERYTHING ELSE—MY BLOOD, MY BREATH—I DON'T CARE! BUT NO, YOUR GREED WON'T LET YOU!"
His voice cracked, his rage palpable, his words more venomous with every syllable. "WHICH IS WHY MY GREED FOR HER WILL CONSUME YOUR GREED FOR EVERYTHING, YINKA!"
Michael's hand shot downward, aiming for Yinka's head with the precision of a guillotine. The air grew still as if the world itself held its breath.
And then, a soft murmur broke the silence.
"PROPHECY – YINKA, DODGE."
Yinka's body moved with an unnatural swiftness, his head narrowly escaping Michael's crushing blow. The ground beneath where Michael's hand struck erupted, shards of earth and stone scattering like shrapnel. The sheer power of the missed strike sent shockwaves through the area, but Yinka was no longer in its path.
Yinka landed a short distance away, his breathing ragged, his face pale as he processed what had just happened. Yet Michael did not flinch. His red-stained eyes locked onto Yinka like a predator.
"You can't run," Michael growled, his voice colder now, almost serene. "I've already chosen your ending."
Michael's gaze shifted to Precious, who, despite her trembling state, managed to summon enough strength to murmur, "You bitch have the audacity to interfere… then die with him."
Without hesitation, Michael prepared to launch himself at her, his body coiling like a spring ready to unleash devastation.
"GRAVITY – HEAVENLY CONFINEMENT!"
Elizabeth's voice rang out with authority, and a crushing force pinned Michael to the ground. He could easily shatter the invisible shackles that restrained him, but he didn't—because he knew breaking free would hurt Elizabeth emotionally.
"Michael, please don't do this," Elizabeth said softly, walking up to him. Her voice, calm and tender, pierced through the chaos of his mind.
Michael opened his mouth to respond, but she placed a finger gently over his lips. Without another word, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.
"You big baby," she whispered.
Michael's bloodstained eyes stopped bleeding, his elongated claws retracted, and the violent red energy surrounding him dissipated like smoke caught in the wind. His rigid body softened as he leaned into Elizabeth, surrendering completely to her embrace.
"I'm tired, Eli," he murmured, his voice fragile and childlike.
She nodded, her hand stroking the back of his head. "I know. Now rest."
With those words, Michael's body went limp, passing out in her arms. She held him tightly, her heart heavy as she realized just how much pain he had been bottling up—all for her.