Jude ran as fast as he could, his breath ragged, his body battered.
He was barely conscious of the destruction surrounding him, the cracks in the city's streets, the toppled buildings, the chaos in the distance. His fight with Lucian had ended unexpectedly, but not without an emotional toll. Lucian had quit, but the truth of their shared pain still echoed in his mind.
As Jude sprinted forward, he spotted Kazimir ahead, still locked in combat with Kieran, their battle spilling through the wreckage of nearby buildings.
Kazimir was barely standing, blood dripping down his face, his clothes torn and shredded from the fight. But despite his injuries, Kieran was unfazed, his expression cold and detached as ever.
Jude's voice broke through the chaos. "Kazimir!"
Kazimir, bloodied and struggling to stay on his feet, glanced at Jude. He gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with resolve. "Yo."
Kieran's rage grew. His muscles bulged, veins coursing under his skin as his transformation into Fatebreaker began. The ground trembled beneath his feet. Buildings cracked under the sheer intensity of his aura, like the very world was buckling under his wrath.
"Kazimir... Jude Kastor..." Kieran's voice thundered, "Your defiance is nothing but a mockery! Fate will be restored, and you... you will die for it."
Kazimir, bloody but unyielding, grinned through the pain, even though he knew how dangerous Kieran's new form was. "You'll have to kill us first, Bastard," Kazimir spat, his voice thick with defiance.
A dark aura swirled around him, and the air seemed to thrum with power.
Jude stepped back, feeling a deep unease. "What the hell's going on with him?"
Kazimir's voice was low, recognizing the transformation. "That's… Fatebreaker. A Wild Card's second transformation, only a handful of us have even heard of it."
Jude turned to Kazimir, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. "Second transformation? I didn't even know there was a first..."
Kazimir nodded grimly. "It's a beast-like power that taps into a Wild Card's pure destructive potential. Few can control it… and even fewer live through it."
Kieran's transformation was complete now.
His physique had changed completely, bulging with raw muscle, and his eyes burned with unrestrained fury. His voice boomed as he shouted, "This is your last chance, all of you. Fate is no longer in place, and things are spiraling out of control. I sentence you all to death! No capture. Just death."
With that, Kieran launched himself toward Kazimir and Jude. The city trembled with every step he took as he hurled debris and shattered buildings at them, his rage pushing him beyond all reason.
Kieran's fists tore through buildings like paper, and his sheer force caused massive shockwaves to ripple through the city.
Kazimir and Jude were forced to dodge, but the ground was buckling beneath them. They crashed through walls, their surroundings turning into a hellscape of collapsing structures.
Kazimir's card manipulation powers swirled around him, forming shields of glowing cards that deflected Kieran's strikes, while Jude unleashed wild slashes using his Wildcard Rewrite, manipulating the flow of time and events to alter Kieran's attacks.
But despite their combined efforts, Kieran seemed almost impervious. Every time they landed a hit, Kieran's body absorbed the damage, his power only growing stronger.
Kazimir, now exhausted, clashed his fist against Kieran's in an effort to halt his rampage. "Dammit, Secret Wild Card! What happened to you?!"
Kieran laughed darkly, his voice heavy with disdain. "I don't need fate anymore. This world has no place for weakness like yours!" He swung his fist, sending Kazimir crashing into a skyscraper.
Jude lunged forward, his sword flashing, but Kieran effortlessly dodged his strikes. He swung his arm, sending Jude flying into the side of a nearby building, leaving a massive crater in its wake.
Kazimir, bloody and struggling to get up, cursed. "We need to do this together, Jude. I can't stop him alone!"
Jude, struggling to rise, clenched his fists. "We'll do it, Kazimir. I'm not backing down."
Together, they launched their synchronized attack. Kazimir manipulated his cards, forming a massive, glowing array that surrounded him, sending out explosive shockwaves at Kieran.
At the same time, Jude altered the fate of the incoming attack, accelerating it into Kieran's path, warping time so it hit with amplified force.
But Kieran was relentless, countering with destructive techniques of his own that smashed the cards apart. "Your tricks are pointless!" Kieran roared. He grabbed a giant steel beam and hurled it at them both.
Kazimir was knocked back, and Jude struggled to hold his ground. The battle waged on, each side growing bloodier and more desperate.
Kazimir snarled, eyes burning with fury. "You're not getting away with this." He surged forward, his cards glowing brightly as he manipulated them into a whirlwind of energy.
He slashed at Kieran again, this time aiming for his legs to slow him down. But Kieran moved too fast, too powerful. His fist collided with Kazimir's arm, and the sickening crunch of bone snapping echoed through the streets.
Kazimir screamed out in pain, but he didn't back down. The severed limb hung uselessly at his side, and his breath quickened, yet he still forced himself to stand.
"You bastard!" Kazimir growled, eyes filled with rage. "I'll make you regret this!"
Kieran, his expression almost... disappointed, stepped forward, his monstrous form looming over the fallen Kazimir. "You really think you can defeat fate? You'll die knowing how hopeless it all is."
Kazimir could barely hold his ground, his blood staining the ruins around him, but then Jude moved.
The sight of Kazimir, someone who had been a mentor to him practically, broken and helpless, ignited something deep inside him. Jude's eyes narrowed, fury swelling within him. He looked at Kazimir, and the pain in his chest surged.
"Kazimir…" Jude muttered under his breath. "Stay with me."
With that, Jude's anger erupted.
For the first time, Jude's body shuddered as a wild, untamed energy coursed through him, and he stepped forward, eyes turning green, as the power surged through his veins like an uncontrollable storm.
"This is it," Jude gritted through his teeth. "I'm done with this!"
The sheer force of his Wild Break transformation blasted through the air, shaking the ground beneath him. His body became more ethereal, his speed reaching new, impossible heights.
He appeared before Kieran in the blink of an eye, slicing through the air with tremendous speed. Energy crackled around him like a storm, each attack reverberating through space.
Kazimir, still struggling to move, could only watch as Jude's transformation turned the tide of the battle.
"Damn… he's actually doing it," Kazimir whispered, wincing in pain. "He's… just like Zephyr…"
Kieran roared in anger, swinging a fist toward Jude, but Jude was already gone, moving too fast to catch. He sliced through Kieran's body, but Kieran's body began to regenerate, his form returning to its original state as if nothing had happened.
Kieran's fury only grew. He charged once more, throwing a multitude of structures at Jude and Kazimir, but their coordination was sharper now. Kazimir's cards shifted in midair, creating barriers of light, while Jude's rewrites altered the time of his movements, shifting the outcome of each attack. But Kieran was relentless, his raw power unstoppable.
Kieran laughed, a wild, deranged laugh that seemed to shake the ground beneath their feet. "Is this it?! You're both nothing but insects scurrying about, trying to defy destiny. I am fate!"
"You're wrong, Kieran." Kazimir grunted, blood dripping from his chin. "Fate isn't some thing you can control. It's something we all shape... with our will." He looked toward Jude, his remaining eye filled with a silent understanding.
Jude, his heart pounding with rage and urgency, nodded. "Kazimir... Let's end this." He clenched his fists, ready to face the impossible.
Kazimir's eyes glinted. "I'm ready, kid."
In an instant, Kazimir's cards flew from his side, each one glowing with a brilliant, otherworldly light. The cards split into multiple smaller shards, hovering around Kieran like a storm of razor-sharp daggers. Jude, his body alight with the burning intensity of his transformation, manipulated time and space, warping the flow of his own attacks to synchronize with Kazimir's precision.
"Let's rewrite fate."
Kazimir's hands moved in perfect rhythm, his fingers drawing arcs in the air as he sent the cards soaring at Kieran, each one spinning at unbelievable speed. The cards hit like bullets, each explosion of light sending shockwaves through the surrounding buildings. But Kieran was no longer the man he once was. His transformation had made him a force of nature, unstoppable, unbeatable.
With a roar, Kieran flexed his muscles and pushed against the oncoming storm of energy, his body pulsing with raw power. The cards shattered upon impact, the shockwaves rippling outward.
Jude closed his eyes. A flash of insight gripped him. He needed more. A surge of power coursed through him, the air around him turning thick with his rewriting of reality. He tapped into his deepest reserves, his Wild Break form pushing further than it ever had before. "Kazimir! Now!"
Kazimir nodded, his lips curling into a grin. He summoned more cards, this time channeling all his remaining energy into them. As the cards circled Kieran, they began to glow even brighter, an unearthly intensity radiating from them. Kazimir shouted, his voice a battle cry. "Swords of Fate, converge!"
In a brilliant cascade of light, the cards transformed. They shifted, reshaping into massive blades of energy, crackling with power. They shot toward Kieran like missiles, their edges glowing with an ethereal blue light, each one trailing arcs of destructive energy.
Kieran, his eyes glowing, lifted his fists to block them. "Enough!" he shouted, his fists colliding with the incoming barrage. But it wasn't enough. Jude's hands moved swiftly, manipulating the space around them. As Kazimir's attack slammed into Kieran, Jude rewrote the time, accelerating the impact, causing a chain reaction of explosive force.
In that split second, the world seemed to slow. Time bent under Jude's influence, the flow of events stretching out before them. Kieran's eyes widened as the full force of their synchronized attack hit him all at once. Jude's rewrites bent the course of their attacks, shifting trajectories and timing in ways Kieran could never anticipate. He was trapped in a storm of shifting possibilities, unable to counterattack.
The combination of Kazimir's strategic card manipulation and Jude's unrelenting rewrites sent Kieran flying backward, his body overwhelmed by the force of the impact. He crashed into a massive skyscraper, sending debris and dust into the air.
But it didn't stop there. As the two Wild Cards pushed forward, Jude's green eyes locked onto Kieran's, his voice cutting through the chaos. "This ends now, Kieran."
The final burst of energy tore through Kieran's form, causing the building to crumble beneath their feet. Kieran, unable to defend himself, crashed through the rooftop and plummeted to the ground below.
The city shook as Kieran's body hit the pavement, the last of his energy flickering out like a dying ember. He lay motionless, defeated.
Jude, breathless and bleeding, stood tall. Kazimir, equally torn and exhausted, looked at Jude with a tired, knowing gaze.
Kieran's body twitched, his breathing shallow. His eyes, filled with regret and fury, focused on Jude and Kazimir. The defeat had crushed his resolve, but he managed to mutter, "Fate will... return. This... isn't over."
Kazimir, his eye missing and his body barely holding together, limped toward the fallen man. His voice was low, but there was a hint of finality. "No... it's over."
Jude stood silent, his body battered, but he finally stepped forward, looking down at the fallen Kieran. His chest heaved with the weight of everything they had just gone through, but in the end, his words were simple.
"That was for Elara. For everything."
Kiern lay motionless on the ground, bloodied and broken. His once-mighty form, now shattered, barely moved. His breathing was slow, his chest rising and falling in labored breaths. He looked up at the sky with tears in his eyes, regret washing over him.
"It's over… for me," Kieran whispered, his voice barely audible. He turned his head to the distance and saw Nyx approaching, her shadowy form flickering in the distance.
Nyx was there and stood before him. "What shall I do, Kieran?"
Kieran's eyes, bloodshot and filled with sorrow, met hers. "Let them enjoy their victory," he murmured. "This isn't over yet.''
With that, Kieran and Nyx disappeared, their forms fading into nothingness as they teleported away, leaving the battlefield in silence. The dust settled, and the world stood still, knowing that though this battle was won… the war was far from over.