The moment Rael lunged, time seemed to slow. Kaelen's senses sharpened, every heartbeat hammering like war drums. The Syndicate lieutenant's black dagger aimed straight for his throat its venomous aura pulsing like a living curse.
Kaelen didn't step back.
Instead, he met the strike with his own. His sword ignited with a deep crimson glow, clashing against Rael's dagger in an explosion of energy. Sparks scattered as the sheer force of the impact sent both men skidding backward.
Rael grinned. "That's more like it."
Kaelen exhaled, his grip steady. This fight wasn't just about survival. It was about proving something to himself, to Seraphina, to the world that had tried to break him.
Rael flicked his wrist, and the dagger multiplied into three, each infused with dark magic. He hurled them toward Kaelen.
Kaelen reacted instinctively. His Crimson Power flared, a red arc splitting through the air. The first dagger disintegrated. The second missed by inches. The third Kaelen barely dodged, but it grazed his arm, the wound immediately burning with unnatural venom.
He hissed through clenched teeth. Poisoned.
"Slowing down already?" Rael taunted, twirling another blade.
Kaelen didn't answer. He couldn't afford to waste words. He needed to end this quickly.
Seraphina and Dorian were still fighting off the remaining Syndicate enforcers, pushing toward the temple's entrance. If Kaelen fell here, their mission was over.
His heartbeat pounded. The Crimson Power surged again, whispering to him.
More. Let me in. Let me take control.
Kaelen clenched his jaw. He couldn't lose himself to it not now.
Instead, he focused. He guided the energy, forcing it to sharpen his movements rather than consume him. His vision darkened at the edges, but his body felt weightless, his sword an extension of his will.
Rael lunged again, this time faster, more unpredictable. But Kaelen was ready.
He sidestepped at the last moment, pivoting behind Rael and slashing downward. The strike was precise cutting deep across Rael's ribs.
Rael staggered, eyes widening.
"You"
Kaelen didn't let him recover. He drove his knee into Rael's stomach, sending him crashing into the stone wall of the temple. Dust and debris rained down.
For a moment, silence.
Then Rael coughed, laughter bubbling between gasps. He wiped the blood from his lips and smirked.
"Heh… you're getting stronger, Kaelen."
Kaelen didn't lower his blade. "You're losing."
Rael's smirk didn't fade. Instead, his eyes gleamed with something darker.
"You still don't get it, do you?" he murmured. "This was never about stopping you."
A cold chill ran down Kaelen's spine.
Then, from deep within the temple, something shifted.
A low, guttural roar echoed through the ruins. The ground trembled. The air grew thick with an oppressive force ancient, malevolent, hungry.
Kaelen's eyes darted to the temple entrance. Shadows slithered from within, twisting unnaturally.
Rael chuckled. "You walked right into it."
Kaelen's stomach sank. A trap.
Before he could react, the shadows surged forward rushing toward him like a living tide.
And then