The Sentinel’s steps echoed like war drums, each one sealing Lucas’ fate. Its sensors locked onto his fading heartbeat, the algorithms already preparing the final strike.Lucas lay slumped against twisted steel, lungs burning, vision clouded. His golden fire sputtered around him in weak embers, too dim to hold back the storm.Mira’s scream cut through the haze. “Lucas, get up! Please!”But his body wouldn’t move, His arms hung heavy, His chest was a cage of agony. His fire had reached its limit. Is this it? he thought, blood filling his mouth. After everything, after clawing my way this far, I fall here?The thought twisted in his gut Anger boiled. The humiliation, the betrayal, the sneers of his boss, the cruel laughter of his ex, the merciless hand of fate they all came crashing down on him at once. “No…” His voice was hoarse, but his eyes blazed. “Not like this.”The air shifted. A low hum thrummed in his chest, deeper than fire, darker than light. His flames dimmed completely and

Lucas’ knees hit the scorched dock, Mira’s hands gripping his shoulders to steady him. His skin was hot, too hot, searing her palms as if she touched molten iron. “Lucas! Look at me!” Mira’s voice cracked, but his gaze had already turned inward.Inside the Flame DarknessLucas opened his eyes but he wasn’t on the dock anymore. He stood in a void of endless black fire, each flame whispering in distorted voices. The abyss stretched in all directions, oppressive, alive, hungry.The voice of the flame thundered all around him. “You have tasted power, Now you are mine.”Shadows slithered across his arms, binding his limbs. Each tether burned with impossible heat eating into his very soul. He tried to wrench free, but the fire bit deeper, drawing strength from his struggle. “Damn it I won’t bow to you.”Suddenly, a colossal figure emerged from the fire. It was a silhouette of Lucas himself but twisted. Its eyes were bottomless pits, its grin wide and cruel. Black flame cloaked its body like

The dock shook as serpent and fire clashed, hissing flames and venomous energy colliding in bursts of heat and green sparks. Lucas braced himself, forcing the Black Flame to shield Mira and 008 from the serpent’s snapping jaws.The Syndicate leader laughed through bloodied lips.“You think this is about you, Sebastian? No, You’re a stepping stone.”Lucas narrowed his eyes. “Then why the hell”The leader’s grin widened. His hand shot forward not at Lucas, but past him Straight at Mira.The RevelationLucas spun too late. The serpent spirit coiled and shot forward, bypassing him entirely. Its fangs glinted with venom as it lunged toward Mira’s chest.008 yelled, firing a shot into the beast’s skull only for the bullet to pass through harmlessly. The serpent was bound to its master’s soul; only equal power could resist it. Mira froze, eyes wide, horror dawning. “It’s me? They want me?”The Syndicate leader’s voice boomed over the chaos. “Of course. The consortium’s orphan. The last livin

The ruins were no longer a battlefield they were an inferno. Lucas stood at its heart, his body wrapped in a storm of black-green flame. His veins bulged, glowing like molten cracks in stone, and his scream wasn’t human anymore it was a chorus of voices, layered, distorted, ancient.The serpent shrieked as the flames wrapped around it, writhing in agony. For a moment, it seemed Lucas had crushed the beast. But then He didn’t stop.The ShiftHis eyes burned, pupils gone, replaced with whorls of toxic light. The Venomfire lashed outward in violent pulses consuming stone steel even the air itself.“Lucas it’s me!” Mira shouted, staggering closer despite the blistering heat.But his gaze didn’t recognize her It was empty. Predatory The Lucas she knew had been swallowed whole. The Syndicate leader’s laughter echoed over the chaos. “Perfect. He’s no heir he’s a vessel, A walking weapon And soon mine to command.”The First StrikeLucas raised his hand, a claw of fire coalescing around it, an

THE FIRST BLOWThe abyss cracked under the collision. Storm-light and venomfire slammed together, tearing through endless void. Lucas was hurled backward, his ribs cracking from the sheer force.The monstrous version of himself horned, crowned in fire, eyes like pits of molten hate—laughed with a voice that rattled the void.“Pathetic! You can’t even stand your own rage. How can you possibly stand against the Syndicate?”Lucas staggered, blood dripping from his lips, his storm aura flickering. But his jaw set hard.“I don’t need to erase you,” he spat. “I need to master you.”Mira’s Chains Hold OnMira, battered and gasping, forced her golden chains to hold. They wrapped tighter around the Venomfire titan, glowing so bright they seared her own skin. Every time she reinforced them, a piece of her spirit frayed, but she refused to let go.“Lucas!” she shouted, her voice sharp and commanding despite the agony. “If you surrender now, you’ll be lost! Take it back take yourself back!”The S