The night air hung heavy over the city, carrying the faint scent of smoke and ash from the outpost that had fallen earlier. Shadows moved restlessly across rooftops and alleys, the only sound the distant echo of sirens and the soft wind brushing against shattered windows. Ryu stood silently on the highest roof of a half-collapsed building, observing the city below with the same calm he always wore. But under the surface of that calm, his mind was racing, calculating every potential threat, every pattern, every move yet to come. Lyra crouched a few meters behind him, her daggers glinting faintly in the moonlight. Unlike her usual playful demeanor, she was unusually serious, her eyes scanning the city with a focused intensity."Ryu…" she began softly, but firmly. "After what happened… Elira isn’t just a pawn anymore. She’s something else. A piece moving on her own now."Ryu did not turn to look at her. His gloves emitted a faint silver glow as he activated his tracking mode, analyzing t

The city lay in an eerie silence after the outpost blast. Smoke and black energy mingled in the air, curling around broken lampposts and shattered windows. Ryu moved across the rooftops with controlled precision, every footstep measured. His gloves emitted a faint silver glow, scanning the streets for signs of Elira. Each flicker of movement below, each trace of energy, was a piece of the board he had to read.Lyra followed silently, her daggers at the ready. Her usual teasing tone was gone, replaced by focus sharp enough to cut. "Ryu," she said quietly, "you’ve been tracking her for hours. Are you sure this is the right approach? You could rush in and end this now."Ryu’s eyes didn’t shift from the streets below. "Every piece moves with purpose. If I act hastily, the board fractures. Master may guide her, but he cannot conceal her patterns entirely."A gust of wind swept debris along the alleyways below. Shadows stretched unnaturally long, and the faint red glow of Elira’s dagger pul

The air in the middle of the plaza was heavy, crackling with black and silver energy arcs striking the ground. Ryu was trying to control the unstable energy from his gloves, but with every movement, the strain in his muscles was clearly visible. Beneath his usual calm mask, a hidden desperation flickered in his eyes. Lyra stood to the side, watching every move with tense anticipation, her breaths quickened with anxiety.Opposite him, Elira stood mechanically calm, yet her red eyes glowed fiercer than before. Master’s influence over her was evident, stronger than ever. The black dagger in her hands swirled with energy, and even the smallest of her movements carried the potential for an explosion."Ryu… your gloves are unstable. If you lose control… you could destroy yourself!" Lyra warned in a slightly panicked tone.Ryu glanced at her but replied calmly with a heavy tone, "Losing control is not the problem… losing Elira is." A subtle desperation hid beneath his calm expression.Elira

The plaza trembled with residual energy, silver-black arcs crackling violently in the air, reflecting the aftermath of Ryu’s Unstable Edge attack. Sparks flickered across the cracked tiles, leaving faint burn marks where the energy had struck. Ryu stood in the center, his gloves slightly cracked and leaking faint arcs of energy. Each breath he took was heavy, and his usual calm mask showed faint fissures, hints of the strain he was under.Elira floated a few meters away, her black dagger glowing faintly with sparks of energy. Master’s control lingered in her red eyes, a shadow of power that tried to push her forward, yet flickered weakly, disrupted by her own will fighting back. Her movements were uneven, and each swing of her blade was slightly off from the precision she had shown before.Lyra kept a close watch on both of them. Her body tensed as she tried to predict the flow of combat, aware that Ryu’s power was at a dangerous limit."Ryu… you can’t keep going like this! Your body—

The warehouse was thick with tension. Black smoke lingered in the corners, curling around flickering lights. Ryu’s gloves sparked with uncontrolled silver-black energy, small arcs crackling across the cracked metal floor. His breaths were ragged, each exhale carrying the strain of his unstable power. Despite this, his posture remained calm, though the faint tremor in his shoulders betrayed the true cost of holding back such immense energy.Saren lay at the center of the chaos, the dark blue glow in his eyes fluctuating as Master’s control fought to dominate him. The blade in his hand vibrated slightly, betraying the inner conflict tearing through him. Lyra hovered near Ryu’s side, tense and alert, every muscle prepared for the next move."Ryu! Your body cannot hold on much longer! Your gloves—they’re on the verge of breaking!" Lyra’s voice was sharp, laced with fear.Ryu did not answer immediately. His eyes were fixed on Saren, reading the faint flickers of hesitation beneath the pupp