The city was still trembling from the simultaneous attacks in the different zones. Smoke curled through the streets, alarms blared, and faint cries of civilians echoed from the distance. Ryu stood on the edge of a building, his gloves still faintly sparking, breaths heavy from the strain of his unstable power.Elira and Lyra flanked him, both tense but determined."Ryu… if we split up, we can cover more ground, but the risk…" Elira’s voice faltered, guilt and fear evident.Ryu’s calm face barely changed, but his eyes, usually so sharp and unshakable, held a weight of fatigue."Risk is inevitable. Protecting each piece comes first. The game has begun, and every move matters."Lyra’s expression hardened, her usual teasing edge replaced with seriousness."Even so… your body is already at the limit. Another fight like before, and you might not recover."Ryu glanced down at his gloves. Cracks from the earlier battles still ran across the metal, silver sparks flickering erratically. He clen

The plaza was still smoky, the air thick with the scent of burning metal and lingering black energy. Ryu leaned against a broken fountain, his gloves emitting faint silver sparks from the cracks. His breaths were heavy, and every movement seemed to strain his body. Lyra and Elira stood nearby, concern etched on their faces. Kael, now fully restored, supported Elira on one side, his own exhaustion visible but manageable.Lyra broke the silence."Ryu… you can’t keep doing this. Your body is already broken, and Master isn’t done yet. He’ll come for all of us."Ryu didn’t move immediately. His calm mask was back, but beneath it, fatigue and steel intertwined in his eyes."Master will always move first. If I hesitate, the board loses its balance. My pieces are my priority."Elira’s voice was quiet, almost guilty."You risked everything… for us. For me. I… I don’t know if I deserve it."Ryu looked at her directly, faint silver sparks flickering around his gloves."Deserve has nothing to do

The base hummed with mechanical tension, its walls lit by the dim glow of tactical screens that pulsed with data streaming from the city above. Outside, smoke spiraled in dark plumes over the skyline, and sirens pierced the night, a constant reminder that Master’s plan was already in motion. The city had transformed into a living chessboard, each district a square, each piece a potential casualty. Ryu stood at the center of the tactical room, gloves back on, metallic patches now slightly reinforced but still fissured from his previous battles. From the cracks, faint silver sparks leaped intermittently, illuminating the contours of his calm mask. Yet beneath that mask, his eyes were not blank—they were alert, calculating, alive with the weight of responsibility pressing down on him.Lyra approached the table, her boots echoing softly against the concrete floor. She pointed to a cluster of red squares flashing across the holographic map. “Central Plaza and West District are the highest-

The city was alive with chaos, yet strangely silent in certain pockets. From the tactical base, the team could see the flickering lights of burning buildings, the rising black smoke blending with the deep red glow of warning sirens. The storm of destruction had temporarily stilled in the zones they had just secured, but Ryu knew better than to assume peace. Every inch of the city had become a living board, every street a square, every civilian a potential piece in Master’s merciless game.Ryu stood by the large holographic table, his gloves still showing minor cracks from the previous fights, faint sparks leaping into the air with each subtle movement. His breathing was steady, but his eyes betrayed the weariness that had accumulated over the relentless battles. Every decision, every calculated move, weighed heavily on him, not just as the King, but as a leader who refused to abandon any part of his team.Lyra leaned forward, her fingers tracing over the blinking squares on the map. H

The night air over the city was thick, heavy with smoke and the faint metallic tang of burning vehicles. The once silent streets now echoed with the sounds of distant sirens, explosions, and the low hum of emergency drones patrolling the area. The South-East District was the next critical square on the board, and the team crouched behind the shattered walls of an abandoned warehouse, surveying the chaos through both binoculars and tactical overlays projected from the base.Ryu stood at the center of the group, his calm demeanor contrasting sharply with the chaotic scene around them. The cracks in his gloves emitted faint silver-black sparks that danced erratically in the cold night air. Every breath he took was steady, controlled, yet beneath the surface, the tension from previous battles and his lingering injuries hinted at a deeper undercurrent.Elira stepped closer, her soft light flickering from her palms, stabilizing the unstable arcs around his gloves. Her presence had always ac