“Did you hear that?” Liliya asked, her voice tense. “That sounded like a woman screaming.”

  Kai narrowed his eyes. “Why would there be a woman inside?"

  "Be ready for anything. Let’s move faster.” He drew his Noxblade, its deep blue glow flickering faintly, its mana reserves empty for now.

  As they turned the corner, the sight stopped them cold. Deep within the chamber stood a massive glass tank. Inside, a broken woman screamed and pounded against the glass. Her body was mangled, her voice raw with desperation.

  Next to the tank stood Florian. But something was different; he looked younger, and his mana felt weaker, unstable.

  Florian turned. His eyes locked onto Kai, and something inside him snapped.

  “It’s you!” he roared. “Every time I try to remember, I see your face. Every time I feel pain, it’s your face! You’ll die and help me heal!”

  He charged forward, wild and bare-handed.

  “Liliya, stay back,” Kai ordered. “Prepare a spell, but don’t waste your mana yet. I’ll handle him.”

  Kai leaped to meet Florian, his Blood Moon tattoo glowing faintly, enhancing his strength.

  He cast Flowing Currents, enveloping his blade in poison and water mana, and followed with Haste, boosting his speed.

  Florian dashed in blindly, rage driving him. His fingers twisted and morphed into sharp, crimson scalpels, his blood adapting, weaponizing itself.

  Kai slashed at Florian’s chest, but the scalpel claws parried with unnatural precision. The two clashed, darting through the ruined lab in a blur of motion and fury.

  “Poison Jet!” Kai shouted. Three magic circles formed behind him, launching compressed jets of poisonous water. Two struck Florian’s chest, one pierced his shoulder.

  Florian staggered back, coughing black blood. But Kai didn’t relent; he pressed forward, blade flashing with continuous strikes.

  Florian’s body convulsed, but then the green mana within him surged. It absorbed the poison, healed the wounds, and coated his claws with a toxic sheen.

  “Kai, he’s using the poison to evolve!” Liliya shouted. “That body is… unnatural!”

  Kai summoned what aura he could, a thin layer of purple energy wrapping around his blade. With a precise strike, he severed Florian’s right-hand claws.

  Florian screamed. “You killed my old self… but this time, I will be the one who lives!”

  Green mana flared from his arm, forming new claws, more metallic, more durable. He was evolving again.

  Kai’s mind raced. He adapts with every injury. What did he do to himself? There has to be a limit.

  From the tank, the woman laughed. “You, black-haired boy! He’s using my blood to evolve. But there’s a limit. Overwhelm him, and I’ll give you everything. Just kill this traitor!”

  Liliya’s voice rang out. “She’s not lying. His mana scans his wounds and adapts instantly. He’s evolving to counter your attacks!”

  Kai blocked a flurry of claw strikes, each more refined than the last. He understood now, he had to push Florian beyond his limit. Break the cycle. And then end him.

  ***

  The two danced between strikes and parries, their battle a blur of motion and fury.

  With each exchange, Florian adapted further, gaining the upper hand, but Kai refused to yield. He pushed his remaining aura to its limits, refining it, sharpening it, making it more destructive while conserving every drop.

  Little by little, he edged closer to true aura.

  But Florian evolved alongside him, absorbing the remnants of the green-haired woman’s mana. His body grew faster, stronger, more lethal. Muscles reshaped into perfection, and his scalpel-like claws fused into blade-like limbs.

  From the back, Liliya flushed at the sight of the naked figure.

  “Prepare your strongest spell and wait for my signal,” Kai said, trying to ease the tension. “And stop staring at his… dancing organ.”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “I’m not!” she protested, blushing harder as her eyes betrayed her.

  The woman in the tank laughed, her voice echoing manically. “You two, I like you.”

  Kai fought on, his body accumulating wounds while Florian healed instantly.

  His moonlight mana, hidden beneath the Blood Moon, tried to shield him, but he was running low. He needed to conserve it for one final strike.

  “You’re finished,” Florian gloated. “I will become the perfect Florian and defeat our mortal enemy.”

  “Your mind is really fucked up, huh?” Kai spat. “You monster.”

  “I am no monster. I am the future. A perfect being.” Florian struck, cleaving a deep wound across Kai’s chest.

  Kai cried out and staggered back.

  “Soothing light, recover the wounds of this body, Heal!” Liliya cast from behind, mending his smaller wounds but barely closing the fresh gash.

  “Sorry, my mana is too weak to heal you further.” She sighed.

  Kai smiled through pain, “Thank you, now don’t waste any more mana and get ready.”

  Kai dashed back into the fray. Florian welcomed him, eager to use Kai as a whetstone for his evolving body.

  Kai cast Water Barrier to help defend if even a little, and cut towards Florian, sending slashes of condensed water towards him, cutting him in multiple places, but it was in vain.

  I need to evolve my aura further; it’s the only way.

  Nerva said that I need to find a reason to awaken it, a reason why I fight, I need to find what defines me and unleash it. But what is it?

  He wasn’t sure.

  He needed to find his will to fight, his reason, and merge it into his mana, or in this case, his quasi-aura to awaken it fully.

  As they continued to fight, Kai’s aura grew more and more sharp; it was no longer a wild fire, now it was becoming fluid like water, sharp like high pressure.

  Then it came to him. Through every battle, every loss, every victory, one thing remained: his will to survive, to protect, to be free. Free from fate, gods, and others' control. He wanted to be fluid, adaptable, unstoppable.

  He understood now why water was his element. He was water.

  His mind cleared. His aura surged. Purple light enveloped him, merging all his elements into a flowing, liquid form. It wrapped around his blade and body, empowering him.

  He felt like he awoke from a long slumber.

  Everything slowed. He moved with clarity, dodging Florian’s attacks effortlessly.

  With a single downward slash, Kai’s Noxblade, now glowing royal purple, cut through Florian’s arms like butter.

  Thud. Two arms hit the dusty floor.

  Florian screamed, his limbs beginning to regenerate. But Kai didn’t stop. He unleashed a flurry of slashes, carving deep wounds across Florian’s body.

  “Now, Liliya!” Kai shouted, leaping back.

  “Moonlit Dance – Dual Thread!” he cried, as two radiant threads wrapped around his blade.

  Behind him, Liliya had already finished her chant and screamed “Thunderstrike!”

  A bright silver thick lighting rose from her hands and flickered towards Florian, charring his body instantly with a painful scream.

  Kai, not letting him adapt further, slashed forth, his aura covered the bright threads as they cut through Florian, slashing his core in pieces and exploding with pure brilliant white light.

  Florian screamed, his soul resisting. “I will not lose, not again!”

  By the strength of his will, he somehow pushed his soul to its limits to hold his crumbling body together.

  Kai’s heart clenched. He saw the pain, the desperation in the madman's eyes.

  “Soul Blade, Soul Slaughter!”

  A white blade shimmered into existence, merging with his Noxblade. His Winged Serpent coiled around it. Casting Haste, Kai dashed forward and struck.

  The white light of the Soul Blade shattered his body, and the serpent swallowed the remains of his soul fully, leaving nothing behind.

  The blade and the serpent flickered back into Kai’s body, their mission completed.

  He did it, he won finally, but the price was heavy.

  He had killed another human being. He was evil and needed to die, but in his last moments, his eyes felt empty, sad, and broken. Like he wanted nothing but to live, nothing but to be.

  Liliya dragged her empty body towards Kai and fell next to him, wrapping an arm around his hunched back.

  “It doesn’t get easier,” she whispered. “But it had to be done. Whatever his story was… he crossed a line. It was him or us.”

  She consoled him, seeing the pain in his eyes and the trembling hands.

  “I know. I thought I had prepared myself for this.” He sighed, and a single tear fell on the floor.

  Liliya's heart clenched, and she hugged him tight.

  He closed his eyes and let her warmth bring a sliver of peace to his tired body and tortured mind.

  ***

  After a long silence, the woman cleared her throat. “Hey, lovebirds, I’m still here,” she said with a chuckle.

  Kai and Liliya blushed and quickly separated.

  “Who are you?” Liliya asked, eager to shift the focus.

  The woman tilted her head, her voice calm but curious. “It’s a long story, Half-Eldari girl. I’ll tell it, but first, boy, explain that last attack. How do you know it?” Her eyes narrowed as she scanned Kai, but something blocked her senses.

  She couldn’t read him.

  Kai didn’t flinch. “Why should I tell you anything? You’re the source of all this. He used your blood to create monsters… to evolve himself.”

  “Not like I had a choice,” she replied, her tone bitter. “His kind kept me here for ages. I’ve lost count, but I think it’s been at least two billion years. Maybe more.”

  Liliya frowned. “His kind? What do you mean? Who was he? And what is this place?”

  Before the woman could answer, a ripple of mana stirred in the air. Within Kai’s inner world, Scry twitched and opened his eyes.

  Sensing the immense energy outside, he emerged and gasped at the sight of the woman.

  “Who is this? Where are we?” Scry shouted, disoriented.

  Liliya smiled, relieved to see him. “Well, well. Isn’t it just like you to show up after the fight’s over?”

  “Scry, I’ll explain later,” Kai said, calming him. “We have questions for her.”

  The woman’s eyes widened as she stared at Scry. “Is that… a Primordial Fire Spirit? How is that possible?”

  Scry floated closer, suspicious. “I’m just a good old High Spirit. What even is a Primordial Spirit?”

  She sighed, her voice softening. “You seem broken, little one. Just like me. Fine, I’ll explain everything. But afterward, I have a favor to ask. Whether you accept it… will be up to you.”

  Kai sat cross-legged on the floor, Liliya beside him. Scry hovered above, watching them both with a curious expression. When did they get so close? he wondered, smiling faintly.

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