The force sent him flying, crashing through the far side of the cavern in a whirlwind of rubble.

  Kieran rose slowly with a low growl. He gritted his teeth, his face hardening—stone-like with fury.

  Then his eyes widened.

  His gaze locked onto Tharn, slumped against the wall—almost lifeless—with one of his own axes buried deep into his shoulder. Blood glowed as it poured from the wound, dimming with every drop.

  Across the cavern, Gwen and Zephyr helped Damon sit up. His body was covered in blood, barely clinging to consciousness. Gwen stretched out her palms; they glowed, and an emerald light slowly washed over Damon.

  "I'm... I'm sorry," Damon muttered, his voice weak. His smile was enigmatic—tired, but warm.

  "Shut up, you moron," Gwen said softly, her tone like a mother tending to a wounded child.

  Zephyr’s eyes darkened. His mind flashed back—

  Fog covered everything. One could barely see a thing.

  “Let’s go,” a young Zephyr whispered, tugging the hem of a girl’s dress.

  “We can’t just leave him,” the girl replied, staring at a boy lying in the dirt, covered in blood. He coughed dryly, yet still smiled.

  “Take Zephyr and go,” the boy said, giving a shaky thumbs-up. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I can’t leave you!” the girl snapped, eyes glistening.

  “Don’t worry,” he coughed again, weaker this time. “I don’t go down easily. Help’s already on the way.”

  She hesitated, torn. Young Zephyr tugged her dress harder. “You heard what he said, let's go."

  "Take Zephyr and go," the boy said, forcing another smile. “Go.”

  As they turned to leave, the boy called out faintly, “I’m sorry.”

  They disappeared into the mist.

  Time passed. Two men eventually carried the boy into the village. He was barely conscious—but when he saw the girl and Zephyr, he smiled.

  “Told you… I don’t go down easy.” he mouthed.

  Young Zephyr immediately hid behind the girl. His face said it all: I didn’t really care if you died.

  ---

  Zephyr blinked. The memory faded.

  "In this life, I was taught to only look after myself."

  "I’ve always been treated special—never really knew why, never cared to ask. I liked the attention."

  "Looking after yourself is a pain."

  "Looking after two people? Even worse."

  "Three? That’s impossible. Or so I believed."

  "I left my home a few years ago for… personal reasons. Thought I’d be fine. I could barely survive a day."

  "Then after a while, I met Gwen. Never met anyone so annoying. Funny enough, we shared the same goal."

  "Next thing I knew, I was looking after both of us."

  "I swore I’d never care for another person again. Stupid, right? I didn’t even know why I declared that."

  "And then I blinked, and I found myself getting worked up over a village."

  Zephyr rose silently, leaving Gwen to tend to Damon.

  "Come to think of it… you look a lot like him, Damon." his thought continued inwardly, a faint smile forming.

  Kieran was already on his feet, his entire body shaking—hatred and malice leaking from every inch of his soul. His eyes trembled as if bleeding from within.

  "You killed Tharn" Kieran muttered.

  Then his gaze snapped up.

  "You were the one who did it, right?" he asked, voice low, eyes locked directly on Zephyr.

  Zephyr’s gaze didn’t flinch—not for a second.

  "Gwen," Zephyr said calmly. "Look after that moron, will you?"

  Kieran charged, led by pure rage.

  He came in with a thunderous punch. Zephyr stood unfazed. Inhaling slowly, he exhaled.

  Wind swirled around his palms as he redirected Kieran’s fist forward, stepping aside he extended an arm toward Kieran’s gut.

  "Spirit Drive."

  Thud.

  Kieran knocked Zephyr’s arm down. The blast struck the ground instead—stone cracked, shards exploded into the air. They hovered mid-flight, and launched itself at Zephyr.

  He leaned to the side, barely dodging them—several grazed his cheek. He leapt back a few paces.

  Kieran launched himself forward immediately, dragging his arm faced along the ground. The earth shattered in his wake, forming a spinning stone disc that tore through the air toward Zephyr.

  Zephyr cleaved it in two with a single swipe of wind—only to find Kieran already upon him.

  A spin-kick flew his way. Zephyr teleported behind him in an instant, wind swirling around his palm as it materialized a

  his dagger in his hand. He stabbed Kieran's side—his blade piercing stone skin.

  But Kieran didn’t even flinch. His head turned slowly, eyes burning.

  Zephyr leapt back immediately.

  "He could’ve dodged that easily," he muttered, "He took the hit on purpose, huh."

  A sly grin spread across Zephyr's lips.

  Suddenly, stone golems erupted from the ground—each nearly two meters tall—charging at Zephyr.

  Twin daggers appeared in his hands. He hurled one—it pierced into a golem’s head. He teleported to it instantly, yanked it out, and vanished again.

  He reappeared beside another, cleaving through its head with ease.

  One lunged with a sword, swinging violently from side in a wide arc. Zephyr teleported above it, driving a wind-infused kick into its skull, shattering it.

  Another came from behind. His eyes snapped to it—he teleported airborne, then twisted in mid-air, landing both feet on the golem square in the face, sending it crashing down.

  He dashed toward the next, double-stepping across its body. A golem swung from behind—he used the momentum to flip over it, hurling a dagger backward into its head mid-flip. It shattered on impact. Zephyr landed, immediately driving a Spirit Drive through three more in a single flash-step.

  Just as he caught his breath—Kieran appeared. At his side. No time to react.

  A massive punch collided with Zephyr’s face—crack—sending him flying.

  A golem caught his suspended body in midair, locking him in place.

  But Zephyr vanished instantly—reappearing atop the golem—his wind dagger plunging into its skull.

  Kieran moved slowly, a stone sword crafting itself in his palm. He spun it around and swung it to the side.

  A nearby boulder cleaved clean in half from the shockwave alone.

  Then he charged.

  Their blades collided—wind and stone, slicing air and rattling the ground. They spun, slashing, clashing again and again. Zephyr cut upward; Kieran struck down from above. Another clash—steel and element grinding.

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  Kieran swung in a wide arc from the side. Zephyr stepped back, blocking with his wind dagger, sliding slightly across the ground.

  Zephyr retaliated, slashing from above. Kieran raised his sword to block—

  But Zephyr vanished.

  He reappeared behind Kieran, his dagger held in a reverse grip, he drove it straight into his back.

  Then smiled.

  A massive burst of wind erupted from the tip of the wind blade—blowing a hole clean through Kieran.

  Relentless, Kieran turned, his stone sword swinging in a wide arc. Zephyr blinked behind him again, delivering a sharp kick to the back of his knee, forcing him down to one leg.

  Kieran growled low. He twisted suddenly, stabbing forward—

  Zephyr countered with a Spirit Drive, detonating the sword and kieran's hand on impact.

  He swung, aiming for Kieran’s neck—

  Kieran grinned.

  A golem burst from the ground, seizing Zephyr's leg and yanking him off balance. It hurled him across the battlefield—

  But Zephyr vanished midair—reappearing behind the golem, dagger raised to strike—

  WHAM!

  Kieran’s foot collided with Zephyr’s face, his hand already regenerated, he sent Zephyr crashing backward through layers of shattered stone.

  “On a normal scale, he outclasses me from every corner” Zephyr muttered, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. "But I do have one thing that he don't."

  He charged forward.

  A wind-forged blade hurtled at Kieran—he batted it away effortlessly.

  But Zephyr was already in front of him, forming another dagger mid-swing.

  Kieran raised his arm—

  Too slow.

  Zephyr vanished again, appearing at his back.

  Kieran spun violently, reading the motion—

  But Zephyr wasn’t there.

  He reappeared to the side, dropping in with a kick—

  Kieran snapped his eyes in that direction, slashing wide with his blade—

  Only for Zephyr to vanish again, this time skidding across the opposite flank. He pushed himself forward—

  Then disappeared—

  Appearing above.

  His dagger already descending, Kieran's gaze snapped up, only to meet Zephyr's dagger only millimeters away from his eye—

  Then gone again.

  “Now,”

  Zephyr appeared in front driving his wind dagger straight into Kieran’s throat.

  Blood exploded from the wound, leaving Kieran immobilized.

  Zephyr stepped back, his shoulders slightly relaxed.

  CRACK*

  A massive stone fist erupted from the ground at his side, catching him off-guard and smashing him violently into the canyon wall.

  The wind dagger vanished from Kieran’s throat—and so did the damage.

  But the holes remained. One through his neck. One still yawning through his back.

  He wasn’t even bothered.

  Kieran cracked his neck slowly, his stony muscles grinding with a low, bone-deep rumble as he stepped forward, eyes locked on Zephyr—still half-buried in rubble.

  He neared—

  When a smirk curled across Zephyr’s bloodstained lips.

  A towering tornado erupted from the ground, engulfing Kieran in a violent column of wind. It howled with fury, grinding his stone body against itself as if nature itself was trying to tear him apart.

  Kieran dropped from the sky, as the tornado dissasipated, crashing hard onto one knee. Blood dripped from his face—yet his gaze was steady. Unyielding.

  Zephyr stood and began walking toward him, wind dagger forming in his hand as he approached.

  He swung at Kieran’s head from side, but was held back by a sudden burst of raw essence that exploded from Kieran’s body, launching Zephyr backward, his frame slamming into a distant wall.

  From the heart of the shockwave came a whisper.

  “…I’m sorry.”

  A tear dropped from kieran's chin.

  Then—

  Everything changed.

  Slabs of living stone burst from beneath Kieran’s skin, rising like armor forged in the core of the world. They wrapped around him with slow, deliberate purpose, covering his form in polished silver-gray plating that shimmered like carved obsidian.

  The armor melded with his flesh—neither suit nor shell, but part of him. Ancient. Eternal. A fortress in motion.

  His horns grew thicker, extending even more.

  Every step Kieran took now made the ground tremble.

  Not from weight—

  From power.

  He was no longer a man of stone.

  He was something born from the mountains. Something the earth had buried and time had forgotten.

  An unstoppable monument of fury and strength.

  Zephyr stared, breath caught.

  The wall behind Zephyr began to compress inward—stone twisting, crushing—trying to grind him into dust. Zephyr reacted just in time, teleporting out as the wall snapped shut like a jaw. He landed hard, barely catching his breath—

  And Kieran was already there, his fist swung down with immense pressure.

  "Shit." Zephyr's eyes snapped up.

  A shimmering forcefield flared around Zephyr. It cracked under the impact, slowing the blow just long enough for Damon to appear in front of him, yanking Zephyr out of harm’s way.

  A deep, guttural growl rumbled from Kieran, shaking the cavern.

  Damon landed with Zephyr. “You good?” he asked, scratching his head with an apologetic grin. “Sorry I took so long.”

  Zephyr grinned back, wiping blood from his lip. “What you talking about, you moron?, You just saved that rock head's life, I was just about to kill me the thing."

  “Hey, lovebirds!” Gwen’s voice echoed.

  “Wha—?” Damon and Zephyr blinked in unison, clearly confused.

  Gwen stood a few feet away, dead serious now. “We need to end this quick.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “It’s strong, plus it's not in a total fit of rage, giving us less advantage, but..... Who cares.

  A sly grin spread across her lips.

  Damon and Zephyr appeared at her side without hesitation.

  "Let's go." Gwen led.

  The trio charged forward. The ground cracked and split beneath them, stone erupting like waves as they weaved through the chaos.

  Gwen launched ahead with a thunderous blow—

  Kieran caught her fist effortlessly. A shockwave rippled outward, from the back of his palm.

  Kieran stood unfazed, he flung Gwen away like she was weightless—sending her crashing through the cavern wall.

  Damon and Zephyr didn’t stop. They flanked Kieran from both sides—

  Zephyr’s dagger slashed in—

  Damon’s fist barreled toward him—

  Kieran raised both arms, crossing it, he caught them mid-air. Neither attack broke through.

  Kieran leapt back, Damon and Zephyr on his heels, Wind blades and telekinetic blows hammered into stone skin. Kieran evading and blocking all effortlessly.

  He was pushed backward—until he landed, feet cracking the earth.

  Damon surged in from the left, a knee flying toward Kieran’s ribs—

  Kieran blocked, knocking his knee back down, immediately countering with a thunderous blow.

  Damon blocked, crossing his arms, he skidded back from the force.

  Zephyr appeared on the right, dagger slicing in—

  Kieran’s hand shot up, parrying the blade—

  Leaving Zephyr open, he drove a fist into his jaw—

  CRASH!

  Zephyr flew back like a missile, embedding into the wall.

  Damon retaliated, charging with a full-body shimmer of forcefield, fist winding back.

  A stone wall exploded up from the ground.

  Damon’s punch shattered it.

  Loosing balance for a split second, Kieran’s counter-fist met him through the debris, hammering him into the earth.

  Gwen shot back in, soaring from above with monstrous force.

  A colossal stone fist burst from the ground to meet her.

  Both their fist collided.

  Gwen shattered through, only for a second stone fist to rise beneath her.

  It smashed into her gut, knocking her breathless, airborne—

  Kieran was already there.

  One final punch to Gwen’s airborne frame.

  She slammed into Zephyr, who caught her instinctively. Both of them tumbled across the battlefield, crashing into a tangled heap.

  Before they could rise, Kieran blinked in front of them. A stone sword materialized in his hand, he thrust it forward—

  Only for Damon to appear, planting himself between them.

  The blade pierced straight through his body.

  A grin spread across Damon's lips, lood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

  He grabbed Kieran’s wrist with a hand laced in raw telekinesis—shattering it instantly and pulled himself in close, landing a clean uppercut. Kieran’s head snapped upward—

  —then halted midair, suspended in an invisible grip.

  Damon’s fingers lowered with intent.

  And Kieran’s head was slammed downward by an unseen force.

  Kieran recovered fast—too fast. He landed a brutal punch into Damon’s side.

  Damon's eyes widened, as he coughed up blood, a sickening crack followed as his ribs gave way.

  He was sent flying.

  Before he could hit the wall, Zephyr appeared behind him, cushioning his momentum. Still, both of them hit hard.

  Gwen was already charging back in.

  She launched a roundhouse kick from the side—Kieran raised an arm, blocking it without effort. Spinning without pause, Gwen lashed out with her other leg, same direction—Kieran pushed it down again.

  She flipped into a cartwheel, landing a swift double-kick—still blocked. Sliding back, she launched forward, mid air, her leg flashed three times in succession from side: low, center, high.

  Kieran blocked all three strikes with just one hand.

  On the final kick, he knocked her leg aside, coiling his fist—

  It crackled with energy.

  He threw a punch at her mid air frame.

  Gwen twisted her body just in time—the fist passed by, but the shockwave ripped across her face, tearing the edge of her cheek.

  Gritting her teeth, he feet planted on the ground, she swung back. But just as her fist closed in—

  The ground exploded.

  Stone clamped around her hand like a trap.

  "Shit," she excalimed, reaching to free it with the other—but it too was bound by stone.

  Kieran raised an arm.

  Above, a stone sword formed, suspended in the air like a guillotine. With a sharp flick of his wrist, it launched downward, slicing through the air with deadly intent.

  Just before it struck, a shockwave cracked through the sky—Damon and Zephyr crashed in from above. Their dual kick smashed square into Kieran’s chest, hurling him back across the field.

  Just immediately, Gwen felt the bind around her hands weakened—barely. She yanked one arm forward, just as the falling sword plunged down. It pierced through the stone restraint—and through her wrist.

  The bind shattered. Blood spilled. She didn’t flinch. With a growl, she slammed her free hand against the other, breaking that bind too.

  She ripped the sword even that out her wrist, the hole closed in seconds.

  She charged forward, Damon and Zephyr already ahead, attacking from both flanks.

  The earth obeyed Kieran's silent command. A wall of stone erupted, blocking their strike effortlessly.

  Without missing a beat, dual stone fists burst from the ground—slamming both of them backward.

  Mid-air, Zephyr vanished.

  He reappeared right in front of Kieran, his wind blades gleaming. A slash flashed through the air—but Kieran raised his arm, and a wall of stone rose to meet it.

  Damon, still falling, clenched his fist and the wall crumbled to dust.

  Zephyr’s blade carved through Kieran’s arm—clean off. Blood arced through the air.

  But Kieran didn’t stop. He swung his other arm, slamming a punch into Zephyr’s face, sending him flying.

  Before Kieran could move again, Gwen was there. Right in front of him.

  His other hand regenerated on the spot—he swung again. Another stone fist burst outward, trying to knock her away.

  Too slow. Gwen was already past it. Her fist soared up—a clean uppercut right into Kieran’s chin.

  His stone face cracked like glass.

  He swung again to retaliate—

  But his arm dropped. A white wind arrow had pierced clean through it from a distant.

  Gwen didn’t stop. She drove another punch into his face. Then another. And another. A relentless storm of fists tore into him, breaking armor, breaking stone, breaking him.

  Kieran roared. His body regenerated in a flash. He caught both her fists mid-swing—then drove a brutal knee into her chin, snapping her head up.

  As her body lifted, he slammed a punch into her gut, sending her flying.

  As she tumbled, Kieran stretched out his hand—stone spears burst from the ground and chased her down.

  But Damon was already there. He caught her mid-flight. The spears disintegrated the moment they got close.

  "Urghk—"

  Kieran’s body jerked. Blood dripped from his lips.

  "You lost focus." Zephyr whispered.

  Kieran looked down. Zephyr stood behind him, his wind dagger buried in Kieran’s chest—right through the heart.

  Kieran’s head turned slowly, disbelief in his eyes.

  Zephyr’s blade dragged outward, cutting across the inside of Kieran’s shoulder.

  ........

  Blood burst from the wound.

  Then, with a final swing—

  Kieran’s head dropped clean from his shoulders.