Pain.

  Agonizing, unbearable, soul-ripping pain.

  El Sharkawy and El Sohagy writhed on the floor, their bodies betraying them. Every nerve felt like it was being ripped apart and rebuilt simultaneously.

  Then—silence.

  The pain vanished as suddenly as it came.

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  But something was wrong.

  El Sohagy, still breathing heavily, tried to summon his aura—nothing. He clenched his fist, attempting to ignite his flames—nothing.

  El Sharkawy stood up slowly, his eyes dark with realization.

  "It’s gone," he muttered.

  El Sohagy looked at him. “What do you mean gone?”

  "Our power. Our transformations. Everything. It’s been stripped from us."

  A tense silence filled the room.

  El Sohagy gritted his teeth. “Then we need to find out who did this.”

  El Sharkawy shook his head. “If we go in blind, we’ll die. We’re nothing right now.”

  El Sohagy exhaled, fists clenched.

  He hated to admit it. But El Sharkawy was right.

  They had to start over.

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