Fire burned in Kai's wound, a pain so sharp that his body faltered. The arrow still sizzled, stuck in his side, its energy giving off a hellish heat that devoured his flesh. The silver-haired woman's mocking laughter echoed in the darkness, as if everything was under her control.

  "Did you really think you could win?" Her voice held a hint of contempt, and her crimson eyes glowed with palpable malice. "You are strong, Kai Solis, but you are still far from invincible."

  Kai gritted his teeth, sweat and blood pouring down his skin as his breathing grew heavier. Yet he would not allow the pain to break him. Not now. Not when the truth was so close. Not when his brother's face still burned in his memory, driving him forward.

  Rael, from a distance, stepped forward, like an echo of what Kai still did not want to accept. “Get up, Kai. You cannot allow yourself to fall here. Not when the true enemy is still waiting in the shadows.”

  Rael’s words pierced his mind with the force of lightning. Kai blinked, fighting back the pain that threatened to consume him completely. But the All-Flow Consciousness, until then an unstable force, began to flow with an intensity he had never experienced. The energy within him roared in response, overflowing the limits of his control.

  The silver-haired woman frowned in surprise. “You still have the strength to stand?”

  Kai let out a chuckle, his hand gripping the arrow before yanking it from his body in one brutal movement. A torrent of dark blood stained the ground, but he did not falter. His eyes shone with unstoppable determination, like an ocean in storm.

  “Fall?” Kai looked up, his voice low but deadly. “I haven’t even begun.”

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  The air around him began to vibrate, as if reality itself recognized his resolve. The energy flowing within him swirled and refined, transforming into a sharper, more lethal force. Full Flow Consciousness was no longer just a skill. It was an extension of his will, a force that overwhelmed everything he had ever known.

  The masked assassins exchanged quick glances, their instincts screaming danger. One of them lunged forward, his daggers glinting in the moonlight. Kai made no more than a slight movement. His sword flashed in a silvery flash, blocking the daggers with overwhelming ease. In the blink of an eye, he twisted his wrist, piercing the assassin’s heart with deadly precision.

  The man let out a strangled gasp before collapsing, his mask falling to the ground with a thud, like an unavoidable death sentence.

  The silver-haired woman narrowed her eyes, recognizing the change. “Interesting… it seems you can still evolve in the midst of combat.”

  Kai took a deep breath, feeling the energy flowing stronger than ever. Each beat of his heart sent waves of power through his body, making the wound on his side irrelevant. The pain was just a distraction on a battlefield he now dominated.

  The last assassin lunged at him with a ferocious cry, but Kai had already moved before the blade could touch him. His silhouette disappeared into the night breeze. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind the assassin, and with a single movement, his sword cut off the man’s head as if it were a mere piece of straw.

  Blood flew into the air, staining the ground in a reminder of his power, making it clear that there was no turning back.

  Rael watched from a dark corner, his eyes fixed on the man he had trained. He knew Kai had changed. His Full Flow Consciousness was no longer what it had been. It was something else now, something beyond anything he could comprehend.

  The silver-haired woman smiled, though her eyes shone with a mix of respect and defiance. “It seems you are finally showing your true potential. But this is not over yet.”

  Kai did not respond. He did not need to. Silently, he raised his sword, the blade trembling with the overflowing energy that now coursed through every fiber of his being.

  And then, from the shadows, a new presence emerged. Larger. Darker. More menacing.

  Kai felt a chill run down his spine, a prelude to what was to come.

  The true enemy had just made its appearance.