Infinity - Chapter: The Iron Crucible (Kael vs Baelgor Vrax - Part 1)
Location: Subspace Arena - The Iron Crucible
The world turned to rust and silence.
Kael stood alone in darkness
The molten air pulsed around him, thick with metal and mana. Cracked black iron stretched out into the distance in jagged rings, some glowing faintly with violet veins. There were no stars above — only a heavy ceiling of shadowed fire that drifted slowly like smoke frozen in time. He had been torn from his friends… and now, something ancient and cruel watched from the mist.
He tightened his stance, boots grinding against iron.
Kael: "Subspace… but this place, it hums. It's alive with something."
A sound echoed through the arena. Not a roar, nor a scream — but a pulse. Like an ancient heart beating beneath the surface.
Then came the footsteps.
Each step sent tremors through the ground. From the smoke ahead emerged a figure — twelve feet tall, draped in a mantle of scorched bone and violet flame. His head was crowned with spiked obsidian horns, and his skin shimmered like metal dipped in ash.
His eyes glowed crimson.
He did not speak immediately. Instead, he watched Kael with a smile that wasn't human.
Kael exhaled slowly.
Kael: *"A devil... so this is my opponent."
Then a voice echoed in his mind"my name ..Baelgor Vrax.
The creature finally stepped forward, the iron beneath his hooves hissing.
Baelgor Vrax: "Mortal. Your name."
Kael didn't flinch. He straightened and held his gaze.
Kael: "Kael
Baelgor Vrax tilted his head.
Baelgor Vrax: "You have no fear."
Kael smirked, raising a hand as the wind began to stir around him.
Kael: "Only focus."
Inside, Kael's thoughts spun quickly.
"Baelgor Vrax... that name isn't on the Nine Thrones list. That means he isn't a core devil. Strong, yes. But not invincible. I can win this."
Baelgor raised his arm. A spear of dark flame formed in his hand.
The ground cracked beneath him as he charged.
Kael twisted his body and unleashed a gale-blast.
WHOOOSH!
Wind spiraled outward from his palm in a slicing arc, pushing Baelgor back a few steps. But the devil simply smiled, bracing himself and stomping forward.
Kael's body moved before his mind did. His affinity surged through his bloodstream. The Element of Wind danced across his limbs as he blurred sideways, dodging a spear thrust.
He countered with a rising kick, wind-imbued, launching Baelgor slightly into the air. The devil laughed, spinning midair to throw a curved spike of flame.
Kael caught it with a compressed gust, redirecting it harmlessly into the walls.
They clashed again. This time, Kael was faster.
He ducked under a punch and released a Burst Step, the wind compressing beneath his soles to launch him into a spinning tornado kick. The blow landed squarely against Baelgor's jaw, sending black ichor flying.
Kael: "He bleeds. Good."
Baelgor growled, the wounds on his face stitching themselves closed.
Baelgor Vrax: "You have speed... but no fangs."
He slammed his fists together. The arena floor cracked, and chains erupted from the ground, molten and writhing.
Kael jumped, wind gathering at his back, barely dodging as the chains whipped at him like serpents. One grazed his leg, burning through fabric.
Kael winced and spun in the air, forming two scything blades of compressed wind in his palms.
He hurled them.
Baelgor blocked with his arm, but the pressure forced him back. Kael landed in a crouch, sweat dripping down his temple.
Kael: "This pressure... he's accelerating. I need to push harder."
He raised his hand.
The air around him twisted violently as Kael activated Cyclone Field, a technique that created a vortex around his body, deflecting minor projectiles and enhancing his speed even more.
Baelgor tried to charge again, but Kael vanished in a blur.
From above, Kael dropped down like a falling spear, foot-first, crashing into Baelgor's shoulder with a howling wind.
The devil grunted, body cratering into the iron floor.
Kael: "I can win this. I just need to keep him from adapting."
Baelgor stood slowly, his voice deeper now.
Baelgor Vrax: "You dare draw blood from me. Me."
The chains slithered around him, coiling like serpents.
Kael: "You're not invincible."
Baelgor grinned.
Baelgor Vrax: "Then I will remind you what fear is."
He opened his mouth, and a black flame shot forth. Kael countered with a barrier of wind — but the black fire melted through it partially, searing his shoulder.
Kael gritted his teeth.
"This is bad. If I keep holding back, I won't last long."
He landed on one knee, breathing hard. The wind around him grew erratic.
Baelgor raised a molten fist.
Baelgor Vrax: "Fall."
The blow came down.
Kael caught it with both arms, wind cushioning the impact, but he was driven deep into the iron.
Darkness flickered at the edge of his vision.
He remembered Anay. Liora. The Summit Garden.
Kael whispered to himself:
Kael: "I said I'd protect them... I won't fall here."
He stood, slowly.
And then, with a sharp motion, he tore away the band of cloth around his wrist.
A pulse of silence.
Then came the roar.
WOOOOOM!
Dark aura burst from his body — like obsidian lightning laced with violet flame. The arena responded.
The iron floor pulsed. Symbols long dormant lit up beneath his feet.
Chains curled away from him as if in fear.
Kael opened his eyes. They burned with shadow.
Kael: "No more holding back."
From the void behind him, a long blade began to form.
A sword wrapped in chains of light and darkness, forged from Kael's own spirit.
He reached for it as the chapter faded to black.
Kael: "Tenebris."
To Be Continued...