The night air above the city was heavy with ash, smoke, and the acrid smell of smoldering metal.
Ace sat on a partially destroyed rooftop, wind buffeting his ash-smeared coat. He had his arms crossed, gazing out across the distant horizon of the devastated eastern quadrant—fires raging from the contained chaos of the Resistance, muted booms still echoing through the city.
Over him, Scarlett and Riku lay unconscious on the roof below, battered bodies shattered—proof of his sheer power released. Ace had fought hard, but now. Something disturbed him.
He squinted his eyes, staring at the distant silhouette of the lab.
Ace (to himself):
"Bullet and Marco's fight… it just ended."
No further shockwaves. No tremors. No smashed blows.
"Either it's over… or something cut them off."
Ace was going to jump towards the laboratory when a burst of lightning flew past him like a bullet.
A figure—encased in smoke and electrical sparks—leaped over the roof nearby and vanished into the laboratory ruins ahead. Ace took a step forward, squinting, momentarily stunned by the velocity and power the figure exhibited.
Ace (whispering):
"…Who the hell was that?"
Von towered over Rhane, his chest heaving as a rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins. Fireflies of sparks danced from snarled wires overhead. Red strobe lights flashed across the large corridor, casting fleeting shadows on the wreckage.
Pieces of shattered equipment and glass crunched under his boots as he stepped closer to the wounded scientist. Rhane's back was against the wall, blood leaking from his nose and lip, one arm cradled tight against his chest.
His breathing was shaky. His composure was broken.
Von (steady, focused):
"It's over. You're not a god, Rhane. You're just a coward hiding behind science and stolen lives."
Rhane spat blood on the ground and tried to lift a trembling hand. He focused pressure into curling around Von—wild, uncontrolled, desperate.
Von strode through it.
Rhane's eyes widened.
Von (thinking better of it):
It's now or never. One last push.
He summoned all the reserves of strength he could muster, planning to lunge forward with a strike—his fingers folding up into a clenched fist—
BOOOOOM.
The wall beside them collapsed inward, metal and concrete flying down the corridor. A raw shockwave of electricity burst out with cannon force, slamming Von into the other wall with a grunt.
Sparks were flying every which way. Glass shattered once more. Fire popped in the air ducts above.
Smoke rolled in the room, puffy and rolling like a thunderhead cloud. Within it, a shadow began to form—tall, standing, and charged with suppressed electrical tension.
When the smoke had cleared, Von coughed and looked up, vision disoriented.
Standing around them was a masked figure, tall and sinister, wearing storm-black. Both of his hands held a gleaming golden trident, crackling with high-voltage electricity. The power wasn't wild—it pulsed with purpose. Controlled. Precise.
Lightning wrapped about his body like serpents. His eyes glowed muted beneath the mask—cold, blue, and unreadable.
He wasn't looking at Von.
He was looking straight at Dr. Rhane.
Mysterious Man (deep, resonant voice):
"So, I've finally found you, Rhane."
Rhane, whose lips were smeared with blood and whose face was bruised all over, halted.
A flash of genuine fear passed across his eyes for the first time.