Evan's storm wouldn't sit still. Violet arcs spat from his skin like nails pried from boards, ripping cobbles in sparks. His ribs were screaming, lungs begging, vision splitting into white fractures. Cross stood across the courtyard with claws dripping black lightning into the dust, mouth stretched in a smile that was all jagged hunger.
"Ghost," the monster said. "You stand again. Why?"
Evan spat blood into the dirt and wiped his mouth. "Because you're still here."
Then he ran.
[Burst Step] Activated.[Thunderstep] Chain Engaged.
The courtyard detonated violet. Cobblestones leapt like teeth; walls cracked; shutters blew open. Evan became a streak, shoulder down, ribs grinding under wrap, speed rolling through him too fast to fit. Cross raised one claw to meet him—casual, certain—then staggered when Evan bent the vector mid-lunge.
[Vector Break] — Microplane Control +15%.
He hit the monster low at the hip, elbow slamming in. The impact rattled stone and bone alike. Cross grunted. A sound like mountains coughing.
Evan didn't stop. He chained again, Overdrive clawing at his nerves. His arcs screamed white-violet, brighter than before, biting into Cross's ribs, thigh, jaw. Three hits in a blink, each sharp enough to shatter wood.
Cross staggered back a step. For the first time, his claws came up in guard.
"Better," the monster admitted. "Still small."
He whipped a claw. Black lightning carved the air, slicing through afterimages until half the lane collapsed in rubble.
Warning: Conduction strain +28%.HP: 34%.
"Shut up!" Evan roared. He surged again, legs shivering, ribs threatening to cave, eyes burning. His storm tore free from him and wrapped his body whole.
New Technique Prototype: Arc Ascension.Risk: Neural burn / Cardiac failure — 79%.
He chose yes.
The world exploded.
Arcs didn't cling anymore; they crowned him. Every step shattered stone. Every punch cracked air like thunder. He wasn't violet lightning crawling through alleys—he was a tower of it, walking.
He slammed into Cross.
The courtyard went white.
Cross staggered back ten paces, claws sparking, chest scored with violet scars where lightning had burned through his black storm. His mouth curled into something almost human.
"You—" the monster began.
Evan cut him off with another charge, this one faster, heavier, guided by five notes humming through his chest. Hook Street heat. Foundry iron. Slums' stubborn pulse. Docks' pull. Towers' cold cadence. The Domain threads pulled tight, braided into his spine.
Domain Network Surge — Conduit Reinforced.Fear resonance −20%. Ally speed +20% (Slums active).
He struck again and again, hammering Cross back through walls. Brick sprayed. Beams snapped. The Slums watched through cracks, eyes wide, pipes hammering three-two-three so loud it shook gutters.
Cross's black lightning flared wild, claws cutting arcs that could have split a man in half. Evan ducked under one, ribs screaming, and drove a violet-clad fist into the monster's jaw.
The ground cratered.
Cross hit stone, bounced, landed on one knee. He laughed then—a jagged laugh, half blood, half approval.
"Ghost," he said, wiping lightning off his mouth. "Now you look like mine."
Evan's storm hissed. His body begged to stop. He didn't. He leveled his stance, lightning coiling.
"You're not mine," he said. "And I'm not yours."
Then he punched.
Arc Ascension burst. Cross slammed through a wall, through another, through a building that had been a market yesterday. Dust rose like a curtain. When it fell, the monster was on the ground, chest heaving, claws limp at his sides.
Evan staggered toward him, arcs flickering, ribs ready to collapse. The panel floated, smug.
Quest Progression — Rise Again.Phase Completed: Exceeded anomaly threshold.Reward: Stat Increase (+45 Speed).Reward: Technique Evolution — Arc Ascension (Unstable).
He stood over Cross, storm hissing down to embers. The monster's chest rose and fell, claws twitching, mouth twisted in something that could be called a grin.
"Kill me," Cross said. "Earn it."
Evan raised his hand, violet arcs clawing his knuckles. The Slums behind him held their breath, waiting for judgment. His heart hammered. His ribs bled. His storm begged.
He lowered his hand.
"No," Evan said. "You'll live. You'll crawl back. And when I beat you again, it'll be clean."
Cross's grin widened, blood in his teeth. "Mercy," he said. "Expensive."
He rolled to his feet, staggered once, then let his black lightning wrap him. He limped into the shadow of a lane, slower now, but laughing.
Evan let him go. He turned toward the people watching, forced his spine straight, and lifted his storm as proof.
"I told you, "He said, voice cracked but loud. "I don't stop."
Pipes hammered back, three-two-three, shaking the Slums awake.
Domain Bond — Slums (Strong).Network: Stabilized. Overflow: 22%.
The city believed.
He made it as far as Hook Street before the screams tore it apart again.
Not the pipes. Not the bells. Real screams—sharp, cut off, replaced by silence.
Evan ran. Ribs forgot they were broken, legs forgot they were human. He tore through lanes, over carts, under beams, violet lightning gouging every stone he touched.
The bakery door was open. Flour dust drifted in the air like ghosts.
Marra lay on the floor, the ladle snapped beside her. One claw mark had opened her from collar to waist. Her eyes were glass. The ovens still glowed, but they would never bake again.
On the wall above her, carved deep and bleeding dust, an X burned black.
Cross's laughter echoed down the lane, fading, patient, cruel.
Evan fell to his knees beside her. The storm inside him shrieked. The pipes hammered mad, frantic, endless.
The panel burned into his vision, merciless.
Critical Quest Update — Rise Again.Failure Condition Triggered: Loved one slain.New Directive: Pursue anomaly [Cross] immediately.Reward: Path Evolution Opportunity (Silver → ?).Failure: Domain collapse, total erosion.
Evan's scream rattled the street, lightning bursting out of him like the city itself was on fire.