The night air was thick and suffocating, heavy with the scent of smoke, blood, and burning wood. Aria's lungs burned as she drew ragged breaths, ash scratching against her throat, lungs desperate for clean air. The city ruins around her groaned with the aftermath of chaos, stones shifting underfoot, metal groaning from the heat of scattered fires. Every instinct screamed danger, but nothing compared to the presence of the Crimson Blades' leader, looming across the rubble-strewn street like a predator assessing his prey.
Aria's heart hammered so loudly she could feel each beat in her temples. Her fingers tightened around the cleaver, slick with her own blood and the remnants of the enemy they had already cut down. She felt the System's weight at the back of her mind, cold and calculating, observing, waiting.
[Boss Health: 100%]
[Warning: Enemy possesses Elite Modifier – Berserker's Rage. Damage output increases as health decreases.]
Her stomach twisted. This wasn't just a man. This was a weapon, a monster shaped to crush survivors like her, and he was already assessing them with a predator's precision.
The leader swung the axe in a devastating arc. The sound of metal slicing through air was a whistle that burned in her ears. Time slowed as Aria's body reacted before thought could catch up. Quickstep activated instinctively, propelling her sideways with impossible speed. The axe cleaved stone where she had stood moments before, sparks flying in all directions, the ground shuddering from the impact. Her feet barely touched the rubble, carrying her out of harm's way with fluid grace.
Lysander reacted immediately. With a grunt, he lunged forward, sword arcing toward the leader's exposed ribs. But the man twisted with unnatural speed, catching the silver blade on the haft of his axe. Sparks erupted into the night, ringing like a bell across the battlefield. Lysander's muscles strained under the force, teeth gritted, and sweat mingled with blood on his brow.
The cheering of the remaining Crimson Blades was deafening, echoing through the broken streets. The sound sent a chill down Aria's spine, a cruel reminder that their survival depended entirely on skill, speed, and luck.
Aria tightened her grip on the cleaver, knuckles white. Her palm was slick, slick with sweat and blood that burned when it smeared across tiny cuts on her hands. She could feel the System's gaze, measuring, calculating, prompting. It pulsed insistently at the corner of her vision, a constant reminder that she was fighting a foe designed to kill her.
Lysander's blade collided with the axe again. Sparks flew, ringing in her ears. Blood dripped down his shoulder where the earlier arrow had pierced him, soaking his tunic, his skin pale beneath it. Yet his eyes blazed, molten and unyielding, reflecting firelight and fury. He moved with deadly precision, but the leader shoved him back with sheer strength, nearly sending him sprawling.
Aria's mind sharpened. This was the opening. Her heart leapt into her throat as she surged forward, Quickstep igniting her legs with lightning speed. The cleaver bit deep into the leader's arm. Hot blood spattered across her clothes, a metallic tang filling her nose. The man snarled, eyes snapping toward her, wild and gleaming with fury.
"Little rabbit has teeth," he hissed, voice low and dangerous.
He swung the axe at her again. Aria's legs pumped with Quickstep's unnatural speed, dodging the wide arc. The blade grazed her forearm, tearing flesh and igniting a white-hot pain that stabbed into her very bones. She gasped, stumbling, and the System flared.
[HP -12]
[New Status Effect: Bleeding]
[Duration: 00:30]
Pain surged, sharp and relentless, but another pulse flickered to life.
[Passive Triggered: Blooded Edge. Damage increased by 15%.]
Aria let the pain sharpen her focus instead of dulling it. Her grip tightened on the cleaver. Rage built in her chest, hot and combustible, a fire that refused to be smothered. She refused to roll over. She refused to let this monster decide their fate.
She feinted left, baiting another swing from the leader. Quickstep made her legs almost uncatchable, her form a blur as she darted low, cleaver biting deep into his side. The monster stumbled, just for a heartbeat, enough for Lysander to seize the opportunity. Sword flashing like silver lightning, he struck across the leader's chest. Blood erupted, warm and hot, painting the cracked stone beneath their feet.
The surrounding Crimson Blades howled in a mix of fear and rage, surging forward, but the leader raised a hand. His voice boomed, thunderous and commanding.
"Back! He's mine!"
His grin was feral, teeth bared in a blood-stained smile, eyes glinting with malice. "Two little cubs, thinking they can bring down a wolf. I'll tear you apart piece by piece."
He charged again, faster than she expected, the axe swinging like a falling tree. Aria's chest constricted with panic. She braced to dodge—but Lysander lunged. He shoved her hard to the side, the axe slicing into him instead. The sound of metal meeting flesh was sickening. Bone cracked. Blood erupted, warm and sticky, and Aria's hands were suddenly coated in it as she caught him before he fell completely. His weight was heavy, unrelenting, his groans echoing in her ears.
"Lysander!" she yelled, voice jagged with panic and fury.
The world tilted around her, blood, firelight, and ash blurring together. The leader laughed, a cruel, delighted sound that made her stomach twist.
"Pathetic. Protecting her? She'll be mine anyway when you're a corpse," he sneered.
Aria's vision flared red. Rage roared through her veins, primal and unyielding. The System pulsed, responding to her fury.
[Rage Trigger Detected]
[New Temporary Skill Unlocked: Frenzied Strike]
[Effect: Damage +30%, Defense -20%]
[Duration: 01:00]
There was no hesitation. Power surged, fire running through her veins. Her cleaver felt alive in her hands, humming with intent. She laid Lysander gently against the stone rubble, his blood slick and warm, then rose. Eyes locked on the leader, she whispered, voice trembling with a mixture of fear and fury.
"You won't touch him."
Aria moved. The world became a storm of motion, Quickstep and Frenzied Strike turning her into a whirlwind of steel. Sparks flew with each clash, blood sprayed, and her strikes tore at the leader's arms, chest, and legs.
[Boss Health: 78%]
[Boss Health: 65%]
The man roared, swinging wildly, but she was faster, slipping between his attacks, striking again and again. Pain lanced through her arm, vision tunneling, yet she could not stop. Every strike was for Lysander, for survival, for the bond forming in the chaos.
The Berserker's Rage glowed red on the interface.
[Berserker's Rage Activated. Boss Strength +50%]
His next swing hit her square in the chest. Pain exploded, throwing her backward. Rubble tore into her skin as she crashed to the ground, lungs screaming, ribs aching, cleaver sliding from her hands.
[HP -34. Critical Condition]
Her body screamed to stay down, but she saw Lysander, crumpled, barely standing. He was theirs to save—or lose.
No. Not like this.
Her hand shot forward, not for the cleaver, but for him. Their eyes met, silver and fire, a silent pact formed in the chaos.
[Emergency Condition Met]
[Bond Sync Increase: 12% → 25%]
[New Bond Skill Unlocked: Shared Vitality]
[Effect: Temporarily link HP pools between bonded partners. Duration: 02:00]
Silver threads of energy wove from Aria's chest to his, warmth spreading, knitting wounds just enough to rise. Pain, exhaustion, strength—they flowed between them. Together, they were alive.
The leader froze, confusion flickering in his eyes at the sudden surge of power.
Aria seized her cleaver, standing with newfound determination, heart pounding with fury and protective instinct. Lysander staggered to his feet as well, sword gripped despite his wounds. They were no longer two separate fighters. They moved as one, each strike, each dodge, each gasp of breath synchronized, deadly, unstoppable.
The air between Aria and the Crimson Blades' leader seemed to hum with tension, thick and electric. Her chest heaved, lungs burning with every ragged breath. Pain throbbed in her arm and ribs, sharp and insistent, yet she could feel the fire of Frenzied Strike coursing through her muscles. Her cleaver was alive in her hands, humming with intent, every fiber of her being focused entirely on the monster before her.
Lysander's presence beside her was like a tether to reality, his movements slow with exhaustion but precise. Their bond glowed visibly now, silver threads weaving between them as the Shared Vitality system activated. The warmth of it spread through her, knitting her wounds just enough to rise again, and she could sense his pain, his determination, his resolve, flowing into her. Together, they were stronger, sharper, more dangerous than the leader anticipated.
The leader's eyes narrowed, confusion and fury mingling in their depths. "What trick is this?" he snarled, axe swinging in a furious arc meant to crush both of them at once.
Aria darted sideways, Quickstep making her movements almost impossible to track. The blade of her cleaver met the leader's arm in a spray of blood, the strike fueled by her rage and the shared bond with Lysander. At the same instant, Lysander moved with fluid precision, his sword raking across the leader's shoulder. Sparks flew where metal met metal, and a roar of frustration tore from the man's throat.
Every motion was synchronized, almost instinctive. When one faltered, the other compensated. When one bled, the other steadied. It was as if they had become a single entity, a storm of coordinated movement, fury, and survival instinct.
[Boss Health: 42%]
[Boss Health: 28%]
The leader's Berserker's Rage flared, his strength and speed increasing with every swing. Each blow that grazed Aria or Lysander sent shocks of pain through their linked bodies. She gritted her teeth, letting the pain fuel her strikes instead of breaking her. Blood from her arm and his side mingled, warm and slick, a visceral reminder of the stakes.
"Now!" Lysander shouted, voice hoarse but urgent.
Aria understood instantly. She feinted left, baiting the leader's axe toward her, her body trembling with exhaustion but alive with lethal focus. The leader overcommitted, swinging wide with blinding speed.
Lysander slid behind him, sword plunging deep into the man's back, while Aria lunged upward with every ounce of strength left in her, cleaver slicing through his throat. Warmth and iron filled the air as the monster gurgled, blood spraying across their boots, over fire-scorched rubble, and into the cold night.
The world seemed to shatter in the echo of his collapse. The axe clattered to the ground, lifeless fingers slipping from the handle. The Crimson Blades' leader was dead.
[Boss Defeated]
[+500 XP]
[Level Up! Current Level: 10]
[Bond Sync Increase: 25% → 40%]
Aria swayed, chest heaving, cleaver trembling in her grip. Pain throbbed in every muscle, every wound screaming. Lysander leaned heavily on his sword, pale but alive, sweat and blood streaking his face. Their eyes met, a mixture of exhaustion, relief, and something deeper reflected in the firelight and blood-soaked ruins around them.
The remaining Crimson Blades froze, shock and fear etching their faces. One by one, they slipped away into the night, leaving Aria and Lysander alone in the ruined street, surrounded by the smell of blood, smoke, and scorched stone. Silence pressed down, broken only by ragged breathing and the faint crackle of distant fires.
Aria sank to her knees, exhaustion dragging her down, muscles trembling. She felt the Shared Vitality link fade, leaving her alone with the full weight of her injuries. Lysander staggered forward, dropping beside her, his own body slick with blood.
"You're insane," he rasped, voice hoarse, eyes narrowing in disbelief.
"You took an axe for me," she shot back, weak but sharp, silver eyes burning.
For a long moment, neither spoke. Only their breathing, ragged and shared, filled the quiet. The truth of survival, the bond forged in fire and blood, was unmistakable. Neither wanted to admit it, but neither could deny it.
The System chimed softly, breaking the fragile silence.
[Notification: Bond Threshold Reached]
[New Quest Unlocked – Fatebound]
[Objective: Survive Together]
Aria felt her vision blur, exhaustion pressing against her eyelids like a weight she could barely lift. Yet somewhere deep inside, she felt the spark of the bond, the warmth of their shared vitality, the promise that they would endure—together.
The night stretched around them, the ruined city holding its breath. And for the first time, in the heat of blood, fire, and survival, Aria understood that nothing would ever be the same.
The world was theirs to survive, or theirs to lose.
And then darkness claimed her.