The canyon walls rose like ancient sentinels, rugged and cracked, their ochre faces catching the light of the afternoon sun. Wind howled softly through the crevices, carrying the faint echo of rustling sand and distant wildlife. Down below, in the rocky basin, two figures moved with sharp precision — Alstar and Alexandrite — facing a monstrous python whose thick, dark-green scales shimmered like armor in the sunlight.
The serpent hissed furiously, its body coiling and uncoiling with terrifying speed. Its golden eyes burned with animal fury as it lashed out, knocking chunks of rock loose from the canyon floor. Alstar ducked under a whipping tail, boots skidding on the dust as the ground shook from the impact.
"Now, Alex!" he barked, gripping the handle of his twin knives.
From a vantage point on a jagged ledge, Alexandrite responded instantly. Her rifle gleamed silver as she aimed, breath steady, finger tightening on the trigger. Bang! A bullet whizzed through the air and struck the python's side, embedding itself between its armored scales. The serpent roared and twisted, momentarily distracted.
Alstar seized the opening. He sprinted forward, blades flashing in the sun, and slashed across the creature's lower body in a rapid cross pattern. Shhk! Shhk! Twin crimson lines appeared, followed by a spray of dark blood. The python recoiled, hissing violently, thrashing its tail in a wild arc.
"Keep it off balance!" Alexandrite shouted down.
"Working on it!" Alstar replied through clenched teeth as he rolled away from another tail sweep, his movements fluid and practiced. This was a dangerous fight, but he and Alex had trained together long enough to fall into rhythm almost instinctively. She provided long-range disruption, while he dealt precise, devastating melee strikes.
The canyon echoed with the sound of battle — gunfire, the clang of blades, and the enraged cries of the python. The dust kicked up around them, swirling like a miniature sandstorm.
Gradually, their coordinated assault began to take effect. The python was bleeding from multiple wounds, its movements slowing slightly as it struggled to keep up with Alstar's relentless assault and Alexandrite's harrying shots.
"You're getting sloppy, big guy!" Alstar taunted as he slid beneath the serpent's lunging head, slicing across its lower jaw. Blood splattered across the rocks, sizzling faintly in the dry heat.
Alexandrite switched magazines with practiced ease, her hands a blur. She crouched low, aimed at the base of the python's neck — the most vulnerable spot — and fired three consecutive shots. Bang! Bang! Bang! The impact made the creature shudder violently, and for the first time, it hesitated.
"We've got it cornered," Alex said through her comm earpiece, her voice steady but with a flicker of excitement.
Alstar grinned, golden eyes narrowing. "Let's finish this."
He dashed forward once more, spinning one of his knives in his hand as he prepared for a decisive strike. The serpent hissed and lunged again, but this time its attack lacked the earlier ferocity. It was weakening.
But neither of them noticed the shadows moving at the canyon's rear.
Behind a cluster of jagged rocks at the canyon's far end, a group of players lay in wait. They wore mismatched combat gear, faces partially hidden by scarves and goggles. Their weapons varied — stun grenades, rifles, blades — but their intent was the same.
"Wait for it…" whispered their leader, a tall woman with a black bandana wrapped tightly around her arm. Her eyes locked on the duo battling the python. "They're exhausting it. Let them take the risks."
"They're good," another muttered.
"Doesn't matter. We'll hit them when they think they've won. Clean up crew gets the spoils."
The leader's lips curved into a cold smile. She raised her hand. "On my signal."
As Alstar and Alexandrite pressed their advantage, the ambushers crept closer, their boots barely making a sound on the canyon floor. They knew the terrain well. This was their hunting ground — a narrow pass with limited escape routes.
And their prey had walked straight into it.
The python, enraged and wounded, suddenly thrashed its body in a massive sweeping motion, sending Alstar sliding back and buying the attackers their moment.
"Now!" the bandana leader hissed.
Thunk! A stun bomb flew through the air, landing directly between Alstar and the serpent. A sharp metallic click, then—
BOOM!
A blinding flash exploded outward, followed by a piercing bang that rattled the canyon walls.
"Gah—!" Alstar staggered back, knives slipping slightly in his grip as his vision whitened. His ears rang violently, the world spinning around him.
On the ledge, Alexandrite shielded her eyes too late. "A—stun—bomb?!" she gasped, her balance faltering.
The hidden players burst from their hiding spots like wolves. Gunfire erupted, bullets pinging off stone and sparking near Alstar's feet. Two rushed Alexandrite's perch, grappling hooks swinging.
"Ambush!" she shouted, trying to regain focus as she fired off a few erratic shots. One attacker went down, but two more reached her, forcing her into close combat.
Down below, Alstar shook his head violently, trying to shake off the dizzying disorientation. But the python wasn't going to wait politely — it lunged forward with renewed ferocity, sensing weakness.
"Damn it—!" Alstar stumbled sideways, barely avoiding the snapping jaws. The serpent's tail slammed into the ground near him, throwing up a spray of dust and gravel.
He was trapped between two fronts: the python in front, and the ambush party behind.
The canyon descended into chaos.
Alexandrite parried a knife strike with the butt of her rifle, spun around, and kicked another attacker in the chest, sending him tumbling off the ledge. She ducked a swing, fired point-blank into a shoulder, and yelled, "Alstar! We've got company!"
"Yeah, I noticed!" Alstar barked back, sliding under the python's body and slicing at its underbelly to keep it at bay. But he couldn't focus fully — his head was still ringing from the stun grenade, and more attackers were pouring into the canyon.
The ambushers moved like scavengers, opportunistic and precise. Some targeted Alexandrite to neutralize the sniper. Others rushed Alstar, counting on the python to finish off anyone distracted.
One player lunged at him from the side with a short sword. Alstar blocked with a knife, spun, and countered with a swift kick that sent the attacker sprawling. But before he could recover, the python's tail whipped toward him.
He crossed his knives defensively — CRACK! — the blow launched him back several meters, slamming him against a rock wall. He coughed, spitting out dust, his muscles aching.
Alexandrite wasn't faring much better. She managed to knock one opponent unconscious, but another grabbed her rifle, and a third struck from behind. She stumbled forward, barely avoiding a follow-up stab.
"This is bad!" she growled.
"Yeah," Alstar muttered, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, "no kidding."
The python coiled its massive body, preparing to strike again. Alstar's grip tightened on his knives as he forced himself back to his feet. His breathing slowed.
He'd been in worse fights before.He'd been cornered. Outnumbered. Overwhelmed.
But this situation… the chaos of enemies on both sides, the pressure to protect Alexandrite, the need to think fast under crushing odds—
It reminded him.
Not of the canyon.Not of this battle.
But of a day long ago.
A day when he wasn't Alstar yet.When he was still Solar.
And when he stood beside Thorn for the very first time.
The heat of sunlight and the wild surge of nature's force.Two elements clashing… then merging.
Their first Elemental Fusion.
The canyon blurred at the edges of his vision, the ringing in his ears fading into the distance. For a moment, Alstar wasn't staring at a python and a group of ambushers. He was staring into memory — vivid, burning, alive.
The sensation was visceral. He could almost feel Thorn's vines coiling beside his flames. He could hear their synchronized heartbeat.
That battle had been unlike anything else.That fusion had changed him forever.
He stood there, knives trembling slightly in his hands, as the past surged to the forefront of his mind.
The python lunged. The attackers shouted. But Alstar's mind had already slipped away.