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Then he raises his blade, aiming for the kill.

I don’t think. I send a shattering pulse through the air, the force of it knocking Keagan back, breaking his grip just enough for Zander to crumple to the ground, gasping.

Keagan groans, rolling his shoulders, shaking off the attack like it is nothing. Then he grins. “Now we’re having fun.”

The fight is a blur, a frenzied mess of blood, sweat, and raw determination. My limbs feel like lead, every movement sluggish and painful. Zander is staggering beside me, his chest heaving as he struggles to remain upright, sword barely held in his trembling grip. Keagan is a blur of motion, moving like liquid darkness, faster than we can react, his laughter echoing through the chaos.

Keagan’s presence is suffocating. He has us cornered. There is nowhere to go, nothing left to fight with.

His eyes gleam in the moonlight, cold and merciless, and I can see it in his smile, his posture: the sick satisfaction of a predator savoring the final moments before the kill.

I barely register the change in him at first. A flash of something different, something darker, his movements sharper, more predatory. It is subtle, a shift in the air, a tightening in the way he moves.

Then I see it, his fingers, his hands, twisting in unnatural ways, his claws lengthening from his fingertips, sharp as daggers.

The bones in his fingers crack, the sound sickening, as the claws break through his skin with a cruel, wet rip.

I fight through the fog of exhaustion, trying to react, trying to process what is happening. His claws gleam under the dim light, the tips like obsidian knives. He swings at us, at Zander, at me, slashing with terrifying precision.

I duck instinctively, feeling the brush of air as one of his claws barely misses my throat. The weight of the battle is settling on my shoulders, and my magic is wearing itself out, but I can’t back down.

Keagan isn’t done.

Ash is moving. His gravity manipulation is sharp, cutting through the air with every change of direction, pressing down on Keagan’s limbs, keeping him off balance. For a time, it seems like Ash is the one who is gaining the upper hand. Keagan can’t land a solid hit without his movements being altered by Ash’s magic.

Keagan is patient, too patient, and his cruelty is unmatched. Ash’s power is formidable, but it comes with a price. Each shift, each gravity twist, drains him, zapping his strength bit by bit.

Keagan notices it first, the subtle signs: Ash’s movements growing slower, his breaths more ragged, his footing less sure.

Keagan’s eyes gleam with a sick sense of understanding. With a mocking grin, he focuses on Ash, who has just deflected another swipe from his claws.

Ash doesn’t see what is coming, though. He is too focused on keeping Keagan grounded, too caught up in the dance of their battle to notice Keagan changed tactics.

In a split second, Keagan’s claws dig into the earth, and with a force that shouldn’t be possible, he lunges.

Ash isn’t ready for the sudden ferocity of the strike.

Keagan’s fist collides with Ash’s side, the impact so hard that I can hear his ribs crack under the pressure. He gasps, his body jerking with the force of it.

Ash doesn’t have time to recover.

Keagan grabs him by the collar of his cloak, lifting him off the ground. The jagged edge of Keagan’s claws raked across Ash’s chest, tearing through the fabric of his cloak and the skin beneath. Blood wells up, staining the air with a metallic scent.

Ash’s eyes widen in pain, his hands instinctively trying to push Keagan away, but the shifting gravity is no help. His power is already faltering, stretched thin from the intense exertion.

Keagan smiles, twisting his grip on Ash’s collar, pulling him closer. An unsettling, low chuckle escapes his lips. “Not so untouchable now, are you?”

Then, with a sudden movement, Keagan swings his other arm, fist clenched, and slams it directly into Ash’s temple.

Ash lets out a breathless rasp, his head bobbles on his shoulder from the impact, before his body simply goes limp in Keagan’s grasp.

Ash’s grip on reality slips away as his legs buckle under him, his body falling like dead weight when Keagan releases his collar and lets him crumble to the ground with a sickening thud.

“Noo!” I cry out as my friend’s body hits the ground.

Keagan watches for a moment, his eyes glittering with amusement as Ash lies motionless, knocked out cold by the force of the blow. “Pathetic,” Keagan sneers, stepping over Ash’s fallen form with a dismissive glance, already turning back as if Ash was never there.

Ash is out. And now, it is just me and Zander against the monster that is Keagan.