Waltz of Carnage

The boy stood on the rooftop with his cold and focused eyes looking down at the ground below, where Gravis had landed after his forceful blow. The impact had sent Gravis tumbling across the pavement, and slowly, the smoke began to clear, until the boy could make out a figure rising from the ground. Gravis' hand was visibly bruised and bleeding from the result of the boy's strike. Yet, despite the pain, Gravis looked up at the boy with a twisted smile.

"Interesting..."

He muttered while wiping the blood off his hand.

Gravis raised his hand, and a sudden shift in the air can be felt around the boy's surrounding. The gravity around him began to intensify, it pressed down with a weight that would have crushed any normal person. But the boy remain unaffected, he was standing tall as if the increased gravity was nothing more than a gentle breeze. His dark flames flickered around him, casting an eerie glow on his surroundings, and the black sword in his hand seemed to pulse with a life of its own.

Gravis eyes narrowed in suspicion, he then clenched his fist as he unleashed a surge of gravitational force, trying to pull the boy down to the ground. The entire building groaned under the pressure, causing tiles cracking and debris floating around, yet the boy didn't budge.

The boy suddenly moved. He leaped off the rooftop with an impossible speed, descending toward Gravis with his sword raised. Gravis quickly altered the gravity beneath him, causing the ground to erupt in a jagged spike aimed directly at the boy. But the boy merely twisted his body mid-air to avoid the attack with fluid grace as his eyes were still locked onto Gravis.

As he landed, the boy dark flames surged, engulfing the blade of his sword. With a swift, powerful swing, he sent a wave of searing black fire toward Gravis. The flames cut through the air, warping it with their intense heat, but Gravis was ready. He slammed his hands together, creating a gravitational barrier that absorbed the flames and dispersed them.

The boy didn't pause as his body moved faster than Gravis could anticipate, he closed the distance between them in an instant. He brought his sword down in a fierce arc, aiming to cleave Gravis in two. Gravis barely managed to redirect the gravitational pull, causing the blade to miss by a hair's breadth. But even as he dodged, he could feel the excruciating pain and the heat of the dark flames singeing his skin.

"Fuck!"

Gravis immediately countered him by swinging his arm in a wide arc, causing the gravity around the boy to shifts abruptly, pulling him off balance and flinging him sideways. The boy hit the ground but rolled with the impact, using the momentum to launch himself back at Gravis. His sword moved with a speed and precision that defied logic, slicing through the air with a deadly whisper.

Gravis gritted his teeth, intensifying the gravity around the boy, trying to crush him under an immense weight. But his dark flames flared, burning away the oppressive force. The flames seemed to feed off the pressure, growing stronger and more chaotic with each passing second.

The boy's movements became more erratic and almost savage-like, as if it was driven by an uncontrollable force. He lunged at gravis with his blade that were a blur of dark energy. Gravis dodged and tried to retaliate by using gravity to warp the space around the boy, attempting to trap him in a gravitational vortex. But the boy's flames shattered the vortex, dispersing it into nothingness.

The boy immediately swung his sword in a wide arc again, unleashing another wave of black fire that scorched the earth this time as it raced toward Gravis. Gravis responded by amplifying the gravity beneath him, launching himself high into the air to avoid the deadly flames. From his vantage point, he could see the full extent of the boy's power—a raging inferno of darkness that consumed everything in its path.

"How about this..."

Gravis wasn't about to be outdone. He extended his hand toward the boy, manipulating the gravity around him to create a crushing force. The ground beneath the boy cracked and crumbled as the gravity intensified, threatening to bury him alive. But the boy's eyes burned with a fierce, otherworldly light. With a single, defiant roar, he unleashed a torrent of dark flames that obliterated the gravitational field and reduced it to ash.

The boy charged at Gravis once more with his sword that were still glowing with dark energy. Gravis knew that he couldn't afford to let the boy get close again. He then concentrated as he poured all his power into a powerful move. The gravity around the boy suddenly reversed, sending him hurtling toward the sky at breakneck speed. But even as the boy was flung into the air, his dark flames surged, enveloping him in a cocoon of black fire.

As he soared higher and higher, the boy's eyes were still locked onto Gravis, who was on the ground. With a powerful thrust, the boy swung his sword downward, sending a colossal wave of black destructing flames that crashes toward Gravis. The wave ripped through the air, distorting everything in its path as it descended upon him.

Gravis barely had time to react. He summoned every ounce of his strength, creating a gravitational barrier to shield himself. But this time, the flames was too powerful. It smashed through the barrier with ease, causing gravis to be propelled again on the ground due to its impact, but he managed to stand firm on his footing.

The boy landed softly on the ground, with his dark flames still burning around him. 

Gravis laughed at the situation.

"Entertain me more, kid!"

With his dull and lifeless eyes, the boy said nothing.

***

Madam Nyx watched the battle unfold from a distance, her eyes were narrowing as she took in every detail of the fight between Gravis and Kaelen. The sheer power and ferocity that Kaelen displayed troubled her, making her question the true extent of the boy's strength. His movements were unnaturally swift, added with his dark flames that were a force of unbridled destruction. She had seen many powerful Seekers in her time, but this was different—there was something else driving him, something beyond his own will.

Serephira approached Madam Nyx with a rim expression showing on her face.

"This has happened before."

A sharp glint can be seen in Madam Nyx's eyes as she turned to her.

"Do you know what has consumed the boy?"

Serephira shook her head, her brow furrowed.

"I don't. But we don't have to worry. 'It' will probably take effect soon."

"What will?"

Before Serephira could respond, a faint glow emanated from around Kaelen's neck, catching their attention. The necklace—a gift from Serephira to Kaelen—began to shine, the red gemstone embedded within it pulsing with a bright, almost blinding light. Suddenly, from the gem, a binding light rope sprang forth, wrapping itself around Kaelen's body.

The rope tightened around him, making him struggled against it, as his dark flames were flaring in defiance, but the binding light only grew stronger, coiling around him like a serpent. It wrapped around his arms, his legs, his torso, until it completely enveloped him. The boy fought to break free as his power was surging in waves, but the light rope held firm as its slowly but surely overpowering him.

With a final, desperate attempt to escape, he thrashed against the bindings, but his strength was wavering. The light rope constricted further, forcing him down onto his knees. The dark flames that had once raged around him began to dim, flickering weakly, and the sword slowly dissipate as the binding took full control.

Serephira watched from the rooftop. She waited until the light rope had completely subdued Kaelen before she leaped down to where he knelt. Approaching him cautiously, she could see the tension in his body starting to ease as his breathing has becoming more regular. The resonance within him—the energy that connected him to his soul—was stabilizing, slowly but surely.

Kneeling beside Kaelen, she leaned in close to him as the last of the dark flames were dissipating into the air.

"You've done enough."

She stood up and shifts her gaze to Gravis. Serephira unsheathed her rapier with its blade that were gleaming in light. She stepped between Kaelen and Gravis with a poised and ready stance.

"Your opponent is now me."