Chapter 8

The tunnel shuddered as Ryn and Mira sprang into action, their transformed selves igniting the gloom with raw, decade-honed power.

The air itself trembled, the damp walls groaning under the weight of their unleashed abilities.

Dust and debris swirled in chaotic spirals, caught in the crossfire of their elemental fury.

Ryn—Fireboy—charged at Kellan, flames erupting from his fists, molten lava dripping from his hands.

His orange eyes blazed like twin suns, his very presence warping the air with scorching heat.

Kellan—a hulking mass of muscle and glowing fists—met him head-on, roaring as he swung a shockwave punch that cracked the tunnel's stone walls.

The impact sent tremors through the ground, but Ryn dodged with a fluid grace, his lean frame a flicker of heat against Kellan's brute force.

Kellan's next blow tore through the tunnel wall, but Ryn was already behind him.

A fiery uppercut.

The searing heat met flesh, and Kellan staggered, his growl turning to a gasp as his chest blistered and smoked.

The smell of burnt skin filled the air, mingling with the damp rot of the sewer.

Kellan's glowing fists flickered, his confidence wavering as Ryn pressed the attack.

Each strike was a calculated blaze of fury—a decade of stored-up battle instinct unleashed.

At the same instant, Mira—Darkshadow—glided toward Lira, her sleek black costume shimmering, shadows coiling around her like a living cloak.

Her movements were hypnotic, a dance of darkness that defied physics.

Lira's jittery hands sparked, electric arcs snapping wildly as she hurled a bolt—

Mira sidestepped with a lazy smirk, her shadows snapping out like whips.

The dark tendrils caught Lira's wrists, yanking her forward.

SLAM.

With a flick of Mira's wrist, Lira was driven into the tunnel's filth, her sparks extinguished effortlessly.

Lira shrieked, her goggles fogged with panic, her body trembling as Mira loomed over her.

"What's wrong, jitterbug?" Mira purred, her tone dripping with mockery.

Lira scrambled up, her hands shaking, but another shadow tendril snapped around her ankle.

Mira flipped her upside down, then—

SLAM.

Lira hit the wall like a ragdoll, her body crumpling with a muffled gasp.

Her sparks flickered, her breathless whimpers the only sign of life.

Elena stumbled back, her burnt hand gripping a jagged chunk of debris, her good eye wide.

The tunnel had morphed into a battlefield.

Dust swirled, the air thick with the stench of burnt stone, blood, and sweat.

She watched—transfixed, horrified.

This wasn't a fight.

This was slaughter.

Ryn and Mira moved with lethal synergy, dominating their opponents with a casual cruelty that unsettled her.

They weren't heroes reclaiming the battlefield.

They were predators, and Kellan and Lira were their prey.

Ryn and Kellan grappled—a brutal dance of fire and force.

Kellan's massive fist aimed for Ryn's skull, but Ryn twisted, grabbing the arm and—

SNAP.

A sickening crunch echoed as bones cracked.

Kellan howled, his knees buckling.

Ryn drove a molten knee into his gut—

Then a flaming elbow to his jaw.

CRACK.

Kellan's teeth shattered, his breath escaping in a broken wheeze.

He collapsed into the filth, twitching, broken.

Ryn stood over him, fire licking higher, the heat warping the air.

"Survival, huh?" His voice was mocking, cold.

"How's it working out?"

Mira sauntered toward Lira's limp form, shadows slithering like hungry serpents.

With a snap of her fingers, dark tendrils shot forward, pinning Kellan and Lira to the stone wall.

The traitors writhed, their pleas drowned by the roar of fire as Ryn's hands swept wide—

WHOOSH.

A ring of fire erupted, encircling them.

The heat intensified, licking at Kellan's hair, blistering Lira's skin.

Lira screamed, thrashing as the flames crept closer.

"No—stop! We can't move!"

Mira leaned in, her voice silk and venom.

"No more big plans, meathead?"

Kellan coughed, his face contorted in agony.

His once-mighty frame trembled, reduced to nothing beneath the sheer power Ryn and Mira exuded.

A low groan cut through the chaos.

Dax stirred, clutching his head, his telepathic senses flaring.

Memories rushed back—dead villains, screams, flames.

He winced, then crawled to Soren, his hand pressing against her temple—

A sharp psychic jolt snapped her awake.

Soren gasped, bolting upright, blade half-drawn.

Her eyes widened at the scene.

"They're monsters," she breathed, her grip on her blade tightening.

"I'm ending this."

Dax grabbed her wrist, urgent.

"Hold it. Something's wrong—my telepathy's dead against them."

Soren's breath hitched.

"What?"

"I can't read them. It's like they don't exist."

A cold dread crept over her.

She stared at Ryn and Mira—untouchable, unstoppable.

"They're stronger than us—way stronger."

She lowered her blade, a shiver running through her.

This wasn't a fight.

This was a display of dominance.

Kellan broke first.

His voice cracked through the heat.

"I'm sorry! We're sorry!"

Lira sobbed, goggles slipping, tears streaking her dirt-smeared face.

"We'll fight for you! No more betrayal, I swear!"

The words hung in the air, raw and pitiful.

Ryn's flames roared higher.

Mira's shadows constricted.

Elena's stomach twisted.

Her burnt hand shook as she lurched forward, grabbing Ryn's burning shoulder.

"Ryn, stop."

His blazing eyes snapped to hers.

The fire paused mid-lick.

"Why?" His voice was sharp. "They turned on us."

Elena's good eye held his, unflinching.

"Fear broke them, not hate. We need them."

Mira's shadows flared.

Her voice was venom.

"Soft heart's a death sentence, Voss. They'll stab us again."

Ryn's flames flickered.

Kellan sagged, voice hoarse.

"We'll follow. Anything you say."

Lira choked on a sob.

"No more running. Just… let us live."

Ryn exhaled.

The fire vanished.

Mira sighed, shadows retreating.

She crossed her arms. "Bad call."

Ryn grinned, rubbing his neck.

"How's that different from usual?"

The tunnel's heat eased.

Elena let out a breath, her scarred face softening.

They had Ryn and Mira now.

Maybe, just maybe—

They could win.