duel at midnight

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Chapter 16 – Duel at Midnight

The moonlight outside was hauntingly perfect. A cloudless sky, silver glow washing over the rooftops, and a silence that felt... staged.

Lucian stood at the window, body still trembling slightly from the Rift experience. His fingers flexed instinctively, the Enlightened Grip skill still pulsing gently under his skin. The Warrior's Eye hovered like a whisper in his mind, analyzing movements before they even happened. But something else gnawed at him—Fragmented Will—that mysterious item, still dormant… but waiting.

The black envelope he received in the Rift pulsed again.

> "Midnight. Come alone."

Lucian muttered, "Who the hell writes such dramatic notes anyway?"

Behind him, the butler stepped forward. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

Lucian didn't turn around. "Just a midnight jog. Might punch someone along the way."

Neo shuffled awake, hair a mess. "Big bro, you're going out again? Can't you just fight people during daylight like normal uncles?"

Riv sat up next to him, rubbing her eyes. "Biiiig bwroooo..."

Lucian knelt down. "I'll be back soon. Promise. Guard the house, alright?"

Neo yawned. "Alright. But next time, let me come. I wanna fight someone too."

Lucian smirked. "You'll get your time, little legend."

---

Location: Crescent Hill

The location from the envelope was eerie. A small abandoned battleground outside the city, overgrown with weeds and cracked stone arenas from a time long gone.

A cloaked figure stood in the center, back turned.

Lucian stepped onto the stone.

"So," he said, arms crossed, "Are we gonna talk or do the whole silent intimidation thing?"

The figure turned.

Lucian flinched.

The man had no face.

It was his own shadow given form, blank and smooth, like a version of Lucian with all the humanity erased.

"The cost of power is identity," it said. "Prove yours deserves to exist."

Without warning, the figure lunged. Fast. Inhuman.

Lucian barely activated Warrior's Eye in time, sidestepping, his instincts screaming. He countered with a punch, only for the shadow to vanish and reappear behind him.

"You cheat like me," Lucian spat, flipping backward. "I hate that."

He activated Enlightened Grip, summoning spectral chains of golden-blue. They lashed out, binding the shadow momentarily. Lucian surged forward with a brutal kick—but it phased through.

The shadow melted into darkness, then reformed with Lucian's face.

"You are not worthy," it whispered.

Lucian's eyes narrowed. "Wanna bet?"

---

The battle raged.

Lucian poured all of it in—rage, training, his Weeks of Destruction techniques. He unleashed the First Week: Week of Sorrow, cutting through illusions, binding specters with grief-laced power. He transitioned into Second Week: Week of Devastation, sending shockwaves with every blow, the air itself crumbling under the pressure.

But the shadow adapted. It started copying the Weeks. Twisting them. Mocking them.

Lucian was pushed into a corner. Panting. Bleeding.

"This… This is insane. Is this what I could've become?"

The Fragmented Will inside him pulsed again—brighter now.

He gritted his teeth. "If power is memory... then remember this."

He activated a technique he'd never tried before. Something raw. Something incomplete.

Third Week: The Week of Ruin.

Black and gold energy exploded from him like a storm. Time felt slower. Gravity warped. The shadow froze—just a fraction of a second—but it was enough.

Lucian charged.

A punch to the chest. A blast of chain. A scream from the depths of will.

The shadow cracked.

And shattered.

Lucian fell to his knees.

Breathing hard. Vision shaking.

But the battle was over.

---

A whisper echoed through the ruins.

"You are not the same as you were. Good. Grow stronger. For your brother. For yourself. For what's coming."

Lucian stood up slowly.

"I'll be ready."

Behind him, a second black envelope floated down.

He caught it.

> "Floor One Cleared. Trial Tower begins soon. You are not alone."

His eyes widened. "There's more?"

---

Meanwhile...

Back at the house, the butler stood guard outside. Neo was asleep. Riv had crawled onto his lap again.

But something moved in the shadows.

Another presence.

Watching.

Smiling.

"He's getting stronger. Just as we hoped. Now let's see what he does next..."

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End of Chapter 16

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