The Devourer’s Echo – Duel with the Last Host

The moment the man swung his broken, clawed racket, the ground split open.

Raghav barely dodged, flipping sideways as a slice of kinetic energy tore through the rusted floor of the facility.

> He's fast.

Not just fast—perfectly calibrated.

Kaveen, the former bearer of the Devourer, moved like he'd rehearsed this fight a thousand times in his head. His body didn't twitch with madness—it pulsed with calculated instability, like a genius on the edge of shattering.

And his voice was calm.

> "I remember the first time it whispered to me."

Another swing—this one wide, designed to drive Raghav back toward a relic surge pillar. The room hummed.

> "It asked me if I was tired of limits."

Raghav blocked the strike, but the moment their rackets clashed, he felt it—

A memory. Not his.

FLASH.

Kaveen as a teenager, dueling in a ruined court. Crowds watching. His body failing, his heart slowing. A coach yelling to stop the match.

Then a whisper.

> "I can fix this."

And suddenly, Kaveen surged forward and devoured his opponent's relic mid-match—illegal. Impossible. Beautiful.

Back to present.

Raghav stumbled back, the vision making his hands tremble.

Kaveen grinned. "It doesn't just give you power. It gives you clarity."

They fought across the shattered court—runes bursting with each clash.

The Devourer in Raghav's body was responding more now. Tempting him. Wanting out.

> "He's broken. Take him. He's ripe."

The Devourer offered the same deal it once gave Kaveen: Devour the last host, gain all his strength, his relic mastery, his techniques.

Raghav hesitated.

And in that moment—Kaveen struck true.

A direct hit across Raghav's chest sent him flying into a collapsed relic generator.

Sparks erupted.

Pain flooded his ribs.

Kaveen didn't press the attack.

He walked, slowly, dragging his clawed racket, voice low.

> "They all wanted to cage it. But I listened. I became more."

His eyes glowed faint purple. Relic runes surged around his skin.

> "And then they feared me. Like they will fear you."

Raghav wiped blood from his lip, breathing hard.

"Why didn't you leave this place?"

Kaveen tilted his head. "They told me to. But I chose to stay. I became… the warning."

Raghav stood again.

And this time, he didn't use the Devourer.

He let his body move on instinct, relying on what he'd learned—his footwork, his will, his humanity.

The next exchange was different.

Cleaner.

Sharper.

Not about power—but timing.

And as they clashed a final time, Raghav twisted, redirected Kaveen's momentum, and drove him back with a clean return that shattered the clawed racket in half.

Kaveen dropped to one knee, smiling through the pain.

> "You… resisted it."

Raghav nodded, panting.

"I'm not you."

But then the Devourer surged.

It didn't like being denied.

> "Take him. You earned it. His relic. His knowledge. His everything."

Kaveen's body glowed. His relic essence rose from him like smoke.

Raghav stood still.

And made a choice.

> "No."

He let the relic essence disperse into the room—unclaimed.

Kaveen blinked, genuinely stunned.

> "You… let me go."

Raghav lowered his racket. "If I become what you did… there's no saving me."

The facility's relic systems hummed. The Devourer recoiled—hissing.

Kaveen laughed, hollow and full of awe.

> "Then maybe there's hope for the next one."

He collapsed, unconscious—but alive.

Later…

As Raghav walked deeper into the facility, a single glyph lit up on the wall:

[LEVEL UNLOCKED: VESSEL OF RESTRAINT]

A new path had opened.

One not of hunger…

…but balance.

And somewhere far above, back in the Rebellion's heart, the Judge of Silence opened his eyes… and smiled.

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