Weapons. Rows of them, scattered across the abandoned halls of what used to be the Victinions' safe haven. Blades, rifles, spears—relics of war, gathering dust and rust. Yet today, they would taste life once more.
Noir stood still for a moment, staring down at a crooked sword in his hand. The flame inside him—that mysterious, gnawing ember—flickered violently.
"You're hesitating," Cloud said, his voice low but clear, cradling a plasma blaster in his clawed hand. His blue scales gleamed under the artificial sun panels overhead.
"I heard her," Noir muttered, barely above a whisper. "I swear, I heard her say it. 'Kill me.'"
Cloud turned to look at Kyi, hovering midair like a wounded predator. Her long white hair danced madly in the electric air, the strange markings along her arms glowing faintly red. Her eyes, though, were distant. Fractured.
"She doesn't know what she's saying anymore," Cloud replied. "She's lost. And I can't blame her."
They both charged. Noir swung the sword—a sloppy, emotional slash. Kyi adapted immediately, her skin hardening where the blade struck. The weapon bounced back as if striking rubber.
Cloud's blaster fired next. The beam struck Kyi square in the chest, sending a surge of light through her body—she cried out, but not in pain. More in fury.
"I felt that," Noir said, breathless.
"She's evolving mid-strike. Fast," Cloud added, flying upwards to avoid her retaliating claw.
The flame grew stronger.
Noir dropped the sword and picked up a jagged axe instead. His muscles screamed. His mind was in turmoil. What am I doing? Is this what she wanted?
Kyi roared and dove. Her clones emerged from the far side of the facility, 15 in total, all with various half-completed markings. They moved like soldiers, flanking from all sides.
Yureth and Joma—gone. The other Victinions, the so-called "guardians"? Dead. Killed in the chaos when Noir and Cloud broke through their deceit, cut down during the melee when they revealed their cruel plan. Now it was just Kyi, fractured, and her army of herself.
The flame grew brighter.
"You think you can kill me?" Kyi screamed, but the voice sounded broken, as if someone else was speaking through her. She pointed a trembling finger. "CLONES! KILL THEM!"
Noir froze. She's lost in it... and it's my fault. I should've listened better. Saved her faster. I waited too long.
The clones attacked. One went for Noir's chest—Cloud tackled it mid-flight, smashing it against the steel wall.
Noir let out a roar, a sound that wasn't human. Not anymore. He swung the axe again, cleaving a clone in half.
It vanished in ash.
Another flame ignited in his heart.
Why does it burn so brightly now?
Cloud turned to him. "You're changing. I can feel it. Your body can't handle it for long."
"I don't care!" Noir shouted. He picked up a spear, hurled it—two clones turned to smoke.
Kyi's breathing grew erratic. She had stopped moving, now watching, unsure.
"WHY DOESN'T IT END?" she screamed. Her eyes trembled, lips bloodied from biting down. Her own flame—whatever had once burned in her soul—flickered, failing.
The chamber was fire and death. Noir moved like lightning. Cloud glided through clone after clone with precision strikes. Their movements synced.
Still, Noir's mind raced.
She wants to die. She wants to be freed. But every attack she adapts. Every strike becomes useless. How do you destroy the unbreakable?
The clones dwindled. One by one, they fell. Not because of power, but because of will. They weren't whole. They didn't have her despair. Her sorrow. They were just copies of suffering.
Flame.
Noir's body ached. The fire inside him surged, consuming his veins.
He looked down. His arms—were they glowing?
Cloud was the first to notice. "Your aura... it's not normal. That's not just adrenaline."
Kyi's voice pierced the chaos.
"You... said you'd kill me. DO IT!"
Noir's grip tightened. His feet moved. Before he even realized, he was in front of her.
The clones were gone. Ashes.
Just her. Just him.
The flame was a sun.
She looked him in the eyes, tears streaming from a place too deep to be healed. "Please..."
His blade, cracked and humming with energy, rose.
"This flame..." he whispered. "It's not about rage. It's... mercy."
He brought it down—
—and she blocked it.
Just barely. Her adaptation still working. But weaker. Slower.
They stood frozen.
"You don't want to die," Noir said, eyes burning, voice level. "You want release. But you also want forgiveness."
Kyi trembled.
The flame didn't fade. It pulsed. Waiting.
To be more.
To be something else.
Cloud dropped beside them, quiet.
"So now what?" he asked.
Noir stared at Kyi, who now knelt, sobbing.
"Now," he said, lowering the sword, "we figure out how to save her."
The flame inside did not go out.
It waited.