💀 THE ARENA OF SHADOWS
A blacked-out chamber.
No crowd. No fire. No music.
Just silence. And the ring — surrounded by mirrors, floor soaked in old blood.
Ryder stepped in, limping from his last two fights.
Across him stood Shira.
Slim. Masked. Silent.
But Ryder could feel it — her energy matched his own. Stance, breathing, presence.
"She fights like me…"
Master Kael had warned him. Razor trained her using his old fight tapes, his style, his rhythm.
She wasn't just a fighter. She was a ghost of his past.
⚔️ RYDER VS. SHIRA
The bell didn't ring. There was only a whisper of air — and Shira was already on him.
Jab. Cross. Elbow to ribs. Sweep.
Ryder countered. Spin. Hook. Blocked.
She slipped through his defenses like a shadow wearing his skin.
Every move he threw — she answered before he finished it.
CRACK. She landed a flying knee to his chest.
BOOM. Ryder flew back, coughing blood.
But he smiled.
"That all Razor taught you?"
She didn't speak.
He charged.
This time — he changed rhythm. Broke his own style.
Punch. Miss. Feint. Kick low. Slide. Elbow up.
He got in.
They collided. A wild dance of fists and fury. Every hit sounded like thunder. Mirror after mirror shattered around them.
Blood painted the glass like art.
😱 REVEAL: SHIRA'S FACE
Mid-fight — Ryder landed a roundhouse kick that knocked Shira's mask clean off.
She froze.
Ryder froze too.
His eyes widened. His soul cracked.
"...Rain?"
She looked back, eyes filled with both rage and shame.
Rain — his old student, his protégé. Thought dead in the gang wars Razor started.
"You left me," she whispered."Razor saved me. You let me die."
Ryder took a step back. His heart wasn't ready.
"I thought you were gone... They told me you—"
"I became stronger without you."
She attacked again — more vicious, more unrelenting.
But Ryder didn't want to fight her. Not her.
He dropped his hands.
"I won't hit you again."
Rain hesitated.
Fists trembling.
💥 INTERFERENCE
Suddenly — a gunshot echoed in the chamber.
KRYPTON appeared above the arena with Razor.
"How touching," Krypton smirked."Too bad this is a death match."
Another shot fired.
Rain screamed — Ryder shielded her, bullet grazing his shoulder.
Razor grabbed the mic.
"She failed. She showed weakness."
He tossed something into the ring — a detonator.
"Let's burn both our failures."
🔥 THE ESCAPE
Ryder grabbed Rain and sprinted through a shattered wall. Explosions burst behind them. Fire chased them down the tunnel.
They crashed through a vent into the back alley behind the arena.
Both bleeding. Both breathing heavy.
For the first time in years, Rain looked at him... not as an enemy, but as a brother.
"Why did you save me?" she asked.
Ryder stood slowly, gripping his burnt side.
"Because Razor doesn't decide how this ends. We do."
🧠 BACK AT THE GARAGE
Tommy stitched Ryder's shoulder. Rain sat nearby, confused, quiet.
"You're part of this now," Ryder said to her.
"We end Razor… together."
She nodded.
But before she could speak, a buzz sounded from the garage screen.
A new challenge.
One final round before Razor.
"NEXT ROUND: RYDER + RAIN VS. THE GOLIATH TWINS"
Two monsters. Half-machine. Controlled by Krypton.
"He's sending the cyborgs," Tommy said. "You're not supposed to survive this."
Ryder cracked his knuckles.
"Good. I'm done surviving."
END OF CHAPTER 4🔥 Next Up: Chapter 5 — Mechs, Mayhem, and the Final DoorIt's Ryder and Rain vs. The Goliath Twins. Flesh meets steel. The gate to Razor opens — but only if they survive what comes next.