Justin barely had time to breathe as his fight with Brother Kaine wore on.
Shadow spikes tore out of the street in rapid bursts, stabbing upward wherever he wasn't. He twisted, rolled, kicked off a storefront, and shot sideways as another spear of darkness ripped through the air he'd just occupied. The timing was too clean. Kaine wasn't guessing. He was herding him.
Kaine laughed as he walked forward through the chaos, shadows curling around his body like living smoke. "I can't believe my brother lost to you," he said. "A coward. A weakling." His eyes tracked Justin effortlessly. "This is Emerald Atlas. The prodigy I've heard so much about."
Justin clenched his jaw and dodged again.
"Lady Void. Major Stratos. Evermend." Kaine scoffed. "They spoke of you with such confidence. All I see is flash. You hit hard. You fly fast. All sizzle. No steak."
Another spike missed Justin's leg by inches.
"You'll die here," Kaine continued calmly. "Impaled. Bled out. Left on display. A reminder that no one crosses Decay and lives."
Justin surged forward through the barrage and drove a punch into Kaine's chest. The impact rang out. The shadows absorbed it.
Kaine didn't move. He smiled. "You're strong," he said. "But you'll never be stronger than what I command."
The spikes stopped. Shadows flooded back toward Kaine, pooling around his feet before climbing his body. He straightened, rolling his shoulders. "I'm done throwing tricks. I want to feel this."
A blade formed in his hand. Long. Sharp. Entirely black.
Kaine lunged. Justin ducked the first swing, felt the edge pass close enough to chill his skin, and countered with a hook. It glanced off the armor. Another strike. Same result.
Kaine pressed harder, sword flashing as Justin weaved and climbed, trying to punch through the shadows. "You're good," Justin said through clenched teeth. "I'll give you that. But I'm not losing to a scumbag like you."
Kaine laughed mid-swing. "Scumbag." His blade cut across Justin's shoulder. Pain flared. "What makes me that?"
Justin let the hit land. He used the opening.
He grabbed Kaine by the throat and slammed him backward into a wall. Concrete exploded outward as Justin pinned him there, forearm tight. "Look around," Justin snapped. "People are dead because of you. Today. Other days. And you've got the nerve to blame me for your brother when you're the one who killed him. Your words."
Kaine chuckled, even as the wall cracked. "If you think I'm scum," he said softly, "you haven't seen the real rot in this world."
A spike erupted from the ground beneath Justin's feet. It sliced his cheek and forced him back, breaking the hold. Justin skidded across the street and caught himself in the air, blood warm on his face.
Kaine didn't slow. He rushed forward, shadows surging around his legs, boosting his speed beyond human. A second sword formed in his other hand. He swung wildly, power behind every strike, laughter echoing as Justin pulled upward.
Justin flew. Kaine followed, riding the darkness into the sky, blades flashing as he closed the distance.
The sky became their battlefield.
Justin and Kaine tore through the air, trading blows in tight, brutal exchanges. Justin landed hit after hit, fists slamming into Kaine's chest and shoulders. Every impact rang out. None of them broke through. The shadow armor absorbed it all, rippling but holding.
"Damn it," Justin muttered as he pulled back and shot upward.
Wind screamed past him as he pushed his body harder, climbing until the city shrank beneath him. His muscles burned. His lungs felt tight. He kept going anyway.
Kaine followed, shadows carrying him like a living engine. He didn't rush. He let Justin build it. Justin rolled his shoulders once, then flipped and dove.
All the speed. All the weight. All the momentum.
He drove his fist forward and connected. The punch cracked through the armor with a sharp, violent sound. Kaine's body snapped backward as he rocketed toward the ground, shadows flaring wildly as he slammed through the air.
Justin didn't hesitate. He followed, pulling his leg high and dropping into a full axe kick, lining it up just like Liza had taught him.
At the last second, Kaine twisted.
Justin's kick shattered pavement instead of bone, the impact sending debris flying. Kaine landed nearby, boots skidding as he laughed.
"That one stung," Kaine said. "I'll give you that."
The shadows around him swelled.
They thickened and expanded, crawling over his frame until his silhouette grew massive and distorted. Muscle layered over shadow. Armor turned grotesque. He looked less like a man and more like something dragged up from a nightmare.
"Now," Kaine said, voice deeper, heavier. "I'm serious."
He lunged.
The hit came like a freight train. Kaine slammed into Justin and sent him flying straight through a convenience store front. Glass exploded. Shelves disintegrated. Justin crashed through the back wall and into the street beyond.
He barely had time to breathe before Kaine was on him again, striking him midair and sending him careening down another block. Then another. Every hit landed harder than the last. Justin felt ribs crack. Felt blood fill his mouth.
The final blow came from above. Kaine grabbed him, lifted him high, and drove him straight down. The impact created a crater in the streets below.
Justin lay there, coughing, vision blurring. Blood dripped down his chin as he tried to sit up. His body screamed at him to stay down.
Kaine landed a few feet away, laughing. "You're talented," he said. "No question. But you're not in my league."
Justin pushed himself up anyway. His legs shook. His face was a mess of blood and dirt.
He stepped forward and slammed his head into Kaine's chest.
It did nothing as Kaine laughed harder. "What do you think you're doing?"
Justin wiped blood from his mouth. "You're right," he said. "I'm still a rookie."
He looked up, eyes burning. "But I've got heart. And drive. And enough skill to keep you busy until someone who actually is in your league shows up."
Kaine tilted his head. "And who would that be?"
Justin drew in what little strength he had left and roared as he punched forward with everything he had.
The blow tore straight through Kaine's shadow form. Kaine flew backward, but something hit him from above.
Evermend dropped from the sky and buried an axe kick into Kaine's chest, cracking the armor wide open as Liza pulled up hard nearby. The street shook as backup arrived.