Footsteps pound the concrete. Two distinct rhythms.

  Daisy’s breathing hitches, turning ragged. Her face is pale, slick with sweat. She stops, bracing her hands on her knees.

  "Wait... wait," she wheezes. "It’s been a mile. Can't we just sit? I’m thirsty."

  Sonia stops ahead of her. She doesn't turn around; her hands remain crossed behind her back, her posture perfectly straight.

  "The rest of the way won't be as kind," Sonia says.

  "Where can we go then? Anywhere but this street."

  Sonia gestures toward a nearby casino. Neon lights flicker against the grime of the building. "In there. It’s quiet enough."

  Daisy looks up, squinting at Sonia’s profile. "How come your eyes are always shut? Are you blind or something?"

  "Not at all. My sight is as clear as yours."

  They push through the heavy doors.

  The air inside is stale, smelling of old tobacco and spilled liquor. A few gamblers sit at the far tables, hunched over their chips like vultures.

  They find a booth. Sonia sits with her back to the wall. Daisy collapses opposite her.

  A waiter approaches, his movements sluggish. "What can I get you?"

  "Water," Daisy grunts.

  "Make it two," Sonia adds.

  The waiter retreats.

  Daisy leans in, lowering her voice. "How are we supposed to find these Saturn people without a single clue?"

  "We head for their formal territory," Sonia says. "The ruins might still hold a stray."

  "What’s the point if that place was turned to ash years ago."

  "We take every chance we get."

  Sonia’s closed eyes seem to focus on Daisy.

  "Tell me about that axe of yours."

  Daisy chuckles, though it sounds tired. "That's my One-biskae. What about it?"

  "How did a girl like you acquire something that heavy?"

  Daisy lets her head drop onto the table. "It’s a long story. I don’t have the energy to tell it."

  The waiter returns with the glasses.

  Daisy doesn't wait. She grabs hers and drains it in one go, the cold water making her throat ache.

  "Tell me, Daisy," Sonia asks quietly. "What are you actually looking for?"

  "My friend. Uddin."

  Sonia smiles. It’s a thin, knowing expression. "She must be a lucky person to have you chasing her ghosts."

  Daisy’s eyes sadden. She stares into the empty glass. "I just hope she’s alive and well. Things went south fast during the attack in New Sage. We lost everything."

  "You have the face of someone who was betrayed," Sonia says. "She did something bad, didn't she?"

  Daisy tilts her head. "How’d you know?"

  "Your eyes tell the story. What’s interesting is that you’ve already forgiven her. You just want her to know it."

  Daisy’s mouth hangs open. "That’s... okay, you can read people. I get it."

  She sighs. "I just want her back. She’s family. If anything, she'll join me to stay at Mami's."

  A voice cuts through the quiet of the casino, sharp and mocking.

  "Family is the easiest thing to break in a world this dark."

  They both turn. A man sits at a table opposite them, wearing a faded red cap. He swirls a glass of red wine, his eyes fixed on the crimson liquid.

  He laughs, a dry, rasping sound. "Funny thing about grief. You only reach for the liquor after you've lost the blood."

  Pausing, he adds.

  "After realising you'll never see them again, you get thirsty."

  Sonia’s hand drops to her blade.

  The atmosphere in the room shifts instantly.

  The air grows hot—unnaturally hot.

  The man stands. His eyes glow with a piercing white light.

  Sonia’s pulse quickens.

  A Receiver…

  The man opens his palms.

  Waves of heat shimmer around his body, the air warping like a desert highway.

  Daisy opens her palm.

  One-biskae responds with a distant, vibrating hum. It bursts through the left wall, slamming into her hand with a heavy thud. "We found one, didn't we?"

  "Yes. He's a Saturn flame user. And a Receiver." Sonia replies. "Stay sharp."

  Sonia slides into a combat stance, her weight low.

  Daisy moves first.

  She swings One-biskae in a wide arc toward the man.

  He thrusts a hand forward.

  A tongue of fire lashes out.

  Daisy ducks, the heat singing the tips of her hair as she rolls sideways.

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  The flame hits the floor, melting the carpet into a blackened sludge.

  The gamblers scream, scrambling for the exit.

  In a heartbeat, the man is inside Daisy’s guard.

  His fist slams into her stomach.

  The air leaves her lungs in a harsh wheeze.

  Daisy’s knees hit the floor. Her ears ring with a high-pitched whine.

  He’s too fast. She thinks.

  Daisy’s vision begins to blur. She tries to focus on the axe, but her body feels heavy. She slumps forward, her eyes sliding shut.

  Sonia doesn't hesitate.

  Her sword blurs as she spins it, creating a wall of steel between her and the man.

  He hurls a ball of fire.

  Sonia’s blade catches the core of the heat, dispersing it into sparks that rain down on the wooden tables.

  "Fatality Claw: Tenth Stand. King of Kings!"

  Sonia’s aura flares, a golden shield melting into her skin.

  The man lunges, his palm glowing with concentrated heat.

  He slams his hand into her shoulder.

  The flame washes over Sonia, but her shield holds.

  She doesn't feel the burn.

  The man jumps back, his brow furrowing. "What kind of trick is that?"

  Sonia doesn't answer.

  She closes the gap.

  Her sword whistling through the air.

  He weaves, his movements fluid and frantic.

  He fires blast after blast, but Sonia keeps coming, her shield absorbing the impact.

  He lands on a chair, his lips curling into a snarl.

  The flames in his hands grow brighter, turning from orange to a searing, blinding white.

  Poof.

  The man blurs.

  One second he’s across the room; the next, his face is inches from Sonia’s

  She twists, but the heat is different now.

  It pierces through her defense like a needle.

  She staggers back.

  She studies him. His fire is getting hotter. It's pushing past my King of Kings.

  The man leaps into the air, descending with a palm full of white fire.

  Sonia’s eyes fly open. Shit.

  She dives backward.

  The flame hits the floor where she stands and explodes.

  Wood splinters fly like shrapnel.

  Sonia glances at the floor, heated by the fire.

  A Receiver and a Saturn flame user. I can’t win this in a cage match.

  The man walks forward, his footsteps leaving charred prints on the floor.

  "You’re no amateur. Tell me, woman... why are you hunting my kind?"

  Sonia stays quiet. Eye sharp.

  The flames are intensifying — but draining him.

  "Not talking? Fine. I’ll burn the answer out of you."

  He moves forward.

  Sonia fades into the shadows, her boots shifting inches back as she solidifies.

  The air where she stood a second ago ignites.

  She hurls a heavy chair at his head.

  He doesn't even move.

  The flames around him turn the chair to ash before it can touch him.

  Sonia launches a table next.

  He incinerates it instantly, the smell of burning oak filling the room.

  She lunges with her blade.

  He creates a circle of fire around himself, forcing her to leap back.

  He laughs, his voice echoing in the hollow room. "I need to end this. I hate drawing the Secret Society into my business."

  "The Secret Society?"

  Sonia’s stomach tightens.

  He halts. Eyes narrowing. "You didn't know they were in town?" He laughs harder. "You’re more ignorant than you look."

  Who are they? Sonia thinks. I've heard rumors, but the way he says the name... That means they're not to be messed with.

  "Time to go to sleep, beauty."

  His fist hurtles forward.

  Flames dance across his skin.

  She explodes backward, boots skidding across the floor.

  Sonia's eyes blaze. "Ninth Stand: Tiger Manifestation!"

  The man stops.

  Four spectral blue tigers materialize around Sonia.

  They don't snarl.

  They just watch him with glowing, predatory eyes.

  The man frowns.

  She's not attacking? Those tigers are just warning with a glare. They won't attack unless I move. Seems like she's planning to retreat.

  He flares his nostrils, his breath coming in hot, jagged bursts.

  His flames circulate with a violent, predatory hiss. "I'm not letting you walk away."

  He moves.

  The tigers rush forward.

  They strike in a blinding streak of blue light.

  Their claws leave trails of neon in the air.

  He dodges, his body a blur of frantic motion.

  His eyes follow their movements.

  They don't draw blood. These beasts are trying to disrupt my rhythm. forcing me to stutter.

  He fires a desperate blast through a tiger's chest.

  The fire passes through the light like smoke through a screen.

  Ineffective and empty.

  He opens both palms.

  A massive explosion of fire erupts from his center, a shockwave that rattles the casino’s foundation and shatters every remaining window into a rain of glass.

  The tigers dissolve into a fine blue mist.

  Sonia is already in his face.

  Her silhouette cutting through the wall of smoke like a shadow.

  She swings twice.

  The steel whistles.

  A sharp, metallic scream that cuts the air inches from his throat.

  He slams his hands together, creating a vertical wall of roaring fire that forces her back.

  Then, as she leaps to recalibrate, he catches her mid-air.

  "Sorry. Game over."

  He grips the bare steel of her sword.

  His fingers wrap around the metal with a cold, predatory ownership.

  Their boots hit the floorboards with a heavy, final thud.

  Time seems to slow.

  The very air in the room begins to vibrate as he focuses entirely on the blade.

  The remaining chairs and tables begin to groan and splinter, the wood crying out as they lift off the floor.

  They rise toward the ceiling in a slow, ghostly dance.

  Bottles drift from the bar.

  Suspended by invisible, vibrating strings of energy that thrum with his intent.

  The man’s white eyes glow with a blinding, terrifying intensity.

  Sonia grinds her teeth.

  This isn't good. He's trying to tap into my sword.. fuck! Never should have let a receiver close. how'd I do?

  Blood drips from her nose, spotting the floorboards in dark, heavy circles.

  Each drop feels like a pound of lead leaving her body.

  Her grip on the hilt is failing.

  This is taking a physical toll on my body. He'll own my sword... shit! I was reckless.

  A thick, dark stream of blood spits from her mouth, hitting the floor with a wet, violent sound in the quiet room.

  This isn't good..

  "Fighting back?" he mocks.

  "Not so fast..." a voice rumbles from behind.

  Gravity returns.

  The furniture slams into the floor with a deafening crash.

  A fist connects with the man’s ribs.

  The sound of breaking bone echoes through the casino.

  He is sent flying, crashing through a brick wall.

  Daisy stands there, rubbing her stomach.

  She tilts her head.

  "Wow… that guy hit me hard."

  One-biskae thrums with a deep, tectonic vibration.

  "Now he’s made me mad," she says, a dangerous chuckle in her voice. "Really mad.."

  Sonia coughs, gasping for air. "Glad you're back."

  Daisy offers a hand. Sonia takes it.

  The man limps back. His flames are burning bright again.

  Daisy’s head tilts. She points a finger.

  "Biskae’s Execution: Ultimate Storm."

  A black smoke erupts like a tornado, swirling around the man.

  It lifts him off his feet, spinning him in a dark vortex.

  He tries to flare his fire, but the black smoke snuffs it out like a candle in a vacuum.

  Daisy thrusts her palm toward him.

  The storm collapses inward, sinking into the man's chest.

  "What did you do?" Sonia asks, watching in awe.

  "Watch." Daisy says.

  The man tries to stand.

  His legs give way.

  His body begins to shake as if his very muscles are being rewritten from the inside.

  He collapses against the wall, coughing blood.

  Daisy raises her hand.

  He floats into the air.

  She moves her hand left.

  He slams into the left wall.

  She drops her palm.

  He hits the floorboards with a wet thud.

  Sonia watches the display.

  She's ignorant of how deadly this thing is. I can tell she hasn't even unlocked its full potential yet. This power... it’s terrifying.

  She puts a hand on Daisy’s shoulder.

  "Don't kill him. We need him alive."

  "I know," Daisy says. "I’m just breaking his spirit."

  Daisy stops moving her palm.

  The man tries to push himself up, but his hands are trembling too hard to hold his weight.

  He stares at the floor, his flames gone.

  How? he thinks. She broke my fire from the inside.

  Daisy is in his face now.

  She tosses One-biskae into the air—the axe remains hovering above them like a silent judge.

  She sits on her heels in front of him, a gentle, innocent smile playing on her lips.

  "Sorry," she says. "You're coming with us."

  The man’s eyes shake. That smile... it looks like a child's. It's the most innocent thing I've ever seen.

  She leans in, her voice a low whisper in his ear.

  "Biskae’s Execution: Chamber Lock."

  Chains made of thick, black smoke erupt from the floorboards.

  They sink into the man's skin, vanishing into his pores.

  He goes limp instantly.

  Sonia walks closer, sheathing her blade. "That was... faster than I expected."

  "Grab him," Sonia says, already walking toward the door.

  "Huh? Why me?"

  "We're out of time, Daisy. Move."

  Daisy flips her palm. One-biskae vanishes into thin air.

  She heaves the man onto her shoulder with a grunt.

  "Wait for me!" she calls out, running to catch up with Sonia.