Horikita’s gaze remains sharp as she presses the blade closer to my throat.

  “So,” she says evenly, “are you coming willingly… or by force. I’ll accept either.”

  “Who gave you these orders?” I ask, my voice steady.

  “The Sentinel Organization.”

  So she joined them after all.

  “And you follow their commands without question,” I say. “Like an obedient dog.”

  “What happened to the self-respect you used to cling to?”

  Her grip falters. Just for a moment. Silence stretches between us.

  “You have no right to criticize me,” she snaps. “You half-breed.”

  The blade flashes.

  I shift an inch to the side just enough. Her swing cuts nothing but air.

  Kyle screams in fear.

  I don’t hesitate. Darkness condenses in my grip, forming a katana just in time to catch her counter-swing.

  The impact rattles my arms. My feet dig into the ground as I hold.

  She’s stronger. Physically.

  “You know nothing about me, Zero,” Horikita snaps. “And yet you dare lecture me about obedience?”

  Her blade comes again.

  I duck steel slicing through strands of my hair as it passes overhead.

  I step in, aiming not to kill just a clean cut to her arm. Enough to break her rhythm.

  Horikita lets out a hiss of pain. “You’ll pay for that, bastard,” she snarls through gritted teeth. I need to defend. I can’t counter this head on she’s aiming for my leg. I raise my hand skyward. Ice surges forth instantly, layers condensing into a thick, reinforced barrier. Dense. Solid. Her light beam crashes into it. The barrier holds then fractures violently, chunks of ice exploding outward and crashing to the ground below. Frost and debris rain down. My gaze snaps past the falling ice. Kyle. I need to get him to safety or he’ll… die.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I lunge toward Kyle, grab him around the waist, and leap off the cliff. My katana bites into the stone, sparks flying as it slows our fall. We hit hard, but alive. “Kyle,” I say firmly, gripping his shoulders, “you need to do exactly what I say. Do you understand?” He nods, eyes wide. “Good. Run back to your village. Don’t look back.” “But what about you?” he asks, worry bleeding into his voice. “I’ll be fine. Now go.” I release him. Kyle turns and runs. The moment doesn’t last. A presence flickers behind me I barely twist in time.

  Steel clashes against steel as I block Horikita’s blade, the impact rattling my arms. “Do you really believe what you’re doing is for the greater good?” I snap. Her eyes narrow. “I have orders to bring you back,” she says calmly. “Stop resisting. This ends the same way no matter what you do.” “This fight is pointless,” she continues. “It will end in your defeat.” I break contact, ice erupting beneath my feet to force distance. Another wall of ice rises just in time, her slash carving deep into it but failing to reach me. She’s right. This fight ends with me losing. But I refuse to be a puppet for those bastards. Darkness surges. For a single, fractured instant, I slip through her space folding, perception tearing. My blade passes across her form in a blink, leaving shallow cuts where there should’ve been none at all. The world snaps back. Pain floods in. Blood fills my vision as my legs give out. I drop to all fours, coughing violently, my mind screaming as the backlash tears through me.

  Horikita heals the shallow cuts in silence, her gaze drifting down to me curled on the ground. “…Two attributes,” she mutters. Her eyes move from the shattered ice scattered across the cliffside, to the fading black glow of the sword dissolving in my hand. “Ice,” she says flatly. “And darkness.” Rain begins to fall. I barely have time to look up before her boot slams into my ribs. The air is ripped from my lungs as I’m thrown back, my body crashing hard against the stone. So this is it… I lie there staring at the sky. “Was this your plan?” Horikita asks, looking down at me. No anger. No satisfaction. “Some cheap display of power?” I force myself to breathe. Pain burns through my side. “You’re better than this,” I say hoarsely. “Just look at the truth. Everything they told you” Her foot crashes into me again. Bones scream. She doesn’t raise her voice. “Still talking?” I cough, blood tasting metallic on my tongue. “Think,” I say. “The promises they made did they ever keep a single one?” Another kick. Harder.

  I grunt in pain. “Still talking?” she says, calm as ever. “Just listen,” I force out. “Once.” She exhales sharply, irritation flashing across her face. “Make it quick.” I draw in a slow breath, ignoring the pain in my ribs. “The Sentinel Organization promises order. Equality. A future where strength doesn’t decide your worth.” I look up at her. “You’ve seen how that actually works.” Her grip tightens on her sword. “You’ve seen what happens to the weak,” I continue. “Discarded. Used. Broken. That wasn’t theory, that was reality.” She hesitates. Just for a moment. “And your point?” she says, colder now. “My point is simple.” I meet her gaze. “They don’t value you. They’re using you. And the moment you stop being useful, you’ll be treated the same way.” Silence stretches between us.

  “Zero, get up and follow me willingly. I’m done wasting time on you.”I push myself

  to my feet, ignoring the burning pain in my ribs. I start walking behind her