Ash dropped into a low stance, knees bent, eyes locked on the storm ahead. His breath came sharp through his nose, heart pounding like a drum.
"You got lucky once,"
Speedy said. His tone lost its usual grin.
"Let's see you dodge this."
The tornadoes closed in.
Ash pushed off the ground. A gust slammed into his side. His body flipped mid-air, thrown back like a leaf. Before he could land, a second wind caught him—pulling, spinning, trying to tear him away.
His sword stayed tight in his hand.
He slammed it down.
The blade sank deep into the earth. The pull fought him. Wind bit at his skin. Dust filled his lungs. But his grip held.
Then—movement.
A shape burst from the storm, closing in fast.
It was speedy.
The wind drove him forward like a bullet. A fist crashed into Ash's gut. His body folded. Air left his lungs in a single dry gasp.
Ash stumbled. The world tilted.
Another hit was coming.
He shifted, blade rising with instinct. Metal cut through air. A wild slash. Too wide.
Speedy ducked. The tip of the blade missed his head by an inch. He landed smooth, barely leaving a mark on the ground.
He straightened, grinning again.
"You're actually keeping up. Guess this won't be a waste of time after all."
Ash wiped the blood off his lip. His feet spaced out again, solid on the dirt. He wasn't reacting anymore. He was reading.
Speedy moved fast, but not without rhythm. Every attack followed the wind. Every dash came from a direction. There was a pattern buried inside the chaos.
The wind rose again. Speedy blurred around him, a spiral of dust and speed. His figure bent with the air, slipping in and out of sight.
Ash didn't move.
He closed his eyes halfway. His shoulders dropped. The fight faded into silence for a moment.
A voice came back to him.
His mother's voice. Calm and Steady.
"Speed isn't invincibility. Fast opponents rely on momentum. You don't need to match them—just stop them in their tracks."
Ash let the thought settle.
Then his hands opened.
The sword fell.
It struck the ground with a dull sound.
Speedy paused.
His step faltered. Confusion passed through his eyes. Just for a breath. Just long enough.
Ash moved.
His foot snapped forward. His body followed.
A heat lit up in his veins.
"[Activating skill: Scorch Palm]"
His arm pulled back, then shot forward. Fire traced his skin, burning from elbow to knuckles. Light pulsed down his wrist.
Speedy saw it too late.
Ash's fist met his chest.
A burst of fire exploded on contact. Heat blasted out in all directions. Speedy's body lifted off the ground. His back slammed against the dirt. His limbs dragged through the dust before falling still.
The wind broke apart.
The storm ended.
Ash stood over the silence, hand still warm from the strike. Orange embers danced around his fingers before fading into the night. He clenched his fist once, feeling the sting.
'Weak. But enough.'
He walked to his blade, picked it up, and glanced back at the figure sprawled in the dirt.
"Too fast for your own good."
Then he turned, feet steady, and vanished into the dark.
————
Aboard the Apex Carrier Ship
The old man leaned back in his chair. A glass rested in his hand, the red liquid inside swirling with each lazy turn of his fingers. Holograms hovered in the air around him, shifting shapes and sounds lighting up his face with a pale glow.
His eyes moved from screen to screen, each one showing different battle zones. He watched without emotion—until one feed caught his attention.
His gaze stopped.
On the screen, a tiger looking creature stood alone. Flames wrapped around his body, moving like they were alive. They coiled and snapped in every direction, casting his shadow over the soldiers in front of him.
The creature didn't flinch.
The Apex troopers did.
Their rifles shook. Their feet edged back.
The old man let out a short laugh. He raised the glass and drank slowly, eyes fixed on the wild firestorm burning through the battlefield.
"So… he's finally embraced it, What a fascinating transformation."
The creature's fire spread, cracking the ground, filling the air with heatwaves. It blurred the screen's edges. Yet the old man stayed still, the smile on his face steady.
He leaned forward now, setting the glass on the edge of the armrest. His focus sharpened.
"This level of output…"
His finger tapped the glass once.
"Barely holding himself back. If he had been born in the Apex, perhaps he could've been something great. Instead, he wastes it fighting against us."
The door slid open.
A trooper marched in, boots clinking against the polished floor. He stood straight, fist to his chest.
"Sir! The asteroid is too large to transport. Even our strongest ships can't move it. What are your orders?"
The old man didn't move.
He reached for his drink again, lifted it, took another sip. Then he lowered it with a soft clink and looked toward the screen.
"We do the simplest thing possible,"
He waited.
Then added, "Blow it apart."
The trooper blinked. His jaw tightened.
"Blow it apart? But Sir… what about Jov and Speedy?"
The room fell quiet.
Then, finally, the old man turned. His smirk stretched wider, though his eyes gave nothing away.
"They failed. And failure has no place in the Apex."
The trooper stood frozen.
"They are weak," the old man said, flicking his hand like brushing dust from a sleeve.
"Let them die."
A tight swallow. The trooper gave a stiff nod and stepped back, boots echoing as he turned toward the door.
"Ah, and one more thing."
The soldier halted mid-step.
"Make sure the clean-up is thorough, No survivors."
Another nod. The trooper left without a word.
The old man leaned forward, fingers moving across the console. The room answered with a low hum. The sound crawled through the floor, steady and deep. Lights along the walls blinked red, casting sharp shadows on every surface. Through the hallways, Apex troops broke into motion, fast and silent. Engineers ran their stations, hands dancing across panels, prepping systems without delay.
Outside, the massive cannons of the ship began to turn.
They locked on.
The hum grew louder, like a storm ready to break.
Then—
A flash.
Purple and blue light erupted from the belly of the ship. The beam shot out in a single line, clean and massive, cutting through the black of space. It struck the asteroid dead center. The rock shuddered. Cracks burst along its surface, each one glowing hot from within. The core trembled, light building inside like a heart about to burst.
A single moment passed.
Then—
BOOM.
The asteroid blew apart.
Stone shattered into burning pieces. Fire and force tore through the emptiness. A wave of pressure spread outward, tossing chunks of debris into the void. Smaller wrecks nearby twisted and spun, pulled by the blast, scattered like dust in wind.
Inside the ship, the hum faded.
The old man sat still, eyes on the screen. His hand moved to the glass. His fingers traced the rim, slow, like drawing a circle.
A small smile curled on his lips.
"Perfect."