The highway stretched endlessly before Kai, cracked and broken, swallowed by nature and war alike. Buildings loomed in the distance, skeletal remains of a civilization that had collapsed the moment the Moon shattered. The air smelled of smoke, metal, and something else—something
unnatural
.
Kai’s boots crunched against the asphalt as he stepped forward. His fingers tightened around the fragment in his palm, its faint pulse syncing with his heartbeat. He had been gone too long, lost in the void, trapped in memories that weren’t just
his own
.
Now, he was back.
And he was done running.
From the distance, a low hum rippled through the air. Not the wind. Not the shifting rubble.
Power.
Kai’s gaze lifted.
Figures moved along the ruins ahead—dozens of them, armored scavengers and warriors, their bodies coursing with energy. Ava’s faction. The ones who had claimed the city as their own.
He exhaled slowly. He had expected resistance.
What he hadn’t expected—
Was
her
.
Ava stood at the center of the gathering, elevated atop the ruins of a fallen skyscraper. The wind tore through her dark cloak, her golden eyes gleaming with unnatural brilliance.
She was waiting for him.
Kai kept walking, even as whispers spread through the gathered fighters.
“That’s him…”
“The astronaut…”
“The one who vanished.”
“They say he fought a god.”
Kai ignored them. His attention was on Ava alone.
When he was within earshot, she spoke.
“I thought you were dead.” Her tone was unreadable.
Kai stopped a few meters away. “So did I.”
Ava tilted her head. “But you came back.”
Kai’s jaw tightened. “We need to talk.”
She smirked. “Oh? And here I thought you were here to fight.”
The warriors around her tensed. A few reached for their weapons.
Kai didn’t move. “That depends on your answers.”
Ava took a slow step forward. “Answers?” Her voice held amusement. “To what, exactly?”
Kai didn’t blink. “The explosion. The New Horizon Facility. You were there
before
the Moon shattered.”
Something flickered in her expression.
Then, she
laughed
.
It wasn’t forced, wasn’t mocking. It was genuine.
“Oh, Kai.” She shook her head. “It took you
this long
to figure that out?”
Kai’s grip on the fragment tightened. “You knew.”
Ava’s eyes burned with golden light. “I didn’t just
know
, Kai.”
She took another step forward.
“I
made it happen
.”
Kai’s breath hitched. For a moment, the world around him seemed to
tilt
.
“You’re lying,” he said, but the words felt hollow.
Ava smiled. “Am I?”
The images from the memory surged through his mind—the containment chamber, the pulse of energy, the
explosion
.
“You caused it?” His voice was hoarse.
“I
set it free
.”
Kai clenched his fists. “Why?”
Ava sighed, as if disappointed by the question. “Because this world was
never
meant to stay the same. The fragments weren’t just some cosmic accident, Kai. They were
meant
to awaken us.”
She spread her arms wide, gesturing to the warriors at her back. “Look at them. Look at what humanity has become. We were weak before—chained by laws, by gravity, by time itself. And now?” Her golden eyes locked onto his. “Now, we
ascend
.”
Kai’s stomach twisted. “At what cost?”
Ava’s smile faded. “At
any
cost.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then—
Kai exhaled. “Then we
are
enemies.”
Ava’s expression darkened. “If you choose to be.”
The air
shifted
.
The tension was no longer just
unspoken
—it was
tangible
.
Kai could feel the power thrumming beneath Ava’s skin, could sense the warriors behind her waiting for her command.
She
expected
him to fight.
Kai lowered his stance, energy rippling through his veins.
And then—
Ava
moved
.
The first strike was blinding.
Ava’s hand carved through the air, and a crescent wave of raw energy
erupted
from her fingertips. The blast tore through the ground, splitting the pavement as it shot toward Kai.
He barely had time to react.
Activating
Temporal Shatter
, Kai
rewound
his movement by half a second—just enough to pivot out of the blast’s path before it could consume him.
The moment time snapped back, he countered.
He lunged forward, closing the distance between them in an instant. His fist, charged with the fragment’s energy, aimed straight for her ribs.
Ava smirked.
Her body
blurred
.
Kai’s strike passed through
afterimages
.
Before he could correct his stance, her knee slammed into his gut.
The impact sent him skidding back, coughing.
“Sloppy,” she murmured.
Kai wiped his mouth, eyes narrowing. “You’ve gotten faster.”
She chuckled. “You’ve
gotten predictable
.”
Kai exhaled sharply. This wasn’t going to be easy.
The warriors around them began to stir, sensing the fight escalating. Some gripped their weapons. Others ignited their own fragment-based abilities, prepared to intervene if given the signal.
Ava lifted a hand.
They
froze
.
“This is
my
fight,” she commanded.
No one dared to argue.
Kai rolled his shoulders. “Just us, then?”
Ava smiled. “Just us.”
She moved first.
A blur of motion—impossibly fast.
Kai barely had time to activate
Temporal Shatter
, dodging right as her fist passed
through
where his head had been. He twisted, countering with a spinning kick, but she ducked, weaving under his attack like liquid shadow.
They clashed again.
Fists met. Blows parried. Sparks of energy ignited in the air as their fragments responded to the raw force of their battle.
Each strike carried more than just power.
It carried
history
.
Regret. Anger. Betrayal.
Kai had trusted Ava once.
Now, she was the greatest threat he had ever faced.
And he wasn’t sure if he could stop her.
The battle raged for what felt like an eternity.
But in the end—
It was
Ava
who landed the decisive blow.
She
vanished
mid-strike, appearing behind him in an instant. Before Kai could react, her hand closed around his throat, energy surging through her fingertips.
She
lifted
him off the ground.
His body seized as golden energy crackled through his nerves, paralyzing him.
“You always hesitate,” she murmured, tilting her head.
Kai gritted his teeth, struggling against the vice-like grip. “Go to hell.”
Ava smirked. “Already been there.”
And then—
She
threw
him.
The impact sent him crashing through a ruined building, rubble collapsing around him.
For a moment, everything was silence.
Then—
Kai stirred.
Pain laced through his ribs, but he pushed himself up, coughing dust from his lungs. His fragment still pulsed, responding to his will.
Ava stood at the top of the ruins, watching him.
“Walk away, Kai,” she called. “You don’t have to fight me.”
Kai’s fingers clenched into fists. His vision blurred—not from pain, but from
determination
.
“No,” he rasped.
He stood, eyes burning.
“I do.”
Ava’s expression remained unreadable.
Then, she smiled.
The battle wasn’t over.
It was just beginning.