The heat of the burning truck scorched the air, embers swirling like fireflies around us. Smoke coiled up into the darkened sky as I stared across the ruined street.
Raven stood silent, the vial's glow still faint on her neck from the injection. Her hood shifted slightly with the breeze, the crimson gleam of her feathers swaying like blades waiting to fly.
"Let's see what the so-called Void Queen can do without her full power," she whispered—and then vanished.
I barely had time to react. A glint of red flashed to my right. I rolled instinctively, her feathers slicing past where my head had been moments ago, embedding into the ground and erupting with a sharp crack of disabling energy.
"Impairing darts... Great."
I launched upward with a burst of residual Void energy, midair spinning as I fired my pistols in all directions, not to hit—but to flush her out. The bullets ricocheted off walls and burning wrecks, carving arcs of chaos.
"You're going to have to do better than that," Raven called from somewhere behind.
I twisted just in time—she dropped from above like a hawk, feathers spinning around her.
I blocked the first strike with a Void barrier, her clawed glove sparking against the energy shield.
"You're holding back."
"I'm pacing myself," I snapped, my eyes glowing briefly with violet as I let the void seep into the pavement. A gravitational pulse surged beneath her feet.
Raven's instincts were sharp—she flipped back before it detonated, sending chunks of concrete skyward in a shattering burst.
As she landed, feathers whirled around her like razors. One flick of her hand and they shot toward me in a spiraling storm. I summoned a miniature void rift with a snap—warping space just enough to curve the projectiles around me.
I returned fire mid-dash, a hail of bullets locking her in a standoff. She dove into shadow, gliding low to the ground, dodging with inhuman grace.
A feather clipped my arm—numbing pain spread immediately.
"Tch—"
Raven closed in, her claws slashing in rapid bursts. I parried with my pistols, sparks and feathers clashing in tight flurries. My foot slid back, skidding against cracked concrete as she pushed forward.
"I see the old Kiana's still in there somewhere..." she smirked.
"Wrong."
I stomped down, summoning a dark fissure beneath us—pure Void energy surged upward like a geyser. It knocked her off balance, and I used that second to somersault over her and send a charged bullet point-blank at her back.
She turned at the last moment, crossing her arms and releasing a burst of red feathers like a shield—absorbing the blast, but tumbling from the force.
Both of us landed on opposite ends of the street, panting, bruised, smirking.
"Not bad... but this is just the warm-up," I muttered, eyes glowing brighter.
"Then let's raise the stakes, Kaslana," Raven replied, as her feathers began to glow blood-red, spiraling faster.
The real fight had just begun.
My body felt like lead.
Each movement was a struggle, as if I were wading through invisible sludge. My breath came in ragged gasps, and the world blurred around the edges. The poison... it was working faster than I thought.
Raven's gray cloak flared behind her like the wings of a predator. She moved in a blink—no, less than that—a blur cutting through the smoke and heat.
I staggered to dodge, but she was already there.
Her claws tore into my chest again, shallow but cruel, and I collapsed to one knee, my vision swimming. Purple sparks fizzled weakly from my fingertips, Void energy too erratic to channel properly.
"What are you... trying to do to this city...?" I asked, my voice hoarse, legs trembling.
Raven said nothing at first. Her glowing eyes narrowed.
"I don't owe you answers." She tapped her earpiece with two fingers. "Jackal. It's done."
The response crackled in, voice giddy with twisted delight.
"Heh... Just as I thought. Even a Herrscher can fall, given the right tools. Now bring her in, Raven! A living Herrscher specimen... oh, I cannot wait to tear her apart and see what makes her tick!"
Raven's eyes flickered with distaste. "You're insane."
She didn't argue further. With a sharp motion, she grabbed me by the arm and dragged my body across the debris-strewn street like a broken doll. I was too weak to fight. Her hand clenched tighter before she flung me toward the waiting automatons.
"Lock her up. Reinforce the container and prepare the route to the lab," she ordered coldly.
As the heavy truck doors slammed shut behind me, darkness swallowed everything. Chains clicked. Steel groaned. My head hit the metal floor, and for the first time, I couldn't tell if my eyes were still open or if everything had finally gone black.
Elsewhere...
From the shadows atop a broken building, a figure stood watching. Another knelt beside her, hands clenched, breath sharp, barely holding back.
Shin.
His teeth ground together as he stared at the container—her container—being dragged away.
"I should've intervened..." His voice cracked, taut with fury and guilt. "I could've—"
"No," Rita interrupted, laying a hand on his shoulder, calm but firm. "If you moved now, we'd lose her forever. They'd bury the lab and her with it."
Shin looked at her, eyes blazing with pain. "Then what are we doing just watching?!"
"I said bear with it, Master Shin." Rita's smile was thin, almost dangerous. "I have a perfect plan for this."
The wind blew through the ruins as the truck carrying Kiana disappeared into the distance.
Rita rose to her feet, her gaze lingering on the truck disappearing into the smoke-veiled horizon. Her hands folded neatly in front of her, the wind tugging lightly at her long coat.
"Miss Kaslana..." she murmured, voice soft with a strange blend of fondness and mischief. "Please endure their hospitality for a little while."
A quiet smile touched her lips—sharp, amused, but not unkind.
"After all, you did call me a 'creepy maid' once... and made me run tea errands like I was your personal butler." Her eyes narrowed, mirth dancing behind them. "Consider this your long-overdue karmic recompense."
Then her tone shifted—faint, almost reverent—as she looked skyward for a fleeting moment.
"In any case, I shall pray my request for aid reaches the right ears."
With a graceful sweep of her cloak, she turned and stepped away from the ledge, vanishing into the shadows alongside Shin, as silent as moonlight.
The night embraced them both.