The battlefield was breaking apart. The earth trembled under the weight of power unleashed by gods among men.
On one side, **Ryan Jim stood over the lifeless body of Idris, his fists trembling with rage.**
On the other, **Liora and Rudra faced each other, their battle moments from beginning.**
And in the midst of it all, two warriors fought with nothing but their raw strength—
**BOOM!**
Dain's fist **smashed** into Kiran's chest, sending her skidding backward, **her feet tearing through the earth.**
Kiran spat blood but **did not fall.**
Her body was battered, her face bruised, yet her**eyes burned with an unbreakable fire.**
Dain panted, his muscles aching. **This was a battle unlike any other.**
No aura. No tricks.
**Just raw, pure strength.**
Kiran grinned, wiping blood from his mouth. **"You hit like a monster, Dain."**
Dain clenched his fists. **"And you take hits like a damn beast."**
The two warriors **lunged at each other once more.**
Their punches shattered the very air, their kicks cracked the earth beneath them.
Flesh bruised, bones cracked, but neither of them stopped.
**They were warriors.**
And warriors fought until the end.
As their fists clashed, **Kiran's mind drifted.**
She was once a child of peace.
A girl who believed in **justice, in fairness, in protecting the weak.**
But the world she lived in was **merciless.**
She once had a village—a home. A place where he smiled, where he loved.
**And then, war came.**
And Kiran, **too weak to stop it, could only watch as everyone he loved was slaughtered.**
She had **begged for mercy.**
And Vinay had given her one choice.
**"Become strong. Or die like the rest."**
Kiran **chose strength.**
And in doing so, he had **betrayed his past self.**
**For years, she fought. She killed.**
And now, standing before Dain, she wondered—
**Was it all worth it?**
Dain charged forward.
Kiran roared and met him head-on.
**Fist against fist.**
And then—
**CRACK!**
Kiran's body was sent flying, crashing against the broken ground.
**Silence.**
Dain stood over him, panting. **The battle was over.**
Kiran lay there, looking at the sky, his vision blurred.
"I lost," he whispered.
Dain clenched his fists. He had won. But **it didn't feel like a victory.**
Kiran looked up at him.
**"Tell me, Dain… will you kill me?"**
Dain hesitated.
**The warrior's code demanded death.**
**The battlefield demanded no mercy.**
And yet—
He looked at Kiran's broken form. **The women before him was not evil.**
She was simply a warrior, like himself. **A women who had been forced down a path of strength.**
Dain gritted his teeth.
"Stand up," he said.
Kiran blinked in surprise.
Dain extended his hand.
**"You don't have to keep fighting, Kiran. There's another way."**
A flicker of hope entered Kiran's eyes.
And then—
**SHHHHK!**
Blood sprayed across Dain's face.
His eyes widened in horror.
**A blade had pierced straight through Kiran's chest.**
Kiran gasped, his body convulsing.
And behind him—**stood Rudra.**
His golden eyes glowed with **merciless judgment.**
**"Weakness has no value."**
He twisted the blade and **ripped it out.**
Kiran collapsed, her blood pooling on the broken ground.
**Dead.**
Dain **froze.**
His mind screamed in rage, in pain, in disbelief.
Rudra looked down at him, **his expression empty.**
**"You hesitated."**
Dain's breath was shaky. **"He was finished… He didn't need to die."**
Rudra **smirked.**
**"Then he wasn't strong enough to survive."**
Dain clenched his fists, **his entire body shaking.**
Rudra walked away, his presence **drowning the battlefield in pure dominance.**
**"The lost ones have no value."**
And with that, he turned his gaze toward Liora.
**The next battle was about to begin.**
Standing at the edge of the battlefield, **Thane and Karael watched it all unfold.**
Karael crossed his arms. "Rudra is ruthless. Even by our standards."
Thane exhaled slowly. "It's not ruthlessness. It's his belief."
Karael glanced at him. "And do you agree?"
Thane remained silent.
**Did he?**
Was strength truly the only thing that mattered?
**Had he been wrong all along?*
Above it all, **Manav remained still.**
His eyes followed everything. **Idris' death. Kiran's murder. Dain's shock. Thane's doubt. Liora's rage.**
**He watched.**
And yet, his face showed **no emotion.**
**What was he thinking?**
**What was he planning?**
None could tell.
But **the war was far from over.**
**And the greatest battle was just about to begin.**
Liora **stepped forward.**
Her aura **crackled.** **A storm of light.**
Rudra smiled. **His presence a black abyss.**
Their eyes met.
**The battle of chaos and order… was about to begin.**