The first strike never landed.
Unit I dove with surgical precision—tactical flame roaring from his spear. The rooftops cracked beneath his velocity. He moved like a precision algorithm wearing a human shell.
Kai Renshiro didn't dodge.
He unwrote the air.
A pulse of golden light shimmered around his body. Time bent. Space fractured. And Unit I phased through where Kai had stood—only to realize he hadn't moved at all.
Shin's voice cut through the confusion.
"He's bending perception."
"No," Ryuu muttered, eyes locked on Kai. "He's overriding the world."
Elsewhere – The Lazarus Command Tower
Alarms screamed. Monitors failed to keep up.
"He just slipped the boundary field!"
"He's rewriting kinetic probability. None of our readings are stable!"
The woman in silver stared coldly at the chaos. Around her, analysts tried to track every movement, every fluctuation.
But none of them understood.
She whispered to herself:
"He's not fighting."
"He's breaking the rules."
Back at the Battle – Streets of the Ruined Sector
The Twelve moved in formation, coordinated, merciless.
Unit III launched binding chains laced with memory inhibitors.
Kai raised a single finger—and the chains unraveled midair, transforming into feathers of molten script.
Unit V flanked left, activating sonic disruptors.
Ryuu caught him mid-lunge, knee crashing into his ribs.
"I'm bored of watching," he said with a smirk. "Tag in."
Unit V spat blood and vanished in a blur.
Kai turned to Ryuu. "You didn't have to—"
Ryuu cracked his knuckles. "I wanted to."
Shin charged through the middle, Bleeding Blade drawn, slicing toward Unit II—an assassin-type with shifting limbs and null-stealth drives.
Their blades clashed, sparks exploding across the collapsed street.
"You're real now, aren't you?" Unit II said with a laugh. "No more holding back."
Shin's eyes glowed crimson.
"Yeah. You should run."
Flashpoint – Kai's Inner Core
In the space between moments, Kai stood alone inside himself.
A throne room made of shattered glass.
On it sat no king.
Just a mirror.
In it, he saw himself—young, afraid, hands covered in ash.
"You shouldn't exist," the reflection said. "You were never meant to."
Kai stared at it.
"I don't care."
"You're a paradox."
"Then I'll burn the rules that wrote me wrong."
The mirror cracked.
And behind it—the First Flame pulsed.
Watching.
Approving.
"In Real World" – Collapse Zone
Unit I returned, spear burning brighter than ever.
"You will return to stasis," he commanded. "Or the world dies."
Kai's reply was quiet.
"The world already died."
And then he moved.
Not fast.
He struck Unit I once in the chest.
Light expanded outward like an imploding star.
Unit I was gone.
Not dead.
Not destroyed.
Erased.
Back in Lazarus HQ
Silence.
The command center flickered. Static poured across the screens.
The woman in silver leaned forward.
"He's triggered the Catalyst Protocol."
"Then we're finished," a tech whispered.
"No," she said.
"We've only just begun."
Her eyes glowed faintly.
"She won't let him burn it alone."
Final Beat – Kai, Shin, and Ryuu
The Twelve were broken.
Some fled. Some lay smoldering in ruin. One or two still twitched—shattered, but alive.
Kai stood at the center of it all, golden energy crackling through his veins.
Ryuu walked up beside him. "You awake now, big guy?"
Shin joined them, sword resting on his shoulder.
Kai looked at them both.
"I'm done running."
Ryuu smiled. "About time."
Shin nodded. "Then let's make them run."
In the distance, the sky split again.
Something older than flame began to stir.
And the system they were born to uphold?
Was already starting to burn.