Chapter 32: Brother Against Brother
The battlefield was silent.
Kael and Orin stood **face to face**, their auras crackling like a storm about to explode. The air between them was **thick with tension**, charged with power that could **shatter mountains.**
Kael's grip on his sword **tightened.**
Orin's **eyes burned—one gold, one crimson.** The fusion of divine and abyssal power **radiated from his body**, warping the very space around him.
For the first time since they met—Kael saw it.
The **monster Orin had become.**
"You really plan to stop me?" Orin asked, a smirk playing on his lips.
Kael's chest **tightened.** He remembered the days they fought side by side, struggling to survive, dreaming of a future **together.**
But the Orin standing before him now…
**This wasn't the friend he once knew.**
"You're going too far, Orin," Kael said, his voice firm. "This isn't justice. This isn't rebellion. You're just—"
"A monster?" Orin chuckled darkly, flexing his fingers. Holy and abyssal energy **crackled around him**, dancing like flames. "Then why don't you **kill me**, Kael?"
Kael **gritted his teeth.**
Then—
Orin **vanished.**
**BOOM!**
Kael barely had time to react. Orin **reappeared inches from his face**, fist glowing with energy. Kael raised his sword **just in time**—
**CRASH!**
The impact **sent shockwaves through the battlefield**, the force **splitting the earth** beneath them. Kael was **hurled backward**, crashing into the remnants of a collapsed fortress wall.
His vision blurred.
Then—
Orin was **on him again.**
A sword slash—too fast. Kael dodged, barely escaping **with a cut across his cheek.** He retaliated—his blade **glowed crimson**, slicing toward Orin's ribs—
**CLANG!**
Orin blocked with **his bare hand.**
Kael's eyes **widened.**
"Too slow," Orin whispered.
Then he **drove his knee into Kael's gut.**
Kael gasped—pain exploded through his body as he was sent **flying once more.** He crashed into the dirt, coughing as he struggled to get back up.
Orin stood over him.
"Do you see now?" Orin's voice was calm, but beneath it—Kael could hear **the madness growing.** "The power I hold. The power we could wield, together."
Kael wiped the blood from his mouth. "You… really think I'd fight beside you now?"
Orin's eyes **narrowed.** "You swore to stand by my side, Kael."
Kael's chest **tightened.** He **had** sworn.
But not like this.
"Not if it means becoming **like you.**"
Orin's expression **darkened.**
"Then die."
He raised his hand—energy surged, crackling with **unstable fury.**
Then—
**Saren moved.**
A blur of black and silver—she appeared behind Orin, daggers flashing.
**SHNK!**
She **drove her blades into his back.**
Orin flinched.
But he didn't scream.
Slowly, he turned his head.
Saren's eyes **widened.** "What…?"
Orin **grinned.**
"Nice try."
Then—he **exploded.**
A **shockwave of pure energy** erupted from his body, sending Saren flying. She crashed into the rubble, coughing as dust and blood filled her lungs.
Kael's eyes **burned with rage.**
He **snapped.**
His **Fragment flared**, raw and untamed. The air **shook** as his crimson aura surged.
Orin's grin faltered.
Kael **vanished.**
Then—
**BOOM!**
Kael's fist **collided with Orin's face.**
The impact sent **a deafening shockwave through the battlefield.** Orin was **launched backward**, crashing into the remains of a ruined tower.
Kael **didn't stop.**
He **Abyssal Stepped**, appearing above Orin before he could recover. His sword **flashed down—fast, relentless.**
Orin barely managed to **raise his arm in defense.**
**CLANG!**
The force **cracked the ground beneath them.**
Orin's smirk was **gone now.**
Kael's **eyes burned.**
"I don't care how strong you've become," he said, his voice low, **dangerous.** "I'm ending this—**right now.**"
Orin wiped blood from his lip, then chuckled.
Then—
He lunged.
Kael met him **head-on.**
**Brother against brother.**
Their battle had truly begun.
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