"Interesting... truly interesting..."
Cloud looked up at the top of the building, a smile playing on his lips that didn't reach his eyes.
He had already sensed everything in there.
Including that pitiful "copycat" who dared to use his power.
"Chun-Li." He turned his head slightly, speaking to the woman beside him. "Stay here and protect our new friend. I'm going up for a bit."
"Be careful." Chun-Li nodded, understanding that whatever was up there was beyond her current level.
Lien watched Cloud with complex emotions. She wanted to say something but ultimately remained silent.
"Don't worry." Cloud gave them a reassuring smile. "I'll bring your brother back. And I'll clean up these rats who've made a mess of my home."
With those words, golden flames erupted around his body.
He didn't bother with stairs or elevators.
He simply shot straight up like a golden meteor, smashing through floor after floor!
Each level he passed through, guards and defenses were reduced to nothing more than paper before his advance.
Within seconds, he had reached the top floor.
CRASH!
The reinforced glass of the top floor shattered as Cloud burst through, landing gracefully in the center of Duke's luxurious office.
"So you're the rat who's been playing emperor while I was away." Cloud brushed some dust off his shoulder, looking at Duke with undisguised contempt. "A tarot-card-playing fortune teller thinking he can rule my South Town? That's adorable."
Duke's face twisted, but he quickly regained his composure, putting on his most charming smile.
"Ah, the legendary Cloud. I've heard so much about you. The man who killed Geese Howard, who defeated NESTS, who sealed Orochi himself. Truly an honor."
"Flattery won't save you." Cloud's gaze shifted to Alba, then to the silent "Jiao" standing in the shadows. "That thing. That abomination. Did you really think you could replicate the power of a god using some scraps?"
Duke's smile faltered. "I don't know what you mean—"
"Cut the crap."
Cloud raised his hand, and the temperature in the room plummeted.
No—it wasn't temperature. It was presence. The weight of his existence pressed down on everyone in the room like the entire sky was falling on their shoulders.
"Jiao" stepped forward, its empty eyes fixed on Cloud. The knockoff Orochi energy swirled around it, ready to attack.
"Master. Threat detected. Engaging." Its voice was flat, mechanical.
Cloud looked at it, and for the first time since arriving, something like genuine anger flickered across his face.
"You dare."
It wasn't a question.
"You dare use my blood. My power. To create this... thing."
The golden flames around him intensified, taking on an edge of writhing shadow—the true Chaos Divine Bloodline manifesting in all its glory.
"Do you know what the difference is between you and me?" Cloud asked the artificial being, his voice eerily calm. "You're a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy. Degraded so many times that you're basically static noise. While I..."
He took a step forward.
"Jiao" attacked instantly, its fist wreathed in that purple-black energy, moving faster than any human eye could track.
Cloud caught the fist with one hand.
The collision created a shockwave that shattered every window on the floor.
But Cloud hadn't moved an inch.
"...I am the original."
His grip tightened.
CRACK.
The artificial being's entire arm crumpled like aluminum foil.
Duke's face went pale. "Impossible! Jiao possesses 40% of Orochi's power! He should be—"
"Forty percent?" Cloud laughed—a cold, mirthless sound. "Forty percent of what was already a degraded sample, diluted through cloning, mixed with inferior human genetics?"
He pulled the artificial being close, staring into its empty eyes.
"That's not even four percent of what I am."
With a casual flick of his wrist, he sent "Jiao" flying across the room, where it crashed through Duke's precious display cases.
Duke stumbled backward, all pretense of composure gone. "Alba! Stop him!"
Alba Meira, who had been silent this entire time, finally moved. But not toward Cloud.
He stepped between Duke and the exit.
"Alba?! What are you doing?!"
"What I should have done long ago." Alba's voice was still cold, but there was something new in his eyes—clarity. "I saw what was in his mind when he caught Jiao. The memories. The connection."
He looked at Cloud. "You're the true inheritor of Orochi's will. Not this organization's puppet. Not their manufactured god."
"Traitor!" Duke screamed, reaching into his coat—
A burst of golden flame reduced the gun to slag before he could even draw it.
"I think," Cloud said, walking toward Duke with measured steps, "it's time we had a chat about what exactly you've been doing in my city."
Duke fell to his knees, all his arrogance evaporating.
"Please—I can explain—the organization—"
"Oh, I'm sure you can." Cloud smiled, and it was not a kind smile. "And you will. Every. Single. Detail."
He placed one hand on Duke's forehead.
"Let's start from the beginning, shall we?"
As Cloud began to forcibly extract every secret from Duke's mind, Alba walked to the window, looking down at the city below.
Somewhere down there, his sister was waiting.
And for the first time in years, he felt something other than cold purpose.
He felt hope.
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"