Sam lands on a rooftop, chest heaving, trying to steady himself.
A faint whoosh of and a shadow washes over him.
Blaze hovers above, red energy flickering off his arm like heat off metal. His boots don't even touch the ground he's suspended with casual mastery, looking down like he already won.
Blaze smile as he looks down on Sam
Blaze:
"You're a sloppy runner, kid. Thought you'd get away with that little signature leak?"
Sam looks up, conflicted. Fear and defiance mix in his eyes.
Sam:
"…Back off."
Blaze raises a brow, amused.
He rotates his wrist, red sparks flowing up his arm.
Blaze:
"So you act along or are you tied to something bigger.
Dont waste my time."
Sam clenches his teeth. The fear in him breaks replaced with frustration, anger, and pure survival instinct.
His arm ignites straight yellow lines shooting up to his elbow like hot wires.
[Sam
Mark: Common
Ability: Explosion]
Sam:
"Man… fuck you!"
He thrusts his arm forward three bright yellow orbs fire off, screaming toward Blaze.
Blaze doesn't flinch.
He flies straight toward Sam, weaving between the explosions as they burst behind him.
BOOM — BOOM — BOOM
The blasts light the sky yellow.
Sam barely has time to bring his arms up
CRACK
Blaze's boot slams into his chest, sending him tumbling across the rooftop.
Sam grunts, catches himself right at the edge as he dangles in the air
He stares down at the street far below, breaths shaky.
He looks up
Blaze is already there, standing above him.
Blaze:
"This is boring…."
He steps on Sam's hand and twisting his foot till Sam let go
Sam falls backwards off the roof.
Wind rushes around him as he plummets. Blaze drops down with him, standing on Sam's chest mid-fall like he's riding an elevator.
Blaze
Looks down at his face casually unaffected by the downward fall:
"What's your plan now?."
Sam:
"Tsk…"
His whole body glows bright yellow, hotter, louder, unstable.
Blaze's eyes widen slightly the only reaction he gives.
Blaze:
"Oh."
KABOOOOM
Sam detonates mid-air.
A massive blast erupts, forcing Blaze to retreat upward instantly, cloaking himself in red energy shielding him.
Sam is blasted downward even harder, smashing into the street with brutal force rolling, scraping, coughing, barely conscious.
He drags himself to his knees as his body trembles.
Blaze descends slowly, red glow lighting the cracked pavement.
He smirks.
Blaze:
"Goodbye."
His right hand forms a red orb condensing around it, pulsing like a miniature sun.
He flashes forward, hand cocked back for the finishing blow
Blaze's fist inches closer to Sam's face, the red orb humming violently, ready to cave his skull in
A blur drops from above.
A hand clamps around Blaze's wrist.
And the ground detonates.
The red orb explodes against the concrete instead of Sam, sending a shockwave blasting outward.
Sam's body is thrown like a ragdoll, slamming into the side of a building. Blood streaks down his forehead as he collapses to a knee, vision blurring .
Larenzo lands in front of Blaze, arm still locked around Blaze's wrist, smoke swirling around them both.
Blaze looks up with a slow, growing smile.
Blaze:
"So it's you. I knew that signature felt familiar."
Larenzo releases his grip and jumps back in a single smooth motion, boots skidding across broken pavement. His eyes never leave Blaze.
Blaze rises to his feet, dust falling from his suit. His right arm ignites again, glowing red-hot, patterns lighting up like magma veins.
Blaze:
"Last time you ran.
Let's see if you've grown… or if you're still just a runner."
Larenzo doesn't answer. His mark flickers across half his face, fiery lines crawling up from his hand, pulsing hotter with every breath.
Sam tries to push himself upright against the crumbling wall. His vision tilts, a ringing in his ears. Blood drips onto the ground beneath him.
The last thing he sees clearly
Is Larenzo standing firm in the center of the street, body pitched forward, mark blazing, ready to face Blaze head-on.
Blaze's eyes sharpen.
Larenzo's jaw sets.
The air between them cracks from the pressure
They move at the same time.
The street detonates under their feet as Blaze and Larenzo shoot forward, arms clashing in the center of the road. The collision sends a shockwave snapping through the air, their auras flaring red against blazing orange.
For a split second, they're eyes locked together.
Blaze's grin fades into something sharper. More Serious.
They break apart and launch forward again.
Their fists blur.
Larenzo swings with burning strikes, each one heating the air.
Blaze parries them effortlessly, redirecting every blow with clean, surgical precision.
Blaze ducks under Larenzo's right hook, palm igniting.
A red orb appears instantly.
He slams it into Larenzo's chest.
The hit lifts Larenzo off the ground, sending him spinning into the air. Pain tears through his ribs.
Blaze lifts two fingers in front of his face, forming a quick hand sign.
The orb explodes.
The blast engulfs the sky, but through the fire you see Larenzo crossing his arms, teeth gritted, bracing against the force.
He crashes back to the ground, sliding across asphalt. He digs a hand into the pavement, stopping his momentum. Flames spark through his veins as he presses his palm flat to the ground.
The street cracks.
A line of molten-orange pillars erupts forward, chasing Blaze.
Blaze weaves through them, sprinting effortlessly between the blasts until one pillar detonates above him, a perfect trap.
Smoke swallows the sky.
Through the haze, Blaze steps out, suit scratched, shoulder lightly scorched. His eyes narrow.
He darts forward.
His punches come fast brutal, efficient. Larenzo slips past them by inches, the force of each swing brushing his skin like a blade of wind.
Larenzo's right arm ignites, flames rolling up to his shoulder.
Larenzo swings.
A roaring fire fist aimed straight at Blaze's head.
Blaze brings up a red shield in the shape of a sharp hex, forming instantly. Larenzo's punch crashes against it, fire hissing off the barrier.
Larenzo grunts as his flames recoil.
Blaze spins sharply and drives a kick into Larenzo's side.
The impact sends Larenzo flying across the street.
Blaze leaps after him, streaking through the air parallel to Larenzo's tumbling body. Another orb manifests in Blaze's hand, radiating violent heat.
He cocks his arm back for the finishing blow
Larenzo meets the orb with his own fist, flames bursting from his knuckles.
The resulting explosion rocks the ward.
Both are thrown back Blaze skidding midair, Larenzo sent crashing through an abandoned car that caves around him.
Blaze hovers above, raising his hand.
Red light gathers.
Dozens of orbs form above him, humming with destructive energy.
Blaze swipes his arm downward.
The orbs rain from the sky.
They pound into the street like meteors, each explosion ripping chunks of asphalt into the air. The block becomes a warzone shockwaves tearing through storefronts, debris flying everywhere
Larenzo darts between the blasts, barely staying ahead of the destruction. A near hit knocks him off balance, but he rolls, rebounds, and leaps back.
He plants his feet and fire erupts around him, forming a blazing barrier that circles his body.
His whole form ignites.
Larenzo shoots upward like a rocket, flames spiraling behind him.
He reaches Blaze in an instant, fist cocked back.
Blaze blocks, forearm crossing in front of him but Larenzo grabs him by the chestplate with his free hand.
Larenzo releases everything.
A torrent of flames explodes point-blank, swallowing them both in a column of fire that lights up the entire ward.
Blaze grunts…actually grunts as the flames rip across his armor, heat biting deeper than he expected.
Larenzo's jaw tightens as his body pressure kept rising