Ancestral Lineage

Trevor's lips curled into a smile that was neither mocking nor kind. It was simply… inevitable.

"You've always believed strength was about levels, about realms," Trevor said, his voice carrying like a whisper and a roar at the same time. His crimson aura coiled and slithered around him like living serpents, every strand humming with a rhythm that resonated with blood itself. "But what you fail to understand, brother… is that blood remembers. And mine is older than you can ever imagine."

Before Dennise could even register, Trevor moved.

It wasn't speed—it was erasure. One moment he was standing before him, the next he was gone, replaced by a blur of smoke and crimson. A heartbeat later, a sharp clang rang out as metal claws instinctively blocked a blood-forged scythe. Sparks scattered across the street as Trevor's weapon dragged along the metallic halberd, carving a line of raw force that detonated the air itself.

The shockwave split the buildings nearby, glass shattering as if the city itself was recoiling.

Dennise staggered back two steps, his hooves grinding against the road, sparks erupting as the weight of Trevor's blow pushed him further and further down. His arms trembled—something that had never happened before.

"Impossible…" Dennise grunted, forcing the halberd upward with a roar. His aura flared violently, sending a wave of metallic shards outward like knives.

Trevor flowed around it like smoke. Each shard that should have pierced him instead dissolved into crimson mist, his form half-intangible as he weaved forward, the scythe dragging behind him like a reaper's promise.

Then he struck.

The scythe arced upward in a devastating swing. Dennise barely crossed his weapon in time, the clash igniting a shockwave so violent it uprooted the road and blew apart entire cars in the distance. His body rattled from the sheer force, muscles screaming under the pressure.

Trevor's grin widened, his voice sharp with finality:

"Let's stop pretending you can keep up."

And then—he pressed down.

The scythe's edge released a pulse of condensed bloodlust, a wave of force that bypassed Dennise's weapon and slammed directly into his body. Dennise's massive frame was hurled backward like a cannonball, smashing through one building, then another, before finally grinding to a stop against a collapsed heap of rubble.

The ground where Trevor stood cracked, blood mist rising around him like a crown. His aura didn't calm—it only grew, rippling outward like the tide of an endless sea, daring Dennise to stand again.

Dennise groaned as rubble fell off his body, blood dripping from the side of his mouth. His horns glinted silver under the flickering city lights, his massive frame heaving with every breath.

He slammed the ground with one clawed hand, hauling himself back to his feet. His silver aura flared violently, rattling the nearby wreckage as shards of metallic energy swirled around him like a storm of blades. His voice was guttural, bestial.

"Don't… mock me!"

With a roar, Dennise shot forward, his halberd spinning in a wide arc, slicing the air itself. Each swing carried enough force to level a city block, the sheer momentum cracking the streets and splitting lampposts in half.

Trevor didn't even move. His smoke-like hair swirled lazily around him, his crimson eyes shining with wicked amusement.

When the halberd finally came down with enough force to crater the earth, Trevor simply tilted his head and let it slam into the pavement beside him. The explosion tore the ground open, but Trevor stood untouched, leaning on his scythe like it was a walking stick.

"That was… cute," he said with a sharp grin.

Dennise snarled and swung again, faster this time, each strike leaving streaks of silver light in the air. Trevor dodged with minimal movement, sometimes not even dodging at all—his body dissolving into smoke and reforming just beyond Dennise's reach.

The fight looked more like a comedy routine than a battle.

"Stay still, damn you!" Dennise roared, spinning the halberd overhead in a whirlwind of death.

Trevor leaned back, the weapon missing him by inches, and blew Dennise a mocking kiss."You'll have to buy me dinner first, brother."

"RAAHHH!" Dennise's patience snapped. His hooves stomped hard, creating a spike of silver metal that surged up from the road like a massive spear aimed at Trevor's gut.

Trevor yawned and dissolved into crimson smoke again, reappearing behind Dennise in an instant. Before the larger man could react, Trevor casually grabbed him by the back of the neck.

"Gotcha."

And then he flung him.

The impact was brutal. Dennise's body smashed through one skyscraper, then another, glass and steel raining down as the buildings collapsed behind him. His body finally skidded across the ground, carving a trench through asphalt before he lay groaning in the wreckage.

Trevor strolled toward him, twirling his scythe over his shoulder like a farmer about to reap a field. His voice carried amusement that was sharp as a blade."You look good in rubble. Very fashionable. Want me to bury you with style?"

Dennise coughed, blood spilling from his mouth, but his rage burned hotter. With a desperate roar, his aura surged again. His horns flared, his body glowing silver, and he hurled chunks of metallic debris like bullets. Hundreds of them.

The storm of metal screamed toward Trevor, blotting out the sky.

Trevor… didn't even blink. His tattoos lit up in violent red, and with a single sweep of his scythe, a tidal wave of blood surged forth. The crimson flood devoured the metallic barrage, twisting and corroding it midair before slamming into Dennise like a tsunami.

The silver warrior was swallowed whole, the impact blasting him across the district until his body crashed into a half-toppled skyscraper. The building gave way under the impact, crumbling to dust and burying him in a mountain of steel and glass.

Trevor dusted off his hands as if he'd done nothing more than take out the trash.

But then —

BOOM!

Dennise erupted from the rubble, covered in blood and dust, his halberd reforged, his aura raging like a wild storm. He bellowed like a beast, charging Trevor with reckless abandon.

Trevor smirked."Persistent. Annoying. Like a cockroach."

This time, Trevor didn't dodge. He stepped forward, catching the halberd mid-swing with his bare hand. Sparks exploded, the ground splitting from the collision — but Trevor didn't budge.

Dennise's eyes widened. "What—!?"

Trevor yanked the halberd forward, dragging Dennise off balance, and with his other hand, slapped him across the face.

The slap wasn't casual. It carried the weight of a crimson tidal wave. Dennise's body spun through the air like a ragdoll, smashing into a series of cars, flipping them end over end, before finally embedding him into the side of another building.

Trevor clapped his hands clean."There. Much better. Quiet."

Dennise groaned, struggling to peel himself out of the dented wall, his body trembling with exhaustion. His Sync form flickered, his horns cracking under the strain. His breath came in ragged gasps.

Trevor walked toward him, slow and deliberate, the scythe scraping against the ruined ground with a screeching hiss. His crimson aura expanded, painting the world in shades of blood and smoke.

"You wanted war, brother," Trevor said softly, dangerously. His fangs glinted under the ruined skyline. "Now you've got it."

Dennise stumbled from the cratered wall, his halberd dragging along the ground with a screech. His horns had splintered, silver cracks running down their length like shattered glass. His Sync aura sputtered, dimming with each ragged breath. Still, his eyes burned with stubborn fury.

Trevor stopped a few feet away, his crimson aura roaring like a living storm. The smoke of his hair lashed behind him as though it had a will of its own, his tattoos glowing so brightly they cut through the night like molten fire.

"You don't know when to stay down, do you?" Trevor's voice was almost… disappointed. "I gave you the chance to crawl away. But no—" He raised his scythe lazily, pointing the tip toward his brother. "You wanted to play soldier."

Dennise roared through broken teeth and lunged, dragging his halberd up in one desperate overhead swing. The strike split the earth like an earthquake, a last-ditch effort of raw power.

Trevor caught the entire weapon between two fingers.

Dennise froze, eyes wide. "What…?"

Trevor leaned in close, his crimson gaze boring into him, fangs flashing. "You've always been second best."

Then, with a flick, Trevor shattered the halberd. The weapon splintered into useless fragments, scattering like dust in the wind.

Before Dennise could react, Trevor's hand closed around his throat. He lifted him effortlessly, one arm dangling like a butcher holding a slab of meat. Dennise clawed at Trevor's arm, his feet kicking violently, silver sparks bursting from his horns in panicked fury.

"Put… me… down!" Dennise gagged.

Trevor's grin widened. "Gladly."

With a thunderous heave, Trevor hurled Dennise skyward. The massive warrior shot upward like a missile, smashing through the side of a half-toppled skyscraper, then bursting through the roof in an explosion of glass and steel.

The city held its breath for a moment.

And then—

BOOM.

Trevor appeared above him, as though he had stepped through the air itself. His scythe was gone. His fists burned with blood-red energy, glowing like miniature suns.

He met Dennise midair, their silhouettes framed against the burning horizon.

"This," Trevor snarled, pulling his arm back, "is where it ends."

He drove his fist into Dennise's chest with such force the sound didn't register immediately. The impact cracked the sky like thunder, a sonic boom rippling outward. Blood sprayed from Dennise's mouth as his body bent around the strike, his aura shattering like glass under a hammer.

The blow sent him crashing back down at meteoric speed, his body trailing like a comet of silver and red. He slammed into the ground so hard the city quaked, dust and fire blasting outward in a violent shockwave. A crater hundreds of meters wide split the earth, swallowing whole streets.

Silence.

Trevor drifted back down, descending like smoke on the wind. He landed at the edge of the crater, his boots crunching against broken asphalt. His crimson aura flickered, then settled, folding back into his body with slow, lazy waves.

At the center of the crater, Dennise lay broken. His horns had snapped, his Sync dissolved, his body twitching weakly. He coughed once, silver blood spilling over his lips, before his head slumped to the side. Unconscious. Defeated.

Trevor looked down at him, expression unreadable. Then, with a dry chuckle, he crouched and gave his brother's face a light tap with two fingers."Still breathing. Good. I'd hate to explain to mother."

He then looked around at the devastation—the cratered streets, the shattered skyscrapers, the unconscious wreckage of his brother—and his smirk twisted into a grimace.

"Shit… Ethan's gonna murder me for this mess."

He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at the smoking ruins like a guilty child caught red-handed. "I swear, I just tapped him…"

With a sigh, Trevor disappeared into crimson smoke along with the unconscious Dennise, leaving the broken battlefield behind.