Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord

The first clash of claw against claw screamed like steel splitting stone. Sparks of energy burst outward as their hands blurred, slashing, blocking, and countering in rapid succession.

Jayden's claws cut down in a diagonal sweep; Ava caught it, deflected, and immediately thrust her own claws toward his chest. He twisted sideways, letting them graze his side, then spun on his heel and retaliated with a backhand slash.

She ducked low, claws carving upward toward his midsection. Jayden leapt back, snow exploding under his feet. She pressed forward without hesitation, her claws flicking in precise arcs aimed at his ribs and throat.

Jayden barely kept up, intercepting each strike with his own claws, the clang-clang-clang echoing in brutal rhythm.

And as the fight raged on, he could feel it… Ava wasn't just close to him in speed. She was matching him blow for blow. Every step he took, she mirrored. Every feint he threw, she read and countered.

Their claws carved into the air at impossible velocity, each impact ringing out like steel bells clashing, sending sharp vibrations through the storm.

But deep down, he knew he had one thing she didn't: Raw strength. Since the beginning of their fight, that was where he had the edge. He knew it.

Without further thought, he decided to unleash an even greater strength. To let loose and use the ability he'd been holding back from using all day. His enhanced strength.

After a while of endless claw exchange, Jayden suddenly stopped slashing. His claws retracted back into his fists with a metallic shunk.

Ava blinked, momentarily surprised. Then she smirked. "What's this? Giving up already?"

Jayden didn't answer. He planted his feet firmly, arms loose, chest open. An obvious invitation.

Ava blinked in surprise but didn't hesitate. Her claws flared brighter and she lunged, stabbing forward at his exposed chest.

Jayden didn't move.

Her claws reached him.. only to stop dead.

Jayden's hand had snapped up and caught them directly by the blade, his bare fingers gripping the glowing constructs. The light hissed dangerously against his skin, threatening to slice clean through flesh and bone.

But he held them. Firm. Unyielding.

Ava's sapphire eyes widened. "What the…?"

She yanked back, trying to free herself, but his hold was unshakable. Her claws didn't even budge an inch.

Her other hand shot up, claws slicing down in a desperate arc toward his head. Jayden's second hand caught those too, clamping onto the glowing blades as if they were nothing more than sticks.

For a moment, they stood locked, her snarling in disbelief, him calm, muscles flexing as if carved from iron.

Then Jayden's lips curved into a grin. With a sharp grunt, his grip tightened, and…

CRACK!

All six of Ava's astral claws shattered like glass, splintering into shards of blue light that disintegrated into the storm.

Ava froze, stunned. She had reinforced those claws with everything she had, pumping energy into them until they were dense enough to cut through steel. And he'd broken them. Effortlessly.

She staggered back a step, shaking her hands, sparks still dripping from her palms. Then she let out a disbelieving laugh, smirking despite herself. "You've got to be kidding me… I poured an awful lot of energy into those claws, and you just shattered them without hesitating. What a meanie."

Her smirk widened, masking the awe in her chest. "Doesn't matter, though. I can always make another." she murmured, resuming her battle stance.

But as the words left her lips… her expression stiffened.

Jayden wasn't in front of her anymore.

Her pupils widened. "Fuck…!"

WHOOSH!

He reappeared right in front of her, mid-stride, fist cocked and heading straight for her chest.

Ava's eyes flashed, her instincts kicking in fast. She crossed her arms tight in front of her torso, energy bursting from her hands, wrapping her forearms in glowing gauntlets of sapphire light.

Jayden's fist slammed down onto them with monstrous force.

BOOOOM!

The shockwave rattled the mountain, splitting snow from the ridges. Ava's feet carved trenches as she was forced back, heels skidding, arms straining to keep herself braced. Her body trembled from the impact, but she held firm, breath ragged.

When she dared to glance down, her gauntlets were spider-webbed with cracks, glowing fissures threatening to shatter.

"If I hadn't coated my arms…" she thought, heart pounding. "That punch would've broken them outright."

Her sapphire eyes flicked back up. "Just how strong is he…?"

But Jayden wasn't waiting. He was already closing in again, fist heading for her head.

Ava gritted her teeth and sidestepped, his fist slamming into empty air. The strike didn't connect with her.. but the air itself rippled like water from the sheer force, a visible distortion surging outward.

Jayden pivoted with the momentum, body twisting smoothly as his free hand whipped around.

Ava smirked, slipping out of reach. But the smirk faded as Jayden spun with uncanny precision, his body coiling mid-motion, using the twist to snap his other fist toward her gut.

Her eyes widened. She hadn't seen it coming. Too late to fully dodge, she threw up an energy shield in desperation, a hexagonal blue wall forming between them at the last second.

CRACK!

Jayden's fist hit like a cannon. The shield shuddered violently, fractures racing across its surface.

He drew back instantly, fist cocking again for a second blow.

Ava's instincts screamed. She slammed the half-broken shield forward like a battering ram, smashing it into Jayden's chest.

THUD!

He grunted as the force knocked him off balance to the ground… and before he could recover, the shield exploded into shards of light. Ava's palm flared, her body surging with sapphire glow.

"Got you."

KZZZZZZHHHH!

A searing beam of energy erupted from her hand, racing toward Jayden's grounded form.

His eyes narrowed. In one instant, his muscles flexed, and he exploded off the ground, body moving faster than the eye could track. The beam scorched the snow where he had been, burrowing a molten trench through the battlefield.

But Ava wasn't finished. She swung her hand, the beam trailing with her motion like a whip, scything across the arena in pursuit.

Jayden blurred across the snow, weaving from side to side, every beam strike exploding against the mountain behind him. He ducked, rolled, twisted.. keeping just a step ahead of the sapphire laser hunting him.

Then suddenly, his body flickered. And vanished.

Invisible.

Ava paused, narrowing her eyes. Then she smirked, having figured out Jayden's plan. "That trick won't work on me, love." she chuckled.

Her sapphire eyes glowed brighter, her pupils dilating as energy surged into them. The entire battlefield lit up in her sight, every trace of energy screaming against the black.

And then, she saw it… a faint outline flickered, hidden but not hidden enough. Jayden's figure.

Her smile sharpened. "Gotcha."

She snapped her hand up and fired straight at the 'empty' air.

Jayden reappeared mid-dodge, the beam grazing past his cheek, searing the air beside him. He scowled, boots digging into the snow.

"She can see through my invisibility?" His jaw clenched. "Oh, that's not good."

Another beam sliced toward him. He ducked under it, snow spraying upward.

Beam after beam followed him relentlessly, Ava's precision never faltering. He weaved through them with terrifying speed, but each near miss only singed close.

She kept raining beams in rapid succession, forcing him into a desperate dance. Each blast detonated around him, snow and ice exploding skyward in violent bursts.

Finally, Jayden's patience snapped.

"You know what?" he snarled, teeth grit. "Fuck this."

Jayden surged. He broke from evasive patterns, body snapping forward in a direct charge.

Ava grinned, palm flaring. "Hm, how bold."

Her beam fired once… Jayden ducked. Another seared out.. he rolled under it. His speed closed the distance inch by inch, her eyes widening as he refused to back off despite the burns searing into his side.

And eventually, he reached her.

She tried to shoot a beam at him. But his hand snapped out, smacking her wrist sharply upward. The beam fired into the sky, vanishing into the storm.

Jayden's fist cocked back, aiming straight for her head.

She ducked at the last moment, her braid whipping as she slid beneath him. Her own fist surged with light, slamming upward toward his gut.

But Jayden was faster. He caught her arm, twisted it expertly, spun, and hooked it over his shoulder.

In one brutal motion, he bent low and heaved.

SLAM!

Her body flipped clean over his shoulder, crashing into the snow. The ground cracked from the impact.

Jayden didn't hesitate. He followed through with a downward punch, aiming to end it right there.

But Ava blurred. Her body flickered with energy, vanishing from the ground before his fist hit.

KRAKOOOM!

Snow exploded upward in a blinding wave as his punch cratered the arena.

Ava reappeared meters away, chest heaving, sweat gleaming on her brow. She chuckled breathlessly, raising her hands. "Okay, I get it. You're strong. But could you at least go easy on me? My body's not as sturdy as yours, dammit."

Jayden smirked, straightening. "You said not to hold back. I was only honoring that."

She scoffed, shaking her head with a grin. "Oh, so that's how it is, huh? Fine…"

Then, her sapphire eyes blazed, her body began to glow radiantly. Energy pulsed across her skin in waves.

"But remember… I tried to be gentle." she whispered, just before light erupted from her veins, flowing into her palms until her whole body hummed like a live wire.

She lifted off the ground, her figure rising slowly into the storm-filled sky, suspended in raw power.

Jayden narrowed his eyes, watching closely.

Ava raised both glowing hands above her head. Energy churned, condensed, then spiraled upward into a single growing orb.

A sphere of sapphire energy formed between her palms, swelling larger and larger, humming with catastrophic force. It ballooned, swelling until it rivaled the size of a hot-air balloon, the snow whipping violently around it from the energy pressure.

Her voice echoed down through the storm. "Alright, let's see you handle this!"

And then… she hurled it.

The colossal energy bomb ripped through the sky toward Jayden, expanding as it descended, its glow washing over the entire arena.

Jayden's eyes widened. The sheer size, the crushing weight of its energy, it was impossible to simply dodge. Too fast. Too big. Too powerful.

"Shit…" he muttered, as orb bore down, screaming through the blizzard like a star falling to earth. "There's no way I can dodge that."

His fists clenched, eyes locked on the approaching death ball. "I'll have to push back."