The Divided Guardian [Cursed Anti-Hero, Progression, Dark Fantasy]

Hugo and Sol faced each other across the rocky shoreline, two predators sizing up their prey. The gang leader's serpent-yellow eyes tracked the silver lightning crackling around Sol's clenched fists like trapped starlight.

"Darkness Auron," Hugo noted, rolling his massive shoulders. "Don't see many of you running around."

Sol shifted his weight, muscles coiled tight. "What can I say? I'm special."

A slow grin spread across Hugo's scarred face. Behind him, the ocean responded to his gesture like a living thing—two massive water serpents erupting from the waves and crashing toward Sol with bone-crushing force.

Sol twisted sideways, but Hugo was already moving. Wind spiraled around the giant's fist as he closed the distance in a heartbeat. Sol threw up both arms, silver fire coating them like armor, catching Hugo's punch in an explosion.

Hugo barely flinched from the blast. Sol used the moment to leap back, but the gang leader was relentless, charging forward to grapple. This time Sol met him head-on. Their palms locked together, wind meeting lightning in a deadly dance while Sol's dark flames licked at both their hands.

"You pack more punch than that Angel boy," Hugo said, grinning through the pain as his grip tightened. "No wonder you took down Vika. But me?" His eyes went cold as winter ice. "I'm something else entirely."

Sol gritted his teeth, silver fire exploding around them both. "Then I'll just have to hit harder!"

Hugo's smile faltered when white light suddenly flashed across his entire body. He released Sol and jumped back as an explosion engulfed him, leaving his clothes singed and torn. He touched his face, confusion flickering across his features.

Hugo rubbed his fingertips together, then ran his hand across his face again. "Smoother..." he muttered, confused. "What the hell did you just do to me, boy? What kind of evolved trick was that?"

Sol caught his breath, sweat beading on his forehead. "Your guess is as good as mine." He dropped back into fighting stance. "Come on, Angelo," he muttered under his breath. "Whatever you're planning, make it fast."

The trio had found shelter in a small cave carved into the cliffsides, barely wide enough for all three fragments. Angelo cradled his injured left arm against his chest, face pale with pain.

"Time for Trinergy," he said through gritted teeth. "We're running out of options."

Red crossed his arms, skepticism written all over his face. "You can barely stand. How are you supposed to fight that mountain?"

Angelo's eyes flashed with anger. "What choice do I have? You want to take him on instead?" He let out a bitter laugh. "You, with your pathetic twenty-five percent power? That's rich."

Red's expression went dangerous. Without warning, he stepped forward and slapped Angelo hard across the face. Angelo lurched up from his crouch, fury blazing in his eyes despite the sharp pain shooting through his arm.

"STOP!" Blue's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "We don't have time for this foolishness!"

Red turned away, his voice quieter now. "I wasn't talking about me, you idiot." He looked directly at Blue, something pained flickering in his expression. "If anyone can take down that bastard, it's Blue."

Blue's composed demeanor cracked like glass. "Me? Absolutely not! This is Angelo's responsibility—I merely provide support!"

Angelo stared pacing, processing Red's suggestion. Slowly, he nodded. "Red's right. With proper armor, your technique could actually work against Hugo."

"I... I cannot..." Blue stammered, looking as shaken as if someone had asked him to tear down a library.

Red forced enthusiasm into his voice, though it sounded like he was choking on the words. "Come on, professor. Time to step out of the lecture hall and show us what all that theory looks like in practice."

Angelo winced as he shifted position. "What do you say, Blue? You still want to report back to Albert about your findings? Hard to do that if we're all dead."

Blue's eyes went wide with internal conflict. "This contradicts everything I believe in. Taking direct action, assuming leadership..."

"You helped me fight off Dray's attacks," Red pointed out.

"That was different!" Blue protested. "I was providing assistance, not taking command!"

Angelo leaned forward. "Look, you're like those Enlightened Society people, right? You prefer observing over interfering?" Blue nodded cautiously. "But their rules already account for situations that demand intervention. This is one of those situations."

Blue stared at Angelo, his entire frame trembling with indecision. Finally, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the blue seemed to burn brighter with newfound resolve.

"Very well. Just this once."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Finally!" Red called out, though his enthusiasm still felt forced. "Let's move before Sol becomes fish food!"

The three fragments took their positions, arms weaving through the air as colored smoke spiraled around them like a miniature galaxy. The energies merged and shifted until silver light filled the cave. They dissolved Angelo's existing armor and fed it into the swirling mass before directing the entire thing toward Blue.

The Trinergy smoke engulfed him, solidifying into gleaming plates that covered him from head to toe. Blue stepped toward the cave entrance, testing the weight and balance.

"Remember," Angelo called after him, "the armor protects you, but your base power is still the same. You'll need to use his own strength against him."

Even though they both already knew this, Blue nodded once. "Understood."

Red threw his hands up in frustration. "Damn it! If all three of us could go together, we might have managed some Trinergy stuff."

Blue shook his head. "With Angelo's injuries... the risk is far too dangerous."

Red suddenly bounced on his toes, eyes lighting up with a new idea. "Oh! Wait a second—what if I use my puppet? And maybe Angelo could try making one too? Then we could send them with you, and that way we... could... actually... do..." His voice faded as the reality sank in, like watching a soap bubble pop.

Blue and Angelo slowly turned toward Red in perfect unison, their faces frozen in absolute shock.

"You..." Angelo started, his voice barely a whisper.

Blue's eyes went wide, understanding dawning like sunrise. "All this time... how could we have been so utterly blind? You've been doing the impossible right under our noses!"

Angelo dragged his hands down his face. "Unbelievable. You've been drawing and controlling energy from miles away from your actual body. Hell, sometimes you weren't even materialized!"

Red shifted uncomfortably, scratching the back of his neck. "I mean... I just listened when Blue was teaching Neiva the other day. You said the hand movements were just for show, so I figured... Guess I just felt like I could do it, because I 'was there', you know?"

Blue stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Misdirection. That's precisely why we failed to notice."

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Angelo snapped.

"Stage magicians use this principle constantly," Blue explained, his scholarly excitement building. "They direct your attention to one spectacle while performing the actual trick elsewhere. We became so fixated on Red's puppets—watching him control them as if he inhabited them—that we completely overlooked the fundamental breakthrough underneath: remote energy manipulation."

Red's eyes lit up like fireworks. "You know what this means? You guys can probably do it too! We might not need puppets at all—just look through the Trinergy armor!"

Blue nodded eagerly. "Even simpler than that, Red. You merely need to shift your perspective to mine. That should satisfy the requirements."

Red grinned at Angelo. "Think you remember how to do it, or did you forget?"

Angelo rolled his eyes. "Yes, I remember. Spent so much effort learning to tune you both out—never thought I'd willingly tune back in." He closed his eyes and let his consciousness drift. Suddenly the world shifted, and he was seeing everything through Blue's eyes, feeling what Blue felt. "Alright... now what?"

Blue raised both arms and opened his palms. Angelo and Red could feel the movement as if it were their own bodies. "Draw your energies into my palms. We need to test this theory."

Without warning, a crimson orb materialized above Blue's left palm. Blue's eyes sparkled with scientific wonder. "Extraordinary."

Angelo hesitated for a moment, then concentrated. To his surprise, an orange sphere appeared effortlessly above Blue's right palm. Blue moved his arms in slow circles, and their minds instinctively responded, making the spheres follow his movements like trained pets.

"Absolutely remarkable..." Blue breathed, barely containing his excitement.

Red's trademark grin stretched wide. "Now you've got even more reason to crush this bastard. Go! Sol's probably bleeding out as we speak! We'll be right there with you!"

"Wait." Blue suddenly froze. "I wish to test one additional hypothesis." The odd request made Angelo and Red want to exchange glances, but sharing Blue's perspective made that impossible.

"Dissolve your energies, then on my signal, create and compress them above my right palm," Blue instructed.

As Red made his energy vanish, he asked, "Your right or my right?"

"The open palm, you idiot!" Angelo barked.

"Don't yell at me!"

"Gentlemen, please!" Blue raised his right arm. "On my mark. Ready? Three... two... one... now!"

For a heartbeat, nothing existed except silence. Then silver light exploded through the darkness, expanding like a miniature sun.

"Trinergy..." Angelo whispered in disbelief. "But how? So quickly? This easily?" He felt betrayed—all this time they'd been doing things the hard way when this simple method existed.

Blue nodded, already turning toward the cave entrance. "My hypothesis was correct." He paused at the threshold. "Let's go. This battle, we fight as one."

Angelo's consciousness nodded through Blue's body.

Red's grin could have made demons jealous. "Time to give him hell!"

Blue stepped into the open air, azure energy streaming from his armored palms and boots like controlled lightning. "Help me reach them faster."

Angelo and Red didn't hesitate. Angelo crafted his signature orange wings across Blue's back—four thrust holes built into each wing. Red created his glider wings underneath, the booster positioned perfectly at the center.

"Ready for takeoff?" Red asked like a kid about to launch a rocket.

"Forward!" Blue commanded, launching himself toward the distant beach. Azure energy blazed from his palms and boots, orange fire roared through the wing holes, and crimson power shot from the back booster. He rocketed through the air faster than ever before, leaving a rainbow trail that painted the air.

Back on the beach, Hugo hoisted Sol's broken body with one massive arm. Blood covered the silver-haired fighter from head to toe, his aura flickering like a candle in a hurricane.

"You put up a decent fight," Hugo said with casual cruelty. "Don't worry—I'll send your friends to join you real soon. Got any last words for them, boy?"

Sol coughed up blood, then managed a weak grin. "Yeah... behind you."

Hugo barely bothered to look, turning his head lazily—just as Blue's armored knee slammed into his skull. The gang leader crashed to the sand like a felled tree. Blue caught Sol as he tumbled free, hovering protectively over Hugo's sprawled form.

Hugo looked up and his jaw dropped. The figure above him wore gleaming silver armor threaded with colorful veins of energy. Two sets of wings spread from his back—broad orange ones and sleek crimson gliders underneath. He looked like something from a superhero movie.

"What in the hell...?" Hugo stammered.

"Red, could you please escort Solomon to safety?" Blue asked politely through their mental link.

"Fine, but don't start the party without me!" Red's voice bounced off the walls of the cave.

Crimson energy hands materialized around Blue, gently lifting Sol under his arms. Jets of red fire shot from where the arms should connect to a body, carrying the wounded fighter toward the cave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hugo scrambled to his feet, but Blue blocked his path.

"Your fight is with me," Blue said calmly, his ice-blue eyes meeting Hugo's furious glare.

This was it. The final battle.