Chapter 54: The True Final Piece
Gin staggered to his feet.
Blood streamed down the side of his face, dripping from his chin onto the cracked stone beneath him. His breathing was ragged. The dark energy surrounding him flickered violently, rising and falling like a dying flame.
Across from him, Lee Kung stood calmly, his red aura crackling around his body like living lightning.
For a moment neither moved.
Then Gin smiled.
It wasn't the smile of a defeated man.
It was the smile of someone who still had a secret.
"You think..." Gin coughed, wiping blood from his lips. "...you think you're the only one with a Gear Shift?"
Lee Kung narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
Gin's smile widened.
Suddenly he lowered his stance.
Dark energy exploded outward.
BOOOOOOM!
The canyon shook.
Mia and Sio Jun instinctively turned toward the battlefield.
Lee Kang's expression changed ever so slightly.
The darkness around Gin spiraled upward into the sky before descending around him like a massive cloak.
A gigantic spectral bear formed behind him.
Its eyes glowed crimson.
Its claws looked capable of tearing mountains apart.
The pressure alone cracked the ground beneath Gin's feet.
"Gear Shift..." Gin said.
The bear roared.
"Seventy Percent."
ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!!
The sound echoed throughout the canyon.
Lee Kung stared for a second before slowly smiling.
"So..."
He placed his sword in front of him.
The blade began humming.
"...Daijōbu deshou, datte kimi yowai mo."
Gin blinked.
"What?"
Lee Kung laughed.
"Nothing. I just always wanted to say that."
Red lightning erupted around him.
The Sword of the Dragon King vibrated.
Then something strange happened.
The weapon began changing.
The broad dragon blade compressed.
Metal shifted.
Runes rearranged themselves.
The guard folded inward.
The weapon became longer.
Sharper.
Elegant.
A katana.
Lee Kung looked at it.
His eyes widened.
"Well..."
He turned the blade.
"I've never used this form before."
The katana reflected the moonlight.
"I don't know what it does."
His grin widened.
"But let's find out."
Red lightning exploded around him.
"Gear Shift."
The air froze.
"Twenty-five Percent."
The world changed.
Everything became quiet.
Lee Kung's pupils narrowed.
The wind slowed.
Dust floated like feathers.
Even Gin's movements appeared different.
Slower.
Much slower.
Lee Kung blinked.
A realization crossed his face.
"Oh."
The katana vibrated.
"So that's what this does."
He lowered himself into a stance.
Across from him Gin clenched his fists.
The spectral bear behind him roared.
Then both vanished.
BOOM!
A sonic explosion ripped through the canyon.
Their collision sent shockwaves in every direction.
Sword met fist.
SPARKS FLEW.
Gin attacked first.
A punch.
Lee Kung sidestepped.
Another.
Missed.
A kick.
Missed again.
Gin frowned.
Why was everything missing?
He accelerated.
Faster.
Faster.
FASTER.
Yet from Lee Kung's perspective every attack looked almost lazy.
Almost predictable.
The katana form had heightened his perception to a terrifying degree.
Each movement unfolded before him.
Every muscle contraction.
Every shift in balance.
Every intention.
Everything.
Lee Kung danced through the attacks.
Effortlessly.
The canyon became a blur.
Shockwaves exploded with every exchange.
Rocks shattered.
The earth cracked.
Meanwhile Mia and Sio Jun watched in disbelief.
"They're getting stronger," Mia whispered.
Sio Jun nodded.
"Way stronger."
Back on the battlefield Gin finally landed a hit.
A direct hit.
His fist connected with Lee Kung's chest.
BOOOOOOM!
Lee Kung was launched backward.
He smashed through multiple boulders.
The canyon wall exploded.
Dust filled the air.
For several seconds everything became silent.
Then laughter emerged from the smoke.
Lee Kung walked out.
Completely unharmed.
Gin froze.
Lee Kung smiled.
"I get it now."
"What?"
"My Gear Shift."
He lifted the katana.
"It creates Time Mirages."
The blade glowed.
Red runes appeared along its edge.
Lee Kung pointed it forward.
"Now that I've mastered it..."
His smile widened.
"Get ready."
Gin growled.
The bear behind him roared.
This time neither jumped.
Neither prepared.
Neither hesitated.
BOOM!!
The ground exploded beneath Lee Kung.
One second he stood still.
The next he vanished.
Gin reacted instantly.
He anticipated the attack.
Raised both arms.
Blocked.
Then countered.
Perfect.
Or so he thought.
Suddenly his body stopped moving.
His eyes widened.
What?
His arms refused to move.
His legs refused to move.
His entire body froze.
Only his eyes remained active.
"What did you do?"
Lee Kung appeared directly in front of him.
The katana rested casually on his shoulder.
"The rule has been placed."
Gin's eyes widened further.
"What rule?"
Lee Kung smiled.
"Any living thing within ten meters..."
Red energy formed symbols around the battlefield.
"...shall not move."
The symbols glowed brighter.
"And it is so."
Gin tried to struggle.
Nothing happened.
His body remained frozen.
Complete paralysis.
Panic appeared in his eyes.
Lee Kung walked closer.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Eventually he stood directly before him.
For a moment he looked genuinely sad.
"You were my friend."
Gin's eyes trembled.
Lee Kung lowered the katana.
"I'm sorry."
Then—
SLASH!
A blinding red arc erupted from the blade.
The Time Mirage shattered.
Reality resumed.
Gin was launched backward like a missile.
BOOOOOOM!!
He smashed through enormous rocks.
Entire sections of the canyon collapsed.
Dust filled the sky.
Lee Kung immediately pursued.
Red lightning erupted beneath his feet.
Another sonic boom.
He appeared above Gin.
His fist pulled back.
Then—
CRASH!!
The punch landed.
Gin was sent hurtling upward.
The sky cracked with thunder.
Everyone watched.
Even Lee Kang.
Then something happened.
A blue light appeared.
A single beam.
High above the canyon.
The fighting stopped.
Lee Kung stopped.
Gin stopped.
Mia stopped.
Sio Jun stopped.
Even Lee Kang looked upward.
The blue light intensified.
Brighter.
Brighter.
BRIGHTER.
A massive wave of energy exploded across the sky.
BOOOOOOOOOM!!
Clouds were blown apart.
The entire canyon was illuminated.
Lee Kung's eyes widened.
"No way..."
A figure floated within the light.
Suspended in the air.
Blue energy surrounded him like an ocean.
His hair danced wildly in the wind.
His eyes glowed.
Power radiated from every part of him.
A power unlike anything they had felt before.
A power ancient.
Pure.
And familiar.
"Harris..."
Mia whispered.
Sio Jun gasped.
"It can't be."
Lee Kung could only stare.
Harris slowly opened his eyes.
The blue energy around him intensified.
The canyon shook.
The earth trembled.
The sky itself seemed to bend around him.
Then Gin started laughing.
At first quietly.
Then louder.
Then louder still.
"Hahaha..."
Blood ran down his face.
"Hahahaha!"
Lee Kung looked at him.
"What are you laughing about?"
Gin grinned.
His eyes were wild.
"You finally figured it out."
"What?"
Gin pointed toward the glowing figure above.
"The Final Piece."
Silence.
Then—
"HIM."
Lee Kung looked up.
His heart nearly stopped.
Not Gin.
Not anyone else.
Harris.
The person they had been searching for all this time.
The final warrior.
The final chosen one.
The final piece.
High above the canyon, Harris slowly descended as blue energy consumed the sky.
And for the first time since the battle began—
Lee Kang smiled.
A genuine smile.
Because whatever was happening...
had gone exactly according to his plan.
To Be Continued...