MAMI SHALLOW'S RESIDENCE- CENTRE CITY.

  Mami Shallow and Daisy sit across from each other.

  Scrolls lie scattered between them like shed skin.

  Daisy leans forward. Eyes sharp.

  “So if I connect deeper… I’ll master Reality Swapping?”

  Mami nods once. Calm. Certain.

  “You’re already past stage one. Shadow movement was the door. This is the corridor.”

  “Salion.”

  She enters.

  “Spare with Daisy 1v1.”

  A half-grin. “My luck again yes?”

  They move.

  Daisy kicks off the floor—

  Air distorts.

  Her fist rockets toward Salion’s chest.

  Salion lifts a guard—

  Daisy folds away.

  Smoke. Absence.

  Then she snaps back into existence inches from Salion’s shoulder.

  Strike.

  Salion twists.

  Counters.

  Their blows pass so close the air trembles between them.

  Salion halts first.

  Mami steps in. “Good. Your instinct is stabilizing. Lean into it. Don’t hesitate when you vanish.”

  Salion exhales, tugging at her suit.

  The black fabric clings to her skin, red lines pulsing faint beneath it.

  “It still fights me sometimes.”

  Mami moves without warning.

  Her fist slams into Salion’s chest.

  The impact detonates.

  Salion’s body rockets backward and smashes into the wall hard enough to fracture it from spine to ceiling.

  Dust rains down.

  Silence.

  “I still haven’t forgiven you,” Mami says, voice low now. Dangerous. “I told you to leave Jager.”

  Salion pushes off the broken wall.

  Her legs tremble—then steady.

  “He’ll kill me if I walk away.”

  “That’s the point.”

  Mami steps closer.

  “I trained you to protect the weak. Not standing beside corruption. You and Nathan chose wrong.”

  Her voice drops further, heavy with finality.

  “Your punishment is permanent. You serve this city until your last breath. That is your atonement.”

  Salion bows her head. “Yes, Mami.”

  Daisy follows Mami into a long room lined with weapons.

  Mami points to a massive iron baseball bat with a golden sheen.

  “See this weapon over here?” Mami says.

  “That’s it?” Daisy asks. “One-biskae?”

  “No. One-biskae stays alone. In the dark.”

  “Why?”

  "All the weapons in this room are legend-class, capable of mass destruction, and connected by my perception. But One-biskae.. it's not the kind that could give in that easily."

  Daisy’s eyes narrow. “You can’t control it?”

  Mami chuckles, a cold sound. “Not yet. It’s hungry. Rootless.”

  She gestures to the bat.

  “Like this one. Heaven’s Wrath. Similar to One-biskae in brutality. It’ll crush you if your perception isn't strong enough to connect. Weapons like this take time to connect to it."

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  “How do you hold so many?”

  “I’m a Receiver,” Mami says. “I don't just hold them; I feel them. I tap in, and perceive. That's connection."

  She nods toward the bat.

  “Grab it. Let’s see if you can perceive it.”

  Daisy steps forward.

  Her fingers lock around the grip.

  Her knuckles turn white.

  Impact.

  Her body convulses.

  Blood sprays from both nostrils.

  A mountain of pressure slams onto her shoulders.

  Her knees snap against the floorboards.

  The bat clatters away, ringing like a bell.

  A jagged groan tears from her throat.

  Mami picks up the weapon with one hand and slots it back. “It rejected you.”

  Daisy’s shoulders slump. “I’m weak.”

  “No,” Mami says, her voice softening.

  “It rejected you. Some weapons resist new minds. When someone unworthy touches them… they push back.”

  Daisy wipes the blood from her lip.

  Her eyes turn to flint. “Then take me to One-biskae. I’ll take the inheritance by force if I have to.”

  Mami smiles. Approval flickers in her gaze.

  “Better. I like the fire. But not today. You’re broken. One-biskae doesn't just bite—it consumes. You aren't ready.”

  Daisy nods, the fire in her eyes refusing to go out.

  A SHANTY TOWN IN CENTRE CITY.

  Two men kneel.

  "Head Captain Sonia bad news," one says.

  "Speak."

  “Captain Hollam confirmed dead. Captain Simon Maverick as well.”

  Silence stretches.

  Then Sonia laughs.

  Low. Rich. Thrilled.

  “Good.”

  She rises in one smooth motion.

  “Now it’s worth hunting.”

  A sword is placed in her hand.

  She slides it into the sheath at her hip, fingers lingering on the hilt as though greeting an old friend.

  “I’ll wipe them all out.”

  She steps forward—

  Her body ripples—

  And she’s gone.

  Only the echo of excitement remains.

  A BORDER TO THE SOUTH—CENTRE CITY.

  The lead carriage jerks to a stop. Others slam behind it. Firecrackers block the road.

  “Out.”

  Terri steps down, hands raised.

  The fire cracker captain steps forward and grabs his collar. “You’ll lead Lady Sonia to the Alligator.”

  Terri's men lift their guns.

  A firecracker flash steel once.

  Five bodies fall before the sound of the swing finishes traveling.

  Terri's men backpedals. Shock etched their faces.

  “All of you. Down," the captain orders.

  The rest drop to their knees.

  A girl steps from the carriage.

  “Sophie, go back inside!” Terri shouts.

  “Shut up,” the captain snarls.

  A tired voice drifts in.

  “Glad I wasn’t late.” Samuel walks forward.

  The captain lunges.

  Gun snaps up—

  Samuel sways.

  The bullet tears past his shoulder.

  They collide.

  Fast.

  Sharp.

  The captain presses hard, driving punches that crack against Samuel’s guard.

  A bullet grazes the captain’s thigh—

  He stumbles—

  And answers with a brutal fist to Samuel’s stomach that folds him in half.

  Samuel reels.

  Too slow.

  A kick detonates against his ribs and sends him crashing into the dirt.

  The captain stands over him.

  “Impressive aim,” he says coldly. “But you’re slow.”

  “Oh… he’s slow?”

  The Alligator leans against a carriage.

  Calm.

  Threads slip from his palm.

  They whisper through the air—

  And punch clean through beating hearts.

  Four men collapse where they stand.

  Dead before their knees hit earth.

  The captain's expression morphs into fear. He might be like that woman I faced the other day, he thinks, remembering Mami Shallow.

  He turns and runs.

  He doesn’t get far.

  The Alligator is suddenly in front of him.

  A hand clamps around his throat.

  He’s slammed into the ground so hard the world fractures around him.

  A thin thread enters his chest.

  Stillness.

  The Alligator walks back to the fallen.

  He kneels beside each body.

  Places a hand over each heart.

  “Rest.”

  Terri falls to his knees, tears streaking his face.

  “Master…”

  The Alligator looks toward Centre City.

  “It isn’t safe anymore.”

  Sophie steps closer. “Come with us.”

  He shakes his head.

  “Go. Now.”

  They don’t argue again.

  ACROSS THE STREET IN CENTRE CITY.

  Fury’s Edge surges forward.

  Blades cut the air in a silver blur,

  whistling inches from Ellen’s face before she vanishes.

  Shion wraps around her.

  Shadows swallow them.

  A heartbeat later,

  they reappear across the street.

  Maxwell doesn’t hesitate.

  Knee drives upward—smashes Fury’s Edge’s nose.

  Cartilage cracks.

  Fury’s Edge staggers.

  Boot hammers into Maxwell’s stomach.

  Air bursts from his lungs.

  Shion’s eyes widen.

  Fury’s Edge looms over the fallen him.

  Maxwell’s hand snaps from the dirt.

  Fingers lock around Fury’s Edge’s ankle like iron.

  Fury’s Edge looks down, lips curling into a cold, jagged smile.

  “Seems like you have a death sentence, boy.”

  He drives his free foot up.

  Maxwell skids through the dust.

  Shion fades into the shadows.

  Fury’s Edge slams his palm into empty air.

  The atmosphere ripples.

  Shion yanks back into existence,

  hitting the ground hard.

  Her grip on Ellen never breaks.

  Fury’s Edge rises, foot poised over her ribs.

  “I see determination to protect the ones you love, eh?”

  CRACK.

  Maxwell’s boot explodes into Fury’s Edge’s face.

  Blade flashes—a silver streak.

  Plunges into Maxwell’s stomach.

  Dragged sideways with a sickening tear.

  Maxwell flies across the ground.

  “Maxwell!”

  Shion screams.

  Fury’s Edge lashes a kick toward her stomach.

  She vanishes—a faint ripple remains.

  Maxwell lies in the ground. His face looks up.

  Golden light washes over him.

  The street fades.

  A garden blooms before him.

  Tall grasses sway in a gentle breeze.

  Two children laugh, chasing each other.

  “Maxwell, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

  Fists clench.

  “I want to be strong. So I can protect the ones I love.”

  The other child tilts her head.

  “Why?”

  “Because strong can make the world better.”

  Vision shifts.

  The Alligator stands calm.

  Maxwell lunges again and again.

  A triple punch drops him to his knees.

  Hand reaches out.

  “Join me. We’ll be the force that tips the scales.”

  Light fades.

  Reality returns, cold, gray, smelling of blood.

  Maxwell smiles.

  “Thank you, Master… for giving me purpose.”

  Fury’s Edge slams foot into the ground.

  Shockwave rattles Shion’s teeth as she clings to Ellen.

  Bullets erupt from the sky.

  Fury’s Edge vanishes.

  Lead rains down.

  Concrete shatters.

  He flickers in and out—a strobe of death.

  Bullets stop.

  Fury’s Edge stands in the wreckage, chest heaving.

  “Who the hell are you?” he growls.

  Footsteps answer him.

  Slow.

  Deliberate.

  Magnetic.

  K.B. steps into view.

  Eyes burn with cold, sharp anguish.

  The long staff in his hands commands the air itself, humming with restrained energy.

  He flicks his wrist.

  Metal shifts, sliding and reshaping with a sharp click.

  The staff detaches.

  Segments float and spin in a perfect orbit around him, rearranging into a sleek rifle—Angel.

  The barrel aligns, hovering inches from Fury’s Edge’s face, gleaming with lethal precision.

  Tiny sparks dance along its surface as if it’s alive.

  A subtle hum vibrates through the street, a pulse of deadly intent.

  K.B. advances.

  Each step hits like a lion’s growl on pavement.

  Angel hovers in sync with his heartbeat, ready, precise.

  Gaze locks on Fury’s Edge.

  The world freezes for a heartbeat.

  Tension hangs, thick, palpable—every shadow, every dust mote trembling in anticipation.

  “I’ll make you wish you were never born,” K.B. says.

  Fury’s Edge bares teeth.

  “I see this era is special. The legends are back.”