My Infinite System.

The high road shook beneath their steps.

Flames licked the skyline, Kaelis’s roar still splitting the air, the Nova Sanctum’s cannons pounding the quarters below. The city was broken, its panic spilling through every street like blood from an open wound.

Karl, grinning wide, fire dripping from his claws, strode at Lucian and Lucy’s side. Every breath he took carried laughter, as though the chaos around him existed just for his amusement.

Then the air shifted.

The laughter stopped.

A golden glow bloomed at the far end of the road. The smoke parted as if cut by a blade, and through it stepped Kael.

His cloak burned faint with aura, his golden eyes steady, his stride unhurried. Behind him, guards followed in fractured formation, but they were nothing more than shadows at his back. All the noise of the burning city seemed to dim, replaced by the quiet weight of his presence.

Karl’s smirk died. His grin vanished like it had never existed. His claws flexed, flame hardening into sharper glow. His shoulders straightened.

”Of course,” Karl muttered, voice low. ”It had to be you.”

Lucian slowed, his eyes narrowing. Lucy did the same, her hand brushing the hilt of Infernal Eclipse. The three of them stood together, the road trembling under the pressure of Kael’s aura.

Karl’s gaze stayed fixed on his brother. For the first time that night, his tone lost its humor. It was flat. Serious. ”This one’s mine.”

Lucian studied him for a moment, silent. Then he gave a single nod. No questions. No protest. He turned, his cloak shifting as space bent around him.

Lucy hesitated. Her eyes lingered on Karl, sharp and steady. She stepped closer, her voice low enough that only he heard. ”Don’t let him decide how this ends.”

Karl glanced at her. For the briefest flicker, something softer crossed his expression. He smirked, but it wasn’t sharp this time. It was tired. ”Since when do I let anyone decide for me?”

Lucy’s lips pressed faintly, almost a smile, almost a warning. Then she turned, following Lucian into the smoke, leaving Karl standing alone on the high road.

The noise of the burning city rolled distant. The only sound that remained was the steady crunch of Kael’s boots against stone.

Karl squared his shoulders. ”So here we are, little brother.”

Kael’s golden eyes didn’t waver. His voice carried no shout, no roar—just calm that cut deeper than anger. ”Here we are.”

Karl chuckled once, but it was hollow. ”Been a long time. I almost missed that smug face of yours.”

Kael stopped a dozen paces away. The glow of his aura wrapped the air, heavy and bright. ”I didn’t miss yours.”

Karl’s claws twitched, fire bleeding brighter along his fingers. ”Cold as always.” He tilted his head, gaze narrowing. ”Tell me something, then. Where is she?”

The words fell heavier than flame.

Kael’s jaw tightened. His eyes sharpened, but he didn’t flinch. ”She’s gone.”

Karl’s breath hitched, his claws stilling. For a heartbeat the fire dimmed. ”Gone?”

Kael’s voice was steady, almost cruel in its calm. ”Dead. I killed her.”

The world cracked inside Karl’s chest.

The crooked house, the laughter on that street, the warmth of her hand tugging his when they ran through alleys—every memory slammed into him like blades. He saw her face again, sharp-eyed, quick-footed, daring him to keep up. He saw her torn from him, Kael’s shadow dragging her away. He had told himself maybe she lived, maybe there was a chance—somewhere in the back of his mind he had kept that ember alive.

And Kael just crushed it.

The fire in Karl’s claws erupted.

It tore up his arms, burned across his chest, flared bright enough to split the road. His grin snapped back, but it was twisted now, savage. His eyes blazed red-gold, veins of fire crawling across his skin.

”You what?” His voice cracked with fury, broken into a growl.

Kael didn’t move. ”She was weak. She chose wrong. And you—” His golden aura pulsed, flaring brighter, his cloak snapping in the heat. ”You were never strong enough to keep her.”

Karl roared.

It ripped out of him like a beast unchained, shaking the road, silencing the chaos below for just a breath. His flames exploded outward, shattering the stone beneath his feet.

”You think you’re father’s flame?” Karl spat, stepping forward, his claws dripping molten fire. ”You think you’re the perfect son? Then tonight I’ll burn that lie out of you!”

Kael’s golden aura burst in answer, light spearing into the smoke, cutting through the night. The guards behind him fell back in terror, their bodies trembling under the weight of the brothers’ clash.

The high road became their stage.

Karl’s fire surged higher, twisting into a storm that cracked the stone. His smirk returned, but it was painted with rage now, teeth bared. ”All those years I thought it was father’s fault. But you—” His claws snapped into fists, flames bursting from the cracks in his skin. ”You took everything. My family. My home. Her.”

Kael’s gaze stayed locked on him, unwavering. ”I took nothing you deserved to keep.”

Karl lunged.

The high road split beneath his charge, fire trailing like rivers of molten stone. His claws slashed forward, arcs of red-gold flame tearing the air apart.

Kael stepped into it. His golden aura flared, wrapping his arms, his fists colliding with Karl’s claws. Light and fire clashed, the shockwave blasting through the district. Houses shattered. Windows burst. The flames of the city bent away as the brothers’ powers collided.

Karl snarled, shoving harder. ”I’ll rip your heart out!”

Kael’s jaw clenched, his voice calm even through the storm. ”You’ll try.”

The clash exploded. Both were hurled back, their boots carving trenches through the stone. Fire and light sparked across the night, drawing every eye left in the city to the high road.

Karl wiped blood from his lip with the back of his hand, his grin feral. ”Finally.”

Kael rolled his shoulders, golden light pulsing brighter. ”Finally.”

The two brothers stared across the burning street, their auras swelling, the night screaming with the promise of what was to come.

And for the first time since he’d entered the capital, Karl’s laughter was gone.

What filled him now was rage. Pure. Absolute.

The score would be settled in blood.