The boy's eyes flickered with annoyance as he noticed Kieran's struggle. "She's breaking free. But it doesn't matter. She's still too weak."
He turned his attention back to Jade, noticing how she had slumped down, blood pooling around her. A twisted smile crossed his face. "Huh, I guess this will be doing you a favor, since you'll likely just bleed out."
He raised his hand, dark energy coiling around his finger, forming a concentrated beam. The air around it crackled with malevolence as he prepared to fire. "Now, go ahead and die," he sneered.
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But just as he released the beam, his eyes widened in shock. Jade, with a sudden surge of desperate strength, slamd herself forward. The tal bar in her side snapped, the jagged edges tearing through her flesh, but she didn't stop. The rocks that had pinned her down flew upward, dislodged by her violent motion.
The blast from the boy's finger whizzed past her, slamming into the ground where her head had been just monts before. Jade, now free from the rubble, threw herself into a roll, ignoring the searing pain that shot through her body with every movent.
Jade ca to a rolling stop, the impact jarring her, but she pushed through the pain and pulled her gun on the boy. Her mind raced as she stared him down, her thoughts becoming laser-focused on what needed to be done.
This is it. I have to give it everything I've got for this one shot. The weight of the mont pressed down on her, but she steeled herself. He won't expect much from now, not after everything I've been through. But that's my advantage. I'll pour everything into this last energy bullet.
Her white flaming eyes flared brighter, and within her vision, she saw a path—an almost imperceptible line that guided her aim, showing her the way to a good result. She knew this was more than just a hunch; it was her foresight, telling her exactly what she needed to do.
The boy, standing casually in the midst of the rubble, looked down at her with an expression of pure disdain. "Go ahead, pull the trigger. What could you possibly do at this point? But after this, I will be making my leave."
Jade's eyes flicked to the path shown by her foresight. It directed her to aim slightly up and to the right of his head. Why there? she wondered, the doubt creeping in for just a mont. But she shoved it aside. Trust it.
Taking a deep breath, she adjusted her aim and squeezed the trigger. The gun in her hand exploded, shattering into a million pieces. The force of the blast sent shards of tal lodging into her hand, tearing through her skin. But she didn't cry out; she was too focused on the energy cannon that had materialized in front of her, vibrating with an intense blue and purple light.
The cannon's energy roared as it shot forward, a beam of power that humd with a frequency so deep it seed to shake the very air around it. The boy's eyes widened in surprise, his nonchalance dissolving into shock. He quickly brought his hand up to block it, the air around him distorting from the sheer power of the energy, but as he watched, the beam passed by his head, missing him entirely.
For a split second, he smirked, thinking, She can't aim.
But then, like a shadow out of nowhere, Gojaro appeared. Bloodied, cut, and bruised, he looked like he had been through hell. His body was battered, his clothes torn and stained with blood, but his eyes were sharp, focused. In an instant, he moved—his leg slamming into the stream of energy, redirecting it with a force that seed almost impossible.
The energy beam, now redirected by Gojaro's kick, slamd down onto the boy with the force of a falling star. The ground beneath them trembled, cracks spiderwebbing out in all directions as the boy's smirk vanished, replaced with a look of utter confusion.
The explosion was massive, a swirling vortex of blue and purple energy that consud everything in its path. The light was blinding, the force of the blast sending shockwaves through the air. Buildings nearby crumbled, their structures unable to withstand the power unleashed. Debris was hurled into the sky, darkening the horizon as if a storm had descended upon the area.
Debris and darkness overwheld Jade, her senses reeling as she felt blood splatter around her—uncertain whether it was hers or soone else's. Suddenly, sothing heavy crashed into her head, and the world faded to black.
Jade drifted in the void, weightless, her body suspended in a dark cloud. She felt herself rising slowly, a sensation of being pulled upward. Have I died? The thought echoed in her mind, panic and disbelief warring within her. No, I couldn't have... I still have so much to do, so much to prove.
As her thoughts spiraled, a blinding light suddenly pierced through the darkness, enveloping her. She tried to look down at herself, but there was no physical form—just a glowing golden orb with purple specs swirling around her as she floated in the vast emptiness.
Then, a voice, one she had only heard once before, broke through the silence. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The voice was accompanied by the eerie sound of bones clattering, sending a shiver through her ethereal form.
Jade turned her gaze toward the source of the voice and saw it—a towering skeleton, clad in a blazing white robe, holding a massive scythe. The skeletal figure grinned at her, the hollow eye sockets sohow filled with a sinister amusent.
"I-it's you again... Grim Reaper?" Jade stamred, her voice trembling.
The skeleton chuckled, the sound rattling like dry bones. "I am not that," it replied, the cackle still lingering. "But it is a funny na you call this ti. I must say, I'm surprised to see you here—not in the good way."
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