Page 7 of Cruel Devotion

Our fight quickly turning into a dance of power and precision.

Our breaths grew ragged, the air filled with the sound of our grunts and the impact of flesh against flesh.

Our combat evolved; the Arena of Echoes became no longer capable of containing our clash.

Duck broke away from me, sprinting up the slope of Mount Utopia. A trail of dust kicked up behind him.

My gaze flickered from the rapidly ascending figure to the peak, determination rekindling in my eyes.

Duck was trying to take the high ground, hoping to turn the terrain to his advantage.

I wouldn’t let him. With a deafening roar, I charged after him. My feet dug into the stones, propelling me upwards.

The steep incline did little to slow us down.

We were two figures locked in a race.

Our pursuit slicing a path of chaos up the mountain.

In a sudden turn of events, Duck launched himself off a jutting rock and flipped until his body catapulted into the air.

Fast, I followed suit, leaping off the incline with a force that sent me soaring after him.

Our fight took to the skies.

Surely, it was a spectacle to behold for those below.

Floating, our bodies, silhouetted against the azure sky, twisted and turned in mid-air, the force of our momentum propelling us higher.

I kicked out, a swift aerial strike aimed at Duck’s chest.

He twisted his body, narrowly avoiding my foot. His counter came in the form of a punch, swift and powerful, aimed at my midriff.

I blocked it with an arm.

Then, gravity reasserted itself.

Our descent began and we crashed to the ground.

But there was no rest.

No pause.

We rolled to our feet in the dirt and squared off once again.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed movement, two figures—Chen and Hu—sprinting up the incline.

Chen, being the older and more experienced of the two, led the charge. His voice echoed across the mountainside. “No more!”

But we were beyond the point of listening, lost in our own whirlwind of rage and frustration.

Hu sprinted past Chen and flung himself between Duck and me, his arms spread wide, just as another punch was about to be thrown.

The shock of his sudden appearance snapped us both back to reality.

Still, Duck and I attempted a few more flurried movements, a couple of near-misses, and then. . .silence, stumbling, and sweating as we both retreated.

Chen got to Hu’s side. “No. More.”

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