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"Two broken boys. One burning past."
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Scene: Inside the Warehouse – Night
Rain taps on rusted metal as Scarne stares out from broken glass windows, watching the streets below.
He wears a custom mask—half-charred metal, half-military-grade respirator. His coat is fire-resistant and layered with gadgets he built himself. Around him are barrels of fuel, rigged explosives, and hanging chains.
He checks his watch.
> Scarne (whispers):
"He'll come. They always come to bury what they regret."
---
Scene: Lucen on Approach – Rooftops
Lucen crouches on a rooftop across the street. Mask on. Breath slow. Rain on his hood.
Through his inner earpiece:
> Aria (voice in his ear):
"This guy's not like the others. He knows where to hit. He's watching. Careful, Lu."
> Lucen (calm):
"It's not me he wants. It's the ghost I used to be."
> Aria:
"Then make sure he meets the man you are now."
Lucen leaps down silently, ghosting into the shadows.
---
Scene: Inside the Warehouse – Bomb Rigged Arena
As Lucen steps inside, lights flicker. A low hum of electricity. He walks carefully—senses alert.
Then—
CLANG!
A metal shutter drops behind him. The room locks.
Scarne steps out from the shadows, holding a remote.
> Scarne:
"Finally. The Devil arrives in flesh."
Lucen steps forward, calm but guarded.
> Lucen:
"I didn't come to fight."
Scarne:
"But you came dressed for war."
> Lucen:
"What happened to your family… wasn't supposed to happen."
Scarne (snarling):
"But it did. They burned. Screamed. You watched. I watched. Difference is—you kept breathing."
He hits a switch.
Boom!
Flames erupt in a ring around them. A sick recreation of the city inferno.
> Scarne:
"Tonight, I burn your second life."
Lucen's eyes flicker with the faint glow of restrained power. He clenches his fists.
---
Scene: The Fight Begins
Scarne is fast—clearly trained. Years of obsession turned him into a machine.
Lucen blocks, dodges, parries—trying not to fight back too hard.
> Lucen (mid-fight):
"You think this brings them peace?!"
Scarne:
"Peace is a lie. Vengeance is memory."
Lucen is knocked back into a steel beam. He coughs. Scarne pulls out a custom torch-launcher—flames hiss dangerously close.
> Scarne:
"How does it feel, Devil boy? To smell what you once were?"
---
Scene: Flashbacks Through Blows
Each hit Lucen takes triggers flashes:
The burned hands of a mother shielding her baby.
Monks dragging his monstrous form out of the wreckage.
Eshun's tearful eyes telling him, "Your power chose you. But you choose who you become."
Lucen's eyes burn—but not with rage. With guilt.
He grabs Scarne mid-strike—holds him.
> Lucen (firm):
"I'm not who I was. And I won't let you become what I used to be."
Scarne headbutts him away.
> Scarne:
"Then die like the liar you are!"
---
Scene: Ending the Chapter
Suddenly—Scarne hits a detonator. Half the warehouse ignites. One wall explodes outward.
Lucen throws himself over nearby civilians Scarne had secretly tied in the blast zone—shielding them with his body.
Silence. Smoke. Debris.
Lucen stands slowly—scorched but alive. Scarne escapes into the fire.
Aria's voice crackles through static.
> Aria:
"Lucen? Lucen, come in—! What happened?"
Lucen (quiet):
"He's not a villain. He's a grave that learned how to walk."
> Aria:
"Then what are you gonna do?"
Lucen:
"I'm gonna follow the ashes... until I find the boy inside the flame."
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END OF CHAPTER 11
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Next Chapter:-CHAPTER 12: ECHOES OF ASH ⚱️