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Arc III – Caius vs. Alarion
"Gods don't bleed because they're perfect.
They bleed because they forget they're mortal."
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📍 Arena XIII – 4 Minutes into the Duel
There is no arena anymore.
The outer walls had been vaporized during the last Vein clash.
Stone shattered. Sand melted. Glyphs scorched from the earth like divine script erased mid-prayer.
Spectators sat stunned, many of them silent — not because of awe…
…but because they were afraid.
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Alarion stood in the center of the field.
Breathing hard. Armor cracked.
Golden aura leaking from hairline fractures in his skin — not radiating… bleeding.
He was still regal.
Still magnificent.
But no longer untouchable.
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Caius rose from the crater across from him.
Half his coat was gone. One eye was swollen. Vein-burns crawled up his ribs like licked fire scars.
And he was smiling.
Not because he was winning.
Because he was still standing.
---
(Caius – Inner Monologue)
He hits like the world wants him to be right.
But I've survived things that never asked permission.
---
Alarion pointed at him.
"Yield. This isn't strength — it's madness."
Caius stepped forward through cracked stone.
"Keep talking. Maybe you'll convince yourself."
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Second Phase Begins
Alarion's aura exploded outward. Not like sunlight — but like a supernova screaming in defiance.
"Vein Protocol: Solar Mantle – Full Ignition."
The sky cracked.
Literally.
A fracture of atmosphere shimmered above the arena, warping the clouds.
Pressure dropped. Time stuttered.
Glass shattered in the noble stands.
---
Caius didn't flinch.
The Codex surged.
"Adaptation triggered: Combat Density Field. Pulling absorbed pressure signatures…"
His skin darkened with soul-echo tattoos.
A second aura — faint, flickering, made from memory — wrapped around his limbs like ghost armor.
---
They collided.
Mid-air.
A punch from Alarion cracked three ribs.
A kick from Caius shattered a segment of his shoulder guard.
They spun. Slammed into the ground hard enough to crater it again.
A stone column fell.
Then another.
Veinlight and Void clashed so hard, the entire courtyard pulsed like a heartbeat.
---
🧠 (Crowd Reactions)
"That's… that's not a duel anymore."
"It's like watching a god fight its reflection."
"Which one's the god…?"
---
Alarion roared.
He threw Caius through the ruins of the fourth arena wall.
The rubble caved in.
Dust rose.
For a full five seconds — silence.
Then—
The debris shuddered.
And Caius walked out.
Bleeding.
Bare-chested.
Eyes glowing red from Codex resonance.
---
"You don't win because you're right," he growled.
"You win because they told you you were allowed to be."
---
Alarion hesitated. Just a blink.
And the crowd saw it.
---
"He's… uncertain."
"He's afraid?"
"No. He's doubting."
---
Cracks Appear
Alarion launched forward again — faster than before, fueled by desperation.
But his strikes weren't as clean.
His control wavered.
And Caius — broken, burned, bent — still adapted.
> "Codex Memory Lock: Veyrun Echo – Muscle Chain Reinforcement."
Caius's arms flexed unnaturally. Tendons rearranged. Bone density shifted.
His punch collided with Alarion's face.
The golden boy staggered.
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"Stop trying to carry the world," Caius said.
"It doesn't need a hero."
"It needs a gravekeeper."
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Alarion screamed.
"You're a mistake! A corruption!"
"You're a myth the world stopped believing in."
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Impact Event
Alarion's aura flared. Pyros Vein surged. The air ignited.
But Caius didn't burn.
Because the Codex wasn't absorbing anymore.
It was remembering.
And the soul it remembered best… was Alarion's.
---
Caius whispered:
"Alarion Vael'Thyr."
The hero froze.
"What did you say?"
"That's your name," Caius said softly.
"You never told me.
But I remember it now."
"The Codex remembers everything."
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The crowd erupted in whispers.
"He knows his name?"
"Is that part of his power?"
"Or something deeper…?"
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Alarion's hands trembled.
Just a fraction.
His Vein flickered.
And the sun didn't shine quite so bright.
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