Sun

Ron regarded Leo with a mixture of interest and disdain. His eyes studied every movement as Leo took his first steps, testing the newly activated symbiont. The blue aura rippled around him, alive and responsive, shifting with every thought and motion. The atmosphere in the room shifted, as though the balance of power had temporarily changed.

“Interesting,” Ron said, breaking the silence with a voice laced with irony. “You barely understand what’s happening, yet here you are, wielding the very technology you so adamantly condemn. You're all the same. Quick to judge, but when it suits you, you don't hesitate to do exactly what you criticize.”

Leo narrowed his eyes, his posture still tense as he processed the accusation. “I don’t know everything that happened before. Maybe I don’t fully understand what this fight is about. But I do know that people like you are destroying lives. If I’m using this”—he raised the symbiont on his arm—“it’s because you’ve left no other choice.”

Ron laughed, a cold and calculated sound echoing through the chamber. “No choice? That’s the excuse everyone uses when they can’t handle their own contradictions. Tell me, boy, what do you know about the symbionts? About what your little friends did when they stole them from the Vanguard? When they turned a tool for progress into a weapon? You think you’re the hero here, but you’re wielding the very poison you claim to despise.”

Leo hesitated but did not retreat. “I don’t know the whole story,” he admitted, his voice heavy with sincerity. “But I’ve seen enough. Diego died protecting people. Lucy died because you think control is more important than life. If I have to fight, it’s for justice, not power.”

Ron tilted his head slightly, as if pondering the response, before stepping closer, his eyes locking onto Leo’s with an almost suffocating intensity. “Justice? What a pretty word. But do you really think that’s what’s happening here? That the Vanguard is the villain and you, the 'heroes,' are the victims? Let me enlighten you, boy.”

He gestured to the floor where the Vanguard’s symbol was etched, as though it were the axis of his justification. “You think we created the suburbs out of whim? That misery you despise is your revolution's doing.”

Leo frowned, confused. “What are you saying?”

Ron laughed again, this time bitter and cutting. “Before they stole the symbionts, the world had balance. People lived with their problems but also with their solutions. Technology was being developed to help, not to kill. But your friends wanted more. They wanted power. They stole the symbionts and turned our greatest creation into a weapon. And when the Vanguard acted to contain the chaos you created, what happened? The world collapsed.”

He stepped even closer, each word cutting like a blade. “We didn’t create the suburbs, boy. You did. It was your revolutionaries’ fight that burned cities, destroyed families, and left millions with nothing. We were forced to intervene, to build a barrier between chaos and order. If you hadn’t meddled with what you didn’t understand, everyone could have kept living as they always had.”

Leo clenched his fists, the living augmentation on his arm pulsing in sync with his rising anger. “That’s not true. You’re just trying to justify what you did. You destroyed everything to maintain control.”

“Control? No. This is containment, the only barrier keeping the world from ruin. Without us, the world would be nothing but ashes. All we’ve done is repair the damage you caused. But of course, for someone like you, coming in halfway through the story, it’s easier to point fingers.”

Leo took a deep breath, his mind racing to decipher what was true and what was manipulation. “So you blame them for everything?” Leo retorted, his voice firm but tinged with uncertainty. “You’re saying that if it weren’t for the revolutionaries, everything would be perfect?”

“Not perfect,” Ron admitted, his tone colder. “But stable. You broke that stability. And now look where we are. Using weapons to fight others that were never meant to be made. You turned a tool for progress into destruction, and you still have the audacity to blame us.”

Leo raised his gaze, his voice now filled with indignation. “The stability you call perfect was a lie. It was the Vanguard suffocating any chance for people to be who they really were. It was control disguised as order. You never wanted progress, only obedience. All you did was destroy anyone who dared to challenge that.”

Ron narrowed his eyes, the smile vanishing. He pointed to himself, his voice now deep and laden with intensity. “You understand nothing. We are the sun, boy. We burn away the darkness, illuminate the world, and bring order to the chaos. Without us, there is only shadow. Without the Vanguard, there is no light. Without us, the world falls into eternal darkness. Is that what you want? A world without a sun, only chaos?”

Leo took a step forward, his voice firm. “I may not know everything, but I know this: your destruction ends here.”

For a moment, Ron simply observed him before shaking his head with a bitter smile. “You speak with such conviction, yet you still don’t understand the weight of your words.”

Without warning, he lunged.

Leo barely had time to react before Ron’s reinforced punch tore through the air between them. He raised the bio-mechanical blade in a defensive arc, but the impact was overwhelming, forcing him to stagger back several steps. The vibration of the blow rippled through his arm, a silent warning of Ron’s formidable strength.

“Is this what you call resistance?” Ron mocked, his eyes alight with an almost feverish intensity. “You want to fight the light, boy? You’ll learn it’s impossible.”

Planting his feet firmly, Leo felt the symbiont surge with purpose, its pulsing light amplifying his resolve. Blue lines flared across his body, radiating determination. “Maybe your light blinds more than it illuminates,” Leo countered, his voice hard with resolve. “And maybe it’s time someone snuffed it out.”

Ron chuckled, but the sound was devoid of warmth. He raised his arm, the metallic plating gleaming under the flickering lights of the room. “You think you can?” he asked, almost as if entertained. “Then come. Show me what you’re made of.”

Leo didn’t wait. He launched himself forward, the symbiont blade sweeping in a rapid arc toward Ron. The Vanguard leader blocked the attack with his forearm, the metallic clash echoing through the space like thunder.

The floor quaked beneath them, the air heavy with raw force as their impending clash drew the room into its storm. Alice, slumped beside Rubi, watched with wide eyes. She fought against the searing pain, struggling to lift herself. “Leo…” she murmured, her voice barely a whisper.

Rubi lay motionless, her ragged breaths a fragile tether to life itself, a stark reminder of what they were fighting to protect. Leo knew he couldn’t fail—not now, not after everything.

The two opponents stood face to face for a moment, their auras of strength and resolve almost tangible. The silence before the true collision of forces was absolute.

Then, like opposing storms colliding, they surged forward, the room erupting with the force of their clash.