SHATTERPOINT: Ally and Enemies

CRACK!
One swing. A mirrored copy shattered like brittle glass under the weight of CIX's hammer.

WHUMPH!

He spun, hurling the hammer across the space— It whistled through the air, trailing arcs of lightning—
BOOM! —and punched a hole clean through the far wall of the cube.

The shimmering plane bent immediately covering the damaged part but not in the shape it once held. Now, it warped into a long triangular prism, its edges as sharp as blades grinding together with the sound of glass against bone.

It was evolving again.

The storm in CIX’s veins raged on.

But I could feel it —his time was almost up. Two minutes at best. Maybe less. His power burned powerfully and bright, fast and raw but unrefined.

If we were going to win, I had to act as the tactician.

“CIX, if you can hear me. Don’t waste time with the copies.”

His head snapped slightly, that same manic grin painted on his lips.

“There. Along the seams.”

Behind the fractured glass near the prism’s peak —a light. It was faint. A rune embedded on the top and the sides of the walls.

“I can hear you, Ash,” CIX murmured. “Haha. Let’s smash the foundation.”

He stepped forward.

The air turned solid for a moment

Then—
SHHHHHHKRAAAAAHHH—!

The mirror copies didn’t just reform this time. they merged, into one monstrous wraith of warped, semi-translucent glass. Eight limbs extended like jagged scythes. A halo of flickering light burned around it, and the last remnant of a face-mask glowed with runes across its body.

“Okay…that’s new.”

CIX’s smile only widened.

"Then it gets newly destroyed."

Lightning surged along his shoulders, crawling down his arms, sparks leaping from knuckle to elbow, even I felt it on my tongue.

He raised the hammer high and roared:

“STORM STYLE: ARC DESCENSION!”

KRAK-KA-KOOM!
A bolt of lightning cracked from the skyless ceiling and slammed into the wraith’s chest. Pieces of glass flew in all directions, but the creature didn’t fall—it absorbed the shock, its form hardening with every second.

“Aim for the runes before they disappear!” 

CIX’s eyes narrowed.
"Understood."

He vanished in a blink.

“FLASH STEP.”

The Wraith struck out extending its arms, almost catching him but CIX flashed from one point to the next, streaking blue lightning behind every movement, faster than sight. The Wraith couldn't keep up with his movements.

“STORM STYLE: THUNDER VEIL!” CIX yelled twirling the hammer.

BOOOM.

A barrier of pure lightning exploded from his chest, shattering two of the Wraith’s limbs mid-swing. The others struck the prism behind, the energy flaring violently.

He spun the hammer again and threw it, ricocheting through the prism like a divine missile seeking heat, or in this case rune. Every strike it shattered a limb, the wraith reformed and the hammer shattered it again.

Relentless attacks, overwhelming the Wraith.

Then he landed—slamming down hard—right in front of the glowing rune.

He called the hammer from mid-air like it was drawn to him.

WHAM.

He struck the center of the rune.

The wraith screamed. Its arms twitched —runes burning bright for one final heartbeat—

Shattered.
A thousand shards of the Wraith dissolved into light.

Nothing happened for a moment.

Then—

FWHOOM!!

The prism collapsed around us and in a flash of violet light—

And we were back.

Back in front of the Bronze Gate, as if nothing had happened at all.

The silence that followed was otherworldly.
Like the world was holding its breath.

Fsssssshhhhh…

Something fluttered through the air.
A single purple card, with glowing runes at the edges, drifted downward like a feather. It landed gently at CIX’s feet.

He bent down and picked it up, eyes narrowing as he read the inscription burned into its surface.

“...Shadow Mage,” he said, frowning. “Hmph. A cursed path if there ever was one.”

The words struck something buried in my chest. A Shadow Mage? Rare didn’t begin to describe them. They weren’t just powerful—they were dangerous, secretive and tainted.

But why here? Why now?

And then the real question burned in my mind: Was it me they were after… or Keiji?

CIX was still staring at the card, voice low and dark when he spoke again.

“...there’s something deeper at play in this world than you’ve seen, Ash. Someone is watching. Someone who knows what you are…”

The chill that ran down my spine felt like ice in my veins.

My resonance ability…?

“Wait….who knows about me?” I demanded.

CIX didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned the card over once and slipped it between two fingers like it might vanish any second.

“This wasn’t random,” he said. “It was a test. Whoever orchestrated this now knows exactly what you're capable of. They’ll be coming for you.”

I wanted to ask him everything.
Who did this? What did they want? 

But I could feel the hammer in CIX's hand begin to dim —its weight slowly returning, the static bleeding away into nothing.

CIX sighed, rotating his shoulder.

“Well. Time’s up for me. One piece of advice. Don’t die. And don’t let that new ‘Hero’ die either. You’re linked now, whether you like it or not.”

He turned his gaze to the horizon, then added:

“Oh…and Ash? Next time, don’t wait so long to call me. I missed the action.”

“Wait….CIX, how do I call you again?”

But it was already happening.

The pressure in my chest constricted —then released like an exhale—and my vision snapped back into full focus.

I was back in control again.

Keiji groaned nearby, half-sitting with a wince.

“You… you good?”

I blinked. Nodded slowly. “Yeah. He’s gone.”

Keiji wiped blood from his cheek and coughed. “Well… that sucked. But…hey, we’re not dead….”
He gave me a sideways glance. “…So, thanks for… whatever that was.”

I offered a tired smile and helped him up. “You and me both, hero.”

We both stood there for a moment, breathing hard, watching the last of the runic mist fade.

Then— bzzzzzt.

Keiji flinched.

So did I. My entire body vibrated slightly, like we’d both been tagged by a low-voltage current.

He held up his hand, staring at something only he could see.

“Ash... it’s happening again.”

“What is? Are you hurt? Talk to me.”

“No, not pain... it’s the system.”

A shimmer passed in front of his face—blue light forming into a translucent screen, etched with moving glyphs and glowing lines.

[SYSTEM NOTICE: You have passed a Class Evaluation Trial]
[Choose Your Class: Warrior | Mage | Rogue | Runesmith]

He stared, mouth parting slightly. Then turned to me.

“…Can you see this?”

“Yeah,” I said, pulse quickening. “I can.”

A new class. A new system development.

And a whole lot of new questions.

The kind that never led anywhere safe.

I looked at Keiji, and for the first time, I saw more than just another hero. There was something different in him. Potential.

“Guess we’re in this together now,” I said quietly.

Keiji nodded once, staring up at the fading sky. “Yeah. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

And just like that, a deal was made without saying much at all.

Two individuals. One cursed world. And a card that spelled the beginning of something far more dangerous.

Whatever was waiting for us next—

We were going to face it together.