"Where am I? What on earth is this place?"
Michael Florescent found himself suspended in an endless white void. Though his limbs moved freely, he remained fixed in position, adrift in nothingness. "The last thing I remember is being pummeled relentlessly. Am I dead?"
Without warning, the white void began to compress at dizzying speed, folding and condensing into itself. As the whiteness collapsed, darkness rushed in to fill the vacuum. The compression accelerated until it formed a humanoid silhouette, towering and featureless against the newfound darkness.
"Who are you?" Michael asked, his voice steady despite the otherworldly circumstances.
"Me? I am Negative." The voice reverberated not through the air but directly into Michael's consciousness. "You have been chosen, Michael Florescent. You are the second inheritor of the power to create and manipulate metal—a divine level ability. Use it well."
Reality fractured, and Michael was violently thrust back into the physical world. His eyes snapped open to see Trevor's monstrous form looming above him, claws poised for a killing blow.
Pure instinct took over. Michael's fist, now encased in gleaming metal, shot upward with impossible speed. The impact connected with Trevor's jaw, generating a thunderous crack that echoed throughout the Undercity. Trevor's massive body rocketed skyward, smashing into the distant cavern ceiling before plummeting back to the ground with an impact that shook the foundations of the underground realm.
As dust billowed from the crater where Trevor landed, Michael rose to his feet with newfound strength coursing through his veins.
"I don't fully comprehend what just happened," Michael announced, his gentleman's composure returning despite the battlefield chaos around him, "but I now possess the power to defeat you, you ferocious beast."
Trevor erupted from the debris with a bestial roar, charging at Michael with murderous intent.
'Strange,' Michael thought, his enhanced perception registering the change immediately. 'Why is he moving so slowly? In fact, why is everything moving so slowly? My eyes—they must have been enhanced as well. No time to ponder—I must react!'
Trevor's claws slashed through the air, but Michael crossed his metallic arms in a perfect defensive stance. The impact generated a shockwave that rippled outward, shattering nearby windows and sending rubble skittering across the ground.
In a blindingly fast sequence, Michael shifted from defense to offense. He uncrossed his arms and delivered a devastating uppercut that lifted Trevor's massive form off the ground. Before the beast could recover, Michael followed with a punishing blow to the abdomen, his metal fist sinking deep into Trevor's torso.
Blood erupted from Trevor's maw as he staggered backward, eyes wide with shock. For the first time, uncertainty flashed across the monster's features as he crashed to the ground.
A terrible grin spread across Trevor's face as he climbed back to his feet. "Finally," he growled, his voice vibrating with dark ecstasy, "a worthy opponent! Now I can stop holding back!"
Trevor's form began to change, muscles swelling to grotesque proportions, veins bulging beneath his fur as his eyes blazed with intensified bloodlust. Simultaneously, Michael transformed his arms into gleaming metallic claws and reinforced his legs with flowing steel that wrapped around his limbs like liquid mercury hardening into armor.
They launched at each other with such velocity that the air between them superheated, creating a visible distortion. Their collision generated a thunderclap that reverberated through the Undercity's vast chambers, sending cascades of dust and stone raining from ancient support columns.
Michael spun mid-air with balletic precision, his metal claws slashing across Trevor's face and carving a deep gash through one amber eye. The beast howled in pain but countered with a devastating punch that caught Michael squarely in the chest. Blood sprayed from Michael's mouth as the blow sent him hurtling backward.
Mid-flight, Michael conjured a gleaming metal alloy rope that snaked through the air with a life of its own. It coiled around Trevor's massive frame, and Michael used the tension to slingshot himself back toward his opponent. His metal-reinforced feet connected with Trevor's chest at supersonic speed, the impact creating a crater beneath them and sending shockwaves through the surrounding structures.
Before Trevor could recover, Michael landed and delivered another punishing blow to the beast's jaw, metal knuckles connecting with a sickening crunch.
Trevor crossed his massive claws and unleashed a double-handed strike that caught Michael mid-movement, launching him skyward with such force that the displaced air created a vacuum in his wake.
But Michael's recovery was instantaneous. He righted himself mid-air and plummeted back down, his metal fist connecting with the crown of Trevor's head with enough force to drive the beast's feet six inches into solid stone.
They clashed again, fists and claws becoming an indistinguishable blur as they exchanged hundreds of blows in mere seconds. Each impact created miniature sonic booms that sent debris flying in all directions. The underground air grew thick with dust and the metallic tang of blood as their battle intensified.
The spectating enforcers could barely track the combatants' movements, seeing only afterimages and the destruction left in their wake. Buildings crumbled, pavement shattered, and support pillars cracked under the strain of their conflict.
With a perfectly timed counter, Michael broke through Trevor's guard, his metal fist connecting with the beast's face with such precision that it shattered the creature's stance. In that split second of vulnerability, Michael conjured twin double-edged swords that materialized directly in his hands, their edges gleaming with lethal promise. Without hesitation, he drove both blades deep into Trevor's torso, following immediately with a hammer blow that sent the wounded beast skidding backward.
The combatants found themselves separated by nearly a hundred meters, both bloodied but standing, eyes locked across the devastated area.
Trevor's monstrous face contorted into a perverse expression of delight. "How fucking fun!" he roared, blood-flecked spittle flying from his jaws. "Now this is the fucking orgasm I want!"
The beast's claws extended to twice their previous length, wickedly curved and gleaming in the dim light. "Now die," he growled, voice dropping to a guttural register that seemed to vibrate the very air.
Michael's metal claws began to glow red-hot, then white-hot, the heat distorting the air around his hands. Both fighters tensed, preparing for one final, decisive clash.
They launched at each other with unprecedented speed, their forms blurring as they closed the distance between them. The air screamed as it was torn apart by their movement, the ground fracturing beneath the force of their acceleration.
In the microsecond before impact, a new figure materialized between them. With calm precision, the newcomer caught both attacks—Michael's white-hot metal claws and Trevor's extended talons—with bare hands, halting their momentum instantaneously.
The abrupt stop created a shock wave that kicked up a cloud of dust and debris, temporarily obscuring the three figures at the epicenter. As the smoke cleared, both combatants stared in disbelief at the man who had intercepted their attacks without apparent effort.
He stood between them, immaculate in a crisp white shirt and black suit, his black cape barely stirring despite the violence of the interrupted clash. His handsome features displayed mild annoyance rather than exertion as he addressed them both.
"This isn't what I sent you to do," he said, his gaze fixed on Trevor. "I suppose it's my fault for assigning such an irresponsible and dimwitted subordinate to a delicate task." He turned toward Michael and the gathered Undercity forces, offering a slight bow. "Forgive me, Undercity royals. This display was... unseemly."
"L-Lord Jeremiah!" Trevor stammered, his massive form seeming to shrink as unmistakable fear crept into his voice.