‎"Who I am is none of your concern, Aisha Lorke..."

‎Aisha raised an eyebrow, silently staring at the anomaly.

‎"Another Talented with psychic abilities...and a powerful one if they're able to channel their secondary abilities through a simple connection like this..."

‎Aisha frowned, shifting back slightly.

‎"Things are getting interesting. I didn't expect they'd be this determined to hold onto him."

‎The wounds on Jamil's body began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

‎"He also has a regenerative ability as well..."

‎"All you have to know..." the voice continued speaking," is that you can't stop what's coming. Not even your precious Videntis can. And once we take over, even the Brotherhood of Shadows will be powerless to stop us."

‎ Aisha scrutinized the man standing before her silently.

‎"And what makes you so sure?"

‎The man simply smirked.

‎" Oh, Aisha Lorke, there's so much at play here than you can possibly imagine. You're simply a pawn on a cosmic chess board."

‎The man nonchalantly gestured at the raging flames around them, flicking his wrist slightly, in an almost bored manner

‎In the next instant, the fire abruptly fizzled out.

‎Aisha remained calm, watching the man silently.

‎"And what is that supposed to mean? And on this hypothetical chess board, are you supposed to be the one moving the pieces?"

‎The man grinned, the newly regenerated pearly white teeth in his mouth gleaming in the light of the fire. The cracks in the floor and walks widened from the intense heat of the flames.

‎Jamil's dark skin glistened with an oily sheen, his muscles rolling visibly beneath his skin as he moved around the room.

‎"No. Not quite. But quite close."

‎" Well, whoever you are, you're clearly getting in the way of my mission. I'm here for Jamil, and I'll not be refused."

‎The man's grin hardened, his eyes gleaming with menacing light.

‎"Well, go on then."

‎The man raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

‎"Take him."

‎In the next moment, a colossal crack emerged in the centre of the room, breaking through the floor beneath.

‎The building trembled visibly under the strain of the telekinetic tug of war taking place in the cramped room.

‎After a few moments of a violent back and forth, a slight frown appeared on Aisha's face.

‎The Talented wearing Jamil's body threw his head back, chuckling in amusement.

‎" Ah, Aisha, you'll have to do so much better than that."

‎A heartbeat later, Aisha shifted to the side, narrowly dodging an invisible projectile that abruptly barreled towards her.

‎"He's good, really good..." she thought.

‎Several more invisible projectiles whizzed through the air, imperceptible to the naked eye.

‎Any normal human or Talented would be dead ten times over from the onslaught of the projectiles.

‎Even Aisha could only faintly sense their movements because her enhanced senses and heightened telekinetic perception allowed her to sense the slightest of paranormal psychic signatures emanating from her opponent's ability.

‎In the next moment, a slight wave of pain flared in her head, making her wince. Her eyes narrowed at the ill-concealed attempt to get into her head.

‎Another forceful attempt to forcefully wrest control over her mind violently bounced off her stalwart mental shields.

‎Another wave of blinding white hot pain flared through her head, distracting her for a brief moment.

‎The man sneered derisively, arrogantly sauntering forward.

‎" Well, at least your mental defenses are this strong."

‎He smirked derisively, his eyes gleaming faintly with bursts of ethereal emerald light.

‎" You should be able to do at least this much."

‎He pushed outward with his ability, flattening everything in front of him while simultaneously probing Aisha's psychic defenses.

‎The rubble was ground into dust, the remaining members of flames spontaneously combusting from the intense pressure, causing a chain of mini explosions, then fizzling out the next moment.

‎With every step he took forward, Aisha was forced back a step.

‎With a slight flourish, the force exerted on her ability increased exponentially.

‎A visible wave of force rippled outward, ripping through the already widening chasm in the floor.

‎Aisha grunted slightly, shifting back slightly.

‎"To think that he's able to push me back this much, that means he's at least class A-7."

‎It was the first time in a while any opponent had managed to push her back and put her up on the ropes since she'd become the head of the Zolaris branch of Praesagius.

‎Aisha smiled faintly, her eyes narrowing slightly.

‎In the next moment, a large steel beam split in half, separating from the rest of the building.

‎A heartbeat later, the beam blurred through the air with blinding speed, barreling towards the man's chest.

‎Without moving from where he was standing, the Talented flicked back his wrist, stopping the incoming projectile in place, all the while never letting up the telekinetic pressure he was exerting on Aisha.

‎" You're trying to be sneaky..." he murmured.

‎" I'm afraid that won't work on me. You'll have to..."

‎He raised another hand, his eyes glowing even brighter.

‎A silent explosion ripped through the entirety of the floor, the air imploding in on itself from the abrupt pressure drop caused by the clash of abilities.

‎Aisha raised several telekinetic and air barriers, withstanding the resulting shockwave with brute force.

‎" I don't need to sneak around to deal with you," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

‎" Why would I need to when I can simply match you blow for blow and overwhelm you with pure strength..."

‎A split second later, several steel bars erupted through the floor, bending under an inexplicable, brutal force. Without obeying the laws of physics, the solid metal fluidly flowed up Jamil's body, binding him in place.

‎Large blades of wind whistled through the air, aimed at his vulnerable limbs, followed closely behind by an insidious layer of icy frost.

‎"I'll slice through his limbs, and the ice should stop him from regenerating long enough for me to subdue him. If the telepathic connection they share allows him to influence Jamil, then it can be used against him as well.

‎

‎The thing in Jamil's body stared at her with an amused smile playing on his lips.

‎"I applaud you, really. It's a truly commendable effort."

‎The wind blades dissipated into a harmless breeze. The frost melted into water that flowed through the cracks in the floor.

‎"But do you truly think this is enough to hold me?"

‎The metal coiled around his limbs melted into a molten puddle, sizzling as it had come into contact with white hot flame. Jamil flexed his wrist slightly, staring at his body with a curious look.

‎" This body isn't to my standard, but it should do for now."

‎With unhurried movements, the man walked forward, then, without stopping, strolled right over the chasm in the middle of the room, nonchalantly sauntering through the air.

‎Aisha stared at him warily, then sighed.

‎"It seems I'll have to take you seriously then."

‎She calmly took off her glasses, placing them in the pocket of her long coat.

‎The light in her eyes burned brighter.

‎" So you're finally getting serious," the man grinned.

‎The air around them shimmered from the combined force of the power being unleashed around them.

‎The top floor of the Vogue folded in on itself with a sickening crunch, rubble and concrete calling through the air in a shower of debris and broken metal.

‎ The two Talented stood midair, then slowly rose into the air, circling themselves slowly.

‎"You know there's only one way this can end," the mysterious Talented said.

‎His lips curled up into an eerie smile.

‎"It ends the same way it did for Layla, despite her futile struggles. With your death."

‎" We'll soon find out, then won't we?" Aisha quietly murmured.

‎Just then, a dark shadow appeared right behind Jamil so quietly that even Aish would have missed it if not for her enhanced senses.

‎Hr mouth opened slightly in surprise at the newcomer's appearance.

‎In the space of a heartbeat, a crimson line bloomed across the man's throat, spraying a fountain of blood. With a brutal wrench, the blade thoroughly sliced through all the larger vessels in Jamil's neck.

‎In the same breath and two dark blades burst through his skull, ripping through his eyes in gruesome fashion.

‎Jamil's mouth opened in a soundless scream, but only the sound of him gargling on his own blood came out.

‎A split second later, the same obsidian blades bloomed through his chest in a chilling display of violence.

‎Without missing a beat, a gloved hand ripped through the chest, ripping out his heart for good measure.

‎Jamil's body dropped like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Standing nonchalantly on the falling body, Xander grinned casually, flicking the blood off his blades in a nonchalant fashion.

‎"Wow, what a blabbermouth."

‎He smiled, throwing an amused glance at Aisha, noting the slightly shocked expression on her face.

‎"What's wrong? He's dead, right?"

‎Xander smirked.

‎" For all the regeneration in the world, not even you Talented can come back from the dead..."

‎He squinted, scowling slightly.

‎" Right?"

‎

‎

‎

‎

‎

‎

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.