A moment of silence passed, with a tall, rugged man being clutched by the cement floor, flabbergasted and disoriented as he was left alone in an apartmanet ( theoretically, in two apartments), and the chaos and havoc of the fight rapidly dissapeared.

He was there, left alone, the echoes of the cries remained only in his mind.

He could feel the little ones. They were getting further and further away.

The Raven was gaining distance, flickering through few walls and getting to the main hallways as he advanced steadily.

Luke's fist clenched.

„I WILL KILL YOU!!!” A promise spoken in a roar escaped his lips, but the power of the threat, the vow spread outwards like a blast wave.

Luke's veins on his forehead popped and he drew all the power he was using to hold himself up, and redirected it to follow the movement of his elbows striking downwards. The floor shattered together with parts of the outside wall, making that part of the building crack and collapse, huge chunks of gray debris and smoke shot out from the top of the building.

Luke smashed through the floor that held him, and as he hit the floor of the apartament below he reiginited the technique.

„RELENTLESS PURSUIT!” And his body swelled in power, with a tap of his foot he shot through the rickety doors of the apartament. Shoulder charging through the feeble material and smashing into the hallway, leaving a hole in the shape of his body indented in there.

Sebastian heard the explosion from the bottom floor and started screaming into the phone, trying to reach to Luke and get some answers what to do.

Luke barely recognized the noise in his ear, and angrily reached into his ear, pulling the earpiece out and screaming into it.

„HE IS GETTING AWAY, COVER THE END OF THE BUILDING!” and he tossed the earpiece behind himself, making it shatter against the colorless tiles of the floor.

BANG!

He started charging forward, the Raven almost left his range of detection. His techniqe was enchancing his senses, his target was still in his reach. Luke felt drawn to him, he felt the NEED to catch him no matter what.

He had to.

The chase begun, and the mad dash was already in motion. The air screamed as a massive block of enraged flesh Cleaved through it, like a ships prow breaking waves, Luke charged forward.

A ruined, wooden dresser took up half of the width of the hallway, only for a second. It burst open on contact, splinters shooting with enough power to pierce into the walls.

It didn't even slow Luke down, he was only gaining speed with each step.

10, 20, 30 meters were conquered in the span of a breath, and bouncing off a corner, Luke saw the Shadow Cowl of the Raven in the periphery of his sight.

He roared, and placed his feet on the wall behind him. Bundling them close to himself, he ejeceted liek a spring released.

The dimm, damp darkness of the hallway proved not an obstacle for the man who was thirsting for blood.

His own body in the state of mania, trying to go beyond it's limits, started to falter from the damages yet healed. It buckled under the onslaught of powers untamed, and the pathways started bursting open, mangling the flesh from within.

Pop

and a Burst.

Luke tumbled as his ankle popped like a ripe watermellon and sent him into a tumble, falling head over shoulder he ate ground hard as an old, filthy rug burned his face with friction.

Without loosing much momentum, he rolled over and using the other leg shot forward with the sound of a cracked whip. Before he could take his second step, a construct of Mana alredy strenghened the torn flesh, it was holding it together, shakily, but holding.

It will be enough.

It needs to be enough.

The distance that separated them shortened, with each step Luke could feel them closer.

Rebounding from yet another metal gate within the hall, Luke PULLED from everywhere he could reach, making the building tremble, and using the metal grate as a stepping point shot forward like a cannon ball, making the metal dent and rip out from the wall in a plum of dust.

The noise startled the Raven even more, barely had he the time to even turn around, and an outstretched, rugged palm was closing in on his face. The killing intent was palpable, almost physical, the weight of Retribution for his sins.

He closed his eyes, clenched them so strongly that his eyes threatened to pop in his skull.

Lukas grinned widely mid air, and the outstretched palm covered in living electricity, that shuddered and vibreted to an ominous thumm.

Just a centimeter away from impact, the Raven opened his eyes with a grin of his own.

And Lukas flew right through him, like an arrow, he crossed the air with curses coming out of his mouth the second his palm did not feel the feeling he was craving for, of crushed skull and wet, puply brain between his fingers.

Rolling over once again, he didn't need to look backwards to sense the enemy phazed through the floor and was continuing going downwards.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Before the roll finished he pulsed outwards once more,

„FUCK! NO STAIRCASES NEARBY!!” He yelled in his mind, and as he rolled into an upright position, he already knew what to do. Taking few more steps too add momentum, he jumped over, and while landing, he landed on his tip toes, with balerinas grace, he focused all the momentum and bodies power down on itself, like a spring, and shot upward. Arms, reaching upward, palms open, he shot upward, yet as he made contact with the ceiling, no trace of damage was left. His body once again compressed, elbows flared out and the cartlige creaking from absorbition of power, his ass rising forward as his knees hit his chest.

A wave of vibration shot outward from his fingertips, the skin bending gently arround the calluses as the inside of his palm slowly made contact with the ceiling.

POOF

The whole ceiling shook, and a wave of twisted lines appeared, Luke's finger prints and palm lines etched into the concrete in scale magnified.

The force was brought back, and it propelled him downward like a sledgehammer. Straightening his back, his knees dove downward, and his body resembled a flesh pick axe.

And it broke stone.

The floor was pierced, and rubble followed. The sound of clashing thunder filled the desolate hallways of the gray building as floor after floor were destroyed and all movement was sapped of energy, the dust remained motionless, the debris stayed floating, only an enraged man remained moving, piercing through, going after his target.

Four floors down and he stopped, spreading the accumulated energy to the sides, making dust and filth fly in a plum all throughout the corridor and doorframes rattle. With one knee on the ground and a palm on the floor, his head hung low as he focused on the location of the trio.

Bang!

He burst forward. Leaping over meters at a time. He was above them.

With the sound of his soles ripping, the material could not handle the sudden deceleration as he slid on his heels, and shoulder charged to the side, breaking the glass and metal doors that were barring his way to the staircase.

Jumping like a cat, he conquered three walls in a blink of an eye, descending one floor and jumping over an older couple that has been terrified by the noise and were trying to see what was going on upstair.

They only saw a blurr and felt the air rustle their gray hair as he passed centimeters above them, diving into the air.

„FUCK!” Barely did he miss the Raven, 2 seconds at most and he could have cought them.

The building was coming to an end, and the monster was still charging forward.

With a quick snap of his head, he saw the number of the floor-9th.

His pupils dilated as his muscles tightened even more, and as the couple started to turn away in fright from the noise, he burst forward, making them tumble on the ground.

The Raven was laughing, laughing laudly, at him, at the chase.

Relentless Pursuit flared even more power through the damaged vessel and it burst more and more, unable to hold the tide.

Luke released an animalistic howl as he chased them on all fours, dragging the concrete into shreds as his fingers dug through it.

The Raven did came to the end of the hallway, yet did not stop, did not even slow down. Once more flicker of power, and he simply passed through the wall, leaving only a huge, graffitied pane of glass behind him that barely allowed light to pass through.

Luke could see the Raven spread his energy as if wings of ash that trailed behind him. Instead of falling to their death with the infants, they glid in the air, aiming for the 4-floor high rise on the other side of the parking lot.

Luke was not even comprehend the danger of what he was about to do, he could not even bring himself to think of it. All of his thoughts were drowned out by the puprpose of his techniqe, the anger withing him, and the cries of the infants that wailed in terror and each note of that song drilled into his eardrums.

BANG BANG BANG!

Three last steps, and a push that lead into air. Arms spread wide open, face first into the glass, Luke jumped out through the window, crashing the lower part of the wall with his raised knee as if breaking through styrophome. His body tense as a veil of glass shattered and coated around him, shredding whatever fabric was left on his torso.

„GET OVER HERE!” snarling through exposed teeth and spit mixed with dust, he cut through the air, meter by meter getting closer to his prey.

Alas, gravity and it's reigns held tight, and while the Raven glid through the sky, Luke was being pulled down much faster, into the embrace of the earth.

Taking on the brunt of the damage, he created a pannel of force under his feet and kicked off with all power in his reservoir, having to redirect the damage through his body, he chose to displace the weight through his back, pushing him even more forward, essentially kicking himself forward.

That gave him few more meters, but the distance between them got bigger and bigger, in a fit of rage, the sprawled arms changed their position, the wrists turned backwards, and the power coagulated withing his palms as his fingers curled up into a claw position.

It focused, concentrated and deepened in a second, Luke channeled what he rememebered from The Last Breath, and added more and more fuel, pure oxygen and other flammable gasses were filtered and compressed in his palms. Pointed behind his body, he released a spark, and created a tunnel from his palms to guide the:

„ZAPŁON!” (,,IGNIOTION!”) and the spark turned into a roaring flame, it's power almost ripping Luke's shoulders off as he was yanked forward with enough force to cause a whiplash in his neck.

The flight was momentary, the burst of flames roared like a jet flying over, their brillience momentary yet blinding, unable to be tamed, they scorched his hands deep to the tendons, making them resemble crimson charcoal.

Tears welling up from the air in his eyes, and the burden of torment his body yet again carried, he clenched his teeth, and tried to reach his target that was coming ever so closer.

The noise must have startled the Raven, as he twisted mid air, only to see a human rocket trying to gauge out his innards coming rapidly at him.

With fear in his eyes, he flared out his wings even more, the strain visible on his body and power reserve as the span increased more, and more, reaching 10, then 15 meters each.

An incantation started, the children cried, the Raven mumbled under his breath in panic as Luke's maddened gaze pierced into him, face twisted in a snarl of rage.

„Niech zatrzepoczą, skrzydła z popiołu, pokryją niebo i skradną światło, poza zasięgiem wroga, POWIEW POPIOŁU!”

(Let them flutter, the wings of ash, let them cover the sky and steal the light, out of the enemies reach, ASHEN GUST!”)

The incantation of the Raven rang true, and as the last word was spoken, the wings shuddered and burst into thousand little feathers made of rugged, warm ash that, carried by a gust of powerfull wind assulted Luke mid flight, with extreme power they pummeled at his body.

He lost his momentum, and was blinded and send into a ragdoll drop. Covered in soot, it clogged his nose, it stuck to his eyes and filled his mouth with gritt and disgusting, choking taste.

The ash was like a blanket pulled taught, and it dragged Luke away towards the ground, his muffled screams barely escaped his mouth as his saliva thickened from the dust.

The rage brought him close to anyeurysm, but as the wind smacked his naked back, he remembered his last line of defense.

As his body rolled in the air, he pulled out his gun from behind his trausers, and spread out the telekinetic pads around him like wings to slow and ease his descent. Still blind, he emitted a sonar like wave of power, akin to a bells toll, and it rang with force enough to bend the air.

He felt a ping, he felt them as they were getting further and further away. Somehow, some way, he latched his mind onto the Raven Man, and his Relentless Pursuit guided his hand. Griping the gun tightly enough to bend the metal, he discarded the screaming of air around him, he cast away the feeling of his body erupting,flesh tearing and bones creaking. He Called upon the Void, and it Heeded the Call. His right hand turning black, and the oily darkness seeping into the metal of the gun, bubbling around the loaded chamber and suffusing the bullet.

He aimed at the chest, but in last second dropped the aim lower, he didn't want to risk hititng the young ones. Just as the Raven came over the edge of the roof of the other building...

BANG!!

The recoil was more powerful than a sniper rifle's, and the bullet's power was enough to crack the air three times in a row, it left a dark streak that seemed to disort the air.

And it stuck true. Piercing through the thight of the Raven Man and continuing further and further, quickly being lost in the sky.

The Raven Man screamed curses as he dropped heavily onto the roof of the building, but Luke's Null Zone ended somewhere between the buildings, and the Raven quickly fleed Beyond the Veil.

The recoil made Luke's telekinetic construct shatter, and all that power that it held was lashed against his body. He could only think about chasing after them, conquering few more meters and joining them Beyond the Veil to finally get him in his grasp.

So blinded he was by these thoughts he did not register how quickly he was falling, how out of control his body was, and how near the ground was.

BAAAANG!

Car alarms blarred all across the parking lot, cacophony of high pitched screams. A bag of flesh and bones crashed into an old car, making the metal scream as it sheared according to the body's shape.

The tires burst and the suspension gave out without a fight, the weight of a mutated, magically dense man dropping from the 9th floor, with added push from a spell and recoil from his shot made the car bend like and accordeon, playing notes of metal crashing against the asphalt and winning, making an even deeper indent.

Only Luke's arms were visible from one side of the car, palms loose, resting on the asphalt next to eachother. Covered by shattered glass like a gentle snows fall.

His chest was barely rising, eyes open and bloodshot, yet not concious, not quite there. The back of his head was bleeding profeusly, as was his back, the right arm took the brunt of the fall, and the shoulder was visibly disclocated, and elbow disconnected from the forearm.

The technique recognized that it failed, and it ravaged his inside in impotent rage, his blood vessels burst, and muscles spazmed as his body trembled and shook.

The car alarms screamed louder and louder.

Blood trickled down from his mouth, mortal body in shock of the damage it received.

His Tears of the Void were visible more and more, as his mind, shook and confused, focused only on one thought.

He failed.

HE FAILED.

Once again.

HE HAS FAILED.