FISTBOUND. I Ascend With Every New Upgrade.

Ronan's boots thudded against the concrete floor like war drums. Each step echoed with weight, with certainty. The kind of certainty that came from surviving too many wars and leaving nothing behind but broken bones and regret. His presence filled the room like smoke—slow, choking, unavoidable.

Levi stood bloodied but upright, his breathing shallow, his muscles aching. Still, his eyes burned.

"You look like shit," Ronan said, rolling his shoulders.

"You should see the other three," Levi muttered. Blood trickled from his lip. He didn't wipe it.

Ronan gave a half-smirk. "Cocky. I hate cocky."

"Good," Levi replied. "Gives me a reason to stay that way."

Ronan chuckled. A sound like rocks grinding together. He took another step forward. The ground seemed to tense beneath him.

"You feel it, don't you? The Core pulsing. Crawling through your blood. It whispers things to you. Promises. Power. Purpose."

Levi didn't respond, but he felt it. That quiet hum under his skin. Like something alive had nested in his spine.

Ronan tilted his head. "It told me the same things. Once. I ripped it out of myself. Fought against the infection. Tore it away with fire and steel. But it left something behind. Something hungry."

Levi's gaze flicked to the red-veined implant at the base of Ronan's neck. It pulsed. Like it breathed.

"You're still bound," Levi said.

Ronan grinned. "I'm what happens when you survive the Core... and let it rot inside."

[System Alert: WARNING - High-Level Combatant Detected]

[Opponent: Ronan Reign - Former System Host. Status: Rejected Sync. Core Corruption: ACTIVE]

[Initiate Combat Sequence?]

[Y/N]

Levi didn't need to say it.

[Y - Confirmed]

Ronan moved first.

Fast. Brutal. A blur of motion that didn't match his size. Levi ducked the first punch but caught a spinning backhand to the ribs that sent him sliding across the floor. He coughed, pain flaring like lightning.

[Damage Incurred: -14 HP]

[Pain Echo Triggered: Adrenal Output +12%]

Levi rolled to his feet, blood in his mouth. Ronan charged again. Levi sidestepped, barely dodging a stomp that cracked the concrete.

Levi struck low—a knee to Ronan's thigh. It landed. Ronan barely flinched.

"You fight with desperation," Ronan said, catching Levi's next jab. "That used to be me."

He yanked Levi forward and slammed his forehead into Levi's nose. Stars exploded across Levi's vision.

[Health Critical - 26% Remaining]

Ronan threw him across the cell.

"C'mon! Is that it? Is that all Viktor's little rat can do?"

Levi groaned. His head swam. He reached for something—anything. And the Core answered.

[Activate Augment?]

[Yes]

[Augment Trigger: Juggernaut Core - FISTBINDER LV.1]

[Passive Boost: Bone Density +10% | Muscle Kinetics +8% | Impact Absorption +12%]

Levi's body tensed as the upgrade hit. The pain sharpened, focused. His arms felt like steel cables pulled taut. He stood, shaky but burning.

"Let's try that again."

Ronan came in fast. This time, Levi met him head-on. Their fists collided. The impact thundered. Dust lifted from the floor.

Levi struck again. And again. He ducked a hook and slammed a left elbow into Ronan's ribs. Then pivoted, spinning into a backfist.

Ronan staggered.

"There it is," Ronan growled. "The fire. I missed that."

[Surge Point Reached - Focus +1]

[Pain Threshold Stable]

Ronan lashed out with a shoulder tackle, but Levi twisted, redirecting the force. He rolled over Ronan's back and kicked off the wall, planting both boots in Ronan's spine.

The man crashed forward.

[Stamina: 41%]

But Ronan was laughing.

He rose with blood in his teeth and fire in his eyes. "Now you understand. Pain's not a punishment. It's the path."

His implant flared bright red.

[WARNING: Enemy Core Corruption Spiking]

Ronan's muscles bulged, veins blackened. His skin cracked where energy leaked through like magma.

"I burned everything I was to reach this," Ronan said. "Let me show you what's on the other side."

He moved faster now. More beast than man. Levi couldn't dodge everything. Fists rained like sledgehammers. Levi blocked high, took a shot to the gut, countered with a headbutt of his own.

[Pain-to-Will Conversion ACTIVE]

[Resolve +1]

[Unlock: Passive Trait - Tenacity Spike: Critical damage reduces cooldowns by 50%]

Levi struck with everything he had. Knucklebreaker Mk I. A rising elbow that caught Ronan square in the jaw.

CRACK!

Ronan reeled.

Levi followed up—blow after blow. Ribs. Temple. Jaw. The rhythm was brutal. Precise.

But Ronan didn't fall.

Instead, he smiled.

"You're not broken yet. Good."

[System Prompt: Surge Opportunity Available - Activate Memory Archive Fragment 02?]

Levi blinked. "Do it."

[Memory Archive - Fragment 02: "Mother's Last Note"]

A broken table. A torn note. Levi's small fingers grasping it. Lilith crying in the corner.

"Forgive me."

It had been her handwriting. His mother. The last thing she ever left behind.

Levi had burned it that night.

[Resolve +2]

[Ascension Level 3 Achieved - Strength +1 | Endurance +1]

Levi's scream filled the room.

He charged.

Ronan tried to counter, but Levi moved too fast. A flurry of jabs and hooks, knees and elbows. Each one sharp, surgical, savage.

Then he drove his fist into Ronan's implant.

The core sputtered.

[Critical Hit Registered - Enemy Core Destabilized]

Ronan fell to one knee, gasping.

"You... you might actually make it."

Levi stood over him, panting.

"I don't need to make it. I just need to end this."

And he did.

The system chimed.

[Victory Registered - Enemy Defeated]

[Core Sync 42%]

[Unlock Available: Juggernaut Skill Tree - New Branch: STONEHIDE]

Levi collapsed to his knees.

But he didn't pass out. Not this time.

He looked to the corner.

The camera blinked.

"Watching, Viktor?"

His voice was hoarse. But unbroken.

"I'm not your weapon. Not your dog. I'm the storm you built by accident."

A slow drip of blood pattered onto the floor. Levi didn't move.

His breath came in quiet waves, steadier now, each one holding back the weight of exhaustion. But in that stillness, there was power.

A hum in the concrete beneath him. The system wasn't finished. Neither was he.

He closed his eyes for a second—not to rest, but to remember.

Lilith. The blanket. The fire. The promises.

And the war still coming.