Fragments of Dawn

The silence after the battle was deafening.

Kai lay on the fractured ground, staring at the blood-red sky. His body ached, his muscles burned, and his vision was still hazy from the energy Ava had flooded through him. Every breath felt like fire in his lungs.

She had left.

Not out of mercy.

Out of certainty.

She didn’t think he could fight anymore.

She didn’t think he was worth finishing off.

The realization twisted inside him like a knife.

Kai clenched his fists. His fingers trembled, but not from pain—from frustration. He had pushed himself further than ever before, yet it still wasn’t enough. Ava had toyed with him, overpowering him at every turn.

But she was wrong about one thing.

He wasn’t done.@@novelbin@@

Not yet.

A sharp cough broke his focus.

Kai turned his head, his pulse spiking. A figure was slumped against a pile of rubble a few meters away. A survivor? One of Ava’s warriors? No—this person was alone.

He forced himself onto his hands and knees, crawling toward the wounded figure. As he got closer, his breath hitched.

It was Juno.

Her jacket was torn, blood staining the fabric. Her arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, and her breathing was shallow.

“Juno.” His voice was hoarse.

Her eyelids fluttered. “…Kai?”

A mix of relief and concern flooded through him. He reached out, pressing two fingers to her neck. Her pulse was weak but steady.

“You’re alive,” he muttered, mostly to himself.

Juno’s lips twitched into a weak smirk. “Damn… right I am.”

Kai exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “What the hell happened to you?”

Juno tried to sit up but winced, collapsing back against the rubble. “Took a bad hit.” She gritted her teeth. “Some bastards from the Iron Fangs ambushed me. Barely made it out.”

Kai’s jaw tightened. The Iron Fangs. Another faction that had been growing bolder recently. They were scavengers—opportunists who struck whenever there was weakness. If Juno had barely escaped, it meant they weren’t far behind.

He needed to move her.

Kai pressed his palm against the ground, summoning what little energy he had left. Temporal Shatter flickered around his fingertips. His body screamed in protest, but he pushed through it. He had no choice.

“We have to get out of here,” he said. “Can you walk?”

Juno let out a breathless laugh. “Not unless you rewind my damn injuries.”

Kai hesitated.

He could do that.

But after his fight with Ava, his power was unstable. If he overused it now, he could lose control—cause another fracture in time.

He clenched his jaw.

No.

He couldn’t risk it.

Instead, he hooked an arm under Juno’s shoulder and pulled her up. She groaned but didn’t complain.

“Come on,” he said. “We need to get somewhere safe before the Fangs show up.”

Juno gave a weak nod. “Lead the way.”

Moving through the remains of the city was slow.

Juno could barely walk, and Kai was running on fumes. Every step sent a jolt of pain through his limbs, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop.

The streets were eerily quiet. The only sounds were the distant howls of scavengers and the occasional metallic groan of collapsing buildings.

They weren’t alone.

Kai could feel it.

The Iron Fangs were nearby, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.

They needed a place to hide.

Kai’s gaze darted around, searching for anything—an abandoned shelter, a collapsed subway entrance, something.

Then he spotted it.

An old underground parking structure, half-buried under debris. The entrance was narrow, barely wide enough for a person to slip through.

Perfect.

“This way,” he said, guiding Juno toward it.

They squeezed through the gap, the darkness swallowing them whole. Kai adjusted his eyes quickly, scanning their surroundings. It was damp and smelled like rust, but it was secure.

Safe—for now.

He lowered Juno against the remains of a broken car. She exhaled sharply, her body sagging with exhaustion.

“We’re alive,” she muttered.

Kai crouched beside her. “For now.”

Juno rolled her eyes. “Always the optimist.”

Kai ignored her sarcasm. He reached into his jacket, pulling out a small, makeshift med-kit. He started tending to her wounds, wrapping her arm as best as he could with the limited supplies he had.

Juno watched him in silence. Then, after a long pause, she said, “Ava beat you, didn’t she?”

Kai’s hands stilled.

“…Yeah.”

Juno let out a tired chuckle. “Figured.”

Kai scowled. “Thanks for the confidence.”

She smirked. “Hey, at least you survived. That’s more than most people can say.”

Kai didn’t respond.

Because surviving wasn’t enough.

Not anymore.

They didn’t get much time to rest.

A noise from outside made Kai’s blood run cold.

Footsteps.

Low voices.

The Iron Fangs had found them.

Kai’s heart pounded as he pressed a finger to his lips, signaling Juno to stay silent.

She barely nodded.

The voices grew closer.

“…Said they saw movement over here.”

“Could be a scavenger. Or one of Ava’s strays.”

“Either way, we check it out.”

Kai gritted his teeth. He glanced at Juno. She wasn’t in any condition to fight. And he wasn’t at his best, either.

They had to be smart.

Kai reached for his knife, his mind already calculating the odds. There were at least three of them—maybe more. Taking them head-on was suicide.

But he didn’t have to fight them directly.

He just had to stall.

He took a slow breath, then—

He reached out with Temporal Shatter.

The world around him blurred as he touched the fabric of time itself.

Not enough to change anything.

Just enough to alter perception.

The Iron Fangs outside suddenly hesitated.

“…Wait.”

“What?”

“I thought I saw something, but—” The voice wavered. “Never mind. Must’ve been a trick of the light.”

Kai held the distortion.

It wouldn’t last forever.

Just a few more seconds.

The Fangs muttered to themselves. Then, finally—

“Let’s keep moving.”

Their footsteps faded.

Kai exhaled, releasing the energy. A wave of exhaustion hit him, but he ignored it.

They were safe.

For now.

Juno let out a breath of relief. “Remind me to buy you a drink if we ever find a bar.”

Kai smirked. “I’ll hold you to that.”

But deep down, he knew—

This was just the beginning.

The Iron Fangs were getting bolder.

Ava was getting stronger.

And the fragments’ power was still far from being fully understood.

If he wanted to survive, if he wanted to win—

He had to push himself further.

No more hesitation.

No more doubt.

Because the next time he faced Ava—

He wouldn’t just survive.

He would win.