Blink: Ethereal Fury

Breaking Point

Benji's heart thundered in his chest. His hands trembled as he stood over Sensei's body, watching the life drain from the old man's face. Everything in him—the years of training, the promises to protect, the belief that mercy was strength—was unraveling right in front of him.

Sensei's words, soft and deliberate, barely reached his ears: "Stay... grounded... Benji."

But the rage inside him wasn't something he could ground anymore.

Across the courtyard, Tao stood with that smug grin plastered across his face, eyes filled with contempt. Benji's pulse surged as he blinked to his feet, teleporting with a crackle of dark energy that left violet smoke swirling around him. He could feel the power inside him building, throbbing with a wild, destructive rhythm, barely contained.

"You don't have to do this, Benji," Tao taunted, the same cold, emotionless sneer on his lips. "You're still trying to fight like the old man taught you. You're trying to hold back. But you don't have the guts to do what needs to be done."

Benji gritted his teeth, muscles twitching as the energy crackled around his body. "I'm not like you, Tao. I'm not a goddamn coward who betrays his family."

Tao shrugged, completely unfazed. "No, you're just a fool clinging to a dead man's ideals."

With a flick of his wrist, Tao sent a wave of dark energy ripping through the courtyard. Benji blinked out of the way just in time, appearing in a puff of smoke above Tao, his body twisting mid-air as he unleashed a concussive blast downward. Tao barely reacted, deflecting the attack with a shield of pure energy, the impact sending a shockwave across the courtyard, cracking the stone beneath their feet.

They clashed.

Benji blinked from one side of the courtyard to the other, fists swinging with the raw power of someone who'd been pushed to the edge. His strikes were fast, brutal—each one a mix of martial precision and raw, violent energy. A straight jab burned with electric blue light, grazing Tao's cheek, followed by a spinning kick that crackled with concussive force, ripping through the air as Tao dodged just in time.

But Tao was relentless, countering every move with ease. His power surged, twisting reality around him like a vortex, his fingers weaving through the air as he bent space itself to his will. The ground beneath him rippled like water, each step sending waves of distortion through the earth.

"You think you're better than me, Benji?" Tao sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "All that power, all that potential, and you're wasting it on Sensei's bullshit. Open your eyes, man! The world doesn't care about your mercy or your morals. The strong take what they want. The weak die."

Benji's breath came in ragged gasps. He could feel his control slipping. The energy inside him was boiling over, his body practically vibrating with the raw, untamed power that begged to be unleashed.

And then Tao laughed—a low, cruel sound that set Benji's blood on fire.

"You really think you can beat me?" Tao taunted, walking forward as if he had all the time in the world. "Look at you, Benji. You're already falling apart. That rage... it's eating you alive."

Benji blinked forward, fists flying. His movements were sharper now, more focused, each punch and kick laced with the fury he couldn't hold back any longer. Tao blocked most of the blows, but each impact sent shockwaves through the air, the courtyard shaking with every collision.

"SHUT UP!" Benji roared, his voice echoing through the night. His body surged with energy, his fists slamming into Tao's shield with enough force to crack the ground beneath them.

Tao's grin never wavered. He sidestepped, twisted, and retaliated with a blast of dark energy that hit Benji square in the chest, sending him crashing into the temple's outer wall. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and for a moment, everything was a blur.

"Look at you, Benji," Tao said, slowly approaching, his voice cold and condescending. "You're just like the rest of them. Weak. Soft."

Benji's vision blurred, his ears ringing, but he forced himself to his feet. His body screamed in protest, but the pain didn't matter anymore. His chest heaved with every breath, his muscles twitching as the energy inside him raged, threatening to tear him apart from the inside.

The world around him dimmed, narrowed, until the only thing that existed was Tao.

And Benji snapped.

He blinked forward in an explosion of violet smoke, his hands blazing with raw, electric blue energy. He slammed into Tao with everything he had, his fists pounding with the fury of someone who had nothing left to lose.

"FUCK YOU!" Benji screamed, his voice raw with rage as his fists connected with Tao's face, over and over. His knuckles split, blood mixing with the crackling energy that danced along his skin, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop.

Every punch was a release. Every hit was vengeance.

Tao's shield shattered under the relentless assault, and for the first time, Benji saw the flicker of fear in his eyes. But he didn't care. Tao had betrayed them. He had killed Sensei. And now, he was going to pay.

Benji grabbed Tao by the throat, lifting him off the ground with one hand, his eyes burning with fury. The power surging through him was almost too much to control, the edges of his vision darkening as the raw energy begged to be unleashed.

"You... don't... get it..." Tao gasped, his voice barely a whisper as Benji tightened his grip.

Benji blinked, slamming Tao into the ground, the force of the impact sending cracks spiderwebbing across the stone. Tao groaned, struggling to move, but Benji didn't let up. He blinked again, this time appearing above Tao, his fist raised high, glowing with a violent, electric blue energy that hummed with barely-contained destruction.

"I'm done holding back," Benji growled through gritted teeth.

He brought his fist down, aiming for Tao's chest—but at the last second, something stopped him.

Sensei's voice, quiet and steady, echoed in the back of his mind. "We protect life."

Benji hesitated, his fist hovering just inches above Tao's chest. The energy in his hand flickered, wavering as the rage inside him battled with Sensei's teachings.

Tao coughed, blood dripping from his mouth as he glared up at Benji. "Do it, you fucking coward. End it."

Benji's hand shook, the raw power trembling in his palm, begging to be released. But he couldn't. Despite everything, despite the rage, despite the betrayal... he couldn't cross that line.

He released Tao's throat, stepping back, his chest heaving with exhaustion. The energy around him dimmed, the violent blue light fading as the storm inside him slowly calmed.

Tao lay on the ground, breathing heavily, his eyes wide with disbelief. "You... you really are pathetic."

Benji turned away, his shoulders sagging as the weight of everything crashed down on him. Sensei was dead. Tao had betrayed them. The temple was in ruins.

But even now, he couldn't kill.

Mira appeared at his side, her face pale, her eyes filled with worry. "Benji... what do we do now?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't. All he could do was stare at the broken, smoldering remnants of the only home he had ever known.

And wonder if Sensei had been right after all.