Heavy Regalia: Ghost of Babylon
The rain over Babylon City didn't fall; it hissed against the neon-drenched metal of the lower districts, mixing with the scent of burning rubber and fresh ozone. Down in the gutters, where the neon died, the atmosphere was thick.
Akira, the King of Beasts, spat a mouthful of crimson onto the pavement. He collapsed against a rusted structural pillar, his breath rattling in his chest. The heavy, ornate Regalia draped over his shoulders—the symbols of the Fang Road meant to signify absolute rule—now felt like a tombstone crushing him into the earth.
"With these wounds... and this heavy Regalia... this is all I can do, my king," Akira wheezed, his golden eyes flickering as he looked up.
Standing at the edge of the rooftop, bathed in the erratic violet glow of the city's atmospheric lightning, was the apex. Sparks danced lazily across his dark coat, tracing the edges of his armor like glowing veins.
"So... you're the famed Black Howling from the towers of Babylon City, Lightning Emperor Genji!"
The voice didn't come from Akira. It came from the shadows of the alleyway, accompanied by the distinct, high-pitched whir-click of high-performance Barrows. Icky, the wild-card rider from the Kagerasmaru storm-riding clan, rolled forward on his Air Gear, braking hard enough to leave a scorched crescent on the concrete. Sparks flew from his micro-turbines as he threw himself into a low, theatrical bow, his eyes gleaming with reckless ambition.
"I humbly ask that you grant me the opportunity to fight King Phalanx!" Icky exclaimed, his fingers twitching near his thighs, eager to unleash a slipstream.
Genji didn't move. He didn't even look down. His gaze was fixed on a massive video monitor flickering across the street, broadcasting a distant, brutal clash on the upper levels.
"There you are," a voice chimed from behind Icky. It was Ren, stepping out from the fog, leaning casually against a wrecked hover-bike. "You are under a massive misguided impression, Icky."
Icky snapped his head around, his wheels clicking as he shifted his weight. "What did you say?"
"Ren is right," Akira growled from the floor, clutching his broken ribs. He forced himself to look at the rogue rider. "There's no way Lady Poison can beat Kagimi. You're throwing your life away trying to force an AT path through Phalanx just to get to them."
"He's not from here," Ren added, pointing a thumb up toward the colossal, cloud-piercing spires that defined the upper metropolis. "He came from the mystery-shrouded demon world of Babylon City above us. He rides on a completely different wavelength. You don't understand the rules they play by."
The air grew instantly colder. The ambient hum of the city’s power grid spiked, a high-pitched whine vibrating through the soles of their boots and rattling the bearings in Icky's skates.
Lightning Emperor Genji finally shifted. He turned his head just enough for his piercing, static-white eyes to catch Icky’s reflection. When he spoke, it sounded like thunder rolling over a distant valley—low, vibrating, and laced with absolute authority.
"King Phalanx is mine to break," Genji stated, the electricity around his fists snapping into sharp, lethal arcs that mirrored the Regalia's aura. "But if you think your Kagerasmaru wheels can survive the storm... follow me. Just don't trip over the beasts who thought they were kings."
With a sudden, blinding flash, Genji vanished from the rooftop, leaving behind a massive shockwave of air and a path of shattered glass leading straight up the vertical face of the tower.
Icky grinned, the thrill of the ultimate trick overriding the dread in his gut. He crouched low, his Air Gear screaming as the motors spun to maximum RPM. "That's all the permission I needed! Let's see if this tower can handle the wind!"
With a roar of his engines, he launched himself into the vertical concrete wall, riding the updraft straight into the storm.
Soundbites from Air Gear, Get Backers, Desert Punk, Shadow Skill , Raave Masters, Tenchi, with samples from Desert Punk , 3 Doors Down , Zeppelin, Kiss, Heart, Michael Mcdonald, Bob James,
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