The Adulterous Switcher-Chapter 37: Fire and Ice!!

"Mom!!!."

Rafik and Erykah collapsed into their mother's arms, clinging to her as tears spilled freely down their faces. Their voices shook with a grief that was only just beginning to fade.

"We thought...we thought, we were never going to see you again."

Their words came between gasps, barely coherent through the flood of emotion. Dove, trembling but alive, pulled them both closer, her own tears tracing down her cheeks.

"I knew God would bring me back to the both of you."

Her voice wavered with gratitude and awe. The reunion, long thought impossible, was finally here.

Trey stepped forward, barely holding himself together. His eyes were red, lips trembling. "Mrs. Dove, is that really you?"

"Yes, Trey!!.. Thank you for being there for my children physically and emotionally."

Dove smiled warmly at him. Her hand brushed against his face, comforting even in its fragility. Trey's tears fell harder. Behind him, Monet silently wiped her own tears, watching the family reunite.

Dove's gaze shifted toward the pale-haired girl nearby. "What's your name dear!!."

"It's Lily... it's Lily, ma."

The girl's voice cracked with emotion, her pale eyes glistening. The entire room had fallen into a reverent hush.

"Thank you, Lily. Thank you for making me see my family again."

"It's nothing... it's nothing, ma."

Dove reached out and embraced the girl, and Lily broke down, crying into her shoulder. The weight of what she had done—saving a mother, reuniting a family—hit her fully now.

———

Later, Rafik sat by his mother's bedside, catching her up on everything. He didn't spare the truth. Her eyes widened at times, saddened at others, but never wavered in strength.

"You know what you have to do, Rafik..!!"

Her tone was firm, unshakable. She was a mother, but more than that, she was a survivor.

"Chasing me out already, huh!!."

Rafik laughed, the sound raw but sincere. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Come back to us, ok!!."

Trey stepped forward, offering a fist bump.

"You got it.!!"

Rafik grinned and bumped his fist back. Then he turned and left the house, the door closing behind him like the final page in a quiet Chapter.

———

**Present Time**

"So what are we doing now."

Rafik's voice echoed coolly through the house as he set down the whiskey glass. He strolled calmly to the water dispenser, picked up a plastic cup, and began filling it. His eyes never left his visitor.

"Have all the small talk you can get out now... 'cause very soon you won't be able to talk at all."

Dawn's voice slithered with menace, a smirk cutting across his face like a scar.

"Is that so?.."

Rafik raised an eyebrow, still calmly watching the water drip into the cup. The tension grew thick.

The final droplet fell.

Without warning, Dawn grabbed the nearby table and hurled it at Rafik. In a blink, Rafik spun and splashed the cup's contents across the wood. Ice crystalized instantly, freezing the airborne table into a brittle sheet. He drove his elbow through it, shattering it into a dozen jagged shards.

With a flick of his wrist, the ice shards launched toward Dawn like razors.

But Dawn was ready. He lifted a hand and released a fierce wave of flame, turning the shards into steam with a hiss.

"I see you got some upgrades... see me thinking you were a regular human... fire, huh?!!."

Rafik let out a sharp laugh, half impressed, half disgusted.

"What's so fucking funny?"

Dawn snarled. He lunged forward, seizing Rafik by the collar. Before Rafik could counter, Dawn hurled him through the front door and into the street like a rag doll.

Rafik crashed hard into the pavement, dust clouding around him. He groaned but rolled to his feet fast, sliding back into a defensive stance.

Dawn charged in, feinting a gut punch before switching to an uppercut.

Rafik moved to block the body shot, but the rising fist caught his chin, lifting him just slightly off the ground. He stumbled backward, shaking it off.

"Damn, how is he this fa—"

Before the thought could finish, Dawn unleashed a searing wave of fire toward him. Rafik's reflexes kicked in, and he threw his arms forward, freezing the blaze on contact. The resulting burst of steam obscured them both. freёweɓnovel.com

Through the mist, Dawn shot forward, fist aimed at Rafik's jaw.

Rafik dipped to the side, weaving under the strike. His fingers grazed the ground—ice bloomed from his touch, locking Dawn's feet in place.

Then Rafik twisted, forming a sharp boot of ice along his leg. He spun and launched a powerful kick that blasted Dawn off his feet.

The fire-enhanced villain smashed through four buildings in a row, crashing through drywall and steel like paper.

Dawn emerged from the debris, brushing blood from his lip with the back of his hand. He growled and raised both arms, heating the rubble around him. The stones began to glow red-hot, and he hurled them at Rafik.

Rafik dashed to the side, freezing the ones he could mid-flight, ducking the rest. One hot stone clipped his thigh.

"Damn!!."

He hissed in pain, clutching the burn briefly—only to look up and see Dawn above him.

Both of Dawn's fists were engulfed in flame as he dropped from the sky.

Rafik didn't have time to dodge fully. He summoned a layer of ice across the back of his head just as Dawn's fists smashed down.

CRACK.

Rafik's skull hit pavement. He coughed up blood, the reinforced ice barely sparing his brain.

Dawn didn't wait. He drove his foot into Rafik's ribs, launching him across the street and through two more buildings.

Rafik grunted as he crashed through steel beams and drywall, then dragged himself out of the rubble.

"What are you even fighting for, what's the point of all this."

His voice echoed between collapsed walls.

"Shut up, you freak."

Dawn was on him in an instant. He pinned Rafik down, grabbing his face and slamming it into the ground over and over, breaking through ice layers as he went.

"Stop projecting!!!."

Rafik roared, planting his palms on the street behind him. A thick pillar of ice erupted from the ground, carrying both of them skyward. Dawn's back slammed into a rooftop as the force finally separated them.

Rafik, already climbing, formed a jagged ice gauntlet on his hand. He leapt after Dawn, slamming the reinforced fist into his chest, punching him clean through the roof and into the air.

Dawn hovered, flames whipping around him, his rage heating the night like a furnace.

Rafik didn't hesitate. He created a sleek ice slide spiraling upward from the street, racing up to meet his airborne enemy.

They stared each other down as they ascended through the open sky, the stars above flickering with distant calm.

"Do you know the amount of progress you cost me, by releasing those freaks."

Dawn shouted, flames dancing around his fists.

"Ironic!!...you're also a freak now."

Rafik smirked, even as sweat slid down his temple.

"Wanna make that smirk engraved."

Dawn shot toward him like a missile, fists blazing.

Their clash lit up the sky like a second sun