I will use two perspectives in the chapter, and the transition marks between perspective and time are:
- To switch perspective: (- - - )
- To switch time: (–––––)
Ash falls from the sky like dead rain
The air is saturated with the smell of fire, burnt flesh, as if
The city is exhaling its last breaths.
Underfoot, the ground is covered with burnt debris, rubble of buildings collapsed under the weight of hell. Every step on this ruin made a muffled creak.
Every breath I took stung my lungs. The air was heavy, as if the city itself refused to grant me life.
Under my feet, the debris groaned, and the echoes of the collapse
resounded in my ears like screams from the past.
I saw nothing but ash falling endlessly, until I began to think the sky itself had burned.
And yet I stood on the rubble, towering like a beast freed from its chains.
A curse burst from me, breathing, a dark Hok crushing everything around it.
With a slight pressure of my will, the soldiers around me collapsed, their bones breaking under the suffocating pressure.
In my grip, the corpses dangled like tattered dolls, and on my face a smile of someone who finally found freedom in the darkness of ruin.
But my intoxication flipped
A flash of air, a fleeting gleam, a thin sword strike but loaded with unbelievable power—fzzzz!
The blade pierced the hok aura surrounding me as if tearing old fabric, and the scene exploded with chilling coldness—splash!
Yet my surrounding shadows easily blocked the strike.
I slowly turned... directing my gaze towards her.
A woman.
She walks steadily over the rubble, her long white hair dancing with the wind, and her blue eyes shining like an ocean under the sunlight.
Her appearance alone was enough to freeze the air around her.
A smile split my face
"Oh... look who we have here."
She raised her sword toward me and declared in an emotionless voice, as if a sentence decreed upon me.
"Here ends your savagery."
Then, without warning, she launched toward me at a speed that broke vision, and her sword rained down in a crushing blow.
forcing me to block the attack with all my strength, while sparks of colliding energy flew around us like tiny meteors.
The white woman flowed like a snowy hawk storm, her black sword shining under the gray sky, and her blows rained on me relentlessly.
Every movement split the air, almost breaking the void itself.
I moved quickly, surpassing her strikes, transforming my hand into a sword of shadows.
Her eyes widened in shock when she saw it.
I spoke in a sarcastic tone
"Stupid... and weak too. Disappointing."
I said quietly
While dodging another strike, her sword pierced the air near my head.
Her brows knitted, and she gritted her teeth, her white fingers gripping the sword hilt fiercely.
She looked at me with disdain, her eyes sparking, before she uttered with biting sarcasm.
"You are such a foolish and stupid Kaizo."
The words were a slap, carrying a mix of anger and mockery, as if punishing him for a crime he did not yet understand.
Kaizo...? What is this fool talking about?
I raised my eyebrow in surprise, stopping at her words that seemed strange to me, as if they came from a mouth that did not belong to this reality.
He raised his eyebrows in astonishment, stopped by her strange words, as if they were spoken from another world whose meanings he did not yet grasp.
Her strike came fast, and the blade tore the Hok toward me.
I barely managed to raise my shadow to block the attack, its metallic echo resonating between us.
I stepped back, staring at her, my gaze sharp and my body ready for the next attack.
Suddenly, in a fleeting moment, she vanished from before my eyes.
There was only a momentary void before I felt a violent force hit my head.
A sudden kick, fast, hitting its target precisely, sending me flying through the air.
my body breaking through the remains of buildings, smashing walls, and shards scattering in all directions.
•••
The sound of collapse echoed around, and sparks of fire danced among the rubble, while silence reigned for moments, as if the world held its breath, waiting for what would happen.
I have to kill him quickly
This is the only idea that came to her mind
Before he could even think of moving, the sword cut through his body, piercing his chest and back, crashing into the ground.
His eyes widened, sudden pain swept him, and drops of blood scattered in the air,
His heartbeat accelerated, and within seconds, his thoughts froze on a single question: How did this happen?
How did the roles flip so quickly?
He was the hunter, confident in his steps, and now he was the prey, his body trapped between her blade and her piercing gaze.
And a cold smile appeared on her lips, while her fist tightened on the sword hilt embedded in his body.
She spoke words like a stab, steady as the sword:
"Your time... is over."
Her sharp voice awakened something inside him, a voice he could not ignore, this time.
He heard it unknown. It was clear, concise, without any emotion.
•••
"Run."
I did not know the owner of the voice, and I had no time to think.
The taste of blood filled my mouth, and its heat brought me back to my focus. Pain scattered the fog of my thoughts for a moment, my eyes met my opponent's again.
I stayed still, smiling quietly, the pain in my chest was present, but it did not distract me this time.
Shadows began to ripple around me, emerging from nothing, like black arms creeping slowly, wrapping around my body slowly.
And despite the pain penetrating me, my voice flowed coldly calm with a dark expression on my face
"You are not the one to decide the end..."
•••
They wrapped around my body like snakes, trying to pull the sword embedded in me, but his words pierced the silence like a malicious sarcasm:
"See you later."
His words echoed in the air.
The woman tightened her grip on the sword, trying to do something, but his resistance increased, as if holding the blade to prevent her from finishing what she started.
"You bastard."
Morga faded as if his star was extinguished, leaving behind a void that devoured every sound.
Her thoughts scattered.
What is happening? Disappeared?
Her eyes scanned the shattered arena, looking for any trace of him.
But silence was the master of the place, and little by little, the glow of her weapon dimmed, while she stood alone amid the rubble.
She sighed deeply, and the echo of her breath mingled with the smoke rising from the ruins.
She closed her eyes for a moment, and her thoughts flooded with a sea of anger and frustration.
"Damn..."
She muttered between her teeth, and her grip on her sword loosened.
She looked at the darkness that surrounded her moments ago, at the void he left behind, and that sarcastic smile still etched in her memory.
She stood in place, her eyes fixed on the void where Morga disappeared, and silence wrapped her like a cold cloak.
The air carried remnants of ash dancing in the faint light of the blue moon, while the thin ice beneath her feet cracked slowly.
The silence was broken by the sound of quick footsteps, followed by a heavy presence.
A tall, broad-shouldered man, wearing a dark armor, approached her with obvious concern in his eyes.
"Lord Iria... are you alright?"
She remained still for a moment, did not turn, and not a single eyelid twitched.
The cold aura surrounding her intensified, like an invisible wall protecting her from anything... even concern itself.
But he did not retreat, instead took another step forward, and his voice became more urgent:
"Madam, are you hurt?... That boy..."
Only then did she slowly raise her head and turn to him. Her eyes were steady, cold as unmelted ice, and her facial features reflected only the usual icy calm.
"I am fine," she answered with a steady voice, but it carried sharp firmness beneath. "We must find him before he harms the public.."
"Alright, we will be ready soon."
He paused as if searching for other words, but in the end, he bowed slightly in respect and stepped back, content with the silence that once again enveloped the place.
She remained standing as if the whole world had frozen around her.
But what she did not know was that all this began hours ago, in a dark room...
––––––––––
Hours ago.
––––––––––
In a dimly lit room, crowded with wires and screens, the air was still, saturated with the smell of metal and drugs.
A broad-shouldered man stood, watching one of the screens with deadly attention. On the screen appeared a boy, chained like a beast, hugged but not restrained, and his mouth covered with a piece of metal as if a dog or something similar.
The man said in a calm voice.
"It has been a long time, Morga..."
The voice was not heard only in the room but cut directly to the boy's ears through an internal speaker, louder than normal sound, designed to penetrate the skull and awaken the instinct.
As for the other, he was there in the middle of the room, immersed in half shadows dancing on his face due to the surrounding device lights.
He did not move, but his eyes worked with a sharpness not less than surgical scalpel blades.
He slowly turned his gaze to the camera... the same camera from which the man was watching the exhausted boy.
It was not a passing glance but focused, sharp, almost piercing the lens itself.
As if he knew someone was watching... rather as if he was staring directly into the eyes of that man behind the screens, silently challenging, speaking in silence that words did not explain.
He was like a living ghost, waiting for the moment of intervention.
Or explosion.
Amid the silence filled with anticipation, the voice came from behind him, calm, but that hidden tone of annoyance did not escape his ear.
"Will you really free him?"
The man smiled, but his smile was not ordinary.
It was not warm, nor even sarcastic... but the smile that comes when one feels the pleasure of the hunt before it begins.
"Don't worry... everything will go as I want."
His words were calm but loaded with the weight of absolute confidence, a tone that left no room for argument.
The voice was not just a promise but a verdict, an established fact in a world swallowed by chaos.
He stared at the screen, at those two eyes fixed on the lens, reading in them something others did not see.
An unspoken challenge, a silent battle that started with a look and will end unexpectedly.
He rested his palm on the table in front of him and leaned slightly, as if approaching the boy on the other side of the digital world.
"Today... you will become free, my little beast."
With those words, the sound of metal shattering echoed, and the chains collapsed to the ground like autumn leaves dropped by the winds of freedom.
–––––––––––––––––––
Current time, Morga.
–––––––––––––––––––
A narrow alley, dark, pierced by neon lights from worn signs above, overwhelmed by the city's noise, as if it does not care that someone is dying in its corner.
I staggered, leaning against the crumbling wall of the building, blood stains smudging my clothes and face.
My breathing was broken, mixed with cold steam coming from my mouth, and my whole body trembled as if trying to escape me too.
I looked at my bleeding chest, inspecting the wound as if it was strange to me, I had not yet comprehended what happened.
Drops of blood were slowly flowing, staining the dirty ground.
I spoke with a voice containing some pain:
"That damn."
I ran my hand over the wound, pressed it slightly, then exhaled sharply.
I did not expect it to be this fast... or this accurate.
I finally sat down, my back against the wall, as if the whole universe was pressing on my chest.
I buried my hands in my sweat and blood-soaked hair and closed my eyes.
From the depth of the confusion in my chest, I spoke in a voice like a whisper, broken, lost between will and weakness.
"What am I supposed to do now...?"
Amid the thick fog dancing like ghosts, and the smell of mold enveloping the air, the sound of footsteps pierced the heavy silence.
The sound was steady, approaching with confident steps, each step like a knock on the ground of my staggering consciousness.
I raised my head turning it slowly, my body groaning under the weight of pain and exhaustion, and I whispered with difficulty.
For a moment, I did not comprehend what my eyes saw. Then, my pupils widened, and surprise mixed with fear.
Something deep inside told me what I saw could not be real... yet, he stood there.
He stands there, with the same cold stance I was used to seeing, but I was no longer sure if what I saw was real or if my exhausted mind was playing tricks on me.
Everything around me began to fade, the sounds blurred, and darkness danced at the edges of my vision.
Is this his past coming to haunt him, or did the wound unbalance him with reality?
•••
The man approached him, his golden eyes shining with malice, his cloak flying lightly with every step, tilting his head slightly, and a sarcastic smile appeared on his lips like a scar.
"Well done, you survived."
Morga staggered, retreating with heavy steps, his feet betraying him, but his eyes remained fixed on him, examining him with muted despair, as if searching for a small clue... for anything to confirm he was not himself.
"Aaaaaaa."
A loud scream burst from Morga's throat, his body convulsed, and his hands gripped his head.
His vision blurred, shapes around him merged, and everything began to spin.
He said, his voice barely audible, as if choking on words:
"What... is this...?"
His voice came out like a muffled roar, as if tearing the silence with suppressed bitterness:
"I will not allow you... to take me back to that hell."
"Don't worry... you are already inside it."
His words were not a threat but a cold fact, devoid of any mercy.
The man disappeared for a moment, then appeared in front of Morga, very close.
Before Morga could comprehend what was happening, the man's fist hit his stomach.
It was not a strong blow, but it took the air out of his lungs, and a sharp metallic taste spread in his mouth.
Blood flowed from his lips, bright red, drops scattered on the ground, and he remained still between pain and shock.
The man said in a low voice, barely audible, but it pierced the silence like a needle:
"Sweet dreams,... boy."
And at that moment, everything vanished. The ground shook under Morga's feet, and his vision faded into a sudden void.
He fell.
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Lyoshi: Thanks for reading