Darkness.
It was endless, suffocating, stretching in every direction. A vast, empty void.
Vieira drifted through it, weightless. Sightless. Thoughtless.
It felt like drowning—except there was no water, no air to fight for. Just an existence slowly fading into nothing.
Was this death?
No…
He was alive. He was somewhere.
But his body wasn't his anymore.
Then, like a spark in the abyss, he felt something.
A presence.
And suddenly, he wasn't alone.
A figure stood before him in the darkness. Tall. Unmoving. Its golden eyes burned like twin stars, piercing through the void.
Azazel.
Vieira's breath hitched.
The golden-eyed being studied him, expression unreadable.
"You should not be here," Azazel said, his voice calm, absolute. "This body is mine now."
Vieira felt a chill creep down his spine.
No.
His fists clenched. His body—his soul—felt sluggish, but he forced himself to take a step forward.
"This is my body," Vieira growled, voice hoarse but firm.
Azazel arched a brow, amusement flickering in his golden gaze.
"Your body?" he mused, almost lazily. "No… you forfeited that the moment you fell. The moment you were weak."
Vieira gritted his teeth.
A memory flashed in his mind—the hospital, the Emerged Shadow, the pain of being thrown like a ragdoll. The helplessness.
Then…
The moment he felt something take over.
Azazel.
Vieira's body had moved without him. His limbs obeyed a will that was not his own.
And now, that will stood before him, claiming dominion.
Vieira's gut twisted.
"You're wrong," he said through clenched teeth. "I didn't give up. I never gave up."
Azazel's expression remained neutral. "Is that so?"
The golden-eyed being lifted a hand. The void around them seemed to shift, bending to his presence.
"Then show me," Azazel said.
And the darkness attacked.
Shadows exploded from the void, crashing toward Vieira like a tidal wave.
His instincts screamed—move!
Vieira threw himself backward, narrowly dodging as the inky tendrils lashed out, trying to consume him.
Another wave. Faster.
He barely had time to react as darkness swallowed his arm, an unbearable cold seeping into his skin. His breath hitched.
It was pulling him under.
Azazel watched, expression unreadable.
"Futile," he murmured. "This is the natural order. The weak submit to the strong. You cannot fight me."
Vieira gritted his teeth.
A deep, primal part of him wanted to let go. To sink into the void. To submit.
But—
Another memory surfaced.
Kenji's voice, sharp and defiant. "What did you do to Vieira?!"
Aya's voice, uncertain but desperate. "Vieira… can you hear me?"
His team. His friends.
He couldn't abandon them.
This is my body.
Vieira's free hand curled into a fist.
And he punched the darkness.
A shockwave erupted as the shadows recoiled, hissing as if in pain.
Azazel's golden eyes flickered.
Interesting.
Vieira exhaled sharply. The cold that had seeped into his arm was fading.
He wasn't done.
He lunged forward, his fist cutting through the void, aiming straight for Azazel—
But the golden-eyed being barely moved.
A single step to the side, effortless, as Vieira's attack missed completely.
Azazel sighed. "Predictable."
Then, without warning—
Azazel struck.
A mere flick of his wrist.
But the impact sent Vieira flying, his back crashing into the void itself.
He gasped, pain flaring through his body.
Azazel approached slowly. "You struggle, yet you do not understand." He knelt slightly, leveling his burning gaze with Vieira's. "You are human. I am not. The gap between us is immeasurable."
Vieira coughed, forcing himself up.
But something was off.
His body… it felt lighter. The void around him—it wasn't as suffocating as before.
Azazel's brows furrowed slightly.
Vieira narrowed his eyes.
That reaction…
"You're wrong," Vieira said, pushing himself up fully.
Azazel's gaze darkened.
"You act like you have total control," Vieira continued, stepping forward. "Like I'm just some passenger in my own body."
The void around them shook.
Azazel's expression finally shifted. Confusion.
Vieira took another step. "But if that were true… you wouldn't be here."
Azazel's golden eyes narrowed.
Vieira clenched his fists.
"If you really had full control, I'd be gone. But I'm not—I'm still here. That means you're still fighting to keep me down."
Silence.
Azazel said nothing.
Vieira exhaled, realization settling in.
"You're not as in control as you thought, are you?"
The void trembled again, cracks forming beneath Vieira's feet.
Azazel's gaze was unreadable.
Then—slowly—he smiled.
"...Intriguing."
And for the first time…
There was something in his voice that almost sounded like uncertainty.