Control Room.
The government official watched the screens without blinking.
Kaizen's energy readings were spiking beyond safe limits.
"Push it further," he ordered.
A scientist hesitated.
"Sir, if the King fully manifests—"
"That's the objective."
Silence filled the room.
They weren't testing control.
They were testing transformation.
Back underground —
The suppression gas intensified.
Kaizen's breathing became uneven.
The mark spread like cracks of dark lightning across his skin.
Yoji moved instantly.
He slammed his blade into the ground.
A shockwave cleared the gas around them temporarily.
"KAIZEN! Look at me!"
Kaizen's eyes flickered.
Half white.
Half his own.
"I… can hear him clearer now…"
The King's voice layered over his own.
"Let me handle them."
Steel walls began bending.
Not from physical force.
From pressure.
Mira forced her way past a guard upstairs and ran toward the lower sector.
"They're trying to break him!" she shouted.
Suddenly—
The ceiling split open.
Seal casters dropped down, forming a massive binding circle around Kaizen.
Golden chains of energy shot outward—
Wrapping around his arms.
His torso.
His neck.
Containment formation activated.
Kaizen screamed.
Not from pain.
From resistance.
Yoji cut two chains instantly.
But more regenerated.
The Commander's voice echoed:
"Subdue him before synchronization reaches 60%!"
Kaizen felt it.
Synchronization.
He could feel the King merging deeper.
Not taking over.
Becoming aligned.
And for the first time—
It didn't feel wrong.
It felt… powerful.
Too powerful.
Yoji looked into Kaizen's eyes.
And saw something terrifying.
Not rage.
Not madness.
Calm.
That scared him more.
The chains tightened.
Energy readings hit 58%.
59%.
The crack in the sky above the city began glowing brighter.
Responding.
Kaizen whispered quietly—
"Enough."
Everything stopped.
Sound vanished.
Pressure inverted.
The golden chains shattered instantly.
The seal circle exploded outward.
All casters were thrown back unconscious.
Energy reading:
70%.
In the control room—
Alarms went insane.
"That's impossible—"
The official stared at the screen.
Kaizen was standing.
Completely stable.
Aura darker.
Sharper.
Controlled.
Yoji lowered his blade slowly.
"…You good?"
Kaizen looked at his hands.
Flexed his fingers.
The King's voice was no longer echoing loudly.
It was steady.
Inside.
"We're done being tested," Kaizen said calmly.
And that calm terrified everyone watching.
He looked up toward the ceiling.
Toward the people controlling this.
"Phase Two ends now."
And for the first time—
The government realized something horrible.
They didn't create a weapon.
They awakened a King.
The seal formation lay destroyed.
Sub-Level Zero looked like a war zone.
Kaizen stood in the center.
Aura dark.
Controlled.
Watching the broken chains fade into dust.
Control Room.
Energy readings stabilized at 70%.
No fluctuation.
No loss of consciousness.
No rage spike.
The government official whispered slowly:
"…He adapted."
The Commander replied coldly,
"No. He evolved."
Back underground —
Heavy mechanical doors unlocked automatically.
Not by command.
By override.
Kaizen lowered his hand.
"I just accessed the core system," he said calmly.
Yoji blinked.
"You what?"
"I can feel the energy network inside this building… it's connected to the same source as me."
Mira looked confused.
"That's not possible."
Kaizen looked at his palm.
"It is now."
Suddenly—
All surveillance screens in headquarters flickered.
Every monitor switched to one image:
Kaizen's face.
Live feed.
He hadn't moved.
But the cameras were focusing on him automatically.
He looked up slightly.
Directly into them.
"I know you're watching."
Control room went silent.
The official swallowed.
Kaizen's voice echoed through every speaker in the building.
"You pushed me to break."
"You tested my limits."
"You activated Severance."
A pause.
"And you failed."
The Commander didn't interrupt.
He was observing.
Calculating.
Kaizen continued,
"I'm done being your experiment."
Energy pressure filled the halls.
But not violently.
Precisely.
Every security lock disengaged.
Every weapon system powered down.
He wasn't rampaging.
He was taking control.
Yoji stepped beside him.
"So what now?"
Kaizen's answer came instantly.
"We expose them."
Mira's eyes widened.
"You mean the Project?"
"Yes."
Project Eclipse files.
Human experiments.
Captured Shinigami.
Artificial rift creation.
If civilians saw the truth—
The government would collapse.
Control Room.
The official snapped.
"Cut external network access!"
Too late.
Across the entire city—
Public broadcast screens activated.
Emergency frequency hijacked.
Project Eclipse documents began flashing publicly.
Images.
Footage.
Experiment logs.
Names.
Signatures.
Shockwaves of truth spreading faster than any attack.
Inside the building—
Soldiers hesitated.
Trust shattered.
Some lowered weapons.
Some backed away.
This wasn't rebellion.
This was exposure.
Kaizen turned toward the elevator.
"Phase Two is over."
Yoji smirked slightly.
"Phase Three?"
Kaizen's eyes darkened.
"If they try again… we don't hold back."
Above the city—
The crack in the sky pulsed brighter.
As if reacting to the shift in power.
The King's voice echoed once more.
"You are choosing your own path."
Kaizen answered quietly inside his mind.
"Not yours."
A faint amused presence lingered.
"We will see."
The city didn't react immediately.
For ten full seconds—
Silence.
Every public screen.
Every billboard.
Every train terminal display.
All showing the same classified files.
Project Eclipse.
Human experimentation logs.
Shinigami containment footage.
Energy extraction chambers.
Children listed as compatibility candidates.
Names blacked out.
Except one.
Subject K-01. Status: Stable Vessel.
Kaizen.
Crowds began forming in the streets.
Phones raised.
Livestreams exploding across networks.
"What is this?"
"Is this fake?"
"They used people—"
"Is that military footage?"
Fear turned to anger fast.
Too fast.
Inside headquarters —
Emergency lockdown protocols activated again.
But soldiers weren't moving like before.
Some looked at their commanders with doubt.
Some stepped back.
Trust had cracked.
And once trust cracks—
Authority bleeds.
Control Room.
The government official slammed his fist down.
"Shut it down!"
Technicians panicked.
"He's overridden the energy grid! The source code is responding to his signal!"
"That's impossible!"
The Commander finally spoke.
"It's not the system responding."
He stared at Kaizen's image on the screen.
"It's the core."
Sub-Level Zero.
Mira stood frozen.
"You just started a revolution."
Kaizen's expression didn't change.
"They started it years ago."
Yoji leaned his blade on his shoulder.
"So what's the next move, King?"
Kaizen shot him a look.
"Don't call me that."
Yoji smirked faintly.
"Just checking."
Suddenly—
All lights flickered again.
But this time—
It wasn't Kaizen.
It was outside.
A violent tremor shook the building.
Then another.
And another.
Mira's comm device sparked alive.
"Massive energy surge detected above central district!"
Kaizen felt it instantly.
Not one presence.
Multiple.
Upper Rank signatures.
Five of them.
Descending.
Not randomly.
Strategically.
The King's voice whispered calmly.
"They sense instability in your world."
Kaizen's jaw tightened.
"They're attacking because they think we're weak."
"They are testing you."
Yoji looked at him.
"You feeling that too?"
"Yeah."
A deep pressure rolled across the city like invisible thunder.
Civilians screamed as the sky darkened unnaturally.
The crack split wider—
Five massive silhouettes stepping through.
Each one radiating destructive pressure.
Not mindless.
Commanders.
Headquarters rooftop.
Elite squads mobilized.
Barrier casters activated dome formations.
But coordination was messy.
Internal betrayal plus external invasion.
Worst timing possible.
The Commander spoke into open frequency:
"All divisions engage Upper Ranks immediately!"
But hesitation echoed in responses.
"Sir… is the broadcast real?"
"Were we experimenting on civilians?"
"Are we protecting the city or hiding crimes?"
The chain of command was unraveling mid-invasion.
Kaizen closed his eyes briefly.
The King's presence was calm.
Observing.
Waiting.
"You want me to step in," Kaizen muttered internally.
"I want you to choose."
Yoji stepped closer.
"You thinking too much."
Kaizen opened his eyes.
"You're right."
He turned toward the elevator.
"We're going up."
Rooftop.
Wind howling.
Dark clouds swirling around the open rift.
The first Upper Rank descended into a residential block.
Buildings split in half with a casual swing.
Screams filled the air.
Kaizen saw it.
His fist tightened.
Synchronization rose.
72%.
Stable.
Yoji noticed.
"You good?"
"I'm fine."
But the aura around him grew heavier.
Denser.
Sharper.
Mira arrived behind them.
"If you go full release out here—"
"I won't," Kaizen said calmly.
Then he stepped forward—
And disappeared.
Central District.
The first Upper Rank lifted a crushed car casually.
It turned its head slightly.
Sensing something.
Kaizen appeared in front of it mid-air.
No explosion.
No dramatic entry.
Just presence.
The Shinigami froze.
Recognition.
"…Vessel."
Kaizen's eyes were steady.
"You're done."
The Upper Rank roared and attacked instantly.
Their clash shattered nearby windows in a two-block radius.
Yoji arrived seconds later, engaging the second Upper Rank.
The sky lit up with black and silver energy.
Back at headquarters —
The government official watched in disbelief.
"He's engaging independently…"
The Commander observed quietly.
"He's protecting civilians."
"That's not the issue!"
"It is."
The Commander leaned back slightly.
"He's choosing humanity."
Battlefield —
The Upper Rank swung massive blades formed from condensed soul energy.
Kaizen dodged effortlessly.
His movements were cleaner now.
No hesitation.
No instability.
Synchronization 74%.
He countered with a precise strike—
Severing the creature's arm.
Black energy didn't explode wildly.
It compressed.
Focused.
The King's voice echoed faintly.
"Precision over rage."
Kaizen understood.
Not domination.
Control.
The Upper Rank attempted a domain surge—
But Kaizen raised his hand.
The space around them bent.
Silenced.
He didn't overpower it.
He suppressed it.
Then—
One clean vertical slash.
Core destroyed.
Upper Rank disintegrated mid-air.
Civilians below stared in shock.
Someone whispered,
"He's saving us…"
Livestream cameras caught everything.
The narrative shifted instantly.
Not experiment.
Not monster.
Protector.
Elsewhere —
Yoji faced two Upper Ranks simultaneously.
He grinned.
"Finally, something fun."
His blade ignited with condensed Soul Arts.
No fear.
Pure skill.
He moved like a blur—
Countering one while striking the other.
He wasn't King-tier.
But he was lethal.
One Upper Rank collapsed after a devastating chest strike.
The other retreated upward—
Only to be intercepted by Kaizen mid-air.
The two fought side by side for a brief second.
Perfect sync.
No words needed.
The Upper Rank realized something horrifying.
The Vessel wasn't unstable.
He was aligned.
And alignment was more dangerous than chaos.
Headquarters rooftop.
Mira coordinated evacuation teams.
Watching the sky nervously.
Synchronization 76%.
Still stable.
She exhaled slightly.
"He's not losing control…"
Final Upper Rank above the city center began charging a massive annihilation blast.
Energy sphere expanding rapidly.
If released—
Half the district gone.
Kaizen looked at it.
Calculated distance.
Civilian density.
Impact radius.
Then he did something unexpected.
He didn't attack directly.
He flew straight into the expanding sphere.
Yoji's eyes widened.
"Kaizen!"
Inside the sphere—
Energy tried to tear him apart.
But instead—
He absorbed it.
Not fully.
Just enough to destabilize it.
Synchronization 80%.
For a split second—
The King's full presence aligned with him.
Eyes glowing pure white.
But no madness.
Only clarity.
He raised his blade.
And split the annihilation sphere clean in half.
Energy dispersed harmlessly into the sky.
Then—
He struck once.
Final Upper Rank fell.
Silence spread across the city.
The rift above flickered violently.
Then began closing.
Not forced.
Withdrawn.
As if something beyond decided—
Enough for now.
Kaizen hovered above the city.
Aura slowly calming.
Synchronization returning to 75%.
Stable again.
Civilians below cheering faintly.
Phones recording.
The truth was exposed.
And now—
So was he.
Yoji landed beside him.
"You just destroyed five Upper Ranks in one night."
Kaizen exhaled slowly.
"And it's only going to get worse."
Far beyond the closing rift—
The Shinigami King opened his eyes fully for the first time.
"You are ready."
Kaizen felt it.
Something bigger was coming.
Not invasion.
Not testing.
War.
But this time—
Not manipulated.
Not controlled.
Chosen.
Kaizen looked at the broken skyline.
At the people below.
At Yoji beside him.
At Mira coordinating evacuations.
Then he said quietly—
"If they want war… we end it on our terms."
The storm clouds slowly began clearing.
But the world was different now.
Project Eclipse was public.
Authority shaken.
And the Vessel—
Was no longer a secret.