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Chapter 33 – When Shadows Wear My Name
The skies above the shattered horizon churned like an ocean of blood. Every crack in the earth exhaled whispers, voices that weren't voices at all, but echoes of Velzaryth's will bleeding into the mortal realm.
Kazuki stood at the center of the broken battlefield, his legendary weapon pulsing in his hand, every beat like a second heartbeat inside him. Aria was at his side, her hand brushing against his arm—silent, but grounding. Her presence tethered him to something real in a world that was fracturing.
The others—Rin, Daichi, and Mei—were already battered from the last wave of creatures, but what loomed before them was no mere army.
It was Velzaryth's manifested will.
A colossal figure rose from the rift, not his true body, but an avatar sculpted from shadows and fire. Its face was a shifting mask of Kazuki's own features, twisted, broken, corrupted into something that smiled too wide and gazed too deep.
"Do you see it now?" the voice thundered, overlapping with Kazuki's own tone. "You are me. And soon… I will be you."
Kazuki tightened his grip on the weapon. The blade burned with silver-blue light, threads of his soul flickering along the edge. He tried to ignore the voice clawing at his mind, but Velzaryth's presence was invasive—like nails raking against the inside of his skull.
"Stay with me, Kazuki."
Aria's whisper cut through the madness like a bell in the storm. Her eyes were firm, unwavering.
He nodded once. "I'm not letting this thing win."
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The First Clash
The shadow colossus lunged, its arm morphing into a spear of molten darkness. Kazuki swung his weapon upward, sparks of light colliding with abyssal fire. The shockwave ripped the air apart, sending debris and broken fragments of reality flying.
Daichi and Mei unleashed their magic from the sidelines, torrents of flame and storm to weaken the creature. Rin darted forward, blades flashing. But every attack felt like striking at water—the shadow absorbed, bent, and reshaped itself, laughing in Velzaryth's stolen voice.
Kazuki leapt high, his blade spiraling with arcs of energy. "Break!" he roared, cleaving downward. The strike carved through the shadow's chest, dispersing its form—only for it to reform instantly, stronger, denser.
"Futility," the shadow hissed. "Because you fight yourself."
And then Kazuki's vision warped.
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The Inner War
One blink—and he was no longer on the battlefield.
He stood inside a void. A mirror realm where the ground was a black lake and the sky was a dome of fractured glass. And standing opposite him… was himself.
But not quite.
This Kazuki was pale, with veins of darkness crawling up his arms. His eyes glowed red, and his smile was the same one the shadow had worn—a predator's grin, mocking and sharp.
"This is what you are," the reflection said. "Every fragment of rage, of despair, of power you've stolen. Velzaryth isn't an enemy—he is home. You are the vessel."
Kazuki's heart pounded. "No. I choose who I am. I'm not your puppet."
His reflection laughed, then lunged.
Steel met steel. Sparks sprayed like shattered stars. The battle wasn't just physical—it was raw willpower colliding. Every strike rattled Kazuki's bones, every counter felt like he was slashing at his own flesh.
And worst of all—the reflection moved exactly like him. Same stances. Same techniques. It was like fighting a shadow that knew every decision he'd make before he made it.
With each blow, the voice of Velzaryth whispered deeper. Why resist? With me, you'd never lose. With me, you'd protect her. With me… you'd be limitless.
Kazuki faltered for half a second—and the reflection's blade pierced his shoulder. Pain ripped through him, both body and soul.
He collapsed to one knee, blood dripping onto the black lake.
"See?" the reflection sneered. "You can't even save yourself."
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Aria's Anchor
And then—warmth.
A voice, trembling but resolute, echoing through the void.
"Kazuki. Listen to me. You're not alone."
Aria.
Her figure appeared beside him, faint and flickering, but real enough. She knelt, clutching his hand. Tears streaked her face, but her grip was steady.
"You don't need to fight him alone. You don't need to carry all of this."
Her presence poured strength into him—raw, unshakable. The reflection snarled, stepping back, as if her light scorched him.
Kazuki's chest ached, not from pain, but from the flood of emotion that nearly drowned him.
"…Aria," he whispered.
She smiled through her tears. "Stand. With me."
And for the first time, Kazuki realized—this wasn't his burden alone.
He rose, pulling Aria up beside him, their hands locked. Their shared light flared, weaving into his weapon.
The reflection howled as Kazuki's blade, glowing with both their wills, pierced through its chest. Darkness shattered like glass.
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The Revelation
Back in reality, the colossus of Velzaryth staggered. Cracks spread across its form.
Kazuki stood taller, his aura blazing, Aria's presence radiating beside him.
And in that moment, truth bloomed inside him.
The legendary weapon pulsed—not because it had chosen him… but because they had chosen each other. His soul and the weapon were bound by more than destiny; they were bound by defiance, by love, by the refusal to bow to Velzaryth.
But Velzaryth's laughter still echoed.
"You've only delayed it. Every strike you land feeds me. Every victory brings you closer to me. You are my vessel. And soon… my voice will be yours."
Kazuki's grip faltered for a moment—because he felt it. A thread of darkness coiling inside his chest.
And then…
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The Cliffhanger
His mouth moved.
But it wasn't his voice.
Aria froze as Kazuki's lips curved into a smile that wasn't his own, his eyes flashing with a crimson glow.
"Ah," Velzaryth whispered through Kazuki's body, his tone dripping like venom. "So this is what love feels like… fragile, desperate, fleeting. How delightful. Let me savor it… before I break it."
Aria's hand trembled on his arm, torn between fear and defiance. "Kazuki… fight it. Please."
But Kazuki's body stepped forward, the weapon still burning in his hand, now trembling between his will and Velzaryth's.
Half his face was Kazuki.
Half was shadow.
And the battlefield held its breath.
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🔥 End of Chapter 33 🔥