In the depths of a shadowed laboratory, dimly lit by flickering green flames and pulsating runes, Rez bent over her workbench. Her slender fingers expertly manipulated delicate strands of energy, weaving them into intricate patterns that sparked with dark magic. The air buzzed with raw power and the faint scent of ozone.
She straightened, brushing a stray lock of raven hair from her sharp, angular face. Her eyes—gleaming like onyx—narrowed in curiosity.
"What happened now?" she asked aloud, as if expecting an answer.
Suddenly, a swirling shape coalesced in the corner of the room—a crow formed from shadows and smoke, its eyes glowing faintly red.
The crow spoke in a harsh, clipped voice. "A strong enemy has appeared. He used a strange technique that wounded the dark masters."
Rez's lips curled into a sly smile. "Hurt a Dark Master? In the Deishin Realm? Now that's an interesting specimen. What do they want me to do?"
"The Dark Masters want you to distract him. Buy time so they can analyze his powers and reclaim the Ragon Balls," the crow reported.
Rez sighed softly, her gaze distant. "I don't understand their obsession with ruling the Omniverse. Isn't the Deishin Realm enough? But... I'm intrigued. I will do it."
With a whisper, the crow dissolved into a swirl of smoke and vanished.
Rez reached beneath her bench and retrieved a mysterious orb—dark and swirling with an inner light. Within its depths, a faint image flickered: Jin, alongside Ray and Sei.
-
Meanwhile, far from Rez's lair, Jin, Ray, and Sei landed on a grand lookout perched high above the kaleidoscopic clouds. At its center stood a towering pillar of energy, swirling and crackling like a storm raging between heaven and earth—an ethereal gateway pulsing with raw power.
Sei pointed with a fluttering wing. "This is the real Passage. Only through it can one travel to other worlds."
Ray's eyes darkened with caution. "But only the strong survive the journey. The weak will simply be crushed by the pressure. But for you, Jin, I believe it won't be a problem."
Jin studied the swirling vortex, intrigued. "Oh! This is interesting. But let's not waste any more time."
Sei then replied, "Yeah. We don't have much time. Let's go."
Back in her laboratory, Rez's sharp gaze locked on the orb. "Now, let's see how far you can go."
She rummaged through a pile of enchanted dust, finding a handful of glowing, crackling particles. With a deft motion, she scattered the dust onto the orb. It sparked and shimmered, reacting to her magic.
-
As Jin stepped into the pillar of energy, a crushing pressure pressed against him, heavy but not overwhelming.
Suddenly, without warning, an unseen force slammed into Jin from behind. He staggered violently, losing control mid-transit.
"Jin!" Ray shouted, flapping his wings frantically as he tried to reach him.
"Hold on, Jin!" Sei called out, her voice filled with alarm.
But it was too late.
With a flash, Jin was flung out of the energy pillar
Ray and Sei exchanged worried glances, their moment of panic cut short as the swirling energy pillar pulsed once more.
As for Jin, he landed hard on a smooth, featureless white surface. All around him stretched empty whiteness—limitless and silent.
A faint ripple twisted the air ahead, followed by a slow, wet drip. Something black seeped into existence, spreading like spilled ink on glass. It gathered, pulsing unnaturally, until it formed a low, shifting mound.
"…What the hell are you?" Jin muttered.
The thing answered by lunging. A tendril lashed out with surprising speed—Jin barely twisted aside, his boots screeching on the smooth surface. He countered with a sharp kick to the core. The strike landed clean—only for the goo to split down the middle.
Two identical masses now writhed where one had been. Both rushed him without pause.
"Tch—great. You multiply when hit."
Jin ducked under one swipe, spinning to hammer the second with his fist. It split again—now three.
The air filled with wet, slapping sounds as the creatures closed in from every angle. Jin weaved and parried, striking just enough to redirect them, but each accidental solid hit only made things worse. Four… five… six masses now darted around him, circling like sharks.
A tendril slammed across his back, another grazed his cheek—sharp pain flared as his skin burned where it touched. The goo was corrosive.
He leapt back, breathing hard.
"If I keep fighting head-on, I'll drown in numbers."
The goo surged all at once, tendrils whipping at him in coordinated strikes. Jin dodged narrowly, avoiding full contact, his movements tightening as he tested their behavior. He noticed something—the split only occurred when his blows carried enough force to damage them. Glancing weaker attacks didn't split it.
"…So these things split if attacked with enough force? Good thing I have faced such opponents before. I just need to find the main body," he muttered, sweat beading on his brow.
For the next minute, he moved like a shadow, slipping between strikes, pushing the creatures aside with minimal impact. But the longer he stalled, the more aggressive they became—adjusting their angles, forcing him into tighter spaces, making him graze them more often. Each slip added another body to the swarm.
Finally, Jin slid to a halt, chest rising and falling. "…What?! They all... are the main body? I think I need to use that half-baked move. This is going to be a little troublesome."
He flickered—his body splitting into a dozen identical Jins, each radiating the same presence. The clones burst outward, weaving between the goo masses in perfect sync. They didn't strike to kill—just herded, pushed, and redirected, forcing the goo into one tangled lump.
Some clones deliberately baited attacks, letting themselves be engulfed so they could drag pieces back into the main mass. Slowly, all of it was bound together in the center of the void, thrashing violently but contained.
The real Jin floated above the chaos, hands cupped together as a swirling sphere of radiant energy bloomed between them—colors shifting between gold, blue, and white, vibrating with pure destructive intent.
"Let's end this before you decide to turn into a thousand pieces."
He hurled the colorful energy sphere.
"Soul Punisher!"
The attack slammed into the goo, detonating in a blinding burst of light. A shockwave tore through the expanse, and the black mass let out an inhuman, echoing scream as it disintegrated into glittering motes—gone without a trace.
Silence fell once more. Jin exhaled, lowering his hands. "…Using the body double technique is too tiring. I should quickly perfect this technique."
With that, Jin fell to the ground completely exhausted.
---
Far away, in the dim green glow of her laboratory, Rez leaned over the swirling orb. The white expanse and the clash between Jin and the black mass played out inside it like a scene trapped in crystal.
Her onyx eyes narrowed as the clones moved in perfect formation, driving the goo into a single, writhing knot. Then came the sphere of shifting light—radiating a purity so intense it made the air in her lab feel heavy.
The detonation lit up the orb, and even through layers of enchanted wards, Rez felt a faint, cold shiver crawl up her spine.
"…So," she murmured, lips curling into a curious smile, "that's the attack that wounded the Dark Masters? Impressive… I must admit, even I felt its sting from here."
Her gaze sharpened, thoughtful. "It erases… negative energy. That explains why the dark masters couldn't endure it. Dangerous—if aimed at the wrong target. But…" She tilted her head, a flicker of mischief in her expression. "…I think I can do something about this."
With a wave of her hand, the orb's image collapsed into swirling darkness. Rez turned, striding toward a wall covered in racks of tools and strange artifacts.
Her fingers trailed over jagged crystals, runed metal plates, and half-finished contraptions until she stopped at a cluster of blackened silver rings.
"Yes… with the right amplification, I can create something to absorb… no, invert that energy and use it as counterattack." Her grin widened. "Let's see how you counter my precious gadget."
The lab hummed with dark magic as Rez began to work—each movement precise, calculated, and disturbingly eager.
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Techniques:
Body Double - A technique that lets you create clones of yourself. The clones' power depends on how near it is to the main body. Maximum power is 70-80% of the original's power. If used by users who didn't master this technique, it will exhaust all of their strength after using it.
Soul Punisher - A pure attack that erases anything that is evil/negative. Even if the evil/negative isn't erased, it will cause huge damage.