Yushi's eyes widened.
What… what just happened?
Meanwhile, Hakari and Kage walked deeper into the darkness. The creature was gone, but instead of relief, a strange silence weighed on them. Step after step, the walls around them stretched endlessly.
Kage clenched his fists, frustration bursting out.
"AAAHH! Where are we?! Where the hell are we supposed to go?!"
Hakari's calm voice cut through the air.
"This place… is the Cell of Eternity."
Kage froze. "Eternity? But—"
Hakari interrupted coldly.
"Don't think this cave will break just because you defeated a monster. It takes more than that. Only someone with at least two percent pure Code Energy can shatter it. And you… even though you have incredible control over Commands, you lack the energy to break it."
Kage gritted his teeth. "Then what? What can we do?"
Hakari's hand trembled slightly as he spoke.
"I can use Miracle. But after the fight with Nicolas Campo… it's unstable. I can only use it on one person. And even then, I don't know where that person will end up."
He paused, his voice heavy.
"There's one Command I haven't used yet. My final… and most powerful one."
Kage's eyes widened. "Stronger than Limitbreaker?"
"Yes," Hakari answered. "But it comes with a cost."
"What cost? Sleep? Don't tell me that's it."
Hakari shook his head, cutting him off.
"No. Three possibilities. Either… I fall asleep forever. Or one of my limbs is destroyed. Or… I die."
Kage staggered back. His voice shook.
"W-What?! Isn't there any other way?! I can use my Command, Vanish, on this cave! If I erase it, we'll be free!"
Hakari's tone grew sharp.
"No! You don't understand. If the cave disappears, we disappear with it. Our lives are tied to this place as long as we're inside. And even if, by some miracle, we survived… the stone would shatter. Akuma would collapse. Everyone would die."
Kage's eyes trembled. "But… even though they treated us like outsiders…"
"Death is too extreme a punishment," Hakari whispered. His hands shook, his voice barely holding steady.
"I have to use it."
"No, Hakari! There must be another way!"
"There isn't."
Hakari raised his glowing hand. His voice echoed like thunder.
"Hai—Key Command: OUTSHINE!"
The cave rumbled violently.
Elsewhere, Yushi and Weller felt the tremors. Yushi's hands shook, still trembling from the last battle.
"This… this is strange. The cave is shaking, but… our bodies aren't moving. I can feel it inside me instead…"
Weller, pale and still traumatized from using his Command, whispered.
"This power… it's terrifying. A Command like this… it's not normal."
Yushi snapped. "Don't joke with me! I didn't use anything!"
Weller shook his head. "Not you… someone else. Somewhere nearby."
"What are you saying?!" Yushi shouted. "No one can use a Command without Code glowing. That's impossible!"
"I don't know…" Weller's voice cracked. "But this Command… it's real."
Then it came.
An immense surge of energy erupted from deep within the cave. The force painted the darkness in red light.
Kage's breath caught in his throat.
"Wh-What is this…?"
Hakari's body trembled. His feet glowed crimson. His hands dripped with blood. One eye bulged wide open, while from the other, a streak of red stretched from his lashes down to his cheek.
The cost had begun.
Kage's eyes widened in shock. His voice trembled.
"W-What is this form?! I… I don't even know what kind of Command this is…"
Hakari smiled calmly, even as his body shook.
"It is meant… to save."
Before Kage could react, Hakari grabbed him in a flash. In the next heartbeat, Hakari dashed straight toward the wall.
Kage screamed.
"Wait—! Those are walls! They're solid! We'll die! WE'LL DIE!"
But Hakari didn't listen.
And then—impossibly—they passed through.
Kage squeezed his eyes shut, expecting death's embrace. But instead, he felt himself gently placed on solid ground.
Hesitant, he opened his eyes.
"Are… are we dead?"
Hakari's steady voice answered.
"No. We're not."
Kage's jaw dropped as he looked around.
"Did… did we just cross that Cell? How?! How is this possible?"
Hakari's breathing grew heavier, but his smile remained.
"I told you… it is meant to save."
Light surrounded them now—bright, but not blinding. Soft enough for their eyes to adjust. And then Kage saw it.
His breath caught in his throat.
"…The Code Crystal…"
Right in front of them stood the shining crystal of legends. The Stone Tablets of Eternity.
But before Kage could move, Hakari's body collapsed.
His Command faded instantly. His glowing form disappeared. One of his eyes—his left—was bloodshot and damaged, though not beyond saving.
"HAKARI!" Kage screamed, rushing to his side.
"We… we made it…! The Tablets! They're right here! Hakari! Hakariiiiii!"
His voice echoed, trembling with fear and desperation.
On the other side of the cave, Yushi and Weller suddenly heard a faint noise echoing through the stone halls. Both of them froze.
Yushi frowned, his hands tightening into fists.
"Wait. This could be a trap…"
But Weller's eyes were firm, his steps already moving forward.
"Even if that's the truth… it doesn't matter. At least not to me."
Yushi sighed, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"Yeah. I know. That's exactly why I stay by your side… because I know you'll always protect the innocent."
A memory flickered in his mind.
—Flashback—
A younger Weller stood alone, facing off against three older bullies who were tormenting a smaller child.
"Hey! I said don't hurt him!"
He threw a punch, striking one of the bullies in the jaw. But the others grabbed him, forcing him down. They beat him mercilessly, fists and kicks raining down on his small body.
Yet even as blood filled his mouth and tears blurred his vision, young Weller never stopped shielding the crying child behind him.
No one came to save him that day.
—Flashback ends—
Yushi clenched his fists tighter, his voice steady.
"That's who you are, Weller. The one who'll throw himself in front of others without hesitation. That's why I'm here—to protect your dumb ass when you forget about yourself."
The cave trembled again. The strange noise grew louder, pulling them deeper inside.
The cave rumbled again, its walls breathing with an ominous pulse. Every step Yushi and Weller took only pulled them deeper into uncertainty.
What awaited them now? Could they reach Hakari and Kage in time… or would they fall into the same despair?
Could Yushi and Weller truly save their comrades—
—or would they barely be able to save themselves?
The air grew heavier. The cave was no longer just stone and silence; it was alive, watching, waiting.
And somewhere, hidden in the shroud of shadows, a Man stirred ''Waren Warlord'.
His voice slithered through the cracks like a whisper, low and venomous.
"I'm coming… wait for me, bastards."
The cave's darkness seemed to thicken at those words, as though even the walls feared the arrival of the man in the shadows.