The cave was alive.
Not alive in the way of beasts or men, but in the way of something ancient—something that had been breathing long before humanity ever walked. Its walls pulsed faintly, its stone seemed to whisper, and in the stillness, the faint sound of a heartbeat echoed as though the cavern itself had a chest.
And Hakari lay within it, unconscious.
---
Deep inside, Yushi and Weller pushed forward. Though trapped themselves, they refused to stop searching. Somewhere, somehow, Hakari and Kage were in this nightmare—and they would not abandon them.
They sprinted through countless chambers, each one a horror of its own. The cave's people called them The Cells of Endless Pain.
Every time they entered one, monsters were waiting. Fanged beasts, half-formed shadows, twisted demons of bone and flesh. Again and again, Yushi and Weller fought them, bled under their claws, endured the screams. Yet no matter how many creatures they cut down, Hakari and Kage were nowhere to be found.
Yushi's chest heaved. His sword arm shook, his vision blurred.
> "It's like this cave is endless… Weller, I… I can't keep this up."
Weller spat blood, clutching his cracked ribs.
> "We can't stop. If we stop, they've won. We have to keep looking."
And so they pressed forward.
---
Finally, they stumbled into a chamber unlike the rest.
The Cell of Eternity.
What they saw froze their blood.
The chamber stretched farther than their eyes could see—impossible, larger than the cave's exterior should allow. Vast pillars loomed into darkness, and silence weighed so heavily it rang in their skulls. The scale itself was a violation, a wound against reason.
But the scale was not what horrified them.
It was the limbs.
Scattered across the stone floor were monster limbs—dozens, hundreds, torn and severed as though butchered by a giant's hand. Trails of black blood ran like rivers, congealed into slick pools that reflected the faint light.
Weller's voice cracked, barely a whisper:
> "Who… who could have done this?"
Then they saw more.
Corpses. Hundreds upon hundreds of corpses piled together. Heads without bodies. Arms stacked like firewood. A mountain of slaughter so vast it felt as if the cave itself had been filled with nothing but dead flesh. The stench clawed their throats; bile rose in their stomachs.
They covered their mouths, forcing themselves to walk forward.
And then—they saw him.
Hakari.
Unconscious, lying at the heart of the carnage. His body was untouched, whole, absurdly pristine amidst the ruin.
Yushi's chest pounded.
> "How… how is he still in one piece? After this? This is impossible."
They were so close. Just one step away.
But then—
A hand seized Weller's leg.
---
The two froze. Slowly, they turned.
From the pile of corpses, a monster rose. Its neck snapped back into place with a sickening crack. Then another corpse stirred. Then another. And another.
In seconds, the mountain of the dead was no longer dead. A thousand monsters stood once more, their empty eyes glowing with an unholy fire.
The cavern vibrated with their collective growl.
Weller's breath caught, trembling as the wall of death closed around them.
> "What… what do we do? How… how do we even fight this?"
Yushi said nothing, his jaw clenched, eyes wide with the realization—this was not a battle. This was the loop.
---
Elsewhere—
Kage wandered through a barren desert.
His clothes hung in tatters. His lips cracked and bleeding. His skin burned raw under the merciless sun. Still, his legs carried him forward.
His mind was fog, numb, yet one command echoed in his skull like a drum:
> "Go. Go. Go."
He had walked for twelve hours. No water. No shade. No sign of Akuma. No hope.
His thoughts gnawed at him, cruel and sharp:
What if I've gone the wrong way? Should I turn back? But if I turn back, I'll never make it. If I keep going… will I even find anyone?
His knees buckled. His body shook violently.
> "No… I can't… I can't fall yet…"
And then, his eyes rolled white. Kage collapsed face-first into the burning sand, unconscious.
The desert swallowed him in silence.
---
Back in the Cell of Eternity—
Yushi and Weller stood before the endless horde.
Yushi raised his trembling hand.
> "Lion's Code, Command Two—Hunt."
The cavern fell silent.
The monsters screamed, charging in waves.
> "Kill the human! Kill them both! Tear them apart!"
But in an instant—silence returned.
A hundred monsters fell, heads rolling across stone, limbs severed clean. Blood sprayed the walls like rain.
( When Yushi activates his Command (Hunt), those caught within its reach meetinstant death. The cause of death is never the same—sometimes it manifests as the sudden strike of an unseen blade, sometimes as a lethal poison in the veins, or even a bizarre, random accident that cannot be explained. To the victim, however, death arrives unnoticed. In their final moments, they still believe themselves victorious, unaware that their fate has already been sealed.
Limitations:
The ability only affects targets within a 100-meter radius of Yushi—no more, no less.
Once activated, it spares no one—friend, foe, or even an innocent bystander. If an ally is within range, the Command shows no mercy.
The ability's unpredictability is both its strength and its curse. Yushi never knows how his Command will take life—it simply does.)
Yushi whispered coldly, his eyes glowing with ruthless light:
> "Now."
Weller blinked in shock, his ears ringing from the sudden carnage.
> "You… you could've told me before using that."
Yushi smirked faintly, exhaustion tugging at his lips.
> "Yeah… my fault, I guess."
But then—the monsters twitched. Their broken forms began to rise once again, their laughter echoing as their flesh knitted together.
And then—
A crack split the air.
A seam of light opened in the void. From it, a man stepped through.
---
Red, piercing eyes. Long hair tied back in a warrior's knot. Thick brows that cast shadows on a sharp, grinning face. His armor gleamed black and crimson, engraved with sigils of war. And his smile—his smile was madness.
The cavern trembled under his presence.
> "Welcome, my dears," the man said, his voice dripping with malice. "I was waiting for you. Waiting… for a good battle."
Yushi and Weller froze.
Weller's voice cracked.
> "No… no, it can't be… Waren."
The man chuckled.
> "Oh? You know my name? How adorable."
Weller spat, fury burning through his fear.
> "You're the warlord. The evil warlord—Waren."
Waren's grin widened.
> "That's what my haters call me. But truly… I'm a good guy."
---
Without hesitation, Weller lunged, his blade flashing. He poured all his strength into a devastating strike.
CLANG.
Waren blocked it with one hand, smiling as sparks flew.
> "Oh dear… you hurt my feelings."
His voice deepened into a monstrous growl.
> "I guess you want to die."
He slammed his head forward. The impact cracked the stone and sent Weller staggering, blood spraying from his lips.
Waren raised his blade for the finishing blow—
But Yushi stepped between them, fury in his eyes.
> "My name is Yushi. And I'm here to assist my friend… to kill the soul out of you."
His voice roared:
> "Lion's Code, Command One—Man Eater!"
Light erupted. Eight colossal claws of pure brilliance ripped through the air, slamming into Waren and driving him back across the chamber.
Dust shook loose from the ceiling as the cavern quaked.
Weller rose beside Yushi, his eyes blazing with fire.
> "We're both here. To kill you."
Waren straightened, brushing the dust from his armor, lips curling into a wicked smile.
> "Good," he whispered. His blade gleamed, and his aura devoured the chamber in red haze.
> "The battle begins."
---
And in the unseen shadows above, the cave pulsed again.
Breathing. Watching.