The Void trembled.
The silence that followed the fall of the twin beasts was not peace — it was the breath before calamity.
Akira stood amidst the ruin, his lungs burning, every exhale fogging the cold, fractured air. Crystals of black light hovered mid-air like frozen lightning. Yamitsurugi hummed in his grip, its obsidian blade streaked with faint silver veins, pulsing to the rhythm of something alive.
He turned slowly. The horizon of the void — once an endless expanse of shattered stars — was now collapsing inward, folding space like paper. And from within that imploding darkness came a sound.
A heartbeat.
Slow. Ancient. Unmistakably alive.
Akira clenched his jaw. "What… is that?"
The ground beneath him split like glass. Abyssal cracks spread outward, and from within them poured a river of shadow so dense it swallowed the faint glow of his blade. The very air bent — the Void itself recoiled. Then, a voice rumbled through existence, deep enough to shake the marrow of his bones.
> "So this… is what remains of the light…"
The voice wasn't directed at Akira alone. It resonated through every fragment of reality, through the mind, through the soul.
A shape emerged from the abyss — colossal, vague, draped in void mist. Its eyes, twin spheres of inverted stars, opened slowly.
Akira's breath hitched. His instincts screamed to move. Yamitsurugi vibrated violently, as if rebelling against the very presence before it.
Then Ryozen appeared in a flash of gold — his aura cutting through the dark like a blade of dawn. The Wheel of Samsara spun faintly behind him, its edges flickering, barely holding under the pressure of the Void.
"Akira!" Ryozen's voice cut through the chaos. "Stay back!"
Akira turned, relief flashing across his face. "You felt it too?"
Ryozen's gaze locked on the shape rising from the pit. His tone dropped, calm but grim.
"That thing… is not one of the fragments. It's the Sovereign — the source that commands them."
The creature's voice rose again, colder now, carrying a divine arrogance that pierced the air.
> "Ryozen of Samsara… the remnant who defied eternity. You still linger here?"
Ryozen's eyes narrowed. "You should've stayed buried."
With a sound like thunder cracking through the ocean, the Sovereign moved — not by walking, but by distorting. Its body unfolded through reality, arms formed of shadow, claws etched with cosmic runes. One hand swept outward.
A storm of Voidfire erupted.
Every fragment of darkness ignited — waves of black flame roaring across the expanse.
Akira reacted instantly — Viel Step. His body blurred through the inferno, appearing behind the monster's massive claw. He swung Yamitsurugi, slicing through the dark matter. The blade tore the shadow apart — for a second — before it reformed, unbroken.
"What the hell—!"
Ryozen raised his hand. "It regenerates from the Void itself! You can't cut what has no form!"
He spun his palm — the Wheel behind him accelerated, shedding sparks of light. "Then I'll erase the source!"
The Wheel of Samsara exploded outward, radiating holy energy. Each turn unleashed a wave of golden light that disintegrated pieces of the Sovereign's form.
The beast let out a guttural growl — low, furious.
> "You would use that power again?"
It lunged. The world shook. Its hand descended — an entire field of reality caving under the strike.
Ryozen countered with a motionless stance, whispering:
"Cycle… of Desolation."
The Wheel collapsed into him, and his aura flared. For an instant, everything slowed — the Void's energy reversed, folding back toward its origin. The Sovereign staggered as the fabric of its existence was pulled inward, compressed by Ryozen's gravitational light.
Akira saw his chance.
He sprinted through the storm, his blade howling. The Yamitsurugi shone white-hot as he yelled,
"Astral Obliteration!"
The attack tore through the Sovereign's shoulder — an explosion of brilliance and black flame erupted. The shockwave shattered the ground, and chunks of floating debris spiraled outward like dying stars.
The Sovereign roared. A massive claw slammed into Akira mid-air, sending him crashing through fragments of space itself. His body spun through void shards, his ribs screaming with pain. But he didn't fall.
He twisted mid-air, stabbing Yamitsurugi into the falling debris to steady himself. "That's all you got?!"
Ryozen appeared beside him, breathing hard, his aura flickering. "You're reckless. That thing feeds on your energy — every time you strike it, it grows stronger."
Akira's eyes burned crimson, his mark glowing. "Then I'll burn brighter!"
The Sovereign's body began to shift again. Dozens of tendrils formed from starlight and shadow burst outward, whipping through the void like serpents. One tore through the air, striking Ryozen's barrier and shattering it instantly.
Ryozen gritted his teeth. "Damn it!"
Another tendril darted toward Akira. He blocked with Yamitsurugi — the impact sending shockwaves through his arm. The sword's aura sparked violently, screaming in resonance.
The tendril wrapped around him, crushing tight. Akira struggled, the darkness creeping along his skin.
> "You belong… to the dark…" the Sovereign whispered.
Akira's teeth clenched. He closed his eyes for a moment — and in that instant, Masahiro's voice echoed faintly.
> "Do not let the void define your light… let your soul burn against it."
His eyes snapped open. The Yamitsurugi flared — an explosion of white and violet radiance. He swung, cutting the tendril apart. The light spread through the void, burning away the mist. Even the Sovereign reeled back, its eyes dimming for the first time.
Ryozen smirked faintly. "You're learning fast."
Akira panted, lowering his blade slightly. "Then let's finish this together."
They moved as one. Ryozen's Wheel spun, pulling gravity itself into a single point, while Akira gathered all his will into Yamitsurugi's edge. The two forces — cycle and blade, light and will — converged.
> "Wheel of Samsara: Final Turn."
"Yamitsurugi: Astral Obliteration!"
The combined strike collided with the Sovereign's chest — a flash brighter than the birth of a star.
The Void screamed. Space shattered like glass, entire planes collapsing into raw light.
When the smoke cleared, half of the Sovereign's massive form was gone — its lower body disintegrated, its voice distorted into a furious wail.
> "You dare… to wound eternity…?"
It raised what remained of its arm — and from the pit of its chest, a sphere of absolute darkness began to form. The Oblivion Core pulsed, large enough to swallow both men whole.
Ryozen's face turned pale. "He's going to consume the entire plane!"
Akira gritted his teeth. "Then we'll break it before it breaks us!"
He rushed forward, light trailing behind him — but before he could strike, Ryozen extended his arm, halting him.
"Not this time," Ryozen said quietly. "Go. Now."
"What? No—"
"I'll hold it. You're not ready for what's inside that core. You will be… but not today."
Ryozen's aura burst outward — pure gold and black — forming a massive sigil under his feet. The Wheel of Samsara reappeared, spinning violently, distorting space around him.
Akira's body began to fade — a portal pulling him away. He reached out, shouting,
"Ryozen!"
But Ryozen only smiled faintly.
"Remember this, Akira… the light only exists because it survived the dark."
The portal closed.
---
Akira fell through the blinding rift, his body surrounded by shards of broken space. He crashed into the ruins of an abandoned street — Earth. Smoke rose around him. He was back.
He looked up at the empty sky, gripping Yamitsurugi tight. "Ryozen…"
The blade pulsed once — faintly — as if answering.
Then, far above the shattered void, within the collapsing remains of that dying world, two burning eyes opened once more.
> "You cannot seal what was born from the end."
And the Void screamed again — louder than before.