Warning
The following chapter contains intense combat, dark energy, scenes of psychological conflict, and non-human abilities.
Chapter 24 — The Moment the Sound Fell Silent
Scene 1 — Inside Kiura's Mind
Darkness… with no walls, no ceiling, no ground.
Just a dense void that swallows every sound.
At the heart of this void stood a rusted iron cage, as if it had been here since the creation of the world.
Inside the cage sat Kiura, his head lowered, his breathing heavy.
Beside the cage… a large screen flickered with a dim light, then began displaying rapid scenes… painful ones.
Kiura slowly raised his head, and the moment he saw what was being shown—
his eyes widened, and his back trembled.
Kiura (his voice laden with sorrow):
"So… this is what happened…
This is what I was avoiding seeing…
This is what was missing…"
A long silence fell over the place, before he raised his head toward the endless void above him:
"But… how do I get out of here?"
The echo of the question rebounded through the void, as if the darkness itself were repeating it back to him.
Scene 2 — The Burned Forest
Kiura slowly opened his eyes and stood up, staggering.
Rain fell like knives over the ashes, and the flames around him began to die.
Kiura (panting):
"The transformation… isn't complete yet… it needs more time…"
Enzo (raising an eyebrow):
"And why are you speaking like a man who just crawled out of an old tragedy?"
Kiura:
"No… nothing…"
Then he lifted his head slightly and said in a low voice:
Kiura:
"Luna… release everything this body can endure…"
Luna (calmly):
"Understood."
The shadows around him cracked…
A black hand appeared… then another…
Then another pair emerged from his real arms.
Four arms… all moving with a terrifying rhythm.
In the right hand: a shadowy sword.
In another: two small orbs of fire and shadow intertwined.
Before Enzo could catch his breath, a black hand burst from Kiura's chest itself, grabbed Enzo's face, and pulled him closer.
Another hand nearly stabbed him—
but Enzo moved with superhuman speed, cutting the shadows restraining him before the blades could pierce him.
Kiura gave him no time.
His left hand fired a thin black-and-red thread, razor-fine, yet loaded with enough energy to tear through the earth.
The thread let out a sharp whistle as it shot forward.
Enzo (shouting):
"Don't imitate me!"
He released an opposing fire thread, and the two collided, exploding in a red flash.
At that same moment, Enzo gestured with his hand—
A fireball appeared directly above Kiura's head and crashed down on him like a hammer from the sky, striking him hard and sending him flying.
Kiura was hurled through the air and slammed among the trees.
Kiura (mid-air, shouting quickly):
"Luna! 90° rotation!"
His body twisted in an impossible way, as if sliding through an unseen space, then surged back toward Enzo at shocking speed—
four swords all aimed at a single target.
But Enzo raised his hand to the sky, and the fireball rained down again onto Kiura's head, slamming him into the ground at Enzo's feet.
Enzo stepped back, then spoke in a voice closer to a threat:
Enzo:
"The price of imitation…
Fire Element: Multiple Threads."
Hundreds of orange points appeared around him…
then thin threads shot out from them, carving cracks into the ground as they passed, slicing air and branches like living blades.
Kiura responded in kind, and the air exploded as the threads collided.
Both stopped.
Then Kiura gathered all his hands toward his chest.
He closed his eyes.
And with every eye that opened… a hand followed.
A completely black sphere formed… dense… silent.
Blood flowed from his mouth, yet he smiled, exhausted:
Kiura:
"This… is… everything I have left.
If it hits you… I might win.
If it doesn't… then I've lost."
He released the sphere—
but it kept shrinking and shrinking… until it became the size of a grain of rice.
It moved extremely slowly…
as if time itself were dragging it back.
Enzo approached it and said mockingly:
Enzo:
"This slowness… would make a turtle a race champion."
He extended his finger and touched the sphere—
The tip of his finger vanished, turning into dust that scattered in the air.
He immediately pulled his hand back, his expression darkening.
The sphere began to accelerate.
Kiura (provoking):
"As I expected… you're not as brave as you claim."
Enzo now stood between two choices: retreat… or confrontation.
But he stood firm, slowly extending both hands toward the sphere.
Enzo (stubbornly):
"I… hate losing."
He grabbed the sphere—
screamed—
and dense red energy erupted from him, shaking the ground beneath his feet.
Enzo:
"I will… not… lose…"
Then—
the sphere disappeared.
He raised his head toward Kiura… and dashed forward at a speed the eye couldn't follow.
Kiura tried to raise his fist, but stopped from exhaustion.
Enzo approached him and said in a low voice:
Enzo:
"Fire Element… Explosive Hell."
A red explosion covered an area of ten full meters…
Kiura fell into a massive crater, while Enzo remained standing on a narrow patch of untouched ground.
A flaming sword appeared in Enzo's hand, and he descended into the crater.
He raised the sword above his head… ready to stab Kiura and end everything.
But…
The sword stopped just before Kiura's face.
One second…
Two seconds…
Then Enzo lowered his sword… and turned away.
Kiura (broken voice):
"W-Wait… you won… why… don't you kill me?"
Enzo turned back, half his face covered in blood and dirt.
Enzo:
"Because I want another fight… when you become stronger.
Until then… I'll return.
And be glad I didn't use Explosive Hell at full power—otherwise, you'd be dead now."
Then he walked away, thinking:
I need to go and treat my injuries… or I'll be in trouble if I return like this.
He disappeared among the burned trees.
Black and red vapor rose from Kiura's body… and a whisper echoed inside his head:
Kiura:
"Time's up…"
The color of his eyes returned to brown…
The entity's control vanished.
Kiura returned to himself… exhausted, but alive.
To be continued…