"Kenji, I think the cold is getting to you," Kaito murmured, his features tightening into a mask of worry.
"We can kill them with the sword," Kenji replied flatly.
"Yeah, if we even get close," Kaito sighed. "Just come on. Let's finish this damn mission."
Kenji and William gripped Kaito tightly as he flew up the mountain, hauling them up the mountain. Eventually, his momentum slowed. "Alright," he strained, "this is the furthest I can go."
He eased his hold, setting them down softly upon the snow.
Suddenly the sword began to glow with a fierce, pulsing intensity.
A silhouette appear from the distance from the snow.
"Kenji, it is nice to meet you again," a voice spoke from the frost. It was cold, demanding authority and respect.
"YOU," Kenji snarled, the word dripping with venom.
"I haven't properly introduced myself to you," the figure continued, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "I am Damion, the one responsible for your agony."
Kenji's blood boiled. As Damion drew closer, the blade in Kenji's hand grew white-hot, radiating a searing heat that blurred the air.
"Let me make you a hilt for your sword," Damion offered casually.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished, reappearing directly in front of Kenji. Damion took the sword from Kenji's hand, the sword blade glared at the immense power of the Adjons . The trio stood paralyzed, utterly speechless by the sheer speed and power of the Adjon.
"You expected me to burn?" the Adjon chuckled.
The light from the blade surged as he channeled his power into the metal. "Now, even if it gets too hot, you will still be able to hold it."
"You see, Damion? The story is progressing beautifully," Seth remarked, his voice smooth as silk.
From the heavens, five figures descended ominously. As they landed, the sword in Damion's hand began to hum, a rhythmic vibration that pulsed with a blinding light. Kaito and William began to tremble, the sheer pressure of the Adjons' presence crushing their spirits.
"Why are you so scared?" Brone asked, his eyes locked on Kaito with predatory curiosity.
"Don't you miss us?" Kerrim added, his gaze fixed on William.
Brone got closer, his eyes solely on Kaito. "Kaito, you are still failing to get to your full potential. You haven't changed." his eyes wide open with a dreadful stare.
Kaito looked down staring at the snow fearing the Adjon, those were words from a past he had tried to bury.
Kerrim turned his cold gaze to William. "And William... where is my beast?" the anger raising up in him
"These two," Damion said, gesturing to the twins, "were the ones responsible for your 'friends,' Kenji." He turned back to the swordsman.
"You surpassed my expectations by arriving so soon. That makes me happy. But I do not like your threats. It seems you have forgotten who I am."
Damion's voice turned to ice. "Kerrim, Brone, break them."
A sickening crack echoed across the peak followed by a chorus of agony. Kaito and William collapsed, their legs shattered.
"Haha! Look at that, the twins broke the exact same limb" Gitthinji laughed.
"Heal them, Gitthinji," Damion commanded, though his eyebrows rose as he noticed William's flesh already knitting itself back together. "Actually, it seems the boy is faster than you."
Damion stepped toward Kenji. "Now, for your final test. You will fight the servant of the Adjon twins"
"Oh and you never had freedom, he have watched your every move, Kenji. Every obstacle was our design. Every 'happy' moment only existed because I allowed it. If you lose, you will die again and again, not fighting but suffering forever"
A massive, beast-like man dropped from the sky into the clearing.
CLAP-CLAP
With two sharp claps from Damion, the snow around them vanished instantly, leaving the grass and dirt bare.
"That's better"
"Kerrim, Brone... do as you wish with the others. Just don't kill them. Yet."
As if pulled by invisible strings, Kaito and William stood up. Their eyes were vacant, marching like puppets in a trance.
"My dear Project Kaito," Damion whispered as the boy marched past. "Did you think you could be free? I will only free you when you create that black hole for me."
Kerrim leaned into William's ear, his face twisted. "Where is my beast core William? I saw him stab you. Don't lie to me. Let's see how much this revived healing power of yours can take."
Kenji stood alone against the behemoth.
"Kenji, my brother," Seth shouted from the sidelines, "I told you this would be interesting!"
"Do not disappoint," Argo added, his voice heavy.
"Begin!" Damion roared.
The beast let out a mountain-shaking cry and charged. Its ability was Mass Shifting; it moved with a paradoxical, blurring speed. Kenji narrowly dodged the first blow, but his focus was splintering. Behind him, the air was filled with William's screams as he was systematically butchered and healed, over and over.
"MORE POWER, BOY!" Brone screamed at the entranced Kaito.
The beast's fists shattered the earth. I just need to get close, Kenji thought, but the screams of his friends were like needles in his brain. In a desperate bid for clarity, Kenji sliced his own arm. The sharp sting of reality cut through the distraction.
Argo stepped up to Damion. "An interesting tactic, giving him people to care about. Isn't this slowing down the plan?"
"Yes," Damion replied, his eyes fixed on the combat. "But it is the only way to make him strong enough to defeat the Reuben."
"Kenji!" Damion commanded.
Kenji looked. For a fleeting second, he saw his siblings, alive, smiling, reaching for him. nostalgia surged through him for a heartbeat before Damion's power obliterated them, leaving nothing but severed heads in a vision of gore. Seth forced the flashbacks deeper into Kenji's mind.
The mountain went silent. The air grew heavy.
"His final evolution," Damion whispered. "Just as I planned."
"breaking him to nothingness, into a robot"
Kenji began to walk. He made no sound. He was a hollow shell, moving toward the monster. The beast charged at super-speed, but Kenji didn't flinch. The sword flared a deep, angry red.
The beast raised its massive arms to crush him.
SHING
The arms fell to the stones, severed cleanly. The beast opened its mouth to roar, but the sound died in its throat as Kenji took its tongue. With a final, effortless slash, the beast's head rolled into the dirt.
Seth flew down, clapping enthusiastically. "Wonderful, kid! A—"
Kenji's hand tightened on the hilt, his eyes dead. He swung his sword aiming for Seth's head
Gitthinji laughed. "He really is hollow now."
Damion stepped in front of the blade. "Relax. We come in peace. We just need you to do something for us. Look there, the floating island over the lake."
Kenji didn't lower the sword.
Damion smiled. "Defeat the guard and remove the fire from the table. We would do it ourselves, but the mountain is wrapped in an anti-magic barrier. We are 100% magic. You, however... you are the exception."
"Argo, launch him," Damion ordered.
Argo grabbed Kenji and hurled him through the air like a spear.
"Do you think he can defeat Reuben?" Seth asked as they watched Kenji vanish into the clouds.
"He has to," Damion replied. "He and Reuben are the only living things that can survive without mana."
Kenji landed with a bone-shattering CRASH.
"Oh great God, what was that noise?" A man ancient, stepped out from a dark, ominous building. He blinked, seeing another human for the first time in years. "Am... am I dreaming?"
Kenji didn't answer. He simply walked forward, sword drawn.
The man's face fell. "Oh. You're here for him." He sighed and stretched his limbs. "The dust was starting to settle. Thank you for giving me a reason to stir it. Come."