Aron turned at the faint sound behind him, but he didn't realize what was about to happen next.
Before Aron could even process the sound, something seized his throat from behind—tight.
His feet lifted slightly off the ground—the force wasn't just choking him, it was holding his entire weight.
Inhuman—
Crushing the air out of his lungs.
"Ack—!"
The grip crushed his voice before he could react.
It didn't move toward him—
it pulled him toward it.
Even while its hand stayed still,
Aron felt his body being dragged closer—
like distance itself had already been decided.
The space between them didn't shrink—he was simply already closer than he should have been.
He struggled, trying to pry it away, his fingers passed over its arm—but never quite touched anything solid.
But the moment he saw it clearly, his body froze.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't even something he could call a monster.
A figure made of shadow.
Its body was pitch-dark—like a shape carved out of shadow itself.
But its eyes—pure white.
Its mouth—also white.
Hollow. Unnatural.
It looked like a distorted reaper.
Something that didn't belong to any world he understood.
But worse.
A Soulreaver.
The air around it didn't ripple.
It felt like it had always been there—
only now becoming visible.
"What… what is this… where did it come from…?"
Aron's eyes searched desperately for the King Knight—but it was gone. The body he had fought lay collapsed, motionless, like it had truly died.
"…It's over… Then why… why didn't the loop restart…?"
The realization hit him too late.
This wasn't part of the loop.
It came after it.
Then—who caused this?
Aron forced his body to move.
Even if he couldn't win—
he couldn't just stand there.
He grabbed one of the fallen swords and swung.
The blade passed straight through—like cutting smoke.
No resistance.
No damage.
"What…?"
Before he could react, the Soulreaver's grip tightened.
The sword slipped from his hand.
The creature tilted its head slightly.
Then it spoke.
"Where is it…?"
The voice didn't echo.
It pressed directly into his mind.
Not heard—understood.
Aron froze.
"What… are you talking about…?" Aron choked.
Its white gaze locked onto him.
"Your kind… caused this."
A pause.
"Return it."
Something about the way it spoke…
Not random.
It was searching.
The Soulreaver didn't answer.
But its gaze didn't leave him—as if it already knew he had it.
Like it already knew—
I was holding the thing it came for.
The Soulreaver lifted Aron into the air—its grip tightening even more.
"…I can't… breathe…"
Aron's breathing became shallow as the pressure on his throat increased. Then it raised its other hand and placed it directly in front of his face.
The moment its hand hovered in front of his face— something inside him responded.
Not his body.
Something deeper.
A thin, smoke-like essence began to pull from his chest—
stretching toward the creature.
Aron's pupils trembled.
"No… that's not…"
His fingers clawed at the arm around his throat—
but his strength wasn't reaching it anymore.
His chest tightened violently—like something was being pulled through his ribs.
His existence itself was being pulled apart.
Something inside him was loosening—
like he was slipping out of himself.
"I… I can feel it… my soul… it's being pulled out…"
No—if that leaves…
there won't even be anything left to die.
There wouldn't even be anything left to return.
And it wasn't stopping.
His vision blurred.
His strength faded.
It was worse.
It felt like he was being pulled out of existence.
Aron reached forward weakly, his hand trembling as he tried to call out.
"Mr. Zekai… please… save me…"
But Zekai stood still—lost in that white space, still awakening.
There was no answer.
"…Is there… no other way…?"
Then something clicked in his mind.
The intersection.
That moment—when everything changed.
He had been running after Zekai to return the box.
That was when someone bumped into him—
and something fell from Zekai's coat.
A black stone card.
It flickered—
and the world changed.
Aron remembered it clearly now.
His breath tightened.
"…So this is it…"
The moment that card appeared—
everything changed.
The sky.
The world.
Everything.
This was the trigger.
Zekai had asked him before—
"Do these look like they're glowing to you?"
Back then—
Aron saw nothing.
But now—
he could see it.
That same faint glow.
His grip tightened.
"…So this is different now…"
Zekai knew something about this card.
Maybe not everything—
but enough.
And this creature—
it was looking for something.
"Give it back."
Aron's eyes widened.
"…This…?"
It wasn't reacting to me.
It was looking at the card.
Which meant—to it, I was just the one holding it.
The answer felt obvious now.
This wasn't random.
This card… was connected to all of this.
Then there was only one choice left.
If this thing wanted the card—
I couldn't let it have it.
He couldn't let it take it.
No matter what.
His fingers brushed against his pocket.
The black stone card.
With the last strength he had left, Aron pulled it out. His arm shook violently as he tried to throw it toward Zekai.
But the Soulreaver had already drained most of his strength.
His body was collapsing—
but he didn't stop.
With everything he had left—
he threw it.
His arm barely followed through—the strength wasn't there anymore.
The card slipped from his fingers—
falling—
but stopping short of reaching him.
"…Sorry… Mr. Zekai…"
Tick.
The same sound—
from the moment the world broke.
The card suddenly began to glow.
Red lines spread across its surface, then shot forward like threads of light, connecting directly to Zekai's body.
The energy wrapped around him.
"Please… wake up…"
"…you're my last hope."
It responded.
The card wasn't reacting to Aron— it was responding to Zekai.
The Soulreaver paused.
For the first time, it reacted.
It stared at the card with something close to recognition.
Like it had finally found it.
"…So it's with you."
It reached out and pulled the card toward itself using an unseen force.
The moment it touched it—
Zekai's body reacted.
Inside the white space—
Zekai awakened.
---
My vision tore away from the white void—
and reality crashed back.
The world didn't return—it snapped into place around me.
Something pulled me back—violently.
Like reality itself was reclaiming me.
"…What the hell… happened here…?"
My voice sounded unfamiliar.
In front of me—
Aron was suspended in the air, his body hanging unnaturally still—like something had paused him mid-existence. His throat crushed in the grip of a black entity.
"…What is that…?"
Aron's face—fear mixed with relief the moment our eyes met—was enough.
"Don't… lose yourself… Zekai…"
Something inside me cracked.
If I don't move now—he dies.
I moved—before the thought finished forming.
The air cracked behind me as I moved.
Instantly.
Something sharper took over.
A violent surge of energy rose from inside me. Black energy wrapped around my arm—
and within it, something else formed.
White.
Sharper.
More focused.
This… is what Zero gave me?
It didn't matter.
I only understood one thing.
"You chose the wrong target."
I disappeared.
Not teleportation—
just movement my body hadn't learned yet.
Just speed—beyond what my body should allow.
I reappeared in front of it.
My hand closed around its throat—gripping something that only existed because I decided it did.
The same way it held Aron.
And crushed it.
For the first time—
it hesitated.
I caught it mid-motion—
not the body—
the movement itself.
The air cracked behind me as I moved.
For a moment—
the world split into two outcomes.
I chose the one where it stopped.
✦ End of Chapter 9 — The One Who Woke ✦