"King's Domain."
Jinsu felt as if an entire mountain had crashed onto his shoulders. He couldn't move—not even a single centimeter. Even the air around him had become unbearably heavy, as though its weight had multiplied many times over.
Kenji approached at an unhurried pace, a cold smile curling across his lips.
"You won't move before a king... or will you?"
Yuna glared at him, preparing to activate her ability once more, but froze as the ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion thundered across the forest.
Moments later, dozens of black cracks tore open the sky itself.
"What is that?!" Yuna gasped.
Kenji's smile vanished for a brief moment as he looked upward.
"...That aura."
From the fractures emerged creatures with a single black-glowing third eye.
This time, they weren't dozens.
They were hundreds.
"The Yami..."
One of them stepped forward with a raspy laugh.
"We've finally found him."
His gaze locked onto Jinsu.
"Kaizen's Vessel."
Yuna narrowed her eyes.
"You're after Jinsu?"
The Yami ignored her. Instead, he slowly raised his hand toward the heavens.
"If that's the case..."
"...then we'll take all of you."
At once, a massive black seal spread beneath the three of them.
For the first time since the battle had begun, Kenji's crimson eyes widened.
"Get away!"
But it was already too late.
The Yami spoke a single phrase.
"Kyoketsu no Hikari... Illusion Domain."
An unnatural silence swallowed everything.
Then...
The sky shattered into countless fragments.
Darkness consumed them all in a single instant.
---
Jinsu slowly opened his eyes.
He stood within a strange, endless world.
The sky above was pitch-black.
The ground beneath him resembled an enormous mirror, reflecting his every movement.
Not far away, Yuna stood cautiously, scanning her surroundings.
But Kenji...
Remained completely still.
His crimson eyes were frozen in shock.
Because he wasn't seeing the Illusion Domain.
He was seeing...
His old home.
Rain poured relentlessly outside.
In the corner of a dim room sat a small boy, hugging his knees in silence.
"...I'm hungry."
Kenji's body trembled before he even realized it.
That child...
Was him.
He shut his eyes tightly and shouted,
"Disappear!"
The scene didn't fade.
Instead—
The front door burst open.
"Kenji!"
His grandfather rushed in and embraced him tightly, tears falling onto the boy's dark hair.
"I'm here, my little one."
Kenji's breathing became increasingly erratic.
"I said disappear!"
The memory shifted once more.
"He won't live with us."
Young Kenji stood before his father's house as the door slammed shut in his face.
"Take him with you if you want!"
Without realizing it, Kenji took a step backward.
For the first time in many years...
He felt like that helpless little boy again.
Meanwhile, in the real world, an overwhelming surge of spiritual energy began leaking uncontrollably from his body.
"Kenji?!"
Yuna called out anxiously.
No answer came.
"Run, Kenji!"
His entire body froze.
The attack pierced straight through his grandfather's chest.
Yet the old man smiled at him one last time.
"...Live."
Kenji's eyes widened.
His hands began to shake.
"No..."
"...Live."
"I SAID NO!"
"Do you desire power?"
The masked man appeared before him once again.
"If it means I'll never lose the people I love again..."
"...then yes."
"I want that power."
Silence fell.
Then...
Kenji slowly opened his eyes.
Something had changed.
For the first time in years...
Tears streamed down his face.
He looked quietly at his trembling hands before whispering,
"So..."
"I never forgot."
In the next instant, hundreds of Yami surrounded them, their black eyes staring from every direction.
The Yami known as Gerudo smiled.
"The Illusion Domain reveals the deepest wounds hidden within your hearts."
Kenji lowered his head in silence, his black hair veiling his expression.
Then...
He smiled.
A smile so chilling that even the Yami instinctively took a step back.
"You've made the worst mistake possible."
"And what mistake is that?"
Kenji slowly raised his head.
Every trace of that smile had vanished.
"You..."
"...reminded me why I hate all of you."
A terrifying wave of spiritual energy erupted from his body, shattering the ground beneath his feet.
"I'm going to kill every last one of you."
For the first time...
Yuna felt fear as she stared at Kenji's back.
It wasn't his power that terrified her.
It was the realization that the mocking smile she had always known...
Had only ever been a mask.
Behind it was a little boy...
Who had never truly stopped crying.