Ryuji floated in the air as if the laws of nature had simply decided to stop applying to him. There was no visible effort, no unnecessary movement. He was just there, suspended in the void, holding Aeryn as though nothing else in the world mattered anymore.
And yet, everything had changed.
Aeryn could feel her heart pounding too fast, too hard, to the point it hurt. She could have blamed the fall, the fight, the lingering fear still clinging to her body. But no. That wasn't it.
It was him.
Or rather… what he had become.
She dared to lift her gaze toward his face, despite the suffocating instinct telling her not to. The moment their eyes met, her breath caught instantly.
The white of his eyes was gone.
Replaced by a deep, endless black, like an abyss ready to swallow anything that came too close. And at the center… his pupils burned with a dark red glow, unstable, almost alive.
A cold shiver ran down her spine.
— Ryuji… she whispered, her voice fragile despite herself.
No answer.
Not even a blink.
He wasn't even looking at her.
It felt like being held by a body… without a presence.
An empty shell.
Or worse.
That's not him… she thought, dread tightening in her chest. Something else is there… and it's looking through him…
Before her thoughts could spiral further, danger struck again.
The basilisk attacked without warning.
Its massive tail sliced through the air with crushing force, aiming directly at them with lethal precision. The sound alone was enough to shake the nerves.
But the impact never reached them.
Or rather… it did.
Just not where they were.
Ryuji had already disappeared.
The ground exploded with a deafening crash, sending chunks of stone flying in every direction. Several soldiers were thrown like rag dolls, their screams mixing with the chaos.
— Fall back! someone shouted.
— It's going to kill us all!
The leader of the men in black turned sharply, his instincts flaring as he searched for the movement he had somehow missed.
— Impossible… he muttered.
Then he saw him.
Ryuji was already on the ground.
Behind him.
No combat stance.
No tension.
Just… there.
— I didn't see anything… a soldier whispered, pale. Did he… teleport?
— No… the leader replied slowly. That wasn't teleportation… it was too… smooth.
As if distance itself had never existed.
Ryuji set Aeryn down. His movement was controlled, precise, but completely devoid of warmth. He didn't hold her any longer than necessary. He simply placed her aside, like something that was no longer needed for the moment.
A dull pain tightened in Aeryn's chest.
— Ryuji… look at me…
He did.
And she instantly regretted it.
There was nothing human in that gaze.
No recognition. No emotion. Not even confusion.
Just a cold, endless depth… and something else, lurking behind it.
She instinctively took a step back.
— Who… are you…?
Her voice trembled.
For a brief moment, something flickered in Ryuji's eyes.
A hesitation.
An echo.
Then… nothing.
He looked away.
As if she no longer mattered.
No… Aeryn thought, her breath uneven. Ryuji… come back…
But he didn't.
He began walking toward the basilisk.
Each step carried a weight that seemed to press down on the world itself, slow and inevitable, surrounded by an invisible pressure that suffocated the air.
The survivors stopped moving.
Even those who didn't understand felt it instinctively.
— Don't interfere… the leader of the men in black ordered quietly. Whatever this is… it's beyond us now.
— But sir—
— Be quiet and watch.
The basilisk was now fully focused on Ryuji.
Its predatory instincts screamed at a danger it couldn't comprehend.
Its muscles tensed.
Its pupils narrowed.
Then it roared.
A monstrous, primal sound that tore through the air like a living shockwave. The ground trembled faintly under its force.
The effect was immediate.
Several soldiers collapsed to their knees, screaming in pain.
— My ears…!
— It hurts…!
Some began to bleed, unable to withstand the pressure.
Aeryn covered her ears, gritting her teeth.
But in the middle of all that chaos…
Ryuji didn't react.
Not a flinch.
Not a blink.
Nothing.
He kept walking, as if the outside world had lost all influence over him.
Then he stopped.
Right in front of the monster.
A crushing silence followed.
Then…
The temperature rose.
At first, subtly.
Then violently.
The air became heavy, hard to breathe. The ground beneath Ryuji's feet began to crack, unable to withstand what was emanating from him.
— Do you feel that…? one of the men in black murmured.
— That energy… it's unstable… another said, uneasy.
— No… their leader corrected, his gaze dark. It's not unstable… it's uncontrolled.
Ryuji slowly raised his hand, as if guided by an instinct he didn't fully understand.
What… is this…? he thought, somewhere deep beneath the overwhelming presence.
A spark appeared in his palm.
Tiny.
Almost insignificant.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then it exploded.
Flames burst forth, dense, violent, almost alive. They didn't flicker like normal fire. They twisted, stretched, as if trying to break free from any form of restraint.
The heat intensified.
— Back off! a soldier shouted.
— That thing is going to burn us alive!
But no one truly ran.
Because they knew.
If they turned their backs now… they wouldn't survive.
Ryuji stared at the flames.
No emotion.
No fear.
This power… he thought. It shouldn't be mine… so why does it feel like I've always known it…?
The fire slowly took shape, crude and imperfect.
A staff.
Fragile in appearance.
But radiating enough heat to melt stone.
Aeryn stared, unable to look away.
— Ryuji… stop… you're going to destroy yourself…
But he didn't hear her.
Or chose not to.
He lifted his gaze toward the basilisk.
Their eyes met.
And for the first time since the battle began…
The monster hesitated.
Just for a fraction of a second.
But it was enough.
Ryuji's lips parted slightly.
— Come.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Empty of anything human.
The basilisk roared in response, furious, as if trying to crush the fear rising within it.
Then it charged.
Its massive body shook the ground with each step, its jaws opening wide, ready to crush, tear, annihilate.
But this time…
Ryuji didn't move.
He stood there.
Facing the charge.
The flaming staff still in his hand.
And somewhere, buried deep within him…
A single thought remained.
If I let go… everything disappears.
And for a reason he did not yet understand…
That idea did not scare him.
It felt… natural.