The battlefield was a scene of utter chaos, yet to Yuki, the world felt unnervingly still. The cries of the dying, the cshing of weapons, the thundering footsteps of charging warriors—everything melded into a dissonant symphony, but it was all muffled beneath a suffocating silence that enveloped her. The Void within her pulsed with cold, unyielding power, guiding her movements with a fluidity that seemed almost unnatural. Every motion was a reflection of the darkness consuming her soul, her body a vessel for its devastating force.

  With every strike of her tendrils, the padins’ once-pristine armor shattered like brittle gss, the gleaming surface splitting apart as if it had never been meant to withstand such a blow. The holy light they invoked flickered and sputtered, dimming with every swing of her shadowed cws, until it was extinguished completely. Their swords and shields were no match for the crushing force of her power, and the knights fell in waves—one after another, their once-strong formations crumbling under the weight of her assault. She was like a storm, her tendrils sshing through their ranks with surgical precision, each movement calcuted and deadly.

  The air was thick with the scent of blood, and the ground beneath her feet was slick with the lifeblood of those who had dared to face her. Even the priestesses, those who had once stood as pilrs of light and hope, were powerless in the face of her relentless advance. Their prayers, their desperate pleas for protection, fell on deaf ears. The divine barriers they cast shattered before her, their spells unraveling like threads in the wind, leaving nothing but broken husks of what had once been.

  Yuki’s violet eyes flicked across the battlefield, her gaze cold and calcuting as it swept over the dying and the fallen. A strange detachment settled over her, as though she were observing the carnage from a distance, unable—or perhaps unwilling—to truly feel the weight of it. These people—these warriors—had come to kill the vilgers, those she chose to protect and for the life they took from her. Yet, in their screams and in their terror, she felt something stir deep within her, a flicker of recognition. She could feel their pain, their fear—and perhaps, beneath it all, something that resembled pity. It was a sentiment she didn’t welcome.

  A part of her recoiled at the destruction she wrought, but it was buried beneath the compulsion to survive. She couldn’t stop now. She couldn’t afford to hesitate. Not when the Void was pulling at her, not when so many depended on her to keep fighting. It was survival—not hers alone, but for all the lives that would be lost if she faltered.

  The head priestess, Era, was one of the few who still stood defiant, clutching her staff with trembling hands as she desperately tried to maintain a barrier that was already on the verge of colpse. Her lips moved in quiet prayer, a final plea for salvation that seemed to fall on deaf ears.

  Nearby, Sir Aldric, bloodied and battered, roared orders to rally the st of the padin's, his voice hoarse with pain but still carrying the weight of command. His armor was dented, his shield cracked, but his eyes burned with the fierce light of a man unwilling to yield. Even as his body betrayed him, he refused to relent.

  And there, at the forefront of the battle, stood Hakura—once her friend. Now, she was a force of light for these attackers, wielding her sword with righteous fury, each strike a desperate attempt to stem the tide of darkness that threatened to engulf them all. The bde bzed with golden energy, its light a stark contrast to the oppressive shadow that surrounded Yuki.

  For a brief moment, Yuki saw it—the bond that had once existed between them. She remembered the quiet conversations, the shared ughter, the promises made. But that was before. Now, Hakura was no longer the same. They were enemies, locked in a struggle for survival— that only one could emerge victorious.

  Hakura’s sword swung in a blinding arc of light, the edge crackling with energy as it aimed directly for Yuki’s heart. But Yuki moved with a speed that was unnatural, her form blurring as she sidestepped the attack and retaliated with a sh of tendrils that sent Hakura sprawling backward. She wasn’t the same person she had once known.

  Yuki’s gaze softened for a moment, a flicker of the old emotions threatening to rise. But it was quashed instantly, repced with an anger she had never felt before. This fight, this war whatever this was supposed to be had to end.

  In the distance, she heard the faint echo of Era’s voice, calling on the st vestiges of her divine magic. Yuki turned her gaze to the head priestess, whose barrier had begun to crack under the strain. The Void twisted in response to her thoughts, seeping through her very soul, ready to break through any final defenses. It was the inevitable outcome.

  Hakura wasn’t the only one who was running out of strength.

  The battle waged on, brutal and unforgiving, with each side refusing to give an inch. Yet, Yuki knew in her heart that the end was near. Only one side would remain standing, and she had no intention of being the one to fall.

  The remnants of the battlefield were still, an eerie silence descending over the chaos that had consumed it. The ground was littered with the fallen—shattered bodies, broken armor, and the lingering scent of blood. At the center of it all stood Yuki, her figure cloaked in the ever-shifting shadows of the Void. Her glowing violet eyes pierced through the darkness, locking onto the st three who dared to defy her: Hakura, Aldric, and Era. They formed a line, a fragile defense, their shared resolve barely enough to hold their ground.

  Yuki’s voice, ced with an unnatural resonance, echoed across the battlefield, the words cutting through the tension like a bde. “Hero,” she murmured, her tone filled with a hatred that startled the others. "Before I kill the three of you. Why. Why did you come here. Why did you kill them.”

  Hakura’s grip on her sword tightened until her knuckles turned white. Her silver eyes burned with fierce determination, the light within them unwavering. “Because the monsters of this forest have been killing human cities! And allowing them to make vilges will only make things worse for those human vilges. Plus the goblins of this vilge might attempt to steal woman to reproduce and strengthen the numbers of this vilge before taking harm to the nearby towns and cities." Her voice was strong, filled with the weight of her beliefs, and she surged forward with a battle cry. Her sword fred with golden light, the brilliance of it cutting through the haze of darkness as she activated [Bzing Resolve].

  Yuki met her charge head-on, her tendrils of shadow shing out like serpents in the night. Hakura was fast, her movements fluid and precise, her bde dancing through the air in swift arcs, cutting through the writhing darkness with every strike. Sparks flew with each csh, a symphony of light and shadow battling for dominance. For a moment, it seemed as though Hakura might gain the upper hand, her sword finding its mark against Yuki’s shadowy form, but it was fleeting. Yuki’s movements were unnervingly fluid, as if the Void itself guided her every action. She was relentless, her strikes unyielding and unceasing, pushing Hakura back step by step.

  A roar split the air as Sir Aldric, bloodied and battered but resolute, joined the fray. His halberd, glowing with holy energy, crackled with divine light. He swung it with all his might, his movements powered by [Divine Judgment], a devastating skill meant to purge evil from the world. The ground beneath Yuki’s feet shattered as golden light erupted from the earth, sending a shockwave through the battlefield. The force of it was immense, the very air vibrating with power. Yuki twisted her body like smoke, her form shifting and warping to avoid the full brunt of the attack. Her tendrils shed out at the air, aiming to strike, but Aldric’s attack was already fading, his strength waning.

  From behind, Era, the head priestess, raised her staff high, her face etched with strain but her resolve clear. She chanted softly, invoking the power of the heavens as she prepared [Celestial Cascade]. The air around her shimmered with divine energy as spears of radiant light rained down from the sky. They streaked through the air, their brilliance searing the very fabric of reality itself as they struck at Yuki’s dark form. The first few spears pierced her tendrils, burning through the shadowy mass with blinding light. For a moment, Yuki faltered, the light searing through the Void like a sword through flesh. But then something terrifying happened—the Void within her absorbed the light, twisting it, bending it, until the golden energy turned bck, its purity corrupted. The spears of light, once symbols of purity and hope, now became twisted and dark, a reflection of the Void itself.

  Yuki’s lips parted in a whisper, a single word escaping her mouth, heavy with sorrow. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was soft, as if apologizing for something she could not control. And then, with a surge of power, she unleashed [Void Resonance TII], an explosive wave of Bck Liquid that spread outward like a water from a dam. The force of it was devastating. Hakura and Aldric were thrown back, their bodies crashing into the ground with bone-jarring force. The impact sent a shockwave through their armor, cracks spreading across their metal ptes. Blood poured from their wounds, staining the earth beneath them.

  Era’s body crumpled to the ground, her staff cttering beside her as the spell she had cast dissipated, the st remnants of her power fading into the ether. The air grew thick with silence as the priestess knelt, her strength gone, the light from her eyes dimming. She had given everything she had, and it wasn’t enough.

  Hakura staggered to her feet, her body shaking with the weight of the damage she had taken. Her sword flickered weakly, its once-blinding light now faint and dull. She growled, her voice strained but filled with an unyielding determination. “I won’t… L-lose so e-easily…” Her words were a whisper of defiance, a final stand against the inevitable. With one st desperate cry, she charged forward, her bde aimed straight at Yuki’s heart.

  But Yuki’s tendrils were faster. In a blur of shadow and malice, they shed out, piercing all throughout Hakura’s body like spikes. Hakura’s breath caught in her throat as she was lifted off the ground, her body impaled by the dark tendrils that stabbed and wrapped around her like a vice. Her sword fell from her grasp, its light snuffed out, and her eyes—once filled with fire—began to fade. Yuki could feel her pulse, the heartbeat of someone who had fought so hard. But in the end, it was a mere flicker, fading into nothing.

  Aldric, struggling to rise, raised his halberd in a final, futile attempt to stop the onsught. His body trembled with exhaustion, his vision blurred with blood and pain. But as he reached for his weapon, Yuki’s shadow enveloped him, crashing down like a tidal wave. He was crushed beneath it, the weight of the Void pushing him into the earth, his breath stolen from his chest. His halberd slipped from his hand, its divine energy flickering out like a dying star.

  Era’s final prayer was barely a whisper as Yuki’s tendrils wrapped around her, silencing her words forever. In the silence that followed, the battlefield was eerily still once more. Yuki stood alone, surrounded by the bodies of those who had tried to stop her. Her glowing violet eyes flicked across the destruction, the remains of the only people who had stood against her.

  But even as she looked upon the carnage, there was no joy in her. No sense of victory. Only the hollow echo of survival.

  Kiera_Yanagi