Iris and Hirako stood in a dimly lit room on the upper floor of an old building. The air felt heavy, charged with an unseen tension. Then, a chill ran down Iris's spine—an instinct honed through countless battles.

  Something was coming.

  Without hesitation, he moved. In one swift motion, Iris leaped onto the window ledge, his body poised to dive into the unknown.

  Hirako, watching him, reached for the other blade strapped to his waist—Iris, the twin to the sword already in its namesake's hands. He tossed it forward.

  Hirako: (steadily) Take it.

  Iris caught the weapon mid-air and vanished into the night.

  He landed atop a distant building, his sharp eyes scanning the streets below. Then, he saw it.

  The lifeless corpse of Genzo lay sprawled on the ground, blood pooling around him. And nearby—Shinjiro and Rose.

  The world itself seemed to recoil.

  Iris remained still atop the rooftop, one hand resting on his sword, the other gripping the windowsill. His sharp eyes traced the unnatural disturbance unfolding beneath him. The corpse of Genzo twitched, the air around it warping like ripples in a disturbed pond.

  Then— a pulse.

  Aether surged, raw and untamed. The space above Genzo’s remains twisted as if reality itself was being rewritten. A deep hum reverberated through the alley, shaking the very foundations of the city. The pulse grew stronger, the rhythm erratic—beating like a second heart in the air.

  A core was forming.

  A mass of darkness, blacker than the deepest void, hovered above the corpse. It pulsed, drawing in the lingering energy of the fallen warrior, consuming the remnants of his existence. The flesh ripped away from the bones, twisting upward in sickly tendrils, spiraling around the core like a grotesque dance of rebirth.

  Then, with a sickening crack, the skeleton rose.

  The body reassembled itself, but it was no longer human. Its bones stretched unnaturally, elongating, warping, reshaping into something monstrous. The flesh molded itself over the twisted frame, bubbling and fusing into place.

  Then— it breathed.

  The newly born Arcanor lifted its head. A mass of black, featureless, save for the shifting tendrils that writhed where a face should have been. Two curved horns, jagged like broken blades, protruded from its skull, crackling with residual energy.

  Tentacles sprouted from its back, thick, pulsating, curling through the air like living shadows. Its humanoid form was grotesque—towering, unnaturally lean yet built with overwhelming strength. Aether bled from its very skin, wisps of dark energy rising like smoke from its shifting muscles.

  Its presence was suffocating. Wrong.

  Iris exhaled sharply, gripping his sword tighter.

  “An Arcanor…”

  He had seen them before. But this—this felt different.

  Below, Shinjiro and Rose stood frozen, locked in place by an instinctive terror they had never felt before. The air grew heavier, thicker. The beast had not yet moved, but its existence alone was crushing.

  Then, it turned its head.

  A hollow voice, deep and guttural, slipped through the void of its face.

  "I... am… Here."

  The winds howled. The storm was here.

  The Arcanor's body tensed—then it screamed.

  A sound unlike anything human, anything natural. A wail that shattered reality itself.

  The force erupted in a violent shockwave.

  BANG.

  Air split apart. The very atmosphere ruptured under the sheer weight of its voice. Buildings trembled, windows exploded into shards, and the ground cracked beneath the force. Dust and debris were sent flying in all directions, as if the city itself was recoiling from the creature’s rebirth.

  Shinjiro and Rose were thrown back instantly, their bodies lifted off the ground like ragdolls before crashing into the rubble. The air rushed out of their lungs, their ears ringing with an unbearable, high-pitched whine.

  Iris barely managed to stay on his feet, his boots skidding across the rooftop as he threw up an arm to shield his face. Even with his experience, his vision blurred for a moment, his heart hammering against his ribs.

  Then— silence.

  A deep, suffocating silence. The kind that comes when the world itself forgets how to breathe.

  Through the settling dust, the Arcanor loomed. Unmoved. Unchallenged. Unstoppable.

  And then—it stepped forward.

  The Arcanor lunged.

  Its monstrous form blurred—one instant, it stood amidst the wreckage… the next, it was upon them.

  Tentacles, slick with blackened aether, whipped through the air, their sheer force splitting stone as they tore toward Shinjiro and Rose.

  Shinjiro’s body screamed at him to move, but he was still reeling from the impact. His limbs felt heavy, his breath short. The shadow of death loomed over him, its claws reaching—

  And then—

  CLANG!

  A flash of steel. A streak of motion. A single, decisive intervention.

  Iris descended from above like a bolt of lightning. His sword met the incoming tentacle in mid-air, the sheer force of his swing sending a shockwave rippling through the battlefield. Sparks erupted as metal and abyssal flesh clashed, the impact forcing the Arcanor back.

  Iris landed between the monster and Shinjiro, boots digging into the cracked earth. His second sword, handed to him by Hirako moments before, glinted ominously under the shattered moonlight. His cloak billowed, caught in the remnants of the Arcanor’s monstrous presence.

  Iris: Shinjiro! Run far from here!

  For a moment, nothing moved.

  The Arcanor’s many eyes locked onto Iris—cold, calculating, filled with predatory hunger.

  Iris flicked his wrist, letting his sword settle into position. His golden eyes, burning with restrained power, narrowed.

  Iris: (calmly) You’re fast.

  His fingers tightened around the hilt.

  Iris: (smirking) But I’m faster.

  The Arcanor didn't reply. It merely vanished using Shadow Blink. He looked like the human who died or rather He was Genzo himself who lived in his human form. This was his true form.

  Genzo: You are an Aetherblade!

  Shadow Blink is an advanced movement ability unique to Arcanors, allowing them to momentarily dissolve into darkness and reappear instantaneously within a limited range. Unlike normal teleportation, Shadow Blink is not bound by physical space—the Arcanor melts into the surrounding shadows, traveling through them like flowing liquid before rematerializing at their chosen location.

  SWOOSH!

  Iris twisted, barely evading as a tentacle sliced past his cheek. Another lashed toward him—he ducked, rolling aside just in time. More came, striking like whips from every direction.

  CLANG! CLANG! SWOOSH!

  His sword flashed, cutting down the tendrils mid-air. But there were too many—one crashed into his ribs.

  THWACK!

  Iris staggered back, his feet skidding across the cobblestone. The impact rattled his bones. He exhaled sharply, ignoring the sharp sting spreading through his side.

  Arcanor Genzo: (coldly) Still standing? You’re quick, but let’s see how long that lasts.

  The shadows shifted.

  Genzo blinked.

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  Iris’s instincts screamed.

  "Behind—!"

  Too late.

  A tendril smashed into his back, launching him forward. He twisted mid-air, landing with a skid across the ground. He coughed, pain lancing through his body.

  Iris: (smirking despite the pain) Fast, huh? Looks like I can't afford to hold back.

  He reached behind his back—another sword unsheathed.

  A twin-blade stance. The air shimmered around him as light energy surged into both weapons.

  Another blink. Another attack. This time from the side. Then above. Then behind again.

  The Arcanor blinked and struck, over and over, forcing Iris onto the defensive. His swords flashed as he dodged, deflected, countered—each movement sharp, precise. But even he knew—

  Iris : If this keeps up, I’ll be overwhelmed.

  The Arcanor’s next attack came from above. Iris dodged at the last second, flipping back, his mind racing. He needed to shift the tempo.

  Iris exhaled sharply, lifting one hand. Aether gathered at his fingertips, condensing into three brilliant orbs of light. They hovered around him, their glow intensifying with each second.

  Iris: Glow.

  With a flick of his wrist, the orbs shot forward, streaking through the battlefield like comets.

  The Arcanor twisted its body, tendrils snapping outward, smashing one orb mid-air. The explosion sent out a shockwave, but the creature barely flinched. Another orb streaked toward its face, but it blinked away before impact, reappearing on the other side of the battlefield.

  Iris: Damn.

  The Arcanor raised one clawed hand. The shadows around it convulsed, then solidified into jagged spikes, shooting toward Iris at terrifying speed.

  Iris’s light orbs flickered, shifting position mid-flight, colliding with the incoming spikes—each impact exploding in a burst of light and darkness clashing.

  But the Arcanor wasn’t stopping. It blinked again, closing the distance in an instant, tendrils coiling for the next attack.

  Iris’s grip on his swords tightened.

  The sheer force of the clash between Iris and the Arcanor sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield. The very air crackled with energy—light and darkness colliding in a violent display. Shinjiro and Rose stood a fair distance away, just beyond the reach of the destruction, their eyes locked on the fight unfolding before them.

  Shinjiro clenched his fists, feeling the tension in his muscles. His instincts screamed at him to jump in, to help, but his body wouldn’t move.

  Shinjiro: He’s… fast.

  Iris blurred across the battlefield, his twin swords flashing like streaks of silver against the Arcanor’s endless tendrils. Yet, even with all that speed, he was struggling. The Arcanor’s Shadow Blink allowed it to phase in and out of sight, striking from every direction in an instant.

  Rose, standing beside Shinjiro, observed the fight with her arms crossed. Her expression was unreadable—calm, collected.

  Rose: (flatly) This isn’t looking good for him.

  Shinjiro shot her a quick glance.

  Shinjiro: What do you mean? Iris is holding his own.

  Rose: (shaking her head) That’s just it. He’s holding his own. Barely.

  She exhaled, her sharp eyes following Iris’s movements closely.

  Rose: Iris is the weakest of the Aetherblade Masters.

  Shinjiro’s eyes widened slightly.

  Shinjiro: What?

  Rose: You heard me. He may be fast, but compared to the other Aetherblades, he’s the least powerful.

  Shinjiro: But he’s still fighting that thing alone…

  The Arcanor—Genzo—lurched forward, his inky-black form twisting unnaturally, his tentacles slithering through the air like living shadows. The battlefield trembled under his presence, his malice spreading like a suffocating fog.

  Then—his eyes shifted, glowing with a sinister violet hue.

  The moment their gazes locked, Iris felt it—a presence clawing at his mind, twisting through his consciousness like creeping vines. A voice slithered into his head, heavy and hypnotic, laced with venomous whispers.

  Genzo: (soft, almost soothing) Drop your swords, Iris. This fight is pointless. You were never strong enough. Never meant to stand among the Aetherblades.

  The words felt weighted, an invisible pressure pushing down on Iris’s mind, trying to force him into submission. His body stiffened. His fingers twitched. His heartbeat slowed.

  For a brief second—he almost let go.

  Then—he gritted his teeth.

  A blinding golden light exploded from his body, his very soul resisting the invading force.

  Iris: (low, voice steady) You think you can crawl into my mind, monster?

  His eyes sharpened. His breathing steadied. He focused—drawing upon his Aether energy.

  A surge of radiant light enveloped his body, coalescing at his temples, forming a mental barrier—a dome of pure Aether-infused willpower. Genzo’s whispers shattered against the barrier like waves crashing against an immovable cliff.

  Iris exhaled sharply, his grip tightening on his swords. He forced Genzo out. The Arcanor staggered back for a moment, his tendrils retracting slightly, his shadowy form flickering as if momentarily destabilized.

  Iris rolled his shoulders, shaking off the last remnants of Genzo’s influence.

  Iris: (smirking, voice steady) You’ll have to do better than that.

  Genzo’s form shifted, his massive body contorting as the air around him darkened. His chest expanded, his blackened flesh cracking as glowing crimson veins surged across his body like molten lava. His horns pulsed with eerie red energy, and then—

  A sound began to rise.

  A deep, guttural growl vibrated through the battlefield, the very ground trembling beneath it. A pressure unlike anything before. The sound grew, escalating into an unnatural, ear-splitting howl—a devastating shockwave of pure destruction.

  The moment the Crimson Howl was unleashed, the air rippled violently, the sheer force shattering nearby structures and sending waves of power blasting through the area. The very light in the sky seemed to flicker in its presence.

  Iris’s body was sent flying, crashing through the remnants of a stone wall. His ears rang with an unbearable, high-pitched noise, his vision blurring for a brief second. His entire body screamed in protest.

  Genzo: (voice distorted, thundering) You are not worth my time!

  Iris gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand, his hands gripping his swords as he staggered forward. Blood dripped from his lip, his ears still ringing. He could barely hear anything—but his instincts screamed at him.

  His eyes narrowed as he saw the battlefield before him. Everything within a fifty-meter radius was in ruins. The sheer force of Genzo’s attack had obliterated everything in its wake.

  Iris: (panting, wiping the blood from his mouth, smirking despite the pain) Damn… that almost hurt.

  Iris: Why don’t you tell me something?

  Genzo: What?

  Iris: What do you fight for?

  Genzo: To end this world.

  Iris: You know what I fight for?

  Genzo: Iris Hawke? What a girly name. You fight for your mother? How did she die?

  Iris: (furious) Stop talking. Let me show you!

  Radiant Barrage.

  The spears hovered for a mere heartbeat before launching forward with blinding speed, streaking through the air like divine arrows descending from the heavens.

  Genzo reacted instantly. His tentacles lashed out, moving like living shadows, warping and shifting to intercept the incoming attack. The dark tendrils split apart, some forming shields while others extended into razor-sharp blades, slicing through the air with impossible precision.

  Lightning orbs condensed into spears of pure energy, surrounding him like celestial weapons ready to strike.

  The first few spears clashed against his defences, detonating on impact with a thunderous crack, sending arcs of electricity dancing across the battlefield. The ground trembled beneath the sheer force of their collision.

  Genzo: (laughs) Now you are talking!

  His Shadow Blink activated in a whisper of darkness, his form flickering, vanishing just before another spear could impale him. He reappeared behind Iris, his claws swiping forward, aimed to tear through flesh—

  But Iris had anticipated it.

  Without turning, he thrust his sword backward, its blade crackling with infused Aether. Genzo barely had time to react, twisting his body to avoid being skewered, but even as he dodged, another lightning spear veered sharply midair, altering its trajectory at the last second—

  BOOM!

  It struck Genzo’s side, sending an explosion of light cascading through the battlefield. His body reeled backward, tendrils writhing in pain as smoke rose from the wound.

  Iris didn’t stop.

  With a single fluid motion, he stepped forward and vanished in a golden flash, reappearing mid-air, his swords crossed before him. Another set of Glow Spears materialized, five in total, each crackling with barely contained power.

  He raised his swords, commanding them forward.

  The sky above erupted in golden streaks of death.

  Shinjiro watched as Iris weaved through the battlefield, golden spears of lightning clashing against Genzo’s abyssal darkness. The sheer force of their battle shook the ground beneath them.

  Shinjiro: (wide eyed) The weakest Aetherblade?

  Rose: The title seems to be old now. He’s not losing.

  The battlefield trembled as Genzo’s body convulsed, his twisted form expanding, the air around him warping like reality itself was rejecting his existence. His inky black tendrils stretched toward the sky, shadow veins crawling through the ground like cracks in glass.

  Genzo: (voice distorted, eyes glowing crimson) You want to see true power, Aetherblade? Then allow me to teach you despair.

  A suffocating darkness erupted, swallowing the battlefield whole. The sky itself seemed to bleed into the void as all traces of light vanished. A black sun formed above them, its core swirling with an abyssal energy so dense that it crushed the very air, making it harder to breathe.

  Eclipse Domain.

  The world turned pitch black. Shadows pulsed like a living entity, slithering through the battlefield, stretching out from Genzo’s body as if all of existence was bending to his will.

  Shinjiro and Rose could see nothing—just an endless void. A hollow, consuming nothingness.

  Rose: (stiffening, her voice unsteady) W-where did they go?

  Shinjiro: (gritting his teeth) Iris…

  Inside the Eclipse Domain, Iris stood alone. The shadows whispered, pulling at his body, clawing at his mind, his soul.

  Genzo: (his voice echoing from all directions) Do you feel it, Iris? This is absolute silence. This is where all light comes to die.

  A hundred tendrils lashed out, faster than before, striking Iris from all directions—no ground, no sky, just pure darkness.

  SLASH!

  A streak of golden light cut through the abyss.

  Iris: (panting, gripping his swords) I already told you…

  The darkness thickened, pressing against his skin, dragging him down. Genzo's crimson eyes glowed like beacons in the abyss.

  Genzo: (low, guttural) You have no place here.

  Iris closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. Then he smiled.

  Iris: (softly) No… this is where you lose.

  He raised both swords, and everything around him shifted.

  Golden veins of pure Aetherlight cracked through the darkness. A soft hum filled the void, vibrating with a power older than the world itself.

  Iris took a deep breath, then exhaled.

  The air around him collapsed.

  The black sun above shattered.

  Every last trace of light in the battlefield was drawn to him.

  And then—

  Ultimate Judgment.

  The world did not just brighten—it burned.

  Blinding light erupted from Iris’s very being, turning the battlefield into a sea of radiance. The air itself turned golden, as thousands of luminous swords formed above him, each one vibrating with raw destruction.

  Genzo: (screaming, his body cracking apart) NO! THIS CANNOT—

  Iris: (his voice echoing like thunder) Begone.

  Genzo: (with his last breath) THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!!

  He swung his sword.

  The golden swords rained down—piercing through Genzo’s body, his shadows, his very existence.

  Light erased darkness.

  The Eclipse Domain shattered like fragile glass.

  The real world returned, the sky turning blue again—except for one thing.

  Genzo’s body, impaled a hundred times over.

  But Iris wasn’t finished.

  His golden aura condensed, his swords merging into one final strike.

  He thrust his blade forward, straight into Genzo’s core.

  A blinding explosion of light erupted, tearing apart the shadows.

  Genzo let out one final, blood-curdling scream.

  BOOM.

  Silence.

  Nothing remained—except for dust, scattered in the wind.

  Iris stood amidst the fading light, his breath ragged, his swords lowered.

  Rose and Shinjiro stared from a distance, their hearts pounding.

  Shinjiro: (whispering, still in disbelief) He… won.

  Rose: (eyes narrowed) That was the weakest Aetherblade?

  Shinjiro: (exhaling) what a monster.

  Iris wiped the sweat from his brow, glancing at the empty space where Genzo once stood.

  Iris: (quietly) Rest now..

  Iris was covered in injuries but He did not feel pain only the delight that he won.

  He turned, walking away, leaving behind only the light.

  As the Red Moon vanished, the night began to break.

  A faint golden hue stretched across the horizon, casting its first light upon the battlefield. The air, once thick with the stench of death and battle, now carried the crisp scent of morning.

  The Dawn had come.

  Shinjiro and Rose stood in silence, watching as the darkness retreated. The sky bled into shades of deep blue and amber, the stars fading one by one.

  Shinjiro: (softly) It’s over…