The streets of Lennox were quieter than usual. Not the peaceful kind of quiet, but the kind that made the air feel heavier, like the city itself was holding its breath. The blood moon still loomed above, casting an eerie crimson hue over the cobblestone roads, stretching the shadows longer than they should have been.

  He scanned every alleyway, every corner where the darkness pooled deeper than the rest. The storm had passed, leaving behind damp air that clung to his skin, carrying with it the scent of rain and something else—something metallic.

  Then he saw her.

  Rose stood frozen in the middle of the alley, her back to him. The faint light of a lantern barely reached her, flickering as if struggling to exist in the thickening gloom.

  And in front of her, a man.

  He was slumped against the wall, his face hidden in the shadows. Blood soaked his tattered clothes, dripping from the blade in his trembling hand. His breathing was ragged, uneven—like he was on the verge of breaking apart.

  Shinjiro stepped forward, his voice firm but low.

  Shinjiro: Rose!

  She didn’t react.

  His stomach twisted. Something wasn’t right.

  The man slowly lifted his head.

  Tear-streaked, hollow eyes met Shinjiro’s. His lips quivered, mouthing words that barely escaped as sound.

  The man: I… I couldn’t control it… My family… they were killed… I had no choice…

  Rose’s body was stiff, she didn’t move an inch. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes were white.

  Shinjiro: (gritting) What have you done to her?

  The man: (sobbing) Will you forgive me?

  Shinjiro: (in a loud voice) Answer me first!

  The man: (sobbing) She saw me… I had no choice… I want to turn myself in… I will fix her.. Will you forgive me?

  Shinjiro: I will if you fix her first.

  Shinjiro did not trust the man but he could not take any chances. He did not know what had happened to Rose.

  The man: Say it then you will forgive me.

  Shinjiro: I will forgive you.

  He spoke those words unwillingly, he did even partly believed the man.

  Something pressed against his skull—not a hand, not a voice, but something worse. A presence. The air thickened, his chest tightening as if something was wrapping around her ribs.

  The man: (laughs) Fool.

  The moment Shinjiro took a step forward, the world around him twisted. The cold air of the alley vanished, replaced by an unbearable weightlessness. His stomach lurched, his senses blurred, and suddenly—there was nothing.

  He was falling.

  Or maybe he wasn’t.

  There was no ground beneath him, no sky above—just an endless expanse of void, stretching in every direction. The color was impossible to describe—not black, not white, but something deeper, something beyond comprehension. It felt as though existence itself had unraveled, leaving only this abyss behind.

  Silence pressed against his ears, suffocating, absolute. It wasn’t the kind of silence where sound didn’t exist—it was worse. It was a silence where sound should exist, where he should be able to hear his own breath, his heartbeat—but there was nothing.

  And then, a voice.

  It didn’t echo. It didn’t come from anywhere. It was just there, slipping into his mind like it had always been a part of him.

  Figure: You imposter.. How does it feel to be playing my role?

  Shinjiro: What are you talking about?

  Figure: It’s not your fault. I saw your memories. Y-in…-9$#

  The figure couldn’t speak. It was due to the effect of the seal put on him by the cultist.

  Shinjiro: Rose is in danger. Who are you?

  Figure: Frankly speaking?

  Figure: (whispers) I am You.

  The words slipped through the void, not spoken, not heard—but felt. A whisper that coiled around Shinjiro’s mind like a serpent tightening its grip.

  The void convulsed.

  A deafening boom shattered the silence. The weightless abyss twisted violently, as if something immense had stirred beneath its depths. The colorless nothingness cracked like glass, jagged fractures of blinding white splitting through the infinite dark.

  Shinjiro clutched his head, a searing pain driving into his skull. His breath hitched—but there was no breath, no lungs, just the unbearable sensation of something tearing at him, pulling, as though his very existence was unraveling.

  A thousand whispers screamed all at once.

  His heartbeat—no, it wasn’t his heartbeat anymore. It was the void’s. A thunderous, echoing thump-thump pounding in rhythm with the cracks spreading across the space around him.

  His own voice betrayed him.

  Shinjiro: (gasping) No..!

  Figure: You can’t understand anything right now. You don’t have time right now. Your friend might die.

  Shinjiro: I’ll believe you if you will help me.

  Figure: (chuckling) I can’t help you but You will never fall for mind control because of me.

  Shinjiro: What do you mean?

  Figure: Not enough time to explain. Save her yourself.

  The void collapsed.

  A deafening shatter tore through existence.

  Shinjiro’s eyes snapped open. The freezing night air slammed into his lungs as he stumbled forward, his body feeling like it had just been yanked from the depths of an ocean. His vision spun—then focused.

  Shinjiro: (his heart pounding) I saw him again!

  The alley. The blood. The man.

  The killer stood over Rose, blade trembling in his grip, his breath ragged, unhinged. His eyes widened in shock, disbelief flashing across his face.

  The man : (staggering back) Impossible…

  Shinjiro didn’t hesitate. He launched forward towards the man and throws a punch.

  The man easily dodges it and counterpunches him which connects to the jaw.

  Shinjiro’s brain is shaken and he fell on his knees.

  The man: I don’t know how you broke the mind control. Stand up!

  Shinjiro barely manages to stand up with his knees shaking.

  Shinjiro: (to himself) He is strong.

  The man: I am Genzo Junikage. What about you, human?

  Shinjiro: Stop talking and fight me.

  The man: (threatening) Choose your words wisely I might kill her.

  Shinjiro felt his words. He wasn’t lying rather He was strong enough to say those words.

  Shinjiro: I am Shinjiro.

  The man: Shinjiro?

  The man flew in an instant towards Shinjiro and cuts him with a dagger. Shinjiro barely reacted saving his neck blocking with his hand. He was bleeding.

  Shinjiro: (gasping for breath)

  His knees were stable now. He looks around but he could not find the killer.

  The man: I did not move from where I was.

  Shinjiro: (to himself) How do I even fight him?

  The man: I feel pity for you.

  Shinjiro barely had time to think before Genzo moved again. A blur—then pain.

  A fist slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. His body arched, feet lifting slightly off the ground before crashing back down. His lungs burned, gasping for air, but Genzo didn’t give him a chance to recover.

  Another hit—this time to the ribs. A sickening crack echoed through the alley. Shinjiro staggered, barely managing to raise his arms in defense.

  Genzo: (mocking) Is this all?

  Shinjiro tried to counter. He threw a punch—fast, desperate.

  Genzo tilted his head.

  A miss.

  Shinjiro barely registered the failure before a knee crashed into his jaw. His vision blurred, his body thrown backward. He hit the ground hard, skidding across the rough stone. His arm throbbed where he had blocked earlier, the cut on his forearm bleeding freely.

  He groaned, forcing himself up, but Genzo was already there.

  A boot slammed into his chest, pinning him down.

  Genzo: (clicking his tongue) Pathetic.

  Shinjiro struggled against the weight, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His body felt sluggish—his mind slower. He had never fought someone like this. Genzo was toying with him, moving faster than his eyes could track, attacking from angles he couldn’t react to.

  Every time he tried to strike back, he hit nothing but air. Every attempt to dodge ended with a counterattack—brutal, precise.

  Blood dripped from his lips as he looked up at the man looming over him.

  Shinjiro: (gasping) Tch...

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  Genzo knelt slightly, pressing down harder.

  Genzo: You’re still conscious?

  Shinjiro clenched his teeth, shifting his body despite the pain. He couldn’t overpower him. He couldn’t outspeed him. Then how—?

  His thoughts shattered as Genzo grabbed him by the collar and threw him across the alley. Shinjiro’s back crashed against the wall, pain exploding through his body. He crumpled to the ground, coughing.

  Genzo: (scoffing) Don’t disappoint me now.

  Shinjiro’s fingers clawed at the ground as he forced himself up again, his arms shaking, his vision swimming. His breath was ragged, but his eyes—his eyes didn’t waver.

  Even if he couldn’t win—

  He had to stand.

  Genzo: Aren’t you afraid of dying? Why not just give up?

  Shinjiro wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, his breath still ragged. His body screamed at him to stay down, but he forced himself to his feet. His legs felt heavy, his vision swayed, but his hands curled into fists.

  Shinjiro: (panting) I gave up a moment ago. That’s what I’ve always done—give up.

  He exhaled sharply, his grip tightening.

  Shinjiro: I almost died twice. Maybe I should have. Maybe I deserved to. But for the first time in my life, I felt peace. And then—

  His eyes burned with something raw.

  Shinjiro: You ruined it.

  Genzo chuckled, rolling his shoulders, amused.

  Genzo: (mocking) Oh, how tragic. Poor little Shinjiro finally finds peace, only for me to snatch it away. (with conviction) You don’t have a choice in this world. You are forced to choose.

  Shinjiro didn’t answer. He wasn’t thinking anymore. His feet moved before his mind could catch up.

  He lunged.

  Faster than before.

  He was thinking about the trials how he fought then and tried to replicate again.

  Shinjiro clenched his fists tighter. His mind raced, grasping at the memory of the trials. How he moved, how he fought—how he survived. He needed to replicate that. He had no other choice.

  His breath steadied, his knees bent slightly, and he lunged.

  The moment his fist swung forward, his fingers curled at the last second, gripping the air for momentum. He pushed off, aiming to launch himself into the air—

  —but his balance faltered.

  His form twisted awkwardly, his knee missing Genzo’s face by inches. He landed harshly, rolling across the dirt, coughing as dust filled his lungs.

  Genzo stood still, watching. His lips curled into a grin.

  Genzo: What were you trying to do?

  Shinjiro: Come!

  Shinjiro steadied his breath. His vision was still spinning, his body aching from the relentless beating, but his mind was locked onto a single thought—replicate the trial.

  He remembered the move. It had worked then. It had to work now.

  Genzo moved first, his fist cutting through the air like a hammer. Shinjiro didn't step back. Instead, at the last moment, he caught Genzo's forearm with his fingers—using it as support.

  With all his strength, he pushed off the ground, his body twisting midair.

  Gravity pulled him down.

  Shinjiro: (gritted teeth) Now!

  Genzo was taken away by the surprise. His knee crashed into Genzo’s face with brutal force.

  A sharp crack rang through the alley. Blood splattered. Genzo’s head snapped back, his body staggering from the impact.

  Genzo stumbled back, his nose bleeding, a dark red streak running down his lips. He wiped it with the back of his hand and let out a short, sharp chuckle.

  Genzo: (grinning) That was shocking.

  His golden eyes glinted under the blood moon, a strange mix of amusement and something darker. He tilted his head, cracking his neck before locking his gaze onto Shinjiro once more.

  Genzo: (serious) That movement...

  Shinjiro tensed. His heart pounded in his chest, his breathing still unsteady.

  Genzo: (accusing) You are Vulcan’s disciple, aren’t you?

  Shinjiro’s fingers twitched. That name—Vulcan—it was familiar, yet foreign. A whisper in the back of his mind, like something he should remember but couldn’t grasp. His head throbbed.

  Shinjiro: (glaring) I don’t know what you’re talking about.

  Genzo wiped his nose again, grinning wider despite the blood staining his teeth.

  Genzo: (mocking) You don’t?

  He exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off the pain. Then, his grin twisted into something far more dangerous.

  Genzo: (low voice) You got me by surprise But Let me tell you who you are.

  Shinjiro didn’t care. He refused to listen.

  His body screamed in pain, his muscles burned, but he forced himself forward, launching into the air. His right leg came crashing down like a battle axe.

  Genzo’s arms shot up, blocking it with ease.

  Genzo: (screams) You are pathetic Shinjiro!

  The impact sent a ripple through the ground, dust kicking up around them. Shinjiro gritted his teeth, pushing down with all his might, but Genzo barely flinched. The difference in strength was clear.

  Shinjiro: (gritted teeth) Tch—

  He flipped back, barely dodging a dagger swipe aimed straight for his gut.

  The fight wasn’t fair.

  Shinjiro lunged again, a rapid barrage of punches and kicks— but Genzo saw through all of them. His movements were sharp, precise. Every attack was blocked.

  A punch to the ribs. Shinjiro staggered.

  A knee to the stomach. His breath left him in a painful gasp.

  A spinning kick. His vision blurred.

  His feet skidded across the dirt. His back slammed against the cold, damp wall of the alley. His body wanted to give up.

  But he wouldn’t.

  Genzo: (mocking) I know how it feels. When you try so hard but it’s never enough.

  Shinjiro spat blood onto the ground. His arms trembled, barely holding his own weight. He could feel the sting of fresh wounds, the heat of his own blood trickling down his face.

  Shinjiro: I don’t care about anything! You were right I was forced in this life but I can’t die yet! I still have something I need to do!

  His legs refused to listen to him. They shook violently, barely able to keep him standing.

  Genzo: (smirking) You’re done.

  Another strike came. Shinjiro tried to dodge—too slow.

  A fist slammed into his cheek—his head snapped to the side, blood spitting from his mouth.

  His vision turned hazy. The world spun. His legs buckled.

  He dropped to one knee.

  Shinjiro: (panting) No…

  His body wanted to fall.

  His mind wanted to stop.

  But something deeper inside him refused.

  Genzo: (annoyed) Just stay down.

  Shinjiro gripped the ground, his fingers digging into the dirt. His chest heaved, his entire body shaking. He had never felt this broken before.

  Everything hurt. His ribs screamed with every breath. His arms felt like they weighed a thousand tons. His body was battered and broken.

  But he wouldn’t submit.

  Shinjiro: (gasping for air) …No.. I need to win.

  Shinjiro: All this time. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t help Shun.

  Shinjiro: (gritting) I need to fight!

  Shinjiro: Movee!! (he looked at his trembling legs)

  He forced himself to rise. His legs trembled, but he stood.

  His head hung low, blood dripping from his face onto the cracked pavement.

  Shinjiro blacked out.

  Genzo: (frowning) You really don’t know when to quit.

  Shinjiro hears a voice, it was the voice of the figure in the void. “You are almost there. Wake up”

  Shinjiro tightened his legs and was standing. His eyes were sharp.

  Shinjiro: (weak ) …Quitting is death.

  Genzo’s smirk faded.

  The fight should have been over. But Shinjiro was still standing.

  Bleeding. Broken. But standing.

  Genzo: (serious) Tch. This is getting annoying.

  Another attack came—but this time, Shinjiro moved.

  Faster.

  His body shouldn’t have been able to react, but something pushed him forward.

  Shinjiro: (breathing heavily) I won’t lose this time.

  His stance steadied. His breathing slowed.

  The fight wasn’t over yet.

  And in the blink of an eye—he moved.

  Genzo’s grin faltered. A flicker of something passed through his eyes—confusion, then realization. His breath hitched as he staggered, a sudden weakness washing over him. His body, which had moved like a phantom moments ago, now felt heavy.

  He coughs up blood.

  Genzo: (gritting his teeth) Tch… I don’t have enough time.

  His fingers trembled. His legs wobbled beneath him. His time was running out.

  Shinjiro noticed the shift. He didn’t know what was happening to Genzo, but he wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip. His fists clenched, muscles tensing. He had to finish this before the man regained his strength.

  Genzo turned slightly. His teeth clenched—he was losing control.

  Genzo: (low growl) Damn it…

  That was all Shinjiro needed.

  He pushed forward with everything he had, fists flying. He wasn’t just swinging wildly—this time, he was calculating. He remembered the fights, the trials, the moments where instinct took over. Now, he was trying to control it.

  Genzo blocked the first punch but stumbled back slightly. Too slow.

  Shinjiro didn’t give him a chance to recover. He slipped behind him, twisting his body, aiming a sharp hook to the ribs. Genzo gasped, his body jerking from the impact.

  Shinjiro: (to himself) I can do it.

  Genzo swung wildly, but Shinjiro sidestepped, grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward. Using Genzo’s own momentum against him, he drove a crushing elbow into his sternum.

  Genzo coughed violently, his breath escaping in a sharp wheeze. His knees buckled slightly, but he refused to fall.

  Shinjiro’s stance shifted. He had seen these movements before. They weren’t just random attacks—they were techniques. Precise, efficient. The kind he had seen in brutal street fights, the kind that broke people down piece by piece.

  He took a quick step forward—low kick to the shin. Genzo stumbled.

  Before he could regain balance, a rising knee to the gut. The air left his lungs in a choked gasp.

  Shinjiro saw it—Genzo’s body was swaying. He was vulnerable.

  And that’s when Shinjiro struck with everything he had.

  He surged forward, grabbing Genzo’s collar. A crushing headbutt. Bone met bone with a sickening crack. Blood spurted from Genzo’s nose, his vision spinning.

  Shinjiro pulled his arm back and punched hard with everything he had.

  Shinjiro: (screamed) Yahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

  Genzo: (screamed) You did it?? Huh? That’s what you feel!!

  He raged forward with a quick step. He threw his dagger, it went like a beam. Shinjiro barely dodges it, it cuts on his forehead.

  Genzo throws a punch to his gut.

  Shinjiro embraces for impact and takes the punch. He punches Genzo back, he staggers but manages to stay up.

  It had become a bloody battle. Genzo was weakening. Genzo staggered, his breathing turning ragged. His once-fluid movements were now sluggish, his limbs trembling as if his own body was betraying him. His skin paled, a sickly sheen of sweat forming on his forehead. He tried to lift his arm, but his fingers twitched uncontrollably. He refused to give in and fought regardless.

  Genzo: Just a bit longerr.

  It was a brawl.

  Shinjiro was simply pushing through sheer will. He refused to give up. As he saw Genzo weakening, his resolve strengthened.

  Genzo lunged at him, dagger in hand, aiming straight for his ribs. Shinjiro twisted his body, barely dodging the strike. This was it. He planted his foot into the ground, using the momentum from the dodge to pivot.

  Genzo: (eyes widening) What—?

  Shinjiro’s body rotated mid-air, his leg whipping around in a devastating arc. It was fast—too fast for Genzo to react. A Brazilian kick. The heel of Shinjiro’s foot crashed into the side of Genzo’s head like an axe, sending him stumbling back.

  Shinjiro: (growling) Stay Down!!!

  Genzo gasped, swaying. His body refused to move. His legs finally gave out, and with a heavy thud—

  He fell to his knees.

  Rose seemed to be waking up. The world around her was splintering.

  Rose’s breath was ragged as she stood in the endless void of her nightmare. The echoes of the past clawed at her mind, dragging her back into the depths of despair. The screams of her parents, the suffocating helplessness—it was all real. The well. The blood. The man standing above her, victorious. The ground beneath her feet cracked, and she was falling—again, and again, and again.

  Her mind refused to let her go.

  Darkness: (whispering) You’ve always been weak.

  The shadows curled around her, whispering, laughing.

  Darkness: You couldn't save them. You never will.

  Rose fell to her knees, clutching her head. The world twisted and morphed—her house, burning; her mother, sobbing; her father, dying. The cycle repeated like an unending nightmare, trapping her in her own pain.

  Then—

  A sound. A voice cutting through the chaos.

  Shinjiro: (distant, echoing) Wake up…

  The world trembled.

  The air around her pulsed, the endless night quivering like glass under pressure. The figures of her past glitched, flickering between reality and illusion. The darkness roared, desperate to hold her down.

  Darkness: (hissing) You belong here. This is where you will stay. You will break, over and over again.

  Shinjiro: (closer) Rose!

  Crack.

  A fracture split the sky above her. The world was breaking.

  She turned her head. The void wasn’t endless anymore. It was shattering. Large, jagged cracks spread across the sky like the splintering of a mirror. Through them, glimpses of reality shone through—the blood moon, the alleyway, the chilling wind against her skin.

  The truth.

  Rose gasped, her fingers twitching.

  She wasn’t in the past. She was here.

  The pieces of her nightmare crumbled, falling into the abyss.

  She clenched her fists, standing up.

  Rose: (whispering) I am not weak.

  Then she hears a voice. It was her mother.

  “You were never weak. Go!”

  Rose: (cried) I am sorry…

  Her mother and father hugged her.

  “Be Brave! We love you!”

  The darkness screamed, desperate, but it was too late.

  With one final shatter, the world around her collapsed into nothingness. The echoes, the voices, the pain—it all vanished.

  Rose’s eyes snapped open. She was confused what was happening.

  She was back. The night air stung her skin, the scent of blood sharp in her nose. Her fingers twitched against the cold ground, and her vision was blurry—but there, just in front of her, stood Shinjiro.

  And Genzo—bloodied, beaten, kneeling.

  Genzo: You did it Shinjiro. You beat me.

  Genzo struggles but he stands up. He takes out the dagger from his pocket.

  Shinjiro: It’s over.

  Genzo: Yeah. It is. (coughs blood)

  Shinjiro stood panting, his fists clenched, his body screaming in agony. His arms felt like lead, his legs barely able to hold him up.

  Genzo: You fought well. But… you still can’t do anything. Not yet.

  Shinjiro: (breathing heavily) …What are you talking about?

  Genzo: You are forced to live in this hell.

  Genzo tilted his head back, his eyes locking onto the blood-red moon hanging above them. The sky pulsed unnaturally, like something alive, something watching.

  Genzo: The wrath of them… the darkness lurking…

  Shinjiro followed his gaze, his breath hitching. The moon… it looked deeper. Redder. As if something within it was stirring.

  Genzo: Nothing shall remain afterward !

  His voice had changed. It was no longer playful, no longer mocking. It was filled with something else—certainty.

  Genzo: (gritted teeth) We will take our revenge ! We will rise again !

  He took a step back, his body swaying, his blood staining the alley floor.

  Genzo: O Bloody God!

  Shinjiro's breath caught in his throat. Something was wrong.

  Genzo: (voice rising) We seek blood! Bring us victory!

  And He drove the dagger into his own heart.

  Shinjiro's eyes widened in horror as Genzo’s body convulsed. Blood poured from his chest, staining his hands, his feet, the cold ground beneath him.

  The wind howled from all directions. The red moon seemed to pulse.

  And in that moment—

  The world changed.

  The moment Genzo’s dagger plunged into his own heart, time itself seemed to shudder. His hands trembled as if resisting the inevitability of death—then, as his fingers twitched for the last time, he fell down on his knees.

  And then—

  A sudden rush of wind.

  It didn’t howl or whistle—it roared, a force of nature that erupted from nowhere, swallowing the entire street in its violent embrace. Dust and debris from the cobbled ground, twisting into the air like a typhoon. Shinjiro staggered, barely keeping his balance, his eyes darting toward Rose, whose hair whipped wildly around her face.

  Everything stopped.

  A deep, crushing silence. The kind that made the ears ring, the kind that preceded destruction. The blood moon overhead seemed to pulse, its dull glow growing, suffocating the night in an unnatural red.

  Rose: (her breath shaky) Shinjiro?

  He couldn't answer. He could barely breathe.

  Then the ground shook.

  Not an earthquake. Not something natural. This was different—wrong. The air thickened, turning almost solid, pressing down on their chests like an invisible weight.

  A whisper, low and unintelligible, crawled through the air. Darkness was gathering.