CAPíTULO I

  Era tarde en la noche. El cielo se extendía despejado e infinito, la luna brillaba con una intensidad casi mística, rodeada de estrellas que salpicaban el firmamento como peque?os faroles encendidos sobre un lienzo oscuro. El crujido de las hojas secas bajo los cerezos se mezclaba con el susurro del viento, y el aire traía un tenue aroma a hierbas y huerto fresco, un perfume natural que se extendía por las afueras de las casas, como si murmurara antiguos secretos. Esta serena paz contrastaba con el suave canto de los grillos y contrastaba marcadamente con el mundo turbulento y lleno de desafíos en el que Ren so?aba con sumergirse.

  Mizuki Ren, un ni?o de apenas doce a?os, ocultaba una fuerza inesperada en su esbelta figura: cabello casta?o oscuro y ondulado, piel impecable y ojos marrones que, aunque caídos y marcados por las noches de insomnio, brillaban con la pasión de un guerrero en ciernes. A primera vista, Ren parecía frágil e indefenso, pero en su interior ardía la pasión por la lucha y las artes marciales. Las paredes de su dormitorio estaban adornadas con docenas de grabaciones de batallas legendarias y fotos de luchadores icónicos. Allí, entre sacos de boxeo y carteles de sus héroes, Ren lanzaba pu?etazos al aire, imaginando que sus pu?os pertenecían a un profesional. Su mayor sue?o era forjar un destino como aquellos guerreros épicos, dominando a Yu con la misma elegancia y ferocidad que veía en sus ídolos.

  En este mundo humano, Yu era una energía vital omnipresente. No todos podían controlarla, y quienes lo hacían se enfrentaban a un agotador entrenamiento físico, mental y espiritual. Las batallas eran duelos tan devastadores que podían destrozar el cuerpo, dejando cicatrices físicas y emocionales indelebles. La fragilidad humana se media por la capacidad de armonizar cuerpo y mente con esa energía ancestral, un desafío que pocos habían superado.

  En el televisor de Ren, se desplegaron imágenes asombrosas: pu?os y patas asestadas con una precisión casi sobrenatural, movimientos que parecían bailar al ritmo de un destino inevitable. Ataques imbuidos de Yu se transformaban en destellos de luz y poder, como fuegos artificiales en una noche de verano. Los cuerpos de los luchadores no eran simples músculos; Parecían entidades místicas, esculpidas en la encrucijada de la habilidad física y el poder sobrenatural.

  —?Están a punto de usar su Despertar! —exclamó Ren, con la voz llena de emoción y asombro, casi un grito que rompió el silencio de la noche.

  La pantalla mostraba dos figuras curtidas por la batalla: guerreros, llenos de cicatrices pero que irradiaban una satisfacción feroz, como si cada marca presagiara una victoria inminente. Se reconocían mutuamente como formidables rivales; sus ojos ardían de convicción y la determinación de que, a pesar del respeto mutuo, solo uno saldría victorioso.

  At the heart of the fight stood Nenji, a fighter with snow-white hair, his greenish eyes reflecting the depth of an ancient forest. His lean, muscular frame evoked the elegance and ferocity of a white tiger. Despite his wounds—bruises, scratches, and blood mingling with the pallor of his skin—his presence commanded respect. His kimono, torn in countless places, seemed to narrate tales of past battles, while thin strips of fabric struggled to cover a torso etched with suffering.

  In a pivotal moment, Nenji narrowed his eyes, revealing the intensity of his verdant gaze. Time seemed to freeze: his body, still for a heartbeat, began to shift. A dark, ancient energy enveloped him, and his Awakening began. Before the audience’s eyes, Nenji transformed. His figure stretched beyond six feet, taking on an unsettling blend of human and monstrous. His skin, a pale gray like the withered bark of an ancient tree, pulsed with unnatural vitality. From his elbows, shoulders, and torso sprouted protrusions and branches, as if the essence of the forest claimed his being. Atop his head, twisted branches rose like horns, casting sinister shadows that merged with the gloom. His face became an abyss devoid of human features, save for a single crimson eye that burned with a soul-piercing intensity—the last vestige of humanity in his altered visage.

  Nenji’s new form was a testament to his otherworldly nature: muscles defined beneath skin marked by scars and rough textures, proof of countless battles in realms beyond mortal understanding. His left arm was wreathed in red orbs of Yu, a symbol of energy wielded with the finesse of an extension of himself. On his right shoulder, gleaming black armor spoke of a warrior’s mastery and experience, forged across eons.

  Nenji’s mere presence thickened the air around him, charged with an energy both terrifying and captivating. He had become a creature of nightmare and dream, a guardian of the forest or perhaps a harbinger of the end of days. His Awakening inspired awe and fear, a reminder to all that certain Etherions of this world were best left undisturbed.

  At the other end of the clash stood Terrence, a man with dark skin whose deep brown eyes, like unfathomable wells, could ensnare anyone in their gaze. His short, curly hair in a military style and his slightly unkempt beard contrasted with the imposing figure of a true warrior. Terrence was the embodiment of raw power: bulging muscles, shoulders broad as fortress walls, and limbs that seemed carved for war. His near-ogre-like physique conveyed unrelenting determination.

  Sensing Nenji’s Awakening, Terrence didn’t hesitate. He dropped into a crouch, feet firmly planted, arms extended, fists clenched with a force that could crush metal. Veins bulged with effort, and his eyes began to glow with a cyan hue, heralding his own transformation.

  With a silent roar, Terrence unleashed his Awakening. His body morphed into a fortress of dense muscle and black scales, so opaque they seemed to devour light, towering over two meters tall. His limbs, robust and tipped with razor-sharp claws, threatened to rend the earth with every move. But what truly chilled the blood were the heads emerging from his neck: two bone-white skulls, eroded by the intense energy of Yu, their jaws lined with jagged teeth ready to tear through any obstacle. In their eye sockets blazed a turquoise glow, a spectral light that sliced through the darkness like blades.

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  Yet what struck true terror was the Yu enveloping him. Arcs of cyan electricity danced across his skin, crackling with an eerie hum. This force radiated from within, illuminating the cracks in his scales and outlining his taut muscles. In the skulls, the energy concentrated into bursts of light that scattered glittering fragments into the air, as if the power itself fought to break free.

  Beneath his feet, the ground became a mirror of chaos: a dark pool flecked with red motes and streaked with electric sparks that marked the passage of a near-divine being. Terrence was the perfect union of beauty and horror—a colossus caught in a moment of pure adrenaline, a brutal reminder of power bordering on the inhuman.

  The stands fell into a reverent silence as the fighters’ Awakenings unfolded. Even the commentator, accustomed to narrating epic tales, was struck speechless for long moments. No one had imagined that in a friendly tournament, Kitō Nenji and Terrence Bell would unleash such magnitude of power, an event that would forever alter the fight’s course.

  “Both fighters have triggered their Awakenings simultaneously!” the commentator blared from the television, as the crowd’s roar mingled with cheers and gasps.

  Ren’s eyes widened, reflecting the glint of adrenaline and awe, despite having watched countless similar battles. “The Awakening! Finally!” he shouted, his voice trembling with a force that felt like a cry of hope.

  The night, however, was interrupted by his mother’s voice, sharp with reproach, demanding silence. It was late, and for Ren, these early hours were sacred—a time to immerse himself in his passion for fighting, heedless of reality’s warnings.

  “Two Etherions in one fight—this is unreal…” the boy whispered, even as his mother’s scolding briefly dispelled the moment’s magic.

  And in that instant, Ren’s eyes widened further, revealing the exhaustion and determination etched in the shadows beneath them. The second round had begun, and on the screen, the battle surged with a force that seemed to defy the limits of human and supernatural.

  Both warriors, their Awakenings still blazing, locked eyes. The air thickened with Yu, and for a fleeting moment, the universe seemed to channel all its energy into them. Their gazes became bridges between souls, filled with pain, courage, and the certainty that only one would prevail. The resolve in Nenji’s ruby eye melded with the relentless cyan glow of Terrence’s, creating a spectacle that sent shivers and adrenaline coursing through the audience.

  With superhuman speed, both Etherions lunged at each other, colliding with a force that shook the ground and rattled even Ren. The clash of Terrence’s arm against Nenji’s leg echoed through the arena, an impact that seemed to herald the start of an epic battle.

  “And the second round between Etherions begins! The Shadow versus The Colossus!” the announcer’s voice shattered the silence, and the stands erupted with screams and cheers.

  As they parted, mere seconds passed before Nenji wielded the orbs on his right arm. He raised it horizontally, aiming at his opponent, and launched three orbs—which swiftly regenerated on his arm—hurtling toward Terrence’s face. The Colossus deflected them all with precision and speed, showcasing the immense resilience granted by his current state. But in a fleeting lapse, the Shadow seized one orb with his left hand and fired a beam straight at Terrence’s chest. The Colossus reacted as fast as he could, shielding his body with both arms, which absorbed most of the impact. Before the attack could detonate, the colossal Etherion redirected the devastating Yu skyward, where it exploded among the clouds, stunning the crowd. That massive strike could have erupted within Terrence’s body.

  Smoke clouded the arena for a moment, obscuring Nenji’s view. He began leaping backward to distance himself from his foe. Nenji was a ranged fighter, Terrence a close-combat brawler—each could exploit the other’s weaknesses, yet also turn them to their advantage. In a sudden surge, the Colossus appeared right before Nenji, his fist charged with cyan Yu, carrying a force that could obliterate the entire arena. Without hesitation, the Shadow summoned a barrier of energy, which clashed against Terrence’s weight, forcing the gray figure to skid back, his feet carving deep gouges in the pavement and kicking up a trail of dust.

  The fight escalated further, with Terrence’s devastating blows countered by Nenji’s energy attacks. Their clash grew so brutal that all civilians had to evacuate the coliseum, leaving the two alone in their savage duel. Their bodies teetered on the edge of exhaustion. After long minutes of combat, their Yu was utterly depleted, and so were they. Their Etherion states faded, leaving them in their natural forms. The upper halves of their kimonos were gone, the lower halves tattered beyond recognition.

  Se miraron a los ojos con respeto y euforia, conscientes de que habían librado una de las mejores peleas del siglo, quizá incluso la siguiente. Pero el orgullo como Etherions los impulsaba; no se conformarían con un empate hasta que uno se desplomara. Al borde del desmayo, reunieron sus últimas fuerzas y lanzaron un último golpe... y la televisión se apagó.

  —??Qué!? —gritó Ren, y la incredulidad inundó la habitación en sombras.

  Se giró y vio la figura cansada y severa de su padre sosteniendo el control remoto. La interrupción había truncado la inspiración de aquel choque épico.

  —?Papá, no lo apagues! —suplicó Ren, con la voz cargada de frustración y decepción.

  —Ren, esto no es un juego —respondió su padre con tono inflexible—. Tus notas están bajando, y no voy a quedarme de brazos cruzados.

  Los ojos de Ren se llenaron de una amarga mezcla de tristeza y rabia. Sabía que su padre tenía razón, pero se resistía a la realidad. Con voz temblorosa y entrecortada, replicó: ?Las calificaciones no me ayudarán a convertirme en luchador?, apretando los pu?os contra los muslos hasta que le temblaron.

  Su padre, con un leve gesto de impaciencia, se pellizcó el puente de la nariz, recordándole que él también había pasado por lo mismo. ?Hijo, por favor, ya hablamos de esto?, dijo con voz cansada pero comprensiva.

  —No, papá. El abuelo era un luchador increíble. Querías seguir sus pasos, y él no te lo permitió. ?Ahora intentas detenerme? —lo desafió Ren, y sus palabras expusieron la herida de una tradición familiar rota.

  Mizuki Haruka, el padre de Ren, apenas disimuló su frustración, intentando calmar el conflicto mientras se dirigía a la puerta. "Mira, hablaremos de esto cuando te levantes, ?de acuerdo? Ahora, por el bien de tu madre, descansa un poco. Ma?ana tienes un examen".

  La puerta se cerró con un leve crujido, dejando a Ren en la penumbra de su habitación, rodeado de sus recuerdos de la batalla. Se quedó mirando el televisor en blanco, sintiéndose fuera de lugar; la ausencia de luz contrastaba con sus sue?os. Su mirada se posó en sus pertenencias: una réplica del kimono de Nenji, su símbolo de inspiración —blanco con detalles rojos—, junto con guantes, vendas y demás equipo para el entrenamiento. Empacó su mochila, cargada de sue?os y ahorros, con el eco de la lucha aún resonando en su mente.

  Al amanecer, cuando los primeros rayos de sol empezaban a disipar la oscuridad y el canto de los pájaros llenaba el aire, Ren salió de su casa. Una brisa fresca le rozó el rostro, insuflándole nueva vida, como si la naturaleza misma lo impulsara a lanzarse a lo desconocido. En ese instante, supo que su vida estaba a punto de cambiar para siempre. No podía esperar más.

  Con la determinación de un guerrero y un corazón rebosante de sue?os, el chico de pu?os so?adores se dispuso a forjar su destino. No era solo el comienzo de un nuevo día, sino el inicio de su camino para convertirse en un verdadero luchador, un hombre forjado por el fuego de la pasión y el sacrificio, dispuesto a desafiar al destino y hacer realidad sus sue?os.