Silver hair tied back, eyes like frozen mercury.
Hezuke stood firm, his voice scraping like gravel on stone. "You're the one with the most lives, eh?" Fironi swallowed, unease creeping over him.
"I… guess I am. " In an instant, Hezuke moved, appearing right beside him.
With a sharp kick, Fironi crashed to the glowing floor, gasping for breath. Above him, Hezuke spoke to Chicka, cold as deep space: "He won't do good.
He'll just end up like the others we had—the ones who had the most lives. The ones who were weak.
" His glare pinned Fironi to the ground, leaving him helpless. A sound like shattering planets echoed from the horizon, prompting Hezuke to snap his head toward it.
Without a word, he vanished—leaving only ozone and dread. In the Domain of Doors, Hezuke moved with godly speed, tearing through valleys where mountains grew taller with each league.
At the final summit, he found Zujike, gasping, ice shards melting off his trembling arms as he struggled against a demon whose forehead bore a crimson " / " sigil. Hezuke froze, sensing the danger; only Upper-Tier demons manifested that.
This one had evolved. Hezuke blurred behind the demon as spatial gashes ripped open before him.
The razor-wind slashed his shoulders, spraying black blood across the rocks. The demon turned, grinning with needle-teeth, taunting Hezuke with a roar of triumph, "Ooh! So it's you, Hezuke! The one who slayed all my comrades—the strongest ones! And now I stand against you!" It licked its cracked lips, relishing the moment.
Hezuke raised his bleeding palm and declared, "Zamburu Mee Itame. " Reality shattered as a domain unfolded—a fractured wasteland under a green-black sky.
Three figures stood trapped inside: Hezuke, Zujike, and the Slash Demon. Zujike choked out, "No, Hezuke! Don't do it!" But Hezuke remained unfazed, declaring, "This is the only way," even as blood soaked his sleeves.
The demon hissed, confusion evident as it asked, "What is going on—?" Hezuke's mercury eyes glowed fiercely as he answered, "Hey, Demon. .
. Ever played a luck game with your life on the line?" The colossal doors loomed over them, one bone-white and one pitch-black, resembling tombstones.
Hezuke smirked, baring bloodstained teeth, stating, "We fight whatever comes out, or die trying. "Chicka's starlit fingers flickered as a screenshare projection bloomed in the air, replaying Hezuke's battle in the fractured domain.
Fironi, bewildered, questioned, "What is this?" Chicka explained, "Hezuke's ability—'Life's Gamble. ' He only uses it as a last resort.
That Slash Demon. .
. it wounded him harshly before the domain activated.
" The bone-white and pitch-black doors began to swing open, revealing a void beyond that even Chicka's power couldn't penetrate. Minutes passed, silent and agonizing.
Then, the domain cracked like shattered glass. Suddenly, Hezuke walked out, bloodied but alive, his expression devoid of triumph; only exhaustion lingered in his mercury eyes.
Behind him, the doors vanished, leaving the Slash Demon gone. Hezuke knelt beside Zujike, placing a hand on the boy's shattered ribs.
Golden light flared around them, rapidly healing the injuries. Zujike gasped, color returning to his face as he asked, "What.
what happened in there?" Hezuke didn't answer, instead raising his palm to slash the air. A crescent of pure spatial energy sliced the distant mountain in half, echoing like thunder across the land.
Stone groaned as the peak slid sideways, crashing into the valley below. Zujike stared, breathless, and muttered, "I've never seen anything like that.
" Meanwhile, Fironi watched from a distance, fists clenched, struggling with his feelings of inadequacy. Fironi watched, fists clenched, feeling overwhelmed.
Hezuke had risked everything, stolen a demon's power, and protected Zujike. And what about him? With seventeen lives marked on his wrist, he felt useless.
"I need air," Fironi muttered, turning away. Chicka reached out—"Fironi, wait!"—but he was already sprinting into the neon-bioluminescent forests surrounding the Soul Nexus.
Vines thick as serpents. Trees like skyscrapers with bark like obsidian scales.
Fironi climbed, fingers bleeding, until he breached the canopy. The vista stole his breath:Floating islands veined with liquid light Distant wars flashing like dying stars A colossal, pulsing Tree of Souls at the world's heart"JUST WAIT FOR ME!" Fironi screamed into the wind, tears hot on his cheeks.
"I'LL BE THE BEST! THE ONE WHO DEFEATS THE DEMONS! I'LL—"A noise. Close.
Something moving through the ferns below—too fast for eyes to follow. Fironi froze.
Seventeen lives. And something hungry had found him.