The air in the refuge room was heavy, dense with the smell of medicinal herbs and the cold sweat of fear. Orpheus stood still, but his body betrayed his apparent calm. A chilling, stabbing tightness in his heart made him stagger. His hands trembled uncontrollably, and a cold sweat ran down his forehead. It was a primal, visceral fear, the feeling of being on the edge of an abyss, about to be swallowed by something larger and more terrifying than any monster he had ever hunted.
With a sudden movement, he drew his katana, Coyote. The cold metal in his hand was an anchor, a reminder of his reality. Deep down, he knew what he was feeling. It was fear that did not come from him, but that reverberated from a known source: his master, Zack.
Orpheus closed his eyes, and the memory of the day he was saved from slavery hit him with the force of thunder. The same overwhelming, uncontrolled energy that now vibrated in the air. He remembered the terror in the eyes of his captors, the panic that spread like a plague. That day, he felt firsthand why everyone feared Zack's name. And now, he felt the same fury, the same thirst for annihilation, but amplified, distorted by pain.
A light, fragile touch on his hand brought him back. It was Lyra. She was lying down, covered in healing scrolls that glowed with a soft, greenish light. Her eyes were closed, but her lips moved in an almost inaudible whisper.
Orpheus knelt, bringing his ear close to her mouth. Her voice was a thread, a breath of life fighting against the darkness.
"Black Moon is back, for Zack," she whispered, and the phrase carried the weight of a prophecy.
Lyra coughed, a dry, painful sound, and spat a stream of blood that stained the scroll. With superhuman effort, she opened her eyes. They were beautiful, a deep blue, but now they were cloudy and filled with desperate urgency. They fixed on Orpheus's.
"Stop him before, or else..." The phrase was lost in a moan of pain. Zack's energy, even from a distance, was consuming her. Lyra fainted, barely managing to stay awake, but her message was clear.
Orpheus's fear turned into a cold resolve. Something had to be done. He couldn't let his master get lost in the darkness. He stood up, the Coyote katana in hand, and ran to the square, the weight of the decision crushing his shoulders.
---
**The Maddened City (K's Perspective)**
K was on the outskirts of the square, helping the survivors. The scene was one of total destruction: houses and buildings in ruins, rubble everywhere. The smell of gunpowder and blood hung in the air.
What horrified her, however, was not the physical destruction, but the reaction of the citizens of the Red City. The great red soldiers were all in the square, but the citizens were in a macabre euphoria. They celebrated, shouting "Messiah!" and "Skull is coming back!". The people who died in the rubble were ignored, their bodies trampled by religious followers of the "Vision" who shouted the Messiah's name.
The city was taken over by an unusual happiness, an unwavering and sickening faith in the Void. That was terrifying, dreadful. K had never witnessed such a fanatical and inhumane cult.
Suddenly, she felt it. Two energies colliding, too strong, too violent. The fight between Zack and Tobi was a storm of power that threatened to tear the city in half. Her body, trained for the hunt, warned her: approaching was certain death.
Then, the Red Moon turned into the Black Moon.
The eclipse was total. The red light that bathed the city disappeared, and darkness swallowed everything. The citizens' faith faded. Euphoria gave way to panic, and they became maddened, screaming and running aimlessly.
K leaned against a wall, watching the chaos. She felt Zack's energy, the power of the Black Moon, and a bitter reflection hit her. She realized that Zack was not human. He was a monster, a hunter, a black eye, but also a kind person. A whirlwind of meanings that, in the end, seemed to have none. She wondered if, to be by his side, they would have to feel insignificant.
---
**The Final Dance and Tobi's Memories**
In the square, the fight reached its climax. Zack descended uncontrollably, the Black Moon emanating black energy. He was the image of a crow descending to hunt, fury in its purest form.
Tobi, on the ground, closed his eyes. He did not expect a technique of that level. That was against everything he had ever seen.
In his mind, memories came like a balm, a final gift before the end.
He saw a woman with black eyes and hair, dark skin, and a beautiful smile like shooting stars. "Is this love?" he wondered. "Even at the end, did you forgive me? Did you come to see me one last time?"
Memories of brotherhood followed: the fist bump between Zack and Tobi, the exchange of drinks and conversations, the joyful hugs with Zack, Nanashi, and Momo. A toast in an old, dirty, crumbling bar, with bodies all around, and the compass symbolizing friendship.
Then, the painful memory. Zack attacking soldiers, saving Momo, killing everyone who approached. Tobi had a sword pointed at his throat, about to die. But Momo, with the sword plunged into her body, whispered: "You don't need me, but I need you, live for me. I love you beyond the stars."
Zack pierced the hand of the soldier next to Tobi, his eyes red with rage. He made the worst choice: letting his best friend die to save Tobi. And Tobi, in his pain, blamed him, spat, and wanted to kill him.
"Yes! I am a monster, I hate myself, I hate myself! I didn't live to save those like Momo, no. I lived to enslave and hunt them." Tobi's self-confession was a silent scream of pain.
Tobi opened his arms, plunging the scythe into the ground with his left hand. A drag on the cigarette, a tired laugh, a deep breath.
"Momo! Look, I'm finally going to die! Momo, I won't go to the same place you are! Momo... forgive me."
Tears streamed from his eyes, but not of sadness, but of a melancholic happiness. He remembered that nothing was in vain.
Everything suddenly turned dark.
**CLACK!** A sound of metal and flesh. A hollow sound.
Tobi's head rolled slowly on muddy ground, as the rain, which had begun, made the environment heavy and cruel. Tobi died smiling, his blue eyes illuminating the darkness caused by the Black Moon.
His body remained standing, with his arms open, showing that a hunter never dies touching his back to the ground. A friend, a brother, was killed by his own hunting brother. A cruel end to a world where nothing is so simple.
The darkness left Zack's body. The Black Moon no longer had energy, only the eclipse above Zack.
Zack felt a deep void, his eyes sunken, crying in silence. Sobs of sadness consumed him.
Only one sentence left his mouth: "I want to die..."
**End of Chapter.**