The void shattered around Akira like glass, and the world snapped back into focus.
His room reformed — the cracked window, the faint hum of the city, the pendant glowing faintly in his palm.
Masahiro's presence had faded, but his final words still haunted Akira's mind.
> "The blade will show you what you need to learn. But beware — every power demands its balance."
He whispered to the silence, "Old man… I can't do this alone."
The mark on his hand pulsed, and the world rippled. For an instant, he saw Masahiro surrounded by twelve colossal shadows — their forms like gods drowned in darkness.
Then the vision snapped. Akira collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.
The pendant dimmed, but the burn on his mark remained.
Something was shifting… and he wasn't the only one feeling it.
---
Near the Abandoned Subway – Midnight
The night breeze was cold and heavy.
Rina walked quietly along the cracked sidewalk, her school bag slung over her shoulder.
Her phone screen lit her face faintly as she texted Ren, unaware that he was already watching — from the darkness beneath the old subway stairs.
The area was silent, almost too silent.
The flickering streetlight above her cast long shadows that seemed to move on their own.
But she didn't notice. She only adjusted her coat and kept walking, humming softly.
From beneath the broken steps, a faint ripple in the dark spread like black ink.
Ren emerged slowly, his expression blank but his eyes glowing faint red. Shadows leaked around him like smoke, twisting and merging into forms that crawled along the walls.
They slithered toward Rina's silhouette — silent, hungry, unseen.
Ren's voice was a whisper under his breath.
"Run, Rina… let's see if you can."
He smiled coldly as the shadows neared her — only a few feet away.
But then—
A blinding golden light erupted from the other side of the street.
The air howled.
Every shadow was instantly erased — torn apart into ash by a force that shook the ground itself.
Rina froze for a moment, confused, feeling the gust hit her back.
She turned around — but saw nothing. The street was empty, silent, only the faint sound of wind.
Her phone buzzed again.
Akira's name flashed.
She sighed, shaking her head.
"Akira… you're such a worrywart."
Then she walked away, completely unaware of what had just happened behind her.
---
The Subway Entrance
Where the shadows had gathered, Ryozen now stood — tall, calm, his black coat rippling faintly under the light.
The Wheel of Samsara rotated behind him in a dim, golden glow.
He wasn't looking at Rina.
His eyes were fixed on the figure standing deeper inside the subway shadows.
Ren.
For a long, tense moment, neither spoke. The air around them vibrated with raw energy.
Ren's grin widened as dark tendrils swirled around him, seeping into the cracked floor. "Finally," he said softly, his voice carrying a faint distortion — a presence not entirely his own.
Ryozen didn't respond. His golden eyes studied Ren, but his gaze never met his face.
He looked slightly upward — toward the writhing aura forming behind Ren, something vast and inhuman taking shape.
A formless darkness emerged — Oblivion's manifestation. The walls trembled. The air fractured with the weight of its presence.
Through Ren's body, a voice echoed — low, ancient, and resonant.
> "What's that stare for, Ryozen? Do you remember what you failed to seal?"
Ryozen's lips curved faintly. A half-smile, almost amused.
"I remember… a flash of you. That's enough."
The Wheel behind him spun faster, radiating blinding golden light that pushed against the spreading darkness.
And then—he vanished.
A burst of luminous energy scattered like falling embers, and Ryozen was gone — leaving only silence and the lingering hum of power.
Ren stood alone, trembling as the shadow behind him flickered violently. His calm expression twisted into fury.
He slammed his fist into the cracked ground, the impact shattering the tiles beneath his feet.
The tunnel shook like an earthquake.
"Akira…" he growled, his voice filled with venom. "You're getting stronger, aren't you? I'll end you — before you ever open the seal."
Dark mist surged around him as he disappeared back into the subway's depths.
Only silence remained.
The last flicker of golden light from Ryozen's Wheel slowly faded — leaving behind a whisper, like a dying echo through the cold night.
> —a shadow running on shadow—
and the faint, dying rotation of the Wheel of Samsara.