( Chapter unfolds :35)
After Rey vanished into that void, Izuma and Sai stood there, paralyzed by the weight of their defeat.
The black smoke gradually cleared, but the lingering chill still sent shivers through their souls. Sai somehow managed to retrieve his sword from the ground.
As his fingers brushed the blade, he felt a strange hollowness. The energy within the sword remained still. It had faded into a dull grey.
Izuma, still gasping for air, moved toward him.
"Sai... are you alright? Can you stand up??"
He gently helped Sai up and leaned him against a nearby support. But Sai remained fixated on his sword, staring at it blankly.
"My sword... something has happened to it, Izuma. Whenever I take it, its energy glows. Now, there is nothing. I can't feel a thing."
Izuma looked at Sai's sword; it was true, the light was gone. He looked at his own weapon it was the same.
"Is the power gone? Does that mean our strength is lost forever????" Sai asked, fear creeping into his voice.
"Hey... Sai, it's not that. This isn't lost power. Instead, something happened during Rey's attack. His power has suppressed the energy within our blades. That's what it feels like to me."
This was unbearable for Sai. His voice cracked with a mixture of sorrow and rage.
"He didn't even touch us, and yet we lost so easily. He was right... we are just rabbits."
But Izuma felt something different deep inside. He placed a hand on Sai's shoulder.
"He did that on purpose. He knew that breaking our confidence was more effective than wounding our bodies. That was his goal."
"This pain inside me hurts more than my physical wounds right now. We came here hunting him, but didn't he just turn us into his prey and leave us behind...?"
Izuma looked into the distance.
"Our strength isn't finished here; it has only been diminished, Sai. We still have time."
Izuma helped him up, and they walked slowly through the forest under the moonlight. Rey's haunting laughter still echoed in their minds.
After walking a short distance, Izuma sat Sai down again. Sai was still lost in thought.
"Sai, this is only the beginning. There is still time," Izuma said, sheathing his own sword.
Sai gripped his sword tightly. But the blade remained silent and cold.
"Izuma, didn't you hear what he said as he left? That he lives within our fear..."
Hearing that, Izuma slowly nodded.
"A hunter fleeing in fear is more dangerous than a wounded lion. He knows that if we succumb to fear, it will directly affect the energy of our swords."
Sai's anger flared up again.
"But how can we not be afraid? I never knew a zek could possess this much power."
"That's exactly why he left us alive. He wants us to remain living, just like his prey."
Sai tried to stand up slowly, but the effort exhausted him, forcing him back down.
"How are we ever going to get those powers back now? In this state, how will we even make it through this forest?"
Izuma gently supported him and helped him up, starting to lead him out of that area.
"I wonder which zek's beating the others are taking right now!" Sai muttered.