The sky over the jungle was a cruel, mocking shade of sapphire blue. It was a perfect, clear day—the kind of day that, just twenty-four hours ago, would have been filled with students laughing on their way to school and salarymen hurrying toward the subway. Now, that pristine blue was choked by a nightmare.
Hundreds of regular-grade Soul Reapers swarmed the atmosphere like a living soot. They didn't fly like birds; they moved with an erratic, insectoid twitching, circling in a vast, predatory vortex that blotted out segments of the sun. The air hummed with the sound of their collective presence—a low, soul-crushing vibration that rattled the ribs of the three survivors standing in the blackened remains of the forest.
Kento wiped a thick smear of soot and dried blood from his forehead, his knuckles white as he clenched his fists. Blue sparks of electricity began to jump between his fingers, erratic and angry. He glared upward at the swarming masses.He barked, his voice raw with a cocktail of adrenaline and terror. "Let's go, guys. Let's wipe every last one of them out of the sky!"
"No," Takashi's voice was like a bucket of ice water poured over Kento's fire. He stood with his knees slightly bent, his breath coming in measured, rhythmic intervals. "We need to escape. Right now."
Kento spun around, his eyes wide with indignant disbelief. "Escape? Why?? We have the Phore now, Takashi! We can fight these bastards!"
Sami stepped forward, moving between the two boys. Her face was pale, shadowed by the gravity of the situation. She glanced at Takashi's trembling hands—he was hiding it well, but the strain of his previous combat was showing. Then she looked at NItsuki, He was still unconscious, lying there.
"Because you and Takashi are pushing your limits, Kento," Sami said, her voice trembling but firm. "You're bleeding, and Takashi's muscles are probably screaming. And look at Nitsuki—he hasn't stirred. He's completely unconscious. We can't wage a war in an open field while we're dragging a casualty. We are vulnerable."
Kento opened his mouth to snap back, but the sight of Nitsuki's limp, pale face stopped the words in his throat. He let out a frustrated, guttural groan and kicked a pile of charred, smoldering wood, sending a spray of sparks into the air. "Aughh. Fine. But how do we get out? We're not as fast as you, Takashi. they're surrounding us."
They fell into a heavy, suffocating silence. The Soul Reapers were descending, their circle tightening. The shadows of the creatures flickered over the ruins like black blades.
"How are we going to escape?" Kento asked, his voice dropping to a low hiss. "Nitsuki is a sitting duck, and you can't carry us all at full speed, Takashi. Physics doesn't work that way."
"He's right," Takashi thought, his mind racing through calculations. "The friction alone would be immense. I might get us out, but I'd burn out my heart before we hit the city limits." "I'll carry all of you," he said finally. "I might not hit top speed, but I can keep us ahead of the swarm."
Sami's eyes suddenly sparked with a brilliant realization. "Takashi, wait! I have an idea. My Psychokinesis... it's not just about throwing things. I can feel the weight of everything around me. If I use my Phore on us, I can reduce our weight to zero."
Takashi's head snapped toward her, his analytical mind instantly grasping the implications. "Zero weight? You mean total mass negation?"
"Exactly," Sami said, her confidence surging. "If I negate the weight of everyone you're carrying, you won't be burdened by an extra gram. You'll be able to run at your absolute maximum power, as if you were running alone. You can be the engine, and we'll just be... the air behind you."
"Great," Takashi commanded, a rare, sharp smirk appearing on his face. "Hurry up. Do it."
Sami closed her eyes and reached deep into the core of her new phore. Suddenly, her entire body ignited in a radiant, brilliant silver aura. She reached out with her mind, wrapping her energy around Kento and the unconscious Nitsuki.
Instantly, a shimmering silver aura outline snapped into place around Kento and Nitsuki, and even around herself. The heavy, oppressive pull of the earth simply vanished. They didn't just feel light; they felt buoyant. Takashi hoisted Nitsuki into a secure carry, while Sami and Kento clung to Takashi's back.
"It's incredible," Takashi thought, his muscles tensing as he prepared to launch. "They're there, but I can't feel them. It's like I'm standing alone in the wind."
The Soul Reapers sensed the sudden spike in Phore energy. One of them shrieked—a high-pitched, metallic sound that signaled the dive.
"Now run, Takashi!!!!" Kento screamed. "They're coming down!"
A Soul Reaper lunged from the canopy, its obsidian claws outstretched, aiming for Takashi's throat. But Sami was faster. Then Sami used her power, taking control of two massive stones. She lifted them into the air and hurled them forward with tremendous force toward the Soul Reaper. The stones smashed straight into its head splitting it apart and it was instantly killed.
Then, Takashi ran
He didn't just run; he became a streak of pure, unadulterated kinetic force. With his weight-reduction advantage, he shattered his previous speed records. The jungle became a smeared painting of greens and blacks.
"Kento and I will watch the rear!" Sami yelled, her voice nearly lost to the deafening roar of the wind. "Just focus on the escape, Takashi! Don't look back!"
"I trust you both," Takashi thought, his vision narrowing to the path ahead. "Handle the ones behind us. I'll handle the distance."
A Soul Reaper swooped in from the front, a dark blur trying to intercept their trajectory. "Oh, shit!" Takashi hissed, shifting his weight. Kento didn't hesitate. He pointed a hand forward, his eyes sparking blue. He unleashed a concentrated thunder strike, a bolt of pure lightning that lanced through the air and pierced the creature's chest. The monster exploded into black mist, its remains scattered by the wake of Takashi's passage.
"Like Sami said," Kento roared, his hair whipped into a frenzy by the wind, "leave the trash to us! Just focus on escaping!"
Takashi pushed his speed even further. The sudden acceleration was so violent it nearly threw Sami and Kento off, but they held on with white-knuckled desperation. Behind them, a swarm of Reapers struggled to catch up, but they were trying to chase a ghost. Sami continued to hurl debris—trees, rocks, broken metal—each piece marked by a silver outline as it flew backward with pinpoint accuracy, knocking down the persistent pursuers one by one.
Four or five Reapers charged from the front, they opened their mouth and then fired a laser beam straight from within.. Takashi dodged the beams with serpentine grace, his body leaning so far into the turns that they were nearly horizontal, never losing an ounce of momentum. Kento followed up, striking the attackers down with rapid-fire thunder strikes.
"Just a little farther—and we'll be out of this place!" Takashi yelled.
"Aughh... there are way too many of them!" Sami scream out, seeing the horizon filled with circling shadows. "Hurry—get us out of here! Go somewhere far away and hide!"
With one final, bone-shaking surge of power, Takashi burst through the final wall of jungle foliage. The oppressive humidity of the forest ended abruptly, replaced by the cracked, dry asphalt of the Tokyo outskirts. But the danger wasn't over. Six or seven persistent regular Reapers were still clinging to their trail, their wings beating the air in a furious chase.
"Finally! We are out," Takashi panted, his lungs feeling like they were filled with hot coals.
"Yeah, but there are still 6 or 7 Soul Reapers chasing us!" Sami warned, glancing back at the incoming monsters.
"Don't worry guys, I will kill them," Kento said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, low register.
Sami gripped Kento's collar firmly with one hand to keep him steady. Kento raised both of his hands, his palms facing the pursuing Reapers. From all ten of his fingers, streams of brilliant blue electric energy burst out. With a powerful, sweeping swing of his arms, he moved the lightning like a set of whips, slicing through every last one of them. The Reapers were cut into cauterized pieces before they could even scream.
"Hahaha! Those Soul Reapers are really weak," Kento laughed, the adrenaline finally starting to cool.
"Of course they are," Takashi reminded him, finally slowing his pace to a manageable jog as they entered the city proper. "Because they are 4th-grade Soul Reapers. They're just drones."
"What is this 3rd grade, 4th grade thing??" Kento asked, wiping sweat from his eyes. "Can you explain it properly? You've been talking like you have a manual for these things."
"Yeah," Sami added, her silver glow finally receding. "I also need a full explanation of this Soul Apocalypse. I didn't read enough of the old texts to know what's happening."
"I will explain everything later," Takashi said, his eyes scanning the horizon for signs of movement. "First... we need to find a place to hide. A place where we aren't standing in the middle of a main road."
The scene shifted as they moved deeper into the urban sprawl. Three minutes had passed since they left the jungle. Sami and Kento had returned to their normal weight and climbed down from Takashi's back, walking with exhausted, heavy steps. Nitsuki, however, remained securely strapped to Takashi's back, his breathing the only sign that he was still among the living.
The sight of Tokyo was a psychological blow that hit them harder than any Soul Reaper. The city was a hollow shell, a grand monument to a civilization that had collapsed in a single afternoon.
"What has happened to Tokyo…?" Sami whispered, her voice trembling. She looked at a row of luxury shops, their glass windows shattered, the expensive mannequins toppled like real bodies. "There's not a single living person in sight. Only... these." She gestured toward the scattered bodies lying on the sidewalks—people who had been caught in the initial harvest, their souls long gone.
"Yeah, because everyone is weak," Kento said coldly, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of unease. He looked at a discarded cell phone on the ground, its screen still flickering with a 'missed call' notification.
Takashi's gaze shifted forward, landing on a concrete building half a block away. It was a nondescript office structure, damaged by some initial blast but still structurally sound. "Hey guys. Look over there. Maybe we can rest there for a moment. We need to get off the street."
Suddenly, a loud, hollow growl rumbled from Kento's stomach. The sound was so out of place in the deathly silence that Sami turned to him with a surprised look. "Hm. You are hungry."
"No!! I mean... yeah. A little bit," Kento admitted, his face reddening as he rubbed his stomach.
"Takashi, I am also hungry," Sami admitted, her own exhaustion manifesting as a gnawing void in her gut. "We need to find some food before we hole up in that building. We won't have the energy to fight again if we're starving."
"Yeah. Me too," Takashi agreed, feeling the drain of his high-speed run. "Let's go to a convenience store first and grab some supplies. There's one just up the block."
They arrived in front of a store Takashi used to visit. The 'Open' sign was still flickering weakly, hanging by a wire. "Ish... what a state this place is in," Takashi thought, a wave of nostalgia hitting him like a physical blow. "I used to come here every morning for coffee and a rice ball."
"Ah. It hadn't completely collapsed," Sami noted, peering through the broken front window, "but the outside is heavily damaged. These Soul Reapers are destroying everything... people are dying everywhere."
"Hey, talk less, and let's go inside," Kento interrupted, his hunger outweighing his sense of tragedy.
They stepped over the threshold. Darkness filled the space, the air smelling of spilled soda and stale bread. Without electricity, the refrigerators had stopped humming, creating a silence so thick it was deafening. The only light filtered in from the blue sky outside, casting long, eerie shadows across the aisles.
"It's dark inside," Sami whispered, her hand hovering near her heart.
Takashi began inspecting the various foods. He was careful, observing which packages were still sealed and which had been compromised. He spotted some snacks and protein bars that were still in good condition. "Hmm… these are still good. Let's take these with us." He paused, looking at his hands, then at Nitsuki. "Ahh… I forgot. I don't have any bag to carry them in. Sami…!!! Look around—see if there's any bag nearby?"
Sami was already searching the area behind the counter. She was moving broken displays and spilled cigarettes around, her eyes scanning the debris. "I am already searching for a bag here by the counter!" Finally, she reached into a lower cabinet and found a stack of plastic shopping bags. "Yeah, I got it! Takashi….! Come and take a bag."
Takashi went over to her, his footsteps echoing on the linoleum. "Give me a bag."
"Here it is," Sami said, her voice dropping as she looked at Nitsuki's pale face resting on Takashi's shoulder. She looked genuinely upset. "By the way... Nitsuki is still unconscious." She reached out and touched his hand. It was cold. "Is he... is he dead, Takashi?"
"Nah, nah. He's breathing," Takashi assured her, though his own mind was plagued by questions. "I can feel the warmth of his breath on my neck. He's alive. But it's actually weird... he got a shock after touching that stone, but by now, he should have gotten up. His Phore should be stabilizing. Why is he still out?"
"Yeah. I hope he wakes up early," Sami sighed.
"Yeah…. But, where is Kento?" Takashi asked, realizing the hot-headed boy had vanished.
A loud crunching sound came from the middle of the store. They looked toward the third aisle and saw Kento sitting on top of a toppled freezer, already halfway through a bag of chips.
"Oiiiiii… Kento! Why are you eating here?" Takashi hissed, his voice a harsh whisper. "Take the food in the bag, and we'll eat in that building! We don't know who—or what—is listening!"
"Um.. I am just hungry. That's it. So what?" Kento replied, his mouth full.
Sami smiled slightly, covering her mouth with both hands. It was a bizarre moment of normalcy in the middle of a nightmare.
"We are not safe here," Takashi warned, taking the bag from Sami and handing it to Kento. "Fill this up. We just came to get food so we can eat secretly there."
Just as Takashi handed Kento the bag, his entire body went rigid. His ears, sharpened by the Phore, picked up a sound from the street—a heavy, rhythmic scraping. It wasn't the sound of a human.
Something was approaching the front of the store.
Takashi didn't hesitate. He grabbed Kento by the collar and dragged him behind a large freezer chest. He gave a sharp, downward signal to Sami, and she dove behind the counter instantly, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"What's coming now?" Takashi thought, his eyes fixed on the entrance. "It shouldn't be a 3rd or 4th-grade—they are massive, they would have leveled this building by walking past it. But the store is still standing. So what could it be? It can't be a 2nd-grade either. Then… is it a 1st-grade? 1st grade soul reapers body size is just like human size."
The sound grew louder—a heavy, wet breathing followed by the click of claws on pavement. It was coming closer, and it was moving with a terrifying sound.
"No way... if it's a 1st-grade Soul Reaper, we won't be able to defeat him. Not like this. Not with Nitsuki unconscious on my back. I can't fight a high-level hunter in these conditions."
Takashi reached out and held Kento's mouth shut, keeping him perfectly silent. Nitsuki remained motionless, his breathing shallow and quiet. On the other side, Sami crouched low, her fingers digging into the floorboards. She was terrified, but she was ready. She prepared herself, her internal energy coiling like a spring, ready for her body to ignite in that radiant silver light the very second that thing crossed the threshold.
The shadow of something 5 time taller than a human and slender flickered across the doorway, and the air in the store grew impossibly cold.