Location: Jack's Subconscious
Darkness.
But this was not merely the absence of light.
It was a void where light felt as if it had never existed at all a place that erased direction, depth, even the sense of reality itself.
This was not a world.
It was a place where thoughts went to be forgotten.
Jack lay there once again, unconscious within the darkness.
His body remained motionless.
His breathing was faint.
Slow.
As if his soul had been dragged away from his physical form and abandoned here.
Silence ruled the space…
Yet it was not a peaceful silence.
It was suffocating.
Heavy.
A silence that felt alive as though something unseen was breathing alongside him.
Around him stood enormous objects swallowed by shadow.
Broken toys.
Shattered chairs.
Cracked clocks frozen in time.
Fragments of childhood memories.
Once innocent.
Now hollow.
Some were crushed beyond recognition, others split apart as if violently rejected by memory itself.
Nearly all of them were piled together at a single point, forming a colossal mound.
The subconscious had built a mountain from ruin.
A pile of trauma.
A graveyard of memories.
And at the summit of that mountain…
Liberty sat.
His left leg crossed calmly over the right.
One elbow rested upon his knee, chin supported lazily in his palm.
He looked completely at ease.
As if he owned this place.
As if this entire darkness existed solely for him.
Within the endless void, he was the only clear silhouette.
He opened his mouth.
Liberty: Wake up… sleeping ugly.
His voice sounded amplified, as if spoken through countless microphones at once.
Yet it echoed from every direction simultaneously.
The words vibrated through the darkness, striking invisible surfaces and returning again and again.
Jack slowly opened his eyes.
His eyelids felt unbearably heavy.
Like a body that refused consciousness being forced awake against its will.
He pushed himself upright.
Jack: …I'm here again?!
His voice did not disappear into emptiness.
It echoed endlessly.
…here again… here again… here again…
Liberty tilted his head slightly.
Liberty: Don't worry. The silence of this place only breaks when you arrive.
Jack immediately turned toward Liberty's direction.
At first, he saw nothing but a massive shadowed shape.
But as his vision adjusted-
He realized.
It was a mountain.
Broken memories.
Shattered objects.
Forgotten fragments of existence.
Jack slowly lifted his gaze upward.
Higher.
And higher.
Until he finally saw Liberty seated at the peak.
Jack: You know… sitting up there doesn't make you cool or intimidating.
Liberty heard him.
But did not react.
He remained completely still.
Too still.
So still it felt unnatural.
As if he wasn't breathing.
As if he wasn't truly there at all merely allowing himself to be seen.
Then Liberty spoke.
Liberty: You still haven't noticed the one behind you.
Jack's eyes widened.
Jack: How did you—?!
Before finishing his sentence, instinct took over.
He leapt backward.
But-
Liberty was gone.
A moment ago, he had been on the summit.
Now-
He stood behind Jack.
He hadn't teleported.
He hadn't moved.
He was simply… there.
Jack's body began trembling.
For the first time in his life, someone had erased their presence so perfectly that even his instincts failed to detect them.
His mind screamed.
Danger.
Death.
Predator.
Liberty leaned closer.
Liberty: If you don't want me to hurt you… listen carefully, you stupid brat.
Jack: Like I'd ever listen to someone like you!
Liberty exhaled slowly.
And then-
The air changed.
A bloodthirsty aura spread outward.
Darkness grew heavier.
The void tightened.
Invisible blades seemed to brush against Jack's skin.
Liberty: Either you listen… or I erase your existence.
Jack felt it instantly.
This was not pressure.
It was worse.
The aura did not crush-
It cut.
Through every cell.
Every thought.
Every breath.
It felt as though his very existence was being sliced apart.
Jack: You can't erase me!
Liberty paused.
Liberty: …What?
Jack: I'm the Key's carrier, aren't I?!
Liberty's eyes narrowed slightly.
Liberty: Tch… fine. Then listen, idiot brat.
The aura vanished instantly.
Jack nearly collapsed onto his knees.
His breathing became uneven.
Like someone who had just escaped death itself.
Liberty: I want to make a deal.
Jack frowned.
Jack: What kind of deal?
Liberty: Your body now houses my second soul.
If we form a contract… this body will surpass its limits.
Jack's mind raced.
Jack (Thought) : He's planning something… If this threatens humanity, I need to think carefully.
Liberty smirked and extended his hand.
Liberty: Here's the offer.
If you encounter an enemy you cannot defeat, you may summon me.
The moment you activate it, I take control.
I heal your wounds… and destroy the enemy.
The darkness fell silent.
Only Jack's heartbeat echoed.
This sounds too beneficial… Why does my instinct keep telling me not to trust him?
Jack: That's all?
Liberty: No. That's only the first clause.
The longer I remain active, the duration of the third clause increases.
Jack: Get to the main condition.
Liberty grinned.
He raised one finger.
Liberty: I can activate control whenever I want… by my own will.
Jack immediately stepped back.
Jack: Deal rejected! Someone like you having free control would cause chaos!
Images flashed through his mind.
Jack (Thought) : Enzo. Michael. If he hurts them-
Before Jack could continue thinking, Liberty extended his hand again.
This time more calmly.
Liberty: I won't harm them.
Jack froze.
Silence followed.
Doubt.
Instinct.
Jack (thought) : A deal this good…? No. Something's wrong.
Yet…
He needed power.
Slowly, Jack reached out.
Their hands met.
Jack: If you do even one wrong thing… I'll make you regret it.
Liberty smiled.
But it was not a human smile.
It was the shape of fear itself.
A hunter's smile.
Liberty: Thank you for cooperating… brat. Now sleep.
Jack's knees gave out.
He collapsed.
Consciousness faded instantly.
Liberty turned away and began walking toward the mountain.
Each step echoed through the darkness.
While climbing, he spoke quietly.
Liberty: The most important rule…
Never think out loud inside your subconscious.
He smiled faintly.
Liberty: Because here… every thought screams.
Location: Sacred Temple - Main Hall
Arthur carried Jack over his shoulder.
The grand hall remained empty.
Massive pillars surrounded the chamber, stretching upward until they disappeared into shadow where even light failed to reach.
Arthur's footsteps echoed across the ancient stone floor like distant bells.
Jack hung unconscious against him, breathing irregularly.
Arthur: You could've at least passed out in the training field…
Arthur glanced briefly at Jack's face.
Arthur : Still… his potential is incredible.
Cold air drifted through the hall despite the sealed windows.
Then-
A white letter descended from the air.
It rotated slowly as it fell.
A symbol marked its surface.
A skull.
One tooth made of gold.
Arthur instantly placed Jack onto a nearby chair and leapt five meters upward, catching the letter midair.
It never truly fell.
The air itself seemed to carry it.
Let's see what kind of trouble this brings…
Arthur opened it.
Flames ignited in his left hand, reducing the envelope to ash.
He read the note.
Moments later, the paper ignited on its own.
His expression darkened.
His fist clenched.
Arthur: What do you mean they did that?!
The message read:
— The Absolute Detectives placed a bounty on your student.
— Roland has been chosen as the executioner.
— Yujin broke every seal you created.
— And… I stole the forbidden relic you sealed.
The air inside the hall grew heavy.
Arthur's eyes widened.
Arthur: The Deadeye Revenant…!
Location: ???
Wind.
That was the first sensation.
Dry. Harsh. Bone-rattling wind.
Ruined buildings filled the horizon.
Twentieth-century cars lay crushed or rusted into skeletons of metal.
Sand covered everything.
A wasteland where the Wild West and apocalypse had fused into one world.
Rust.
Burned metal.
Dried blood.
All mixed in the air.
Then-
Heavy footsteps.
The ground trembled.
A massive creature charged forward.
But in the middle of the road sat a lone man atop a destroyed car.
Drinking calmly.
Completely uninterested in the approaching monster.
The last drop fell from his bottle.
- - - : Tch… ran out of booze. Guess I'll stop by a saloon later.
The creature roared.
Not an animal sound.
It sounded like hundreds of screaming throats crying for help at once.
Shockwaves shattered glass and rattled metal signs.
The man lit a cigarette.
Smoke moved against the wind.
- - - : Wrong town, fossil.
A tattoo on his arm glowed jade green.
Energy flowed beneath his skin.
Light surged outward-
Forming a revolver in his hand.
Black metal.
Jade-colored lines.
Strange symbols pulsed across its surface.
Positive.
Negative.
He pulled the trigger.
Reality fractured.
Bullets fired at terrifying speed, each marked with opposing symbols.
They struck the creature-
But did not pierce.
They entered it.
The monster froze.
The man turned away, placing a black mask over his face.
- - - : Adiós, cosa fea… Magnetic Torture.
The creature screamed.
Its entire body compressed inward.
Bones crushed.
Metal twisted.
Flesh folded as though gravity itself collapsed upon it.
The enormous beast shrank-
Compressed into a human-sized sphere.
Then-
BOOM.
Blue blood exploded across the wasteland.
The man already hid behind a vehicle.
The blood hit the ground and began melting it instantly.
- - - : At least that was quick. Time to collect the reward.
He was known as-
The Deadeye Revenant.
His real name was unknown.
Only Zeron Tensei knew it.
One of the most dangerous bounty hunters alive.
Yet many still underestimated him.
Black gambler's cowboy hat.
Jade-colored aura matching the hat cord.
Long black coat.
Mask covering the upper nose.
Eyes hidden beneath shadow.
Height: 1.87 meters.
Age: 38.
He removed a relic from his dusty bag.
The metal fragment trembled faintly.
Alive.
Revenant: Arthur's probably losing his mind right now…
He smiled.
Revenant: So this is a piece of the Demon King… Wonder how much it's worth.
He walked calmly through the blue blood.
As dawn rose-
He walked toward the sun itself.
His shadow stretched long across the wasteland.
And then…
He vanished.