I. The Echo of the Oath
The clash of steel echoed throughout the Council Chamber. The impact between
Akihiko and Renji 's katanas rattled the windows.
Shadows and golden light danced among the roots emerging from the ground, reacting to the energy of both fighters.
Kaede and Sael stepped back, feeling the pressure in the air.
It was more than a fight. It was Edenfall's past bleeding out before them.
Renji launched the first attack with lethal precision. His fractal sword split into three lines of energy that sliced at different angles.
Akihiko blocked them with swift movements, enveloping his katana in a dark layer of emptiness.
"You don't have to do this," Akihiko gasped. "
You can still stop him, Renji."
The mentor smiled, with the calm of a man who had already made his decision.
"I taught you to look beyond fear, Akihiko. But you never understood what it means to control it. The Tree's power needs guidance. And you... you can no longer guide anything."
Akihiko looked down for a second.
"You may be right." He looked up, his expression hardening. "But I can still stop you."
And he launched his attack.
II. The Dance of Emptiness
The clash was devastating.
Renji moved his sword with surgical precision, controlling the flow of fractal time around him. Each time Akihiko attacked, Renji shifted the seconds, altering the instant just before impact.
It was like fighting against a reflection that always knew what was going to happen.
— "Time Technique – Reverse Loop." —Renji whispered, as Akihiko was pushed back by an invisible force.
Kaede observed, her voice trembling.
"He can't win like that. Renji manipulates the temporal fragments of each attack."
Sael analyzed the scene, his fingers running over the device.
"But each use of that technique... consumes his life force. Renji knows this. He's willing to die for Varren."
Akihiko closed his eyes, feeling the flow of the battle.
He could hear the Tree's heartbeat, mingled with his own. The emptiness within him responded.
— "Void Technique – Static Horizon."
The air stopped. The roots ceased to move.
Renji opened his eyes in surprise: the flow of time had been neutralized. The void had suppressed time itself within a radius of twenty meters.
Akihiko advanced slowly, each step making the floorboards creak.
"You can't go back any further, Master. All you have left is the present."
Renji smiled sadly.
"So... that's how it had to be."
III. The Last Blow
They both lunged at the same time.
Their swords clashed one last time, emptiness and time intertwining in an explosion of dark light.
A roar shook the tower. The Tree's roots contracted violently, as if feeling the pain of the battle.
Kaede and Sael shielded themselves from the impact. When the dust settled, only two figures remained standing.
Akihiko, bleeding, still holding his katana.
Renji, on his knees, clutching the broken blade of his weapon.
The silence was absolute.
Renji looked up, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"You did it... you controlled the void without losing yourself in it."
Akihiko lowered his sword.
"I never wanted this." "No one wants... what the Tree demands," Renji whispered before collapsing.
Akihiko caught him before he fell completely.
The master was breathing heavily, his eyes reflecting a glimmer of peace.
"Listen to me..." she said, her voice breaking. "Varren isn't trying to control the Tree... he's trying to awaken its dormant roots . Beneath the tower... there's something that even you... shouldn't see."
Her hand fell, and the echo of her voice faded away.
Akihiko remained silent, his head bowed.
Kaede approached slowly. "I'm sorry, Akihiko..."
He did not answer. He only closed his eyes and whispered,
"May your rest not be in vain, Master."
IV. The Wrath of the Void
At that very moment, Varren watched from the room above, surrounded by monitors.
He saw Renji fall and smiled, without a trace of remorse. "A necessary sacrifice."
He activated a hidden panel beneath the council table.
Red lights began to flash. The golden roots of the Tree vibrated powerfully, spreading through the foundations.
Sael looked at the ground.
— Akihiko… something is activating.
Akihiko looked up, emptiness throbbing in his eyes.
"I know. Varren just awakened something even the Tree didn't want to remember."
The ceiling rumbled.
A dull roar emerged from the depths.
Kaede drew her katana.
"What's that?"
Akihiko gritted his teeth.
"The dormant roots... what Renji tried to warn me about."
The ground began to crack, and a black energy with golden flashes slowly rose, mixing the power of the Tree with the void itself.
🕯️ End of Chapter 285
Renji has fallen.
The former master dies, revealing that beneath Edenfall lie dormant roots , an unknown force that Varren has awakened.
The void and the power of the Tree begin to merge, disrupting the balance of the entire world.
The internal war of Edenfall enters its most dangerous phase: the awakening of forbidden roots.