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Dove walked beside Jason, her silver light dimmed but steady, her steps lighter than they had been in years.
"Okay," she said, glancing back at the carnage. "How do we deal with that fuck, though? He won't stop running."
Jason didn't look back. "Nah. You don't have to worry about that. Watch."
Mahoraga's final wheel spun.
The sound was low, almost subsonic....a deep thrum that vibrated through the ground, through the air, through the bones of everyone who heard it. The wheel turned once, twice, three times, and then Mahoraga moved.
Not fast. Not quick.
Impossible.
He appeared in front of Red Death as if he had always been there, as if the distance between them had never existed. His fist connected with the speedster's chest, and the crimson blur that had been untouchable moments ago went flying.
Red Death caught himself, skidded to a halt, and stared at the creature that now matched his speed.
"How the hell can he do that?!"
Mahoraga didn't answer. He just kept coming.
The two clashed in the air, crimson lightning against adaptive destruction, zips of light colliding again and again, each impact sending shockwaves across the battlefield. Red Death threw a lightning arc. Mahoraga caught it and threw it back. Red Death dodged, circled, tried to find an opening
Jason's slashes came from the side.
Red Death twisted, avoiding the invisible blades by inches, and dropped low to evade—only to have Nue drop on him from above. He dodged again, rolling across the ground, and came up swinging
Mahoraga's fist caught him in the jaw.
The punch sent Red Death flying across the battlefield, his body tumbling end over end, until he landed at Jason's feet.
Jason smiled.
He raised his hand and slashed.
The Dimensional Cleave took both of Red Death's legs off at the knees. Blood sprayed across the dirt. The speedster screamed, a raw agonized sound that tore through the air and echoed off the distant walls of the fortress.
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He collapsed, his hands clutching at stumps that no longer existed below the thigh, his crimson lightning flickering and dying.
"Damn you..." Red Death's voice was wet, choked with blood and fury. "You... you have no idea... you will die... I know that for sure..."
Jason crouched beside him. "I know. We all die one day." He tilted his head. "But I can assure you... I ain't dying any time soon."
He raised his hand one final time.
The Dimensional Cleave took Red Death's head.
The body went still. The crimson lightning faded. The speedster who had terrorized this nightmare realm for longer than anyone could remember was simply... gone.
Mahoraga and Nue evaporated behind Jason, their forms dissolving into motes of cursed energy that scattered on the wind. Their work was done.
Jason turned to Dove.
"Well. We're done here." He nodded toward the fortress, the massive structure that housed the gate, the tower that stretched toward the endless dark sky. "Let's find that gate"
Dove stood still for a moment, staring at the bodies, at the blood, at the silence where chaos had been. Then she turned to Jason, and her eyes were wet.
"I have been trying to kill these guys for ages." Her voice cracked. "You know that? I would've never done this without your help." She smiled not the hollow smile from the bunker, not the manic grin from the cliff, but something real. Something grateful. "So thank you."
Jason waved a hand. "No worries. I told you I'd save you from this place, didn't I?" He started walking toward the fortress. "Come on. Let's go."
The tower was taller than it looked from outside.
They climbed for what felt like hours, spiral stairs cut from black stone, walls that pulsed with faint energy, air that grew heavier with each step. Dove led the way, her silver light illuminating the darkness, her footsteps sure despite her exhaustion.
At the top, they found it.
A Dark Gate.
It floated in the center of the circular chamber, suspended above the floor, surrounded by nothing but empty space and shadows. It was the size of Jason's hand—small enough to hold, small enough to crush, small enough to seem harmless.
But Jason knew better. The darkness within it was absolute. The absence around it was complete. This was the anchor. The source. The wound that the Empty Hand had carved into existence to bleed his hunters into the real world.
"This is the gate you spoke of, right?"
Dove nodded. "Yeah. Don't let it confuse you. This thing... it's massive. When it wants to sprout shit into this place, it covers the sky." She gestured at its current size. "But for now... I guess it's dormant."
Jason raised his hand.
He would end this. One slash, and the gate would die. One slash, and the Empty Hand's influence would be severed. One slash, and
The Dark Hand emerged from the gate.
It moved faster than thought, faster than light, faster than anything Jason had ever faced. It grabbed his wrist, not painfully, not gently, just... absolutely. His hand stopped mid-swing. His slashes died before they could form.
Then the head emerged.
Then the torso.
Then the other hand, and the legs, and the body that housed something that should not exist.
Jason froze.
He couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Couldn't think. His mind was still functioning, he could feel his heart pounding, his lungs straining, his fingers twitching toward his pocket where the Sands of Sleep waited, but his body refused to obey.
The sands. His thoughts raced. Dream's gift. 'I just need to reach them. I just need to'
The entity smiled.
Or at least, it looked like a smile. The face was human-shaped, but wrong, the proportions off, the features too smooth, the eyes too bright. Four horns crowned its head: two small ones curving back from its temples, two massive ones spiraling upward from its brow. Its eyes shone blue, but not like any blue Jason had seen. They shone like galaxies. Like entire universes, born and dying in the space between heartbeats.
In its hand, the Sands of Sleep.
Dream's gift. The escape. The one-time use that was supposed to save Jason if everything went wrong.
Now held by the entity that wanted him dead.
"You..." The voice was soft, almost gentle, yet it resonated through Jason's bones like a bell being struck. "I didn't predict you'd be this bold. To come here. My realm." The entity glanced around the chamber, as if seeing it for the first time. "Well, not really mine. But I stole it, so now it belongs to me."
Its eyes returned to Jason.
"Nonetheless... you ARE special. Really special." The smile widened. "To think you'd defeat all my hunters and come here to hunt them yourself. I had more, of course. But you've shown me... you're not an easy target." A pause. "Well. I expected that."
The entity released Jason's wrist. Jason didn't move. Couldn't move.
"Oh, by the way." The entity's voice was almost cheerful now. "As you may have realized by now, I am the Empty Hand." It made a face disgust, or amusement, or something in between. "Honestly a terrible name given to me by the Celestials. I prefer the name..." It paused. "The End."
Jason's blood ran cold.
The End.
Not a title. Not a description. A name. A being. Something that had existed before the first star was born and would exist after the last one died. Something that made gods nervous and angels pray.
The Empty Hand,The End, leaned closer. Its galaxy-eyes reflected Jason's face back at him.
"Do I smell fear?" It inhaled deeply, theatrically. "Of course you fear me. All creatures fear the End. It's natural." It leaned back, satisfied. "But worry not. I find you more entertaining alive."
It turned, pacing the circular chamber, its footsteps silent on the black stone.
"I've been watching lately. Quite the interesting man you are." It glanced back at Jason. "So I don't mind you coming here to ruin my plans. In fact, I loved it. Seeing you evolve again." Its eyes dropped to Jason's chest, to the Ankh hidden beneath his shirt. "Using what did you call it? Destined Death? Oh, such a powerful and interesting way to declare death. Even in this place where I banned death."
Jason's throat worked. No sound came out.
"So I'm curious to see more of you." The Empty Hand shrugged. "For now, I'll allow you to leave. As long as you entertain me more... I don't see a reason to kill you."
It turned to the gate and raised its hand. The dark portal expanded, not tearing, not opening, just growing, as if it had always been that size and Jason's eyes were only now catching up.
"I'll save you the trouble."
It snapped its fingers.
The gate vanished.
The absence where it had been was almost worse than the gate itself, a hole in reality that made Jason's stomach lurch and his vision swim. Then the hole filled, and the chamber was just a chamber, and the nightmare realm was just a place, and the Empty Hand was just a monster standing in front of him.
"Enjoy your life." The End tossed the Sands of Sleep from hand to hand, watching the grains catch the light. "And goodbye."
It turned to leave.
Then it stopped.
"Oh. I forgot." Its voice was casual, almost bored. "YOU can leave." Its hand moved. "But not her."
The hand didn't blur. Didn't teleport. It simply crossed the distance between the Empty Hand and Dove in no time at all, because time, for this being, was optional. Its fingers pierced her stomach. Its palm pressed against her spine. Its arm emerged from her back, slick with blood that was already evaporating into silver light.
Dove's eyes went wide.
The Empty Hand withdrew. Stepped back. Smiled one last time.
Then it was gone.
The pressure released. Jason's body remembered how to move. He lunged forward, catching Dove before she could fall, lowering her to the ground as gently as his shaking hands would allow.
"NOOO!" His voice tore out of him, raw and desperate. "No, no, no, hold on....I'll save you...."
His hands pressed against her wound. Reversed cursed energy flooded from his palms, green and gold and everything he had. The wound didn't close. The bleeding didn't stop. The flesh didn't knit.
Whatever the Empty Hand had done, healing was impossible.
"Jason..." Dove's voice was faint, her eyes already losing focus. "I'm sorry..."
"No." He shook his head, his hands pressing harder, his energy pouring faster. "No, you're not dying. Not here. Not like this."
"Jason." She reached up and touched his face. Her hand was cold. "I don't blame you, silly."
Her lips curved into a smile, peaceful, accepting, genuine.
"My purpose is achieved. I always wanted to avenge my people." She coughed, blood spraying across her lips. "And you've done that for me."
"Don't talk like that. You're going to "
"So thank you." Her eyes found his, clear and bright despite the blood, despite the wound, despite the end that was already claiming her. "Because of you... I'll die in peace."
Her body began to glow.
Not the silver light of her lantern ring. Not the white light of her powers. Something softer. Something warmer. Something that had been buried beneath years of survival and fear and loneliness, finally allowed to surface.
"Goodbye, Jason." Dove smiled. "Thank you for everything."
The light consumed her.
She dissolved in his arms, not painfully, not violently, just... gently. Like a candle being extinguished. Like a bird taking flight. Like a woman who had fought for so long finally allowed to rest.
The ring fell to the ground with a soft clink.
Jason stared at the empty space where she had been.
"FUCK!"
The word exploded out of him, raw and broken.
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"
He slammed his fist against the stone floor. The stone cracked. His knuckles split. He didn't feel it.
"DAMN YOU!"
His voice echoed through the empty chamber, through the empty tower, through the empty realm that had finally claimed its last survivor. No one answered. No one ever answered.
Jason knelt there, surrounded by darkness, his hands stained with blood that was already fading, his chest heaving with breaths that felt like drowning.
"I'm sorry, Dove." His voice was barely a whisper now. "I dragged you into this. I should've..."
He couldn't finish.
He looked at the ring on the floor. The first Cursed Lantern Ring. The one he had given her. The one that had bonded with her light, her will, her stubborn refusal to die.
He picked it up.
The silver light within it flickered once, a heartbeat, a goodbye, a promise, and then went still.
Jason closed his fingers around it. Poured the Sands of Sleep over his own head. And let the darkness take him.
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If you Like this story! Check out my other story ! Shadow Monarch in Danmachi!
AND
If you wish to read more or simply support me just because ? than check out my patréon at
"https://www.patréon.com/Riadooo"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want !