**Universe 06**
It was a rainy day like any other, but this one felt heavier than the rest. Something could be sensed approaching in the atmosphere.
A crack appeared in the ground. Little by little it began to spread, the opening growing wider. A dark figure emerged from it, faceless and unclothed. Its presence was pure shadow.
A man walking nearby froze in fear, terror crawling down his spine. Before he could make a sound, his body was torn apart without mercy. The dark figure had been clenching its fist and pointing at him the whole time, controlling his body and wrenching his limbs away.
Slowly the figure began to walk. Its stride was firm, and every step was a sentence passed on its surroundings, because everything darkened wherever it went. Its presence alone was enough to smother the world in darkness, without the slightest effort.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city...
A melodic song played over the speakers as people enjoyed their coffee and chatted. Suddenly the music began playing in reverse, and then the speaker exploded, alerting the employee. He turned his head to the left and saw, far down the street, a shadowy figure walking toward them. He noticed that everything around it darkened with every step.
His hands began to shake, a clear sign of the terror spreading through his body. The other people in the place felt a chill too, as if their bodies were warning them of danger.
One of them tried to speak but couldn't make a sound, only his breathing grew more ragged. His fear deepened when he saw a police officer aim a gun at the figure.
"Freeze!" the officer shouted, his voice commanding.
The figure drew closer until it stood only centimeters from the officer. He tried to fire, but his hand was swallowed by black.
Inside his body, his heart began to be wrapped in dark energy, and his brain was affected too. Slowly his body turned into a figure made entirely of shadow. He turned his head and looked at the employee.
The employee felt absolute terror, unable to move.
The people panicked and ran for the exit, but before anyone could get out, a silhouette stepped into the doorway. It was a young man in a dark blue shirt with black sleeves, gray pants, and black shoes, his hair the same color as his shoes.
It was Kiro Yukimiya.
"Go right, now, and don't look back. The less time you waste, the safer you'll be. Get as far from this area as you can. Right now!" Kiro said, his voice cold and serious.
They nodded and ran to the right without stopping. Kiro sighed, looked toward the figure, and without wasting a second launched himself at it.
The dark figure stayed where it was, pointing a finger at him. Kiro threw himself at a building to dodge its psychic control. He spun, planted his feet on the wall, and used it to push off before launching again. The building gave way behind him and slowly collapsed.
Kiro reached the figure and landed a powerful punch. It was thrown backward but quickly regained its balance. Kiro leapt into the air and noticed his leg was darkening. Without a second thought, he performed an intense flip that pushed the clouds aside.
The darkness scattered in the air. Kiro moved away from every area the figure had darkened, realizing he wouldn't win easily on its territory. A thought came to him: *If darkness is its source, then light is its weakness.*
With that idea in mind, he planted his feet in the ground, making it crack.
He turned his head and dodged a punch from the officer, now a shadow himself. Without wasting a moment, he dug his fingers into the ground and heaved it upward. He flipped the land, and the figure's entire darkened territory rose toward the clouds, every remaining building reduced to rubble.
The figure leapt in time and landed where Kiro stood. Yukimiya quickly pulled away.
Above, sunlight struck the place more directly. The officer vanished with the darkness of that street, the intense light killing every trace of shadow.
The slab of earth crashed back down with a dull thud, kicking up a huge cloud of rubble and dust.
Kiro moved away without hesitation, and the figure followed.
"Well, looks like light is your weakness, huh? I'll take you to the sun if I have to," Kiro said seriously.
Without waiting for a reply, the figure hurled a car at him. Kiro tilted his head aside, and it barely grazed him. He answered with a punch to the figure's face. It staggered back, then vanished into the ground, using its darkness.
It reappeared behind Kiro and sent a dark strike at his neck.
Kiro leapt up and drove a spinning kick into the ground, throwing the figure off balance. He threw another punch, but it only struck air.
Kiro snatched a chunk of rubble from the ground, jumped, set it beneath his feet, and jumped again, much higher.
A powerful blast of dark energy vaporized the rubble and everything in front of it. All the ruined buildings met the same fate.
Kiro landed firmly.
The figure raised a finger toward him.
"Did you really think I came alone? You've seen my attack, and I've taken that into account," a shadowy voice said inside his head.
Kiro shook his head sharply, silencing the voice. Hands seized his feet and arms like chains.
Blow after blow rained down on him, figures made of shadow pounding him.
The figure used its psychic power to rip off one of his limbs, but it couldn't. The failure rattled it.
Kiro seized the moment, freed his arms, and clapped. The shockwave scattered the silhouettes and the hands holding him.
Kiro slowly raised his eyes.
"I'm done seeing what you can do. Now... I'LL KILL YOU," Kiro said, his voice colder and more serious than before.
His gaze reflected pure resolve. The figure's hands began to tremble. It hadn't noticed yet, but its body had.
Kiro stomped hard, making the whole country shake. He launched himself at the figure at the speed of light, striking with enough force to destroy a continent.
The figure circled the entire world before Kiro met it with a knee to the face, and before its body could be flung away,
he seized its face and slammed it into the ground.
Multiple dark figures pounded Kiro's back. Scratches began to appear on his skin, but in one swift motion he hurled the figure into them. It was using its psychic power again.
The silhouettes were torn apart instantly and vanished.
When the figure turned its head, Kiro's fist was a few millimeters from its face.
It tried to dodge, but it was too late. The punch landed full force.
It was launched out of the planet's orbit and into the sun at tremendous speed.
*So he kept his word and sent me to the sun... If only he knew what he'll face in the future,* the figure thought.
Its body touched the sun, the scorching heat consuming it. It simply accepted its fate, and seconds later its body was vaporized.
On Earth, Kiro looked up at the sky, his fist steaming. Yukimiya glanced down at his hand and blew on it, and the vapor slowly faded.
Kiro turned and walked on with no destination in mind... The battle had ended quickly, yes, but he felt he was being watched.
From the deepest reaches of the Outerverse... the unknown voice watched Universe 06 through a screen. He was seated, and he had witnessed the entire fight.
"Being the original, it's no surprise that he's the first to exist. It also seems he has noticed I'm watching him, though he still doesn't know who I am. Interesting that someone could sense my presence like that without being anywhere near my level," the voice said, analyzing him.
Slowly he slid a finger across the screen until it reached the main universe. There he saw Boss 19 spending time with the protagonists, especially Worh.
Then he swiped upward.
An option appeared on the screen: "Discard as Boss."
He selected it.
Then he opened another screen and pressed "send." Boss 20 was being awakened...
Kiro Yukimiya clenched his fists, sensing that something was stirring beyond his universe. He ignored it for the moment and focused on seeing whether he could repair the part of the city that had been hit by the darkness.