"Of all the paths, the Way of Kara is the sharpest: a trail of pitfalls, peaks, and suffering.
*No one is certain to see its end… and that is why those who do become extraordinary."
The Burning Lair.
An underground palace of unreal beauty, bathed in the glow of hundreds of floating lanterns.
In the center of a training arena, two figures faced each other. On one side, Fullness Anemiya, his Black Kara vibrating with fury. On the other, Shiro Takahashi, motionless.
Fullness:
— I refuse to let him get away unscathed. Not again today, he thought.
His aura exploded. He charged, his fist wreathed in destructive energy, and struck the ground in front of Shiro.
BOOOOOOM.
The impact was titanic. The marble floor shattered, and a cloud of black dust engulfed the scene.
A second later, a figure was violently ejected from the cloud. It was Fullness. Propelled like a projectile, he crashed into a pillar, which collapsed on top of him with a deafening roar.
Silence returned.
Then…
Slowly, a shadow cut through the dust.
Shiro Takahashi walked forward, hands in his jacket pockets, without a scratch, without even a crease in his clothes. He hadn't moved. He had simply absorbed the shockwave and sent it back.
He lifted his chin slightly, his scarlet gaze resting on the rubble where Fullness was buried.
No smile. No contempt.
Just the cold, absolute serenity of the Master of the Lair.
Unshakeable. Untouchable.
Inhuman.
Then…
A low growl rose from the rubble. The marble blocks were thrown to the sides as Fullness Anemiya got up, his body covered in dust and a few cuts, but his eyes burning with renewed fury.
Fullness:
"He took me out again without even…"
But he didn't have time to finish his sentence.
A whistling sound tore through the air. From the high vault of the cavern, several figures dove at a dizzying speed. They landed silently, without a sound, forming a perfect horizontal line in front of Shiro. The elite Blood Burns, the most powerful members of the organization. All of them knelt, their heads bowed.
Feynord Raki (Leader):
"We are all here, Master!"
Shiro ignored them for a moment, his gaze still fixed on Fullness, who had just realized the training was over. Then, he addressed the assembly, his calm voice echoing throughout the hall.
Shiro:
"Perfect. I want to remind you that all of you, as you are, hold no place in my esteem. Perhaps your leader, Feynord Raki. But not entirely."
Their faces tensed. Some, like Fullness, let a contained rage show. Others, more cautious, displayed a respectful fear.
Shiro:
"However, following the ignoble defeat of Johan Traken, the former Blood Burn number 5, I have decided to replace him. With him."
Shiro made a lazy gesture with his hand. Behind him, space tore open, forming a gateway of shadow and distorted light. A figure slowly emerged.
It was one of the two thugs from the alley in Kazemori. The survivor. The one who had fallen to his knees, his mind broken by terror. He was no longer the same. His face was devoid of all expression, his eyes cold and dead. He wore a simple dark blue jacket, and an aura of dense, unstable Black Kara pulsed around him.
At the same time, in a dark corner of the hall, another massive figure watched the scene. It was a Superior Kageyami, but different from the others. Its body seemed malformed, and at times, its skin hardened, taking on the appearance of rock, betraying its anger and confusion. It was the other thug from the alley. The one whose head had been torn off. Shiro hadn't just killed him. He had turned him into a monster, a creature of nightmare.
The Kageyami watched his former friend, now promoted to the rank of Blood Burn, with an indescribable hatred and frustration. They were the two sides of the same tragedy, two toys broken by the cruelty of a god.
Shiro swept his gaze over the assembly, making sure they all understood the message. Then, a slow, wide, and utterly heatless smile stretched his lips. A frightening smile that didn't reach his dead, red eyes.
Shiro:
"Consider this a warning. A testament to the fact that all of you, without exception, are replaceable pawns."
Transition – Back to Goma, just before the attack on Diana)
Night, City of Goma – East District.
Chaos reigned. The usually lively alleys were now scenes of slaughter. The bodies of civilians, lesser Kageyami, and low-rank Astroforges lay on the cobblestones. Blood mixed with rainwater in the gutters.
At the center of this carnage, several Kageyami reveled in the destruction. Most were lesser creatures, nightmare beasts acting on pure instinct. But three of them stood out for their size and oppressive aura. Superior Kageyamis.
One of them, however, was different. Its body seemed unstable, its skin hardening in places to take on the appearance of rock before returning to dark, swollen flesh. It stood apart, its gaze lost in the distance, ignoring the screams and the blood.
It was remembering.
*(Flashback – The Scene in the Burning Lair)*
1. He sees the training hall again, Shiro's power, the arrival of the elite Blood Burns.
2. He sees his former friend, the other thug from the alley, emerging from the shadow gate, transformed into Blood Burn number 5.
3. He hears Shiro's icy voice again: "Consider this a warning. A testament to the fact that all of you, without exception, are replaceable pawns."
The Kageyami growled, a hoarse sound that was more like a sob of rage than a monster's cry. He brought one of his massive claws to his own throat, as if searching for the scar of a wound that no longer existed.
Goro: (his voice a rumble of grinding stones)
"I have no memory of how I'm still alive. I remember he tore my head off... then darkness. And I saw him, in that darkness. The monster he truly is, giving me this Elemental Black Kara: Rock! It was awful, and the pain was unbearable."
Another Superior Kageyami, more slender and covered in bony blades, approached him.
Superior Kageyami 2:
"Enough daydreaming, Goro. I sense strong presences of Celestial Kara in the area. We'd better split up. I'm tired of killing these humans and low-rank Astroforges. I need real fighters."
Goro slowly turned his monstrous head toward his comrade, his eyes shining with a new light. A light of hatred directed not at the Zeniths, but at his own creator. He needed to let off steam. To destroy something. Anything.
It was at that moment that he sensed a fluctuation of energy nearby. A solitary, but powerful presence. A Zenith.
Without a word, he merged into the nearest brick wall, his stone silhouette disappearing like a drop of water in the ocean. He was going to find his own distraction.
Transition – Diana's Alley
Silence returned. Diana remained in position, her ice bow slowly dissolving. She had eliminated seven Blood Burns in a matter of minutes.
She let out a breath, the tension finally subsiding.
And it was at that exact moment that a hand emerged from the brick wall right next to her.
It was not a hand of flesh. It seemed to be made of the stone of the wall itself, but it was moving. Before Diana could react, the stone hand closed around her throat, lifting her off the ground and slamming her violently against the wall.
Her breath was cut off. Her Kara, disrupted by the shock and lack of air, flickered. She tried to struggle, but the grip was inhumanly strong, as if the entire city was holding her captive.
Slowly, the rest of the assailant's body began to emerge from the wall. It wasn't a man coming out of the stone; it was the stone itself taking human form. A massive silhouette, made of bricks and mortar, took shape, its contours blending perfectly with the wall to which Diana was pinned. Only two eyes, shining with a pure red light of hatred, were clearly visible.
The voice that rose was not human. It was a low rumble, the sound of grinding rocks.
Goro:
"I see you had your fun here, little one. Unlike you... I live in hell."
The stone hand tightened. The pressure on Diana's throat became unbearable. She felt something snap, and a trickle of blood escaped her lips.
In a final effort, she managed to raise her hand and place it on the stone arm that held her.
Diana: (a strangled whisper)
"Elemental Kara... Frost Touch..."
A wave of intense cold spread from her palm. Ice began to creep up Goro's arm, covering it with a thick layer of white frost. The stone cracked under the effect of the freeze.
But the effort was too great. The lack of air cut off her Kara flow. The ice stopped halfway up the forearm, unable to advance further.
The stone creature didn't even seem to notice.
Diana's vision blurred. Panic and despair overwhelmed her. All her techniques, all her power, were useless against this monster. She was dying. Alone.
A thought, a call from the heart, escaped her mind:
"Help me... Danky... Raizen... help..."
Suddenly, a whistling sound tore through the air.
SHINK!
A shuriken, black as night, struck Goro's arm with surgical precision, right at the junction between the frozen and the intact part. The impact, combined with the fragility of the ice, shattered the stone forearm into a thousand pieces.
The grip loosened.
Diana fell heavily to the ground, coughing and gasping for air, her hand clutching her bruised throat.
Goro let out a roar of fury, not of pain, but of frustration. He turned his massive head toward the roof from where the attack had come.
A silhouette stood there, outlined against the moon.
Before Goro could react, the figure made a swift gesture. Three more shurikens flew through the night.
Goro raised his remaining arm, creating a stone shield to parry the projectiles, which shattered into sparks on impact.
When he lowered his arm, the roof was empty.
The silhouette had vanished.
Silence returned to the alley, broken only by Diana's hoarse coughs and Goro's low growl.
Diana struggled to her feet, one hand on her bruised throat. Her gaze shifted from the empty roof to her opponent. Whoever her savior was, they were gone. She was alone again.
Goro, for his part, had entered a cold rage. His destroyed arm was not regenerating, but his fury was intact. The outside intervention had humiliated him.
Goro:
"I'm going to crush you. Slowly."
He was done playing. He raised his valid arm and struck the ground. The entire alley seemed to come to life. The walls warped, waves of cobblestones rose, and dozens of stone hands shot out from every surface, trying to grab her.
Diana, despite her pain, reacted with lightning speed. She slid on a thin layer of ice she created under her feet, narrowly dodging a first grab, then another. A pillar of bricks shot up in front of her; she created an Ice Barrier that exploded on impact, the shards cutting her cheek.
She was overwhelmed. Every dodge brought her closer to exhaustion. She couldn't fight the entire alley.
"I can't win from a distance... I have to get close. My only hope is to freeze him completely and shatter him."
She changed her tactics. While continuing to dodge the relentless assaults of the alley, she began to launch ice projectiles – swift and precise Frost Arrows not to injure Goro, but to create frozen footholds on the walls, allowing her to leap and change direction unpredictably.
Goro, seeing her strategy, began to laugh. A hoarse laugh, full of anger and pain.
Goro:
"You struggle well, little Zenith! But you don't understand!"
He struck a wall, and a volley of bricks was thrown at Diana. She parried most of them with an ice shield, but one of them hit her violently in the shoulder, tearing a cry of pain from her.
Goro: (yelling, his voice echoing throughout the alley)
"You know, I was always the more important one of us two! So why... WHY DID HE CHOOSE HIM INSTEAD OF ME?!"
He hammered the ground, each blow sending shockwaves of stone towards Diana, who was finding it harder and harder to avoid them.
Diana: (dodging a stone hand that grazed her face)
"What is he talking about? He's completely insane... But... he's distracted. This is my chance!"
Taking advantage of an opening, she launched herself from a wall, sliding at a dizzying speed towards Goro. Her hand shone with an intense green light, ready to strike.
Diana:
"Elemental Kara: Frost Zone!"
She was inches away from him, her icy palm ready to touch the monster's stone chest.
But just before impact, Goro, in a breath of rage, spat out a sentence that froze time.
Goro:
"I could have easily been the new number 5 and replaced that Johan Traken!"
The name.
That name.
For a split second, Diana's mind froze. The memory of Johan's laugh in her nightmare, the hatred, the fear... it all came rushing back in a paralyzing wave. Her attack faltered.
A split second. That was all Goro needed.
A sadistic smile appeared on his stone face.
Goro:
"It's not good to stop in the middle of a fight."
He didn't strike her with his fist. He used his power in a new way.
Goro:
"Black Kara: Stone Cluster!"
The debris of bricks and cobblestones that littered the ground flew up and gathered around his fist, forming a huge, brutal rocky mass.
The blow was thrown.
Diana, still in shock, only had time to cross her arms in front of her in a desperate reflex.
The impact was cataclysmic.
She was literally sent flying backward, her body crashing through the alley wall in an explosion of bricks and dust before landing in an adjacent building.
Silence returned. And Diana was covered in blood.
Goro took a few steps, the mass of stone around his fist slowly disintegrating. He looked at the gaping hole in the wall, a smile of pure madness on his face, his Black Kara aura pulsing erratically.
Goro:
"I'm going to kill you. And I'll prove to that bastard Shiro that I'm far more competent than that fool."
He slowly advanced towards the hole in the wall, savoring his victory, ready to finish off his prey.
END OF CHAPTER 21