The corridor outside the dance studio was too quiet. The kind of silence that made Rina's heartbeat echo in her own ears. She turned slowly, her breath short.
Reiji stood at the far end.
His posture was too still, too balanced — the kind of stillness that came before hunting. His eyes lacked their usual warmth, replaced by something cold and bottomless. His shadow stretched unnaturally along the floor, moving as if alive.
"Reiji?" she whispered.
He stepped forward once. The light flickered. His lips curled just slightly — not a smile, not a smirk, something between hunger and anticipation.
Rina's hands started trembling.
Before she could move, footsteps thundered around the corner.
"Rina!"
Akira ran toward her, Yamitsurugi materializing from its pendant with a flash of black light. His breath was sharp, but his stance precise and controlled.
He placed himself between her and Reiji.
"Stay behind me."
Reiji tilted his head, eyes sharpening. "Interesting."
His skin cracked. Shadow veins split across his jaw. His human façade peeled away like burned paper. His smile stretched too wide.
Akira tightened his grip.
"…Shinku."
The corridor warped.
Shinku's human body melted into his demonic form — horns curling backward, teeth lengthening into razors, eyes glowing a murderous red. His shoulders twisted unnaturally, limbs elongating as claws formed like black scythes.
Rina gasped, stumbling backward.
And then a streak of golden light cut through the hallway.
Ryozen appeared, coat billowing from the sudden wind. His glaive hummed with killing intent.
"Back away," he said. "He's not after you."
Akira frowned. "I can fight—"
He didn't finish.
A blur struck his ribs with the force of a sledgehammer.
Akira crashed into the wall, debris exploding around him. Ren stepped forward, eyes spiraling with Oblivion's influence, his aura warping the air like heat haze.
"Move, Akira," Ren said coldly. "This isn't your level."
Akira rose, jaw tight. "Ren. Not the time."
Ren vanished.
A kick slammed into Akira's side, sending him rolling across the tiles.
Behind them, laughter echoed. Smooth. Mocking.
Varek stepped from a swirl of swirling black light, hands behind his back, eyes glowing with amusement.
"This location is boring," Varek said. "Let's change the stage."
He snapped his fingers.
The hallway collapsed into itself.
The world flipped like a page turning.
Everything was swallowed in darkness.
They landed on an endless plain of black stone beneath a sky split with crawling cracks of purple and red lightning. Rivers of shifting shadow flowed like molten metal.
Shinku exploded into movement, charging at Ryozen with feral speed.
Ryozen met him head-on, their clash rippling across the realm. Shinku's claws struck like meteors, each swipe tearing craters into the ground.
Ryozen's glaive sliced clean through one of Shinku's arms — but the limb regrew instantly, sprouting more jagged bone.
"Still disgusting," Ryozen muttered.
Shinku lunged again.
Meanwhile, Akira wiped blood from his lip and raised Yamitsurugi. Ren approached with his emotionless stare, the darkness around him condensing into a moving mass.
"You're weaker than him," Ren said. "Stop pretending."
Akira took a slow breath.
"Veil Step."
He vanished and reappeared behind Ren, his blade slashing downward in a crescent of white-black voidlight.
Ren blocked with an obsidian shield forming from his arm.
They clashed, shockwaves splintering the ground.
Above them, Varek watched with hands folded behind his back, eyes following every move like a spectator at an opera.
"Beautiful chaos," he whispered. "But incomplete."
His gaze slid toward Rina.
He lifted a hand.
A chain materialized like living smoke, tipped with a razor hook glowing with Voidfire.
It snapped toward her—
A vibration ran through the realm.
Everything turned silent.
Even Ryozen stopped mid-attack.
Even Shinku hesitated.
Even Ren stiffened.
Akira turned sharply, eyes widening.
Varek's smile faded.
"…He came fast," Varek murmured.
A single crack opened in the air.
Not like magic.
Not like a summoning.
More like reality itself was forced to open.
A spear of pure radiance shot through the crack, streaking like a comet and slicing Varek's chest open so cleanly it left no blood — just burning white light.
Varek was thrown across the realm, crashing into a wall of shifting stone.
A figure stepped through the crack.
Wearing a clean white button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up. His platinum hair fell slightly over his brow. His eyes glowed gold with an inner judgment, yet his expression was calm, almost gentle.
Michael.
He landed with the softness of a falling feather — and the ground shook anyway.
Rina's fear disappeared instantly.
She felt warmth.
Comfort.
Safety.
Even Akira felt his breath tighten at the overwhelming presence.
Ryozen smirked.
"Kid… that's the man I told you about."
Michael and Ryozen exchanged a tiny nod. Years of history in a single glance.
Varek rose, clutching the glowing wound in his chest, smoke pouring out.
"You…" he hissed. "The false star."
Michael didn't answer.
He lifted his hand slowly.
A golden sigil materialized above Varek, locking him in place.
"Your existence violates the order," Michael said quietly.
The ground beneath Varek began to burn.
He screamed.
Michael's spear appeared again, forged from pure sunfire.
"Hallowed Piercer."
The blade impaled Varek clean through the torso, light exploding from within him.
The scream twisted, distorted — and then cut short.
His body collapsed into dust, scattering in the wind.
Varek — the Second Shadow — was dead.
Shinku tried to escape, but Ryozen slammed him into the ground with a gravitational blast, planting a foot on his back.
"You ate innocent hearts," Ryozen said coldly. "You die here."
He thrust his glaive downward.
Shinku's body convulsed — then shattered into ash.
Ren stood at the edge of the crumbling realm, bruised and panting, but alive.
"Our fight isn't finished," Akira said, stepping forward.
Ren glared back, blood trickling from his lip.
"You're not ready. Not yet."
A portal opened behind him, swirling with shadow.
"You will break soon, Akira," Ren whispered. "I'll be there when it happens."
He stepped backward and vanished.
The vortex realm collapsed, and in an instant, they stood again in the human world — on a quiet street, the night air cool against their skin.
Rina clung to Akira's sleeve, trembling.
Michael cleaned the blood from his spear with a small cloth and tucked it away as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
Akira stared at him, stunned.
"You saved us."
Michael shrugged modestly. "Ryozen asked."
Ryozen crossed his arms. "Told you one man was enough."
Akira's rage cooled, but his resolve hardened.
Michael studied him with an old, solemn gaze.
"Masahiro's successor… you walk a dangerous path. Be careful."
The air crackled faintly.
Ren was gone.
The Summit of Shadows was waiting.
The war was no longer approaching.
It had begun.