The Cyber Ascension
Chapter 5: The Ruthless Shadow
The silver moon hung high above the quiet garden.
Yuzurei sat motionless on the cold stone bench, his expression blank, his eyes sharp enough to cut through the dark.
The night whispered through the leaves — cold, still, watching.
A faint sound of footsteps.
Musukoni: "Yuzurei, why are you here?"
Yuzurei: "Huh? We've got a mission tonight. Just waiting for the others."
His tone was calm, but something inside it trembled with irritation — like a blade held too long in the flame.
---
Inside the wooden house, Yusikuna adjusted his gloves with a proud smirk.
Yusikuna: "Sensei! My first solo mission. I'm ready!"
Shioinkin: "Don't let your excitement blind you. Caution keeps you alive."
The boy nodded and vanished into the mist.
Hours later, he returned — confused, restless.
Yusikuna: "Sensei! The whole area was silent — no enemies, no signs!"
Shioinkin: "Hmm… maybe a false report."
Yuzurei: laughing "All that hype for nothing!"
Musukoni chuckled quietly.
Jin Yuan remained still, watching — unreadable, detached, his shadow unmoving even under the lantern light.
---
That night, a heavy silence covered the house like fog.
Far beyond Earth — in the depths of the Blue Realm — Shinjukuna stood before the Three Blue Knights.
Blue light rippled across the metallic floor as he spoke.
Shinjukuna: "You three know your orders."
Eisuke, with his long white hair and half-buttoned suit, said nothing.
Tetsuya leaned against a steel pillar, smirking.
Tetsuya: "We're listening, Shinjukuna-sama."
Kaizen, eyes mismatched and cold, waited.
Shinjukuna: "Bring those brats into the Blue Realm — and trap them halfway between worlds. Let them believe they're chasing us. The deeper they go, the closer they step into our jaws."
A cruel grin cut across his face. The knights bowed. The plan began.
---
On Earth, Jin Yuan, Yuzurei, Musukoni, and Yusikuna trained, unaware of the snare tightening beneath their feet.
Then — the distortion came.
Reality cracked. Blue light devoured the ground.
They ran down endless metallic stairs, weapons drawn, the air humming with energy.
Yuzurei leapt down first, landing hard on a lower platform.
Yuzurei: "Too slow…"
A grin split his face — wild, manic, hungry for violence.
Jin Yuan ignored him, calm as ever, descending step by step beside Musukoni and Yusikuna.
At the end of the stairway, a new world opened before them —
The Blue Realm.
A high-tech wasteland of shimmering towers and hollow energy fields stretched endlessly, glowing like frozen lightning.
Yuzurei: "Heh… I'll destroy this world."
Musukoni: "This is a trap."
Yusikuna: "If that's true… what if something happens back on Earth?"
Jin Yuan: "Sensei's there. No worries."
---
Meanwhile, on Earth…
Shioinkin stood alone — one man against an army.
His black shield split the air as plasma blasts tore through the ground. His blade cut through steel and screams alike.
He fought like a storm given flesh.
---
Back in the Blue Realm.
Yusikuna: "Sensei's got this. Let's handle ours!"
He fired arrows of flame — only to watch them vanish against the metallic surface.
Yusikuna: "Tch… even fire's useless here."
Yuzurei laughed, already drenched in battle fever.
He unsheathed four katanas — two spinning mid-air — switching blades in rhythm so fast the sound blurred.
Yuzurei: "Haa haa haa haa! This is what I live for!"
Musukoni danced through the chaos, his chained daggers slicing arcs of blue light, cutting clean through armored soldiers.
And at the heart of it all —
Jin Yuan moved without a word.
Every strike was precise. Every motion — lethal.
His blade shone silver beneath the neon skies, painting death across the battlefield.
The deeper they fought, the stronger the realm pulsed.
It was alive. Watching them.
The storm had only begun.
---
End of Chapter 5 — The Ruthless Shadow
