Morning mist still clung to the forest when Zero and Kyren finally found a secluded clearing. The tension after Voltraz released his aura was still remembered by Zero.
The faint trail of the Abyss Devourer's destruction still lingered — scorched earth, broken trees, claw marks — a grim reminder of what awaited.
Kyren collapsed onto a fallen log, brushing dirt from her gloves.
"We're far enough," she said, looking at Zero. "You need rest… even someone like you can't be on edge forever."
Zero sat on the ground opposite her, loosening the straps on his gear.
"I need to understand what I can do… how to fight it. I can't go in unprepared."
Kyren smirked faintly.
"Meditation, huh? You always get this serious."
Zero shot her a glance, eyebrow raised.
"You think this is a game? This is survival. If I fail, people die."
Kyren didn't argue. She simply sat quietly, watching him as the tension between them settled. Only the rustling of leaves and distant bird calls broke the silence.
Zero closed his eyes. His breathing slowed, heartbeat syncing with the rhythm of the forest. He visualized the Dark Fragment within him — shadow energy coiling like liquid darkness around his limbs.
Unstable, raw, waiting to be shaped.
Hours passed. Shadows deepened as the forest dimmed. The energy inside him twisted, pulsed, expanding with each breath. Flashes of insight gripped his mind — manipulating shadow not as camouflage, but as a weapon. The Dark Fragment whispered possibilities, guiding him deeper.
By nightfall, his eyes snapped open. A surge of energy coursed through him — sharp, controlled. He could feel the flow of power in the world around him. The Abyss Devourer was no longer an unscalable wall.
He finally had a way to counter it.
Kyren noticed instantly.
"You've… changed," she whispered. "I can feel it too. Your energy… it's different."
Zero exhaled.
"Tomorrow, we hunt. It's time."
⸻
Division 2 — Captain Lysandor (Wind & Lightning + Special ability from Special Clan)
Far away, Captain Lysandor patrolled the outskirts of his domain. Wind swirled around him, lightning crackling across his gauntlets. His skill to trace the anomali, rarely used, remained ready — a fusion of his clan
abilities and elemental essence.
"Something's near," he muttered, he could smell something.
"Not just any demon… something different."
He followed faint tracks — broken branches, traces of shadow residue — until he spotted a figure moving lightly through the terrain.
Kyren.
His instincts surged. He sank into the shadows, observing with a predator's patience.
Sometime human… something demon… he thought, unable to decide which.
Zero remained undetected. His meditation had masked his presence entirely.
Lysandor waited. Calculating. Watching.
⸻
Morning — Tracking the Abyss Devourer
Zero awoke before dawn. Mist hung thick across the forest, dew dripping from leaves.
"Kyren," he murmured, "I go alone. Stay back. Support if needed… but don't intervene."
Kyren nodded, though worry flickered in her eyes.
"Just… be careful."
Zero melted into the forest. Shadows wrapped around him as he followed the beast's trail — deep claw marks, shattered stone, scorched soil. Every footstep silent. Every breath controlled.
Kyren followed from afar, unseen yet ready.
Finally, they reached it.
The Abyss Devourer — towering, brutal, its obsidian-like scales cracked with glowing purple light. Its eyes burned with malice.
It snarled the moment Zero stepped forward.
Zero's hand gripped his sword. Shadow fragments coiled around him like living smoke. Dark Elemental power surged through his veins.
The battle exploded instantly.
The Devourer lunged — claws tearing the earth apart.
Zero dodged, countering with newly forged skill:
Shadow Slash — sword speed fused with swirling shadow tendrils.
Dark Fragment Surge — a destabilizing pulse of raw darkness.
Shadow Step — slipping between shadows to attack from impossible angles.
The battlefield shattered.
Trees crashed. Rocks splintered. Shadows writhed like smoke in a storm.
At one moment, the Devourer's massive tail slammed him into a tree, knocking breath from his lungs. But Zero rose again. Unbroken.
Then clarity struck.
Zero focused every drop of shadow energy into his blade. The Dark Fragment's incomplete power fused with his will.
He unleashed his new technique:
VOID REQUIEM
A spiraling slash of darkness and inner energy — a vortex aimed directly at the Devourer's skull.
The blade cracked under the strain.
The Devourer screamed.
A massive wound tore through its head.
The monster staggered.
Dark smoke pouring from its dying form.
Kyren released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
"You did it… you actually did it."
Zero dropped to a knee, gasping for air.
"This… is only the beginning."
⸻
Night — After the Battle
They made camp by the fallen beast. Firelight flickered in the darkness, warming their battered forms.
Kyren passed him a flask.
"You fought differently today. Your shadow… the control… it's impressive."
Zero stared into the fire, silent for a moment.
"I had no choice. If I couldn't master it… we'd be dead."
Kyren smiled gently.
"But we're not. You're still here."
Zero met her gaze.
"You… trust me?"
Kyren didn't hesitate.
"I do. For now. But trust is built… not given."
A faint smile touched Zero's lips.
"Then keep me honest."
The forest hummed around them, quiet and alive.
Their bond — forged through danger, strengthened through battle — settled into something steady, fragile, and real.
But Zero's eyes stayed sharp.
The Abyss Devourer was only the first step.
A greater war waited.