The silence was absolute. Hykee didn't lunge. He didn't even flinch. He simply stood in the center of the street. His arms hung loosely at his sides. His eyes were locked onto Kota with a terrifying, unblinking focus. He was a statue of manic intent waiting for the boy to crack.
Inside Kota, something stirred with a violent and sudden urgency. The flickering silver embers didn't just glow. They roared. The boy's posture shifted, becoming rigid and precise. The desperation in his eyes was replaced by a cold, ancient hunger that did not belong to a child. The time for waiting had ended.
A low breath escaped Hykee. His grin widened just a fraction. He was enjoying the hesitation. He was savoring the moment where Kota realized there was no way out.
Suddenly, the atmosphere around Kota changed. He moved with a speed that even caught Lokee off guard. Kota vanished into a blur of silver light. He projected himself across the gap like a spear launched from the hand of a god. He aimed a palm strike, fueled by a massive concentration of Yen, at the Hykee's throat.
Hykee watched with delight. He tilted his head back just as the silver palm whistled past his neck. He didn't back away. Instead, he coiled his power and delivered a punch so hard it sounded like a thunderclap. The blow caught Kota square in the chest, sending him flying back through the air.
Kota hit the stone street and skidded several feet. His body trembled. Leiya ran to him despite the danger. She reached down and grabbed his arm, desperately trying to pull him up. Her eyes darted toward the others in terror.
"Get up, Kota!" she pleaded. Her voice cracked. "You won't win this. We need to run!"
Kota looked at her. His breathing was heavy and shallow. He tried to push himself off the ground, but his arms gave away.
"I cannot," he rasped through gritted teeth. "This body is too weak. I have expended too much Yen. I cannot move, girl."
Hykee stood still and let out a jagged, manic laugh that echoed against the broken houses. "I am done playing."
He reached up and grabbed his own jaw. His fingers dug into his skin. Hykee's void was different from his siblings. It allowed him to store objects within a pocket of nothingness inside his own body. His throat served as the gateway to this internal abyss. Drawing his weapon required him to physically reach into the dark. This violent process was why he was always covered in bandages. The internal pressure of the void frequently tore at his own flesh from the inside out.
He let out a low, guttural sound. His throat began to bulge and shift. Hykee reached deep into the darkness of his own throat. His hand disappeared past the wrist as he grasped the hilt hidden within the dark void.
With a slow, agonizing pull, he dragged a hilt out from his throat. The metal was jagged and black. It was coated in a thick, dark residue that smoked when it hit the air. Hykee pulled the full length of the blade out. It was a long curved sword made of a material that swallowed light. He wiped the residue from his lips with a bloodied hand.
"Did he just?" Juno whispered. Her face was pale.
"Ew, that's disgusting," Kana added. She stepped back with a look of pure revulsion.
At the Haven, the atmosphere was thick with a different kind of tension. Kova stood by the Roundtable with Koma and Kaola. Koma was leaning against a pillar. He watched Kaola with a hungry, predatory look while she sat in the chair directly across from him.
Kova suddenly went still. His eyes narrowed. He felt a sharp surge of energy emitting from the south. It was a jagged and familiar vibration that cut through the void. He knew that signature. It was the sound of Hykee unsealing his full malice.
He is losing his patience, Kova thought to himself. His expression remained a mask of cool neutrality. If he releases that thing, there won't be a boy left to bring back.
Back in the settlement, the fight took a turn toward the nightmare. Hykee threw his sword into the air and snapped his fingers. A black puddle appeared on the ground beneath it. The sword flew into the darkness, vanishing completely.
"Where did the sword go?" Juno asked herself. Her eyes were wide with confusion. "Why did he pull it out to just get rid of it?"
A memory of Kova's voice flashed through her mind. He had warned her about this. He had told her that if he ever did that gesture, she needed to get away immediately. The realization hit her like a physical blow. This was not a bluff. It was a death sentence.
Hykee looked at Kota. His face was no longer human. He covered his eyes with one hand, his tongue sticking out in a gnarly, scary look. As he held his hand up, the bandages wrapped around the back of his hand began to fray and rip apart under an immense, unseen pressure.
A sewed eye on the back of his hand began to slowly open as the cloth fell away in tatters. The air began to crackle. Lightning started striking the stone street. The sky turned a bruised purple color. Something ominous was about to happen as the eye wept black tears.