Seven days had passed in the outside world of Tempest... but behind the doors of the 100th floor in the Labyrinth, Akira Yuzuki had lived through 35 days of absolute hell.
At the gate of the Labyrinth, Benimaru, Souei, and Diablo stood in silence. The sky above them was no longer blue; it was filled with artificial white clouds, and thousands of golden specks glistening on the horizon. The angel army had arrived, and "Judgment Day" had already begun.
"Time is up," Benimaru said, looking at a magical hourglass that had just run out of its last grains of sand. "Ramiris, open the doors."
Ramiris opened the gate with a touch of her trembling hand. "I... I am not responsible for what you are about to see inside! Veldora and Shion took this way too seriously!"
The massive doors creaked open, releasing cold steam and magicules so dense they almost obscured vision. From within that thick mist, three silhouettes emerged.
Veldora stepped out first, laughing his usual laugh, though his clothes were shredded as if he had just fought a world war. Behind him was Shion, her giant sword "Hirokumon" dripping with strange black magicules.
Then... he appeared.
Everyone stopped talking. Even Diablo narrowed his eyes in astonishment.
Akira was no longer that scrawny boy with a swollen face. He had grown slightly taller, and his body was now lean with solid, sharply defined muscles, devoid of any excess fat. His black hair had grown a bit longer, partially covering his left eye, which now radiated a faint, perpetual blue light.
But the most terrifying thing wasn't his appearance... it was his "aura". Akira walked among them without making a sound, without displacing a single speck of dust. He looked like a "hole" in reality, an entity that was simultaneously present and absent.
"I'm back," Akira said. His voice had become deeper, as calm as the grave, carrying a weight that hadn't been there before.
[Final Training Status Report:] [Physical Stats: Exceeded human limits by 1200%.] [Compatibility with Void Perception Eye: 85%.] [Mastery of Void Raiment: Absolute.] [Current Seal on 'Throne of the Void': 99.8% (Beginning to leak).]
Akira walked toward Benimaru, stopping directly in front of him. He didn't tremble, nor did he lower his head.
"The angels are up above, aren't they?" Akira asked, looking up at the crimson sky.
"Yes," Benimaru replied, smiling in awe at the transformation he witnessed. "They are waiting for your head."
"Then we shouldn't keep them waiting," Akira replied coldly.
Suddenly, without any warning, Akira vanished from his spot. It wasn't a magical teleportation; it was pure speed, bolstered by the "Void Raiment," which completely erased air resistance.
He appeared atop the highest tower in the capital in the blink of an eye, looking out at the army of angels descending upon them. Thousands of holy swords were pointed at him all at once.
"Kufufufu..." Diablo chuckled as he appeared beside him. "Are you ready to test your new power against the 'messengers of heaven', Akira-dono?"
Akira closed his right eye and fully opened his left (the Void Perception Eye). The world transformed into threads of killing intent.
"Diablo, do not interfere," Akira said, drawing a simple black dagger that Geld had crafted for him during his training. "I want to see how many of them I can erase... before I get tired."
At that exact moment, the first lightning bolt struck from the heavens, igniting the epic battle that the world of Tempest would forever record as the beginning of the "Emergence of the Void."