The moment Shin's blade clashed with Tenka's abyssal tendrils, the very air cracked under the force of their battle. Shadows writhed, coiling around Shin like serpents, seeking to crush him under their weight. But he had come too far to be swallowed now. With a surge of chakra, he swung his katana in a wide arc, slicing through the encroaching darkness. Sparks erupted where his steel met the void, illuminating Tenka's smirking face.
"You resist the inevitable," Tenka mused, his Abyss Eye gleaming. "The Void is boundless. Your struggle is nothing but a flickering light in an endless night."
Shin exhaled sharply. "Then I'll burn brighter."
With a flash, he vanished, reappearing behind Tenka with his sword already descending. Tenka twisted, his cloak of shadows expanding into a barrier that caught the blade mid-strike. The force sent a tremor through the air, but before Shin could press forward, the barrier collapsed inward, pulling him off balance.
In that moment of vulnerability, Tenka struck.
A tendril of pure void wrapped around Shin's wrist, yanking him forward. Tenka's palm thrust toward his chest, an explosion of dark energy ripping through Shin's defenses and hurling him across the battlefield. He hit the ground hard, the impact sending cracks through the stone beneath him.
Hana's voice rang in his mind. Get up, Shin!
Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself onto his knees. The battlefield—an abandoned temple deep in the Land of Iron—had become a warzone. Columns lay in ruins, the once-grand statues reduced to rubble. The very fabric of reality trembled, as if struggling to withstand the battle's intensity.
Shin wiped the blood from his lip. His Abyss Eye flickered as he forced his breathing to steady. Think. Tenka isn't invincible. He had to find a weakness.
Tenka approached, hands clasped behind his back, his confidence unwavering. "You've grown stronger," he admitted. "But you still don't understand, do you? The Void is not a power to be fought. It is the truth of all existence."
Shin rose to his feet. "Then explain something to me." His grip on his sword tightened. "If the Void is inevitable, why are you so desperate to force it on the world?"
For the first time, Tenka's smirk faltered.
Shin saw his chance. He surged forward, his katana igniting with blue chakra. Tenka moved to counter, but Shin anticipated it, shifting his stance at the last second. His blade slashed across Tenka's chest, leaving a deep gash. The moment the cut was made, the shadows recoiled, writhing like a wounded beast.
Tenka staggered back, his expression unreadable. Then—he laughed.
"Impressive." His voice was calm, but his Abyss Eye burned with something new. Amusement? Or something darker?
Shin's stomach twisted. He had landed a decisive hit—so why did it feel like he had played into Tenka's hands?
Then the shadows surged.
A pulse of Void Release erupted from Tenka's body, expanding outward in a wave of destruction. Shin barely had time to react before it crashed into him. The sheer force sent him flying again, his body slamming against a broken pillar.
Pain shot through his ribs. He gasped for air, forcing himself up as Tenka advanced.
"You wound me, and yet you hesitate," Tenka mused. "You think victory is measured in scars?" He raised his hand, and the temple around them began to dissolve, consumed by the void. "You still don't understand what you're fighting against."
The battlefield was disappearing.
The sky turned black. The ground beneath Shin's feet crumbled into nothingness. The world itself was being rewritten.
Shin's vision swam. He had to move. He had to—
A hand grabbed his wrist.
Hana.
"Shin, we have to get out of here!" She was shouting over the chaos, but her voice grounded him. Behind her, Renjiro and the others fought against the creeping darkness, their attacks barely holding back the abyss.
Shin shook his head. "If we run, Tenka wins."
Hana's grip tightened. "And if we stay, we die!"
Shin looked at her—really looked at her. Hana, the one who had saved him from his own despair. The one who had stood by him through everything.
He couldn't let her die here.
But he also couldn't lose.
Shin turned back to Tenka, who watched with an almost expectant expression.
This was a test.
No—not a test. A lesson.
Tenka wanted him to choose. To see the limits of his resolve.
Shin clenched his fists. His choice was clear.
With a surge of chakra, he turned and grabbed Hana's hand. "Then we'll win together."
Their chakra flared.
A burst of energy erupted from them, forcing back the darkness. Renjiro and the others joined in, their combined strength pushing against the consuming void. For a moment, just a moment, they stood on equal ground.
Tenka tilted his head, intrigued. "So you do understand."
The darkness collapsed inward. The temple vanished.
Shin felt himself falling—
And then, everything went black.
-----------
For Advance chapters visit : patreon.com/Oskin