1 month ago, Crystal City
The stars above Crystal City shimmered like scattered diamonds, illuminating the skyline with their twinkling radiance. Kevin and Victor roamed under the night skies, the silent beauty of their hometown triggering a seed of nostalgia deep within their hearts. The streetlights flickered with a cracking buzz, summoning their shifting shadows beneath the flashing cones of light. "So," Kevin blurted, his voice bouncing against the buildings' concrete walls into the shrouded darkness, "what'd you summon me for?"
"Kevin," Victor began, followed by a small moment of silence. "After Will of Freedom is gone, what will you do?"
Fragmented portions of Team ENTITY's adventures flooded Kevin's mind. "After Will of Freedom is gone?"
"Will of Freedom's job is to bring a long-awaited conclusion to the war against Thirst of Despair. Listen, just keep this in mind: you don't only wield the Realm God's power, you wield your own. If you're going to surpass the Realm God like you've been saying, you can't do it using someone else's power."
Town Square, Grand Province
Our focus returns to the Grand Province's Town Square, rich with conversations of Azul's abduction.
"Extra, extra, hear all about it! Grand Province Police Force investigation has began; statements are yet to come from Captain Riley regarding Zora!" A tall, frisky man shot his arms into the vast skies, proudly waving the Nahatan Times' newest paper. In a matter of seconds, tourists and residents swarmed the stand, ambushing the employee with a barrage of questions. "Does Azul's abduction have any correlation to LUO's international schemes?" "When is Captain Riley going to address the situation?" "What will the sentence be for the sadistic kidnappers!?"
That same moment, a gut-wrenching wave of power blew through the square like a roaring tsunami. The crowd's chatter waned as their eyes shifted towards the square's center - towards the Fountain of Prosperity. Newspapers across the square succumbed to the grueling heat, withering from the people's grasp into the overcast skies above. Gasps of awe erupted from the crowd - then, a frenzy of fearful screams erupted from its heart. "Please don't kill me!" "The police and hunters will save us!" "STOP!" Among the screams boomed a sadistic chuckle. A scorching ray of devilish flame erupted in the square's center, orbited by a phenomenon of small, paper fragments. "Six of ten elite hunters, yet all of them are soon to fall!" A feeling of immense pleasure greeted Tarsa with a welcoming embrace, emptying the square with his beastly presence. "Come out, gravity boy - HIDE AND SEEK TIME HAS ENDED!"
"Who the hell said I was hiding?"
Tarsa's chest tightened, darting towards the voice with his fiery gaze. Kevin and Tarsa - both embraced by the lively sunlight, stood face-to-face before the trickling fountain. "You drained the Town Square of its people," Kevin mumbled. It was as if his gaze had penetrated Tarsa's with a Gravitational Punch, flooding his eyes with a rippling sensation of cracks. "This is where it began, and this is where it'll end, human."
"Human?" Tarsa grumbled, uniting his fists with an aggressive bash. "Fire Moon has granted me limitless power exceeding those of humans by a great amount. When the Dark Province rises, we will exceed our current standing, surpassing the Old Generation and becoming ABSOLUTE GODS!"
"For someone who just got blasted through space and time, you're pretty prideful."
Capturing Kevin in a tightening glare, Tarsa's skin illuminated with a vengeful presence. "Fire Moon will be even stronger than LUO, stronger than the NFEHH, stronger than the AOES!" Rings of fluttering text wrapped around his wrists like bracelets, trapping him in a coat of Pyron's burning flames. "This very fight… WILL DETERMINE EVERYTHING!"
Volume 13, Chapter 78 - Darkness and Light
From an abandoned street to an ominous catacomb, then before one of Nahata's most iconic landmarks…
Kevin and Tarsa's glares intertwined, exchanging feelings of determination and vengeance beneath the air's crushing weight. Darkness and light, light and darkness. Without a moment to spare, their heads bashed against each other, splattering their foreheads with small, descending streams of lukewarm blood. For a moment, Kevin's glare waned, the surging warmth of Tarsa's blood forcing an overstimulated exhale.
In perfect unison, their arms shot forward, locking onto each other's shoulders with their struggling grunts.
"Gravitational…"
"Dimensional…"
"Pushing Palms!"
"Labyrinth!"
Both sides dragged through the square in opposite directions, their glares strengthening as weak crackles of kinetic energy rose from their separating paths. Tarsa's waist shot upward, followed by Kevin's. Kevin's arms lifted, followed by Tarsa's. Both sides had formed a bond - a bond of unison. Their bodies moved together, yet their dreams didn't. A mischievous smile bloomed across Tarsa's face, accompanied by a malicious shade of darkening red orbited by lines of fluttering, unreadable text. "As you've seen, I can do much more than create dimensions. I can create new fighting styles - new ways to rise to the top."
A flickering lightbulb of realization illuminated in Kevin's mind. "This is what I was feeling earlier. Can't say what it is for sure, but it looks similar to Lila's code in some way…" A shroud of billowing fog pushed outward, plaguing Kevin's legs with its bone-freezing warmth. It carried Tarsa's heartbeat, pulsing against the painted cobblestone before fading into obscurity. Kevin's eyes squinted, distinguishing Tarsa's scent through the devilish inferno. Tarsa wore a struggling smirk, merging Pyron's darkness with his own. "We've reached the final act, gravity boy. I may have been born human, but now I'm a god." Tarsa's body shot upward, a trail of roaring flames following him like a soaring rocket. The Town Square trembled beneath the rocket's intensity, flooding the square with an unfolding vortex of dust. Kevin's eyes squinted within the blowing cloud. "He's concentrating the firepower on his legs to become a rocket!? What the hell!?"
Tarsa's coat of belligerent flames fazed the skies with a surging blast. "The Grand Province has NOTHING, NOTHING ON ME!" He came to an abrupt halt, staring upward at the gradient of darkening blue. The radiance of his flame shined downward like a burning sun, growing alongside his destructive thrill. Pairs of fearful, curious, and trembling pupils followed the malicious ember, blanketing the Grand Province with its dominant scent. "Pyron has infiltrated the Grand Province! RUN, EVERYBODY!" "A powerful flame that high up in the air..?" "It's… such a… devilish scent."
The silence reclaimed control as a flashing magenta aura shot upward, broadcasting its liberative ideals across the city - from the entrance, to the Common Realms, across the Great Reza Bridge, into Uraview, and, finally…
---
"What the hell is going on in the Common Realms!?" Riley shouted, shaking the overhead chandeliers with his erupting cry.
"You're the strongest Advanced Senses user in the entire province, Riley," Trey reminded, wiping the streaming blood from his nose. "You can't expect professional hunters to know with restraints."
---
"He's following after me!?"
"I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GET AWAY, TARSA!" Kevin's raspy voice echoed across the glowing skyline, climbing alongside his unbreakable spirit. "Even if you frame us, WE'LL TAKE YOU DOWN!"
"IS THAT SO!?" Tarsa snapped, their auras clashing like two twin meteors above the bustling city. The shockwave rippled down like a roaring tsunami, flooding the streets with threatening gusts of wind. "Wait a minute…" a citizen muttered from below. "That's the criminal who infiltrated the complex, right?"
"You were fighting for your life in our first fight, AND YOU STILL ARE NOW!" A gray glow swallowed Pyron's burning coat, substituting it with a feeling of nullified emptiness. In that instant, Tarsa's fists plunged downward, clashing against Kevin's instantaneous punch. "I don't care what you think! Either way, I'll still end this RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NO-"
"I wouldn't get too ahead of yourself, boy - for I have another trick up my sleeve."
A few moments later, Tarsa's body shot through the skies in a horizontal direction, pursued by his trailing flames. Kevin's gaze pierced through the masking vortex, overtaken by a feeling of doubt - if he took the risk and chased Tarsa through the air, it would be certain that people would notice. "However," he mumbled, "It's the only thing that'll let me land the finishing blow - THE ATTACK THAT'LL END THIS!"
Tarsa's head shot upward with a confident snicker. "You won't end this - this is the very beginning of a nightmare that'll NEVER E-"
Then, it hit him. Not only was Kevin pursuing him, but also substituting Pyron's flames with a shining, magenta trail.
---
Riley circled Trey at a quick pace. "Something's happening in the Common Realms, do you not feel it!?"
The foggy aroma of Riley's power flooded Trey's nostrils as he forced a weary sigh. "We already have an investigation going on! What'll happen to the princess if we start a whole new operation!?"
Riley lifted a finger to Trey's lips. "I may be wrong, but I believe this scent of pure evil is connected to our investigation."
"Huh?" Trey replied, tilting his head like a confused dog. "What do you mean?"
Walking to the hall's opposite side with a stern expression, Riley observed the faint, evil stench, eating the host's body like an uncontrollable parasite as he stared through the complex's glass windows. "Yesterday, there were two individuals fighting in the Town Square - Xavier Velasquez, a man from Death Desert, and Chrome, Fire Moon's so-called 'leader.' I've been developing deja vu from that moment - extreme deja vu."
Trey stroked his chin, entering the alluring forest of thought in his mind. "They've traveled almost 1,000 miles to get here… why would they just become criminals, let alone kidnap Azul?"
"He may be the son of Death Desert's greatest criminal, but he's definitely fighting against evil. However, even if my role as the organization's captain is winding down, I have to consider every single risk."
Riley's sharp, golden eyes shot upward, trailing the row of swaying chandeliers down the winding halls. A final exhale of acceptance, and he pivoted towards the carpeted staircase. "We're going to investigate."
---
A blinding glow of magenta erupted from Kevin's body, charging forward with unwavering resolve. Where Tarsa's unfolding, radiant streamers emitted unsettling aromas of malice, Kevin's trail consumed quickly. Complaints filled the populated streets below as the citizens' screams built a frenzy of unsettling groans. "When is it going to stop!?" "I can't take this anymore!" "Why aren't the professional hunters stopping those two!?"
"I don't know why you're trying to erase Fire Moon's legacy!" Tarsa's voice boomed, his ruthless snowstorm of a heart quickening with each passing second. His fists shot upward in an arrogant motion, unleashing a fleet of scorching dragons. The roaring beasts circled Kevin like a predator surrounding its prey - and, in perfect unison, closed in with their transparent jaws. "YOU'RE ONLY WASTING MY TIME!" A deafening blast succeeded the interception, creating uncontrollable tremors across the city as Kevin's fists pushed against the blazing comet. "GRAVITATIONAL PUSHING…" Kevin's skin sizzled at the flaming beasts, eating through his skin as if it were nothing. The surging despair reinforced the attack like unbreakable armor, and Tarsa fled the scene with the same, malicious smile. "Nothing will work on tha-"
"SPEAR!" The swirling beasts dispersed with a fierce blast as Kevin penetrated the flesh-eating wall. Liberation shot upward like a homing rocket, closing the vast stretch of sky dividing it from despair. The burning trail ahead stretched farther across the skyline, Tarsa's glow expanding the gap with every heartbeat. "I know what you're about to do," Kevin declared, "and IT WON'T HAPPEN!"
"WHO'S GOING TO STOP ME!?" A fiery crescent lit the power-rich skies, the dominance of Pyron's fire challenging Kevin's unwavering determination. It was as if a new, even stronger force had awakened above Nahata's capital - more than enough to overlay it with a blanket of flames. Joining his fists with an iron grip, every ounce of gravitational energy remaining in Kevin's body shot upward, encasing his arms with an orbiting swirl. An attack stronger than any other glowed proudly like a shining star, drawing the pairs of spectating eyes onto what would be Kevin's final blow - the Gravitational Hammer of Justice.
"There's still a gap between him and that fire guy…" a mustached man wearing a dark suit muttered to his matching wife. "It'll be a long shot…"
"YOU'RE GOING TO DEFEAT ME WITH THAT!? DON'T GET ME STARTED!"
"But he might be able to pull this off!"
A spinning vortex of wind coated Kevin's hammer, amplifying its power like an inverted pendulum. Small bits of Tarsa's skin scattered throughout the air like bits of blowing paper, incinerated by Pyron's mighty rage. The fiery crescent grew, drowning Kevin's power signature in a sea of vengeful rage. Tarsa's palms shot apart, confronting the endless skyline with a sadistic embrace. "This is where our chase ends, and where MY DOMINANCE WILL BEGIN!"
"I don't CARE about your so-called dominance! I'll overthrow Fire Moon so people's dreams can LIVE ON! From the Land of Stone to hundreds of miles away here in the Grand Province, you've ruined countless lives with your experiments! THIS IS FOR MY FRIENDS, FOR THE CHILD, FOR THE PRINCESS, AND FOR NAHATA!"
10 years ago, Gambler's Island, Anatan Union
"Hey, Tarsa, come check this out!" Chrome's heartwarming echo sounded throughout the ship, into the hollow walls of Tarsa's pitch-black room. His eyes shot open at his mention, casting a weak illumination throughout the room with his bloodshot eyes. "We came back to the Anatan Union?" he grumbled, swinging the door open in an angry storm, mixed with small fragments of confusion. His body shuddered from the warm Anatan heat as his eyes detected all of Fire Moon's members in the vessel's courtyard. "What's wrong, Chrome? Why the hell are we back in the Anatan Union? And… what are you doing?"
"What do you mean?" Songnote replied, a weak smile unraveling across her face. "Instead of continuously mourning your career on Carnage, you should consider hanging out with us every once in a whi-"
"I'm not mourning anything," Tarsa's ice-cold response pierced the air. The clench of his muscles mixed with his blooming rage, inflicting fearful tremors within Songnote's pulsing heart. "One day, we'll oppose this wretched society - and once we do, I'll return to Carnage Island to not just pummel AFT, but the entire Anatan Union."
"Opposing the entire Anatan Union!?" Reid blurted, a fearful gasp escaping his mouth. "That's an extremely long shot, even for someone your size…"
---
A shade of crimson swallowed the Common Realm's skies in a predatory embrace. The beastly scent of Tarsa's power had become inescapable, its gut-wrenching roar blasting through the citizens' minds. Each scream, each cry for help grew Tarsa's smile until it erupted into a joyful, twisted cackle. His pleasure had overshadowed Kevin's finisher, and the scent of Pyron's flames grew stronger as Kevin approached Tarsa's bloodthirsty core. "Fire Moon Secret Technique," his belligerent voice resonated. His voice rose with his pride as he drowned in sadistic delight - Tarsa the Strong couldn't do it… but Tarsa the Beast could. "DESTRUCTIVE EVENING!" The beastly roars reached their peak, making way for the culmination of Tarsa's peaking rage - an evening of destruction, ideal for the night everything plunged into darkness.
Then, within the flaming blast, a hopeful scream erupted: "I'M NOT DONE, TARSA THE STRONG!"
A flash of light broke through the evening, reaching towards Pyron's flaming coat. A pair of shining, blue eyes captured Tarsa's attention as he wheezed the metallic air. That same moment, a bittersweet idea flooded his mind - the next few seconds would turn the tide of their entire fight. "GRAVITY BOY…!"
"We all have dreams we want to accomplish!" Kevin's voice cracked, pushing his hammer into Tarsa's flame-coated chest. "No matter what, BRINGING PEOPLE DOWN FOR YOURSELF IS SCUM!"
"I'M THE EMBODIMENT OF SCUM!" Tarsa boomed, tightening his chest with unwavering pride. "NOTHING WILL BRING ME DOWN, NOT EVEN YOU!"
His chest relaxed with a nerve-striking gasp - the very opening Kevin needed.
"I'LL PURIFY YOU WITH MY GRAVITATIONAL HAMMER OF JUSTICE!"
The colossal hammer erased the despairful skies with a strong, radiating blast. Glowing, magenta sparkles rained from the sky like flurries of snow - scattered, quiet, peaceful. These feelings reclaimed the Common Realms' from despair's merciless clutches, topped with Pyron's fading presence. The skies exuded with a strong, blissful feeling as Kevin's body plunged downward, frozen with the devilish aroma of Pyron's flames - even if it wasn't there, a blurry image of the pleading child rang through his mind. His scattered burns and pleading cries sent a fearsome chill within Kevin's body.
Then, everything went dark, followed by a thud, then a grunt.