Chapter Five – Abyss of Ruin… and the Last Scream of Blood
The air was heavy as Shura stepped out of the Wind Kingdom. He was not just walking… the entire world seemed to retract behind him. The ground cracked beneath his aura, and the sky darkened with black threads swirling around him. Far ahead on the horizon, a massive gate appeared like an open mouth devouring the light. That… was the Abyss Kingdom.
Shura advanced toward the gate, hearing whispers for the first time: many voices intertwining, screaming, laughing, crying, calling his name. He did not flinch. His fate was clear. He pushed the heavy gate, and it opened with a scream that split the sky. The darkness beyond was not just darkness… it was something deeper.
Inside the kingdom, the ground moved beneath his feet. Towers twisted, walls breathed, and the air resembled smoke rising from the world's wounds. Amid this ruin… appeared Yuki. She stood alone, pale, broken, as if she had stepped out of a nightmare. Her eyes met his, and her tears gave in.
"Shura… is that you?… What have you become?"
She stepped back, covering her mouth:
"Forgive me… forgive me please… I didn't mean… I didn't…"
Suddenly, the ground shook. It opened beneath her feet like a monster's mouth, and she screamed as she fell.
"YUUUUKII!!!"
He reached out, but the earth closed cruelly, as if the Abyss had swallowed her.
A heavy silence… then footsteps. From the shadows appeared Mika, dressed in black, a crown of bones, and a satanic smile.
"Don't be surprised, Shura… I wasn't just a servant."
She lifted her chin proudly.
"I am… the Queen of the Abyss."
Shura froze.
"What…? You killed my family… everything was your doing?"
Mika laughed, a laugh that broke the air:
"Not alone. The person you met… was my partner."
His heart raced as he remembered Ira's words.
"...Do you mean… Ira?"
"Exactly. Ira and I… planned everything."
The aura around Shura exploded. The ground trembled, the walls of the Abyss cracked, shadows fled. But before he could strike… the ground split beneath him this time.
"Down to the depths, vessel…"
Shura fell into darkness, while Mika's voice echoed:
"To the Abyss."
He crashed to the ground with a thunderous sound. He lifted his head… and saw the Abyss prison before him. A black castle of living iron, guarded by beasts bound in flesh. In the center… Yuki. Her head lowered, crying silently.
The sight shook the Abyss. Shura advanced slowly. The beasts attacked without hesitation, but he was faster. Bone blades erupted from his arms, sharp and gleaming like the edges of hell. With each step… a beast fell, torn apart.
He reached her. She raised her head and screamed through tears:
"Shura…!"
He cut her restraints, and she collapsed into his arms. And then… something no one expected happened: the Abyss beast… softened before her. He embraced her, wiped her tears, and said:
"Not now… we must get out."
They ascended the stairs leading out of the prison, while the beasts attacked endlessly. Shura fought, Yuki tried to protect him despite her weakness. They rose toward the light… or what resembled light.
They exited the lower Abyss, only to find Mika standing at the top, waiting as if she had watched everything.
"Well done, vessel…"
A satanic smile.
Suddenly… a stab.
Shura didn't understand at first. He looked back… Yuki. Her eyes unconscious. A sword pierced his body. Mika said coldly:
"Well done, my little doll."
Shura fell to his knees. Rage… pain… betrayal… Yuki attacked him unconsciously. Mika controlled her like a puppet. Shura faced the person closest to his heart… without her will.
The battle erupted: the power of the Abyss against the power of the Snake. A dark aura clashed with a bloody aura. A hissing sound deafened the ears. The sound of bones breaking filled the sky.
Mika hid behind Yuki, using her as a human shield.
"Hit me, Shura!… Won't you kill who you love?"
She laughed. Yuki attacked him with a swift strike—the sword tore his face, leaving a scar on his left eye. Blood covered his face.
The Snake's voice rose inside him:
"Kill her."
Shura's hand trembled. But he shouted in a low voice:
"SHUT UP!"
And he launched at lightning speed. He pinned Yuki to the wall with blades piercing her clothes without harming her.
He turned to Mika. The battle exploded between them. Mika laughed:
"They said you have no humanity… but you proved otherwise!"
She clapped her hand mockingly:
"Let's taste despair!"
One strike from Mika knocked him down. The power of the Abyss tore the ground.
"You will never overcome me, vessel. You will die… then the girl."
She moved toward Yuki.
Yuki raised her hand to strike. She screamed unconsciously:
"Shuuuuura!"
At that moment… the aura exploded. Bloody. Dark. Catastrophic. Shura stood slowly. His eyes glowed like burning ashes.
"My might… remains… untouched… scribed in bones… with ink of blood."
His features transformed closer to the Snake's form. Shura… was no longer Shura.
"Finally…" said Mika, "you will transform completely into the Snake!"
But suddenly… inside his mind… a soft voice cried:
"Shura… no… please…" It was Yuki.
He opened his inner eyes, saw the darkness… saw the Snake's mouth trying to devour his soul. But Yuki's voice was like a thread of light. He clung to it. Prevented the collapse. His being resurfaced… regaining control.
Mika screamed:
"Why?! Why didn't you transform?"
But Shura didn't answer. He struck at her like a storm. Mika blocked the attack… but noticed nothing.
Shura distributed blades around her slowly, every step. Dozens of blades, silent, lurking. Then he said in a low voice:
"You… fell into the trap."
Mika looked around, true fear showing for the first time.
"What… have you done?"
He raised his hand and said:
"Tear apart."
The blades wrapped around her like serpents.
He restrained her limbs. Torn her clothes. Dragged her body toward the ground. Mika screamed:
"Wait! Wait! I am the Queen! I am—"
"Your turn is over."
Shura approached her, blood dripping from his face. He asked coldly:
"Who is the mastermind?"
Mika screamed:
"Ira! Ira is the mastermind! I was just… her partner!"
"And your goal?"
"Ask her… yourself."
Shura paused. Then said:
"Wrong answer."
He raised his bone blade… and cut her head in one strike. Mika's era ended.
He turned to Yuki and freed her. She collapsed into his arms:
"Shura… please… return to your humanity…"
But his voice was cold, like a walking corpse:
"I will not return… until I know the truth."
Shura exited the Abyss, the black wind curling around him. His body covered in blood, his left eye half-closed. Yuki walked silently behind him… wondering if the man she loved had vanished forever.
At the Abyss gate… Shura stopped. He looked at the sky. Remembered Mika's words:
"Ira… is the mastermind."
"Then… the time of the encounter has come."
The Snake's aura formed behind him as a massive shadow.
"The sound of its hiss echoes in my ears…"
He said, clenching his fist.
"And the path… has no return."
Yuki placed her hand on his shoulder. Shura trembled involuntarily. That touch… the last tie to his humanity. But he pushed her hand away slowly.
"Do not come near… until I finish everything."
Memories flooded his mind: her first betrayal… the sound of her stab… her tears while unconscious… but above all… rage. Endless rage.
Shura said in a deep voice:
"Ira… will tell me the truth. If she does not…"
The blades opened around him like black stars.
"I will tear the world apart… until I find it."
Yuki screamed:
"Shura!! You are not a monster!"
He stood, back to her… and said without looking:
"I… no longer know what I am."
Then he continued his path.
Here… the scene changed. The Abyss trembled, souls screamed, walls collapsed. The death of the previous queen meant… the new ruler had to be chosen. The Abyss chose one voice: Yuki.
Yuki was crowned the new Queen of the Abyss. But she did not rejoice. She watched Shura's back as he walked away… a man who had lost everything… heading toward his dark fate.
Final page: Shura stood atop a mountain overlooking the world. The wind whistled. Blades spun around him like shattered moons. He said in a low voice… enough to make the world beneath him shiver:
"It has begun… the neck slicing."
Then he continued into the darkness— where Ira awaited him.
And now… the darkness is far from over, and the power that awaits him will soon reveal its true face."