The silence after the battle…
Was not peace.
It was emptiness.
Akimo stood alone in the remains of a world that no longer knew how to exist.
Fragments of buildings floated mid-air, suspended like broken memories. Some were frozen in time, others were collapsing endlessly without ever reaching the ground. Pieces of the city hovered around him like debris trapped between two realities.
Nothing felt stable.
Not the ground beneath him.
Not the air he breathed.
Not even the space his body occupied.
Above him—
The sky had transformed into something unrecognizable.
It was no longer blue.
It was no longer whole.
It was a wound.
Cracked open across its entire surface, bleeding darkness into the world below. Thin streams of red and blue energy pulsed through those fractures, moving slowly, like veins stretched across a dying body.
"…Countless…"
Akimo whispered.
The word felt heavier now.
Not just a thought.
A truth.
That creature he had destroyed—
Was nothing special.
Just one among many.
A sudden, violent pain exploded in his chest.
"GHH—!"
Akimo dropped to one knee, his fingers clawing into his shirt as if he could rip the pain out of his body.
His breath became uneven.
Sharp.
Uncontrollable.
The power inside him…
Was no longer stable.
It didn't flow like energy.
It collided.
Blue surged violently.
Red followed.
And beneath both—
Something darker began to awaken.
"…This isn't power…"
His voice trembled.
"…This is tearing me apart…"
The air around him flickered.
Reality distorted.
The edges of the world blurred.
And then—
Everything disappeared.
Warmth.
Akimo froze.
The cold vanished.
The destruction vanished.
The silence vanished.
In its place—
Sunlight touched his skin.
Soft.
Gentle.
Real.
"…No…"
His voice came out weak.
"…This isn't real…"
But his heart—
His heart reacted differently.
It slowed.
For the first time since everything began—
He felt… normal.
And that scared him more than anything.
Slowly—
He looked around.
A familiar street.
Clean.
Alive.
People walking.
Laughing.
Talking.
Living.
No cracks.
No darkness.
No destruction.
Just a normal world.
"…This…"
His breath trembled.
"…This is how it used to be…"
A voice suddenly called out behind him.
"Oi! Why are you standing there like an idiot?"
Akimo froze.
That voice—
His heart stopped.
Slowly—
He turned.
A boy stood there.
Smiling.
Alive.
"…Rohan…"
The name escaped his lips before he could stop it.
Rohan frowned slightly.
"What's wrong with you?"
Akimo's chest tightened painfully.
"…You were gone…"
His voice cracked.
"I saw it…"
He stepped forward slowly.
Carefully.
Like one wrong movement would shatter everything again.
"I saw you disappear…"
Rohan looked confused.
"What are you talking about?"
Akimo's hands trembled.
"I went to your house…"
His throat closed.
"…Your mother said you never existed…"
Silence fell.
For a moment—
Rohan didn't react.
Then—
He laughed.
"Bro, you're acting weird."
Akimo didn't laugh.
Because something felt wrong.
Not the world.
But the feeling.
This place felt real.
Too real.
And that made it dangerous.
"…If this is fake…"
His fists slowly clenched.
"…then why does it hurt so much to leave it?"
Rohan's smile faded.
"…Akimo?"
The air grew heavy.
Something beneath the surface—
Shifted.
Akimo closed his eyes.
And in that darkness—
He saw it again.
The Void.
Devouring everything.
Erasing everything.
This world.
This moment.
Rohan.
Everything.
"…No."
Akimo opened his eyes.
They glowed.
This time—
Not with confusion.
But certainty.
"…I won't fall for this again."
Rohan stepped closer.
Concerned.
"Hey—what are you doing?"
Akimo raised his hand.
Stopping him.
"…You're not real."
Silence.
Then—
A glitch.
Rohan's face flickered.
Just for a fraction of a second.
"…So you figured it out."
The voice changed.
Cold.
Inhuman.
The world shattered.
Reality peeled away layer by layer.
The sky darkened.
The ground collapsed.
The illusion broke.
And Rohan—
Twisted.
His body stretched unnaturally.
Eyes opened across his form.
Endless.
Watching.
"…The Void learns."
Akimo didn't move.
"…Then I'll evolve faster."
💥
The illusion completely collapsed.
The ruined world returned.
But something had changed.
Akimo stood differently.
No hesitation.
No confusion.
Only focus.
"…You're not just destroying…"
His voice dropped.
"…You're adapting."
The creature lunged.
Faster than before.
Sharper.
More precise.
But Akimo—
Didn't move immediately.
He observed.
Analyzed.
Understood.
"…This power…"
His eyes glowed brighter.
"…isn't just for survival."
The world slowed.
"…It's for control."
The Void attacked.
Akimo stepped forward—
Into the attack.
💥
Their bodies collided.
Energy erupted violently.
Reality bent.
Space twisted.
For the first time—
The Void hesitated.
Akimo's hand reached forward.
"…Eclipse."
Light and darkness merged.
Controlled.
Stable.
Absolute.
"…Existence Rewrite."
💥
The Void screamed—
Its form collapsing inward.
Not destroyed.
Not erased.
Rewritten.
"…Impossible…"
Akimo's eyes burned with power.
"…I decide what remains."
💥
The creature shattered completely.
Gone.
This time—
Nothing remained.
Silence returned.
But this silence…
Was different.
Stronger.
Earned.
Akimo stood still.
Breathing steady.
"…This is only the beginning."
Above him—
The sky cracked wider.
And beyond it—
Something massive moved.
Watching.
Waiting.
And for the first time—
The Void…
Acknowledged him.