---
Aiko shot up from her restless sleep.
The ground beneath her trembled for just a moment—subtle, but alive. She blinked, heart pounding. Something… no, someone had changed.
"Yuki…" she whispered, hand clutching her chest. She couldn't explain it, but her soul felt it—like his energy had evolved into something entirely new.
Not just stronger.
Whole.
Elsewhere, Ren jolted upright in meditation, wind circling around him. Himari's eyes widened at the same instant, pupils narrowing like a predator sensing a shift in its world.
"That presence…" Ren muttered.
"It's not the same as before," Himari added, standing. "It's him. But it's not."
Even Haru, arms crossed and leaning against the prison wall, looked up toward the invisible sky above. "So, you finally did it," he whispered. "About time."
The strange realm they were trapped in—distorted and heavy—began to vibrate. The air felt less oppressive, as though someone had begun pulling at the very threads of reality holding this place together.
Aiko pressed her hand against the glowing wall of the void cell. "He's coming."
Just then, a sound rang out—a hum that resonated in the bones.
A portal of swirling light and shadow began to form at the far edge of the prison hall.
The guards—twisted creatures of broken time—turned toward it, sensing a threat beyond their understanding. They hissed, shrieked, and scattered.
The portal cracked wider.
And from it stepped Yuki.
His body bore new markings, ethereal and ancient. His eyes—one glowing with faint blue light, the other deep as the void—swept across the space.
Ren took a step forward. "Yuki…?"
But Yuki didn't speak.
He raised a hand.
The prison shattered.
One by one, each cell broke apart, light flooding into the cursed space. Aiko collapsed to her knees in disbelief. Himari stepped beside Ren, awestruck. Even Haru smiled, if only slightly.
Nogitsune, appearing through the remnants of another realm like a shadow, looked at him quietly.
"You fused them," he said.
Yuki looked to him, finally speaking. His voice was calm… but carried power behind every syllable.
"I'm not running anymore."
---
---
The void realm was collapsing.
Fractures split across the blackened sky, shards of glowing energy raining down like falling stars. The prison, once endless and eternal, was unraveling in the wake of Yuki's breakthrough.
"Everyone—move!" Ren shouted, wind forming a protective barrier around Himari and Aiko.
Aiko stumbled to her feet, still dazed from the sudden flood of energy. She looked at Yuki—his form radiant with fused power, standing firm in the chaos. "Yuki… is this really you?"
Yuki turned briefly, his expression softening just for her. "I'll explain later. Right now—we're getting out of here."
Haru moved beside Yuki, a spark in his eyes. "So what's the plan, golden boy?"
Yuki didn't answer with words. Instead, he raised both hands, fingers glowing with void energy laced with threads of warped light—reality rippling at his touch. He pulled them through space itself, tearing a path open with precision and control he never had before.
A rift burst open.
A portal—but not like the one that brought them here. This one was stable. Directed. It led home.
But not without resistance.
The realm screamed. A creature—a towering, malformed guardian of the void—descended from above, shrieking through the cracks in space. It moved fast, twisted limbs striking toward the group.
Ren raised his arm. "Yuki—get them through! I'll hold it off!"
"No," Yuki said sharply. "We do this together."
Nogitsune stepped in beside him, expression calm. "I'll keep it distracted. You keep the path open."
Without waiting for a response, Nogitsune surged forward, shadow exploding around him. The creature met him mid-air, darkness against darkness, while Ren unleashed a barrage of wind to scatter debris and shield the others.
Aiko clutched Yuki's hand tightly as the portal stabilized. "Come on!"
One by one, they leapt through—Himari and Haru vanishing in light, Aiko close behind. Ren gave Yuki a final nod before slipping through, battered but smiling.
And then Yuki turned.
Nogitsune hovered mid-air, bleeding shadow, his opponent screeching in rage.
Yuki stretched out his hand. "Let's go."
Nogitsune's eyes flicked to his. For the first time—he smiled.
In one clean movement, Yuki pulled him through space.
The portal sealed behind them.
And the realm collapsed.
---
They landed hard—in a forest blanketed in moonlight.
Breathless. Exhausted. But free.
Ren stood, helping Himari steady herself. Haru sat cross-legged on the grass, eyes closed in quiet reflection. Aiko fell to her knees beside Yuki, both relieved and overwhelmed. Nogitsune, leaning against a tree, silently watched the stars above.
And Yuki stood in the center of it all—his new power humming softly, the world around him beginning to feel the ripple of his return.
But something stirred in the distance.
Something that noticed his awakening.
---
The world was quiet, but the silence was a lie.
Something ancient was coming.
And Yuki… has to be ready to meet it.
---
Yuki stares at a floating number above his head.
"What the… 40 power stones?! Are those edible? No? Whatever they are, thanks!"
Ren shakes his head. "You're hopeless."