Myria's eyes locked onto Shun's with a serious intensity.
-"If you want to grow stronger, Shun, there's something you must face first." She paused, her voice lowering. "You have to confront your own shadow — the twisted reflection of who you are inside."
Shun swallowed hard, the weight of her words pressing down on him like a heavy stone.
-"This... this is no ordinary battle," Myria continued. "It's a trial of your soul. Only by facing the darkness within can you hope to master the power that awaits you. Avoiding it will only lead to ruin."
She stepped closer, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
-"I will guide you through this, but the fight... must be yours."
Shun's heart pounded, but beneath the fear, a spark of determination flickered.
- "I'm ready," he whispered. "I'll face myself, no matter what it takes."
...
....
.....
...!!
In a sea of nothingness, Shun drifted weightlessly. There was no sky, no ground—only an endless void that pressed against his chest like invisible chains.
Beneath his feet, the earth pulsed, slick and soft like rotting flesh. Every step he took was met with muffled wails and distant screams, voices clawing their way into his mind.
Then, it appeared—twisted and grotesque. A distorted reflection of himself. His other self stood tall but malformed, skin pale and stretched, eyes bloodshot, and a mouth curled into a cruel sneer. Shadows wrapped around its figure like hungry beasts waiting to devour.
-"....Pathetic," it snarled, voice scraping like rusted metal on bone. "You couldn't save anyone. You couldn't even save yourself. You're nothing but a parasite feeding off others' pity...."-
Shun's fists clenched, muscles tense.
Memories attacked his mind without mercy. The burning house. The mother's desperate cries. The suffocating helplessness as he fell from the third floor with a child in his arms. Visits to his sister's grave… too ashamed to speak. His aging grandfather wasting away while Shun wallowed in his own failures. Every selfish act, every cowardly moment, forced itself upon him.
The twisted self stepped forward, its voice a cruel hiss:
- "..You let everyone die. You wasted your second chance in that other world, and now you're here—still useless, still pathetic...."-
Shun's breath trembled.
The weight of his failures was suffocating, pressing on his heart like a thousand daggers. His limbs ached from the guilt, his soul screamed under the burden.
- "What's the point in pretending you can change?" the twisted self mocked. "You will fail again. You always do."-
A pause.
And then… something shifted.
Shun's lips curled into a crooked smile, wild and unhinged. His eyes burned with something fierce—something unrelenting.
-"You're right," Shun whispered. "I was a coward. A failure. A useless, pathetic waste of air...!!"
The twisted version's grin widened.
But then… Shun took a step forward.
-"That was me before."
He charged, fist slamming into his other self's chest, knocking it back.
- "But I'm done being that person."
His grip tightened around the shadowy heart inside the chest of his twisted self, a black, pulsating orb of guilt and regret.
-"Even if I die, even if I burn, I'll drag myself out of this hell. I'll tear apart every chain wrapped around me."
- "I will become something different."
..
...!!
With a roar, Shun crushed the heart in his grip.
A burst of blinding light exploded, the darkness around him cracking and shattering like fragile glass. The heavy air lifted, the suffocating chains fell away, and for the first time… the void was silent.
His eyes snapped open.
He lay on cold stone, drenched in sweat, body aching but heart… lighter. Different.
Noct's playful grin hovered above him, sharp teeth glinting.
-"Well well, I was starting to think you'd turned into brain soup in there," the black rabbit chuckled, golden eyes twinkling with amusement.
Shun sat up, chest heaving, muscles sore but alive.
Myria stood nearby, arms crossed, watching him with a sharp gaze.
-"Good. You didn't collapse. That means you're worthy of the next step."
Shun looked between the two, trying to piece together everything.
- "What… happened to me?"
Myria stepped forward, her voice steady, commanding:
-"That was the first threshold. The first wall between your worthless self and the person you must become to survive this world."
Her hand gestured in the air, and pale, blue-white mist formed around them, swirling into symbols and diagrams.
- "In this world, there are flows of energy—currents of power that decide life or death. The ignorant perish quickly. The aware… carve their path."
Shun listened intently as she continued:
-"The basic elements dominate most of this world's energy flow: Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind make up 67%. Lava, Snow, Stone, and Sand account for 23%. Ice, Matter Manipulation, Weather Control, and Darkness take 7%. And the final 3%-the rarest, most volatile—are Spiritual Power, Shadow, and Light."
The air seemed to hum with invisible force as Myria's magic twisted through the air.
- "Spiritual Power is the most dangerous… and the most unpredictable."
Shun felt a shiver run down his spine as a faint, cold wind whispered through the ruined camp. Ghostly shapes flickered in his peripheral vision—souls, flickering softly like dying embers.
Noct leaned in, his grin widening.
- "You're special, kid. That funny little contract you made? It revealed you're not tied to any of the four common elements."
Myria's lips pressed into a thin line.
- "Your element… is Spiritual."
The word echoed, heavier than any sword, sharper than any dagger.
Myria stepped closer, her tone hard.
-"It will grant you powers beyond physical comprehension… but it will devour you if you lose control."
-"Harness it, or it will consume you."
Shun stared at his hands. For a moment, he thought he could see faint, wispy trails of energy moving beneath his skin—restless, waiting to be commanded.
He clenched his fists, resolve hardening in his chest.
Myria nodded approvingly.
- "Then let's begin your first real lesson."
She snapped her fingers, and a glowing circle of ancient runes appeared beneath Shun's feet.
-"Focus on the energy inside you. Breathe. Feel the flow. Command it."
Shun closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. He could feel it—an untamed river of force rushing through his veins, wild but full of potential. His muscles tensed, his heart pounded, but his spirit… soared.
Shun took a slow, deliberate breath, letting the cool, heavy air fill his lungs. The world around him faded into a distant blur—there was no forest, no whispers, no haunting memories. There was only the steady rhythm of his heartbeat and the quiet hum of something ancient stirring within him.
He sat cross-legged, shoulders relaxed but spine straight. His hands rested gently on his knees, fingers slightly curled inward, forming loose circles. His eyelids fell shut, cutting off the outside world, allowing him to sink deeper into himself.
At first, there was only darkness. But soon, faint threads of light—silver, gold, and deep violet—began swirling beneath his skin, dancing like restless streams. He focused, channeling his will to trace the paths of these currents. His breathing slowed, heartbeats steadying to a calm pulse.
Shun visualized the energy flowing like a river inside him, wild and chaotic, yet full of boundless potential. His will acted as the dam, the guide, the force that carved a clear channel through the turbulence. Slowly, deliberately, he nudged the flow, coaxing it to respond—not through brute strength, but through patience and intention.
Moments passed—long, silent, powerful.
Then… the air shifted.
A faint glow shimmered around his body, almost imperceptible, like the afterglow of a dying star. His muscles felt lighter, his thoughts clearer. The wild river within him began to respond, aligning itself with his will....
-"Could I actually defy fate and bring Elias back?"...