The city breathed.
Crystal towers reflected the blue sky like transparent blades.
Water channels ran silently between suspended gardens.
Children crossed curved bridges laughing.
Merchants arranged glowing fruits in baskets made of living wood.
Nothing there seemed to know war.
The wind passed gently.
It carried the scent of new leaves… and freshly baked bread.
Near one of the central canals, on a pale stone bench, a masked man ate.
Simple bread.
Crispy crust.
Soft inside.
He broke small pieces with his fingers.
Some he tossed into the water.
Fish appeared. Fast. Silver.
Others he threw into the air.
Birds descended.
Without fear.
Without hesitation.
None of them seemed bothered by his presence.
The mask hid his face.
No symbol.
No expression.
Smooth.
He coughed.
Blood splattered on the stone.
Small pieces of skin fell from the lower opening of the mask.
"My time is coming…" he murmured, running a hand across the cold surface of the mask.
He watched the reflection of the towers in the water.
A child ran past chasing another.
Laughing loudly.
Almost bumped into him.
Stopped.
Looked at the mask.
The man tilted his head slightly.
The child saw the blood.
And ran away again.
Silence returned.
The masked man brought another piece of bread to his mouth.
The water's surface vibrated.
A circle.
Small.
Almost imperceptible.
The birds froze.
One flew away.
Then another.
Within seconds, the sky above him was empty.
The man didn't move.
But the hand holding the bread…
Stopped in the air.
The vibration grew.
It didn't come from the water.
It came from the ground.
From the towers.
From the air.
He released the bread.
Looked toward the horizon.
Behind the mask, his eyes narrowed.
"Show yourself…" he murmured.
"Juan, it's almost time."
The canal water rose.
It didn't explode.
It didn't ripple.
It simply opened.
As if respecting someone.
From within it, a figure emerged.
Skin dark like solid shadow.
Bright eyes.
A smile too white for that body.
Juan.
"Today is September 28," he said.
"October is very close."
The masked man tilted his head slightly.
"Let's set a specific date."
"Did you get what I asked for?"
Juan slowly opened his arms.
"Yes."
"All the allies of our old friend are with us."
"We, the Shadows, will avenge Garo."
The wind shifted.
The canal waters darkened for a moment.
"Perfect," the masked man replied.
"Prepare your squad."
"On October 20…"
He stood.
The towers reflected his distorted silhouette.
"It will be the day we attack the capital of HESTIA."
Juan bowed respectfully.
"Yes, sir."
"Everything will work."
"We, the Shadows, will return to the top."
His body began turning translucent.
Like mist dissolving.
In seconds… he vanished.
The masked man remained there.
Alone.
The canal returned to normal.
The fish came back.
But the birds did not.
He looked at the blue sky.
"October 20…"
He ran his fingers across the dried blood on the mask.
"That will be the day the world changes."
A faint crack appeared on the smooth surface of the mask.
Almost invisible.
But growing.
---
The situation had worsened.
Kevin stood untouched.
Not a scratch.
But his fists were covered in intense green aura, pulsing as if alive.
Across from him…
Adnet stood with difficulty.
Blood ran from his head.
His arms.
The corner of his mouth.
Kevin tilted his head slightly.
"Poor thing…"
He snapped his fingers, making the aura vibrate.
"You have the body of a Dinark…"
"…but you don't even know how to use it."
Adnet breathed heavily.
Confused.
"How… how can you create all these things?"
Kevin shrugged.
"My aura is a healer type."
He pointed to his chest.
"The same aura as the boy you possessed."
Kevin gave a small laugh.
"The difference between the two of us…"
His eyes turned cold.
"…is that I'm superior."
He pointed at Adnet.
"And you are weak."
For a moment…
Silence.
Then Adnet started laughing.
A laugh full of hatred.
"It doesn't matter."
He raised his head.
"Do you know what I can do now that I have the boy's soul at my disposal?"
Kevin's eyes changed.
Hagan activated.
His pupil turned gray.
Kevin answered flatly,
"No."
Adnet opened his arms.
"Soul Expression."
Black aura exploded outward.
"Domain of Dimensional Rupture."
Kevin lunged immediately to strike him.
But—
Darkness swallowed everything.
For a few seconds…
Nothing existed.
Then the world changed.
Kevin stood upright.
A strange space stretched to the horizon.
Broken stone structures rose from the ground and the sky.
Giant blocks.
Fragments.
Orange and yellow debris floated like ruins of a dead world.
Adnet stood before him.
Then—
Vanished.
Kevin dropped into a combat stance.
Looked around.
"What kind of dead place is this?"
The ground cracked.
Kevin tried to jump.
But the floor collapsed.
He fell.
And kept falling.
Until he hit the floor of a dark corridor.
Stone.
Bars.
Cells.
An underground place.
Adnet's voice echoed through the walls like loudspeakers.
"Face my colleagues…"
"Let's see how strong you are."
"If you want your friend back…"
"You'd better search for me."
"And find me."
Silence.
Kevin stood still for a few seconds.
Then his body began releasing tiny green dots.
Mosquitoes.
Hundreds of them.
They flew through the corridors.
Passed several cells.
Animals trapped.
Monstrous beasts.
People.
Deformed creatures.
But in one room…
The darkest.
The most reinforced.
They found someone.
Adnet.
One mosquito slipped through the bars.
Adnet frowned.
"A mosquito?"
He raised his hand.
"There's no place for pests here."
When he tried to crush it—
The mosquito opened.
A hand came out.
Then another.
Then a head.
Kevin.
He emerged completely from the tiny insect.
Jumped.
Landed.
One knee on the ground.
The other raised.
"Your tricks don't work on me."
Adnet froze.
His body began trembling.
"Damn…"
He looked around.
"At this rate I'll lose…"
"I don't even know how to use this boy's abilities!"
Kevin stood slowly.
Observing everything.
The walls.
The bars.
The rooms.
"So that's it…"
He smiled.
"A laboratory?"
Adnet answered irritably,
"It was supposed to be!"
He opened his arms.
"A place where several creatures would come out and kill you!"
Kevin shrugged.
"But you avoided them all," Adnet finished.
Kevin smiled even wider.
"I figured out what you did."
"What?!"
Kevin pointed to the floor.
"As soon as you created your Soul Expression and trapped me here…"
He looked around.
Everything was becoming more yellow.
Lifeless.
"You started absorbing the planet's life energy."
Kevin opened his arms.
"At this point…"
"The only living people in this place…"
"…are me…"
"…and you."
Adnet fell silent.
"How do you know these things?"
"Does Hagan have something to do with it?"
Kevin answered calmly.
"Let's say I can see through the walls of this place."
He looked directly at Adnet.
"Just like I know that right now…"
"…you are fighting Alexys."
Pause.
"Or rather…"
"…the soul of Alexys Dinark."
Adnet screamed:
"COME!"
The ground trembled.
Screams.
Growls.
Chains breaking.
Creatures charging down the corridors.
Kevin sighed.
"Your friends won't touch me."
He snapped his fingers.
"It's time to show you a real one."
The aura around him changed color.
Red.
Dense.
Heavy.
"Soul Expression."
The ground cracked.
Blood began rising from the soil.
"Scarlet Sanctuary."
Red walls appeared.
Thick.
Circular.
Forming a perfect barrier around them.
The creatures remained outside.
Slamming.
Growling.
Unable to enter.
Adnet widened his eyes.
"How?!"
He stepped back.
"He… nullified my Soul Expression?!"
Kevin looked at him.
Calm.
Cold.
"Adnet…"
The red aura pulsed.
"You were always weak."
He stepped forward.
"Now I'm sure."
Consumed by rage, Adnet charged.
Before he could take two steps, red viscous tentacles made of blood burst from the ground.
They wrapped his body.
Arms.
Legs.
Neck.
Adnet was lifted into the air.
Kevin watched calmly.
"This fight isn't with me."
He crossed his arms.
"It's with someone else."
Adnet frowned.
"I'll use all my power now and kill you."
Black aura began spreading.
Like fire.
Like living smoke.
The red tentacles darkened.
The dome turned completely black.
No light.
No shape.
Kevin remained motionless in the center of the darkness.
Adnet moved one arm.
Then the other.
The tentacles shattered.
He fell to the ground.
"I will kill you!"
A black sphere of aura began forming in his hand.
Then—
A faint green lightning appeared.
Adnet froze.
Within seconds, his body began cracking.
Like shattered crystal.
Translucent fragments fell to the floor.
The aura sphere exploded.
From the remaining fissure of the possessed body, Alexys emerged.
"Idiot…"
He cracked his neck.
"You thought you'd hold me for long?"
Kevin never stopped smiling.
"Hello, Alexys."
He made a simple hand gesture.
"Come. I want to talk to you."
Alexys observed the man before him.
Untouched.
Unafraid of the darkness.
The black walls slowly returned to vivid red…
Then disappeared completely.
Revealing the outside world.
A destroyed planet.
Lifeless.
Acid rain fell from the sky.
Each drop hissed when it touched the dead soil.
Alexys frowned.
"Go with you?"
He activated Hagan.
Green aura surrounded him.
"I don't even know you."
Kevin replied,
"That's exactly why we need to talk."
Alexys looked up.
"I see you also possess Hagan…"
His aura grew.
"But after what you did to my planet… I can't let you go unpunished."
Kevin sighed.
"Stop while you can."
He stepped forward.
"You'll regret it later."
The rain kept falling.
Drops evaporated upon touching their auras.
Wind carried gray dust between them.
Alexys vanished.
The ground exploded when he charged.
Kevin raised his arm—
The punch struck his face.
Kevin flew dozens of meters.
Slid across the dead ground.
Alexys appeared above him.
"Get up."
Kevin wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
Alexys attacked again.
Green aura exploded.
Aura blades formed around his arms.
Fast.
Military.
Precise.
Kevin blocked…
But was pushed back.
Alexys spun.
A blade sliced across Kevin's face.
A deep cut appeared.
He repeated the strike.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Four.
Blood flowed instantly.
The scars formed a massive # across Kevin's face.
Kevin touched his face.
Felt the blood.
And smiled.
"Good technique."
Alexys didn't respond.
He formed a green spear.
Threw it.
Kevin dodged.
The spear destroyed a mountain behind him.
Alexys appeared again.
Spinning kick.
Kevin blocked.
The impact opened a crater.
Alexys created three aura swords simultaneously.
Attacked.
Before the strikes landed—
A living, transparent blue barrier appeared before Kevin.
The three swords shattered upon contact.
Alexys stepped back.
"A barrier…?"
He murmured, concerned.
"Where did that come from?"
The blood on Kevin's face stopped flowing.
The wounds didn't vanish.
They simply scarred.
Kevin spoke thoughtfully.
"For the first time…"
He touched the scar.
"Someone wounded me and I couldn't fully heal."
He looked at Alexys.
"Do you know why?"
Alexys answered,
"No."
Kevin smiled.
"A mystery we can solve together."
Alexys shook his head.
"Man…"
He pointed at the destroyed world around them.
"We're in the middle of a planetary apocalypse and you're acting like nothing's happening."
Kevin shrugged.
"Habit."
He snapped his fingers.
"Let's dance."
"We're Dinarks."
"We have plenty of time."
Alexys grimaced.
"This guy's crazy…"
Kevin vanished.
Alexys looked around.
"Where did he go?"
A strike hit his back.
Alexys flew forward.
Another strike.
Another.
Another.
A brutal sequence.
Alexys barely stood.
Blood poured endlessly.
"Damn…"
He tried focusing.
"I can't follow this insane speed…"
"I only see sparks… green sparks…"
Kevin stopped at a distance.
"Well?"
He smiled.
"Tired already?"
Alexys spat blood.
"Who are you?"
He raised his head.
"And what are you doing on my planet?"
Kevin blinked.
"What?"
Alexys replied,
"Your aura flows differently."
"You're not from here."
Kevin sighed.
"You're correct."
He opened his arms.
"I don't belong to this world."
"But I'm still part of the same galaxy."
Alexys fell silent.
Kevin continued.
"My mission?"
He looked at the acidic sky.
"To end the creatures that destroyed your planet."
He pointed at Alexys.
"And maybe…"
"…be your partner."
Alexys started laughing.
A green form appeared beside him.
A large aura dog.
Alexys created two green swords.
Kevin pulled up his hood.
An identical dog appeared beside him.
"Gabu will win," Kevin said.
Alexys replied,
"Gabu?"
He pointed.
"That's your dog's name?"
"And yours?"
Kevin answered,
"Kevin."
Alexys charged.
Kevin vanished in a green flash.
Kevin's dog bit Alexys's leg.
Alexys's dog bit back.
The summon battle began.
Kevin ran in circles.
Distorting Alexys's perception.
High-speed punches.
Alexys dodged one.
And cut Kevin's shoulder.
Kevin stopped.
Then dozens of creatures appeared behind him.
Tigers.
Snakes.
Elephants.
All made of green aura.
Alexys looked around.
His dog was being devoured by Gabu.
"Damn…"
He tried summoning another creature.
Nothing happened.
"I'm at my limit…"
Kevin spoke:
"You gave me that huge scar on my face."
He pointed at the #.
"Nothing is free."
The tigers attacked.
Alexys fought with everything he had.
Cutting.
Decapitating.
But the elephants fired ice spikes.
Some hit Alexys.
He fell.
Barely able to stand.
He raised one final aura sphere.
Gigantic.
It exploded everything around him.
When the dust settled—
Kevin stood untouched.
Alexys was trapped.
A gigantic aura serpent wrapped around his entire body.
He could barely breathe.
Blood streamed from his eyes.
"So…"
Alexys smiled.
"I finally fought someone stronger than me."
"I'll die by your hands."
Kevin asked,
"Does that make you happy?"
Alexys replied,
"Of course."
He closed his eyes.
"Better than dying from disease."
The Hagan disappeared.
Alexys's vision darkened.
He fainted.
Kevin looked at him.
"He passed out."
He opened a blue dimensional rift.
The serpent swallowed Alexys.
"Come, Gabu Jr."
A colossal creature appeared behind him.
Acid rain ran across its massive body.
Kevin stepped through the rift.
After it closed…
Gabu Jr opened his mouth.
A colossal blast of aura fired.
The energy pierced the planet.
Reached the core.
Within seconds—
The world shattered.
Gigantic fragments floated in space.
Gabu Jr watched the void.
"Once again…"
He floated among the debris.
"I'm alone in space."
He laughed.
"I love this feeling of immortality."
He looked into infinity.
"Kevin, my creator…"
"I love you, brother."
The giant vanished among the planetary fragments.
In the silence of space.