Chapter 38: The Demon in the Shadows
The ruins of the throne hall stank of blood, smoke, and ash. Great pillars lay broken across the cracked marble floor, their golden engravings smeared black. The grand throne itself was split down the middle, reduced to a jagged carcass of stone. Through gaps in the shattered ceiling, the burning glow of rebellion seeped in, flickering like dying stars.
And in the center of that devastation stood Moro, chest heaving, body bleeding. His shoulder burned where Hawks' claws had ripped him, and his lungs ached with every breath. Yet the glow of the Matrix still pulsed faintly within him, a heartbeat of blue light fighting to exist in a sea of darkness.
Across the hall, Erick Hawks rose again, towering in a body no longer fully human. His flesh stretched unnaturally, tendons and sinew weaving with shadow itself. Six monstrous arms sprouted from his body, each ending in claws the size of blades. His voice carried an echo that bent the air, neither fully mortal nor beast.
"You think your Matrix makes you chosen?" Hawks snarled, his eyes like burning coals. "It is nothing before the abyss. And I… AM THE ABYSS!"
He slammed all six claws into the floor.
The world convulsed.
The walls and ceiling of the throne hall dissolved, swallowed by tendrils of darkness. The air grew thick, heavy, impossible to breathe. Shadows surged from every corner, devouring what little light remained until all was smothered in black.
The throne hall was no longer a place. It had become a Shadow Domain—a living, suffocating realm where Hawks reigned absolute.
The ground beneath Moro's feet rippled like black water. Shapes moved in the dark—faces without eyes, hands without bodies, whispers without tongues. The domain pressed down on him, every heartbeat a battle just to remain standing.
So this is his true power… Moro clenched his fists, the Matrix's glow pushing against the crushing void. This… is what could consume all of Shinya if we fail.
Hawks lunged.
Six claws slashed at once, each strike a blur faster than Moro's eyes could track. He flowed with the Matrix, his body bending, shifting, redirecting—but the domain itself betrayed him. Shadows wrapped around his ankles, slowing his dodge. Another tendril lashed his arm, weakening his strike.
He managed to deflect two claws, but the third tore into his side. Pain exploded. Moro gasped, tumbling across the dark floor.
Hawks' laughter thundered through the domain.
"Do you see now? Light flickers, shadows endure. In here, you are prey, and I am the hunter!"
Moro forced himself to his knees, his glow dimming, his blood dripping into the shadows that eagerly drank it. He gritted his teeth.
No… if I fall, Kaya… Herbet… Xerx… all of Shinya falls. I can't—
Before Hawks' claws descended to finish him—
A roar shattered the dark.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
From the rubble behind, a giant figure burst forth, glowing in molten gold and crimson. Hanks. His once-shattered arm now burned with strength, his form expanded and armored in spiritual force. He stood taller than a man, broader than a fortress, his presence pushing the shadows back.
The Colossum Form.
Hanks' fist, larger than a boulder, caught one of Hawks' monstrous claws mid-strike. The shadow limb cracked, screeched, then shattered into mist.
Moro blinked in disbelief.
"Hanks… you—"
The colossus turned, sweat streaming down his stone-like face, his eyes blazing. "This isn't just your fight, Moro. You carried Shinya when I failed. But no more. With my Colossum, I'll stand with you—until the end."
His voice boomed like a war drum.
Hawks roared in fury, his broken limb regenerating in a storm of shadow. His six arms spread wide, absorbing more of the domain, each claw dripping with void strong enough to crush mountains.
"You DARE oppose me together? Then DIE together!"
The domain exploded into chaos.
Moro and Hanks surged forward side by side. The Matrix's blue light and the Colossum's golden blaze carved through the dark like twin beacons. Hawks met them with his six claws, the clash echoing like thunder.
Hanks' fists crashed against claws, shattering them into sprays of shadow. Moro flowed through openings, redirecting strikes, his body weaving like water against the storm. The throne hall—now swallowed in shadow—became a battlefield of titans.
But every moment pressed them harder. Hawks' power was not merely strength; the domain itself fought for him. Tendrils lashed from the ground, walls shifted like living things, the very air tried to strangle their lungs. Moro's light flickered as blood loss weakened him. Hanks' Colossum cracked under the sheer force of the abyss.
And still, Hawks laughed.
"Light drowns in shadow. That is the law of Shinya. And I am its law!"
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Meanwhile, Outside
The sanctuary of Shinya had become a battlefield.
Herbet led the charge, his squad carving through zealots and priests loyal to the Council. Kaya fought like a tempest, her strikes breaking lines of armored guards as rebels followed her cry. Glass shattered from the stained windows, raining shards over chaos.
Xerx stood at the center, staff raised, his voice booming with incantations older than kingdoms. A colossal seal of runes blazed above the sanctuary, spiraling like a second sun.
"By the roots of eternity, by the stars of balance—fall, false kings!"
The seal pulsed, ready to unleash devastation upon the Council's walls.
But from the shadows of the sanctuary stepped a figure.
Clad in blackened armor, crimson cape flowing, eyes glowing with cold fire. His presence froze the battlefield. The Captain of the Royal Guard.
With one step, the ground cracked. With one swing of his halberd, Xerx's seal shattered into a million fragments.
The magician staggered back, eyes wide. "You—"
The captain leveled his weapon, his voice low but commanding. "The High Council does not fall. Not to rebels. Not to magicians. Not to anyone."
Xerx raised his staff, summoning a torrent of fire. The captain swung, cleaving through the blaze as though cutting mist. Their clash erupted, shaking the sanctuary itself. Magic and steel collided in a storm, lighting the sky with fury.
Herbet froze mid-strike, his men staring in awe. "By the gods… even Xerx is struggling?"
Kaya, her fists bloodied, glanced toward the distant castle where shadows towered. "Moro… Hanks… hold on."
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Back in the Shadow Domain
Hanks gritted his teeth, every blow shaking his colossal form. Hawks' six claws battered him relentlessly, one strike fracturing his shoulder, another tearing at his side. But still he stood, golden light burning against the abyss.
Moro, his Matrix glowing brighter despite his wounds, flowed with every strike. He remembered Xerx's words—balance, not force. Harmony, not rage. The Matrix's true strength was not destruction but equilibrium.
"Hanks!" Moro shouted, his glow intertwining with the colossus' blaze. "Together—we balance him!"
Hanks slammed his fists into the ground, the golden energy radiating like roots, stabilizing the collapsing domain. Moro weaved the Matrix through it, redirecting the shadows back against Hawks.
For the first time, the demon staggered.
Hawks screeched, his form warping in fury. "You will not defy me! THIS IS MY DOMAIN!"
The battle of three powers raged, shaking the very foundations of Shinya.
But as they fought, elsewhere in the sanctuary, Xerx's duel with the Captain of the Guard escalated, sparks of magic and steel setting the night aflame.
And though the rebels still fought bravely, the balance had not yet tipped. Hope, once fragile, now burned like a thin candle—flickering, uncertain, but still alive.
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