Chapter 25: The Blade of Zero Desire
Tokyo was not merely a city; it was a sprawling, neon-lit forest of silicon and steel that breathed with a frantic, electric pulse. As our private jet descended toward Haneda Airport, a thin, silver rain began to fall, turning the runways into obsidian mirrors that reflected the dancing lights of the megalopolis. But for me, Tokyo was not just a spectacle of light; it was a complex web of "Desire Threads"—sharp, disciplined, and unnervingly silent.
I sat in the darkened cabin of a black armored limousine, cutting through the neon veins of Shibuya. Within my veins, the power of the [Architect of Matter] flowed like liquid mercury, a gift—or perhaps a curse—from the fallen Alchemist of London. The world around me was no longer composed of mere shapes and surfaces. I saw the molecular bonds of the tinted glass, the carbon-fiber weave of the seats, and the atmospheric pressure of the cabin as a series of equations waiting to be solved.
[System Notification: Regional Scan Initiated...]
[Location: Tokyo, Japan]
[Host Detected: The Blade-Master (Rank 3)]
[Aura Signature: Absolute Void / Logic of the Severance]
"Fang, you're pressing against the glass too hard," Elena's voice drifted through my heightened senses, soft yet grounded. She placed her hand over mine, her skin warm against my cold, focused intensity. I looked down and realized that under the subconscious influence of my new alchemical rank, the glass beneath my fingertips had begun to crystallize, turning into tiny, jagged diamonds.
"Apologies, Elena," I said, my voice carrying a faint, metallic resonance that hadn't been there a week ago. I withdrew my hand, watching the diamonds dissolve back into common glass. "Matter is stubborn. It doesn't have a mind to influence like people do; it has a structure that must be persuaded to change. I am still... adjusting to the dialogue."
Isabella, sitting opposite us, was staring out at the rain-slicked skyscrapers of Shinjuku. Her violet eyes were narrowed, reflecting the flickering neon kanji. "This city is silent, Fang. I don't mean the noise—the streets are screaming with sound—but the desires are silent. In London, the air was thick with the scent of ambition and greed. Here... it feels like someone has taken a pair of surgical scissors to the soul of the population."
She was right. Through my [Shadow-Link], I noticed that the desires of Tokyo's citizens were not chaotic or sprawling. They were orderly, muted, and channeled into a singular, terrifying frequency: Discipline. This meant one thing. The Blade-Master did not rule through money or magic; he ruled through the "Void."
The limousine came to a sudden, jarring halt in front of an ancient Shinto shrine nestled in the shadow of a colossal corporate tower. The contrast was a physical ache—weathered wood and moss-covered stone standing defiant against the cold, blue glow of high-frequency trading servers next door.
[Warning: Concentrated Killing Intent Detected!]
[Source: Unknown / Zero-Signature]
Before the driver could even reach for the door handle, a cold spark ignited at the base of my skull. I didn't move my body; I moved the world. I activated [Transmutation] on the air molecules surrounding the vehicle. In a microsecond, the nitrogen and oxygen became as dense as depleted uranium.
SHREEEE-TICK!
A silver line, thinner than a human hair, bypassed the car's reinforced armor and sliced through the roof of the limousine as if it were wet parchment. The blade stopped exactly one millimeter from my throat, vibrating against the hardened air-barrier I had conjured. The sound it made wasn't a metallic ring; it was the sound of a vacuum being filled.
I stepped out of the mangled vehicle, my silver eyes glowing with a predatory brilliance. Standing atop the arched roof of the shrine was a man dressed in a simple, ink-black kimono. He held a katana whose blade reflected no light—it was a literal hole in reality.
[Aura Identification: Kenji Sato (The Blade-Master)]
[Threat Level: DEEP CRIMSON (Lethal)]
[Current Desire: NULL - THE VOID]
"You split the very atoms of the air to create a shield," Kenji said. His voice was a calm, dry rasp that seemed to bypass my ears and resonate directly in my mind. "The Alchemist of London was a boisterous fool, but you... you carry the weight of an entire city in your eyes."
"And you carry a void that nauseates me," I countered, stepping over the jagged metal remains of the car's roof. My [Sovereign's Authority] flared, a cold blue fire that began to clash with the swallowing blackness of his presence. "Where are your desires, Kenji? A man who desires nothing is already a corpse."
Kenji unsheathed his sword fully, the motion so fast it created a sonic boom that shattered the windows of the nearby cafes. "Desire is the leash. Desire is the thread that allows your 'System' to pull our strings. I have severed all my threads. I am the blade that cuts even the logical connections of your reality."
[Warning: Opponent possesses 'Desire Severance' – Injection skills may be ineffective!]
"Elena, Isabella, get inside the shrine's inner sanctum," I commanded, my voice dropping an octave as I drew my own obsidian blade. "This man doesn't fight with chemistry or mind games. He fights with the end of all things."
Kenji laughed, a hollow sound, and vanished. He didn't run; he 'cut' the distance between us. He reappeared inches from me, his blade descending in a vertical arc meant to split my soul in two.
I used [Architect of Matter] to transmute my silk sleeves into carbon-nanotube armor, parrying the strike with my blade.
CLANG!
The shockwave leveled the stone lanterns surrounding the courtyard. I felt a terrifying pressure; it wasn't just physical force. His sword was trying to "cut" my connection to the System itself.
"You are strong, Fang Li," Kenji whispered as our blades locked, his face inches from mine. "But can you rule a city if I cut your relationship with everything you love? Can you be a King if I make you... nothing?"
I realized then that this encounter would be my greatest trial. I wasn't fighting for territory or DP. I was fighting for the right to exist as a being of will against a master of the Void.
[New Quest: The Dance of the Zero]
[Objective: Defeat Kenji Sato without using 'Injection' skills.]
[Reward: Rank 5 Authority | Skill: 'Sovereign Severance'.]
"I'll show you, Kenji," I growled, the silver rings in my eyes spinning with a frantic, divine speed. "Sovereignty doesn't just come from controlling desires... it comes from the will to create them out of nothingness."