Chapter 33:
Final Chapter : FUTURE SAGA
Shu levitated high above the mountain, his body radiating an overwhelming surge of Kantar. The sheer pressure of it warped the air around him, making even breathing difficult for any ordinary being. The skies themselves seemed to bend under the weight of his energy.
Below, the beast snarled in rage, sensing Shu’s immense chakra. With a furious roar that echoed across the snowy peaks, it lunged at him, dark Kantar pouring from its body like a malevolent mist. But to Shu, it was child's play.
In a single instant—faster than the eye could register—he vanished from its line of attack, reappearing behind the creature. His strike was effortless, yet precise, his palm slamming into the nape of the beast's neck. The shockwave alone sent it crashing into the snow-laden ground, gouging a trench in the frozen terrain.
Before the creature could even lift its head, Shu was already in front of it. Calmly, he plunged his arm through its chest, channeling raw, concentrated Kantar directly into the beast’s core. Its body convulsed violently before detonating in a thunderous explosion, flesh and Kantar disintegrating into ash and light.
As the smoke cleared, all that remained was a single dragon mask. It clattered to the ground, lifeless. Without hesitation, Shu stepped forward and crushed it underfoot. The mask shattered into fragments of white energy, which dissolved into the mountain’s snow, spiraling upward like glowing petals caught in the wind.
The light gathered mid-air, forming the silhouette of a humanoid figure. Shu and Hannah watched in silent awe as the radiance pulsed outward, then burst. From the epicenter, a body fell, landing softly in the snow at the foot of the mountain.
Shu narrowed his eyes. Hannah clutched her cloak tighter as the wind picked up around them, their gazes fixed on the figure.
Shock was painted across their faces.
“Is that...?” Hannah began.
Meanwhile, in the Demon Realm...
Within the chaotic yet eerily still plane of Hanz’s Kantar realm, the landscape was silent save for the labored breathing of two battered figures.
Hanz and his inner demon sat opposite each other, their forms drenched in blood, muscles trembling from exhaustion. Yet beneath the fatigue was something else grins of mutual recognition. Warriors who respected the struggle.
“How long have we been going at it?” Hanz asked hoarsely, barely able to lift his head.
The demon chuckled, crimson eyes gleaming through the gore. “A couple of hours. And still no new unlocked memories. Looks like that memory of you and your brother’s birth was the only one etched into your subconscious.”
Hanz’s expression twisted with disbelief.
“That can’t be right. My actual memories don’t start until I was four... I should have tons of unconscious ones. Unless…” His voice trailed into silence.
“Unless something’s blocking you,” the demon finished. “Or maybe it was just that memory—your birth—was embedded into your Kantar due to resonance. There were a lot of powerful demons using their Kantar that day. Yours might’ve resonated with theirs. That could’ve been what carved it into your soul.”
The demon’s voice dropped an octave, more thoughtful now. “Unconscious memories being stored in one’s Kantar isn’t unheard of. But accessing them? That’s a different beast. You’d need deep spiritual training—opening all your pressure points, channeling the Earth’s Kantar through your body. Essentially becoming some enlightened spiritual monk. You don’t get that by just clashing your Kantar against itself.”
He gave a crooked grin. “So maybe we got lucky. Maybe it was just Kantar resonance.”
Hanz stared at him for a long moment. Then, slowly, he nodded. “I see. Yeah... that actually makes sense.”
The demon’s grin widened, teeth gleaming. “Then again, that’s just a theory. I could be completely wrong. It might be something else entirely.”
Hanz snorted. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. Even if we don’t uncover more memories, we keep fighting. Like Hannah said, the more we push our limits and drain our Kantar, the stronger it becomes when it replenishes. We get stronger after every fight.”
He pushed himself to his feet, a tired but determined gleam in his eyes. “So what do you say? Since we’ve got nothing better to do... let’s keep going. Get strong enough to beat our brother’s ass when Hannah finally breaks us out of here.”
The demon rose with a feral grin, dropping into a combat stance. “Now that’s more like it. And hey—the stronger you get, the sweeter it’ll be when I finally take over your body.”
Hanz cracked his neck and assumed a defensive stance, smirking. “You’ll find that taking control of me won’t be as easy as it was before Hannah showed up.”
They clashed again with a thunderous roar, the sky within the realm rippling from the impact as their battle resumed.
Back on the mountain...
The entrance to the ancient temple lay in ruins, shattered by the ferocity of Shu and Hannah’s earlier clash with the beast. Snow swirled around them in silent eddies, the once-pristine structure now reduced to rubble and frost-covered stone.
Shu stood beside Hannah, both of them staring down at the unconscious man lying in the snow. He had shoulder-length black hair, much like Shu’s, and wore a black leather jacket over a long, dark shirt. His rugged jeans and worn black boots were covered in frost, but his presence was undeniable.
Hannah turned to Shu, stunned. “No way... that is—”
Shu cut her off, his voice low but resolute. “It is. That’s... Tobi.
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