Chapter 13: Awakening!?

“Rin…” A whisper of a voice echoed, water moving slightly all around. “Rin…wake up” the voice grew louder. “RIN WAKE YOUR ASS UP!” Karyu Voice bellowed, Rin launch herself up, eyes wide open, she scanned the area, “Wait…I’m in Karyu’s domain…Shit guess I really died…so long Japan…” She said, “Finally your awake jeez” Karyu said. Rin turned her head towards the Gate, her eyes widened a bit. “Karyu…” Rin’s voice cracked. “Where—what happened?!” “You died, dumbass.” Karyu’s tails swayed slowly, each motion shaking the domain. “Shadow blew a hole through your head. Your body’s nothing but a broken puppet right now.” Rin froze, heart pounding. “I… I’m dead?” “I managed to save you,” Karyu snapped, his eyes narrowing. “I sent your soul from your brain into your heart before it was too late. But either way—you’re gone on the outside.” His voice darkened, a growl rising from deep within his chest. “And look… Yumi…” Rin’s breath caught. “She’s dead, When she saw your body fall to the ground all lifeless that triggered an emotion, a rage, a feeling that I haven’t felt in mere decades, either way that triggered her core to awaken…That stupid girl… she managed to push Shadow further than anyone, hurt him, make him bleed. But in the end, he tore her apart. Her core gave out. Her body fell. And now she’s gone.” Rin’s knees buckled. “N-No… Yumi…” Her voice cracked, the sound breaking into a sob. “She died… for me,” Rin whispered, clutching her chest. “She… she…” Karyu’s burning grin widened, but there was no joy in it—only fury. His tails whipped violently, boiling the abyss around them. “That’s right. She died fighting for you. And if you stay weak, if you keep crying here, then her death will mean nothing.” The abyss roared, black flames igniting across its surface. “So tell me, Rin Shimizu… are you going to lie down and stay dead? Or are you going to rise… and burn the void itself to ash?” Rin’s knees hit the black ocean beneath her, her fists slamming into the surface hard enough to send waves of energy rolling out. Her breath came in ragged gasps, chest tight, eyes wide and burning with tears that evaporated into sparks before they could fall. Black lightning exploded from her skin, jagged bolts arcing violently across the abyss, splitting the ocean of energy. At the same time, her Beast Core ignited—her tails and fox-like features flaring back into existence, but fused now with raw electricity, every strand of her aura laced with crackling black bolts. Karyu’s crimson eyes widened slightly, his grin sharpening. “So… you finally get it. You’re done keeping them separate. Lightning and beast—two cores, one body. Good. GOOD!” The ocean beneath her boiled, splitting apart as the energies inside Rin collided, then fused, then erupted outward. Her nine tails flickered between pure flame and jagged lightning, until they stabilized—tails of fire threaded with black bolts, a storm made flesh. Her fox ears twitched, outlined in a storm-glow, sparks racing off them like miniature thunderbolts. Her eyes snapped open, no longer just jagged diamonds, but now glowing with dual power: red like blood, threaded with streaks of black lightning crawling through the iris. The domain itself bent around her as her hybrid aura spiraled upward—flame and lightning interwoven, screaming into the void. Karyu let out a thunderous laugh that shook the abyss. “YES! That’s it! The true hybrid power! Rage, grief, love—it’s all fuel, Rin! Use it! Show that monster the wrath of lightning fused with the fox!” The battlefield went silent for a heartbeat—then erupted. A blinding white light detonated from Rin’s body, expanding outward in a violent dome that tore through everything within twenty-five meters. Shadow was forced to shield his eyes as the world was swallowed by that holy, searing brilliance. The ground split, air warped, and the oppressive void itself cracked under the pressure. At the center of it all, Rin’s form lifted slowly from the ground, her hair whipping wildly in the storm that roared around her. Her body floated upward as if gravity itself no longer applied, every inch of her frame radiating destructive energy. Her Lightning Core and Beast Core—once separate flames—had now fused into one devastating entity. Sparks of black lightning crawled across her skin, fusing with the burning aura of her fox-like form. Her nine tails now blazed with lightning-tipped fire, swaying behind her like the weapons of a wrathful goddess. The sky above split as arcs of black lightning surged outward, shattering the air. Her aura no longer radiated just power—it radiated rage incarnate. Every bolt, every flame, carried the weight of her grief. Shadow narrowed his eyes, the grin on his face faltering for the first time. The pressure pressing down on him was suffocating, as though the very world itself had turned against him. Rin’s eyes snapped open mid-air, glowing with a terrifying hybrid shine—blood red, threaded with jagged lightning that pulsed like a storm ready to devour. Her voice echoed with power and hatred, distorted with both flame and thunder. “Shadow… I’ll burn you alive, and I’ll rip you apart!!” The ground beneath her feet disintegrated into ash as her aura flared, her body radiating pure killing intent. “Oh… wow…” Shadow’s hollow voice hissed, his tone laced with venom and disbelief. “You’re alive? That won’t last lo—” He didn’t finish. The battlefield was silent. The only sound was the eerie crackle of broken energy lines crawling across the ruined ground. Dust swirled through the air, suffocating, still heavy with the echo of Shadow’s destructive power. His grin widened as he towered in the crater, black void dripping from his hands like living tar. Then— BOOM! A blinding white light detonated outward, swallowing the field whole. The blast tore through the debris, expanding in a perfect dome twenty-five meters across, shredding Shadow’s shadows like they were nothing but smoke. The earth split in fractures that glowed molten, the air itself warping under the pressure. At the center of it all—Rin floated. Her body rose slowly into the air, hair whipping violently in the storm that spiraled around her. Sparks of black lightning and tongues of flame licked off her frame, entwining into a cyclone that screamed to the heavens. Her fox features had returned, but transformed—nine tails blazed behind her, threaded with lightning at their tips, arcs crackling like living blades. Her eyes snapped open mid-air, glowing with dual fury: crimson threaded with jagged veins of black lightning. Shadow’s grin faltered. For the first time, his void shivered in retreat. “What… is this?” he hissed, his voice a hollow rasp. “That power… it shouldn’t exist.” Rin’s gaze cut into him like a blade. Her voice shook with grief and fury, distorted by thunder. “You took Yumi from me. You murdered her. And now—” Her aura exploded outward, ripping the ground apart. “—I’ll rip you apart!” She vanished. CRACK! Her fist sank into his gut before he even blinked. Shadow’s body doubled over, blood spraying from his mouth. The impact bypassed his void defenses entirely, tearing through them like paper. His knees buckled, his eyes wide. “W-What…?!” Rin snarled, twisting her fist deeper. Black lightning erupted from her knuckles, detonating shockwaves that shredded the crater beneath them. “Go. To. HELL!” She roared, launching him skyward with an uppercut. Shadow’s body shot through the air like a missile—only for Rin to appear above him in the next instant. Her heel slammed down into his jaw, snapping his head sideways with a sickening crack. CRACK! Her claws raked across his chest, leaving burning gouges of lightning and flame. Shadow roared, void energy surging wildly to counter, but Rin blurred again, appearing behind him. She drove her knee into his spine, forcing another gout of blood from his mouth. “YOU TOOK YUMI FROM ME!” she screamed, her voice splitting the sky. “I WON’T FORGIVE YOU!” Shadow’s void erupted in desperation, forming a forest of black spikes that shot toward her like spears. The air screamed with the force of it—each spike enough to impale a mountain. Rin didn’t flinch. One tail lashed out, swiping across the storm of spikes. Lightning flared, fire ignited, and the entire wave of void shattered like glass. Sparks and shadows scattered through the sky, raining harmlessly to the earth. “Pathetic,” Rin spat. Her fist slammed into his ribs—CRACK! Bones broke. She followed with a claw across his face—blood sprayed. She caught his arm before he could retreat, twisting until the joint screamed, then snapped it with a vicious wrench. Shadow roared in pain, void chains whipping outward in retaliation. They wrapped around Rin’s limbs, tightening, pulling, trying to crush her. For a brief second, the chains glowed with victory— Then they exploded. Her hybrid aura shredded them like paper, arcs of black lightning racing back through the void and burning Shadow himself. He screamed as the backlash tore into his body, staggering backward. Rin was already there. Her forehead smashed into his, detonating a shockwave that rippled across the battlefield. Craters formed in concentric rings, the ground itself crumbling under the sheer force of her rage. Shadow’s vision spun. Blood dripped from his mouth, his void aura sputtering, struggling to reform. He staggered, clutching his chest. “T-This… isn’t… possible,” he rasped, his grin gone, eyes wide with disbelief. Rin’s gaze burned holes into him. Every strike, every movement carried Yumi’s memory. She saw her sister’s broken body in his smirk. She heard her scream in every echo of his voice. Her grief turned into flame, her rage into lightning, and together they fused into a storm beyond comprehension. “It’s not just possible…” she growled, lightning crawling across her skin. Her fist drove into his chest, piercing through void armor and flesh alike. “…It’s YOUR END!” BOOM! Shadow’s body shot into the ground like a meteor. The impact shook the battlefield, exploding into a crater miles wide. Smoke and fire consumed the air, the ground glowing red-hot from the force. But Rin didn’t stop. She dove straight down, aura blazing like a comet. Her heel smashed into his ribs the moment he staggered up, sending him crashing through layers of earth. Fists, claws, tails—every blow followed in rapid succession, an unrelenting storm. Shadow tried to rise, tried to form another void portal to escape—but Rin ripped it open with her bare hands and dragged him back out. She hurled him skyward, lightning chaining his body mid-air, then launched after him. The heavens themselves split apart. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Each blow detonated like a bomb, fire and thunder tearing through the clouds. Shadow’s attempts to block crumbled. His void shattered with every strike, fragments of darkness scattering into the storm. His arms shook violently, bones fracturing under her barrage. His grin was gone, replaced by horror. “Why… won’t you break…?!” he choked, spitting blood. Rin’s answer was a scream that shook the heavens. “BECAUSE SHE DIED FOR ME!” Her aura erupted in a final surge, black lightning and flame spiraling into a devastating vortex. Her nine tails flared, forming spears of storm-fire, each one humming with annihilation. She thrust them forward all at once. Shadow’s scream tore through the sky as the spears impaled him, the energy detonating with apocalyptic force. The explosion swallowed the battlefield in blinding white light, erasing shadows, splitting earth, and silencing everything. When the light faded, Shadow’s body plummeted like a broken doll, smashing into the ruined ground. Rin hovered above, her aura raging like a storm given flesh. Her eyes glowed with dual fury, her body trembling with grief and wrath. The battlefield trembled beneath her, cracks spreading outward for miles. Her gaze never left the crater where Shadow lay buried. Her voice, distorted with flame and thunder, echoed across the silence. “This isn’t over… Not until you’re gone for good.”