Chapter 83: Ashes and Souls

There are moments when fire doesn’t warm.
It only consumes.
Pain leaves marks…
But the true scars are choices.

Choosing to stay when everything burns.
To fight when defeat feels already written.
Or simply… not to run.

Because even among the ashes, something still breathes.
Sometimes a scream.
Sometimes a hope.
Other times… a farewell.

And when souls cross paths in the middle of chaos,
there’s no time for questions.
Only to decide what will burn first:
the body…
or the faith.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Something didn’t fit.

Shu had felt it for minutes now —a constant pressure in his chest, a vibration that didn’t come from the ground, but from the air itself.
Something was coming.
Something that shouldn’t be there.

“What the hell is this feeling…?” he thought, narrowing his eyes. “Something’s off here… but what is it?”

“What’s wrong?” Lowa asked, noticing the change in his expression. “You don’t look so good.”

“Don’t you think it’s strange?”

“What are you talking about?”

“By now, Edén and Yohei should’ve run into someone. But they haven’t said a word… and that fight should’ve been over long ago.”

Lowa shrugged.
“Maybe they fell asleep.”

Shu let out a short, tired laugh —resigned.
“What a stupid conclusion…”

“Thanks,” she added afterward, with a sincerity that made him frown for a second.

“You’re welcome.”

Lowa took a deep breath.
“For now, we should focus on our part. I’m sure they’re fine.”

“Yeah… you’re right.”

•

Then came the footsteps.
Heavy. Measured.
As if the forest itself stepped aside to let them through.

“Lowa!” Shu shouted.

“Yes.”

Both prepared, raising their guard. Their auras began to rise subtly.

Between the trees an elegant, imposing figure appeared. Black suit, strong build, reading glasses… and a kindly expression.

“Ah… looks like I got a little lost,” he said.

Shu frowned.
“Who the hell is this guy…?”

“I can’t sense a drop of energy… nothing,” Lowa said.

“Excuse me,” the stranger said, adjusting his glasses. “Could you tell me where a boy named Edén is located?”

Lowa stared at him.
“Edén? Sorry, we don’t know who that is.”

“What a pity…” the man said in a friendly tone. “I was hoping to get to him soon.”

But then Shu noticed it.
On his neck, a small tattoo in the shape of a black star.

His face tensed.
“Lowa… that guy…”

“Yes… he’s one of those bastards.”

Shu nodded.
“We can’t let him leave here.”

“I know.”

•

Both released their energy at once. Lowa was the first to strike, vanishing in a straight line. Her fist hit the stranger’s face with devastating force, so powerful that the trees behind him bent from the shockwave.

But he… didn’t move an inch.

“You’re a bit inconsiderate, young lady.”

Lowa stepped back, stunned.
“This can’t be…”

The man grabbed her arm with inhuman strength and slammed her into the ground. The crunch of the impact was followed by a spit of blood.

A second later his fist fell like a hammer upon the ground, splitting it completely. Lowa barely rolled out of range.

She stumbled back to Shu.
“You okay?”

“I think… he broke two ribs on that hit,” she panted. “This guy… he’s going to be a real problem.”

•

Shu swallowed. There was more.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, noticing his expression.

“I-I can’t find any weak point…”

Lowa laughed despite the pain.
“Hey, hey… is this for real?”

Shu fell silent, watching. Calculating.
“Do we really have no option against him? There must be a way…”

Lowa looked at the sky for a moment.
“Damn… looks like we’ll just be cannon fodder.”

“Huh?”

She lowered her gaze, smiling bitterly.
“Does this always happen when they’re with that guy? I find it very amusing.”

“What will you do?”

“The same as you. Stop them at all costs. I don’t know what they want with this Edén, but it can’t be good. If we let them reach him… it’ll be the end.”

Shu lowered his eyes…and nodded.
“Yes. It seems we’ve got no other choice.”

Then his eyes changed. A golden flash ran through them. The aura around him vibrated. Something activated. The stranger noticed it instantly.

Both launched their attack with everything they had.
Shu multiplied his strikes—kicks, bursts of punches, pure energy.
Lowa followed in sync, searching for openings.

But the man dodged everything with methodical grace.
And then… he caught Lowa’s fist.

A single blow was enough to break the bones in her arm.
He sent her flying and kicked her back—straight into Shu.
They collided in midair, falling to the ground among branches and dust.

Shu got up as best he could and looked at her.
Bleeding. Shattered.
“Shit… we haven’t even scratched him…”
“If this keeps going… we’ll die.”

The enemy rose, composed.
“So… are you ready to talk now?”

Shu lowered his gaze.
“I….”

“No…” Lowa interrupted in a weak voice, barely a whisper. “We don’t know anything.”

“That’s a pity.”
“You’ll have to die here.”

“Lowa… please… hold on.”
“I will…”

•

Shu’s body lit up.
A golden light sprang from his depths.
It wasn’t just energy.
It was a flame that had long been extinguished—
and now… at last decided to burn.

What was he afraid of?
Shu breathed with difficulty.
His body shook—not from pain… but from truth.
“Was I really going to confess to save myself…?”

A metallic taste filled his mouth. The taste of blood…
Or perhaps of remorse.
“I really am a disgusting person… the worst…”

Screams.
Blood on the walls.
Memories that wouldn’t go away.

•

To die.
He had always feared that.
Not only now…
Also that other time.

The image of Edén’s face wrapped in darkness returned to him.
His demonic aura, his unleashed power.
The look of someone who had stopped running.

Then, the ruins of Nork.
The choices not made.
The lives he couldn’t save.

And, finally… Athena.
Her eyes full of contempt.
As if every part of Shu were a mistake.

“That time… I shouldn’t have survived.”
“It should have been him.”
“I always thought so.”

But now… now he didn’t know.
“Edén… did you ever feel like that?
Did you ever decide to turn back… and run?”
“I don’t understand…”
And probably never would.

•

But one thing was certain.
“Once. Just once…
I want to fight.
Even if it costs me my life.
I want to carve my own path.”

A hand settled on his shoulder.
The warmth was familiar. Comforting.
And also… unnecessary.
His expression changed. Shu’s eyes flamed with fury.
“Don’t get in my way now.”

Energy erupted.
His body tensed, strengthened.
Muscles carved with supernatural definition.
His hair became sharper, wilder.
And in a single blink…
Shu vanished from the ground.

He appeared in front of the enemy.
His punch—direct, clean, without hesitation.
The blow didn’t just connect.
The very air compressed, creating a gust that split the forest in two.
“Ohh… interesting,” the stranger said, surprised.

The man struck back, but Shu dodged.
Shu countered with a clean blow to the ribs.
The enemy staggered. For the first time.
He looked at his side, where the impact had left a dark mark.
He smiled.

Shu did not stop.
A rain of strikes fell on the enemy.
Fists, kicks, spins, leaps.
Each one pushed the stranger further back.

“Maybe I should start with this…” thought the stranger.
In the next instant… something changed.
Time seemed to freeze.
And then, a single finger.
Cold. Precise. Lethal.

It pierced Shu’s chest.
The pain shattered everything.
He spat blood. He felt the warmth draining from his body.
“I think I’ve had enough fun with you,” the enemy murmured.
“D… damn you…”

“It’s a shame, but…”

Then the enemy stopped.
His eyes widened.
“This can’t be…”

A mark.
On Shu’s neck.

Images flooded his mind.
A laboratory.
Blood.
Vials.
Crying children.

“Now!” thought Shu.
With the little strength he had left, he twisted his body and launched an upward kick.
It struck the enemy’s neck.
The man was flung, crashing into a tree.
His glasses shattered.

“I didn’t expect to find someone like this here… damn… what do I do now?” the stranger thought, trembling.

Shu wavered.
His vision blurred.
Dark blood streamed from his chest like a waterfall.
He looked to one side.
Lowa, barely breathing, lying on the ground.
“I have to take her… if she stays here, she’ll die.
I have to…”

But he couldn’t.
The enemy appeared behind him.
Too fast.
Too silent.
Shu didn’t react.
A hand drove through his back and came out his abdomen.
Blood fell like rain.
The world dimmed a little more.

He fell.
His knees hit the earth.
His forehead as well.
And his body… lay motionless, covered in wounds, empty of energy, without words.
“That’s the end,” said the stranger, wiping the blood from his arm.

Silence returned to the forest.
A heavy silence.

“I’m sorry…” said the voice with a strange mix of regret and firmness.
Bestia closed the book in his hands.
Silence wrapped the forest.
“It’s time to leave,” he added, turning away.

But something stopped him.
Behind him…
Shu was rising.
Trembling. Wrecked.
And yet, with a smile on his face.
“Hey…” he panted, wiping the blood away, “can you stop playing?”
Bestia turned only slightly, confused.
“What are you talking about?”
“If I’m going to die here,” Shu growled, “I want you to give it your all. Don’t hold back, bastard.”

The air changed.
Bestia sighed… and for the first time, his expression turned serious.
“I hope you don’t regret this…”

His hands began to mutate.
His fingers sharpened, taking the shape of pincers.
And from his flanks emerged black, razor-like legs, like those of a giant insect.
The scene faded.

Silence.
Fire.
Floating ashes.
Shu lay on the ground, powerless.
Bestia looked at him with a sorrow that didn’t belong on his face.
“You didn’t deserve this…
Neither did you…
Nor any of them…”

“Well, well,” interrupted an unexpected voice, “it seems I found an interesting fellow around here.”
Bestia spun around, startled.
Tiresias was there. Standing. Smiling.
As if he hadn’t just walked through hell a few minutes ago.
Bestia stepped back, confused.
“How? I didn’t feel you… not until you spoke…”
“You and your friends,” Tiresias continued, looking at Shu and Lowa, “have left a pretty mess.”

“Why didn’t you kill me?” Bestia asked bluntly. “You had the chance.”
Tiresias raised an eyebrow.
“That’s not my style.
Besides… you’re more human than I thought.”

The image of Puppet and the Unknown 59 crossed both their minds.
“What are you talking about?”
“I noticed,” said Tiresias. “You didn’t touch any vital points. You didn’t want to kill them.”
Bestia fell silent.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Maybe not. But at least…” his eyes shone, “you deserve a human death.
So I’ll make it quick.”

Tiresias vanished in a blink.
A precise strike hit Bestia’s face, stunning him.
“Who the hell is this old man? How does he have so much strength?”

A flash.
White. Blinding.
Bestia screamed inwardly. He saw nothing.
“Shit. Where is he?”

Instead of fleeing, Tiresias moved to Shu and Lowa.
He touched their pulses. He checked their wounds.
“There’s still time… but not much.”

When Bestia’s sight returned, he found him turned away, assessing the injured.
“What do you intend? You could have killed me again!”
“Thanks for the concern,” Tiresias said calmly, “but the game ended a long time ago.”

Bestia frowned.
“Huh?”
Then he saw it.
Small red glints on the ground.
Devices surrounding him.
“Goodbye,” whispered Tiresias.

The explosion was massive.
The entire forest shook.
Trees bent from the blast wave before catching fire and collapsing.
Tiresias protected Shu and Lowa with an energy barrier as he watched the hellscape.
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy…
But still… you surprised me.”

From the fire emerged a figure.
A body armored in hardened bark across the torso.
Three pointed arms on each side.
Pincer-like hands.
And a huge stinger curving along its back.
Bestia… in his true form.
“It’s a pity I can’t see you properly now,” Tiresias said, sweating, “but I’m sure you’re terrifying.”

“I didn’t expect that from an old man,” Bestia replied, amused. “If you’d had a second more… I would have blown to pieces.”
“What is your name?” Tiresias asked.
“Bestia. And yours?”
“Tiresias.
And I’m glad to know it… so I can make a tomb in your honor.”

Both smiled. Tense.
Respect grew… as did the risk.

Then, an energy blast was felt in the distance.
Tiresias turned, alarmed.
“What is this energy…?”

Yosa.
His new form.
A roar that made the earth tremble.
“Don’t tell me…” Tiresias whispered.

But he had no time to think further.
Bestia appeared before him, striking with brutal force.
“Don’t look away, old man!”
Tiresias managed to block… but his arms went numb.
“Hold on, Yosa… just a little longer…”

Bestia attacked with ferocity.
Each blow shattered the ground.
Each impact opened fissures.
But then…
An invisible thread tensed.
Bestia touched it.

Spikes sprang from the ground, piercing his body.
The monster spat blood.
“When did—?”
“You’re more unpredictable than I thought… Tiresias.
But…”

The spikes broke.
Bestia destroyed them with savage strength.

“I suspected as much…” Tiresias whispered. “The only way to beat a monster… is to become one.”
“What are you whispering, old man?”
“Nothing you need to know.
It’s time to finish this.”

Tiresias released his power.
His body grew.
Muscles bulged to grotesque proportions.
His eyes shone like golden suns.

Bestia staggered back a step.
“Is this for real…?”
Tiresias said nothing. He only looked at him.

“You’re far more troublesome than I thought,” Bestia said, smiling nervously.
“Shall we end this?”
“Yes.”

But before the final clash…
A new explosion.
Even bigger. Even more overwhelming.

Everyone stopped.
Even Bestia.
“Is this for real?”

Willoc appeared.
“Seems we arrived late…”

Unknown 59 smiled, looking to the horizon.
A single figure.
An unrivaled energy.
Edén.

“It’s a shame,” Bestia said.
“We’ll have to leave this for another occasion, Tiresias.”

In an instant, they vanished.
Willoc.
Bestia.
Unknown 59.

The forest lay in ruins.
And Tiresias, still panting, stared into the void.
“What is happening here…?”

In the distance, two figures faced each other.
Shun…
Yogen.

“Depending on what happens today,” Shun thought, “the world will change forever.
There is no margin for error.”

“We have to finish this. Now.”