Chapter 84: The Last Whisper

Not all screams rise with strength.
Some crawl, like whispers in ruins.
History is made of muffled voices.
Of promises forgotten in the smoke.
Of dreams broken before they take shape.
But there are those who, even amid collapse,
keep listening.
keep remembering.
And those memories…
those faint echoes of the past…
become flames when ignored.
Because destruction itself is not what terrifies.
It is the possibility that everything we were,
everything we loved,
will vanish…
without anyone hearing our final whisper.

The flames danced over what had once been one of the most powerful cities of the ancient world. Tenochtitlan burned, reduced to ashes and rubble, while columns of smoke hid a sky bereft of gods.
Among the remains, two figures stood upright.
Face to face.
Silence. Tension. Contained death.

Puppet watched Shun with growing unease. His face, usually veiled by mockery, now wore a trace of genuine concern.
“What the hell is this guy doing here?” he thought, frowning as his eyes scanned the surroundings. “Did he see this coming? No, that’s impossible… no matter how clever he is, he couldn’t have predicted the exact place and time. Something’s off…”

Shun’s mocking gaze cut through his thoughts like a knife.
“What’s the matter?” he asked in a calm voice. “You seem a little nervous.”

Puppet gritted his teeth. He had to alert Yogen. He had to transmit the information before it was too late. And yet… he didn’t.
“What the hell am I thinking?” he scolded himself.

Then his body began to emit a thick, putrid energy, almost unnatural — as if reality itself trembled in rejection. An aura of threads, flesh and rage.
“Yes… this is my moment,” he told himself as a deformed smile spread across his face. “I’m going to destroy him. I’ll break the strongest man in the world…and turn him into my puppet.”

But Shun did not flinch. He watched him with a ripping coldness, like someone observing a wounded animal trying to roar.
“This guy is nothing extraordinary,” he reflected, “but that power… if he develops it further, he could become a problem. I can’t allow that.”

A blink. An instant.
The world filled with bodies.
Hundreds of humans, dragged by invisible strings, rose up behind Shun. Living puppets, used as weapons.

Shun reacted immediately, sliding among the attacks with superhuman fluidity. He blocked, dodged, struck. His movements were so precise they seemed premeditated. Each puppet he touched fell inert. But there were too many.

The creatures pulled back, forming a human shield in front of Puppet. The manipulator clapped sarcastically.
“You’re really interesting. I thought you’d at least make me bleed… but look at you, not a scratch.”

Shun said nothing. He only thought.
“He wasn’t trying to wound me. Each one of those attacks… targeted my vital points. This bastard is more dangerous than he looks.”

And then the real siege began.
New waves of puppets appeared everywhere, closing the circle. Shun found himself trapped. No routes. No sky.

He smiled.
“Bastard…”

He looked up, trying to escape through the only open space.
But they didn’t let him. Puppet’s threads clung to his body like ravenous snakes, immobilizing him.

And in that instant, all the puppets jumped.
A roar of flesh and despair crashed down upon him.
Every inch of his body was pierced through.

Silence. Then, blood. So much blood.
A dark pool began to spread beneath the mountain of bodies as Puppet burst into laughter—
the laughter of a child finally breaking his toughest toy.

He jumped, shouted, celebrated.
—I did it! I finally did it!

But then, something flickered. A light. An invisible slash.
And suddenly, the horror switched sides.

Dozens of bodies fell, sliced in half.
The puppets collapsed like torn rags, revealing a figure emerging slowly from within them.

Shun.

He walked forward, drenched in blood, his eyes hollow.
No wounds. No visible pain.

Puppet stepped back, frozen.
—I have to admit, you’ve surprised me, —said Shun, his voice low.— I thought you were impulsive… but you’re far more calculating than you look.

The puppeteer’s eyes widened in shock.
—How… how is this possible…?

Shun lowered his gaze, remembering the moment he was surrounded—
the instant his enemies leapt at him.

And then he understood.
—They weren’t lifeless bodies…

A faint moan broke through the memory.
—H-Help…

One of the puppets, half-destroyed, spoke out. It was alive.

Shun looked at it.
Contempt. Rage.
And a pain that began to boil deep within his soul.

The flames still burned among the ruins of Tenochtitlan,
but Shun no longer saw the fire.
He only heard… the whispers.

—They were alive… —he murmured, eyes fixed on the void.— They still had dreams… they were still people.

His voice didn’t tremble—
but the world did.

A wild, relentless energy surged from deep within his body.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
The air grew heavy.
For the first time in ages, Puppet instinctively stepped back.

—W-What… is this pressure…?

Shun said nothing.
He was only thinking.

—Now I remember… this world is cruel. In this world… the only one who rules… is the strong.

He closed his eyes.
And then—he returned to that day.

•

—What did you just say?! —he shouted, furious.
—We’ve lost, —replied the man, his eyes filled with defeat.
—Stop saying nonsense. The war’s not over yet. What are you talking about?
—Yes… but I failed, —the man admitted, lowering his gaze.— I failed at what I wanted to achieve. Just like my father. I couldn’t unite the races. I couldn’t bring peace. I couldn’t fulfill that dream.

Shun clenched his teeth.
—Don’t give me that crap! You started this! You gave me something to believe in!
—And I’m sorry, —he whispered.— I wasn’t enough. I wasn’t worthy.
—This isn’t over until the king falls! Get up and die in battle!

Silence enveloped them.
Until another voice joined in.

—Would you two be able to forgive me?

Shun and Loki turned, startled.
The young man with messy hair frowned.

—What are you talking about?

—There’s a way to keep this going. To make sure the fight doesn’t die…
But you’ll have to bear the weight. Will you be able to?

Shun didn’t hesitate.
—I don’t know. I don’t care. Just give us the order. We trust you.

Loki smiled.
—Yeah. We’ll carry it, Captain.

—Thank you… and I’m sorry, guys.

•

The vision faded.
Reality returned with the force of a storm.

—Damn bastard… —Shun thought.— You always liked making things complicated. Peace among all races? You’d have to be an idiot to dream of that…

His fist tightened.
—But that’s exactly why I trusted you, Ra. And I’ll bet everything on your ridiculous dream. On the one you believed in…

Here.
Now.

I’ll open the gates so that idiot can turn the world upside down.

His body burst into motion.

But he didn’t make it.

A titanic explosion stopped him in his tracks.
From the distance, a golden beam of energy rose like a spear.
The sky trembled. The earth did too.

Shun frowned.
—So… they were expecting this?

The echoes of battle were silenced by that overwhelming power.
All eyes turned to the sky.

Afrodita held her breath.
—This power…

Yosa watched, panting, blood on her hands.
—Has he always been this strong?

Tiresias smiled with pride.
—Looks like the little chick has finally hatched.

Shun didn’t wait.
With a single strike, he shattered the air before him, sweeping away dozens of puppets.
Puppet, desperate, hurled more threads, more flesh, more bodies—
all of them were obliterated.

Shun advanced.
A storm of force and fury.

And then—he faced him. Puppet.

—I’m out of time! —the puppeteer thought, stepping back.

Shun’s fist gleamed like a comet.
It shot straight toward Puppet’s face.

And then—impact.
But not against him.

Against a sword.

Shun gritted his teeth.
—Damn bastard. You took your time.

On the other side, Yogen held his blade, stopping the strike just millimeters from Puppet’s face.

—Quickly! —he ordered.— Continue with the plan. We can’t waste this chance!

Puppet nodded silently and vanished with a leap.

Shun took a step back, glaring at both of them.
—Where do you think you’re going? I still have unfinished business!

He drew his sword.
The metal sang.
The energy it released made the very foundations of what remained of Tenochtitlan tremble.

In a blink, Shun dashed toward Puppet—
a brilliant, lethal slash.

But Yogen was there.
He blocked the strike with his sword.
The shockwave destroyed several houses. The ground split open.

And Puppet… disappeared among the debris, heading toward where Edén was.

Shun clenched his teeth.
—What the hell are you planning?

—I’m sorry, Shun, —said Yogen.— But this is beyond your understanding. Not even you, with all your strength, can grasp what his power represents.

Shun narrowed his eyes.
—Why does this sound so familiar…?

A voice cut through the tension.
—Captain!

—You’re just in time, idiot, —grunted Shun as he saw Alexbold.— Follow that damn puppet master. Don’t let them take Edén!
—Huh? Got it!

But before he could move, Yogen appeared before him—
swift as a breath.

Alexbold froze.
—Am I… going to die?

A thunderous impact saved him.
Shun struck Yogen with a devastating punch that buried him into the ground.

—Now!

Alexbold didn’t hesitate another second.
He sprinted after Puppet.

Yogen rose from the debris, unscathed.
Dust fell from his shoulders. His expression remained calm—untouched.

—It seems the data wasn’t lying, —he murmured.— You’re terrifyingly strong. If I hadn’t defended myself, I’d be dead right now.

Shun lifted his hand, showing a completely broken finger.
—And you’re telling me that? What the hell are you made of?

Yogen looked at him, as if analyzing an experiment.
—I’m impressed you managed to figure out our plans. Though… it seems you acted a bit too late.

—Yeah, —Shun admitted.— You could say that.

—I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but you’re a nuisance.
Are you sure you want to fight me? If you stay here wasting time… many of your people might die.

—Stop underestimating them. They won’t die.
They’re stronger than you think.

Shun stepped forward.
—Besides, I doubt you’ll let me move an inch from here… right?

Yogen smiled.

And then—both vanished.

Their blades clashed. The air roared. The world trembled.

And in the distance, the waves of the sea began to stir,
as if they too knew…
that something was about to change forever.