My vision tore away from the white void—
and reality crashed back.
The world didn't return—it snapped into place around me.
Something pulled me back—violently.
Like reality itself was reclaiming me.
"…What the hell… happened here…?"
My voice sounded unfamiliar.
In front of me—
Aron was suspended in the air, his body hanging unnaturally still—like something had paused him mid-existence. His throat crushed in the grip of a black entity.
"…What is that…?"
Aron's face—fear mixed with relief the moment our eyes met—was enough.
"Don't… lose yourself… Zekai…"
Something inside me cracked.
If I don't move now—he dies.
I moved—before the thought finished forming.
The air cracked behind me as I moved.
Instantly.
Something sharper took over.
A violent surge of energy rose from inside me. Black energy wrapped around my arm—
and within it, something else formed.
White.
Sharper.
More focused.
This… is what Zero gave me?
It didn't matter.
I only understood one thing.
"You chose the wrong target."
I disappeared.
Not teleportation—
just movement my body hadn't learned yet.
Just speed—beyond what my body should allow.
I reappeared in front of it.
My hand closed around its throat—gripping something that only existed because I decided it did.
The same way it held Aron.
And crushed it.
For the first time—
it hesitated.
I caught it mid-motion—
not the body—
the movement itself.
The air cracked behind me as I moved.
For a moment—
the world split into two outcomes.
I chose the one where it stopped.
For a moment, the world split into two outcomes.
I didn't wait to see them.
I chose the one where it stopped.
For a second, it didn't understand what had happened.
Because it wasn't supposed to stop there.
No hesitation…
this body already knew what to do.
Aron's body dropped.
I caught him mid-air before he hit the ground and moved him carefully away from the fight.
"Aron… are you okay?"
He barely nodded.
"Ah…"
That was enough.
"…Sorry… I made you wait."
Before I could say anything else, that Soulreaver moved behind me.
The creature struck—
and missed.
Not because I moved.
Because it had already missed.
The result came first—movement only followed after.
Aron's body hit the ground hard, his vision shaking.
He couldn't move.
Every breath burned, his chest barely rising.
But his eyes—
they didn't leave Zekai.
"…You're still you… right…?"
His voice came out weak, barely a whisper.
For a moment, even he didn't understand what he was looking at.
Not speed.
Not strength.
Something else.
Something wrong.
Then—
a faint, broken laugh escaped him.
"…Of course you are…"
Relief replaced the fear.
Not because he understood—
but because he didn't need to.
"I knew it…"
"…you wouldn't lose."
His fingers tightened weakly against the ground—
as if holding onto that belief alone.
For a brief moment—
the outcome had already been decided.
I didn't even turn fully.
The distance between us was barely a few steps—close enough that I could feel the cold leaking from its body against my back.
Its hand reached for me, but I grabbed it by the throat—my fingers closing around something that felt half-solid—and lifted it effortlessly.
I caught it again—this time harder.
It dropped the black stone card.
I turned my head slightly.
"I'm talking to him."
"You're not part of this."
I threw it aside.
I slammed it into the wall with a single motion.
The wall dented inward on impact—cracks spreading outward like a spiderweb before the sound finally caught up.
The wall dented inward on impact—cracks spreading outward like a spiderweb before the sound finally caught up.
The impact cracked the surface like bone, but It refused to die.
Of course it didn't.
I glanced back at Aron.
"Stay there. I'll finish this quickly."
I stepped forward.
My mind was clear—
Something inside me had already decided.
I didn't care what this place was.
Or why any of this was happening.
From this point on—
anyone who tried to kill us—
would die by my hands.
The Soulreaver came at me again.
Then it stopped.
Not retreating.
Aiming.
Its white gaze locked onto me—
and its hand rose slowly.
I felt it instantly.
Something inside me shifted.
Not my body.
Deeper.
A pulling force tore through my chest—
invisible—but undeniable.
My breath stopped.
"...What—?"
A thin, smoke-like essence began to stretch out from me—
It didn't pull from my body—it pulled from somewhere deeper, like something behind my existence was being dragged forward.
just like it did to Aron.
My vision shook.
My knees almost gave in.
So this is what he felt…
This—
this isn't pain.
This is being taken.
My thoughts blurred.
For a second—
my body leaned forward.
Like giving in would be easier.
Then—
Aron flashed in my mind.
Him standing there—
dying.
Still trying to move.
Still trying to protect me.
Even when he knew he couldn't win.
My fingers tightened.
"...He endured this?"
My voice came out low.
Unsteady—
but not breaking.
"...Then what the hell am I doing…?"
The pull intensified.
The pull dug deeper—
like something was finding the parts of me I didn't control.
Trying to take those first.
Harder.
Trying to rip me apart.
I forced my foot forward—each step heavier than the last, like the ground itself was trying to push me back.
Against it.
Forcing my body to move—
even as something inside me was being dragged out.
"I'm… not him."
A breath.
Sharp.
"I don't break here."
The shadow around my arm tightened—
and snapped.
The pull snapped—like something I refused to give was no longer allowed to be taken.
Like something I refused to give—
was no longer allowed to be taken.
I lifted my head slowly.
"Try that again…"
"…and I'll erase you."
No hesitation.
No fear.
"No mercy... anymore."
Not for things like you.
End of chapter 14 - No Mercy