Zekai's breathing stopped.
"Possibility..."
He whispered the word. Something moved inside his mind. Not an ability. Not knowledge.
A feeling.
Until now, he had thought of his power as a way to find the path that already existed.
The correct path. The fortunate path. The path that allowed him to survive. But that wasn't what he was doing now.
Reality around him wasn't showing him another path.
It was—
creating one.
The Beast attacked again. Zekai didn't think. He stepped. The punch missed. Not by luck. Not because he was faster.
The distance between them had become slightly wrong. Only a few inches. But those few inches were enough.
Zekai stared at the Beast. The creature's expression changed.
It had missed. For the first time.
Zekai's lips parted. "I..." He looked at his hand. "...made it miss." The realization struck him.
His eyes widened. A strange exhilaration spread through his chest. Not confidence. Not yet.
Something smaller. Hope. Then—
Vespercoil attacked. The skeletal lash flew toward his throat.
Zekai saw it. His body moved. The whip passed beside him. He heard the weapon cut through the air.
Zekai stared. 'I did it again.'
He stepped backward. The lash turned. Vespercoil pulled it back.
Zekai's heart sank. 'No.'
The weapon came again. He moved. It missed. Again. Vespercoil's eyes narrowed. "Just a pure fluke."
Zekai's breathing quickened. The world around him seemed subtly unstable. A stone beside his foot shifted several inches. A crack in the ground appeared somewhere it hadn't been before.
The distance between Zekai and Vespercoil seemed to stretch and contract. Nothing dramatic. Nothing under his complete control. But enough.
Enough to survive. Vespercoil attacked again. Zekai dodged. The whip missed by inches.
Zekai laughed. A breathless, disbelieving laugh. "You're kidding..."
He looked at his own hands. "Is this..." His smile returned. "...my power?"
Vespercoil's expression hardened. The whip snapped forward.
Zekai stepped aside. The weapon struck the stone. The Beast moved at the same time.
Zekai turned. A fist came toward his face. He ducked. The fist missed.
Zekai spun. The Beast's second strike missed. Its third came from the opposite direction.
Zekai twisted. The blow passed through the space beside his shoulder.
The Beast stopped. It stared. Zekai stared back. Neither moved. Then Zekai smiled. Not arrogantly. Almost nervously.
"Looks like you can't read me anymore."
The Beast's eyes narrowed. It attacked. Zekai moved. For several seconds, something impossible happened.
The Beast adapted. Zekai changed.
The Beast predicted. Reality shifted.
Zekai slipped through openings that shouldn't have existed. He wasn't stronger. He wasn't faster.
He wasn't more skilled. He was simply becoming difficult to place.
A punch that should have struck his jaw passed beside it. A kick aimed at his knee landed inches away. A claw that should have pierced his chest caught only fabric.
Zekai began to understand. 'It's not making me invisible.'
It's making the outcome uncertain. The thought sent a chill through him.
Possibility.
Astrael finally spoke. "Rejected possibility."
Zekai looked toward him. The yellow-haired Witness had been watching silently.
Now his golden eyes were fixed on Zekai. "You are not choosing an outcome."
Zekai's smile faded.
Astrael continued. "You are causing several outcomes to coexist for an instant."
Zekai's pupils contracted. "Several outcomes..."
He looked at his own hand.
"So that's why even I don't know where I'll end up."
Astrael's expression remained emotionless. "Precisely."
A brief silence followed. "That is why you are dangerous."
Zekai stared at him. "Dangerous?"
Astrael's gaze shifted toward the distorted space surrounding Zekai. "A predictable Fool is harmless."
His golden eyes returned to Zekai. "An uncertain one is not."
Zekai's expression hardened. "Then maybe..." He tightened his grip around Null Drakular.
"Maybe you should've killed me before I figured it out."
He raised Null Drakular. Except— he didn't have Null Drakular. His eyes snapped toward the sword.
Hella's chains still covered it. The realization crushed his brief excitement.
Right. He hadn't escaped. He hadn't won. The sword was still restrained.
Hella raised her hand. The chains surged toward him.
Zekai moved. One chain missed. Another missed.
A third wrapped around his ankle. Zekai stumbled. "Ah—!"
The chain yanked him backward. He crashed onto his back.
Hella's black hands appeared above him. Zekai tried to move.
Too late. The hands seized his wrists. Another caught his throat.
He struggled. The newly awakened power flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then vanished. Zekai's eyes widened.
It stopped. His breathing became frantic. 'No.'
The chains tightened. He couldn't move.
Hella approached. "You discovered something."
Zekai stared at her. "Don't..." His voice was weak.
Hella crouched beside him. "But you haven't learned how to use it."
She touched his forehead. "You are still a child holding a storm."
Zekai clenched his teeth. "I'll learn."
Hella smiled. "You may not have enough time."
She stood. Vespercoil raised his weapon.
Zekai's pupils contracted. The whip came down. He rolled.
The weapon struck his shoulder instead. Pain exploded through him. He screamed.
Frost Heal immediately activated. The wound closed.
Vespercoil attacked again. Zekai barely moved. The lash tore across his chest.
Frost Heal. Again. The whip struck his leg.
Frost Heal. Again.
Zekai stumbled. His body healed. His mind didn't.
He stared at the Witness. 'This isn't a fight.'
The realization settled heavily inside him.
'They're testing how long I can survive.'
His confidence began slipping again. He looked at his hands. They were shaking. Not because he was afraid of dying.
Because he was beginning to understand that death wasn't even the worst part.
The worst part was knowing he could recover. They could hurt him.
He would heal. They could hurt him again.
He would heal again. And they could continue indefinitely.
Zekai swallowed.
'How long can Frost Heal actually keep doing this?'
He looked at the wound on his chest. It was already gone. For the first time, he didn't feel relief.
He felt afraid of the answer. What exactly did the Snow Monarch Deer give me?
A thought appeared. This isn't normal healing. His eyes widened slightly. No.
He remembered every time Frost Heal had restored him. Every injury. Every broken bone.
Every time he thought he should have been finished. Yet he had always treated it as something convenient.
Something powerful. Something he could rely on.
Now he understood. This isn't a healing ability. His gaze slowly lifted toward the six Witnesses.
It's the reason I'm still alive. The realization should have comforted him.
Instead, it made his stomach turn. Because if that power ever disappeared—
he would have nothing. Zekai lowered his head. His breathing became uneven. For the first time, his voice came out almost inaudible. "...I don't want to die."
Nobody answered. He closed his eyes. "I don't want to die here."
His fingers tightened against the ground. "I haven't finished anything."
His voice cracked. "I haven't even..." He swallowed. "...seen Aron again."
The name escaped him before he could stop it. A voice answered from behind him.
"Mr. Zekai."
His body froze. Zekai's eyes widened. That voice. He knew it. He slowly turned.
Aron stood several meters away. Zekai's lips parted. "Aron...?"
The boy smiled. But something was wrong. His eyes were empty. "You said you'd come back."
Zekai stared. The world around him became distant.
"I..."
Aron stepped closer. "You promised."
Zekai's breathing trembled. "No."
"You promised you'd see me again."
"Stop."
"You didn't."
"Aron..."
The image smiled sadly. "You always say you're going to save people."
Zekai's eyes began watering. "That's not..."
"But look at you." Aron's gaze moved over Zekai's battered body. "You can't even save yourself."
Zekai shook his head. "No."
"You sacrificed everyone else."
"No."
"Again and again."
"No."
His voice became desperate.
"I didn't."
Aron tilted his head. "Then why am I here?"
Zekai couldn't answer. The illusion stepped closer.
"You have the power to heal."
Zekai's breathing stopped.
"But remember..." Aron's finger touched his own lips.
"...healing only repairs your body." His smile widened.
"It doesn't repair your mind."
Zekai's eyes trembled.
"You've always been a fool, Mr. Zekai."
A tear slid down his cheek.
"Stop."
"Oh..."
Aron smiled. "Sorry." His expression became cold.
"You're not just a fool."
Zekai stared.
"You're a betrayer."
"Stop."
"Why don't you feel ashamed?"
"Please..."
"Look at yourself."
Zekai covered his ears. "Please stop."
"Your arrogance."
"Stop."
"Your overconfidence."
"Please."
"Your detachment."
"Stop!"
"Your cynical little smile whenever someone else is suffering."
Zekai's breathing broke. "That's not true."
Aron leaned closer. "Then why am I the prey in the story you created?"
Zekai couldn't speak. His vision blurred. Aron's face became distorted.
"I wanted to save you." Zekai whispered.
"What?"
"I was overconfident because..." His voice shook.
"...I wanted to save you."
The illusion smiled. "You failed."
Zekai lowered his head. "I know."
"You promised you'd come back."
"I know."
"You said you'd see me again."
Zekai closed his eyes. "Yeah." His voice was barely audible.
"Sorry, Aron."
The illusion began cracking. Zekai opened his eyes. "Yeah..." He smiled through tears. "I was overconfident."
The illusion shattered.
"I wanted to save you."
Fragments of the false image scattered into darkness.
Zekai remained kneeling. His body was healed. His mind wasn't. For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then he slowly wiped his eyes. His hand trembled. "Sorry."
Nobody reacted.
Zekai looked toward Null Drakular. The sword remained trapped.
He looked toward the six Witnesses. Then toward Hella. Then toward the empty place where Aron had been.
His expression was different now. The arrogance had gone. The fear remained. But beneath it was something else.
A decision. I can't win. His fingers pressed against the ground.
So I'll survive.
Astrael's eyes narrowed.
Jerom leaned forward slightly.
Hella raised her hand. The chains rushed toward Zekai.
Zekai didn't run. He waited. The first chain came.
He moved. It missed. The second. He twisted. It missed.
The third—
Zekai stepped through a space that shouldn't have been large enough.
The chain passed behind him. He reached forward. His fingers closed around Null Drakular.
The sword trembled. Black-red energy erupted from the blade.
CRACK!
Hella's chains shattered. The black hands gripping the sword were blown backward.
Null Drakular flew into Zekai's hand. He caught it. For a moment, nobody moved.
Zekai stood there. His clothes were torn. Blood stained his face. His body had already healed. His eyes were still wet.
Reality around him flickered faintly.
The Beast stared.
Vespercoil lowered his whip.
Nihil's Grimoire stopped turning.
Astrael's eyes narrowed.
Jerom finally stepped forward.
Zekai looked at the sword in his hand. Then at the six Witnesses. His voice was quiet monotone.
"I don't know how to use this power." He tightened his grip. "I don't know how long I can survive."
The distortion around his body intensified.
"But..." He raised his eyes. "...I'm starting to understand."
Jerom's expression changed. Not fear. Not yet. Interest.
Zekai stepped forward. The ground beneath his foot shifted. His body seemed to flicker for an instant.
The Beast moved. Zekai disappeared from the position it expected.
He appeared several inches to the side. The Beast's fist cut through empty air.
Zekai stared at it. Then smiled faintly. "Reality..." His grip tightened around Null Drakular.
"...doesn't seem very certain anymore."
Far away, inside the hidden throne room, Lucien watched the scene through the crimson surface before him.
He had remained silent throughout the battle. Now his fingers tapped once against the armrest.
His eyes narrowed. "So you've finally noticed."
The faint smile returned. His golden eyes narrowed.
"You were never meant to find the path."
A faint smile touched his lips. "You were meant to make one."
He looked at Zekai. "But you're learning."
His gaze briefly shifted toward the black-red sword.
Then back to the young man standing beneath the six Witnesses.
"That is going to make this much more interesting."
On the battlefield, Zekai took another step. Reality flickered around him. For the first time since the battle began—the Witnesses didn't look at him like an insect. They looked at him like a problem.
And Zekai finally understood the first rule of survival.
He didn't need to find the path that would save him. He only needed to create one that shouldn't exist.
✦ End of chapter 66 - How Long Can I Survive? ✦