The room still glowed in fading gold.
Nyari's light magic lingered in the air, fragile but persistent, wrapping around Dorum's broken body like a last thread holding him together.
Kashikari knelt beside him.
His hands… stained with blood.
Not his own.
"…Kai…"
Dorum's voice was weak. Barely there.
But alive.
Kashikari's gaze sharpened instantly, his pupils trembling as if something behind them was staring out.
"Who did this?"
No hesitation.
No softness.
"Speak."
Dorum struggled to breathe. His chest rose unevenly, but his voice—when it came—cut through the silence.
"…Bear's Claw…"
The air changed.
It grew heavier.
Colder.
"They want Jinwi… It was lost for years… but now… it's awake again… with you…"
His fingers tightened weakly.
"They are remnants… of a former bearer… but now… they only want destruction… chaos feeds them…"
His voice faded.
And then—
Nothing.
Dorum's eyes closed.
Unconscious.
Kashikari stood.
Slowly.
Silently.
Nyari looked at him.
"…Where are you going?"
No answer.
He reached for his cloak.
Jinwi flickered faintly along his arm, like something waking beneath his skin.
"Don't follow me."
"Kai—"
"Don't."
The word was absolute.
He walked away.
Nyari didn't move at first.
Then she closed her eyes.
Light bent around her form.
And she vanished.
"…I won't leave you."
The valley was silent.
Too silent.
Wind tore through the cliffs, carrying the scent of iron and ash.
Below—
A hidden camp.
Hundreds of figures moved in shadows. Armed. Masked. Waiting.
Kashikari stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
No hesitation.
Before the alarm could even sound—
Two guards fell.
Necks broken.
Clean.
Silent.
Kashikari entered.
"…Tonight," he whispered,
"…even the sky will fear me."
Then—
Everything broke.
They came at him all at once.
Blades.
Spears.
Magic tearing through the air.
Kashikari moved.
Not like a human.
Not like a mage.
Like something else.
His body flowed through attacks, his aura deflecting everything that came too close. Time itself seemed to bend around him—slowing just enough.
No wasted motion.
Every strike—
Final.
Bones shattered.
Bodies fell.
Blood soaked the ground beneath his feet.
A scream tore through the chaos.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! WHAT ARE YOU?!"
Kashikari didn't stop.
"I am…"
A body dropped beside him.
"…your last mistake."
Silence returned.
But only for a moment.
Because then—
They arrived.
Four figures descended from above.
Each one different.
Each one wrong.
The air distorted around them.
Elemental force twisted.
Mind pressure suffocated.
Darkness crept along the ground.
Speed blurred the edges of sight.
They attacked together.
For the first time—
Kashikari was pushed back.
His body slammed into the ground.
He didn't stay down.
He stood.
Again.
Slower now.
Breathing heavier.
But his eyes—
Burned brighter.
Jinwi didn't speak.
It didn't need to.
Your blood is fading… Choose.
But Kashikari didn't.
Not yet.
He moved again.
And one by one—
They fell.
Broken.
Destroyed.
His body barely held together now.
Cracks spread along his arm.
His legs trembled.
Still—
He stood.
Then—
A presence.
Above.
A figure stepped from the highest point of the structure.
Armored.
Eyes glowing gold.
Voice… hollow.
"So you've come… the new vessel of Jinwi."
Kashikari said nothing.
The man continued.
"That sphere… once belonged to us. Its last bearer…"
A pause.
"…was my brother."
Kashikari's gaze narrowed.
"…What are you saying?"
The man stepped forward.
"I am Kronah."
The air warped.
"The one before the last."
They moved at the same time.
The clash—
Shook the ground.
Their fight was not clean.
Not simple.
It was raw.
Close combat. Aura collisions. Mind pressure breaking reality itself.
Kashikari fell.
Blood left his mouth.
He pushed himself up.
Again.
Kronah's voice echoed.
"You're finished. Jinwi has abandoned you."
Kashikari laughed.
Low.
Broken.
But real.
"No…"
He stood fully.
"…It's still here."
A step forward.
"…Because I became one with it."
Silence.
For a single moment—
Everything stopped.
Then—
Jinwi spoke.
Clear.
Cold.
Absolute.
"Bearer… the time has come."
The world seemed to freeze.
"Erase him from the line of fate."
Kashikari's eyes turned.
Black.
Blue.
Endless.
His lips moved.
One word.
"Ting."