Both lunged to kill. But Zekai was faster.
He caught the Soulreaver mid-motion and drove it forward with terrifying kinetic force. The impact didn't stop at contact—the momentum carried through, dragging its dark body across the ground, tearing through the stone floor before slamming it violently into the concrete wall.
The entity tried to stabilize its mass. It failed.
That single opening was enough. Zekai stepped in again, his movements blurring with even greater velocity this time.
The next hit landed before the vibrations of the first impact had even finished carrying through the stone. Then came another.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
He didn't stop. Each strike descended heavier than the last, driving the creature deeper into the masonry, crushing its shadow composition further into the stone. The sheer kinetic energy traveled through multiple layers of the thick wall, breaking ancient structures and foundations hidden behind the surface, but still the creature held together.
Still, the predator refused to die.
"…Of course you are," Zekai muttered through his teeth.
It shouldn't have survived the onslaught. But something of that nature doesn't follow the normal rules of mortality.
Then it shifted. The Soulreaver twisted its silhouette. It wasn't executing a retreat; it was adjusting to the damage.
The creature's torso suddenly collapsed inward, its shape dissolving into a dense fluid shadow that rapidly wrapped around Zekai's right arm, trying to consume his flesh from the inside out. A sharp, immediate pain shot straight through his arm, freezing the blood in his veins.
"…Too slow."
Zekai merely clenched his hand, channeling the raw authority of the Fool. He tore the shadow apart, piece by piece, ripping the clinging darkness away from his skin and hurling it aside.
It fled from him in absolute terror, fleeing from him across the floor in absolute terror, as if even a cosmic predator finally understood what the human had become. But it didn't dissipate from the room.
Moving with frantic speed, the shadow sank directly into the hollow chest plate of the dead King Knight. It lacked the structural integrity to hold a physical form on its own after Zekai's assault—so it claimed the discarded armor. It needed a vessel. Something stronger than its failing form.
The moment the shadow merged into the King Knight's corpse, the ancient armor resisted for a fraction of a second, the metal groaning before giving in entirely.
The dormant blue flames within the visor suddenly changed. They weren't extinguished; they were violently consumed. The light dimmed first, twisting and warping into a deeper, corrupted hue.
Black. It wasn't the mere absence of light—it was a dark fire that actively devoured light itself.
[ ANOMALY CONFIRMED ]
Flame Type: Unregistered
Property: Light Consumption
Warning: Do Not Engage Directly
Thick black fire began leaking through the deep fractures in the armor, slow, heavy, and rhythmic, like a dark pulse awakening within the metal.
The air within the throne hall grew intensely colder and denser, as if the world itself was actively rejecting the aberration that had just taken shape. The heavy plates trembled, and then the knight rose once more onto its boots. But this time, something entirely different was wearing the iron.
The metal darkened, bleaching into a shade of absolute, midnight black.
Two hollow white eyes ignited within the visor. The presence occupying the armor had changed completely.
[ ENTITY SHIFT DETECTED ]
Host: King Knight (Deceased)
Override: In Progress
[ CLASSIFICATION UPDATED ]
SOULREAVER → SOULREAVER KNIGHT
Threat Level: Elevated
A Soulreaver Knight.
"Who did this… why did you bring us here…?" Zekai demanded, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling.
The Soulreaver Knight didn't answer. Of course it didn't.
"Fine," Zekai said flatly, his expression hardening. "I'll end everything at once."
The Soulreaver didn't attack.
For the first time since the battle began—it stood completely still.
Zekai frowned, his knuckles white, his posture coiled to strike.
"…What now?"
The shattered throne hall suddenly went silent. Too silent. The black flames leaking from the Soulreaver Knight's cracked armor slowed, flicker by flicker, then stopped entirely.
A strange, fluid distortion began to spread outward from the creature's silhouette, mimicking a heavy drop of black ink falling into pristine water.
Ripple.
Ripple.
Ripple.
The throne hall twisted violently. The broken marble pillars vanished into thin air. The ruined walls dissolved into mist. The cracked stone floor liquified beneath his boots, melting away into nothingness.
"...What?" Zekai's eyes widened, his instincts screaming at him to dodge, but there was nowhere to leap.
The world changed completely.
Shelves appeared. Bright, harsh fluorescent lights. Cold glass refrigerators. Rows of colourful drinks. The faint, artificial smell of instant noodles and processed snacks.
A convenience store. The exact convenience store. The precise local shop where he had first met Aron.
The blood-slicked sword in Zekai's hand disappeared. The gore covering his clothes vanished. The brutal battle was gone. The grand nightmare of the palace was gone. Everything around him looked entirely, terrifyingly normal.
"…No." Zekai's stomach tightened into a hard knot, a cold sweat breaking out across his neck. "No."
The fluorescent tubes hummed softly overhead, casting a sterile white glow over the aisles. For a single, fragile microsecond—he wanted to believe it. He desperately wanted to believe that the anomalies, the blood, and the horror had all been a fever dream.
Then he saw him.Aron stood behind the cash register. He looked perfectly normal. No fatal wounds. No deep bruises. No paralyzing fear. Just Aron.
He wore the same gentle smile. He had the same tired, overworked eyes.
"…Aron?" Zekai breathed, his voice barely clearing his throat.
The boy looked up from the counter, his expression casual and unbothered, as if they were merely crossing paths on an ordinary Tuesday.
"Oh. You're here."
Something felt profoundly, fundamentally wrong. Zekai took a slow, calculated step forward, his boots clicking softly against the clean floor.
"Aron."
The Aron stared at him quietly, his smile remaining perfectly static. Then, he asked a question that derailed Zekai's thoughts completely.
"Why are you apologizing?"
Zekai froze in mid-stride.
"…What?"
Aron tilted his head slightly, his gaze unblinking.
"You look guilty."
Silence reclaimed the store. The air inside the aisles suddenly grew twice as heavy, pressing down on Zekai's lungs.
"I…" Zekai began, but for the first time in his life, he couldn't give a proper response.
Aron smiled faintly, a subtle, sharp edge entering his tone. "You know it. You always knew something was wrong."
✦ End of Chapter 20 — Soulreaver Knight ✦