Soul Spark

16 - Monochromatic

“It looks like the whole eclipse was a show-off indeed.” Kaito said to himself, his eyes glued to the screen and holding a thoughtful gaze. “No surprise, the first release of a divine acclamation is sometimes rather unusual.”

“The sun’s back to normal. But the two of them are gone, likely transported into a place that is under Jackal’s control...”

“Hang tight, Sakuto Hitori.” Kaito sighed.

“You’re in the deep waters now.”

✦

A single spark of life, falling through a bottomless sea of darkness. It fell with grace, leaving behind a trace of light that was so unwanted in this strange place. Its own darkness faded in well with the environment, and still, it was unique in every way.

--} ✦ {--

The darkness attempted to destroy it. Its own darkness, the shadow of its existence, attempted to take its life. As the light was close to breaking, and the vessel that bore the spark was facing imminent destruction, it fought back. It sparked, and its goal was completed. The darkness was abolished, thrown away and forgotten. The vessel remained safe...

( ✦ )

Sakuto plummeted down, only getting to open his eyes once its senses were back. He felt surprised, unaware of his surroundings. He was lost, kept alive by the light that saved him in every way. Sakuto found himself in a strange city-like landscape. All the buildings were colorless, fitting in with the overall dull environment perfectly. They were all painted dark gray.

He looked into the sky. It was black, it looked hopeless and empty. It reminded him of a pitch black night sky, starless and eerie. The only thing he saw was the sun that he caught the glimpse of earlier. It was black, only its ring-like outline was visible. And instead of shining with the purpose of giving warmth and life, it shone with a hateful white light, aiming to only make the place possible to see in.

In the sky, fragments of destroyed buildings and chunks of the similarly shaded dark gray ground floated aimlessly. Sakuto looked around again, as if trying to wake up from an unpleasant dream. He took a few deep breaths.

“What in the world...even is this place?”

“It looks vaguely similar to where we fought before...but at the same time, everything’s so colorless.”

He walked around a bit, and he noticed a rather unusual phenomenon. In the distance, he saw...figures? He asked himself if his mind was starting to give up on him, the mere thought filling him with fear and despair. At last, he decided to approach those figures.

They were pitch black, just like the sky. They looked like specimens chosen by the darkness and devoured by it. All they had on them was a pair of bright white eyes. They walked around as if they were patrolling the place, the question stood, would they be warm towards intruders?

Sakuto made his way towards them, firmly gripping his blade in his hand. The ground still felt like the ground, and walking felt as normal as before. He approached the figures, but it appears that he had mistaken their simple appearance for a sign of friendliness. Just as Sakuto approached one of them, the latter’s black hand transformed into a blade. He managed to pierce his stomach clean.

“I should’ve trusted my gut...these aren’t spirits or whatever the hell, they’re shadow puppets!”

Sakuto swung his blade, decapitating the creature in one go. The shadow puppets that were strolling nearby were alerted by the development, and quickly rushed at Sakuto. The soulful, however, quickly disposed of them. His swordplay was impressive for a freshly wounded fighter.

“Jackal is still around!”

From the sky, a few drops of shadowy liquid fell down. Sakuto turned around, and at that point, the small droplets turned into a larger pool of shadows. Jackal himself slowly arose from the pool. His face was covered with the shadows, only his ruby eyes and a few areas of pale skin on his face were a different color. His arms were reinforced with the shadows, and all of his wounds appeared to be sealed off...

“You have quite the luck, Sakuto.” Jackal said. A pair of shadow puppets arose from the pool and rushed at their target. “You bailed yourself out at the perfect time.”

Sakuto held off the puppet that swung with his sword. As their blades clashed, Sakuto kicked the other one in its knee and broke its leg. Quickly, he slipped back and sliced the hurt puppet in half, and with another swing, he made quick work of the other one. He stared at Jackal, who appeared to be both magnificent, and terrifying.

“Normally, the moment you enter this place, your own soul’s shadow starts to rip you apart. But that shadow is like all my shadows.” Jackal explained, taking a step forward. “It looks like your adaptation to my shadows finished just as you were about to be messed up. Talk about fortunate timing.”

“But here, things are different.”

“The shadows here...I still took damage against them. No, don’t tell me that my adaptation doesn’t matter anymore.”

“The shadows here are special. They’re imbued with my own soul and a dimming effect, making them fundamentally different.” Jackal smirked. “You’re back to ground zero, Sakuto Hitori.”

The eclipsed sun appeared right behind his head from Sakuto’s view. Jackal’s crimson eyes were sparking with fierceness and a relentless desire to fight. The darkness that flowed with Jackal’s shadowed face, and the ring-like light that looked like a halo around his head...it almost made Jackal look like a saint.

“ ✦ Welcome to the shadow world ✦ ”

“It’s not just the fact that my adaptation is effectively reset...”

“Everything in this place looks and probably acts like a shadow!”

The pool of shadows that Jackal stood so proudly on erupted, releasing streams of the black liquid all over the place. The said liquid, in a few moments, would turn into a series of tentacles with spear-like edges. Sakuto braced for impact.

And so, Jackal rushed in. He swung his tentacles around like a madman, trying to rip through Sakuto’s skin and dismantle his body at once. Sakuto fought back, both clinging onto the shadows and using their travel speed to his advantage, and by trying his hardest to evade as much as he could. He occasionally sent flying slashes towards Jackal, but those did little to no damage.

Jackal propelled himself to Sakuto directly, and swung his sables around, repeatedly hitting Sakuto’s own blade. He stepped back, allowing his tentacles to attack Sakuto from the sides. He threw a series of sable swings and kicks, eventually overpowering Sakuto and kicking him down onto the ground. There, the shadows wrapped around his body and restrained him.

“How’s this for a contest of selfishness?!”

Jackal manifested his shadows into a chainsaw and rushed at Sakuto. He aimed to mutilate his throat and head first, but that was exactly what helped Sakuto survive. Instead of summoning his blade in his hands, he summoned it in his mouth - holding its hilt with his teeth. Somehow, he avoided certain death.

Jackal, impressed and even more bloodlusted, tried to use the chainsaw to destroy his stomach. But Sakuto was faster. He swung his head around, using the motion of the blade to launch a slash right at Jackal’s face. In that split moment, Sakuto could stand up again, and he charged in for the kill...

“He can still bleed.”

“I get the feeling that he’s not used to wielding this much power. I have to use it to my advantage.”

Sakuto pierced Jackal in the stomach with his blade. Jackal, instead of retreating, fought back - grabbing Sakuto with a strong shadow arm and throwing him away. Jackal’s method of recovering his wounds using his shadows was a brilliant discovery, and within his acclamation, it could be used seamlessly and efficiently. However, the damage still existed.

Sakuto tried to get back into the distance, but Jackal went on the counter attack. He turned his shadows into a massive spiky ball and launched it at Sakuto, who had no option but to dodge. Once he dove out of the way, the ball transformed itself into a massive hand that grabbed Sakuto.

The hand slammed him into the ground. It threw him into the buildings in the distance. Sakuto’s body acted like a bullet penetrating through rows and rows of wooden boards. The moment he thought he could catch a break, Jackal popped up right next to him and kicked him down into the ground. Sakuto sent out a pair of slashes, but by that time, Jackal was already below him, awaiting his descent. Once Sakuto got close enough to him, Jackal kicked him with all his might.

Sakuto flew into one of the floating rock formations. As he was about to fall down, he felt something grab his neck. That sensation, and the logical assessment of the type of tool that would be most efficient for killing in this exact position...

“What the hell is wrong with this guy’s imagination?!” Sakuto yelled to himself, quickly cutting the noose with his blade. Its remnants tried to wrap themselves around Sakuto’s neck again, but they failed to do so. Out of them, Jackal popped out and kicked Sakuto into the roof of the building closest to them. A large shadow spear quickly formed and pierced the exact location where Sakuto was last seen.

And then, the spark that had acted as Sakuto’s salvation, sang to him once more. Its beautiful and hated light shone around his chest, and helped him get back up.

“Tch.” Jackal thought, frustrated. “What an annoying power. All of my efforts, and he’s still absorbing damage like a sponge and making himself stronger.”

“Do I need to turn up my voltage even further?”

Jackal tossed a shadowy spear at Sakuto, but he sliced it apart. Jackal looked at him, both excited and focused. He conjured an arrow with his hands, just like how Diego used to.

That, and many more arrows fell upon Sakuto. He rushed away, hopping from building to building, miraculously, none of Jackal’s arrows hit him. Jackal then decided to engage in close quarters once again. He fired a much larger arrow which destroyed a large chunk of one of the buildings, using it as a distraction for his sneaky attack. Popping out of Sakuto’s shadow, he managed to deliver a strong slashing attack to Sakuto’s back, and pierced his leg.

Maneuvering around him, Jackal had the perfect opportunity for an offensive. Except this time, he chose to utilize a different ability. Sakuto found himself on one of the roofs, alone, against Jackal and a small band of shadow puppets.

“Keep it calm...”

“I’ll heal when I get the chance.”

“For now, I just need to survive until I adapt.”

Sakuto rushed at Jackal, who was ready to counter. But he slipped right past him. Sakuto started decapitating the shadow puppets one by one, chopping up their black bodies like fresh vegetables, while trying to track their master. And Jackal? He circled around him, watching him with fascination, before quickly manifesting a tentacle to latch onto Sakuto’s leg.

Jackal struck him multiple times, managed to carve some pretty serious wounds on his body, even scarring his face once. He kicked him off of the roof, throwing him on top of a floating platform. Jackal rushed in and kicked him a few more times, utilizing a different weapon every time he swung and struck.

It wasn’t even a fair fight. A shadow puppet that Jackal conjured next to Sakuto assisted Jackal in beating the living crap out of the adaptive soulful. One last powerful shadow-infused swing hurt Sakuto very badly and kicked him away.

Jackal was brimming with voltage. Because he could, he swung a pair of tentacles around quickly enough to destroy and dismantle the buildings close to him. At the same time, Sakuto, who crashed into the ground, finally had a second to breathe.

“I should...heal the piercing wounds first.”

“Then, I’ll go for the slashing...”

“Fuck, he got me pretty bad!”

“Can’t catch you slacking off, man!” Jackal said, popping out right next to him. Sakuto felt anxious, even scared. He swung his blade, but it missed Jackal. He swung it at the quickly forming group of shadow puppets, and hey, at least he managed to get them out of the way. When Sakuto turned around, however, he felt a sharp pain...behind him?!

Jackal flanked him again, and this time, the shadowy dagger pierced Sakuto right in his chest. At that very moment, however, that very same area sparked. The second step of Sakuto’s adaptation was complete.

“How long are you gonna keep doing that for, ey?” Jackal asked, quickly stepping back. He made the right call, Sakuto swung his blade. Unbeknownst to Jackal, however, the swing acted not as an attack, but as a release.

The powerful slash chopped off Jackal’s left arm completely! Jackal flinched in pain, and couldn’t foresee an immediate attack from the wounded Sakuto. He rushed in with his blade, delivering a pair of slashing attacks before piercing Jackal’s torso. He pulled the blade out and tried to go for a clean neck slice, but Jackal escaped in the nick of time.

“For as long as it takes me to get the hell outta here.” Sakuto replied. His voltage was also on the rise. Despite the pain and difficulty even breathing, he felt ready to fight back.

“For someone who could see the essence of loneliness like I could...”

“He holds a strange determination in trying to kill me.”

“Oh well, can’t say I’m not the same.”

Jackal popped back up. Most of his body was covered in shadows now, his missing arm being replaced by them completely.

“How exhilarating...” Jackal said. “Once I leave you dead here, I’m sure I’ll go a long way with something like this in my hands, don’t you think?”

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“You would, if this wasn’t the last time you fought.” Sakuto said, raising his blade. “You’re friendly for someone who wants to murder me so much.”

“It is what it is.” Jackal said. “It’s in our selfish nature to fight each other to the death.”

“Just like that...”

“The little kid that shrieked with jealousy will never be lonely anymore.”

“And the mess that is the current me will get to live in a world he wants to live in.”

Jackal rushed in, and Sakuto countered the advance. Jackal quickly destroyed the ground, sending himself, Sakuto and fragments of it into the air. Sakuto tried to fight back, he sent a barrage of flying slashes, but none of them reached their target. Jackal closed the distance and slammed him down into the ground. Now, they were at the recreation of the same road Jackal’s terrific ability was activated on.

It looked like Jackal decided to switch his strategy up. He concentrated the shadows on his own body, acting like a protective layer of armor. At the same time, his hands were engulfed in shadows, and constantly shapeshifted into different types of close range weapons.

Sakuto had to protect himself against and fight almost every weapon that existed. Jackal’s hands turned into hooks and chains that were dangerous up close and helped Jackal control the distance. They turned into blades that risked slashing and piercing Sakuto’s already barely glued together body. They transformed into axes, hammers, pickaxes and sometimes even converted back to normal hands.

Sakuto was getting overwhelmed. He was letting a lot of strikes land, his movements were becoming more and more inefficient due to Jackal’s expert distance control. Worst of all, Jackal started using surprise attacks more. And he conjured...firearms as well?

It could be a spike rising out of the ground. A small shadowy orb that would act as a kunai. Or if he dreamt even bigger, a giant hand that tried to crush Sakuto under his own weight. All of those little tricks were overpowering Sakuto and picking him apart.

“All of these different attacks...there’s still a pattern.”

“He gets too close to me.”

“I’ll need to pick the right moment. I need to sacrifice possibly a part of my body and cut him clean!”

Sakuto started fighting much more passively. Jackal, who was overflowing with voltage, didn’t notice the change, a mistake he would soon have to pay for. He continued his series of attacks, and after landing a few blunt hits, decided to go for a piercing strike.

“There it is!” Sakuto thought. He made it look accidental, but he lowered his guard. Jackal’s shadowy sword pierced his stomach. A small trail of blood escaped Sakuto’s mouth. Using the moment, he held the sword and shoved it deeper into him, forcing Jackal to get even closer. And Jackal was very confused.

As his sacrificial gamble finally paid off, Sakuto swung his blade. With one powerful swing, infused with every ounce of Sakuto’s strength and concentration, Jackal’s body was split in half from his torso.

“There it is...”

“Holy shit...”

Jackal himself was shaken. Had he been a slower thinker, he would’ve allowed this attack to kill him off. But he didn’t lose himself despite the pain and fear. Most of the shadows that surrounded his body flowed into the lethal wound, sealing it tight and effectively gluing Jackal back together.

“What the hell?!”

Sakuto’s shock forced him to misperceive the incoming attack. He thought it would be another up close attack. He didn’t see the concern and will to retreat in Jackal’s eyes. A part of the shadows that wasn’t used to cover the wound reached Jackal’s clasped hands, and was fired off as a thin and powerful piercing stream as Jackal escaped.

It hit Sakuto right in his left eye.

He recoiled back in pain, holding his bleeding eye. He couldn’t see out of it anymore. He yelled in pain and in fear of going blind. As he removed his hands from the wound, he watched in horror how his hands were filled with blood.

“No, fuck...dammit...he got me...”

“What now...?!”

Just as he thought that, he felt a sharp sensation in his right shoulder. He quickly turned around, seeing a shadow puppet stabbing him and going for seconds. Sakuto killed him off with almost no effort, and he took care of the puppets swarming him as well. His biggest problem was... Thıs text ıs hosted at novelfire(.)net

“Fuck...am I never gonna my eye back?”

“Oh no...no, this is bad...”

Despite his confused and stormy mind, his body acted on reflex. He ripped out a piece of clothing from his pants and wrapped it around the eye wound. The sight of the eclipsed sun in the pitch black sky intimidated him.

“If this keeps on going, I’ll fail her...”

“She’ll have to go through everything again...and she probably won’t last long either.”

“Damn it...”

“Every time life gets better, it all ends up going to shit.”

“I finally found it, and there it is, taken away from me in an instant...”

“I should’ve just stayed dead from the start.”

Amidst these desperate thoughts, he felt something spark in his chest. Three out of five. Almost symbolically, it revealed to him the truth that no matter the destruction his body is enduring, if his will to fight persists, he will eventually gain the upper hand.

“Really...?”

“Why am I acting like I’ve lost?”

“Is this the shit I’m thinking about...while having a power like this?!”

The one-eyed Sakuto looked up at the building close to him. Jackal was on top, with an almost fully black body. He was scared too, just like Sakuto. And he too found that drop of determination that put him back in the game. This time, he would give it a 120% of himself.

Sakuto jumped up to him, landing a slashing attack with his blade! Jackal replied by stepping back and manifesting a pair of hands with his shadows, which crushed Sakuto. They transformed into a rope, flinging Sakuto into the sky and launching him back down on the ground. The remnants of the shadows turned into spears and blades, and Sakuto blocked them all off. He looked completely and utterly focused.

Jackal manifested a large hand which slammed its palm on the ground. From there, Jackal emerged, throwing punches and kicks as hard as he could. Most of the connected, knocking Sakuto further and further back. His shadows formed a giant blade that crashed into the ground causing tremendous impact. Sakuto only barely managed to dodge it.

The blade transformed into a cobra-like figure, charging at Sakuto at full speed. Sakuto leaped right into its mouth, cutting its insides open, and emerging out of its fading carcass. The shadows, infused with great energy, formed almost autonomous tentacles that attacked Sakuto with their full might. Sakuto sliced them apart, and diverted his attention to another few shadow puppets approaching the scene.

Behind him, Jackal emerged from the ground, grabbing him by his clothes and slamming his face first into the ground. Jackal sprinted like that, throwing Sakuto into the wall of a nearby building and conjuring a massive tentacle to destroy it in one swing. The leftover shadows formed a set of strings that captured all four of Sakuto’s limbs, stretching them, preparing to rip them away from his body.

“I can’t let myself die!”

“I may be selfish, but I’m not a traitor! I won’t betray their trust in me!”

The fourth spark appeared. Sakuto broke free from the restraints. Jackal manifested a shadowy drill on his hand and struck Sakuto with it. The latter blocked it with his blade, but the drill kept trying to drill through it, forcing Sakuto back and even crushing him a little into the ground.

More and more shadows were sucked into the drill, empowering it even more. Just as it seemed like Sakuto was about to give up, Jackal let go of the attack. He struck the ground with the drill, and a powerful shockwave was sent out. Shadows that escaped from it formed a large circle around the combatants.

“This is what it feels like...”

“Soulful power!!!”

Jackal shoved the drill deeper into the ground. An instant later, a massive dragon-like creature emerged - the one that Jackal utilized in his fight against the Heisei. It attempted to devour Sakuto in one go, but Sakuto sliced it apart with incredible violence. His target was Jackal.

He rushed towards his prey. Their blades clashed, and eventually, it came down to a showdown of pure martial arts. Jackal had an advantage because of his shadows, but when it came down to pure martial prowess, Sakuto was definitely stronger and more skilled. And now, for some reason, Jackal felt something other than basic force.

“This is...”

“Electricity?!”

“It’s the same type of electricity that his friend used in our first fight...what the fuck? Why can he use it? Was he hiding this card all this time?!”

Jackal was shocked, literally and metaphorically. The electrifying punches reduced his capabilities even further. Sakuto was on a rampage, landing as many strikes as his determined heart pleased. And Jackal, on the receiving end of a painful beatdown, waited for a chance to strike.

Be it by sheer luck or calculation, he found a chance. He slipped one of Sakuto’s punches and unleashed a large release of shadows right at Sakuto. It knocked Sakuto back, gaining Jackal distance - something he could work with greatly. A bat-like creature swarmed on top of Sakuto, and it descended as a cruel rain of miniature blades. Sakuto tried to protect himself, but he dismissed the main threat.

The release of shadows wasn’t an attack purely for knocking Sakuto back, it was also a way to concentrate a large amount of shadows in one place. The shadows quickly wrapped around Sakuto, slamming him on the ground. After the attack, they surrounded him from all sides. Jackal jumped up to one of the floating platforms above, controlling the process with precision and getting to watch the end of the spectacle.

Spikes began to emerge on the inner walls, and they started to pierce Sakuto’s body. Sakuto was trapped. He even thought he’d break his promise. Until...

“I’ve adapted enough!”

“Soul interpretation.”

The fifth spark emerged, and it was followed by a trail of light...

“Perfect counter!”

Sakuto broke free from the dark prison. His body was surrounded by an aura of a divine-looking light, as if he was blessed by a benevolent deity who prayed for his salvation. A thin halo-like figure appeared behind his head, shining with a colorful gray.

“I want to live!”

“Dying here means I’ll hurt Ichika’s and everyone else just like back then...”

“ ✦ I won’t make them go through that pain again!!! ✦ ”

With that, he put all his might and energy into swinging his blade and releasing a slashing burst of soul prowess. Jackal ducked and avoided the slash, but it struck a different target.

The eclipsed sun was shattered into pieces. Its absence revealed a crack, a broken sequence in the otherwise perfectly pure black sky. Akin to a piece of glass being shattered, the fragments of the purging sun fell down. In its place - pure light, an idol of hope and escape from the pitch black night. Following the destructive attack, for the first time, the integrity of the shadow world was being compromised...

And showering in the magnificent light that sang salvation was Jackal himself. A soul who managed to salvage himself from his own detest, but was now being hunted by the selfishness of a man who stood as high as he did. His crimson eyes shifted their malevolent gaze, surprised by the sudden formation of colors in Sakuto’s usually gray and empty eyes.

Sakuto pushed forwards. He hopped onto the unusually large platform, and began advancing. Jackal came forward to try and intercept him, but it was to no avail. Sakuto’s aura of light started to not only heavily damage Jackal, but it also started to dissipate the shadows that sealed his wounds. Realizing that, Jackal quickly retreated.

Now, Sakuto was the one pushing forwards relentlessly. Shadow puppets emerged from the ground, attempting to stop him. They wielded weapons and firearms, they even had body armor. But none of that mattered in the face of Sakuto’s ability.

At last, Jackal showed himself again. Since his previous shadow release proved to be quite effective, he decided to elevate it. The sky felt like it was getting brighter and brighter. The darkness of its empty nature was absorbed by Jackal, concentrated into one point, and released. The powerful beam that damaged the very structure of the divine acclamation would surely overpower Sakuto...

But Sakuto stood his ground. He held his blade, its light splitting the beam in half. He walked forwards with iron resolve. Jackal, seeing this, quickly recalled all of the shadows he could and retreated for the time being. In his stead, a massive shadow puppet was set to attack Sakuto.

Sakuto lunged at it, cutting through its legs first. He then moved onto its body, stabbing it multiple times. Growling in pain, the puppet grabbed Sakuto and threw him away, but Sakuto released a slash of energy mid air and destroyed its face. At last, Sakuto approached it and stabbed it in the head, neutralizing it completely. The cracks in the sky started to spread down, as the world itself felt like it was close to collapsing. One such crack had descended down to Sakuto’s level. With a little more distance to clear, he had a chance to escape.

“ ✦ Divine Acclamation Release ✦ ”

Jackal emerged from a large and intimidating pool of shadows, blocking off the entrance. The light emanating from the gateway contrasted perfectly with his completely black appearance. His body was armed and reinforced with shadows, and arms were equipped with enough shadows to transform into any weapon he needed.

Beneath the black armor, his crimson eyes shone bright and content.

“ ✦ Completed Shadow Form ✦ ”

“Sakuto, would you rather die as a soulful, or live as a soulless?” Jackal asked.

“I’d live as a soulful.” Sakuto replied, taking a stance. “Whatever I do in my life, I’ll do it as a soulful.”

Jackal smiled in response. And thus, the two fighters closed the distance, preparing for their final clash.

Jackal’s body was no longer crumbling at Sakuto’s shining touch. The integrity of the acclamation’s world was compromised in exchange for a layer of shadows strong enough to allow Jackal to fight just for a little bit longer. After all, this was a fight that he enjoyed with his entire heart...no matter the outcome.

The two clashed, Sakuto’s blade and Jackal’s sables struck one another. Jackal utilized the elbow blades and the diversity of his arsenal, and Sakuto focused on using his skills to land decisive blows. One of Jackal’s quick elbow strikes was fast enough to carve a scar on his face and even rip the clothing covering his damaged eye open. But Sakuto struck back, with even more rage and ferocity.

While Jackal felt dreamy and even happy, Sakuto was in a state of utter concentration. So much so, that the uniquely vibrant colors that emerged in his eyes leaked out of his fists...

A right hook, a left body shot, and a right uppercut all had that unique property. Jackal was knocked into the gateway directly, but after receiving those strikes, he felt at peace.

“So...that’s how it is...”

“With something like that in your hands, you’ll be beyond unstoppable, hah...”

“At least you kept me company here. Hah, wanna grab something to eat after this?”

The cracks began to grow larger, and the darkness began to fade away. All that was left was a gray and monochromatic canvas, upon which the only color was the one that Sakuto’s soul sang about. With one last punch, Sakuto drove his fist into Jackal’s deteriorating body.

“Sakuto Hitori...”

“You have it in ya...”

“You’re a soulful to your very core.”

“And if someone like me ever pops up, I know you’ll make sure they don’t feel alone because of their selfish, hellbent and distrustful nature.”

“So thank you.”

“I got to have a friend."

“Wish I could help you when you’re having it tough too...”

“Hey, be a soulful ‘til the end, ‘kay?” Jackal said. Both of them felt a special type of spark. The shadow purgatory had finally reached its breaking point, and so had Jackal.

From the outside, from the real world, all of this looked like a black crack on the ground, from which a beam of light slowly started to escape. And once it fully collapsed, a large explosion took place, destroying everything in a roughly 100-meter radius.

At the epicenter of the explosion were two things. The first one was Jackal’s dismembered corpse, scattered all over the destroyed ground. The second one was Sakuto himself. He unsummoned his blade and took a deep breath.

He had multiple awful wounds in his torso, scars all over himself, his eye was missing, his legs were bruised and his arms were battered. And he leaked a lot of blood, too much, to be precise. He looked up, and seeing the sun be normal again filled his heart with content.

“It’s...over...”

“Holy shit...”

“What the fuck was that...”

“Will Ichika get mad...if she sees me like this?”

“Hah...”

“I feel dizzy...”

He looked at Jackal’s corpse again, making sure it didn’t move. The adrenaline and soul determination coursing through his body started to finally wear off. A faint smile appeared on his face. And shortly after, he collapsed on the ground.