The Gathering Storm
The forest was silent.
So silent that the sound of his breathing felt deafening.
"Cough...!"
Gerudo's body crashed onto the damp earth before slamming into the trunk of a tree and rolling several more meters.
Half of his body was covered in the black scars left behind by the Absolute Void.
And his left arm...
Was gone.
With great difficulty, he raised his head.
Then he laughed.
A short laugh.
An unsteady one.
The laugh of a man who had escaped death by the narrowest of margins.
«"I... survived."»
His pupils trembled.
"My God..."
He closed his eyes.
And the memory returned.
That endless black world.
That infinite emptiness.
The screams of thousands of Yami no Inma soldiers disappearing one after another.
He remembered trying to gather his energy.
Remembered his body refusing to answer.
Remembered the darkness slowly consuming his legs.
And then...
He remembered the last words he heard before escaping.
«"Absolute Void."»
His eyes snapped open.
"No..."
His breathing became frantic.
"I don't want to go back there!"
He looked down at his trembling hands.
"I knew he was strong..."
"But that man..."
He raised his head toward the moon.
«"He isn't the strongest man in the world."»
«"He's a calamity given human form."»
His fingers tightened around his clothes.
"He erased an entire army..."
"With a single technique."
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"If it weren't for my ability, I never would have escaped..."
His voice faltered.
"I would have died alongside them."
Slowly, he forced himself to his feet.
Then he began running through the forest.
«"I have to warn the others."»
He suddenly stopped.
Thalen's face flashed through his mind.
Those calm eyes.
That expression.
A chill crawled down his spine.
Without another word, Gerudo vanished into the darkness of the forest.
---
That night, beneath a full moon...
Jinsu sat atop the tallest tower in Gaya Headquarters.
The wind stirred his long white hair.
His gray eyes stared silently into the heavens.
"I knew you would come."
He spoke without turning around.
Yuna stopped several steps behind him.
"When did you notice me?"
"Before you climbed the last staircase."
A bitter smile appeared on her face.
"You've become frightening."
He didn't answer.
She walked over and sat beside him.
Silence fell between them.
A silence that had never existed before.
Finally, she asked:
«"What happened to you, Jinsu?"»
He remained motionless.
"What did Kaizen do to you?"
"And why do you look at us as though we're strangers?"
She closed her eyes.
"Where's the idiot who used to follow me everywhere?"
Long seconds passed.
She thought he wouldn't answer.
But then—
«"He's dead."»
Yuna froze.
"What?"
"That person..."
Jinsu kept his eyes on the moon.
"He died a long time ago."
Her voice trembled.
"Don't say that..."
Slowly, Jinsu stood.
Then he turned toward her.
And for the first time...
She saw something in his eyes she had never seen before.
Exhaustion.
A deep, unbearable exhaustion.
«"I didn't become like this."»
«"I've always been this way."»
«"I was simply very good at pretending."»
Her eyes widened.
"I smiled."
"I laughed."
"I pretended everything was fine."
His gaze fell to his hands.
"But after years in hell..."
He closed his eyes.
«"I'm tired."»
The wind passed quietly between them.
Then he continued.
«"The person all of you knew..."»
«"...was just someone trying to become a better human being."»
He paused.
«"But perhaps I was never that person to begin with."»
Then he turned and walked away.
"Jinsu!"
But he didn't stop.
Just before disappearing through the tower entrance, he spoke one final time without looking back.
«"Don't try to save me, Yuna."»
«"Because I don't want to come back."»
And Yuna was left alone beneath the moonlight.
Watching the place where he had disappeared.
As silent tears rolled down her face.
---
At the northernmost edge of the world...
Beyond the reach of maps...
There stood a black castle.
So ancient that even time itself had forgotten its name.
Within its halls, thousands of members of Yami no Inma knelt in absolute silence.
At the front stood seven figures.
Seven Yami Lords.
Zarak.
A giant of a man standing over three meters tall, carrying a black axe upon his shoulder.
Iris.
A woman with long silver hair and a smile that never left her face.
Draven.
A man wearing a white mask that concealed half his face.
Volkar.
A four-armed warrior whose body was covered in black markings.
Serina.
A young woman carrying an ancient book wrapped in iron chains.
Morgan.
A man with a single golden eye.
And the last...
The oldest among them all.
Gerak.
The man who had served Kaizen during the height of his reign.
Silence filled the great hall.
Then—
The massive doors opened.
A young man with blond hair entered.
His eyes were blue.
And hanging at his waist...
Was a black sword.
His footsteps were calm.
So calm that he seemed completely out of place in a hall of monsters.
Yet the moment he entered—
Every member of Yami no Inma lowered their heads.
He walked toward the throne.
The King's Throne.
Kaizen's Throne.
He stared at it for several moments.
Then sat down.
In the next instant, all seven commanders dropped to one knee.
«"We greet the new leader."»
«"Cylio."»
Cylio slowly raised his eyes.
"So... my lord has been sealed once again?"
"And the army that accompanied him has been annihilated?"
Before anyone could answer—
BANG!
The doors burst open.
Gerudo staggered into the hall.
Terror was still etched across his face.
"C-Cylio!"
Shock spread across the room.
Even Gerak's expression changed.
"What happened to you?"
Gerudo swallowed hard.
Then, in a trembling voice, he said:
«"Do not fight Thalen."»
Silence.
"What?"
"I saw him!"
His voice rose.
"That man isn't human!"
He pointed toward his missing arm.
«"He erased an entire army!"»
«"With a single technique!"»
Cylio remained silent.
"He's a monster!"
"And Lord Kaizen wasn't sealed because of Thalen!"
Cylio's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"If not Thalen... then who?"
Gerudo's gaze sharpened.
«"Jinsu."»
Cylio stared at him for a moment.
Then tilted his head back.
"Jinsu?"
Suddenly—
He burst into laughter.
"That boy? Hahaha!"
"I should have killed him back at that hospital."
"But it doesn't matter."
He leaned back against the throne.
"We'll free our lord soon enough."
"The important thing is that Thalen has fallen."
Gerudo took a step forward.
"Your Majesty, please listen to me! We cannot fight them now!"
"If we face them in our current state, we will all die!"
Silence filled the hall.
Then—
Cylio rose from the throne.
He descended a single step until he stood directly before Gerudo.
"Your Majesty?"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
«"I am no longer a successor."»
«"I am the King."»
Gerudo immediately lowered his head.
"Y-Yes, M-My King. Forgive me."
Cylio looked away before speaking once more.
«"So..."»
«"The strongest man in the world is still alive."»
Gerudo's eyes widened.
Cylio slowly rested a hand on the hilt of his sword.
«"Good."»
Silence.
Then, for the first time that night—
He smiled.
«"I was afraid he might die before I had the chance to kill him myself."»
At that moment...
All seven commanders felt a chill run down their spines.
Cylio turned his gaze back toward the throne.
«"My lord has been sealed."»
«"And from this day onward..."»
«"I shall inherit his will."»
He raised his eyes toward the sky beyond the castle walls.
«"I will rewrite this world with my own hands."»
And somewhere far away—
Beneath the same moon—
The winds of a new era had already begun to blow.