Darkness swallowed the field.
Levi's shadow form surged, bones lengthening, claws forming. His eyes snapped open. Panther gold. Burning. Primal final form.
The air went cold. Every sound sharpened.
"Whispering Winds" flooded his senses. He could hear Zephyr's heartbeat. Hear the wind shift around his feathers. Smell ozone and blood and the faint oil on Zephyr's blade.
Across the crater, Zephyr grinned. Hunter's Instinct flared behind his eyes. Reflexes screamed to life. He could see it now. The patterns in Levi's breathing. The twitch before he moved.
"A Sukuna prodigy, hm?" Zephyr mused, slowly twirling his blade as shrieking currents of wind coiled around its edge. His sharp eyes never left his opponent.
"I've heard the stories. The son of the clan leader. A rising talent destined to inherit his father's legacy." He tilted his head slightly. "But stories are just stories. I needed to see it for myself. That's the only reason you're still standing here breathing."
For a brief moment, something colder flickered behind his gaze.
"Your father took my father's life. You would expect me to carry some burning hatred because of that." He chuckled quietly and shook his head. "You're mistaken."
The wind around him intensified, swirling dust and leaves into the air.
"My father was a weak peasant always causing mischief within the clan. And grudges are for the weak who live in the past. Me? I'm far more interested in the future." His grip tightened around his sword. "And right now, the future is standing in front of me."
Zephyr lowered his stance, the air screaming around him as his chi surged.
"So show me, Sukuna. Show me whether you're truly worthy of the name you carry."
A faint smile spread across his face.
"Because legends don't impress me."
His eyes sharpened.
"But warriors do."
Levi didn't answer. He dropped to all fours. The shadows bent with him.
VWOOSH.
They moved at the same instant.
Zephyr shot forward in a Falcon Dive. Wind condensed into a spear at his fist.
Levi vanished.
SHRAAK!
"Midnight Strike." Levi reappeared behind Zephyr's blind spot, claws raking down. Three lines of darkness tore through air.
Zephyr twisted mid-flight. His hunter Instinct read the angle. He rolled, blade snapping up.
CLANG-KRAK!
Steel met claw. The impact blew a shockwave that flattened grass for meters.
Zephyr landed, skidding. "Fast. But I see you."
"Do you?" Levi's voice came from above. Below. Everywhere.
Whispering Winds let him ride the air currents Zephyr made. He struck again.
SHHK. SHHK. SHHK.
Claws flashed from three directions at once. Midnight Strike chained into itself. One hit was real. Two were shadows.
Zephyr's blade became a blur. TANG. TANG. TANG. He deflected each strike, eyes darting, reading the pattern.
"Got you." He lunged, predicting Levi's next angle.
His blade stabbed through empty air. Levi's shadow dissolved like smoke.
"Behind you," Levi whispered in his ear.
KRAOOOM!
Claw to spine. Zephyr was slammed into the ground. Stone shattered. Dust erupted.
Zephyr coughed blood but laughed, kicking up with a gust. "Hunter's Instinct says you always hit left after three strikes!"
He spun, wind blade sweeping a 360 arc.
SHWOOOSH.
The wind shredded every shadow clone Levi had left. For half a second the field was clear.
Zephyr ascended fast, climbing for height. "Terminal Velocity. One shot. One kill."
Levi's panther eyes narrowed. The entire field went black. No light. No sky. Just Whispering Winds mapping every air current Zephyr cut through.
Zephyr dropped.
BOOOOOOM!
The Falcon Dive hit. The ground vaporized in a crater fifty meters wide. Wind and dust screamed outward.
Silence.
Then a soft sound from inside the dust.
Drip. Drip.
Levi stepped out of the shadows. One arm torn. Claw broken. But his panther eyes still burned.
Blood ran from Zephyr's mouth as he stood in the crater, one knee down. His coat was shredded. Hunter's Instinct still blazing.
Zephyr wiped blood, grin wild now. "You're the first Sukuna I couldn't predict. You don't fight like a man. You fight like the night itself."
Levi flexed his claws. Midnight Strike charged again, darkness coiling around his arm. "And you don't fly like a bird. You fall like a stone."
Zephyr rose, wind howling louder than before. "Then let's see which runs out first. Your darkness... or my sky."
Levi's claws were charged. Darkness coiled tight around his arm, ready for another Midnight Strike.
Then it hit him.
A sudden heartshock. Like ice through his ribs. His ki stuttered. Burned out.
THUNK.
His knees buckled. The panther eyes flickered, gold fading to black. The shadows around him unraveled like smoke in wind. Primal form shattered.
"Ghk—" Levi gasped. He tried to hold the form. His senses dulled. The world went heavy.
Zephyr saw it instantly. He was already moving. No wind build-up. No warning. Just pure reflex.
THWACK-BOOM!
A hard kick caught Levi's chest mid-collapse. Bone cracked. Levi was launched across the crater like a ragdoll.
KRAAAK-SKIDDD!
Stone split under him. He crashed, bounced once, and skidded to a stop. Dust covered him. The black mist of Panther Shadow faded completely. He was just Levi again. Bleeding. Breathing hard.
Zephyr landed lightly, blade resting on his shoulder. He tilted his head, watching.
"Tch." Wind died around him. "That's it? Sukuna prodigy, son of the clan leader... runs out of gas mid-fight."
Levi coughed, blood on his lips. He tried to push himself up on one arm. Failed. His muscles shook. The heartshock still echoed in his chest.
Zephyr walked closer, each step echoing. "I was looking forward to it. A real fight. But you burned bright and burned fast."
He stopped just out of reach. Blade tip lowered toward Levi's throat.
"Any last words before I finish this, boy?"
Levi's eyes stayed open. Defiant, even with no ki left. He glared up, jaw clenched.
"Elia... It's your turn."
Zephyr's blade hovered over Levi's throat. He smirked. "Cute. But the blind—"
"Moonlit Slash."
A voice, calm. Clear. From behind.
SHIIIING.
No wind-up. No battle cry. Just the soft sound of a sword leaving its sheath.
Zephyr's Hunter's Instinct screamed. Too late.
He felt it before he saw it. A sudden shock, cold and precise, right in his chest.
CHHK.
His eyes widened. He reached for his chest. Fingers came away red. An arc of blood gushed out, painting the stone.
He staggered back, blade falling from his hand. CLANG.
"What... you? What did you do to me? How did you..." He turned, blood bubbling at his lips.
There she stood. Elia.
One eye covered by a bloodied blindfold. The other eye open, shining dark red and steady. Sword still half-raised, tip dripping. She hadn't even shifted her stance.
To Zephyr, it looked like one simple slash. To the air itself, the strike had already passed through the opening before he realized it existed.
The battlefield went unnaturally quiet. Even the dust stopped falling.
A pale silver-blue arc hung in the air for a heartbeat, then faded. Moonlight cutting through darkness. Faint afterimages of her blade trailed behind her like ghost feathers.
Zephyr dropped to one knee. THUD.
His Hunter's Instinct couldn't predict what it couldn't see. She hadn't attacked where he was. She attacked where his fate, momentum, and next step would place him.
"Hanzo... perception," he choked out, hand clutching the wound. "You read my path... not my move."
Elia stepped forward, sword lowering. Her voice was soft, but carried. "Before you strike, I see the flow of your Kairo threads. Before you move, I see where you will be."
She looked past him, to Levi crumpled on the ground. Then to Ansen at the crater's edge, pressing a hand to his own wound.
"Hanzo Clan doesn't need two eyes to see," she said.
Zephyr coughed blood, grinning weakly despite everything. "Tch... Sukuna kid burns out... and the blind girl lands the killing blow. Guess the sky finally fell."
He slumped forward. Blade tip dug into stone. His wind died completely.
Behind him, Ansen exhaled. For the first time since the fight started, the weight on his shoulders shifted.
"Elia," he said quietly. "Her vision's been knocked out."
Elia turned her head toward him, blindfolded eye unmoving. "It's fine, Master. I see better now."
Ansen stared at Elia. Breath caught in his chest.
He'd heard stories of Moonlit Slash. He'd taught the theory. But seeing it was different. It was like watching the moon disappear behind an eclipse, only to realize the darkness itself was the blade.
Never had he witnessed such focus from a warrior. Not a wasted motion. Not a wasted breath. Just stillness, then absolute conclusion.
Pride burned hot behind his eyes. That technique embodied everything the Hanzo believed.
"The greatest warrior is not the one who strikes the hardest, but the one who sees the battle's conclusion before the first blade is drawn."
His students. Bloodied, broken, and still standing.
Elia was already moving. She dropped her sword and ran to Levi, kneeling in the dust beside him.
She threw her arms around him hard.
Levi blinked, caught off guard. Blood on his lips. "What's all this for? You know I'm not much of a hugger."
"Shut it." She hit his shoulder, then held on tighter. Her voice cracked. "How can you be so stupid? You almost got killed blocking all those attacks. I... I thought I'd lost you there."
A tear slipped past her blindfold. She buried her face against his chest to hide it.
Levi's good arm came up slowly, resting on her back. "You know me, Elia. I'd always go out of my way to protect my comrades. Especially you..."
Elia raised her head. Her one visible eye met his. Silver, wet, and unflinching.
Levi froze. Flustered. Words tangled in his throat. "Yeah, and... nix."
Elia smiled. Small. Real. The first one since the red sky fell.