The void stretched endlessly around Kazuki, a suffocating expanse of pure darkness. He could hear it — the mocking laughter of Atshushi, echoing from every direction, growing louder, sharper, and more unbearable with every second. The same cold, merciless laugh he remembered from long-forgotten corners of his past.
His feet hovered over an abyss that stretched into infinity, but there was no ground. No sky. Only those two blue eyes shining high above him like twin stars of malice. The eyes of the Chaos Spirit.
"You will need much more than this to break me," Kazuki declared, his voice steady, slicing through the oppressive gloom like a dagger.
He turned his head, locking his gaze directly with those eyes in the endless sky. There was no fear now. No hesitation.
"So all your efforts… are useless."
For a moment, the void itself seemed to pulse in reaction to his words. The Chaos Spirit's laughter rumbled like distant thunder, dark hands slithering from the invisible ground below. They twisted around Kazuki's arms, his legs, and his neck — their cold grip squeezing tight.
Yet Kazuki… smiled.
"You think these old tricks will work on me now?"
The hands gripped tighter. Crows began to fill the endless sky, wings flapping soundlessly, eyes glowing red like embers in the night. The void stretched even farther, as if trying to swallow his very soul.
Kazuki raised his arms defiantly while falling deeper and deeper into that endless abyss. The cacophony of Atshushi's laughter merged with the Chaos Spirit's, forming a dreadful chorus that could drive an ordinary man to madness.
But not him.
"You'll need more than that," he repeated, his voice calm, unshaken.
And then — the nightmare shattered like broken glass.
Kazuki's eyes snapped open, his chest heaving as he shot upright in his bed. His room was dark, illuminated only by the faint, silvery glow of moonlight filtering through the window. The cool night air carried the distant, hushed sounds of South Ryehem — the occasional clop of hooves, a soldier's footsteps, the flicker of lantern light down the quiet streets.
No dark hands.No crows.No void.No Atshushi.
Just the normal world.
Kazuki sat still for a while, his breathing steadying. His gaze drifted to the window, where he could see the empty street outside. The ancient trees swayed gently in the night breeze, and the stone path glimmered faintly in the moonlight.
He closed his eyes for a moment and leaned back against the wall beside his bed. The eerie calm after the storm of his dream felt heavier than silence.
Then, softly, he spoke to himself.
"What's really written in my fate… and what is the actual meaning behind all of this? Am I just unlucky? Or is there a deeper reason waiting to be revealed?"
The words hung in the air of his room, unanswered.
He remembered the countless times he'd faced impossibilities. The countless eyes that had stared down at him in the void. The battles he'd fought within himself — and the unknown battles that awaited him beyond the horizon.
"At this point," he murmured, "it almost feels like I'm nothing compared to what's going to be against me in the future."
And yet… that wasn't enough to break him.
Kazuki stood up slowly, walking toward the window. He opened it and let the cool breeze brush against his face. South Ryehem slept peacefully below. Its streets, its people, its lights — all blissfully unaware of the nightmares that plagued the boy standing at the window.
A gentle smile curved his lips.
"But it doesn't matter," he whispered into the night. "I'll adapt. I'll surpass every one of them. Every being, every force, every god, or spirit that threatens this kingdom… or my family… I'll crush them."
For a long while, Kazuki stayed by the window, gazing into the silent streets, his heart steady despite the storm within. The moon hung high in the sky, a lone witness to his vow.
And somewhere far, far away in the endless abyss, a pair of blue eyes narrowed in frustration.
But Kazuki was already back in the world of the living.
And he wasn't going anywhere.