YOSUKE SHIN
The red guy comes at me fast. Flames hit the marble walls, wind slicing toward me. I twist, summon a spike of metal from the ceiling, and lightning arcs through it. Sparks hit him square in the chest just as I swing a whip of frozen water around his legs. Shadow step? Doesn't matter. My ice locks him mid-air, then a jolt of lightning finishes him. He's down.
The cyan guy tries to strike with mud and wind, but I've already started moving before he can blink. I bend air into a violent vacuum, slamming him into the marble wall. He shadow-steps, but I'm ready. Metal shards shoot from the floor, impaling him before he can escape again. One less problem.
The girl finally moves. Shadow step after shadow step, trying to get behind me, throwing sharp bursts of energy and ice. I can feel the fight's edge, the pressure of three opponents down to one. She's fast — faster than the others — but I've learned their patterns. I twist, dodge a shadow step, and redirect a lightning strike into a shard of ice, hurling it straight at her chest. She goes down.
The room falls silent. The grass is torn up, marble cracked, smoke and ozone hanging heavy in the air. My chest heaves, heart still pounding, but the fight's over. I'm the last one standing.
I take a deep breath, feeling the adrenaline ebb. The thrill, the fear, the chaos — it all rushes through me, and I can't help but grin. Alone, yes, but victorious.
The dust finally settles. Smoke curls lazily in the air, mixing with the smell of scorched marble and crushed grass. Shards of ice and metal lie scattered across the floor, reflecting the dim light in jagged, glinting patterns.
I drop to one knee, chest heaving, sweat running down my face. Every muscle aches, every limb feels heavy, but… damn. I did it. The three of them are down. The silence hits me first — not peaceful, but heavy, like the chamber itself is holding its breath, waiting to see if I move again.
I glance at the walls, the ceiling, the broken grass underfoot. Marble cracks, chunks missing, scorched by fire, etched with lightning burns. This place, once pristine, now feels like a battlefield. And somehow, I feel… alive. More alive than ever.
My hands still tremble slightly, tingling with leftover sparks of lightning, traces of fire, the cool bite of ice lingering. I bend the air around me to clear the smoke, grass lifting softly as I take a steadying breath. The adrenaline fades, leaving a quiet, almost eerie calm.
For a second, I let myself smile — a tired, bloody, victorious grin. The fight had pushed me to the edge, tested everything I had. But I survived. I won. And I know now… I can take on anything.
The underground chamber is quiet again. The girl, the two guys — all gone. Shadows settle back over the broken marble and crushed grass. I stand tall, feeling the weight of every strike, every shadow step, every second I cheated death. And for the first time in a long time… I let myself savor it.
The hallway outside the chamber still reeked of ozone and burnt marble when I stepped out, boots crunching over bits of stone and frozen grass. My shoulders ached, my hands still tingled from the last lightning strike, and every breath felt like it was dragging smoke into my lungs. Ahead, two familiar shapes appeared out of the gloom — Namae and Jiro. Namae's eyes went wide as soon as she saw me.
"Yosuke… you look like hell," she said.
I couldn't help smirking, brushing ash off my sleeve. "Thanks. You should see the other guys."
Jiro looked past me, toward the chamber. His face tightened. "We did. Or… what's left of them. You actually took all three down?"
"Yeah. They were fast — shadow step fast — but they weren't ready for me." My voice came out casual, but I could feel the fatigue buried in it.
Naemi's gaze slid over me, sharp as ever. "You're bleeding."
"I'm fine. Just scratches." I gave her another smirk. "Lightning and marble dust make a great skincare routine, didn't you know?"
Jiro shook his head. "You're insane. You didn't even wait for backup?"
"Didn't have time. They were already on me. Besides…" I shrugged, letting the grin widen. "…it was kinda fun."
Naemi's expression hardened. "Fun? You're talking about killing people like you just went for a run."
The grin faltered. "Yeah, well… sometimes you can't stop to think about it. You just move. You win, or you don't walk out."
Jiro's voice dropped low. "And you walked out."
"Exactly." I straightened, forcing the tiredness out of my voice. "Now, are we just gonna stand here, or are we getting out before more of them show up?"
Naemi sighed, stepping up beside me. "Fine. But next time, try not to destroy the entire room."
I grinned again as we started walking. "No promises."