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N/B:
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Third POV:
Akai knew it. The moment hung in the air, thick and heavy as the blood-scent that clung to every surface of the nightmarish level. There was no time left for clever words, no space for the sharp wit that was his usual shield. The clock was ticking inside his skull, a phantom pressure behind his eyes, each passing second a distinct, irretrievable grain of sand slipping through the narrow waist of an hourglass that was moments from emptying. His body was a tapestry of fresh pain, his ribs screaming a raw, persistent agony from the bone-jarring blows delivered by Kurokaz, and the system's relentless timer burned in the deepest recesses of his mind like a white-hot brand, a curse silently counting down to his absolute ruin. He clenched his fists until the tendons stood out like cords, the split, raw skin on his knuckles stretching taut and stinging fiercely, his lips peeling back from his teeth in a raw, animalistic snarl that had nothing to do with humor.
"Alright then⊠no more jokes."
He launched himself forward firstâa sudden, explosive burst of desperate motion, his fist a hardened blade cutting through the thick, copper-tinged air. The impact struck Basha squarely across the bristled jaw with a solid, meaty thwack, but the beast, now fully embraced by the primal power of his Zoan transformation, barely registered the hit. His massive head merely jerked slightly to the side with the force, a dismissive gesture.
Instead of pain, Basha grinned, a horrific, stretching of his muzzle that exposed glistening, wet fangs, reddened in the erratic, flickering torchlight. His entire body twitched with barely contained, pent-up energy, his powerful, hunched shoulders rolling forward like a predator coiling its muscles for a fatal pounce. > "Die, you bratâŠ" the words grated out, a distorted hybrid of guttural growl and mangled human speech, dripping with malice.
The Bloodhound swung his own arm with terrifying, unexpected speed for a creature of his bulk and mass. Akai barely had time to bring his arms up in a desperate, cross-armed block. The blow landed like a blacksmith's hammer on an anvil, sending a concussive shockwave rattling up through the bones of his forearms, vibrating his very teeth in their sockets, the sheer force behind it forcing him to skid back a step on the treacherously slick, gore-covered stone. He tried to counter immediately, a sharp, punishing jab aimed at the beast's exposed midsection, but Basha was proving to be no less powerful than Kurokaz had beenâin fact, he was worse, faster, more unpredictably feral, his movements driven by pure instinct.
Crack!
Another punch landed, this time a brutal, looping hook that connected solidly with Akai's already deeply bruised and protesting ribs. White-hot, searing pain lanced through his side, so sharp and sudden it stole the breath from his lungs in a choked, ragged gasp. He staggered, balance failing, one hand instinctively flying to clutch his screaming side, only for Basha to capitalize instantly with a swift, backhanded, clawed swipe that raked across his face, opening up a line of fire along his cheekbone.
Akai stumbled backward, his head snapping violently to the side from the impact, his teeth rattling, the soles of his boots scraping and slipping for purchase against the blood-slicked, uneven stone.
"Shitâ!"
But Basha didn't stop, didn't pause to gloat. The beast pressed his advantage mercilessly, becoming a whirlwind of pure, bestial fury. Claws sliced through the charged air with audible, deadly whooshes, fists hammered down with inhuman, ground-shaking strength that made the very floor tremble. Each strike came faster than the last, harder, more vicious and unpredictable. BloodâAkai's own bloodânow began to spray in fine, crimson arcs across the chaotic battlefield, painting the grim scenery with his vitality.
BOOM!
A wild,clawed swipe meant to open his throat missed by inches and instead sank into the solid stone wall behind him, splitting the ancient rock and sending sharp, dagger-like shards flying in all directions.
CRACK!
A powerful,upward-driving knee caught him in the diaphragm, the impact so brutal it nearly folded him in half, forcing the last dregs of air from his lungs with a sickening, involuntary grunt of agony.
The prisoners around them, even those locked in their own desperate, mortal struggles, seemed to pause mid-slaughter, their collective gaze drawn wide-eyed to the spectacle of the Bloodhound's unrelenting fury as it tore through the level. Even these hardened killers, these architects of their own and others' nightmares, visibly flinched at the raw, untamed savagery on display, a primal fear flickering in their eyes. The general, overwhelming chaos of the prison riot seemed to dim momentarily, their blood-soaked screams and the clatter of weapons drowned out by the sheer, monstrous power radiating from this single, enraged beast.
Akai was utterly exhaustedâhis body screamed in unified protest from the exhausting aftermath of the Kurokaz fight, every muscle fiber burning with lactic acid and strain, and now he was being forced to endure this brutal, seemingly one-sided pounding. His breaths grew ragged and shallow, sawing in and out of his bruised, aching chest like a broken bellows. His arms trembled violently from the constant, jarring effort of blocking, the bones within feeling brittle, on the verge of splintering. His knuckles were split open anew, bleeding freely, adding their own crimson droplets to the pool beneath his feet. And still, through the haze of pain and fatigue, he tried to hold on, tried to find a sliver of an opening, tried to muster a counterattack against the overwhelming tide of violence.
But Basha was far from done. The beast's eyes glowed with a hellish, unwavering crimson light as he gathered himself for a final, decisive charge, his claws now dripping with blood that was not his own. With one final, earth-shaking roar that seemed to vibrate the very foundations of Level 6, he swung his entire weight into a massive, obliterating fist aimed to end the fightâ
âand Akai was sent flying.
The impact was utterly devastating, a concussive force that lifted him clean off his feet, breaking through his last-ditch guard. His body tore through the chaotic air, a limp ragdoll against the backdrop of screaming madness and flickering shadows, before SMASH!âhe hit the far, reinforced wall of the prison with a bone-shattering, unforgiving force that echoed like a cannon shot.
And then something impossible, something unforeseen by any of the level's damned inhabitants, happened.
The ancient, magically reinforced stone wall behind him, weathered by centuries of despair but never breached, cracked under the tremendous impact of his body, a spiderweb of deep fractures spreading out from the point of contact like forked lightning. Then, with a deep, groaning shudder that emanated from the stones themselves, a entire section of the wall collapsed inward in a roaring cascade of dust, shattered stone, and broken masonry. The sound was like continuous, rolling thunder, drowning out all other noise. But instead of revealing just a pile of rubble or another dark cell, the collapse unveiled something vast, mysterious, and utterly alien hidden behind the prison's grim facade.
A hidden bridge, stretching into an abyss.
The prisoners froze completely, their collective bloodlust replaced in an instant by sheer, dumbfounded astonishment, eyes widening in unified disbelief. Even Basha, mid-roar, staggered back a step, a low, confused growl rumbling deep in his chest, sheer disbelief etched across his savage, bestial features as he stared at the newly revealed passage.
Akai's broken body lay limp and motionless at the foot of this newfound, impossible passage. His head lolled back against a large, jagged chunk of rubble, blood streaking in vivid, dark lines down his pallid face, his chest heaving with shallow, painful, wheezing breaths that fogged in the suddenly cold air emanating from the bridge. With trembling, weakening hands that felt like lead weights, he pushed himself upright, his vision swimming, blurring at the edges with black spots, fighting with every ounce of his waning consciousness to focus.
And then⊠he saw it fully.
The bridge stretched out into a void of impenetrable, absolute blackness that seemed to have no end, no bottom, no other side. A thick, oily black mist rolled and churned across its worn stone surface like living, breathing smoke, obscuring whatever might lie beneath. The stone of the bridge itself was intricately carved with strange, swirling, ancient patterns that pulsed with a faint, ethereal blue light, the symbols themselves seeming to twist and move sluggishly, like the silent whispers of forgotten, elder gods. Massive, cold-forged iron chains, each link the size of a man, hung from the oppressive darkness above, swaying slowly, rhythmically, though there was not a whisper of wind, their immense lengths vanishing into the shadows high overhead, their purpose unknown and unsettling. Every inch of the structure, from the mist to the glowing runes to the humming chains, seemed to thrum with a deep, unsettling energyâa palpable, ominous power that felt ancient, immense, and profoundly wrong, as if it was never meant for mortal eyes, let alone mortal feet.
Akai's cracked, bloodied lips parted, a strangled, breathy sound, barely a whisper, escaping them. > "What⊠the hell is this place?"
But he had no time to process the sight, no time to wonder at the implications, no time for fear or curiosity.
WHAM!
A monstrous, final blow from a recovering Basha smashed into his exposed back, the beast's claws tearing deep into his already ravaged flesh. The brutal force launched his broken body forward like a discarded toy, sending him soaring helplessly through the jagged entrance and onto the beginning of the strange, glowing bridge. His blood sprayed into the chill air in a dark, misty cloud before his body tumbled violently, end over end, into the waiting, soundless abyss below.
The last thing he heard, cutting through the roaring in his ears, wasn't Basha's triumphant growl or the prisoners' shocked, fading gaspsâ
It was the cold, merciless, and final ding of the system, a death knell in his mind.
[Quest Failed.]
Punishment Pending:To Be Executed in 72 Hours.
His body kept falling, spinning uncontrollably deeper into the unknown, the chilling blackness and the silently glowing blue symbols rising up all around him to swallow him whole. His eyelids grew impossibly heavy, like stone portals slamming shut, his mind fading into a grey static, the sharp, all-consuming pain receding into a numb, distant, almost accepting silence.
"Ah⊠fuckâŠ" he whispered, the words a ghost on his lips, lost to the void, before the absolute darkness rushed up to meet him and claimed him completely.
And Akai vanished into the impenetrable void.
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[End of Chapter 13 .]
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