The chamber was drowning in black.
The ancient scroll pulsed like a living heart, its seals spreading across the walls and floor in writhing spirals of ink. The air was suffocating, heavy with whispers that did not belong to the living.
Keiji's body convulsed, the ink-chains crawling higher up his arm, burrowing beneath his skin. His veins glowed faintly with spectral light.
"Keiji!" Elder Senzō barked, his voice harsh with urgency. His Sharingan spun, dissecting every shifting line. "Cut off your chakra flow now! Break the connection before it—"
Too late.
The ink surged into Keiji's chest, his heart hammering against the pressure. He gasped, clawing at his arm as the seal brands spread across his skin. His vision blurred, colors bleeding into shadow.
The voices grew louder.
"…bind… devour… eternity…"
---
Partial Fusion
Keiji fell to his knees. The seals crawled across his torso, forming chains that wrapped tightly around his ribs, glowing faintly with ghostly blue fire.
His Sharingan flickered wildly, one eye crimson, the other drowned in ghostly light. He could feel the scroll inside him, not just attached but merging—burning his chakra coils, warping his essence.
"I… I can't stop it," Keiji gasped, his breath ragged. "It's inside me!"
"Fool!" Senzō hissed, slamming his palm into the floor. Fresh ink flared, a containment seal sparking into existence around Keiji. The elder's brush danced with desperate precision, circles and barriers flaring across the floor. "Hold! Hold!"
The ink circle snapped into place, a dome of shimmering light enclosing Keiji. For a moment, the writhing chains slowed.
But then the scroll responded. The seal branded onto Keiji's body lashed outward, black ink tendrils slamming against the dome, cracking it like glass.
Senzō's eyes widened. Even this barrier—broken? Impossible.
The boy wasn't just caught in the seal. He was becoming the seal.
---
Desperate Attempts
"Stay awake!" Senzō barked. He bit his thumb, blood dripping onto his brush. With practiced speed, he drew another spiral across his forearm.
"Fūinjutsu: Reversal Bind!"
The lines flared, shooting across the floor and latching onto Keiji's chains. For a heartbeat, the ink froze. The elder pulled, dragging the parasite away from Keiji's flesh.
Keiji screamed. His body convulsed violently as if Senzō were tearing out his soul.
Senzō gritted his teeth. Sweat streamed down his brow. His hands shook, but his brush never faltered.
"Hold, boy! I'll—pull it—free!"
The ink resisted like a living beast. It shrieked without sound, the chamber vibrating under the force. The chains recoiled, then snapped back with such violence that the elder staggered, his own seals shattering.
The backlash slammed into Senzō's chest, forcing blood from his mouth.
"Damn it…" His vision swam. "If this continues, the seal will devour him whole—"
---
Gengar's Intervention
A low, guttural chuckle filled the chamber.
Senzō froze. Slowly, he turned his gaze to the shadow floating just beyond the flaring seals.
Shiny Gengar's grin gleamed, impossibly wide. Its eyes gleamed scarlet, not playful but predatory. Its body pulsed with spectral energy, swelling larger, its shadow stretching across the walls like a monster unbound.
"Y… you…" Senzō rasped. "What are you—"
Before he could finish, Gengar sank into the floor. Its body dissolved into shadow, pouring beneath Keiji like liquid darkness.
"Stop!" the elder shouted, his voice breaking. "You'll destabilize the seal further!"
But Gengar ignored him.
From beneath, its shadow arms surged upward, plunging into Keiji's chest. Keiji's eyes flew wide, mouth opening in a silent scream as ghostly claws reached inside—not tearing flesh, but dragging something intangible out.
The chains writhed violently. The scroll's whispers rose to a roar.
And then—Keiji convulsed violently as Gengar yanked.
The ink screamed. The seal shrieked like a living beast.
Something black and burning was ripped free, writhing in Gengar's grasp—a chunk of the scroll's essence, twisted chakra bound with centuries of rage.
Gengar's grin split wider. And it swallowed it whole.
---
The Elder's Horror
The chamber fell silent.
The ink chains slackened, retreating back into faint scars across Keiji's arm and chest. His body collapsed to the floor, limp but breathing, Sharingan flickering weakly.
Senzō staggered, his chest heaving, sweat dripping down his aged face. His hand trembled as he gripped his brush for balance.
His eyes turned to Gengar.
The ghost floated above Keiji protectively, licking its lips with unnatural delight. Its grin was wider than ever, stretching almost ear to ear. Its body pulsed with new energy, its aura darker, heavier, hungrier.
"You… you devoured the seal's core," Senzō whispered, horrified. His voice cracked, something close to fear laced in it. "That was… that was not sealing, not chakra, not anything I've seen… that was consumption."
His chest seized suddenly, sharp pain stabbing through his ribs. The elder clutched at his heart, gasping. For an instant, he thought the strain had finally claimed him.
Not now. I cannot fall here. Not before I understand what this thing truly is.
---
Aftermath
Keiji groaned, pushing himself upright. His body felt weak, drained, but alive. His chest and arm bore faint spirals, scars where the seal had once burned into him.
He blinked, dazed. "What… happened?"
Senzō's eyes narrowed, though his body shook. He pointed at Gengar, voice hoarse. "That… creature saved you. In a way no seal, no chakra should be able to. It devoured the corruption outright."
Keiji turned, meeting Gengar's glowing red eyes. The Pokémon only grinned, chuckling with hollow joy, shadows swirling faintly around its body.
"Saved… me?" Keiji repeated, though his gut twisted. Saved—yes. But at what cost?
The air still carried the echo of those whispers. The scroll's remnants were gone, but the aura lingered.
Senzō pressed a trembling hand against the wall, struggling to stand. His gaze was fixed on Gengar, his Sharingan spinning weakly, as if searching for an answer it could not comprehend.
"That thing…" the elder whispered. "It isn't a summon. It isn't a beast. It's something far worse. And now…" His chest heaved. "…it carries a part of that seal inside it."
Keiji's blood ran cold. He turned to Gengar. The ghost only grinned wider, shadows rippling across the walls like hungry chains.
And for the first time, Keiji wondered if his partner was saving him… or slowly consuming him too.
---
End of the Chapter
---