The coliseum could no longer hold its breath.
From the stands, the wide shot unfolded like a painting of gods and devils—one boy wrapped in lightning, one monster framed by a mouth of endless shadow. Sparks ricocheted across the sand, half sucked into the abyssal maw, half bursting defiantly against its pull. The air itself screamed under the collision of forces, banners snapping, stone trembling, hearts pounding.
"ORIN!" Yullan's voice cracked through the chaos, desperate, raw. Her hands clutched the railing until her knuckles went white, tears streaming without restraint. She could taste the iron of her own blood where she had bitten her lip, too afraid to scream. "DON'T YOU DARE DIE, IDIOT!"
Code stood as though rooted to the ground. His eyes, usually sharp and calculating, were wide, almost unbelieving. Sparks reflected in his pupils like dying stars. "…This isn't training. This isn't a fight. The boy isn't battling to win. He's battling to exist."
The crowd was a sea of contradictions. Some prayed with trembling lips, others screamed hysterically, others simply sat frozen, unable to look away. A woman sobbed, clutching her child. A noble muttered, pale as chalk: "…That child is… charging a devil." And yet, somewhere in the madness, awe crackled through the fear.
Then the storm child was swallowed.
The Shadow Maw yawned wider, gaping with teeth of smoke that reformed and split with every second. Its crimson glow pulsed like magma deep in a throat that wasn't of this world. The suction roared louder, dragging dust, banners, even sparks into oblivion. And Orin's small figure, sparks bursting wildly, was consumed whole.
The world seemed to stop.
Inside the Maw, there was no sound—only silence, crushing and endless. Darkness stretched infinite, deeper than sky or sea, the kind that erased shape, erased existence. Sparks still clung to Orin's body, but one by one they were torn away, sucked into the abyss, fading like candles in wind.
ZZZRT… pfft. One spark died. KRAK… hiss. Another blinked out.
The boy staggered forward, body shaking, eyes dull. Each breath dragged deeper into nothingness, each heartbeat slower. His storm, once roaring, dwindled to scattered embers. His arms trembled when he tried to swing, sparks leaking weakly. Even his laugh sounded hollow now, more wheeze than defiance. "…Heh. Kinda cozy in here…"
Draven's voice surrounded him, layered, echoing from every direction, every tooth of the Maw. "…You are food. You will feed the abyss. Every spark. Every drop."
Outside, the crowd screamed. To them, the boy's form was fading, dissolving, slipping away into shadow. Yullan's scream ripped from her throat until it turned hoarse. "NO! ORIN!"
Even Code's face broke into a rare grimace. His fists clenched, knuckles bloodless. "…This is it. He's going to vanish."
And then, in the middle of collapse, Orin smiled.
He was kneeling, sparks dim, body broken, but the grin stretched his bloody mouth. "Heh… If holding it hurts…" He closed his eyes. "…Then I'll let it all out."
Silence deepened. The Maw itself seemed to pause.
Then came the sound. Not the crackle of broken lightning, not the chaotic fizz of uncontrolled sparks—but a VOOOOM that shook bone and blood. A hum, steady, heavy, the sound of something stabilizing for the first time.
Sparks reignited.
One, two, ten, a hundred—black arcs twisted back toward his body, colliding with streaks of blue, braiding together instead of flying apart. Then white arcs lit up, slicing across his limbs, clean and sharp. Finally, red sparks burst forth, like drops of burning blood, pulsing in rhythm with his heart.
They orbited him. Not chaotically, not like before, but in perfect synchrony. Black, blue, white, red—four colors in constant motion, circling his body with precision, like planets locked to a sun. Each spark was no longer a wild explosion but a controlled meteor, humming with destructive promise.
Orin's eyes snapped open.
No pupils. Only white. A blank radiance spilled from his gaze, a storm given form. Sparks poured from his sockets, and yet the grin remained, teeth bloodied, lips curled in manic delight.
"…Storm feels good now."
From outside, the Maw cracked.
CRACK-CRACK-BOOM!
Lines of light tore across the shadow's throat, glowing in all four colors. The Maw groaned like a collapsing mountain, splitting as pressure built within. Then—
KA-BOOOOM!
The coliseum shuddered as the abyss exploded from the inside out. Lightning of black, blue, white, and red tore through the haze, shredding the monstrous jaw. Sparks burst outward in arcs that split the sand, shattered pillars, melted stone.
And from the explosion, the boy emerged.
He rose slowly, levitating for a heartbeat, the four-colored orbit spinning tightly around him. His torn clothes snapped against the storm winds, his hair whipped wild. His small frame seemed enormous now, not from size but from weight—every eye, every soul felt crushed beneath the gravity of his storm.
The crowd… fell silent.
No screams. No cries. Not a breath dared leave their lungs.
Yullan's tears streamed unchecked, her lips trembling, whispering words even she didn't believe: "…He's… beautiful…"
Code stared, his jaw locked, his eyes unblinking. His chest rose and fell, ragged. "…At ten years old… he's surpassed me."
And across from them, Draven moved for the first time without mockery.
The devil's grin froze when the storm cracked the Maw. His crimson eyes narrowed, reflections of white sparks dancing inside. The haze armor rippled across his chest, veins of red pulsing as though in shock. For the first time, the abyss faltered.
But then… the smile returned. Wider. Darker. Hungrier.
"…You tore open the Maw," he said, his voice a chorus of shadows and bones. Slowly, his claws flexed, haze twisting tighter around his limbs. "…Good. GOOD. Show me more, little storm. Show me teeth."
The Maw collapsed behind him, shrinking back into haze, but his aura only swelled, heavier, redder, thicker. The chorus of whispers became screams now, voices that didn't belong to one throat but hundreds, thousands, all shrieking hunger.
Orin hovered above cracked stone, sparks orbiting, eyes white. His grin was smaller now, less childish, sharper—but the madness glimmered still. "Heh. Guess I'm the snack that bites back."
The crowd erupted, torn between awe and terror, unable to choose. Some shouted his name. Others begged for someone to stop the fight. Many simply collapsed to their knees, overwhelmed by the storm's presence.
Yullan's heart pounded against her chest, her voice lost in sobs. "Orin… you idiot…"
Code remained still, but his aura trembled, his fists clenched. "…Storm against abyss. Child against devil. And the devil… is smiling."
The air itself seemed to tilt, gravity bending under the clash of powers.
Draven's claws stretched wide. Orin's fists clenched, sparks orbiting faster.
Two monsters stared across the broken arena.
And the world waited for the storm to collide with the abyss once more.