The air inside the fallen void had a strange weight to it.
Not heavy like gravity.
Not suffocating like poison.
…but wrong.
Vicky was the first to notice.
His footsteps slowed as the cracked black ground beneath them gave off a faint ripple—like the surface of still water disturbed by an unseen stone.
"Stop," Vicky said quietly.
The entire group halted instantly.
Aerito's eyes narrowed. "You felt it too… didn't you?"
Vicky didn't answer immediately. His gaze was fixed ahead, where the endless grey horizon stretched into nothingness. The silence here wasn't peaceful.
It was watching.
Arna shifted closer to Aerito. "Big bro… I don't like this place."
Before anyone could respond—
The ground trembled.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
CRACK.
Thin black fractures spread across the void floor like spiderwebs. From within those cracks, something dark began to leak out.
Not liquid.
Not smoke.
Shadows.
"…What the hell is that?" one of the fighters whispered.
The shadows rose slowly at first—stretching upward like living ink being pulled by invisible strings. Their forms twisted, expanded… and then hardened.
Humanoid shapes.
Dozens of them.
Then hundreds.
Aerito's expression darkened. "Everyone—battle formation. NOW."
The team moved instantly.
Vicky stepped forward.
Aerito took the left flank.
Arna moved to the rear support position.
The others spread out in a defensive arc.
The shadows finished forming.
Tall.
Pitch black.
Featureless faces… except for two thin, glowing white slits where eyes should be.
Then all of them tilted their heads at the same time.
And charged.
"CONTACT!!" Aerito roared.
The battlefield exploded.
—
The first shadow lunged straight for Vicky.
Too fast for normal eyes.
But not for him.
Vicky's body shifted half an inch to the side.
WHOOSH.
The shadow's claw sliced through empty air.
In the same instant—
CRACK!!
Vicky's fist slammed into the creature's torso.
The shadow's body distorted violently… then shattered into fragments of black mist.
But—
It reformed.
Right behind him.
"…They regenerate," Vicky muttered.
"Noted!" Aerito shouted from the left as he spun mid-air, his blade carving a blazing arc through three shadows at once.
SHING!!
All three were cut clean in half.
For exactly one second.
Then the pieces started pulling back together.
"Tch—annoying bastards!"
More shadows poured from the cracks in the ground.
Dozens became hundreds.
Hundreds became—
"…Infinite," Arna whispered.
Because no matter how many appeared…
…the cracks weren't stopping.
—
"Backline—fire!" Aerito commanded.
Instantly, the ranged fighters moved.
Energy blasts tore through the dark battlefield.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
Explosions lit up the void like dying stars.
For a brief moment—
The shadows were pushed back.
But then—
They came again.
Faster.
More aggressive.
Like they were adapting.
—
Arna raised both hands, her eyes glowing faint blue.
"Spatial Bind!"
A circular wave of compressed space burst outward from her position.
FWOOOM!!
Dozens of charging shadows suddenly froze mid-movement, their bodies locked as if trapped in invisible chains.
"Now!" she shouted.
Vicky moved first.
In a single blur—
He vanished.
—
Within the frozen field—
CRACK!!
CRACK!!
CRACK!!
Every strike was precise.
Every movement efficient.
Vicky didn't waste energy.
Didn't overextend.
He simply erased.
One shadow after another collapsed under his blows, their forms destabilizing faster than they could regenerate.
But even he noticed it.
They were learning.
The next wave didn't rush blindly.
They circled.
Surrounded.
Waited.
Aerito clicked his tongue. "Great. They're not mindless."
One massive shadow suddenly emerged from the ground behind the front line—twice the size of the others.
Its arm morphed into a massive blade.
And swung.
"MOVE!" Aerito shouted.
Too late.
One of the fighters froze in panic.
The shadow blade descended—
—but it never landed.
CLANG!!
Aerito appeared in front of the strike, his sword blocking the massive blow.
The ground beneath him cratered instantly.
"…You okay?" Aerito muttered without looking back.
The fighter nodded shakily. "Y-yeah…"
Aerito smirked.
"Then don't freeze on me."
His eyes flashed.
"Flare Severance."
SHRAAAAAK!!
A blazing crescent slash erupted from his blade, cleaving the giant shadow straight down the center.
This time—
It didn't reform immediately.
Vicky noticed.
"…Core instability," he murmured.
Aerito heard him.
Their eyes met for half a second.
They understood.
—
"The big ones are the anchors!" Aerito shouted. "Take them down first!"
The team immediately adjusted strategy.
Now the battle turned tactical.
Focused.
Deadly.
—
Arna darted across the battlefield, her movements light but precise. Every few seconds she released another spatial pulse, disrupting shadow formations and creating openings.
"Left side clear!"
"Two anchors emerging east!"
"Vicky—behind you!"
Vicky pivoted instantly.
A massive shadow beast lunged—
—but Vicky was already moving.
His hand came up slowly.
Too slowly.
The shadow closed in—
Then—
BOOM!!
A compressed shockwave erupted from Vicky's palm at point-blank range.
The creature's upper body completely disintegrated.
For the first time—
The surrounding shadows hesitated.
Aerito grinned.
"Oh… now they're scared."
—
But the void wasn't done.
The ground split open again.
Wider this time.
Deeper.
From within the darkness—
Something bigger was coming.
Much bigger.
The battlefield grew cold.
Even the shadows paused.
Vicky's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Something's spawning."
Aerito rolled his shoulders, gripping his blade tighter.
Arna swallowed nervously.
The crack expanded.
Expanded.
Expanded—
Then—
A colossal shadow entity began rising from the abyss.
Four arms.
Massive frame.
Eyes glowing like twin white suns in the darkness.
The pressure alone made the air distort.
"…Well," Aerito exhaled slowly.
A dangerous smile spread across his face.
"Now this is getting interesting."
The giant shadow roared—
—and the entire swarm attacked at once.
"Everyone!" Aerito shouted.
Vicky stepped forward.
Calm.
Unshaken.
His eyes locked onto the giant.
"…Leave the big one to me."
The battlefield erupted into its most violent phase yet—
—and the war against the Infinite Shadows truly began.