Chapter 44: Black and White

Aku dropped from the high wall like a phantom unraveling from the sky, his body a blur of pure shadow streaked with glints of Intergy. There was no sound, no impact, no footstep or echo, only a subtle distortion in the air where he landed. The ground beneath his feet didn’t so much as crack. It merely accepted his presence. Darkness wrapped around his figure like a living shroud, pulsing with restrained power. His movements were radiant in precision, controlled and clean. He was darkness personified, but he moved like light, slicing through Krutone’s land with direction and intent.

He blurred forward, his body dissolving and reassembling between streets, skipping rooftops, and weaving through debris without ever touching it. Zagons lurking in alleys didn’t notice him. Krutone's cameras failed to track him. Even the city’s pulse seemed to skip as he passed. With every bound and flicker, he drew closer to the heart of it all. Then, in a final sweep of shadow, Aku emerged at the edge of the plaza, his figure solidifying in front of Prism Tower. Aku stood still, head tilted slightly, absorbing every inch of the structure, every trace of power inside. He had arrived.

Inside the sleek, echoing hall of Prism Tower’s first floor, twenty elite Krutone soldiers waited positioned behind crystalline barriers, armored in reinforced Intergy suits, armed with elemental precision. The instant Aku stepped through the doors, the temperature dropped. Every soldier felt it. Then, without a word, five blades of darkness and five blades of light bloomed from the air beside him, levitating with eerie calm.

General 1: This is him! Take him down quickly!

The soldiers didn’t have time to react. Aku disappeared in a blur, shadow and light streaking across the hall like a paradox in motion. The first blade of darkness whipped forward, carving through a soldier’s chest before his weapon even lifted. A light blade shot diagonally, slicing through two soldiers and decapitating the man behind them. Fire burst from another soldier’s palm, but Aku was already behind him. The blade drove through his spine before his breath left his lungs. The others shouted, falling into formation, launching bursts of ice, wind, and flame, but Aku moved like a wraith. He weaved through their attacks, teleporting short distances in pulses of black smoke, only to emerge mid-air, slicing down with three blades at once. A column of light erupted from him, incinerating another squad. When one soldier formed a wall of earth to protect his allies, Aku sent a blade of light through it like glass then telekinetically split it into dozens of splinters mid-air, each shard impaling a different enemy. They tried to regroup, but every movement they made was already in Aku’s rhythm.

Blood sprayed across the walls. The dark and light blades spun around him like orbiting sentinels, intercepting bullets, catching elemental blasts, then darting back out with surgical cruelty. One soldier tried to flee. He only made it five steps before two blades caught his knees and throat. Another unleashed a scream of electricity toward Aku’s back, but Aku raised his hand, darkness absorbing the charge then frying the soldier with light. Aku had no hesitation or wasted effort. Just relentless efficiency.

By the end, the marble floors were littered with bodies and scorched armor. Steam hissed from cracked panels. The lights above flickered in terror, as if the tower itself knew what had breached its walls. Aku stood in the center, untouched, his blades drifting back to his sides like loyal companions. He took one breath—silent—and walked forward. The first floor was cleansed.

The chamber in Prism Tower.

Osin: Aku is here.

Lessa: Oh, where the hell is Kyto?

Osin: He said he was going to be back.

Forim: He never said exactly how long he’d be gone.

Andin: You don’t think he…?

Osin: Of course not. It’s unlike Kyto to run.

Aku stood at the base of the spiraling staircase, eyes following the curve upward into the dim-lit core of Prism Tower. He exhaled softly, preparing himself. The ten blades—five of light, five of darkness—hovered beside him like silent guardians, glowing softly in the gloom.

Dozens of Krutone robots activated above, their crimson sensors locking onto him. Their forms were sleek, chrome-limbed, humming with Intergy, each armed with high-frequency hand shaped like blades and pulse rifles. Without warning, they charged, leaping down the staircase in synchronized bursts. Aku didn’t stop walking. His right hand flicked upward, and the blades responded with brutal grace. A blade of light rocketed forward, slicing the first machine in half mid-air. Two more followed, carving diagonal arcs through steel torsos, the pieces clanging off the steps like discarded armor.

The robots fired Intergy rounds flaring down the stairwell, but Aku was gone. A pulse of shadow blurred his form upward, passing straight through them like a whisper in a hurricane. He reappeared mid-stride behind one of the machines, the dark blades twisting around him in a deadly spiral. He swung his hand, and the blades responded with vicious accuracy, slashing through limbs, decapitating drones, and exploding cores. Sparks filled the stairwell, casting strobing flashes of light and shadow across the spiraling walls.

He moved faster now, his silhouette ghosting between the narrow turns. At one point, a robot tried to block the entire stairway with a reinforced shield. Aku turned to shadow and appeared behind it. The shield split apart as four blades intersected from opposing angles, meeting at the center of the robot's chest and detonating. The explosion rocked the tower's spine, but Aku didn’t flinch. He climbed through smoke and fire, untouched.

Osin: Lessa, do you know how to use the monitors? Can you call Kyto?

Lessa: Oh, I have no clue how to operate that thing.

Osin: Andin? Esren? Forim?

Andin: You think Kyto let’s us use that stuff?

Osin: Shit. Aku is coming, and he’s coming fast.

Esren: Where are the generals that Kyto promised to attack?

Osin: The center of Prism Tower.

Forim: Then we’ll be safe if we stay up here.

Aku stepped into the center of Prism Tower, a vast, circular arena of shimmering crystal walls and a vaulted ceiling pulsing faintly with Intergy lines. At the chamber’s center stood five figures, spaced like points on a pentagram. The generals. Elite warriors, each a master of their element. Lightning. Ice. Wind. Water. Fire. Their eyes locked onto Aku with grim readiness.

General 2: Coordinate. Our job is to eliminate Aku.

The Lightning General struck first, crackling with arcs that danced across his armor like serpents. He blurred forward with speed, lashing out with a bolt that shattered the floor at Aku’s feet. Aku leapt back, avoiding the blast, but before he could counter, a gust of razor-sharp wind from the Wind General sent shards of broken crystal spiraling toward him like shrapnel. Aku raised a wall of light to block, but one shard pierced through, slicing his cheek. Blood dripped, black and quiet.

Aku’s eyes narrowed.

With a flick of his wrist, the ten blades responded. Three of light soared toward the Wind General while two dark ones curved behind to flank, but the Wind General was slippery, riding his element, dodging with aerial flips and bursts of gale. Simultaneously, the Water General hurled a tidal spiral that crashed into Aku, slamming him back against the wall. The tower trembled. For the first time, Aku's breath caught in his throat. These weren’t ordinary soldiers. They were some of Krutone’s best.

General 3: You’re fighting the wrong battle here. You’ll learn the hard way.

Aku: You’re not who I want to waste my Intergy on.

Aku’s body began to glow with black and white aura.

Aku: But if it’s necessary… I will.

Aku surged back with a roar of combined light and darkness, spiraling through the air as his blades scattered. One light blade pierced the Lightning General’s shoulder, and he screamed, light Intergy crackling violently from the wound. Aku pressed the advantage, zipping in close. With three swift slashes of alternating light and dark, he severed the General’s arm, then impaled him with a shadow blade. The body collapsed, twitching with residual electricity before falling still.

General 4: He breaks through that easily? No eruptions of Intergy!?

General 3: His attacks are concentrated with Intergy, but they’re fast!

The Fire General retaliated immediately, erupting in an inferno that engulfed half the chamber. The heat blistered the air, melting the crystal tiles beneath. Aku, shielded by a cocoon of shadow, consumed all the flames. One of his dark blades liquefied from the sheer heat. The Fire General charged through the blaze, landing a heavy punch into Aku’s gut, sending him skidding across the floor. Aku’s ribs ached, but he rose silently with blood in his mouth. Aku’s retaliation was merciless. He blurred forward, kicking off walls, blades spinning like orbiting death. A feint with light, then a brutal strike from behind with dark, one blade piercing the Fire General’s spine, another his heart. The flames died mid-breath. The general collapsed, his embers fading with him.

The Ice General was next, surrounding the arena with frozen needles and jagged walls. Aku’s movements slowed. His dark blades numbed in the cold. The Wind General came to assist, thinking to flank, but Aku was waiting. In a single, fluid motion, he redirected one blade of light into a sweeping arc. It sliced the Wind General’s leg clean off. The man screamed, only to be silenced by a follow-up strike through the throat. Three down. Blood and steam misted the air. Aku stood surrounded by corpses and frost. Two remained. Water. Ice.

General 5: We need to report, quick! Call for back up!

The Water and Ice Generals knew what they faced now. Aku was something beyond tactical training, beyond elemental mastery. He was a force born from contradiction: shadow and radiance, grace and brutality. Then Aku moved. Still, they moved together in sync realizing there was no time to call for reinforcements. The Water General struck first, hurling tendrils of liquid that hardened mid-air into sharpened spears. Ice followed, coating the floor in slick frost meant to trap Aku’s footing. Aku didn’t run. He advanced. His blades hovered wide like wings, and with a sudden blur, he vanished from sight.

He reappeared behind the Water General, light blades already slicing forward in a brilliant arc. The General barely turned before his chest was carved open. He collapsed mid-motion, gurgling, as one final blade of darkness slid through the back of his skull. The Ice General cried out in fury, slamming his palms to the floor, summoning a jagged eruption of frozen pillars. Aku leapt, spinning through the air in a flash of elegance and violence. His last two blades curved outward., one low, one high, slicing through the spires and through the General’s midsection. The room fell silent. Blood dripped onto frozen tile. Aku stood among five corpses, his breath steady, blades flickering. The center of Prism Tower had become a grave of Krutone’s military.

Aku: What a waste of time and Intergy… and I’m not talking me.

Forim: Damn it. I can feel his Intergy. He’s coming quick.

Osin: Aren’t the generals supposed to be able to handle a single man?

Forim: Aku has The Orb. His power scaling must have a boost from it. That can only explain how easily he’s getting through.

Lessa: Oh, so do we run?

Osin: Run where?

Andin: I think Kyto left us.

Osin: He wouldn’t!

Forim: I think we fight.

Silence.

Forim: We have to. Aku doesn’t know what’s in store for him. Taking down generals may be scary, but don’t forget we were all once generals too.

Esren: And we became leaders after that.

Forim: Based on the Intergy I could sense from below, he was struggling. He must be worn out by now.

Esren: He wouldn’t be able to handle us by the time he gets here.

Osin: Well, what about that lieutenant? The mutant that makes our bombs.

Esren: Jaze? I believe that was his name.

Osin: Yeah, where the hell is he? Shouldn’t he be guarding Prism Tower?

Forim: He must’ve been assigned to a different location.

Osin: Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!

The corridor leading to the council chamber stretched wide and lined with rib-like beams of reinforced alloy. Aku’s footsteps echoed through it, slow and deliberate. His ten blades hovered around him silently. But this time, the air felt heavier. Metal groaned. Two figures emerged from the far end, armor plated in coiled titanium bands. The twin generals of magnetism had been waiting.

The moment they raised their hands, the hallway transformed. Panels ripped from the walls, beams bent into spears, and the floor itself cracked and lifted into jagged iron thorns. The metal obeyed them like a living tide, reshaping into a glistening swarm of weapons, shields, tendrils, blades, and nets. One general launched a barrage of needle-like rods, each one honed to pierce Intergy armor. Aku blurred sideways, dodging with a streak of black, but the needles curved in midair, following the magnetic pull of their creator. Aku countered with a wall of light, disintegrating several, but a few grazed his shoulder and thigh, sparks flying. The pain didn’t slow him.

Aku: First time ever fighting magnet users. I hear you’re some of Krutone’s most powerful weapons.

Aku’s body glowed with black and white aura once again.

Aku: But that’s all you are… Krutone’s tools.

The second general stepped forward, slamming a fist into the floor. The impact triggered an eruption of twisted steel rising from the earth, wrapping around Aku like an open ribcage. Every hinge, screw, and wire in the hallway obeyed the generals. Aku vanished again in a burst of shadow, reappearing above them mid-air, but they were prepared. They lifted their arms in unison and summoned a massive disc of levitating alloy, spinning it like a blade before launching it at him. It sliced through the air like a buzzsaw. Aku dove under it, twisting mid-fall, and retaliated by sending three blades of darkness downward. The metal bent in real time, forming a shield that swallowed the attack whole.

They retaliated instantly. One general formed a net of razor-thin magnetic wires, shimmering like a spiderweb in moonlight, and flung it toward Aku. The other compressed dozens of steel rods into a compact sphere, then launched it like a bullet. Aku deflected with a light blade, but as the net wrapped around him, the wires tightened, responding to his movements. Each flex of his limbs pulled them closer. In a single surge of energy, he turned into a shadow and slipped through the net.

The generals split apart. One controlled the left half of the corridor, molding it into a canyon of jagged walls and shifting blades. The other commanded the right, forming a spiral of floating weapons that spun around him like a storm. Aku charged forward, skating on darkness, zigzagging between pillars of sharpened debris and whipping chains. A massive steel fist formed from wall panels tried to crush him. He turned to shadow, slipped through it, and reformed inside the storm, right in front of one general. Five blades launched at once. Two dark, three light. The general pulled up a curtain of metallic shards, but one light blade slipped through, piercing his abdomen.

The wounded general screamed and retaliated by pulling every loose bolt and wire in the hall into a tornado of scrap that surrounded them. Meanwhile, the other general crushed his hands together, summoning the massive spinning disc once again, but this time, sharper and faster. Aku leapt atop the swirling debris, using the chaos as stepping stones, bounding toward the second general like a predator. He feinted left, then blinked into shadow and appeared behind him, delivering a devastating slash of darkness that tore through armor and spine alike. The disc dropped mid-spin, crashing against the wall with a metallic shriek.

The final general, bleeding and furious, raised every last piece of metal into the air, hundreds of jagged fragments now orbiting him. Aku hovered in place, his blades floating. Then the metal rained. A storm of daggers, rods, sheets, and screws descended all at once. But Aku’s fingers curled. Light and shadow flared, and his blades moved fast. A vortex of flashing strikes carved a tunnel through the onslaught. He charged through the chaos, pierced the last general through the heart. When the final body hit the floor, Aku stood unbroken.

Aku: No different than earth users, I see.

The towering double doors to the council chamber screeched, buckled, then split apart in a violent burst of white and black energy. Molten metal dripped from the seams as Aku’s blades carved through the final locks like paper. The fractured doors collapsed inward, echoing like thunder across the vast room. Smoke and light spilled into the chamber, and there silhouetted in the haze stood Aku, his body draped in flickering shadow and radiance. His eyes swept across the five figures now rising from their seats. Osin. Lessa. Andin. Esren. Forim.

Lessa: Oh, Aku. It’s been such a long time. Let’s catch up, shall we? You must be so worn down from your travels.

Aku’s eyes shifted, one turning pitch black, the other blinding white. The council stood frozen, sensing the shift in atmosphere as something deeper than Intergy stirred. His aura expanded, threads of darkness and light swirling in equal force around him. Then, for a flicker in time, his body began to blur, turning semi-transparent. And there it was, The Orb, glowing within his chest like a second heart, alive and watching. It cast rays of alternating light and shadow through his body, illuminating the chamber in divine contrast. In that moment, Aku was no longer just a man.

Suddenly, the chamber plunged into absolute darkness. For a moment, the council could see nothing. Not their hands, not each other, not even the faintest glow of Intergy. It was as if the light itself had been devoured. Forim sparked a blaze of flame from his palm, illuminating the room in trembling orange, but it was already too late.

Andin’s body slumped forward, his neck pierced clean through by a blade of pure darkness. Blood poured in a silent stream as his head tilted at an unnatural angle. No one had seen Aku move. No one had heard him. There was only the sound of Andin's body hitting the floor. Lessa screamed, launching a tidal wave of water infused with crackling voltage, but the water never touched him. It evaporated midair, seared into vapor by the radiant heat of Aku’s glowing white aura. The power of light around him was not gentle. It burned like the sun.

Forim retaliated instantly, flames roaring from both arms in sweeping arcs, but the fire met a void, a tunnel of darkness that swallowed it whole. The inferno vanished into Aku's outstretched hand, feeding into the churning mass of Intergy around him. Then came Osin, hurling jagged ice spears in quick succession. They soared like missiles but melted instantly, water cascading uselessly to the floor. Aku didn’t speak. He lunged towards Esren.

Esren barely raised his stone-hardened fist in time, blocking Aku’s descending blade with a thunderous crack. The two forces met, Intergy grinding against raw elemental strength. Lessa attacked again, combining water and lightning into a concentrated stream. Aku raised a shimmering shield of Intergy, but the explosion of elements forced him back, blasting him through the chamber doors in a flare of heat and smoke. Before they could regroup, Esren summoned shards of stone and sent them flying at Aku’s downed figure, but the earth struck a solid wall of light, deflecting each piece. Aku rose slowly, and his aura spiraled. There was a low animalistic growl in his throat. The beast inside him was surfacing.

He blurred forward, blades of light and dark forming in his hands. Lessa was his next target. She conjured a shield of water, but it boiled away before it could fully form. Aku drove his blade through her stomach. She gasped, spitting a spray of water infused with lightning into his face. The energy splashed harmlessly against his skin, which had already hardened with dark Intergy. Aku twisted the blade. With a burst of concentrated energy, he detonated the sword inside her, the explosion carving a ragged hole through her abdomen. She collapsed, her limbs twitching.

Osin launched another barrage of ice spears, but they, too, melted. Behind them, Esren flanked with a wave of stone spears. Aku was knocked back, stumbling, but the spears couldn’t pierce his skin. They shattered on contact, breaking like glass. With a feral roar, Aku summoned his assault.

Again, ten blades— five of light, five of darkness— materialized and spun around him like halos of destruction. He charged, dual-wielding his core blades while the others circled like sentient weapons. Esren and Osin struggled to follow his movement, their eyes darting to track the death that spun around him. One blade pierced Esren’s thigh, another his shoulder. Two more followed, impaling him through the chest in perfect symmetry. Aku didn’t stop. He stepped in and buried both main blades into Esren’s torso. Then, with a commandless will, the spinning blades all came crashing in, burying themselves into Esren from every angle. He screamed once, then collapsed into silence and blood.

Forim, still standing, summoned every last ounce of his Intergy, his body alight in an infernal blaze. His eyes blazed with fury and charged. Aku didn’t dodge. As Forim launched himself, a comet of roaring fire and rage, Aku raised his palm. Five blades of darkness shot outward, intercepting Forim mid-lunge. The darkness partially froze Forim’s body, and with a twist of Aku’s hand, he twisted Forim’s body. Forim’s internal organs crushed under the wringing, and his skin tore open. Forim’s fire flickered. Then died.

Osin turned and ran, but Aku was no longer bound by human pace. He leapt into the air like a predator, dark Intergy wrapping around his fingers like black claws. He landed on Osin’s back, driving his clawed hand through his spine. Osin howled in agony. Aku slashed downward, ripping through flesh and bone. He struck again at the back of Osin’s head, then the neck, tearing into the general with bestial rage. Blood painted the walls.

And then, silence.

Sen, Zarnem, Shera, and Kyto sprinted through the flaming wreckage of Krutone, ash spiraling in the air. The Intergy beneath their feet sparked intermittently, revealing just how deeply the city's core had been wounded. Sirens wailed in the distance, and every street they turned down reeked of smoke and death. Zarnem led with focused urgency, Shera covering the rear, Kyto gasping between steps, and Sen running silent, jaw clenched, eyes dead-set on escape. But just as they turned onto a collapsed avenue near the old transit bridge, a sudden blade landed before them, pinning into the ground. Then came down Scray as his gaze locked straight onto them, unmoving. The path ahead was closed.

Scray: Found you.

Kyto looked to Sen, wondering how his veil was seen through.

Scray: You aren’t as sneaky as Aku, but not bad.

Scray looked to Kyto.

Scray: You can leave the President behind.

Zarnem (to Kyto): Who is this?

Kyto: This one must be Scray.

Scray: I’ll make it quicker than how I got rid of your precious professor.

Shera’s eyes focused on Scray.

Shera: Rid of who?

Scray: The one you call Ira.

Zarnem: You killed Ira?

Scray: She’s the old hag back in Luria, right? Yeah, that was me.

Shera: You bastard!

Scray: You must’ve been close to her.

Zarnem (to Sen): Take Kyto and Shera to the airship.

Sen glanced at Zarnem. Kyto could hear the quiet talk.

Zarnem (to Sen): I’m getting vengeance for my colleague.

Sen emitted a higher concentration of darkness.

Zarnem: Go now!

Kyto (to Zarnem): Keep heading east. We’ll be there.

Sen and Kyto took off, but Scray threw his other blade at them. Water came from the side and intercepted the attack. It was Shera.

Zarnem: Shera, go with them!

Shera refused. She stood grounded with a glare focused on Scray.

Zarnem: Shera, go now!

Shera: No. I’m here.

Zarnem looked over, only to see that Sen and Kyto were long gone.

Zarnem: Be on your toes. He could be a monster for all we know.

Scray smiled slightly.

Scray: You protect monsters. Those that run the world are corrupt. But what would you know?

Zarnem: And you know better?

Scray: I know enough. I was framed for a crime I never committed. But your Queen Lessa holds a place of power and money, so I was made to be guilty. And for that, I was taken away from my family. But what the fuck would you care? I’m not here to get your sympathy. I have a job.

Scray moved first as he pulled his blade from the ground, two in his hands. Both his blades were already unraveling into the dual-tipped cables that writhed like serpents from his arms. The steel cords cracked through the air, one sweeping low toward Shera’s legs while the other arced high at Zarnem’s head. Shera jumped back, wind cushioning her retreat, while Zarnem ducked beneath the top strike, his fists hardening with earthen armor. The cables slammed into the ground and tore up the pavement, carving deep trenches as Scray landed lightly on one foot, already spinning into his next attack. His movements were twitchy and unpredictable, erratically lashing out in every direction.

Shera summoned a slicing gust that split the air toward Scray’s center mass, but he dove sideways, letting the wind peel across his coat. In that same motion, his left cable extended outward toward Shera. She pivoted just in time, a burst of wind knocking the attack away. Zarnem charged through the disruption, slamming his stone-plated fists into the ground. A spire of jagged earth erupted beneath Scray’s landing point, but the assassin rebounded mid-air using the tension of his own cable like a spring, vaulting over Zarnem’s head with a twisted, inverted spin.

The moment Scray landed, he dragged one blade-cable in a circular sweep, launching up debris and smoke around him. From the haze, he leapt forward at Zarnem, both cables coiling like nooses. Zarnem raised a wall of stone just in time, the cables crashing into it with a metallic clang. Before the wall could even settle, Scray had already wrapped one cable around its edge, using it to swing himself like a pendulum toward Shera. She shot upward, wind spiraling around her legs, launching a flurry of slicing air bursts that cracked the walls behind Scray, but he twisted between them, dragging sparks from his blades along the ground as he advanced.

Zarnem roared forward, slamming his fists into the ground again. This time, twin pillars of rock launched upward beneath Scray, but the assassin vaulted again, too fast to be cornered. Mid-air, he flicked his wrists, the cables straightening into spears and launching toward both Shera and Zarnem. Shera spun, catching one with a blast of compressed wind that split it apart mid-flight, while Zarnem caught his with a stone gauntleted palm, the impact forcing him back a step. Scray landed between them again, knees bent, cables twitching at his sides.

Zarnem slammed both fists to the ground, and the terrain responded like a living organism. The concrete cracked, and from its depths surged a flood of coarse sand mixed with jagged stones. The current moved like a serpent’s maw, swallowing the space between him and Scray. The assassin leapt to higher ground, but the sand rose with him, forming columns that split apart into stone shrapnel mid-air. Scray sliced through some with his cables, but a boulder slammed into his side and sent him spiraling into a wall. Zarnem didn’t let up. He raised one hand, and the sand spiraled around Scray like a storm, jagged pebbles pummeling him from all directions. Even so, Scray burst forward, blades shearing through the storm, and swung scathing into Zarnem’s ribs who barely dodged a fatal attack, followed by a spinning kick that sent dust flying.

Zarnem staggered slightly from the blow, but retaliated instantly, raising a stone wall that surged upward between them. Scray rebounded off the wall and ducked beneath a wave of sand, only for Shera to reappear from behind. Her wind wrapped around her like a vortex, lifting her just above the ground. She unleashed a concussive blast that slammed Scray into a nearby vehicle, denting the metal frame. Scray rolled to his feet and charged her without pause, cables whipping erratically, slicing through her wind defenses. He spun beneath a gust, swinging his blades, but she defending with gust. However, he landed a knee into her stomach letting go of his blades, then rose with a savage uppercut that cracked across her jaw. As she stumbled back, blood trickling from her lip, her glare didn’t waver. Her body ached, but her stance remained.

Zarnem (thinking): He doesn’t seem to fight with any elemental abilities. I can close the gap.

Zarnem surged forward again, a tidal wave of sand rushing beside him. He jabbed forward with a stone-plated fist, clashing with Scray in a violent close-quarters exchange. Scray weaved but was then caught by a sudden burst of sand that wrapped around his ankle. He sliced it off with his blade, but more followed, spinning around his feet, forcing him to leap. Zarnem anticipated it. As Scray landed again, the ground beneath his boots gave way, and tendrils of sand shot up and coiled his calves. Zarnem clenched his fist. The sand hardened into stone, locking Scray in place with a deep, echoing crunch.

Scray snarled, struggling against the prison forming around his legs, blades lashing out at the earth coiling around him. Shera’s hands carved arcs through the air, her fingertips humming with concentrated wind. The storm around her built rapidly, the gusts thickening into a spiral that tore through the alley like a cyclone’s tongue. With a push, she directed the full force of the wind at Scray’s trapped body. The blast hit like a freight train, sharp and relentless. Scray’s cables flailed, but the intensity of the wind lifted him from the ground, cracking apart the stone that held his legs, fracturing his ankles. Dust and shards of rock exploded outward as his body was ripped free, hurled backward mid-spin with no footing beneath him.

Before Scray could think of anything, Zarnem had already moved. Both palms struck the ground, and from the fractured earth, a sharpened pillar of stone erupted. It wasn’t a slow rise. It was an instantaneous brutal spike driven by the full weight of Zarnem’s will. The spear shot upward with surgical precision, meeting Scray mid-air as his body whirled helplessly from Shera’s winds. The sharpened tip pierced straight through Scray’s chest with a sickening crunch, protruding from his back in a spray of blood.

For a brief moment, Scray's body hung suspended on the stone spike, arms limp, head tilted back as his final breath caught in his throat. His cables twitched once, then stilled. The wind quieted. Zarnem rose to his feet slowly, chest heaving. Shera lowered her arms, sweat running down her temple.

Zarnem: Are you good, Shera?

Shera: Yeah. He wasn’t that bad with you here.

Zarnem: We need to catch up with Sen and Kyto.

Shera: What about Makota? Where is he?

Zarnem: I don’t know, but we’ll search for him if he doesn’t show. We need to go now.

Shera hesitated at first, then nodded once. The two left the scene.

The Prism Tower chamber lay in ruins. Bodies broken. The air scorched. The only sound was Aku’s breathing, low and primal. His eyes—one black, one white—glowed in the fading light. The Orb within him pulsed like a second heartbeat. The beast tasted blood.

Footsteps echoed in the shattered silence. Aku turned his head, shoulders still heaving with slow breaths. The spinning blades of light and darkness around him paused mid-air, then dimmed and dissolved. His black and white aura softened, receding into his skin like smoke curling into embers. His form steadied. The feral growl faded from his throat. He returned to himself.

Standing at the chamber entrance, framed by flickering light and the bodies of the fallen, was Mayzen. He said nothing as he stepped over blood-streaked tiles. His eyes scanned the room like a surgeon assessing the aftermath of a procedure. No fear. No disgust. Just cool, methodical observation. Aku exhaled and took a slow step back, his posture still taut with caution. His exhaustion was subtle, but visible. His chest rose with deeper breaths. A drop of blood trickled from his brow, vanishing into the fading glow of The Orb within his chest. Mayzen finally stopped just short of the nearest corpse, Forim’s body. He looked down at it with a flicker of something unreadable in his expression.

Aku: Where’s Cayten and Kyto?

Mayzen: Zan killed Cayten at the power plant.

Aku: And Kyto?

Mayzen: He escaped. We had a small talk before I got interrupted by some trash named Makota.

Aku: Where’s Kyto now?

Mayzen: I can’t sense Kyto anywhere.

Aku: You can’t sense him? Did he get away far?

Mayzen: It’s interesting. I think Sen can hide his presence like you do.

Aku paused.

Mayzen: And I think Sen is helping Kyto escape.

Aku rested back on the wall and slid down to sit.

Mayzen: Not just Kyto. Zarnem too.

Aku: Where are they going?

Mayzen: I killed Makota, one of theirs.

Aku: You fought?

Mayzen: Barely. I was able to extract from his mind that they’re taking the airship to either Revano or Clyden.

Aku took a slow breath.

Mayzen: Sicrus has completed his part. Zan took care of matters… and Scray. I can’t sense him anywhere. He’s most likely dead like we thought would happen.

Aku didn’t respond.

Mayzen: Shall we chase Kyto?

Aku: No.

Mayzen: No?

Aku: They’re running back to Clyden. Revano has nothing to help them. Clyden is the closest thing to Krutone.

Mayzen: You’re letting Kyto go?

Aku: I’m taking time.

Mayzen: For?

Aku: Recovery.

Mayzen: But you barely fought.

Aku looks around at the council he just annihilated.

Mayzen: I see. You want to reach Josar while he’s still here.

Aku doesn’t reply.

Mayzen: You saw what he did to the Komodo. You really think some words will change his mind?

Aku: Get him for me.

Mayzen made no expression.

Aku: Where is he?

Mayzen: He’s back on his feet. I can feel his Intergy running towards the Communications Center. He’s running to Kyto.

Aku: No. He’s running to Sen.

Mayzen: He’s not riding on lightning. Must be worn down.

Aku: Can you get him?

Mayzen: I can. But think about it some more, Aku. Think about what you should say first.

Aku thinks.

Mayzen: I won’t lie, I would be more than happy to make Josar mine. He’s a lot more powerful than I expected. Scary actually. Did anyone else know?

Aku: I did. Just me. I always knew.

Mayzen: I’ll chase him down if you want me to. I just recommend that you—

Aku: Let him go.

Mayzen pauses.

Aku: You’re right. I’ll talk to him later.

Mayzen: Any plans when?

Small silence.

Aku: Clyden… When I kill Kyto.

Mayzen: And then what, Aku?

Aku doesn’t answer. He looks at all the corpses on the ground.

Aku: Extract their memories. See if there’s anything important we could use.

Mayzen pauses then walks past Aku, glancing over at him once. He points his finger to Forim’s twisted body, a vein coming from his finger and burrows into Forim’s skull, then retracts it after a single second.

Mayzen: Nothing new here. Everything we already know.

Mayzen walks to Andin next and does the same.

Mayzen: Oh…

Aku: What did you find?

Mayzen: This is the one responsible for your upbringing.

Aku: I knew that.

Mayzen turns to Lessa next and repeats his process.

Mayzen: Ahh. This sadistic bitch was guilty of framing Scray. She gets a special kind of thrill ruining people’s futures. You were almost victim to her, but you found The Orb. Good times.

Aku stayed silent.

Esren’s corpse was next.

Mayzen: Ah, yes. Absolutely confirmed. Shall I break your heart?

Aku: Tell me.

Mayzen: Esren was the one who assigned your parents and others to fight Revano soldiers, knowing they were going to die. Those troops were decoys. And that mission was agreed on between him and Kyto for not wanting to join Krutone’s military. Kyto wanted your parents for their dark and light abilities.

Aku made no reaction.

Mayzen: This might be some uncomfortable truths, but your parents refused Esren because they wanted to remain at home for you. Clyden. They were planning on pulling you back from the orphanage as they saved money… and I suppose declining Kyto hurt his pride. Esren was always aware of Sen and intended on sending him to Krutone anyways. I guess Zarnem was just the perfect timing.

Mayzen turned to Osin’s body next.

Mayzen: You almost blew out his entire brain. I wouldn’t be able to extract anything if you kept going.

Mayzen put his vein into what was left of Osin’s head. His expression changed with a slight smile. Aku didn’t want to ask. He was already disturbed by what he heard about Esren’s memories.

Mayzen: Oh, Zarnem. What a tragedy you are! Your father would be so fucking disappointed in you! Hahaha! You’re just a fucking pawn. It’s hilarious! Good game, Kyto. Good fucking game! If only Penim was alive to hear what a failure you are. True scum. Absolutely true scum.

Aku made no reaction. Seeing Mayzen in a state humor didn’t even phase him. His quiet rage continued building within… And it hurt.