Ugh!!" I groaned as an unseen force slammed me against the cold, unforgiving wall. The impact sent a sharp jolt of pain rippling through my body, nearly knocking me unconscious.
My breath hitched, and I could already taste the metallic tang of my own blood on my tongue. A slow trickle of warmth traced down my forehead, pooling at my cheek before dripping onto the dark stone floor beneath me.
It was too dark. Too silent. My senses were failing me. I couldn't see him. I couldn't even sense him. The air was thick, suffocating, wrapping around me like an inescapable abyss.
His devilish voice echoed from every corner, teasing, mocking, and before I could even move, another unseen force sent me hurtling through the air, crashing hard against the floor.
"Are you giving up now?" His voice was closer, dangerously close.
I barely had time to react before a sharp tug at my scalp wrenched me upward. My feet dangled helplessly as he lifted me by my hair. My vision blurred, the pain numbing my body, but I forced my eyes open and met those glowing, blood-red irises.
"Oh, come on! That's it?" he sneered.
Gritting my teeth, I reached for the knife strapped to my thigh and swung, but the blade sliced through nothing but air. He had disappeared.
I took my chance. My hands flew into rapid movement, forming the sacred sigils in the void as I began my chant.
"Outcast, doomed to wander the face of the earth, hear your master's command... Come nigh thee and serve me... Yusiphus!"
The mark on my wrist ignited with an ethereal glow, and the ground beneath trembled violently. A deafening roar shattered the silence as an enormous, monstrous beast materialized before me.
Yusiphus stood tall, his monstrous frame dwarfing everything in the chamber. A boar-like beast with the formidable legs of a bull, his tusks were jagged like blades, curving upward like twin crescent moons. His body was adorned with scars from countless battles, a testament to his unimaginable strength. The sheer weight of his presence made the air dense with raw energy, his burning eyes seeking his next prey.
I had fought him before. I knew his strength. I knew his rage. And I knew his one weakness.
The dim glow from my wrist illuminated the Last Descendant’s face as he stood before Yusiphus. His expression was unreadable—not fear, nor amusement, just an unsettling calm. He watched as if he had seen this play out before, as if he already knew the outcome.
"Kill him!" I commanded, my voice laced with desperation and fury.
Yusiphus lunged forward, his massive hooves shaking the earth beneath us. His tusks gleamed under the flickering light, a force of nature, unstoppable, untamed—
Until he stopped.
A chilling silence filled the chamber as Yusiphus let out a guttural groan. My stomach twisted in horror as I watched the monstrous beast—my strongest summon—collapse lifelessly to the ground. The Last Descendant sat atop his fallen form, his posture relaxed, his smirk widening.
"Seriously, is that it?" he mocked.
My hands trembled as I gripped my blade tighter, stepping back instinctively.
He moved without warning. One moment, he was perched atop Yusiphus, and the next, he was right in front of me.
I gasped and swung my knife, but once again, my weapon found only air.
"You see, I can offer you a way out," he whispered, his breath hot against my skin.
I narrowed my eyes. "As if! Even gods' words cannot be trusted. How much more from someone like you?!"
"Even the devil was once an angel," he mused, licking his fangs. "They fell because they were deceived. And soon enough, you will fall too. In fact, you already have."
Before I could react, his hand closed around my throat and slammed me against the stone wall. Pain erupted through my spine, the breath stolen from my lungs.
"Let's lighten things up, shall we?" he mused.
A sudden glow illuminated the darkness. Not a normal light, but something sinister, something unnatural. It cast eerie shadows against the stone, painting the room in flickering shades of crimson and silver.
His red eyes gleamed as he leaned in, his lips barely an inch from mine. "What a lovely face," he murmured, tilting his head slightly.
I tried to push him off, but my limbs wouldn’t obey. I was frozen in place.
"W-what the hell are you doing?!" I spat, my voice breaking.
"Hush." His tongue ran along the curve of my neck, and I cringed. "As my first victim, I’ll tell you a secret."
"GET OFF ME, YOU—" I gathered all my remaining strength and aimed a desperate kick, but it was useless. He barely flinched before slamming me to the ground with full force.
A cry of pain tore from my throat, my body recoiling from the impact. I coughed violently, my vision spotting. I tried to move, but before I could even lift my head, he was already on top of me.
"W-what the hell?!" I gasped, my breath shallow.
"Hmm... your blood... it smells so good." His voice was dripping with something dark, something twisted.
"Shit!" I hissed as his fangs scraped against my skin.
"Say my name, Tamer," he whispered against my throat. "Say my name, and I’ll let you defeat me."
"I-In your wildest dreams!" I spat, my vision blurring from pain.
His grip faltered for a moment. I seized my chance, my fingers darting toward the last dagger strapped to my waist. I swung, but he dodged.
At least I had gotten him off me.
Panting, I stumbled to my feet, one hand clutching my bleeding neck. He stood opposite me, his lips still smeared with my blood, his expression one of amusement.
He was too strong. I wouldn’t last much longer.
Unless—
I wiped the blood from my lips and smeared it against the glowing mark on my wrist.
"Spirit of the underworld..." I whispered, tracing invisible constellations in the air with trembling fingers. My voice carried through the void, merging with the restless whispers lurking in the shadows. "Summoning souls, heed my call... awaken from your slumber."
The air thickened, crackling with an unseen force. The ground beneath me pulsed, a deep, guttural tremor that sent shivers racing up my spine. A sudden gust spiraled around me, twisting the darkness into shifting forms, their hollow voices echoing in a language long forgotten.
"King of the Northern Stars, lost guardian of the forsaken…" My breath came in shallow gasps as a searing energy coiled around my limbs. "Lend me your power, bound by fate, forged in eternity. By the power vested upon me… I summon you."
A deep rumble resonated from the depths, and the very fabric of reality seemed to waver. The shadows writhed, parting like curtains, revealing something stirring within—something ancient, waiting, watching.
The mark on my wrist erupted into a blinding spectrum of colors.
"HARUTORA!"