...until a moment.
One moment.
Time stopped.
No one heard anything, but Ryuichi's eyes slowly opened.
His breath is rising, a faint red light pulsing through his veins.
He reached out a trembling hand toward the glasses on the floor, lifted them up, and placed them on his face, as if they were his helmet to return.
At that moment...
A blue transparent screen appeared in front of his inner eye, with the words:
> 「ANALYSIS MODE: ON」
Initiating Full-Combat Scan...
Collecting Mana Vectors...
Reading Enemy Neural Patterns...
Naoko suddenly stopped laughing.
Takeru opened his eyes with difficulty, whispering: - "No... Ryuichi... don't be a fool... your body is unbearable...!"
But Ryuichi didn't answer him.
He stood up... slowly raising his head... one heavy step after another.
It was as if every cell in him was forcing itself to get up, not because his body wanted to, but because his mind commanded it.
Aura whispered into the goggles, this time in a sharp voice: - "Warning... maneuvering system at maximum stress... but... data paths stabilized! The pattern has stabilized!"
Ryuichi adjusted the glasses with his middle finger.
Despite the blood on his face, he smiled.
- "I see you, Naoko. The patterns are all... readable."
In a flash, he moved.
BOOM!
That wasn't magic.
It was a clever, well-balanced strike, aimed at a weak spot in Naoko's defense, and the analysis didn't miss it.
Naoko's arm dislodged, and his eyes widened.
- "What?! How...?"
Ryuichi turned around, aiming a lightning punch at the spectral equations in the air, blurring his visual interface.
Then he turned back to Takeru, and yelled:
- "Now...! Give me four seconds!"
From behind the goggles, a faint blue flash emanated, and Aura said:
- "Analysis in progress... Second ability being detected... Guided Adaptation Technology: Ready for launch."
Takeru lay on the ground, breathing heavily, his face covered in blood and dirt. His eyes could barely stay open, but he was staring at Ryuichi, a comrade who could barely stand, and who was now... advancing.
Naoko's voice dropped, but the aura around him was still shaking violently:
- "No matter how much you analyze, you can't match the Black Shadow Dynasty... The technology that is buried deep within the forbidden records..."
Ryuichi didn't answer.
His mind was elsewhere.
Every step he counted, every breath he studied, every vibration in Naoko's mana became visible to him...
> 「ANALYSIS ACTIVE」
- Attack pattern detected: Acceleration 0.3 seconds before activation
- 52-degree strike angle from the top axis
- Unstable mana slots on the left side of the chest
BOOM!
Naoko's attack lunged - black plumes erupting from the ground like fangs from a shadow - but Ryuichi circled around it, with his body rather than his strength.
A leap, a turn, a duck.
Every movement is calculated.
It's like dancing with death... but his steps are written in the language of the mind.
- "Impossible..." Naoko muttered as he saw him approach.
A dark sword thrust lunged at Ryuichi's chest, but he ducked before it went off, preceded by his reading of it.
- "A complete analysis." He said quietly.
Then he attacked.
A quick strike to Naoko's right arm, targeting the raw mana connector, hit him!
A spark of weakness appeared for a moment.
Aura whispered in his ear:
- "Momentary Prediction activated: Move!"
Naoko opens his mouth in anger, and begins a series of vicious techniques, shadow ghosts, mana clones, and reality distortion...
But Ryuichi...
He dodged it like he was reading Naoko's mind.
Every dodge, every move, was a small amount of time before the attack... but enough.
Ryuichi, in the center of the black storm Naoko has created, stands tall, his glasses shining in a faint blue glow with the reflections of the energy shards, his body covered in minor wounds. His eyes, despite everything, are steady.
Ongoing analysis...
Ongoing analysis...
Combat pattern: 93% complete.
Then he whispered softly, a low voice that only Aura could hear:
> "Initiate Phantom Sync: Mirror Combat Mode..."
Aura - uncharacteristically anxious - quickly addressed him:
- "Ryuichi! This is crazy! You don't have the amount of mana to imitate him! If you just try... Your body will be destroyed before you finish the first technique!"
But Ryuichi didn't answer.
Slowly... He raised his right hand, exactly matching Naoko's last move.
Then his left hand... A step back... Light shoulder twist... Same stance... Same angle...
- "What?!" Naoko said, taking half a step back.
- "That's impossible..."
There was a moment of silence.
Then Ryuichi moved.
Just like Naoko, the same movements, the same acceleration, the same momentum.
Naoko's next blow was met by Ryuichi with the same blow.
BOOM!
The technique collided with its clone, distorting the surrounding space from the intensity of the symmetrical explosion!
- "Stop messing around!" Naoko yelled as he used another move, a more complex, twisted black mana technique that emanated from the Shadow Strain.
But Ryuichi... executed it as well.
Aura in a shocked voice:
> - "98% synchronization!"
The shock in Naoko's eyes was palpable, as he began to see himself fighting... himself.
Strike.
Dodge.
Turning an attack into a defense.
Every move Naoko knew... was now against him.
- "Unbelievable... this isn't copying... it's..."
Naoko began to retreat, but Ryuichi didn't stop.
Despite the blood that began to bleed from his eyes.
Despite his body shaking under the pressure of Phantom Sync.
Even though his mana was weak compared to his opponent's.
But he fought as if his body had been transformed into Naoko's mirror.
And here...
An iconic moment.
Ryuichi raises his left hand... in the same position as the opening of the Black Dynasty's secret technique.
Naoko screams:
> - "Stop! That's impossible!!!"
But Ryuichi whispers:
> - "I don't have enough mana to defeat you..."
- "But I have something you'll never have..."
- "Full analysis."
In the arena where Ryoko and Kurosaki are fighting...
Thick dust flies.
The only sound is the collision of punches and kicks between Ryoko and Kurosaki.
Kurosaki, after activating his mask, unleashes violent oscillating mana waves, enveloping his body in a dark demonic aura.
Ryoko, despite the fierce confrontation, has his eyes fixed on the distant horizon... His heart is not quite here.
Ryoko's eyes widen for a moment, and he loses focus.
Kurosaki takes advantage of the moment and attacks, but Ryoko skillfully dodges him, despite his absent-mindedness.
From afar, Jihan notices:
- "Ryoko? You're not concentrating... What's wrong?"
But Ryoko doesn't answer, he feels something...
A slight vibration... then strong... then:
BOOOOOOOM!!!
The sound of a sudden explosion shakes the entire arena.
The ceiling above Kurosaki and Ryoko begins to crack.
Everyone's eyes widen at the same moment.
Ryoko:
- "Jihan! Backwards now!!!"
Kurosaki, without realizing it, is standing directly below the point where the block collapsed.
Ryoko dashes to the side, Jihan backs up quickly, but...
Something strange falls from above...
A body.
A body falling from the highest point of the collapse...
It falls directly on top of Kurosaki!
The explosion from the fall creates a large crater in the floor below them.
Silence.
Dust scatters.
Jihan (in a trembling voice):
- "M... who's that? Who fell?"
Ryoko advances slowly, staring into the dust... his eyes widening.
- "...It can't be..."
At the same moment...
Ryuichi, who was still facing Naoko...
slowly turns his head upward... toward the collapsed ceiling on that side...
His eyes suddenly widen.
Ryuichi (in shocked amazement):
- "I...?!"
Ryoko advances cautiously through the smoke, his heart pounding with an uncomfortable feeling...
Jihan's eyes are still fixed on the body that crashed on top of Kurosaki.
Suddenly...
A familiar voice comes from above:
- "Are you okay?"
Ryoko lifts his head toward the source of the voice...
His eyes widen with surprise mixed with sudden relief.
Ryuichi stands on the ruined roof, perched atop the high ledge, battle scars evident on his body, his glasses slightly tilted, and a slight smile on his face.
Ryoko (calling out):
- "Ryuichi? Are you okay?"
Ryuichi, dusting off his hand:
- "Fine... and more."
At that moment, his glasses light up with a faint pulse...
Aura's voice emanates from within:
- "Analysis - Reactivation Confirmed."
Ryuichi, in a sudden and utterly reckless move, leaps off the ceiling directly at Ryoko!
Jihan (shocked):
- "What is he doing?"
Ryoko, eyes wide, reacts immediately without hesitation...
He lunges with superhuman speed, jumps, and catches Ryuichi in mid-air before he falls!
The moment his arms catch him, they both land safely on the ground.
Ryoko (nervously but softly):
- "Idiot! Why did you jump like that? If I had been a second later...!"
Ryuichi, once he settles on the ground, laughs softly, then looks directly at Ryoko with eyes glowing with the pulse of Analysis, and says:
- "Finally... I was able to see you rushing toward me."
Ryoko is silent... for a moment. Then he closes his eyes and sighs, while an indirect smile crosses his face.
- "...that was a bit of an asshole prediction, wasn't it?"
Ryuichi (with a confident smile):
- "Ooooh, I was sure you wouldn't let me crash."
Jihan approaches, interrupting the moment:
- "Can someone tell me what exactly is going on? Who fell, how did they end up up there, and is that the same Ryuichi or his shadow?"
Ryoko:
- "No, this is... the real Ryuichi, in all his craziness."
Ryuichi presses on his glasses, Aura speaks:
- "The confrontation isn't over yet."
Ryuichi (in a more serious voice):
- "Right... that was only the first chapter of the fight. Let's continue."
Jihan takes a step back, looking at the slowly moving pile of debris.
Ryuichi narrows his eyes, and Aura sends a quick alert:
- "High mana emission... increasing heat... something unnatural is moving."
Ryoko takes a step forward, his eyes watching for the collapse.
Suddenly...
The debris explodes upward in a thunderous blast, shards of stone and iron flying in every direction!
Out of the dust, Kurosaki emerges...
His face is covered in blood, half of the mask he wore has broken, revealing his left eye... which is gradually turning pitch black, and a crimson pupil pulsing with strange power.
Kurosaki, in a low but infernal voice:
- "You made me look like a fool... under the rubble."
He advances with heavy footsteps, each one echoing loudly, as if the earth itself is groaning under the pressure of his mana.
Ryuichi (softly):
- "Manah... has changed."
Aura:
- "Active micro-shift. New unfamiliar data. Warning: This form is not registered in the database."
Ryoko whispers:
- "Damn... He broke one of his restraints."
Kurosaki, holding out his bloody right hand:
- "I'm tired of manipulation. I no longer fight for my own amusement. You are now... the shame of the bloodline."
Suddenly, a dull black flash, like steam, envelops his entire body, then condenses around his body, forming a spectral shield that pulsates with darkness.
Kurosaki, with a broken smile:
- "How about I show you why I'm called... 'The Shadow of Tyranny'?"
Kurosaki lowers his body, assumes an offensive stance... and then disappears in a black flash.
Ryuichi immediately screams:
- "Ryoko! High left!"
Ryoko makes a half-turn at lightning speed, but Kurosaki suddenly appears to their right, defying all analysis predictions!
Aura (in a troubled voice):
- "Motion analysis error... It's distorting the data field!"
Kurosaki waves his hand, a spectral sword forming from his black mana, striking the air in front of him... the attack is unseen, but it arrives!
An invisible explosion splits the ground between Ryoko and Ryuichi, hurling them in different directions!
Ryuichi rolls hard, trying to balance, but feels a deep cut on his arm that he can't even see how he got it.
Ryoko, getting up unsteadily:
- "His technique doesn't just distort mana... it distorts perception itself."
Kurosaki reappears in front of Ryoko, this time with an insanely wide smile, and whispers:
- "Let's begin... real dancing."
He stabs the dark sword toward Ryoko's chest, but Ryuichi, unexpectedly, intervenes at the last moment, calculating the angle accurately thanks to Analysis**, placing his palm on Ryoko's back and pushing him aside.
Ryoko, stunned:
- "You... predicted the direction of the attack?"
Ryuichi, panting:
- "Not a prediction... It's a complete reading of the mana spectrum."
Kurosaki, looking at them with eyes glowing with madness:
- "So... Let's test quantum decomposition!"
He stretches his arms out to the sides, and dozens of spectral copies emerge from him, all confused, moving at an almost impossible speed.
Aura screams:
- "Ryuichi, indistinguishable between real and phantom, probability of infection: 92%!"
Ryoko, sharply:
- "Follow me! Now!"
Using a quick move, Ryoko pulls Ryuichi with him and they move through the shadows and rubble, but some of the clones are following them and making simultaneous attacks.
Ryuichi, focusing his eyes:
- "Aura... Link the visual analysis to the sound of his footsteps colliding."
Aura:
- "Understood... Active audio analysis. Trace the real source..."
In an instant, a red indicator flashes on Ryuichi's glasses... and he screams:
- "There! Forty right behind the rubble!"
Ryoko blasts off at full speed, reaches the point, and there... The real Kurosaki prepares for a final strike!
But Ryoko crashes into him before he can complete it, slamming his flaming fist of white mana into his chest.
Kurosaki slowly backs up, blood spurting from his mouth...
Kurosaki:
- "Uh-huh... You two... Interesting."
Then he vaporizes in a black flash, escaping via some unknown vanishing technique, leaving the battlefield littered with rubble and silence.
Ryuichi falls to his knees, panting. Ryoko looks up at him, a tired smile on his face.
Ryoko:
- "Well done, Battle Analyst..."
Ryoko and Ryuichi catch their breath as Kurosaki stands in the distance, eyes glowing, spectral sword spinning in his palm.
Ryuichi (breathing quickly, opening a communication channel with Aura in a low voice):
- "Aura... I have a plan, I need Ryoko and his speed."
Aura:
- "Synchronization is not guaranteed. But... If we set the timing by analyzing the motion..."
Ryuichi (grits his teeth, then addresses Ryoko):
- "Ryoko, I need you... We attack together. You will be the sword, and I will be the shadow that reads and opens the way."
Ryoko, eyebrows knitted, waves his hand dismissively:
- "You can't match my speed, don't risk it."
Ryuichi (looking at him with a steady gaze):
- "Trust me."
Ryoko (in a low, hesitant voice):
- "Why this trust? Where does it come from?"
Ryuichi doesn't answer, just quietly adjusts his glasses. And at that moment...
Kurosaki pounces, surrounded by his black specters, an erratic, unpredictable attack.
Ryuichi immediately screams:
- "Right... Then up, three degrees!"
He dodges the attack at the last moment, as Ryoko pounces from the opposite direction, hitting the ground with light mana exploding from his fist, knocking Kurosaki aside.
Kurosaki stumbles back, having been hit twice at once:
- "What the...?!"
Ryuichi, with a focused look, whispers:
- "Analysis... Synchronization... Perfect timing."
Then, to everyone's amazement, Ryuichi performs the most dangerous technique...
🔷 Phantom Sync: Mirror Combat Mode
A dark blue light envelops his body, and his stance changes...
His movement suddenly changes... It becomes familiar!
Kurosaki narrows his eyes:
- "That pose...! It's the same... Naoko?!"
Ryuichi imitates with astonishing accuracy Naoko's previous moves from his fight with him, with clever improvements in angles and recoil.
Kurosaki, in shock, takes a step back:
- "No way... You're imitating the mana and demeanor of the person you faced? How...?"
Ryoko, stunned by the consistency of the moves, whispers:
- "Analyzing... imitate... And synchronization. He copied Naoko's entire style, and used my knowledge to optimize each strike."
Ryuichi (launching a double attack with Ryoko):
- "You can't keep up with whoever sees you from the inside...!"
Kurosaki takes a direct hit to the chest, his energy partially explodes, and he is thrown backward, smashing a stone pillar behind him!
Ryoko (preparing to deliver the knockout blow, his mana rising with a silver glow and swirls surrounding him):
- "This is the end of you! Prepare to-"
🔷 "Celestial Fissure: Star Fission"
- Ryoko's final technique, which opens a spectral void in the form of a Celestial Fissure that extends from his fist toward his opponent, pressing him down with a force that resembles a gravitational rupture.
Kurosaki raises his eyes in amazement, unable to move.
Ryuichi smiles tiredly:
- "Well done, Ryoko... We did it."
But-
[Sudden silence... then a flash.]
A terrible weight falls on the arena, as if time itself is forced to bend.
An internal humming sound pierces everyone's ears, and then... A moment that feels like time has stopped. Everything slows down, distorts, shatters in sound and image.
🔻 "Forbidden Shadow Strain: Shatter Pulse"
- A forbidden Black Dynasty technique, activated by a tainted mana pulse, which triggers a momentary pause and then rebalances with a violent displacement of the surrounding reality.
[Amidst the rippling black light and pulses, Naoko appears, bare-shouldered, his wounds vaporizing, a grim smile on his face]
Ryuichi, eyes widening, calls out:
- "No way! How did you get back so quickly?"
Naoko (coldly and sarcastically):
- "Just when children think they've understood the dance of war, someone teaches them the rhythm of collapse."
A flash - then an attack.
The pulse explodes from Naoko's hand, hitting the ground just below Ryuichi and Ryoko. In an instant, they're both tossed into the air, spinning like puppets, then falling hard onto the cracked ground.
Kurosaki coughs up blood, but laughs:
- "Haha... Naoko, damn... You always ruin everything for me."
Ryoko, coughing, tries to get up with difficulty:
- "What is this ability...? It's like my body suddenly refused to move... It's like I'm trapped in a heavy dream..."
Ryuichi, his glasses partially shattered, stares up silently, then whispers:
- "That's not just mana... It's... something else."
Naoko walks quietly toward them, his shadow splitting behind him as if his footsteps are more than one, his voice echoing in the emptiness of the plaza:
- "You thought you were going to write the end of Kurosaki? Don't forget who has the pen."
Ryuichi lies on the ground, his arm nearly broken, his face smeared with blood and dust, his glasses half shattered, and Aura flashes red as a helpless warning.
Ryoko tries to crawl, but even his fingers no longer respond, his body shaking with exhaustion, his heart beating slowly and violently like the drums of death
Naoko stands above them, his dark black mana dancing around him, as if a demonic shadow is stretching out with him, each step he takes cracking the ground
Naoko (mocking in a cruel tone):
- "Look at you two... Promised heroes?"
He kicks Ryoko in the groin, and the latter groans in a strangled voice.
- "You thought a little analysis and some flashy blows would defeat me? You don't understand what it means to be born of the black race..."
[Naoko grabs Ryuichi by the hair, lifts him up slightly, looks into his eyes]
- "Where's that intelligence, genius? Where's your analysis? Can you analyze... helplessness?"
He hits him hard in the face, and he falls back down like an empty rag doll.
Ryoko, bleeding, tries to get up one last time... but collapses.
Ryuichi's inner voice cracks:
- "This... It's not analysis... It's humiliation... Crushing... It's like we're just a failed experiment in his crazy laboratory."
[Kurosaki rises from afar, his features grim, muttering angrily]
- "That bastard... I was supposed to be the one to break them... I was supposed to be the star of the show..."
He hits the wall next to him as he screams:
- "Nooooo!!!"
---
[Cut to Jihan, hiding behind a wrecked corner, tears silently streaming from her eyes, her body shaking, her breath short]
Naoko (walking towards her with heavy steps, his voice full of sarcasm and contempt):
- "And here we come to the end of the game... You are the last little piece on the chessboard."
Jihan (in a hoarse voice):
- "Go away... Don't come closer...!"
But her voice only comes out as a desperate plea.
Naoko reaches out to her as if she were an object to be discarded, his features devoid of compassion:
- "Don't worry... You won't feel a thing."
[A moment of ominous silence, time suddenly stops...]
[A quiet wind passes by, overpowering the silence of the place... thick dust collects in one spot...]
[Eyes automatically turn to the darkened corner of the ruined plaza... where a person covered in dust is standing there]
[The (fictional) camera slowly approaches... his face is not yet clear... But one thing is clear]
🔴 Crimson eyes glowing with raw ferocity, like a sacred flame that defies mortality.