Tanjo felt undeniably overwhelmed. It was like floating in an ocean of potent magic—even the atoms that formed the crimson universe were pure Aura Sense. It was suffocating. Tanjo was still without an arm and in pain from his excessive usage of Aura Amalgamation and Disruption of Reality. Yuso also appeared to have undergone yet another surge in power.
A place Yuso had total control over. Tanjo could only speculate on how much the Crimson Stalker could control in this new realm. Truthfully, any amount was detrimental to the teenager. Half of Tanjo's magic was dedicated to healing his right arm, but it took time for the limb to regenerate.
Tanjo's odds of survival appeared to be slim, but Kronos had not yet taken him out of the fight, implying that there was still hope for the boy to win. The green Aura Sense allowed Tanjo to utilize more magic while being less physically exhausting; the Aura Amalgamation was the only aspect of Tanjo's magic that could effectively harm Yuso; and the Disruption of Reality nearly crippled him after each use.
Yuso, on the other hand, was still in his strongest state. His body showed no signs of fatigue, his magic had not lost a hint of its effectiveness, and he was still capable of executing one more move—the Shirugeto's extension realm.
*VRRMM!*
Red chains emerged from nothing, swirling around Yuso's right hand. The redhead inspected the chains intently, his demonic eyes flitting between his hand and the boy hovering beneath him.
*WHOOSH!*
In the blink of an eye, the red chains around Yuso's hand darted toward Tanjo, quickly restraining the teenager. The chains were hot to the touch, scorching Tanjo's flesh agonizingly.
"Grggh!" The boy grunted in pain, clenching his eyes and mouth shut behind his mask.
"You perplex me," Yuso spoke, narrowing his eyes. "You have an existing intellect, I've seen it. But, you remain adamant about… saving me, despite being knocked down. That is what you still want, yes?"
Groaning at the searing sensation of the red chains hugging his body tightly, Tanjo tilted his head upward, glaring at the redhead above him. Not a word left the boy's mouth.
"Why are you quiet? I thought you wanted to talk." Yuso queried, humming.
Tanjo wished he could retaliate. Unfortunately, his severed right arm desperately needed attention, meaning that any large-scale attacks were thrown off the table. The only factor that prevented Tanjo from blacking out was the pain that thrummed through his body, which was also the reason his muscles wanted to give out. Pain was paradoxical. The pain was both a motivator and a deterrent. The pain was blinding and enlightening. In this current moment, the pain is everything.
And what was everything? Elements clustered together, components forming events.
Yuso's Shirugeto spun. "Your efforts will be remembered, boy."
Was life a piece of everything?
*VRRRMM!*
A crimson pentagram that dwarfed everything around it swirled into existence. It was incomprehensibly massive. Neither Tanjo nor Yuso could see the edges of it, even with enhanced vision from their Aura Senses.
"Tell Death the Successor of Lucifer remains." The Crimson Stalker added, his eyes shining.
The pentagram that stretched for a seemingly interminable distance started to spin counterclockwise, pulling everything before it closer. Tanjo's body was instantly tugged by the force of the pentagram's suction, drifting backward through the red abyss. The chains that restrained him never loosened, joining him on his voyage to death.
Reality was as objective as it was subjective. Two differing sides of glass; billions of fractured lenses. Facts and beliefs. Fiction and non-fiction. Hope and despair.
Life and death. Pleasure and pain. Despite being so different, every little thing in a universe—in any universe—was the same.
They were all concepts.
Tanjo's body grew closer to the massive pentagram, the distance between him and death becoming shorter with every passing second. The light the pentagram emitted bounced off of his suspended form, giving the moment a majestic scene—an honorable departure for the teenager.
*KRSHH!*
Small blue rifts crawled out of Tanjo's skin, traversing up his body. The boy's right arm slowly returned, the flesh expanding outward and taking the typical shape of the missing limb.
The rifts continued to cling to Tanjo, eventually reaching his green-colored wings. In every inch of the wings that the rifts covered, white feathers appeared, replacing the translucent green magic that once held the wings together.
In the distance, Yuso observed the transformation with curiosity and vexation. The boy refused to die, just like Yuso refused to lose.
"Of course." The redhead grumbled, his eyes flashing.
After a few moments, Tanjo finally arrived at the pentagram's surface, his back touching the center.
*KRRSHHH!*
Instead of being consumed, however, the entire pentagram was covered in the Disruption of Reality, its crimson light dimming exponentially. It was not long until the pentagram shattered, flinging shards of red magic throughout the red abyss.
There was no pain. None. Tanjo was engulfed by the Disruption of Reality like a second layer of clothing, several tendrils reaching across his form, yet all he felt was the decreasing sense of his earlier suffering. It was like being given a drug, his head flooded with tranquility.
The Disruption of Reality had disrupted the pain Tanjo felt, fixing what was ultimately broken. Was this transformation intentional or was it sprouted subconsciously?
*FLAP!*
With his brand new white, feathery wings flapping reflexively, Tanjo peered up at the Crimson Stalker. The Disruption of Reality did not dissipate, sticking to his cloak and skin.
"To answer your question from earlier," Tanjo started to speak, his voice no longer pained. "Yes, I do want to save you—save you from yourself."
Yuso's Shirugeto eyes spun rapidly, magic coursing through his veins as he yelled, "Don't forget where you are, boy!"
*VRRMMM!*
Copious amounts of crimson chains tore through the red abyss, surrounding Tanjo in an instant. The boy felt no trepidation.
*KRSHH!*
A wave of blue rifts was discharged from the teenager and annihilated the chains, soaring through the space between Tanjo and Yuso. The Crimson Stalker hurriedly transported himself elsewhere, dodging the Disruption of Reality.
"You'll have to quicken the pace!" Yuso hollered, reappearing behind Tanjo.
Swiftly, Tanjo redirected the blue rifts he previously expelled and threw them back toward Yuso, his sudden control over the tendrils catching the redhead by surprise.
*CRACKLE!*
The Disruption of Reality tore through Yuso's body like it was air. Yuso gasped for breath, his Aura Sense suddenly vanishing within him. It was instantaneous: the Shirugeto's extension realm instantly disappeared, with stars and galaxies returning to view. The universe went from red to black, signifying the execution of Yuso's magic.
Since the normal universe was brought back, any bit of oxygen and sound departed along with the red realm.
*KRSHH!*
The Disruption of Reality flew out in every direction, creating a bubble around Tanjo and Yuso. The act removed space's vacuum, shutting the universe out entirely.
"W-what is this curse you're using!?" Yuso struggled to speak, his voice strained.
Through the eyeholes of his mask, Tanjo gazed at Yuso sympathetically. The gaze left a pit in Yuso's gut, spawning anger within him. He hated being looked at in such a way—it made him feel like nothing. Feel vulnerable.
"After we hopped into this universe accidentally and you started killing civilians, I wanted to kill you. I really did. But, now I see who I'd be killing: a puppet." The teenager asserted, flying closer to the redhead.
Yuso could only grunt in pain. His body was overloaded with a stinging sensation that struck him like a mallet a million times a second.
"I want to change my world, but doing it by extreme force and bloodshed does not get the results I want. I want people to smile, not reflect on the cruel world they were born into." Tanjo continued to speak, his voice soft.
The Crimson Stalker's body went limp, only his Shirugeto eyes were left shaking.
"I can tell you were also born into a cruel world, and it never left you."
*KRSHH!*
Tanjo flapped his white wings gently and drifted even closer to the redhead, letting blue rifts sprout from his right palm.
"I'm sorry for the pain, but you need this."
The exact moment Tanjo touched Yuso's forehead, everything went dark.
XXX
SHORTER CHAPTER! But, I feel like this chapter did everything it needed to. It describes Tanjo and Yuso's transformation, reflects what Tanjo thought about reality as a whole, and pushes us further into the plot. What did Tanjo do to Yuso at the end? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_