KLANG
Jigoku's blade swung out of his hand as Hellcutter collided with it, before completely deflecting off of my chest. A constant, blue glow emanated from my core, azure sparks flying. Jigoku momentarily stopped, a look of astonishment on his face, before disappearing, reappearing about a hundred yards away. I smiled.
He was surprised.
Jigoku almost instantly regained his composure, allowing a new blade to shimmer to life in his hand. He pointed it toward me, staring sternly. "Impressive. I had set Hellcutter's consumption to four. You're proving that it might require attunement."
I cocked my head to the side. "Consumption?"
Jigoku sighed, twirling his sword in his hand. He still wasn't taking this seriously. "Consumption," he said. "is the term used to represent how much soul you're implementing into a weapon or your Tamajutsu. It's measured on a scale of one hundred."
My face dropped. He was fighting me at fucking 4%. I snarled. "Is this a fucking insult?!" Jigoku smiled a pitying grin. "Quite the opposite. I was complimenting your prowess- you caused me to change consumption mid-fight." I quelled my anger. He was right. I hadn't taken a minute to really revel in it- but I had completely multiplied my "firepower" in a matter of seconds. I raised my flaming hand to my face, gazing upon its grandeur. I clenched my fist, locking my gaze on Jigoku.
"I won't give you any more time to advance, though. And if I do, it won't make that much of a difference." He sneered. I cocked my head to the side. "You already failed that promise once- sure you wanna make it again?"
I lunged forward, and was immediately taken aback by the immense boost in speed that I had gained. Jigoku didn't even seem to react to this though. He had long since abandoned any fear of my new state. I swung my now chaotically emanating blade, Jigoku unmoving. He waited till the last conceivable moment- before waving his hand dismissively, stopping my strike with but a movement of his hand. The blade was lodged between his fingers in an almost demeaning manner.
In a swift movement, I set the blade to sparks, a shining blue explosion erupting in his face. Spinning around as fast as I could, I rotated to his side, before slamming my elbow into his ribs. But it was far too little. Not only did the impact have zero effect on Jigoku, but in an instant, he grabbed me by my hair, holding me up in the air. I struggled, kicking and resisting. "I had doubted you would master control of this state immediately- but let's see how you fair against this-" He released me from his grasp, the feeling of freedom momentarily washing over me, before a pain like none before stabbed into my stomach. My vision went blurry, fluctuating. Everything felt like static.
I made an attempt to move my arms, my legs. No response. Jigoku simply stood there, sword outstretched. His expression was one of unmistakable disappointment. "Hm. It seems not." My vision darkened further. "Fuck..." I mustered all possible strength I still retained, reaching my hand toward his face. "Y-you..."
Jigoku frowned. "I shall remember you, Okoramo Kubihige. I'll remember you as a scourge that I did the world a favor by exterminating."
My vision went black.
---------
Cold. The air around me was painfully cold, barely passable as above freezing. As I slowly came to, my vision began to return. My feeling was still iffy- it felt as if I had been asleep for a millennia. I began looking around, observing my surroundings. It was obviously a cell of sorts, completely concrete, save a mat that I was currently occupying, and a row of tungsten bars separating my encampment from an equally bland hallway, lined with more dungeons.
I tried to move my arms, only to be met by an unmoving force. As I looked at them, I found that both my arms and legs were bound in a large, binding shackle made of some unidentifiable metal. Should be easy enough, I thought. I urged electricity toward my hands, my arms beginning to glow an electric red...before completely fizzling out.
"Shit," I snarled.
"Fine then." I forced a surge of Tamajutsu instead, only to be met with the same results. I sighed. So far, I had identified two things. One- I was completely defeated by Jigoku, and two- I was currently incapable of using my Twitch OR Tamajutsu. As I looked about myself, it was apparent that little had passed since I fought- well, it was more like a massacre- Jigoku. My clothes were in tatters, fresh blood still trickling from my various gashes. Most wounds were cauterized by my Tamajustu, so there were no major hindrances, but it was still good for identification.
Despite my literal and figurative shackles, I decided that I should probably TRY to move. From what I could tell, none of my friends were being held in this complex, so I had to make some sort of attempt. Digging my feet into the concrete floor, I began to push back, trying to force myself up the wall behind me. After egregious effort, I managed to shove myself against the facet, finally resting, leaning on it.
From here, I had a much more agreeably advantageous view of my surroundings. There was a small window to my left, exposing a view of what I recognized as Cybersplit's city, Tenma, where I had stayed with Hiruka the first night. The hall ahead remained as it had before, a man in the cell adjacent to mine was shitting his organs out, and a guard was making his rounds, walking up and down the hall.
A feeling of dread fell over me. I immediately reached my shackled hands to my torn-up pockets.
No.
I couldn't have forgotten it.
I CAN'T have forgotten it.
But I did. I fell to the ground, tears streaming from my eyes. "N-no...NO!!!!" I forgot my fucking sex toy. I had bought it back in Neo City from a man named Greg, who had given me a half-off discount. I sniffled, stifling my cries. I had to persevere. That's what Greg would've wanted.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
I jumped at the noise. Nobody else had been in the cell...or so I thought. Sitting directly in front of me was a kid in a large, white hoodie and black utility pants. He had piercing blue hair, and snow white hair, a katana slung over his shoulder. His face was contorted with disgust. I recoiled. "N-nothing..." The kid sighed, standing-
"Wait," I said, scooting up, leaning against the wall. The kid looked back impatiently. "Yeah?"
"Why aren't you wearing shackles?" I asked. The kid stopped. He turned to me. "Because I've been sent to free you."
My eyes narrowed. "By whom, perchance?" I asked, now wearing a Victorian top hat. The kid seemed confused. "So he didn't tell you?" I shook my head.
He finally made eye contact with me. "He goes by the name Yuji."
I smiled. We're gonna fuck shit up.
------
"How do you know Yuji?" I asked, still a bit confused. "Oh," The kid said, now less hostile. "We were in the same generation of subjects in Aura's experiments on the soul...wait. You know who Aura is, right?" I sigh. "Yes- and she seems to be the source of most of our problems." It was truly a travesty, too. She was hot...
"Anyway," the kid said. "I'm Helix." I nodded. "Okoramo. Pleased to meet your acquaintance." Helix furrowed his brow. "I'm gonna hate you, aren't I?"
I grinned. "Most people do." I kicked the mat at my feet. "So, give me the brief- because I have no idea what's happening right now." Helix nodded. "After you defeated Byakusen, the Netlink to the Ukipok was disconnected, causing it to fall into a stasis. Jigoku was tasked with retrieving Byakusen's remains as well as the Ukipok, but Atticus, the Lieutenant that runs this island, hadn't known that he was already here. A vengeful soul, that one. As you well know, Jigoku defeated you in a manner of minutes-"
I physically recoiled.
"And, despite his deepest wishes," Helix continued. "Jigoku was ordered under Tenma City jurisdiction to apprehend you here as apposed to execution." I nodded. "Yeah," I said, "But where are my friends?" Helix pondered this for a moment. "Well, I obtained most of this information via Aura's surveillance system that is spread about the island, so most of the focus was on YOUR fight with the Ukipok, rather than theirs with Byakusen, but if I had o guess, I'd say that while you were in the Ukipok's throat, Byakusn simply transferred them to his pocket dimension." I was relieved for a moment, before remembering the fate that Shinimaru had suffered.
"And what about Shinimaru?" I asked.
"Who?"
"Tall, green hair, kinda emo..."
"Oooooh, him..." He trailed off. I could almost predict what he was going to say. Helix took notice of my sadness, and outstretched a hand. "W-well, I don't know exactly what happened to him...I mean, sure he was stabbed through the heart, but..." I stifled a genuine sob, waving him off with my shackled hands. "It's fine. It isn't your fault." I said. "Anyway, not to sound brash, but I find it hard to believe that just you alone could come all the way from Yuji in Titus, to the heart of Tenma by yourself..." Helix smiled. "You would be correct in thinking that. There are in fact a multitude of us- rejects, you could call us- but that's the least of your worries currently." He said, gesturing to my shackles.
I nodded. "Yeah," I said. "That might be a problem." The kid drew his sword. "Nah," He extended it. "It's the matter of escaping this fucking place with both of us." As if a knife through butter, Helix swiftly cut through the shackle, its now halved form clanging to the ground. I stretched my arms, red electricity sparking across them. I grinned. "Yeah. We're probably fucked."
Helix began to explain. "My Twitch, Crusade, lets me inhabit and travel through any facet, letting me pass through objects, teleport, and reside within abstract things like internet- which is how I got into this complex-"
"Then we should be able to escape rather easily, right?" I interrupted.
He held up his finger. "That would be the case, but Crusade only works on me alone. No exceptions." I furrowed my brow. "Then why don't we just kill everyone here-"
"That wouldn't work either. This complex is run by the strongest of the Shadow Wizard Money Gang, which I'm assuming you're familiar with." I nodded. "But I thought we killed all of them in the lawless lands..."
"This one," Helix explained, "Is the newest of the group, having just arrived roughly around the time that you crash-landed in Titus. They call him Enshi, The Demon Wizard."
"..."
I stood there for a moment, a smile beginning to creep up my face- until I burst out laughing. "HOLY SHIT!! THAT KID IS STILL SO FUCKING EMO!!" I howled. Helix looked puzzled. "Still? You know him?" I wiped my teared-up eyes. "Yeah, met him back in Neo City-"
"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU LET HIM JOIN THE SHADOW WIZARD MONEY GANG?!?!" He screamed. I held my hands up in defense. "He wasn't when I met him...wait. How did he even get here?" I asked, genuinely confused. I hadn't seen him since Neo City now that I thought of it.
"Well," Helix explained, "After Frivia's plan finally came to fruition after you defeated her, the Demon King seized control of Garuda, one of the Akashiro Beasts. It took to the skies, you and your gang of giggling goons aboard, until Aurelia caught wind, swiftly taking care of you, sending you to Titus...all except for Enshi. Enshi managed to hide, or so I assume, and was caught as Garuda passed over Tenma. His landing was caught by..."
Helix physically recoiled, shuddering.
"...The Great One. From there, I don't know why he joined the Shadow Wizard Money Gang, but I do know that he runs this complex alongside..."
Another convulsion.
"...The Great One..."
I nodded. I didn't know who the fuck The Great One was, but at least I knew what happened to Enshi.
Now caught up, I gestured to the door. "Shall we?"
Helix grinned. "Shut the fuck up-"