I stand there, motionless, my gaze fixed on Lysandros, while his hands tremble. His blade, once a symbol of his domination and power, lies in pieces before him. His powers seem to evaporate into the air, as if the void I control is sucking them away, nullifying them. I should feel victorious, invincible… but a shadow of doubt creeps into me. He sees it. He feels it.
Lysandros raises his head towards me, a cruel smile stretching across his bloodied lips.
"So, Ume... You think you've won? Do you really think it all ends here, with my physical defeat?"
He steps forward, staggering, but determined.
"You have no idea what's really happening, do you?"
I clench my teeth, refusing to answer. I must stay focused, not let him into my head.
"Look at him, Ume."
He points to Naboru, suspended in the air by my bands of inexistence. His lifeless body hangs limply, arms dangling, face pale and devoid of life.
"You have him there, in your… creations, your horrible tentacles. But what makes you think he's still alive?"
My heart tightens, a dull pain growing within me. No… He's LYIng. He's just trying to UNsETTLe me. Naboru IS alive. He must be.
"Think, Ume!"
Lysandros yells, his voice filled with venom.
"You've shaken him, thrown him, tossed him again and again like a rag doll. Do you really think a human body can withstand all that? That it can survive all those shakes, those violent movements? You've killed him, Ume. You killed him with your own hands."
"No..."
I murmur, but my voice trembles. I can feel the doubt spreading through me like poison.
"He… he's still alive. I can feel it..."
Lysandros bursts into laughter, a mad, cruel laugh.
"Can you really feel it? Or are you lying to yourself to ease your conscience? Open your eyes, idiot! Look at him!"
His laughter morphs into a sneer of hatred.
"Look at what you've done to him!"
I sTare aT NaBoRu, SuSpENdEd iN tHe Air. His bOdY DOEsN't moVE. nOT a sINgLe SIGn Of LiFE. MY pOWEr?… COulD IT Be My PoWEr tHAt kIlLED hiM? i FeEL mY HeArT sTArT tO rACE, PaNiC RisING WiThIn Me. No, No, nO… ThIs cAn't BE TrUe.
"Come on, Ume, check for yourself."
Lysandros's voice has become soft, almost syrupy. He knows he's found the weak spot.
"Release him. Let him touch the ground and see for yourself if you haven't already caused his death. Every second you keep him up there, you torture him a little more. Maybe he would have survived… if you hadn't mistreated him like this."
I waver. My power, so great, so terrible, seems to slip through my fingers. MY bands of inexistence TReMbLE SLigHTlY, aS IF reFLeCtinG MY StAtE.. DiD I ReALLy…? nO… BuT… WhAt iF LySaNdRos WaS RiGhT?
"You've always been a servant, Ume. A good-for-nothing. An idiot incapable of understanding the gravity of her actions."
His voice grows softer, more insidious.
"Even with this power, you're a threat to those you love. Look at what you've done to Naboru."
I close my eyes for a moment, trying to push his words away. But they echo in my head, repeating over and over, worming their way into every corner of my mind.
"Open your eyes, Ume, and face reality."
His words are like blades, cutting my confidence in two.
"You've killed the man you wanted to protect. Ironic, isn't it?"
My legs wobble, my vision blurs. I feel my hands trembling, my bands of inexistence losing their solidity.
"No… No, I CAn'T…"
"Yes, Ume, you can."
Lysandros steps closer, his smile wider than ever.
"Look at him. Face the truth."
My gaze turns back to Naboru, his body motionless in the air. Each passing second seems to stretch into eternity. IF I KILLED HIM… ALL OF THIS… ALL THIS STRUGGLE WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR NOTHING. WORSE… I WOULD HAVE BECOME EXACTLY WHAT LYSANDROS SAYS I AM A KILLER. A MISTAKE.
"Ume, release him. Look at what you've done. Take responsibility."
Lysandros's words echo within me like a commanding order.
My hands tremble as I gently lower Naboru to the ground, my bands of inexistence slowly retracting. I lay him on the grass, his body so light and fragile between my fingers. My heart races, a crushing panic overtaking me.
"Naboru…"
I murmur as I kneel beside him. My hands run over his face, trying to find a sign, any sign of life.
"Naboru, wake up, please..."
He doesn't respond. His eyes, the same eyes that always looked at me with kindness, are now glazed, empty. My breath catches, and I feel an intense pain piercing my chest.
"No... no, no, no, no…"
I repeat over and over, gently shaking his body.
My fingers linger on his skin, but it's burning, almost unbearably hot. It's the heat of the flames, I know it, but it doesn't stop me from panicking. How can I tell if he's still alive with this heat emanating from him? How can I check his pulse, his breathing, if I can't even touch his body without feeling like I'm burning myself?
"No, this isn't possible..."
I feel my voice break.
"Naboru, wake up… please… Don't leave me..."
I look up at the sky, desperately searching for an answer, a miracle. But all I see is darkness, the sky covered with smoke from the flames consuming the villa behind me. Everything seems to close in around me, crushing me under the weight of my own guilt.
"Naboru..."
My tears flow uncontrollably. I shake him again, gently, as if I'm afraid of breaking him.
"Wake up... I'm begging you..."
He still doesn't move. His silence is deafening, cruel. The idea that he might have died because of ME begins to take root in MY mind, eating away at me from the inside. Was Lysandros right? Did I really cause his death? MY power, this cursed power... did I use it to destroy the one I wanted to protect?
I feel my mind cracking, slowly breaking under the weight of this reality. My hands start to tremble even more, and I lose all control over my thoughts.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Lysandros bursts into laughter behind me, a cruel, mocking sound that pierces my soul. His voice echoes in the smoke-filled air of despair.
"Look at you, Ume... All this for a corpse,"
he mocks.
"You killed him with your own hands, with this cursed power. Isn't it ironic?"
My hands clench into fists, my nails digging into my palms until it hurts. Every word he utters is like a blade that sinks deeper into my mind. He continues, relentless, reveling in my suffering.
"YOU're nothing but a monster, UME. Look around YOU! Look at what YOU'VE done. YOUR power... It took everything from YOU. Did YOU really think YOU could protect him with it? Look at him now, dead because of YOU."
My vision blurs, not because of tears this time, but because of the rage rising within me, a rage so deep I feel my body trembling. My thoughts become muddled, my breathing labored. Lysandros's words mingle with my own doubts, amplifying my guilt until it becomes unbearable.
"Naboru..."
I murmur, desperate, as I look at him one last time. I gently place his body in a bush, trying to protect him one last time, even if everything seems already lost.
Then something breaks inside me.
My head slowly turns towards Lysandros, my eyes burning with fury. My power, still active, intensifies around me. The bands of inexistence undulate in the air, infused with my rage. The world seems to twist under the effect of my Reikaku, reality itself wavering before me.
Without a word, I throw myself at Lysandros, all my thoughts focused on one thing: destroying him.
My movements are fast, fluid, carried by a fury I've never felt before. I see him raise his hands, ready to use his power to defend himself, but I'm already on him. My bands of inexistence wrap around him, tightening with relentless force. A force that seems to spring from an infinite void within me, a well of anger and despair without end. I strike him, again and again, my rage pouring through each blow. His taunts no longer have any hold on me. I am nothing but a storm of destruction, a whirlwind of uncontrollable power.
"You know nothing about me!"
I scream, my words tearing through the air around us.
"You know nothing about what I've been through, about what I've lost! You know nothing about what I'm feeling now!"
Each blow is more powerful than the last, each band of inexistence strikes with deadly precision. Lysandros, once so sure of himself, begins to waver under the force of my assault. I'm not thinking anymore. There's no room for thought, only instinct, only rage. Everything he said, everything he dared to say about Naboru… I can't tolerate it any longer. Lysandros must disappear. I focus all my power, creating four bands of inexistence that wrap around him with lethal accuracy. He struggles, trying to resist, but it's futile. My bands weave through, piercing his body with ease—four quick, deadly strikes. His expression shifts instantly, from arrogance to horror. I feel his blood running along my bands, but there's not a flicker of pity in me. My eyes burn with determination.
"You're nothing, Lysandros,"
I murmur, my voice trembling with rage.
With all the strength I have left, I hurl him backward, his pierced body spinning through the air before crashing heavily into his own villa, now engulfed in flames. The wood creaks, the heat is intense, but I don't hesitate for a second. I charge inside. The flames roar around me, devouring everything in their path. The fire licks at my clothes, but I push forward, my bands of inexistence slicing through the air, curving and undulating around me, shielding me from the burning debris. Lysandros's manor is a hell on earth, but I won't let him escape. Not now. I see his shadow through the flames, struggling to rise, his body battered by my attacks. But he's still there, refusing to die. The hatred in his eyes burns fiercely—a hatred that mirrors my own rage.
"Come, Lysandros,"
I shout, my voice cutting through the crackling of the fire.
"Come face me, you so-called 'MIGHTY ALL-POWERFUL MAN!'"
I ready myself for the final strike. I'm prepared to end this, to destroy what's left of him, to erase his existence from the world.