"You should be proud of yourself," Seen said, his voice dripping with condescension, as he rose from his chair, which promptly disappeared:
"I'm giving you seventy percent of my power, and the remaining thirty percent will be divided amongst your friends."
"What do you mean?" Mark asked, feigning ignorance despite knowing exactly what Seen meant. Mark's heart raced with terror, but he masked it with a calm smile.
...
Zico, Asami, and Fighting Beauty stood ready, their weapons at the ready. A version of seen less than thirty percent, began walking towards them. His voice echoed through the same area as mark was but different dimensions.
"Hope you entertain me, last beast and fragile humans," Seen taunted.
Suddenly, Zico's body split in two. Zico's consciousness now inhabited the entity's body, while the entity took over Zico's.
"Where is Mark?" Fighting Beauty demanded, her anger palpable.
Zico, now in the entity's body, replied, "Different dimensions, I think. Time here moves even slower compared to the normal world, if it hasn't completely stopped." He grasped there situation faster than anyone here.
Asami and Fighting Beauty asked in unison:
"What do we do to get out?"
Seen appeared behind them, a sly smile spreading across his face. "By killing me," he said, his voice dripping with disdain.
...
"So, we only have to kill him to leave?" Remon asked his sister, Ariana, in a different dimension where they faced another iteration of Seen.
Ariana nodded in confirmation, her eyes locked onto Remon's:
"Yes."
Remon's grip on his weapon tightened, determination etched on his face. "Then let's do it. We can't let him hold us captive here forever."
Ariana's expression turned resolute, her voice firm. "Agreed."
Seen simply smiled as he stood before them.
...
Mark stood tall, facing Seen with a determined gaze:
"How do I get back to my friends?" he asked, his smile fading into a serious expression.
Seen's response was curt and menacing:
"By killing me."
Mark's eyes narrowed:
"Is that it?"
Seen's grin returned, and he exclaimed:
"Exactly!"
In that instant, Seen launched a simultaneous attack across all three dimensions. In each realm, Mark, Remon, and Zico found themselves facing the fierce onslaught of their respective Seens.
Seen's hook came out of nowhere, its speed and power leaving Mark no time to dodge. The blow sent Mark flying towards the ground, but before he could even react, Seen caught his leg mid air and slammed him down with incredible force. Mark tried to catch his breath, but Seen lifted him up again, ready to deliver another devastating slam.
In a desperate bid to break free, Mark kicked Seen with all his might and managed to create some distance. But Seen was relentless, reappeared in front of Mark in an instant to deliver a gut wrenching punch. Mark barely blocked the attack, but the force behind it sent him flying miles away.
As Mark struggled to pick himself up, he thought aloud:
"Shit, if I don't predict his movements correctly, I'll die... The scythe, sword, and guns are useless in this situation. I need a new plan, and fast!"
"Not fast enough," Seen sneered, already closing the distance between them. His kick came swift and merciless, but Mark's arm shot up to block it. Though he managed to deflect the blow, a swift kick to his ribcage sent him reeling, his vision blurring. Mark's consciousness began to slip away.
Before he could recover, Seen's punch was about to be connected with Mark's face, but even in his dazed state, Mark's instincts kicked in, and he raised his hands to block and threw a kick. As Seen dodged Mark's retaliatory kick, he spun around and delivered a vicious spin kick, sending Mark crashing to the ground meters away.
As Mark struggled to move, Seen was already behind him, his grip closed around the back of Mark's neck like a vice. With a ruthless slam, Seen drove Mark's face into the ground, ending the fight. Mark's vision faded to black, his body limp and defeated, his blood spread across the battle field.
"1 nanosecond," Seen muttered, his expression twisted in disappointment. He turned around, as if he couldn't believe the fight had lasted even that long. His eyes seemed to say:
"Is that all you've got?"
The air was thick with tension as Seen's gaze lingered, his stance radiating an aura of superiority. The briefest of pauses, a mere nanosecond, had passed, and yet it seemed like an eternity. The silence was oppressive, heavy with the weight of Mark's defeat.
"I was once like you, a mere mortal," Seen laughed, his voice dripping with condescension:
"But it doesn't matter now, does it?"
Just then, a voice echoed from behind him:
"Are you sure?"
Mark, now standing, revealed himself with Aknaili's mask covering half his face. Black aura swirled around him like smoke, and his eyes gleamed with a fierce intensity:
"I think not," he said, his voice low and menacing.
With a swift motion, Mark lifted the mask and shifted it to the other side of his face, his expression turning serious. Seen's eyes lit up with excitement as he turned to face Mark.
"Haha, I like this! You're really like me!" Seen exclaimed, assuming a fighting stance. His eyes sparkled with nostalgia, and he drifted into one of his memories, a faraway look in his eyes;
"Haha, yeah... I love it, just like I was back then..."
A small, younger version of Seen stood in a room, holding a sword with a confused expression.
"I don't like swords," he said in a tiny voice:
"Why should I bond with this?"
A woman's voice replied from outside the room, laced with desperation and tears:
"That's not your choice to make, my son. If you don't bond with the sword, your father will kill all your sisters and brothers."
The woman's voice cracked as she continued:
"I know you're only six years old, and this is a burden no child should bear. The youngest person to ever bond with a sword was 21, and yet I'm asking the impossible of you, my son. Please, I beg of you..."
The young Seen's face set in determination, despite his tears:
"It's okay, Mom. I'll do anything for you, Am a big boy." With a small, shaking hand, he lifted the sword and cut his left palm, allowing his blood to flow. Tears streamed down his face as he took the first step towards a fate that would forever change him.