"I have walked through fire and blood; it is the only path I know."
.
(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)
I was walking in a deserted part of the city... more appropriately, the used-to-be-city or something.
The view was quite… disturbing, honestly. Bodies were lying all around, demons and humans alike.
The houses were torn down, the streets were filled with blood like a painting of doomsday.
I was here, alone, only because I couldn't shake off the feeling of foreboding… of dread arising within me.
Suddenly, I heard a beep from my right pocket, where my phone was kept.
I pulled out my phone, typing the password on the lock screen, interested about who would message me at such a time.
Wrong password, 4 tries left.
I sighed, putting in the password again, the suspense killing me from the inside.
Wrong password, 3 tries left.
I sighed loudly, closing my eyes for a moment before slowly (and carefully) putting in my password.
The phone unlocked, and the first thing I saw was a message from a contact named 'Aizen Arceid.'
I couldn't help but smile… both at the name and the message that I expected.
I tapped the screen, and on it, opened a window with a single message from Aiden.
'It is done.'
I smirked… the plan was in motion.
I fiddled with my phone for a little, walking to a nearby pole, which was somehow still standing, and leaning on it for support.
I put the phone to my ear, waiting for the person to pick up the call.
A beep resounded from the phone as my smirk widened. "Hello?"
There was a silence on the line, before the person said: "I missed you, Sukuna." Her voice was filled with suppressed emotion, she seemed to be really glad to hear from me again.
However, this was not time to beat around the bush. "I need you to listen carefully, Eva."
The seriousness in my voice seemed to break her out of her stupor.
There was a silence as she waited for me to continue.
"I feel a sense of foreboding… no, I'm sure that soon, you will meet him," I said, my voice low, almost as if I was mumbling to myself. "You will finally get your revenge."
I could hear her breathing getting quicker, it was almost as if I could feel her anger rising at the mere mention of Zekuth.
Obviously, I made the foreboding stuff up, since I was the one who told Aiden to send Zekuth to attack her.
I was sure that she was now strong enough to fight (and defeat) him, hopefully without problems.
"Just know… I support you. This is your fight, and I wish you good luck," I said, my voice cracking… I didn't know why.
She paused for a brief moment, her breathing calming down slightly. "Thank you…" she managed to speak, her voice seemingly stuck in her throat.
"I'll talk to you later," I whispered, my voice filled with a softness quite uncharacteristic to me.
"Okay," she whispered back, I could feel her mind already whirring with anticipation and wrath.
I cut the call, sighing slightly as I looked up at the darkening sky.
This woman… she makes me feel things I didn't know existed.
My lips couldn't help but form a smile… how I missed the days when I could simply spend my time with Eva… just being with each other.
We also massacred a town on one of those days, but that's not the point.
My gaze turned back to the road, my eyes landing on the mutilated corpse of a woman on the sidewalk.
A trail of blood ran by her side, at the end of which lay a man, probably her husband, or lover, his body seemingly torn into two… undeniably, it was the work of a demon.
This was not a rare sight in the city now… since it was one of the most affected by the invasion, being so close to England, the epicenter of it all.
Suddenly, my peace was broken by a loud, almost deafening sound, which was the ringtone of my phone.
I slightly jumped at the loudness of it, groaning as I cursed myself for putting it on.
I pulled the phone out again, and on it was written 'Dad.'
I raised an eyebrow… it has been quite a while since I talked to my parents.
I picked up the call, putting the phone to my ear. "Hello?"
"How are you, Sukuna?" A voice came from the other side without delay… undeniably the voice of my father. His tone was stern, like normal, but had an undertone of concern.
"I'm doing fine… no injuries yet," I replied, smiling slightly as I felt a weird comfort listening to his voice again.
He sighed in relief. There was a second sigh in the background… my mom, probably.
"Sukuna… we need to talk to you, about Elara." My dad's voice came through again, his tone low and serious.
What did the kid do?
"What is it?" I asked after a pause, both worried and intrigued as I pushed myself off the support of the pole, continuing my walk.
There was a silence on the line… I could almost see my parents glancing at each other like they always did.
"She has decent talent for mana control." This time, it was my mother, her voice soft, yet somehow stern at the same time. "However… her specialty lies somewhere completely different."
My footsteps froze, my eyebrows raised in intrigue as I waited impatiently for the revelation.
"She is truly…" It was my dad this time, his voice carrying an edge of… excitement? "a Weapon Genius."
I couldn't help but crack a huge, menacing grin at his statement.
It was the right call to adopt Elara… if even my parents praised her so, she'll definitely be huge in the future.
"Are you focusing her training on that now?" I asked, my footsteps restarting, the sharp taps echoing in the silent streets.
"Yes, we intend to make her truly worthy of being your child," my mom said, her voice carrying an undertone of playfulness. She seemed to have fun taunting me about having a daughter now.
"Yeah yeah," I said sarcastically, slightly chuckling at her words.
Suddenly, I heard a rumbling from the other side, as if there was an earthquake happening at that very moment.
However, my parents didn't react to it, so I didn't say anything.
"Well, you left your daughter to your parents and ran away so far, you deadbeat," my mom teased. I could almost see the huge grin she had on.
Her words caused a smile to bloom on my face… I didn't realize that I missed peaceful times this much.
Maybe I was getting too lost in the exhilaration of battle to remember how much a good chat with your loved ones feels.
The rumbling sound seemed to get louder, which made me slightly worry, but I didn't question it… they probably had it in control.
"Anyways, Sukuna… we'll talk to you later today, let's have a good chat, alright?" It was my dad's voice, cutting off my mom's playful remarks.
I could almost feel her pouting, before she slightly chuckled and seemed to walk away.
"Alright, bye," I said slowly, reluctantly cutting the call.
I placed the phone back into my pocket, a feeling of emptiness overtaking me as I continued my walk silently.
But then, I realized something… the rumbling sound… it was still going on.
My eyes widened, the sound was not from the call, but from somewhere near me.
I froze in my tracks as my eyes caught sight of something that made my legs tremble… something which sent a jolt of both fear and excitement through my body.
The horizon was covered in dust, and there were figures I could barely make out… figures of demons… hundreds, maybe even thousands of them, running towards me like a herd of sheep.
My hands trembled in excitement my lips curled up into a huge, maniacal grin, my knees bending, as if on instinct.
"Well, shit!" I shouted, shooting off in the direction of the demons, the force of my acceleration cracking the ground beneath me, sending the blood on it flying onto the air.
A loud sound echoed in the place where I was, caused by the air being pushed away as I shot towards the incoming invaders.
Even in such a situation… where I was alone against thousands, there was a grin plastered on my face… adrenaline coursing in my veins.
I felt like I was floating as I ran towards the demons with a speed I felt was too fast, even for me.
However, as I got closer, it was as it the demons kept growing, as if they were infinite in number.
No matter how far I looked, there seemed to be no end to the human-like figures.
"Feasting without me?" I heard a shout from behind me.
Turning my head slightly, my gaze landed on the figure of Ren, running beside me, his expression mirroring my own.
"Sharing is caring," he shouted, his tongue almost being caught between his teeth. "We'll divide them 50-50!"
My grin only widened as I jumped, Ren following behind me.
Our trajectory was leading us right into the middle of the herd… right into the mouth of death.
"Fine with me!" I shouted, the demons lunging at us in the same way we were at them.
We would collide in the air, and it would mark the start of the most dangerous battle of our lives… and we weren't going to shy away from it at all.
.
.
.
(POV: Eva Helion)
I put the phone back in the pocket of my pants, my hands slightly trembling as I couldn't help but grit my teeth.
Zekuth.
This name was something which I remembered every day… something that repeated in my mind like a chorus.
Sukuna said that I'll meet him soon… that I'll finally be able to get my revenge.
I started to walk, the grotesque scenery which repulsed me just a few seconds ago now seemed to not matter to me at all.
This scenery, the dead people, the destroyed homes… it reminded me of the day Sukuna… no… the day we committed the massacre on the town… something that I won't forget as long as I live.
However, that feeling seemed to have disappeared, leaving my mind empty for wrath to take it over.
My footsteps were hurried, almost impatient as I gripped the dagger attached to my waist.
This was my only weapon… and it was enough. I had trained tirelessly for this moment… for my revenge.
I won't let Sukuna down… he taught me what I know… and now, it's time to prove myself.
His words echoed in my mind. 'This is your fight.'
That's right… it has always been my fight. Even though many tried to help me on the way, only I could understand how I felt when he mercilessly killed off my family, leaving a little girl alone in this cruel world.
I stopped at the middle of a wide intersection, blood splattered around the roads, my breath getting caught in my throat.
Something had changed… the air was thicker, more oppressive… it felt as if I was being suffocated by the atmosphere itself.
And then… I felt it. A presence.
My heart pounded in my chest, threatening to burst out. Not from fear, but from a twisted excitement that grew within me.
I slowly turned around. The evening sun was casting an eerie, orange glow on the surroundings, the buildings casting long shadows on the ground.
And among these shadows, he stood.
Zekuth.
He stood at the end of the street, his figure tall, shrouded in darkness. He seemed to be uncannily calm, the air around him seemingly warping because of his mere presence.
Nothing had changed.
I felt the same sense of dread I felt when I met him after the tournament… the same aura of fear.
My hands curled up into fists, my nails digging into my flesh as my blood boiled in anger, my teeth grit almost so hard that I drew blood from my gums.
My body trembled… not with fear, but with an overwhelming rage. My breathing quickened, my mind screaming at me to charge, to attack… to end it right here.
He stepped forward, a dim light slowly falling on his face... which seemed eerily emotionless.
Even though my heart raced in my chest, I knew that being rash would only lead to my downfall.
I raised my arms, crystals forming around them as a large amount of mana converged around them as I charged up a spell I had created myself.
My eyes burned with a fire like they had never before as a battle cry erupted from my lips.
The spell was finally ready to conjure... and I didn't waste a single second.
[World of Eternal Winter]
==
gimme POWER STONES :3