Ronen's muscles tensed as the man standing before him, with that unsettling grin, greeted him casually.
"Hey, Ronen!" Shiro's voice broke through the cold silence. "How's it been?!"
Ronen's heart pounded. He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. "You... how are you alive?" he blurted out, his voice trembling with disbelief. "You've been dead for six months! This... this isn't f.cking possible!!..."
He paused, his mind racing, eyes narrowing as a dark realization crept over him. "Unless..."
Shiro's grin widened, a cold, mocking expression twisting his face. "You really think I'd die that easily?" he scoffed, voice rising. "Oh, come on! I'm Shiro, for crying out loud!"
Ronen clenched his fists, anger boiling inside him. "What the hell are you!?" he shouted.
Shiro chuckled darkly, a glint of malice in his eyes. "Allow me to show you."
Before Ronen could react, Shiro moved. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance between them and struck, his foot slamming into Ronen with terrifying force. Ronen's body was sent crashing through the air, slamming into a nearby wall with a sickening thud.
Dust and rubble rained down as Ronen struggled to lift himself from the debris, gasping for breath. His vision blurred for a moment, but through the haze, he saw Shiro approaching slowly, his steps echoing ominously.
"Ya know, Ronen," Shiro began, his voice casual but laced with menace, "when you said my conjure was perception, I chuckled. You weren't completely wrong. But, oh, you were so far from the truth."
Ronen groaned, trying to steady himself, his body aching from the impact. Shiro's words, however, cut through the pain like a blade.
Shiro continued, his tone now dripping with dark amusement. "I mean, I knew you'd figure something out, but immobilizing? Really? You give me too little credit."
Ronen spat out dust, glaring up at Shiro. "Then what is it?" he growled. "What are you?"
Shiro's eyes flashed dangerously. "Since you won't be walking away from this, I guess I can give you the honor of knowing." He stopped just feet away from Ronen, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "My conjure... is called 'Null Gaze.' The most sacred ability passed down through my family's lineage."
Ronen's body stiffened as Shiro's words sank in. "Null Gaze?"
Shiro nodded, his eyes glowing with a cold, eerie light. "It grants me the perception of light itself, which you were close to understanding. But there's more."
He stepped closer, his shadow looming over Ronen. "The second ability? 'Intelligent Oblivion.' With this, I can steal the IQ of anyone I choose."
Ronen's eyes widened in horror. "Steal... IQ?" he whispered, barely able to comprehend what he was hearing.
"That's right," Shiro smirked. "Take just 10 percent of someone's IQ, and they'll pass out. Take 50 percent, they fall into a coma. But if I take 100 percent..." Shiro leaned in, his voice dark and full of promise. "They die."
Ronen's mind was racing. He couldn't deny it anymore; Shiro was no longer the man he had once fought. This was something else, something far more dangerous. "You're insane," Ronen muttered under his breath.
"And finally," Shiro added, cutting through Ronen's thoughts, "the last piece of my conjure... 'Memory Reincarnation.'"
Ronen's eyes widened further, confusion and disbelief washing over him. "That... that doesn't make any sense! How can you—"
Shiro interrupted him again, his voice now triumphant, almost gleeful. "Memory Reincarnation allows me to return, as long as anyone remembers me in any form. Whether it's a photograph, a video, a piece of dust in the wind, or even a fleeting thought. I come back, Ronen! right f.cking back ! Again, and again, and again! Hahahahaha!"
Ronen felt a chill crawl down his spine. This man, this being standing before him, was more than he ever anticipated. And now, with his own life hanging by a thread, he realized the nightmare he had unleashed.