The battlefield was still.
Nyx had disappeared into the void, her form swallowed by the very shadows she commanded, but the damage she left in her wake was undeniable. The aftermath of the fight hung in the air, a palpable tension that weighed down on the remaining Soulbound warriors. They had won, but the victory felt fragile, as if the thin thread of hope could snap at any moment.
Yuto's legs trembled beneath him. His vision blurred, the edges of reality wavering like the surface of a rippling pond. He could hear Takeshi and Rika shouting his name, but their voices sounded distant, distorted, as if he were hearing them through layers of thick fog.
His body no longer responded. The adrenaline that had fueled him during the fight drained away, leaving nothing but an overwhelming exhaustion in its place. His sword slipped from his fingers, clattering to the ground with a dull thud.
Then, his knees buckled.
He fell.
"Yuto!" Takeshi's voice rang out, sharp with alarm.
But Yuto couldn't answer. The world spun around him, and everything faded to black.
When Yuto opened his eyes, he wasn't on the battlefield anymore. He was floating in an endless sea of darkness, weightless, as if the very laws of gravity no longer applied. There was no ground beneath him, no sky above. Just an infinite void stretching in every direction.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
"Where... am I?" Yuto's voice echoed in the silence, but no one answered.
The darkness pressed in on him, suffocating in its stillness. He reached out, trying to grasp something—anything—that would anchor him to reality. But his hand passed through the void, as if it weren't really there at all.
Then, faintly, he heard it. A voice.
"Yuto..."
It was soft, distant, like a whisper carried on the wind. But Yuto recognized it immediately.
"Kaito?" He called out, his heart pounding in his chest. "Kaito, is that you?"
The darkness around him rippled, and for a brief moment, a familiar figure appeared—a shadowy outline of his older brother, Kaito. Yuto's breath caught in his throat as he reached for him, but the figure remained just out of reach, flickering like a dying flame.
"You need to wake up, Yuto," Kaito's voice echoed, growing fainter with each word. "It's not your time yet..."
Yuto's chest tightened, panic rising within him. "Kaito, wait! I—"
But before he could finish, Kaito's figure vanished, swallowed by the darkness once more.
And then, there was nothing. Just silence.
In the real world, the aftermath of the battle was anything but silent. Takeshi knelt beside Yuto's unconscious form, his hands shaking as he checked for a pulse. The battlefield around them had been cleared, the Voidspawn retreating into the shadows after Nyx's defeat. But the victory felt hollow.
"Takeshi," Rika's voice trembled as she stepped closer, her eyes wide with fear. "Is he...?"
"He's alive," Takeshi said, his voice rough with relief. But it was a fragile relief, tempered by the reality of Yuto's condition. His pulse was faint, and his breathing shallow, as if his body was teetering on the edge of collapse.
"We need to get him to a hospital," Takeshi said, his tone hardening with determination. "Now."
Without hesitation, Rika nodded and summoned her Anima, creating a barrier around them to shield Yuto from further harm as they prepared to move him. Takeshi gently lifted Yuto's limp body into his arms, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and urgency.
As they carried him away from the battlefield, the other Soulbound warriors they passed wore expressions of quiet respect, stepping aside to let them through. Yuto had fought with everything he had, and though his victory over Nyx had bought them time, everyone knew it had come at a great cost.
The hospital room was sterile and quiet, a stark contrast to the chaos of the battlefield. Machines beeped softly, monitoring Yuto's vital signs as he lay in the hospital bed, still unconscious. His face was pale, and the wound in his chest had been bandaged, though the doctors had been grim about his condition. They had done everything they could to stabilize him, but the damage Nyx had inflicted was severe.
Takeshi sat beside the bed, staring at Yuto's still form. His normally stoic expression was cracked with worry, his hands clasped tightly together in his lap. He hadn't left Yuto's side since they'd arrived at the hospital, and it didn't seem like he had any intention of doing so.
"How's he doing?" Rika asked quietly, stepping into the room. She carried a small tray of food, though it was clear that Takeshi hadn't touched any of the meals she'd brought him.
Takeshi shook his head, his eyes never leaving Yuto's face. "The doctors say it's up to him now. He's stable, but... he hasn't woken up."
Rika set the tray down on the table beside him, her eyes softening with sympathy. "He's tough. He'll pull through."
"I hope you're right," Takeshi muttered, leaning forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees. "He... he saved us. And now... I don't know if I can save him."
Rika placed a reassuring hand on Takeshi's shoulder. "He's not alone. We're here for him."
Takeshi finally looked up, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. "I just don't know if it's enough."
Inside the depths of Yuto's mind, the silence continued.
He drifted in the endless void, feeling weightless and disconnected from the world. Kaito's voice was gone, leaving him utterly alone. Time had no meaning here—hours, days, perhaps even weeks could have passed, and Yuto wouldn't have known.
But in the farthest reaches of the darkness, a small, faint light flickered.
It was barely noticeable, but it was there. A glimmer of warmth amidst the cold, empty void.
Yuto's gaze fixed on the light, his heart stirring with the faintest spark of hope. He didn't know what it was, or why it was there, but something deep inside him urged him toward it.
With all the strength he could muster, Yuto began to move toward the light.
Back in the hospital, Takeshi leaned forward, resting his forehead on the edge of Yuto's bed. His exhaustion was catching up to him, his eyes heavy with sleepless nights of worry. But as his mind drifted into a hazy daze, a soft sound caught his attention.
A faint, almost imperceptible rustle.
He lifted his head, his eyes widening as he saw Yuto's fingers twitch ever so slightly against the sheets.
"Yuto?" Takeshi whispered, his heart leaping into his throat.
There was no response, but the slight movement was enough to stir a flicker of hope in Takeshi's chest.
"Yuto, if you can hear me... come back," Takeshi said softly, his voice thick with emotion. "We need you. I need you."
But Yuto remained still, lost in the depths of his unconscious mind.
The fight wasn't over yet—not for Yuto, not for any of them.
And somewhere, in the quiet of that hospital room, Takeshi prayed that Yuto would find his way back to the light.