Eri's eyes flashed.
"It was far too easy to take advantage of your need for revenge."
Akira's mind spun trying to make out what she was saying.
This was impossible he knew them, all of them.
He had given his heart into their movement, because he knew they were working toward a common objective.
"We used you to get access to your father's technology and to his fortune."
Eri's voice then pierced through, a blade into his incredulous mind.
"What are you talking about?"
Akira's voice was barely a whisper now, shock flooding him.
"Tell me this is some kind of joke."
"We worked together for a whole year."
"What are you even saying?"
"I thought you were helping me!"
Mia's voice was sharp and cruel, the sound booming through the chamber.
"You really are naïve, Akira,"
She said, her head shaking in disappointment.
"Did you really think you were ever more than a pawn in our game?"
Eri's smile was colder.
"We've been manipulating you from the very beginning, Akira."
Her words struck him like a blow.
"Your father's wealth was our true goal."
Akira recoiled backward, his brain unable to catch up with the reality of what she was saying.
The betrayal cut deeper than he could ever have imagined.
"The document you signed to enter this dungeon was for us to be able to claim everything you own,"
Eri continued, her tone now laced with disgust.
"You were just a piece in our game."
Akira's world came tumbling down.
His breaths became shallow, his chest constricted by this heavy feeling of betrayal.
His trust, his belief in them-it had all been one big lie.
"But I trusted you!!!"
His voice broke, raw from emotion.
"Why did it take so long for you to reveal the truth?""
Irritated with the reaction he showed, Mia crossed her arms and let out a sigh.
"It was not the right time you idiot. And we didn't had the right to enter this dungeon yet...you think our team would dare to enter this dungeon when even his level isn't possible to measure!?"
"The fun fact is that this dungeon only has incredible strong mana emitting from him but the source is unknown and not a single monster exist here."
"It's not one of the dangerous dungeons but it's the most weird one from all...it was perfect for our plan.
"And we had to make sure you were deep in so you could never back out."
Her eyes dark, she stepped forward.
"And now that you are out of the way, we can finally take all that you have."
Akira's blood boiled in anger, his fists clenched into balls of stone as his knuckles turned white. His gaze stayed fixed on Eri, full of hostility.
"You're going to pay for this,"
He growled, his every word full of malice.
"I'll find a way to make you all pay for what you've done."
Eri laughed menacingly, her voice full of scorn.
"You're powerless,"
She sneered.
"What can you do in this situation?"
"You're nothing but a fragile boy."
Entoa stepped further forward, his huge body a shadow looming over Akira.
"Don't bother."
"There's no escape for you now."
But before Akira could have time to fathom the full extent of the betrayal, Eri and her team sprang into action: Entoa helped drag him to the edge of the big hole in the center of the room while Mia grabbed him by the arms with an iron grip.
Akira fought with all his remaining strength, but it was no use.
They were too strong.
They were all of them awakened after all.
He barely could even breath let alone keep up.
He felt his world start to spin, the dark abyss beckoning him like a hungry maw.
"This wasn't how it was supposed to end."
"YOU BASTARDS!!!"
Akira shouted through clenched teeth, my voice barely audible, but laced with venom.
"You were the only ones I had left."
"The only ones I trusted!"
The words were ash in my mouth.
Eri's eyes were cold, her face the face of a person who had already triumphed.
"I'm sorry, I enjoyed playing with you, SHOTO,"
She said, her tone full of cruel pleasure. "
"This is where you die."
"Your messy, struggle of a life ends here."
They pushed Akira and Akira fell, the dark void swallowing him whole.
The air was cold and unforgiving, like even the world itself wanted to get rid of Akira. He couldn't see, couldn't breathe, could do nothing to halt himself from falling deeper into the nothingness.
Above him, the light contracted smaller and smaller until it was a memory.
The dim glow of the cavern, the faces he once trusted-everything slipped away.
And with that fall, all he could hear was their laughter. Eri's. Mia's. Entoa's. Mocking, cruel, fading echoes as they slipped further and further from me.
His body twisted in the air, but he couldn't get away. No escape from this. No way out.
That final thought flashed through Akira mind before all else went black.
"Is this really the end?"
Free-falling into the void, Akira was squeezed tight by the chill grasp of darkness, devouring everything in its path.
His mind spun, slamming against him like unceasing surf.
Memories of his parents-their laughter, their warmth-blazed across his mind, only to be wrenched aside by the ghastly, of their suffering.
A chasm of grief, as if it would swallow him up completely, was opening in his chest; the weight of his failure crushed him.
Akira:
"This worthless life… I didn't enjoy any of it."
"Not a single moment."
"I've done nothing to avenge my parents-the very reason for my existence…"
One tear managed to leak out onto his cheek and trace a warm path downward, but even that was empty in the chasm that enveloped him.
"Why… Why didn't I awake?
"Why did the god didn't give me the chance to awakened powers"
"If i had maybe something would have been different"
"Why did they betray me?"
"You were the only people I had put my trust in."
The words replayed in his head, each syllable heavier in his heart.
"All I wanted was another chance."
Despair washed over his mind, and the feeling of falling started to numb.
Instead, a weird cold seized the air, and for that instant, a flutter of light tore through endless darkness-brilliant, a flash of white lightning across the void like a blade.
It was alive-an entity, a figure garbed in light and in shadow; an overwhelming presence which seemed almost to tug at Akira's very soul.
Unknown Entity-the voice boomed, low and rich, and echoed through the void:
"Do you want to live, brat?"
Akira's heart stopped a beat; his eyes flew open, and he went rigid in sheer surprise.
The voice… it felt familiar, and yet foreign.
"Who was this?"
"What was this?
Akira-strained, voice no greater than a whisper as his heart raced:
"Wh-who are you?
The entity laughed, the sound full of a sinister amusement that sent shivers down Akira's spine.
Unknown Entity-the tone heavy with amusement, almost teasing-
"Does that matter?"
"The real question is, do you want to live?"
"To fulfill your goals and not be burdened by regrets?"
"Tell me."
The words cut through the fog of despair in Akira's mind, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he was still.
His father last moments, the betrayal from Eri and Mia and Entoa-everything was coming back, swirling together in a storm of rage and bitter determination.
Akira gritting his teeth and with eyes flaring, with a new resolution, his voice firm and without yielding.
"If I can survive… if I can take my revenge… I don't care how!"
"Help me."
"Help me live."
A moment of silence passed, as the implication of his words hung in the air, until the entity's stare seemed to pierce into him deeper than he could understand.
Then it smiled-a dark, knowing smile, insidious and yet impossibly soothing.
Unknown Entity-smirking, thick satisfaction in voice:
"Good."
"Then let it be thus."
"Embrace the darkness, boy."
"Let it fuel you."
"Let it be your guide."
"And know that we are one now."
As the figure started to dissolve, Akira could feel its power surge, filling every fiber of his being.
It was as if fire had been channeled into his veins, burning him from the inside out.
Yet, for some reason, the pain felt energizing.
Freeing even, was the truth that the darkness which had swallowed him was now his strength.
Unknown Entity: [Its voice now a whisper, reverberating in Akira's mind]
"Finally… I am free."
The wounds on Akira's body began to heal, and his body picked up the pace with a rapidity and intensity that would leave him gasping in amazement.
There was no more sharp pain, such as that which had once consumed him; there was instead an overwhelming feeling of power. His body contracted and the raw energy coursed through him, sending electricity through every muscle, every nerve, and every inch of his being.
Akira a primal roar escaped his lips, his voice trembling with raw energy, almost too much to be contained:
"Finally, a second chance!"
But at this height of transformation, the incomprehensible force of the power overwhelmed him.
The body still could not hold it, and the consciousness began to fade away.
Legs buckled, and he fell, the body limp against the cold, unforgiving earth.
Unknown Entity (its voice soft and firm, echoing deep in his soul):
"Sleep now, brat."
"When you wake, your path will start."
"And mine too."
His soul's final whispered breath was drowned out as the darkness consumed him whole.
Yet amidst that nothingness, something within Akira stirred.
The entity that was now fully inside Akira had irrevocably altered the course of his life.
Gone was the man who had willingly handed himself over to the dark depths of despair.
A new chapter in his life was about to begin-one that would rewrite his destiny.