Episode 66: The Entity Beyond Chains

The battlefield had gone quiet.

Kuro knelt in the abyss, trembling. The crown of shadowfire flickered faintly above his head. The void, which had once swarmed with chains and fire, was still now. Only the broken pieces of the First Monarch's emberlight core floated in the darkness, glowing like dying embers.

Elira held him tightly, frostfire hands glowing over his chest as she tried to steady his breath. "Kuro, it's over. You won."

Her voice betrayed her relief, but Kuro's emberlight eyes stayed fixed on the shattered core. "…No. Something's wrong."

Akira let out a sharp breath, wiping blood from his lip while his katana gleamed faintly. "Don't jinx it, man. That fight nearly split me in half."

Reina spun her daggers, narrowing her emerald eyes. "He's right. Look."

The shards of the Monarch's core pulsed. Once. Twice. A low hum echoed across the void. Then—

THUND… THUND… THUND!

The fragments vibrated and crashed into each other like drums. The sound shook the abyss itself, resonating through their bones.

Elira gasped. "It's… still alive?"

Kuro forced himself to stand, gripping his greatsword tightly. The crown above him burned brighter, wild black flames dancing around it. "No. This isn't him anymore. This is something else."

---

The shards of the core came together, twisting into a sphere of pulsating light. Cracks formed on its surface, spilling shadows and fire. From within, a voice emerged.

Not the Monarch's voice. Something older. Something deeper.

"At last, the vessel is shattered. The prison broken. The throne abandoned."

"Now, I awaken."

BOOOOOOM!

The core exploded, shockwaves tearing the void apart. Chains crumbled. Firestorms erupted. The Dominion itself split open like fragile glass, revealing a vast, endless darkness beyond.

Kuro gritted his teeth and planted his sword into the ground for balance. The Crown of the Void trembled, seeming to fear the awakening presence.

Akira shielded his face from the blast, shouting over the noise. "What the hell is that?!"

Reina snarled, her body flickering through shadowstep to keep her footing. "Whatever it is, it's not the Monarch."

A figure emerged from the sphere—not gigantic, but infinite. Its body constantly shifted, transforming between forms: a king, a beast, a shadow, a god. Every blink revealed something new and incomprehensible. Its eyes, if they could be called eyes, were pools of starlight drowning in the void.

The entity's voice echoed, shaking their very souls.

"I am not Monarch. I am not chained. I am Origin."

"I am the memory of the first abyss, the seed that birthed thrones, the curse that bridged worlds."

---

Elira gasped, her violet eyes trembling. "Seed…? That means—"

The entity's gaze turned toward her.

"Daughter of flame, heir of frost, your world exists because I willed it. Noveria was my cradle. Earth was my echo. Both are threads in my chain."

Kuro's breath caught. "…You touched Earth too?"

The entity shifted, its form rippling into a mirror of Kuro—only taller, cloaked in shadow, crowned with an endless night sky.

"Your world resonated with my mark. I branded it across time. When the Monarch faltered, the resonance pulled you here. You were not chosen by accident. You were… designed."

Kuro's heart raced. The emberlight crown above him flared violently, shadows surging over his shoulders. His greatsword rattled, flames licking its edge.

Elira grabbed his arm, her voice urgent. "Don't listen to it! You are not its design—you are your own choice!"

Her eyes locked onto his, violet light blazing. "You're Kuro Jin. Not a curse. Not a vessel."

Her words cut through the turmoil. For a heartbeat, the shadow crown steadied.

Kuro smirked faintly. "…She's right. You're not my maker. You're just another chain to break."

---

The entity's starlit gaze flared.

"So be it. Break me—if you can."

The void shook, tearing itself apart. A battlefield unfolded—not abyss, not Dominion, but a realm outside of time itself. The ground was broken glass, floating islands of crystal suspended over an ocean of endless stars. Rivers of flame and shadow flowed through the sky, defying gravity.

THUND! The entity's footstep shattered an entire island in two.

SLAAAASH! Its arm elongated into a blade, cutting through space, leaving trails of collapsing constellations.

Kuro leapt forward, his greatsword blazing. BOOOOM! The blades met in midair, the impact splintering glass islands into fragments.

Akira dashed in behind him, katana shining. SHIIIIING! Sparks flew as he struck at the entity's shifting body, but the wound closed instantly, reforming as if mocking him.

Reina blurred across the battlefield with SHOOF-SHOFF, her daggers carving quick arcs into its legs. Each cut only birthed new tendrils of void that lashed out.

Elira raised her frostfire wings, chanting quickly, her voice strained. "By flame, by frost—BIND!"

CRAAASH! A massive spear of frostfire pierced the entity's chest. For a moment, its form flickered.

Kuro seized the moment, his Crown blazing brighter. He slammed his greatsword down.

KAAA-BOOOOM!

The entire battlefield shook, light exploding across the void.

---

But the entity only laughed, its voice echoing through eternity.

"You wound me, yet you do not understand. I am not flesh. I am memory. I am the first shadow, the last flame. To kill me… you must erase yourselves."

Elira's face paled. "Erase… ourselves?"

The entity's form split, creating a hundred clones—each a twisted reflection of Kuro, Akira, Elira, and Reina. Each one grinned with hollow eyes.

Akira cursed under his breath, raising his katana. "Of course. A mirror trial. Just what we needed."

Reina spat to the side, spinning her daggers. "Tch. Fine. I've always wanted to stab myself anyway."

The battlefield erupted.

CLASH! THUND! BOOM! Steel met steel, flame met flame. Kuro locked blades with his dark double, sparks tearing through the void. The clone smirked, its emberlight crown glowing even brighter than his.

"Pathetic," it hissed. "You will never escape me."

Kuro growled, shadows erupting around him. His voice was steady, cutting through the chaos.

"No. I already have."

SLAAAASH! His blade split the clone in two, flames consuming it completely.

But a hundred more still remained.

---

Elira's frostfire swirled across the battlefield, her double mirroring every move. They clashed in midair, frostfire against frostfire, explosions of icy flame shaking the broken glass islands. Her breath was ragged, but her eyes never wavered.

"You're not me," she shouted, frostfire wings spreading wider. "I am not a shadow—I am Elira Valenhart!"

Her frostfire surged, overwhelming her double in a storm of light.

Akira battled his own reflection, the sound of clashing katana ringing with each CLANG! "Guess I really am annoying, huh?" He smirked, then twisted, plunging his blade through his double's chest.

Reina fought her clone with brutal skill, daggers flashing with SHIK-SHIK-SHIK! She grinned as her double faltered. "Too slow." SLAAAASH!

One by one, the reflections fell—until only the entity remained.

Its form flickered, its laughter fading into a growl. "Impressive. But you cannot win. You are sparks. I am the eternal flame."

Kuro raised his greatsword, the Crown blazing brighter than ever. His voice thundered across the battlefield.

"Then let's see what happens when sparks ignite eternity!"

He leapt.

KAAA-BOOOOM!

The clash lit up the void, stars collapsing, time itself shattering.

And in that light, for the first time, the entity staggered.

---

The battlefield quieted again.

Kuro panted, blood dripping down his chin, his Crown flickering but unbroken. Elira landed beside him, folding her frostfire wings. Akira and Reina joined them, their blades ready for whatever came next.

The entity's form warped, collapsing in on itself. Its voice was quieter now, but sharper, more dangerous.

"…Interesting. Perhaps you are not just sparks. Perhaps… you are the fire I feared."

The void convulsed, tearing open. Through the crack lay another realm—deeper and darker, a place where even light dared not enter.

The entity sank into it, its voice echoing as it vanished.

"If you wish to end me, follow."

The rift widened, its pull irresistible.

Kuro tightened his grip on the greatsword, his emberlight gaze steady. "We follow. Together."

Elira reached for his hand, squeezing tightly. Her violet eyes shimmered, words trembling on

her lips. "…Kuro, before we step through, I—"

But the rift's pull yanked them forward, cutting off her words.

And all four were swallowed by the darkness.

---

[To Be Continued...]

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