A Ghost in the Flames
The leader of the attackers took a step back, gripping his massive reaper blade tighter. His instincts screamed at him-something was wrong.
His men, once fearless killers, now trembled in place.
The flames burning around them flickered unnaturally, casting eerie shadows that twisted like living things. The air had changed.
It felt... haunted.
Then, Ravihiro moved.
No-he vanished.
A blur of black and red
And then
SQUELCH!
A choked scream echoed.
One of the attackers-a man standing farthest from Ravihiro-suddenly dropped to his knees.
His arm was bent backward at an impossible angle.
His own sword impaled through his thigh.
The others barely had time to react when-
BANG!
Another man went flying into the wall, his ribs caving in with an unnatural force. His body convulsed.
But-there was no one near him.
The leader whipped his head around, trying to locate Ravihiro.
Where?! Where is he?!
Then-
A voice.
Right beside his ear.
"Looking for me?"
The leader swung his sword wildly-But Ravihiro was already gone.
A shadow flickered across the flames, moving too fast, too smooth- like a phantom dancing in the fire.
The soldiers tried to lash out, slashing their weapons at nothing.
But every time they did-
Another one of them dropped.
One had his kneecaps shattered.
Another had his hand twisted backward until the bone cracked.
One screamed as his own dagger was lodged in his eye.
Not one of them died instantly.
They suffered.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Ravihiro was playing with them.
A Father's Fear
Ravihiro's father-a trained soldier, a man who had faced countless battles-stood frozen.
His heart pounded against his chest.
His eyes darted around the battlefield, trying to make sense of the nightmare unfolding before him.
This thing... This demon... It wasn't human.
It was a shadow. A ghost.
And yet-
The way it moved... The way it fought...
Something about it felt familiar.
Too familiar.
A whisper.
Then
Right behind him.
"You're shaking, Father."
The soldier whirled around-his body instinctively reaching for his gun.
But there was no one there.
Instead, a hand gripped his shoulder.
A cold, merciless grip.
Slowly, his eyes trailed up.
And he saw it.
The mask.
That grinning, three-eyed asura mask.
And beneath it-
A pair of blood-red eyes staring straight into his soul.
His breath caught in his throat.
"You..." his voice was barely a whisper.
The thing tilted its head.
"What's wrong?"
The soldier's body refused to move. His instincts screamed-run. Escape. Hide.
But he couldn't.
Because deep down-
He knew.
He knew exactly who this was.
And that realisation filled him more
than anything.
The demon wearing his son's face...
Was not the son he once knew.
The Reaper's Desperation
The leader of the attackers had finally had enough.
He gritted his teeth, blood dripping down his forehead.
His men were screaming, writhing on the ground, half-dead.
The monster was toying with them.
"ENOUGH!"
The leader roared, lifting his massive reaper blade, pouring every ounce of his strength into a final. desperate attack.
A massive swing-fast, precise, aimed straight for Ravihiro's head.
"DIE, YOU FREAK!"
The blade sliced through the air.
A perfect, deadly arc.
For a split second-
It looked like it would land.
And then-It stopped.
Mid-air.
Held by two fingers.
The leader's eyes widened in pure horror.
"W-What...?!"
Ravihiro stood completely still.
His index and middle finger lightly pinched the edge of the massive reaper sword.
No effort. No strain.
As if he were holding a feather.
And then-
CRACK.
The blade shattered.
Like glass.
The leader stumbled back, his breath coming in ragged, terrified gasps.
"M-Monster..."
Ravihiro's mask shifted, the grinning expression somehow widening.
And in that distorted, demonic voice, he whispered-
"Boo."
The leader screamed.