The Lower District…
Ah, poor Lower District—now nothing more than a savage arena, where the earth shook beneath the people's cries and the hunters' unblinking stares. Every heart beat to the same rhythm: the march of a war between titans. What a war!
For a brief, yet eternal, moment, Zack—the Thunder Emperor—lost focus. His eyes, hypnotized by the colossal vision of the blood-tinted sun, wavered. His body relaxed, his guard slipped. Little did he know that, in that very instant, he had become the prey.
Amid the shadows of the houses, stealthy as an ancient predator, Orpheus glided. His footsteps were the wind. His body, pure silence. He was a wolf hidden in the mist, and his quarry—Zack—did not even realize he was trapped.
And then… the moment shattered.
In a voice as low as a whisper of death, he invoked:
— Technique Level 4 – Orpheus Must Die…
His eyes widened, pupils slitting into predator's slits. Scarlet veins leapt across his skin, branching like a cursed oak. His hair bristled into a crown of quills—a storm of thorns.
And then… he became weightless. Light as a restless butterfly on the winds of chaos. His cloak—long, black, undulating—took on the form of wings. From above, Orpheus looked down… not as a man, but as a sentence.
Zack felt it.
Oh, yes. The air… the very air seemed to implode. Pressure crushed his bones, and however he searched, his eyes could no longer find Orpheus. Zack's spiritual perception, bound by humanity, failed— the crowd below, the shouts, the echoes— they all blurred his senses.
Then, in one final gesture, he closed his eyes.
And dove.
He dove into the essence. Into the invisible pulse of all things.
The world revealed itself not as light or sound, but as pure vibration. And there…
— A leaf on a tree fifty kilometers away trembled…
— The water in the well at the district's heart rippled…
— A cry. A child's first sob rent the fabric of silence…
— The frantic beating of a butterfly's wings…
And it was then, precisely there, in that slightest shift of the wind… that Zack found him.
— "I found you… old friend."
In a second that felt infinite, two gods collided. That display of strength, technique, and will was more than a battle. It was a living sculpture of absolute power—a sad statue carved not from stone, but from the clash of thunder and blood.
Dance of Light and Shadow
Orpheus soared above, a tempest incarnate, readying the decisive strike against Zack.
In a voice that shook the heavens, he unleashed his supreme technique:
— "Technique: Quantum Reverberation!!!"
The blade of his Scarlet Katana dripped living crimson, iron and blood merging into a spectacle of color. Each arc of Orpheus's swing painted the sky with incandescent strokes—he, the artist of chaos, set the firmament ablaze.
From below, Zack roared:
— "Black Moon!!"
He spun on his axis, sword raised like a whirlwind of shadows. His body twisted at such velocity that his bones seemed to melt into vapor.
— "Technique: Maximum Collision!!!" Zack thundered, and the sky answered.
Lightning leapt from the clouds, slamming into Black Moon in a cataclysm that ignited the night. Sparks flared like black and red fireflies, illuminating the poor district which, for the first time, awoke under its own fierce light.
In unison, Zack and Orpheus bellowed, fusing Shadow Energy and Crimson Flame into a single explosion of power:
— "RED SUN on one side… VOID'S DARKNESS on the other!"
Their faces transformed: Orpheus's veins pulsed like living embers, his pupils aflame. Zack saw the reflection of his own face, etched with ebony scars and crackling lightning, rising like a living shield around him.
For a timeless moment—
…
…
…
— The collision!!!
And then they laughed.
Zack unleashed a booming laugh, the weight of ages lifting from his shoulders. Orpheus returned the sound—pure, sonorous joy, a delight he had not felt in years.
Side by side, hovering above the chaos, they halted the final clash, containing the tempest before the world could burn.
Orpheus laid a hand on Zack's shoulder.
Zack placed his hand on Orpheus's shoulder.
Their laughter echoed, reaching those hiding in the alleyways.
The crowd and the hunters erupted in deafening applause. Those who remained seated rose to their feet, cheering—they knew they had witnessed a moment of legend, something they would never see again.
And so, beneath a sky painted in war and fellowship, two emperors celebrated the victory of their union over the fury of the Void.
Epilogue of the Crimson Dawn
High above, Zack's devastating energy dissipated like dawn mist. The clouds tore open in fiery rifts, and the sun's final playful glow emerged before vanishing at the horizon. A crimson light flooded the district, transforming it into a cozy sanctuary, warm with affection and hope.
Exhausted, Zack plummeted in free fall, striking the ground with such speed that it might have shattered him—if not for the timely catch.
Orpheus, equally spent, felt his form revert to human flesh. His eyes closed, and a smile of mission accomplished curved his lips as he drifted downward like a leaf on the wind.
The Boy, ever vigilant, sprinted forward and caught Zack at the last instant, preventing him from crashing to the earth.
"YOU OLD FOOL," he sighed, a satisfied grin on his face.
K, seeing her brother and friend fall from the sky, dashed to cradle Orpheus in her steady arms. Both stood safe, anchored by the love of those who cared.
Hunters and townsfolk, swept up in emotion, formed a circle of cheers and applause. Their names rang out like a victory hymn—a tribute to those who dared to defy the darkness itself.
Prologue to a New World
The Void stirred once more. The dark mist—woven from forgotten sighs—spread across the human realms.
Eyes transformed into symbols of power—fury, passion, horror—each hue bearing its own destiny. From the depths of the Soul world emerged irrational beasts and sentient creatures, forged in fear.
And beyond all, rose the Red Continent—a nightmare empire where none dared to tread.
Thus a new chapter opened: the world of Soul had only just begun its symphony of light and shadow.