The explosion of the Wrath Guardian left a crater of smoking rock and twisted metal in the arena floor. Kairo stood amidst the debris, his body still screaming from the impact, but already knitting itself back together with unnatural speed. The new Rage Impulse status effect was a low, persistent thrum beneath his skin, a dangerous undercurrent to the chaotic whispers of Pride and Envy that now raged in his mind.
[CORRUPTION LEVEL: 28%]
[STATUS EFFECT: ECHO WHISPER // SEVERE]
[STATUS EFFECT: IDENTITY FLUX // MODERATE]
[STATUS EFFECT: RAGE IMPULSE // MINOR]
He forced himself to ignore the rising tide of fury. This domain wasn't just a battlefield; it was a psychological trap, designed to turn him into a weapon of pure vengeance. He had to maintain control, or he would become another one of the countless, screaming shadows in the stands.
The roar from the shadowy figures in the tiered coliseum intensified, a collective hunger for more bloodshed. They were silent observers no longer, but a chorus of anticipation, their indistinct forms seeming to lean forward, eager for the next spectacle.
Kairo looked towards the distant, smoldering ruins that formed the horizon of the Wrath Domain. The bruised, angry purple sky seemed to press down on him, and the air shimmered with an unseen heat, distorting the landscape. This was a realm where the very ground breathed fury.
He began to walk, each step deliberate, pushing through the pain and the encroaching rage. The arena floor gave way to a labyrinth of crumbling structures, narrow passages choked with debris, and vast, desolate plazas scarred by ancient, unending conflicts. Every surface bore the marks of violence: claw marks on obsidian walls, scorch marks from arcane fire, pools of dark, congealed liquid that might have been blood.
The clang of metal grew louder, closer. He heard the guttural shouts of combatants, the crackle of energy, the desperate cries of the defeated. This was the perpetual arena Lira had spoken of, a crucible where battles raged without end.
He rounded a corner, stepping into a wider thoroughfare, and froze.
Before him, two figures clashed. One was a hulking brute, its body covered in crude, iron plating, wielding a massive, spiked club. The other was smaller, faster, a blur of crimson and shadow, moving with impossible grace. It was a Kairo.
This Echo was different from Loop 4. Its cloak, while similar in design to his own, was a deep, blood-red, tattered and scorched. Its face was a mask of cold, focused fury, utterly devoid of the cynicism of Loop 7 or the cruel amusement of Loop 4. Its eyes, when they flickered, burned with an internal, crimson light. It moved with a terrifying efficiency, each strike precise, aimed to disable, not just wound.
[ENTITY DETECTED: S.I.N. ECHO // WRATH-ADAPTED // DESIGNATION: THE ANNIHILATOR]
[THREAT LEVEL: CRITICAL]
[WARNING: CORRUPTION MANIFESTATION // HIGH]
The System's alert was stark. The Annihilator. A name that spoke of pure, destructive purpose. This Echo was a direct manifestation of the Wrath Domain's influence, a Kairo who had succumbed to the Sin.
The Annihilator spun, its movements a deadly dance, evading the brute's clumsy club. It moved with a speed Kairo himself couldn't yet match, a fluid, almost liquid motion that seemed to defy physics. It was a perfected killing machine, a terrifying glimpse into what Kairo could become if he fully embraced the rage building within him.
The whispers in Kairo's head surged, the Rage Impulse flaring. "That's what you should be. That's true power. Unleash it. Become the Annihilator." The Envy Fragment pulsed, "He is stronger. Be him. Take his strength."
He fought the insidious urge, forcing himself to remain hidden in the shadows of the crumbling archway. He needed to observe, to understand this Echo's fighting style, its weaknesses. This wasn't a simple construct like the Guardian. This was a version of himself.
The Annihilator dodged another club swing, then flowed into the brute's guard, its crimson-clad arm blurring. A sharp, metallic shing sound echoed, and the brute staggered, a deep gash appearing across its plated chest. It roared in pain, but the Annihilator was already behind it, a phantom in the shadows.
Kairo's Fracture//Sight thrummed. He focused, trying to perceive the underlying data of the Annihilator. He saw shimmering lines of crimson code, volatile and unstable, flowing through its form, constantly rewriting its movements, optimizing its attacks. This Echo wasn't just corrupted; it was actively reprogramming itself, becoming a living weapon.
The Annihilator moved again, its hand blurring into a series of rapid, precise strikes. The brute, already wounded, collapsed, its heavy form hitting the ground with a dull thud. The Annihilator stood over it for a moment, its crimson eyes burning, then kicked the fallen body, sending it sliding across the shattered stone. There was no mercy, no hesitation. Only cold, efficient fury.
The shadowy figures in the distant stands let out a collective, satisfied roar.
The Annihilator turned, its head snapping towards Kairo's hiding spot with unnatural speed. Its crimson eyes, burning with an almost intelligent malevolence, fixed on him. It had sensed him.
"Another one," the Annihilator rasped, its voice a low, gravelly growl, like grinding stone. It was Kairo's voice, but stripped of all warmth, all humanity, leaving only the cold edge of rage. "Still weak. Still hesitant."
It began to walk towards him, slowly, deliberately, each step radiating a contained, terrifying power.
Kairo stepped out of the shadows, his hand instinctively going to the Pride Fragment. "I'm not like you."
The Annihilator stopped, a cruel, mirthless smile twisting its lips. "Oh, but you will be. This domain… it shows you what you truly are. What you must become to survive."
It lunged.
Kairo activated Trace//Force, blurring forward to meet the attack. He aimed a direct punch, but the Annihilator was faster. It sidestepped with effortless grace, its crimson cloak swirling, and delivered a brutal kick to Kairo's ribs.
The impact sent a searing wave of pain through him, forcing a gasp from his lips. He slammed into the crumbling wall, dust and debris raining down. The Rage Impulse flared, urging him to lash out, to match the Annihilator's brutality with his own. He fought it, focusing on control.
[INTERNAL DAMAGE: MODERATE]
[REBOOT NOT RECOMMENDED DURING COMBAT]
The Annihilator advanced, its crimson eyes burning. "You waste energy. You waste potential. You cling to weakness."
Kairo pushed himself off the wall, activating Shatter//Truth. The Annihilator's form flickered, revealing the raw, unstable energy beneath its crimson exterior, the frantic lines of code that fueled its unnatural speed and power. It was a being of pure, volatile Wrath.
The Annihilator paused, momentarily destabilized by the revelation of its own chaotic essence. It shrieked, a soundless, mental scream that tore at Kairo's mind.
Kairo seized the opening. He activated ECHO//MIMIC.
[SKILL ACTIVATION: ECHO//MIMIC - LV.1]
[TARGET: S.I.N. ECHO // THE ANNIHILATOR]
[WARNING: HIGH CORRUPTION RISK // UNSTABLE TEMPLATE]
[COST: VOIDPOINT -7]
The cost was astronomical, a searing drain that left him dizzy, his vision tunneling. But he pushed through it. His body convulsed, his features blurring, twisting, trying to mimic the cold, efficient fury of the Annihilator. He felt his own essence stretch, trying to encompass the raw wrath of the Echo.
The Annihilator recoiled, its crimson eyes widening in a flicker of something akin to alarm. Its perfect, optimized form wavered, unable to perfectly reflect Kairo's corrupted mimicry. It was a violation of its own perfected image.
Kairo, still shimmering with the unstable mimicry, lunged. He didn't aim for a killing blow. He aimed to disrupt, to exploit the momentary confusion. He slammed his fist into the Annihilator's chest, not with his own strength, but with a channeled burst of its own raw, unstable energy.
The Annihilator shrieked again, a soundless scream of pure, internal agony. Its form rippled violently, losing cohesion, unable to maintain its perfect, wrath-fueled state. It staggered back, clutching its chest, as if Kairo had driven a blade of pure chaos through its core.
Kairo broke the mimicry, his own form snapping back, leaving him weak and shaking, but free. He had used the Annihilator's own perfection against it, mirroring its power back in a corrupted, unstable form.
The Annihilator convulsed, its crimson eyes flaring with a desperate, self-destructive rage. It lunged one last time, a desperate, suicidal charge, its body flickering, trying to unleash everything it had.
Kairo met it with Reflect//Pain.
[SKILL ACTIVATION: REFLECT//PAIN - LV.1]
[COST: VOIDPOINT -1]
The Annihilator's rage, its destructive power, slammed into Kairo. The pain was immense, but the skill activated, amplifying that raw fury and turning it inward. The Annihilator shrieked, a soundless, internal explosion of pure wrath. Its body began to tear itself apart, consumed by its own destructive essence.
It exploded into a vortex of imploding crimson energy and shattered obsidian, leaving behind only a lingering scent of ozone and the faint, echoing memory of a scream.
[ENTITY PURGED // S.I.N. ECHO CONSUMED]
[VOIDPOINT +3 EARNED]
[CORRUPTION SPIKE: 35%]
[STATUS EFFECT: ECHO WHISPER // CRITICAL]
[STATUS EFFECT: IDENTITY FLUX // MODERATE]
[STATUS EFFECT: RAGE IMPULSE // MODERATE]
Kairo collapsed to his knees, gasping, his body trembling uncontrollably. The pain was immense, but the internal rewrite was already at work, knitting his fractured ribs back together. The whispers in his head were no longer whispers; they were a roaring chorus. Pride's arrogance, Envy's insidious allure, and now Wrath's burning, insatiable hunger for vengeance.
His Corruption Level had spiked dramatically. The Rage Impulse was no longer minor; it was a throbbing presence, a constant urge to lash out, to break something. He could feel his own thoughts becoming sharper, colder, more ruthless.
He looked at his reflection in a small, unbroken shard of obsidian on the ground. His eyes were wide, and for a fleeting moment, he saw not his own features, but a flash of the Annihilator's crimson gaze, then the vacant stare of a weeping Kairo, then the cruel smirk of Loop 4. His face was a shifting canvas of stolen identities, the lines blurring faster than ever.
"You are becoming us," the Echo whispers roared, a terrifying chorus of his past and future selves. "You are becoming perfect. You are becoming Wrath."
He closed his eyes, clutching his head, fighting the urge to succumb. He had defeated the Annihilator, but at what cost? He was absorbing his own failures, his own corruptions, and they were trying to rewrite his very core.
He had to find Feirn. The Witch of Wrath. He had to face her, and somehow, break free from this spiraling descent before he became nothing more than a vessel for the Sins he was meant to collect.
He forced himself to stand, his gaze hardening. The screams from the distant battles grew louder, beckoning him deeper into the crucible. He was no longer just fighting for his life; he was fighting for his very soul. And the Wrath Domain was ready to burn it away.