Enra staggered, smoke rolling off his arm as his body twitched from the voltage. His shadows faltered—just enough.
Ryu tore free from the shadows, he dropped low, palms hitting the ground—then launched himself forward upside down, flipping through the air on his hands like a spark gone feral.
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
His legs spun in a blur, each kick slamming into Enra's ribs, chest, and jaw in rapid succession, the last strike—a brutal flip kick—sending the yokai flying upward through a bird's eye view.
Enra's body twisted midair, the world tilting with him. His vision steadied—only to see Ryu.
"Yoo hoo"
Behind him. Midair. Lightning crackling off his frame like wings.
Ryu locked his arms, driving both knees into Enra's back as gravity took hold.
KRSHHH!!!
The two crashed down, Ryu jumping two steps behind the scene.
Enra came out, blood boiling, darkness coursing through his veins, body half regenerated...
"What's going on, what is he doing to me, why am I losing control of this vessel?" - Enra
Ryu said nothing. Just stared. Calm. Too calm. Then he lifted his right leg—slowly—like a hand in a clock.
Enra's stance tightened, shadows flaring around him. He gazed for any twitch, any spark, any next movement.
"Tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...tick" - Ryu waving his leg staring into Enra's eyes
"What's he waiting for? Do something dammit?" - Enra's thoughts
"You're little games are starting to—" - Enra
"Tock"
THWACK!!
Ryu's foot buried itself into his gut, the impact folding him in half and launching him backward like a missile. He crashed into the cliff wall, the stone webbing under the force.
Ryu didn't even pause. He appeared in front of him, hand clamping around Enra's head...he hauled him sideways.
KRSHHH!!
Enra's body tore through the rock, pulverizing everything in their path. Ryu laughed—loud, unhinged, his voice echoing across the mountainside. Veins bulged in his temples, eyes bloodshot and glowing white.
He hurled Enra into the open field, and before the yokai could rise—
FLASH!
Ryu vanished. Then appeared. Then vanished again.
Dozens of afterimages darted around Enra, zigzagging so violently the air split with each movement.
Enra's eyes darted wildly—he couldn't tell what was real anymore.
Then everything stopped.
Ryu stood still in front of him, lightning humming low, face unreadable. He raised one finger and pressed it against Enra's chest...
"Discharge"
The blast ripped through Enra's body, a blinding jolt firing him backward into the trees. His body twitched violently, smoke rising from the impact points.
Ryu caught up to him as he's being flinged, eyes gazing into his literal soul.
"I don't need to beat you…I just need to wreck your host's nervous system, hahaha." Ryu grinning
"No vessel—no Enra" - Ryu grinning ear to ear
Enra turns his body properly and boxes himself in a pool of darkness, shielding himself from the impact.
SILENCE
"He's right. Jin's body is starting to give up, I can't even feel my fingers" - Enra in his thoughts
"Snap out of it! I'm a yokai, the darkness yokai! If only I had my actual body, on Father's grave I—" - Enra in his thoughts
CRACK!!
Something forced it's way inside. Ryu's fingers pierced the darkness, residuals of static crawling along the surface like veins.
The darkness split wider, and wider, and through the crack—Enra saw them...
Ryu's eyes. Wild. Bleeding. Pupils constricted...like a raptor
"Why" - Enra
"Why does he remind me of...him" - Enra panicking
And in the background, Zero's silhouette looming like a curse—his aura bleeding into Ryu, their eyes syncing, faces merging, it's like they're the same person, staring into the abyss...