Flashback to Enra's past.
"Father" - Enra
"Yes...Enra?" - dark voice
"I'm...unsatisfied" - Enra
"By what do you mean?" - dark voice
"Every battle I go into, it's all the same in the end, they beg and cry for mercy." - Enra
"Well you're a sadist, does that not please you? Watching others suffer in despair." - dark voice
"It does, but, I still feel empty, like something's missing." - Enra
"Hmph. You're developing another emotion Enra, you're growing up." - dark voice with a smile
"...I need..." - Enra
Flashback ends
"Fear!" - Enra in his thoughts
The cocoon shattered with a deafening shhhhk-krakk!—and from its remains, the darkness erupted outward, molding into jagged spikes that lunged for Ryu.
"—!"
They tore through the air, piercing his limbs before he could fully react.
Ryu grimaced, teeth grinding as the shadows struck every nerve. With a violent surge, he blasted the shadows off his body, lightning tearing them apart in bursts of light and static.
He leapt back, kicks skidding across the rubble.
Across the field, Enra straightened, brushing dust from his chest as if nothing had happened. Slowly, the black patterns across his host's skin began to spread, deepening, darkening—pulsing like veins filled with ink. His aura thickened, heavier than before, almost suffocating the air around them.
"I'm dead aren't I?" - Ryu
Then—he sank.
Enra's body melted into his own shadow, vanishing like ink slipping into water. Ryu's eyes darted in every direction, pulse spiking. Every shadow around him—the trees, the shrine, even the faint outline beneath his own feet—felt alive, breathing, waiting to strike. A chill ran through him.
Enra had chosen the one shadow Ryu could never escape—his own.
SHWFF—!
Before Ryu could react, a hand burst from his darkness and clamped around his throat. Enra rose behind him, eyes hollow, grin wide. For a brief second, he simply stared—then went rampaged.
He slammed Ryu into the earth—once, twice—then dragged him through stone and dirt, through trees and broken walls, not giving him a heartbeat to recover. Rocks shattered, splinters flew, thunder sparked violently from Ryu's body as he was rag-dolled across the landscape.
Finally, Enra chucked him onto an old shrine, the impact splitting the structure and sending dust into the air.
Ryu staggered, panting, sparks flickering weakly across his skin.
Then—Enra's shadow moved.
From behind, it rose, splitting open like a mirror reflection tearing free. His shadow took form, and now stood before him, menacing like the original.
"Great, my second jumping in one night!" - Ryu
Ryu charged, lightning bursting at his feet—but it was no use.
Two sets of fists met him, blows landing in perfect sync. He blocked one, got caught by another. A kick to the ribs, a strike to the jaw, a wave of black tendrils slamming him back.
He tried to counter, to find rhythm—but there was none, two opponents was different this time.
The final hit came sudden and brutal, they got him down—their shadows wrapped around his arms and legs, lifted him off the ground, and tossed him across the field, crashing him into a secluded pond near the shrine before.
BOOM!!!
The pond erupted from Ryu's ability, and water droplets started raining around them.
"Huff, huff...you done throwing a tantrum already like a little bitch!?" - Ryu
"...Apologies, it's good to let a little steam out sometimes." - Enra smiling
"Thank you, Ryu" - Enra
"Happy to help, next time call okay?" - Ryu being sarcastic
"You're funny. You reminded me...of what I wanted, no, what I needed." - Enra
"That exilirating feeling...of being so close to death, it's pure felicity. Believe me, only two people have ever managed to get that out of me." - Enra smirking
"Am I included?" - Ryu
"Hmm, I guess that makes you three" - Enra
Enra gets up
"We're dragging this way beyond point, let's break ourselves, Ryu ." - Enra
"One of us dies...tonight" - Enra stops smirking
Ryu gets out of the pond
"Abs-fucking-loutley" - Ryu activating his element
"Can't wait to—" - Ryu
"Blergh!! Koff koff!! Koff!!" - Ryu coughing out blood
"No no no no, I've reached my limit...shit!" - Ryu on the ground panicking