«« Title: Special Announcement: The characters of "The Way of Kara" now have a face!
Message:
Hey everyone!
To thank you for your incredible support, I've added a surprise in several chapters: original drawings of the characters!
You can now discover the official design of:
Shiro Takahashi at the end of Chapter 5
Diana Kurogami at the end of Chapter 8
Raizen Vithar at the end of Chapter 11
Duck Bum Darly (the duck) in Chapter 12
I hope you enjoy this surprise! Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments on the respective chapters!
Thanks again for everything. »»👌✍️✨️✨️
"In this world, strength is not a gift… it's the price you pay to stay alive."
"Kara is the vital energy that flows through all things. Some shape it to create, others to destroy… but all depend on it to survive."
"When the breath of Kara fades, the heart stops beating, and the soul vanishes into eternal shadow."
Darkness. The sound of slow, steady breathing, then the distant song of a morning bird.
The image is blurry, as if seen through eyelids barely opening. The light is soft, filtering through the shutters of a sanctuary bedroom.
A strange sensation.
A weight.
Something on the forehead. Smooth, hard, and... yellow?
The focus sharpens slowly. The image becomes clear. Right in front of the eyes, just a few centimeters away, is... a duck bill. Bright yellow. Motionless. Absurd.
Danky's brain took a second to process the information. Then another. And suddenly, panic.
Danky: "AAAAAH!"
The scream was pure, primal. A shriek of total surprise that made the walls of the small room vibrate. Out of pure survival instinct, his body reacted before his mind. His fist, charged with the raw energy of an elite fighter, shot out with the force of a cannonball, aiming to pulverize the unidentified object.
The fist cut through the air.
And stopped dead.
A hand had just intercepted it. A hand that didn't even seem to have moved. It closed around Danky's fist, its fingers wrapping around his knuckles with the strength of a steel vise. The shockwave of the impact was completely absorbed, without even a vibration.
Before Danky could understand, he felt his entire body being lifted from the bed, brutally, like a mere rag doll. In a fraction of a second, he was flipped over and violently slammed against the wooden floor, which creaked under the pressure. The hand still held his fist, pinning him to the ground, while a knee pressed into his back, completely immobilizing him.
His breath knocked out of him, pain radiating from his shoulder, Danky could only let out a strangled groan.
Danky: (panting, his face pressed against the wood) "Alright... I give up... you win..."
The pressure disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. Laughter erupted above him. A frank, amused, almost childish laugh that completely contrasted with the violence of the previous action.
Duck Bum Darly: (laughing as he let him go) "I was told you got back yesterday. Unfortunately, I couldn't see you; I just got back from a mission myself."
Danky turned over painfully, massaging his wrist, and looked up at his mentor. Duck Bum Darly stood there, hands in his pockets, his duck-bill-shaped mask displaying a comical neutrality. But behind that mask, Danky could guess the smug grin and the glint of power in his eyes.
Duck's laughter echoed in the small room, chasing away the tension of the morning confrontation.
Duck: "So, how was your trip?"
A smile was clearly forming under his mask.
Danky got up, stretching his protesting back. He smiled too, the pain in his wrist already forgotten.
Danky: (with a smile) "Long. Tiring. But educational."
A few minutes later, with the sun already higher in the sky, they were both walking through the corridors of the Zenith Goma hideout. They had swapped their nightclothes for casual street clothes, and Duck was wearing a large shoulder bag, angled to conceal the obvious presence of his two swords.
Their walk led them past the infirmary, from which a young Astroforge, Pierre, was exiting. Looking tired but conscientious, he held a bundle of medical scrolls under his arm.
Duck Bum Darly: (calling out cheerfully as he passed) "Hey, Pierre! I'm taking my apprentice for a walk into town!"
Pierre stopped short, a look of panic on his face.
Pierre: "But Master Duck, no! You just got back from a mission! You need to rest and have a check-up! If Hana finds out I let you leave..."
His protest was lost in the wind. Duck had already grabbed Danky by the collar and started running towards the exit.
Duck: (shouting over his shoulder) "Don't worry, it'll be our little secret!"
They bolted down the path, leaving poor Pierre frozen in place, his arms full of scrolls, with the look of a man who knows he's already an accomplice to breaking the rules.
Their run led them to a dark, anonymous alley in Goma. The air sizzled for a second, distorting like a heatwave, before the two figures appeared out of nowhere, having passed through the concealment barrier.
Duck took a deep breath, savoring the city's smells with obvious pleasure.
Duck: "So, how about some good steamed buns?"
Danky: "Hell yeah! I'm starving."
The small restaurant was crowded, buzzing with the sound of conversations and the clatter of chopsticks. But for the last few minutes, a strange silence had fallen. All eyes were on a single table. There, a mountain of empty bamboo steamers rose, threatening to collapse at any moment.
Seated at that table, Duck and Danky, each with a steaming bun in each hand, were devouring their meal at an inhuman speed. The customers, the owner, the waiters... everyone stared at them, open-mouthed, a mixture of fascination and dread in their eyes.
A customer whispered to his neighbor, "That's... that's their thirtieth basket, right?"
The waitress, passing by with a tremble, corrected, "Thirty-second."
Duck finished his bite, swallowed, and raised his hand with a wide smile that almost split his mask.
Duck: "Chef! Same again, but double this time!"
Behind his counter, the restaurant owner felt a tear of joy (or financial despair) roll down his cheek.
A few moments later.
The mountain of empty baskets is even higher. Duck and Danky, finally full, are sipping hot tea.
Duck set down his cup, the delicate sound of porcelain contrasting with the culinary carnage that had just taken place. He leaned forward slightly, a glint of seriousness piercing through his mask.
Duck: "Alright, now that we've eaten well, it's time to talk."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
Duck: "First, congratulations on your promotion to the rank of Astroforge. That's good work."
Danky puffed out his chest, an arrogant and proud smile lighting up his face.
Danky: "Ah, you know... I am a prodigy, after all. Don't forget it."
Duck let out a small, mocking laugh, a sound muffled by his mask.
Duck: "I still remember our first meeting. You were a mess. So tiny, and with that look of a hunted animal..."
Danky narrowed his eyes, stung.
Danky: "Yeah, you can talk. Still, back then, I was already cooler than you with your duck mask."
Duck's laughter was more genuine this time. He calmed down, then his tone changed, becoming more composed, though still tinged with a benevolent irony.
Duck: "Okay, more seriously... You've finished your Luminary training and are now a true Stellar Zenith, which is good. However, the reason you came back here, to Goma, is to perfect your real training. It's time to let you knead that raw power raging inside you... and turn it into a perfectly controlled weapon."
He was about to continue, but his sentence hung in the air. His body, relaxed a second before, tensed imperceptibly. Under his mask, his gaze, which Danky couldn't see, had just changed. It was no longer amused. It was focused. Sharp. He had just sensed something that no one else in the restaurant could perceive: a fluctuation of Black Kara, powerful and dangerous, not far away.
Without a word of explanation, his voice became a dry, direct whisper.
Duck Bum Darly: "Come. Follow me."
He stood up without rushing, but with an underlying urgency. He placed a wad of bills on the table, then gave a nod to the still-stunned owner.
Duck: "Thanks for the meal, chef. And sorry for the noise."
Before anyone could react, he was already outside. Danky, understanding nothing but knowing not to ask questions, followed without hesitation. Once in the street, Duck melted into the shadow of an alley. With a silent, superhuman leap, he jumped onto a wall, then onto a roof, with disconcerting agility. Danky followed, his heart pounding, total confusion mixing with adrenaline.
Their silent run across the rooftops of Goma quickly led them to the eastern district. Below, the bustle of the festival contrasted with the heavy silence of a dark alley. Duck stopped short, signaling for Danky not to move.
Down below, the scene was already set: four bodies lay in twisted positions. Sitting on one of them, a Kageyami was dragging its black claws across its victim's flesh.
Two white figures had just landed at the entrance of the alley. Two Astroforges.
Danky: (murmuring, clenching his fists) "They're going to get themselves killed! He's stronger than them!"
Duck: (his voice an icy whisper) "This is their mission. We only intervene if civilians are threatened. That's the rule. Observe."
From their perch, they saw the Astroforges engage in combat, they saw the Kageyami reveal its true power, and they saw the pillars of shadow erupt from the ground, narrowly missing the two Zeniths.
Then, the worst happened. The Kageyami, ignoring the two fighters, launched itself out of the alley, running at a terrifying speed straight towards the innocent crowd of the festival.
Duck's face, under his mask, hardened.
Duck: "There. He crossed the line."
His tone was calm, but his Kara began to vibrate, an almost imperceptible pressure that made the tile under his feet tremble.
Duck: "Stay here. And watch closely how we handle a rabid dog."
Before Danky could answer, Duck had disappeared. He didn't run, he fell. A controlled fall, his body cutting through the air. Just before hitting the ground, an impulse of Kara changed his trajectory into a perfect straight line.
A calm, almost mocking voice descended from the sky.
Duck Bum Darly: "Hey. Where do you think you're going?"
He landed with disconcerting ease right in front of the Kageyami, cutting off its path.
He made an almost lazy gesture, as if sheathing two invisible blades.
Then, without anyone understanding how, the massive body of the superior Kageyami froze. Cut lines appeared all over its body, and it collapsed into a thousand pieces.
Duck sighed, hands in his pockets, without even looking at the result.
Duck Bum Darly: "You're in my city, you bastard. And here, no one kills without being judged. Not as long as Duck Bum Darly breathes."
The two Astroforges, who had prepared for certain death, remained frozen, breathless. Their eyes went from the monster's remains to Duck's relaxed figure.
Astroforge 1: (murmuring, full of admiration) "It's him..."
Astroforge 2: (finishing the sentence, with the same respect) "The man in the duck mask!"
From the roof, Danky let out an admiring whistle before jumping down with agility, landing smoothly a few meters from his mentor.
Danky Norland:
– "Wow, so fast," he thought, his eyes shining with excitement. "This guy is just too strong."
Duck, ignoring the admiration he was receiving, turned to his apprentice as if nothing had happened.
Duck: "Come on, let's go."
They resumed their walk, passing through the festival crowd that had barely noticed the incident, too absorbed in the celebration. As they passed a group of children, several of them stopped to point at Duck's mask, their faces lit up with laughter and curiosity. To them, he wasn't a fearsome warrior, but a funny storybook character.
Once they had moved a little away from the hustle and bustle, Danky, whose curiosity had been piqued, turned to his master.
Danky: "Say, I've never seen you without your mask... What's so special about it?"
Duck stopped. A silence fell between them, broken only by the distant music of the festival. Slowly, he raised his hand to his mask, his fingers resting on the edge, as if he were finally going to remove it. Danky's eyes widened in anticipation.
Then, with a quick gesture and a small, muffled laugh, Duck put his hand back in his pocket, leaving the mask firmly in place.
Duck: (in a mocking tone) "This mask was a gift from a friend. Back then, I was a young man, much more promising than you, in any case."
He paused, his tone suddenly becoming more introspective, almost nostalgic.
Duck: "But I was disrespectful. Arrogant. Because at the time, I had never known defeat. And that friend... was the first and only person to win against me. Even though he was, objectively, weaker than me."
(The world around them fades. The light changes, the sounds muffle. A memory takes shape.)
The image is of a young Duck, his face still beardless, kneeling in the dust of a training arena. He is out of breath, covered in sweat and a few scratches. Facing him stands an old man. His face is blurry, indistinct, like a memory too old, but his posture exudes immense wisdom.
The old man holds out the duck mask to him.
Voice of the Old Man (calm and deep): "Even the duck, which glides proudly on the water, eventually dips its head to survive. No matter your grace or your power, there will come a time when you must bow, get dirty, or accept the fall to keep moving forward."
(The memory dissipates. We return to the present, to Duck and Danky in the streets of Goma. Duck's gaze is lost for a moment in the distance, as if he were still seeing the face of his old friend.)
Duck: "Since that day, I've never taken it off in public. And that's how people started calling me 'the duck'."
He let out a small sigh, a mixture of nostalgia and amusement, before resuming his light-footed walk. Danky followed him, silent, digesting this unexpected revelation. The mask wasn't a joke. It was a lesson. A constant reminder of humility.
The sun was beginning to set, painting the Goma sky in shades of orange and purple. The festival lanterns were lighting up one by one, taking over from the daylight. The atmosphere was peaceful, almost magical.
Suddenly.
A piercing whistle tore through the air.
A thin spear of black energy, fast as an arrow, shot out from the shadow of a roof, aiming directly at Danky's back.
It all happened in a fraction of a second.
Before Danky could even perceive the danger, Duck had pivoted. Without even drawing his blades, he struck the air with the flat of his hand. The invisible impact deflected the projectile's trajectory, which embedded itself in a brick wall a few meters away, where it disintegrated in a cloud of black smoke.
Danky's heart raced. He recognized that energy. That aura.
"No..." he thought, his body suddenly freezing, adrenaline replacing the quiet of the moment. "It's him."
Duck, for his part, hadn't moved. He slowly raised his head towards the roof from where the attack had come. His casual demeanor had completely vanished. His body was tense, ready. The air around him seemed to vibrate.
A silhouette was outlined in the twilight. Tall, dressed in black, his face half-hidden by a familiar mask.
The voice came down from the roof, calm, composed, and oozing with cruel irony.
Johan: "So we meet again... my dear Zeniths."
The image freezes on the three adversaries, ready for an inevitable fight.
END OF CHAPTER 15