The battlefield was a wasteland of ruin and chaos. Fires flickered across the shattered ground, casting jagged shadows over fallen warriors. Blood soaked the earth, mixing with the ashes of what once stood as a symbol of defiance against the Void. The war had pushed everyone to their breaking points, yet the true battle had only begun.
Shin Noragetsu exhaled slowly, his grip tightening around the hilt of his katana. His body ached from the relentless clashes, but the weight of destiny pressed heavier upon his shoulders than any physical wound. Across from him, Tenka stood unscathed, his abyssal energy pulsating like a living entity, distorting the air around him. The leader of the Void Cult barely seemed concerned, his expression unreadable beneath the shifting glow of his Abyss Eye.
"You are persistent, I'll grant you that," Tenka mused, his voice carrying across the battlefield like an echo of something ancient. "But persistence is nothing against inevitability."
Shin didn't respond. Instead, he allowed his chakra to rise, the air around him crackling with unseen power. He had faced countless enemies before—shinobi, monsters, even the remnants of the Ōtsutsuki—but nothing compared to the abyss itself. Tenka was no ordinary opponent; he was the embodiment of destruction, a force that sought to collapse the boundaries of existence itself.
Behind Shin, Hana and the remaining shinobi regrouped, their faces weary but determined. They had survived the first wave of the Void Cult's onslaught, but at a cost. Dozens of their comrades lay motionless, their bodies drained of life by the abyssal energy. The survivors had no time to mourn; the battle was far from over.
"We can't keep this up," Hana muttered, standing at Shin's side. Blood dripped from a gash on her forehead, staining her once-white cloak. "Even if we manage to hold the line, we're being pushed back."
Shin kept his gaze locked onto Tenka. "Then we don't hold the line. We push forward."
Hana glanced at him, surprised, but she saw the resolve in his eyes. There was no hesitation, no doubt—only the unwavering belief that this war could still be won.
A sudden chill swept through the battlefield. The Void Cultists began to chant, their voices merging into a haunting, otherworldly hum. The ground trembled as abyssal rifts tore through reality, revealing endless darkness beyond. From these rifts, monstrous creatures emerged—spectral beings with hollow eyes and twisted limbs, their forms shifting and writhing like living nightmares.
Tenka lifted a hand, and the creatures surged forward.
Shin moved first.
He vanished in a flicker of speed, appearing in the midst of the charging creatures. His katana slashed through them like a blade through mist, yet the abyss did not bleed. Instead, the creatures dissolved into nothingness, only for more to take their place.
Hana followed, her chakra flaring as she formed a sequence of hand seals. "Fire Style: Incinerating Barrage!"
A storm of fireballs rained down upon the battlefield, consuming the creatures in flames. The fire roared hungrily, but the abyssal energy resisted, twisting the inferno into dark embers that vanished into the void.
Tenka watched their struggle with amusement. "Fascinating. You still resist, despite knowing the truth." He extended his hand, and a tendril of darkness shot toward Shin, faster than any attack before.
Shin barely had time to react. He raised his katana to block, but the abyss was intangible. The tendril wrapped around his arm, and suddenly, his vision swam. The battlefield blurred, his senses twisting as if he were being pulled into another dimension.
A voice whispered in his mind. You cannot escape the Void.
Shin gritted his teeth, forcing his will against the overwhelming force. He had trained in the Land of Iron, forged in battle, tested against the limits of human strength. He would not fall here.
His Abyss Eye pulsed, and with a burst of energy, he severed the tendril. The backlash sent him stumbling, but he recovered swiftly, his breath coming in sharp, controlled gasps.
Tenka raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. You are more attuned to the Void than I expected."
Shin didn't answer. He had already pieced together the truth—his Abyss Eye, the power that had set him apart from others, was linked to the very force he sought to destroy. And now, Tenka was trying to use that connection against him.
Hana called out to him, her voice urgent. "Shin, we need to cut off their reinforcements!"
He nodded, eyes scanning the battlefield. The rifts were the key. If they could be closed, the Void's influence would weaken.
"Cover me," he ordered, before dashing toward the nearest rift.
The moment he neared it, the darkness lashed out, tendrils of abyssal energy reaching for him. But this time, he was ready. His Abyss Eye flared, and instead of resisting, he embraced the connection. For a fleeting moment, he could see into the Void itself—a realm beyond comprehension, an endless abyss that threatened to consume all things.
Then, he acted.
His katana ignited with his chakra, and with a single, precise slash, he struck the heart of the rift. The energy shuddered, then collapsed inward, sealing shut with a final pulse of power.
One down.
Hana and the others took his lead, redirecting their attacks toward the remaining rifts. The Void Cultists fought back, but with each portal closed, their power waned.
Tenka's smirk faded slightly. "So, you understand now. The Void is both your enemy and your greatest weapon."
Shin leveled his blade at him. "I don't need the Void. I'll end this with my own strength."
Tenka sighed, shaking his head. "You still don't see it, do you?"
Before Shin could respond, the ground beneath him cracked. A surge of abyssal energy erupted, swallowing the battlefield in darkness. For a moment, there was nothing—no sound, no movement, only void.
Then, a voice echoed through the abyss.
"Awaken."
Shin's vision cleared, and he found himself standing alone in a space that was neither land nor sky. It was an endless sea of shadows, stretching infinitely in all directions.
Tenka stood before him, but this time, he was different. His form shifted, the shadows wrapping around him like armor.
"This is the true battlefield," Tenka said, his voice deeper, more resonant. "The final test."
Shin tightened his grip on his katana. He wasn't sure what had happened, but one thing was clear—this battle wasn't over.
It had only just begun.
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