The silence that engulfed the void was crushing, suffocating. It hung in the air like a heavy weight, pressing against the very fabric of existence. No sound dared to disturb the stillness. No movement. Only the oppressive emptiness of a dimension far beyond human comprehension.
And at the center of it all stood Asahi.
Kneeling. His breath ragged, like each inhale was a battle. His fingers trembled as they gripped his left eye. There was something unnatural about the way his body shifted—something grotesque about the way his entire being seemed to twist and warp with every breath he took.
FA stood a few steps away, his eyes locked on Asahi, feeling the sudden shift in the air. A change. A dark, undeniable change.
"This feeling..." FA breathed heavily, unable to tear his gaze away. "His presence... something's wrong."
Lying collapsed on the ground, just out of reach, the Black Man was barely able to move. His body was broken, his right hand clutching the empty socket where his left eye once was. His expression was unreadable, caught between horror and disbelief. Two versions of Asahi stood before him now—one who had fallen, and one who had risen.
The Black Man's voice was barely a whisper, trembling with weak fury. "My… eye…"
And then, the stillness shattered. A sound.
A laugh.
At first, it was soft, almost like the rattle of wind through dry leaves. But it grew.
Louder.
Louder.
Until it wasn't just laughter anymore. It was something else. Something sick and twisted. Something unhinged.
It was the laugh of a madman.
Asahi's body jerked upward, a cold smile curling on his lips. His hand never left his left eye, but the change in his presence was unmistakable. His aura, suffocating. His posture, unbreakable.
FA's eyes widened in shock. "His face…"
Asahi's voice rang out, cold and devoid of humanity. "YARE YARE..."
The void seemed to tremble, bending under the weight of his words.
The Black Man, barely able to lift his head, whispered again, his voice hoarse, his body too broken to fight. "What… have you done?"
Asahi stood tall now, every inch of him radiating something beyond human. His left eye, once hidden, was now revealed. A sickening pressure filled the air. The world itself seemed to tilt, bending, groaning under the weight of something incomprehensible.
FA's blood ran cold.
The Black Man flinched.
And then—Asahi smiled.
Not a smile of victory.
Not a smile of triumph.
A smile that could break minds. A smile that could shatter reality itself.
His voice cut through the tension, cold and sharp like a blade.
"I found a way."
FA's mind raced. His heart pounded. "What...?"
The Black Man's eyes widened, a flicker of hope passing through them. "You… mean it?"
Asahi's lips curled into a cruel, chilling smirk. His eyes gleamed—godlike, mocking.
"What if…" he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
FA's breath caught in his chest.
Asahi's voice rose, warping with an unnatural edge.
"WHAT IF I JUST KILL ALL THE ASAHIS WHO ARE SUFFERING?"
The Black Man gasped. The hope in his eyes flickered and died.
FA's heart dropped into his stomach.
The Black Man's voice trembled, desperation creeping into his words. "N-No… wait—"
But Asahi wasn't listening. His voice turned colder, sharper, more unhinged.
"Killing everyone... collecting their memories... collecting every bit of their life..."
FA stood motionless, a cold dread washing over him. This was not Asahi. This was something else. Something darker. Something beyond recognition.
The Black Man's breath grew frantic, his attempts to move failing him. But Asahi was already upon him.
"And then… they all can live inside me."
The Black Man's pupils shrank in terror.
Step by step, Asahi closed the distance.
"Come on..." Asahi's voice was playful, like a predator toying with its prey.
The Black Man's voice cracked as he gasped. "Stay… stay away."
But Asahi was already too close. His hand shot out, gripping the Black Man's throat.
The Black Man's body trembled as he gasped for air, his eyes wide with shock.
And Asahi leaned in, his voice a whisper in the void.
"You don't need to suffer anymore."
The Black Man's body trembled violently, but there was no escape.
"Your life… your power… your memories... IT'S ALL MINE NOW!"
The Black Man stopped struggling. His eyes softened.
And then, with a final breath, the Black Man smiled. A broken smile. A smile of acceptance.
"You… you're going to suffer more than anyone…" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
Asahi stared at him, unmoving. He watched as the last flicker of life faded from the Black Man's eyes.
"But... you're the only one who understands my pain."
A single tear rolled down Asahi's cheek. It was the first time he had shed a tear in what felt like an eternity.
FA saw it. The transformation in Asahi's eyes.
The Black Man's body began to dissolve, piece by piece, turning to dust as if the very essence of his existence was being absorbed by Asahi.
His suffering ended—not by salvation, but by becoming one with Asahi.
And Asahi watched, silent.
For the first time, he didn't feel anger.
For the first time, he didn't feel triumph.
For the first time, he felt loss.
Asahi's voice was barely a whisper. "I knew your pain… your suffering…"
But that pain would never be repaired.
He wiped his tears away.
Turning, he faced FA, his eyes colder now, his resolve unshaken.
FA, watching him, saw something that he hadn't seen in Asahi for a long time—acceptance.
"So you've chosen the hardest way, huh?" FA's voice was unreadable, colder than ever.
The void was silent.
And the loop continued.
Asahi nodded.
FA smiled, a slow, knowing smile. He shook his head, but it wasn't disappointment. No. It was something deeper.
"We have so much to suffer together, huh?" FA said softly.
Asahi didn't answer. He just smiled back—nothing more, nothing less.
The weight of it all hung between them, a shared understanding of the never-ending cycle they were caught in.
FA's voice was quiet, distant, almost tired.
"This madness never ends."
"I know," Asahi responded softly.
FA gazed ahead, into the empty void. "If one Asahi dies, another comes. If we kill that one too, another will come. If we kill that one too—"
Asahi interrupted him, his voice steady but filled with the weight of a truth too heavy to bear.
"Asahi will come."
He looked FA in the eye, his gaze unwavering, his resolve absolute.
"I will kill that one too."
His fists clenched, and the familiar heartbeat of his pain echoed in his chest.
"Another comes, I will kill that one too."
And he looked down at his chest, where his heart burned with a fire that would never go out.
"I will carry their pain in my heart."
FA watched, silent.
A bitter smile curled on FA's lips, but it was a smile born of understanding.
"I'm just looking at my younger self breaking apart," Asahi murmured to himself.
"A self who doesn't give up."
"A self who will never stop."
FA smiled.
"We don't know how many Asahis are out there. How much suffering. How much pain…"
His voice grew colder, darker, tinged with something akin to amusement.
"Asahi," he said softly, almost like a prophecy.
Asahi turned his gaze to him, cold and distant, unbreakable.
FA smirked, giving a small thumbs-up.
"Don't forget to share that pain, okay?"
For the first time in what felt like forever, Asahi's lips curled into a small smile.
But then—something changed.
FA glitched.
His arm flickered. His leg distorted. His entire body cracked and cracked again, energy spiraling out of control.
Asahi's eyes widened in confusion. "Hey. What's happening?"
FA's body trembled violently. His hands shook, but then—suddenly, everything stopped.
FA looked up.
His eyes were wide.
Tears.
Tears of happiness.
Asahi stared, bewildered.
"What?"
FA wiped his eyes, his smile never fading.
"Nothing."
It was a smile, but it was different. Hiding something. Something deep.
Asahi took a hesitant step forward.
Something was wrong. Something was deeply, deeply wrong.
His voice was steady but uneasy. "...Fine."
FA chuckled softly.
"So… loop you?"
Asahi nodded, accepting it with a cold, resigned smile. "Loop me."
FA's voice dropped, quieter, darker.
"This will be your 101st loop."
Asahi froze.
Not 100. Not 99. Not 50.
101
"How… how can you say that so easily?" Asahi's voice was barely above a whisper.
FA smirked. "Because I've adapted more times than you."
The words hit like a blade.
Asahi inhaled sharply. FA had adapted more times than 101.
How many loops had he gone through? How many versions of himself had he killed?
FA smiled, but there was no joy in it. Only resignation.
"We don't know when the next Asahi will attack us…"
FA's voice grew softer, deeper. "But still."
And for the first time, there was something in FA's eyes that Asahi couldn't read. A strange, unreadable calm.
"I know you can save everyone."
Asahi watched, his eyes heavy with the weight of a fate he couldn't escape.
FA closed his eyes.
The void shifted.
The loop restarted.
Asahi inhaled.
He whispered, his voice filled with something neither hope nor despair, but something in between.
"Thank you, FA."
FA didn't answer. He just smiled.
And as the void began to collapse around him, Asahi felt the familiar burn in his skull.
Pain. But he was used to it.
Always used to it.