The sky was still cracked.
Black fissures gaped across the heavens like hideous wounds carved into the body of the world. A dark aura seeped downward, slowly flowing like blood dripping from an ancient scar. The atmosphere felt suffocating… as if the world itself was holding its breath on the brink of annihilation.
Panic swept through like a storm.
The king, the academy students, even the highest-ranking magic instructors—all were frozen. None could speak. They could only stare upward with paralyzed expressions, drowning in a fear that pressed on their chests like a mountain.
And above them... floated that figure.
Zerath. The Eternal God.
His body cloaked in dark purple light, as though devouring every ray around him. His gaze was wild, his smile reflected pure madness.
"YOU WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME AGAIN, WHITE REAPER!!" he roared. His voice shook the sky, like an apocalyptic hymn sung from the mouth of a demon.
But in front of him...
Kazuki only laughed softly.
"Fufufu..." He lowered his head slightly, shoulders shaking gently. "Defeat you?"
He raised his gaze, staring directly into his enemy's eyes.
"Who said I wanted to win?"
A small smile appeared on his lips—thin, calm, and unsettling. The smile of someone who knew something the world did not. Like an actor savoring the final scene of a play he had written himself.
"I just wanted to test... one thing."
And in a split second—wush!
Kazuki vanished from sight. No warning. No supporting magic. He simply disappeared.
Zerath instinctively turned left... nothing.
Right—still nothing.
But then—
Tap.
A light footstep echoed directly above him.
Zerath looked up... too late.
DUGHH!!
A brutal kick struck his face from above! Zerath's body shot downward like a missile, cutting through the air, crashing violently before steadying himself mid-air. The eternal aura surrounding him flared wildly.
"YOU...!! YOU'RE REALLY TESTING MY PATIENCE!!!" he shouted, face twisted in rage.
Kazuki reappeared, hovering calmly in the sky like a shadow untouched by time. His gaze—blank… or too deep to be read.
Without a word, he raised his sword—White Blade.
The silvery-white gleam reflected off the shattered sky. Then, slowly, a dark violet aura crept from his palm, merging along the length of the blade.
[Death Bloom – Fragment]
The aura of death bloomed softly from the sword. Not loud. Not flashy. But sharp... and serene. Like petals falling on water, concealing deadly poison beneath beauty.
Zerath clenched the air, forming claws of energy. His Eternal Core surged violently.
BOOM!!
They clashed.
The sound of magic colliding, winds bursting, and light exploding split the sky. Kazuki moved with precision, every swing a step in a deadly dance. Zerath countered with brute strength, striking back with the fury of a god.
But behind the clash...
Kazuki smiled.
"...Everything is still according to script."
Zerath vanished again, retreating into a dark dimension.
"WHAT WAS THAT!? THAT BOY… WHAT IS HE REALLY!?" Zerath muttered in panic. His breath ragged. "It felt like I was fighting… a myth rewriting reality."
And yet...
High above, Kazuki floated silently. His eyes closed. The night wind stirred his white cloak gently.
He opened his eyes.
And the world changed.
White mana poured from his entire body, gathering at his sword. Forming a spiral vortex—glimmering and... deadly.
Kazuki whispered softly, barely audible.
"All light fades..."
He raised the sword high toward the sky.
"DEATH BLOOM."
BRAAAAKK!!!
A white explosion engulfed the heavens. Buildings vanished without a trace. The ground split apart. Cracks spread through the sky like shattered nerves across the night's ceiling.
Zerath was hurled out of his hiding dimension, his body burning from the deathly aura.
"ARGHHHH!!!"
He crashed into the earth, carving a deep crater. His body twisted in agony.
Kazuki descended slowly. His cloak swayed gracefully, his steps silent. Like a death angel arriving precisely on time.
Zerath struggled to rise. His body bled, his breath broken.
"L… lucky… I'm immortal…" he said with a bitter smile.
But...
The moment he tried to take a step, his knees buckled.
"What…!? Why can't my body… move!?"
Kazuki simply watched from afar. His face cold. No sympathy. Just a hollow gaze, like a judge who already knew the verdict since the first page of the story.
He raised a finger.
"...That's enough."
White aura gathered at his fingertip. The wind began to rage.
"Time to end the game."
Then—
"DEATH BLOOM."
Zerath sneered.
"Pointless... I've surpassed death."
But as the magic touched him—
"GHHAAAAA!!!"
He tried to resist. But it was useless. This magic didn't just strike... it erased. As if the force rejected Zerath's very existence in the world.
"WHAT IS THIS…!? THIS POWER… THIS ISN'T MAGIC!!!"
Kazuki's magic wrapped around Zerath's body slowly, slicing—not physically, but existentially.
Zerath groaned.
"No… I'm immortal… I can't die… I CAN'T—"
Silence.
Zerath vanished into white light.
No explosion. No scream.
Just... stillness.
Kazuki looked up at the sky, now fading. The color of dawn stretched slowly between the cracks.
He said nothing.
His body faded back into the shadows.
And before morning light could fully shine upon the ruins, only a thin smile remained in the wind...
The smile of an actor who had just closed the curtain.