The moment Shin's voice echoed, the very air shifted.
Thunder cracked across the crimson sky as if the heavens themselves bore witness to the awakening of something ancient and divine.
The people of Valdorne, bloodied and bruised from the chaos, paused in their fleeing. From alleyways and behind shattered walls, they watched, eyes wide, as Shin stepped forward, Yoshimatsu gleaming like a beacon in his grip.
Rorick's monstrous form loomed, black mist seeping from his twisted frame. "So the mutt lives," he snarled, his voice a guttural rasp.
"No," Shin replied, his tone steady and resolute. "I returned."
He vanished in an instant.
A sonic boom shattered the silence, ripping through the city square as Shin moved with impossible speed, appearing mid-air with Yoshimatsu poised to strike.
Rorick barely blocked the blow, but the sheer force cratered the cobblestone beneath him, sending stone and earth erupting like geysers, scattering debris across the ruined plaza.
Their clash ignited the battlefield in a blinding tempest. Sparks and lightning exploded from every impact as Shin and Rorick blurred, the battlefield becoming a storm of motion.
Every swing of Shin's katana sent shockwaves rippling through the landscape. One strike cleaved a fallen tower in half, the massive structure collapsing behind Rorick in a cataclysm of dust and roaring flame.
Valdorne trembled beneath their fury. The ground groaned, fissures spiderwebbing outward from their chaotic dance.
Laverna, clinging to consciousness, standing up slowly, her hand clasping as she watches the battle unfold, whispered, "Please... win." Her voice trembled, a fragile thread of hope amidst the devastation.
Shin evaded a vicious claw swipe, twisting with lethal grace to plunge Yoshimatsu into the earth. A radiant surge of golden energy exploded outward, hurling Rorick through a row of buildings in a cascade of splintered wood and shattered stone.
Rorick crashed through three structures, each impact shaking the city to its core, before skidding to a halt in a smoldering crater. Roaring with defiance, he surged forward, his blade arm splintering into writhing tendrils of cursed steel.
Shin met the assault with precision, parrying each tendril in a fluid dance of steel and instinct, his movements sharp and fluid. Every clash made the ground quake. Lightning from the heavens forked between them as if drawn to their titanic struggle.
"You were nothing but a pawn," Shin growled, his katana slicing through Rorick's corrupted limb. Black blood hissed as it scorched the ground, acrid smoke curling into the air.
"Your story ends here," Shin declared, his voice cutting through the chaos.
Rorick bared his fangs and charged, a feral snarl tearing from his throat."Then come and try!" Rorick bellowed, his voice a warped echo of rage.
The two collided mid-air. The force of the impact sent a pillar of light and shadow spiraling into the heavens, visible even from the farmlands outside the city. A gust of wind expanded from the impact zone, leveling trees and extinguishing fires.
Shin landed, chest heaving but unyielding, his eyes blazing with resolve. He closed them briefly, centering himself, then he rushed again, each step cratering the ground behind him.
Sliding beneath Rorick's slashing claw, Shin struck upward, unleashing a geyser of black energy that tore into the sky. With a burst of speed, he spun, Yoshimatsu descending in a devastating arc that split the ground asunder.
The ground split in two.
A glowing fissure yawned open, molten energy crackling from its depths like the veins of a wounded earth. Rorick stumbled, teetering on the edge, his broken arm oozing as he gasped for breath.
"How...?" he snarled, clutching his broken arm. "You were nothing!"
"I am the man she cried for," Shin said. "And that is more power than you'll ever understand."
He stepped forward, energy blazing around him, golden petals swirling in the wake of his aura. Rorick lunged one final time, but Shin moved like the wind, an untouchable phantom like the moon reflected in water.
In a single flash, Yoshimatsu severed Rorick's blade arm. The corrupted metal fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Shin kicked him back, sending Rorick sprawling beside the crater. He stood tall, his bare chest streaked with blood and dirt, eyes like twin suns.
"This ends now."
As he raised Yoshimatsu, golden light enveloped the blade. The wind howled in reverence. The moon broke through the clouds, casting silver across the ruins of Valdorne.
Its light washed over the battlefield, eliminating the crimson skies as if purifying the land, banishing the remnants of cursed energy that once tainted it.
Shin vanished from sight.
A moment of eerie stillness gripped the battlefield.
Then—
A cascade of golden slashes erupted across the battlefield, carving through time and space itself, slicing through the very fabric of reality. The very air fractured as invisible cuts tore through buildings, shattered the ground, and split apart cursed tendrils mid-flight.
Rorick stood paralyzed, his eyes wide with dawning horror.
Then it all struck at once.
An explosion of divine light, a fan of celestial cuts descending in flawless symmetry. slid into its sheath with a resonant chime as Shin stood, his back to the carnage.
A heartbeat passed, heavy with finality.
Rorick's form shattered, each segment severed by a pristine, otherworldly slash, his corrupted essence erupting in a towering pillar of golden fire.
The battlefield fell silent, the air thick with settling dust.
Dust swirled as the remnants of cursed energy dissolved into motes of light, drifting skyward like embers.
The scarred earth seemed to exhale, its tremors fading into calm.
Valdorne, broken but enduring, bore witness to the end of its tormentor.
Laverna reached out, her trembling hand seeking the silhouette of Shin amidst the glowing aftermath. Her eyes shimmered with fragile hope, a spark reignited.
Shin turned to her, his gaze softened, carrying a quiet strength.
And for the first time in a long time, the city of Valdorne had hope.
Shin stood undefeated, a solitary figure against the dawn.
The silence that followed was broken by a single, tentative cheer from the shadows of Valdorne's ruins. A young boy, his face smudged with soot, stepped from behind a crumbled wall, his voice rising in a cry of triumph.
More voices joined, tentative at first, then swelling into a chorus of jubilation. From the alleys and shattered homes, the people of Valdorne emerged, their weary faces alight with disbelief and joy.
"We're free!" a woman shouted, clutching her child as tears streamed down her cheeks. The crowd surged toward the square, their cheers echoing off the broken stones, a tide of hope washing over the scarred city.
They gathered around Shin, some reaching out as if to touch him, others falling to their knees in gratitude. The golden motes still lingered in the air, catching the dawn's light, as Valdorne's people chanted his name, their voices carrying the promise of a new beginning.