Location: Frostgrave Expanse – 2 Hours After Map Retrieval
Snow whipped across the frozen plain.
The Red Blade had departed the ice-choked harbor. But its wake—bright, burning with soulflame traces—lingered.
High above, aboard an invisible ship stitched with Cipher Pol cloaking plates, the hunter had arrived.
He stood at the bow.
A man-shaped figure. Cloaked in soulsteel black. Face hidden beneath a segmented helmet, with vents that breathed cold smoke.
And strapped across his back—a sword that screamed in silence.
They called him The Other Stormwalker.
Cipher Pol's Weapon of Balance
"Why him?" asked Agent Sable, clutching her coat tighter against the unnatural cold leaking from the armored man.
Director R.O.N. stood nearby, his expression carved in stone.
"Because we need balance. That boy's flame is destabilizing reality. It was designed to fight forgotten weapons."
"And he—?"
"He is one."
System Update – Target Assigned
Global Event Detected
Cipher Pol Omega Asset "Stormwalker Omega" Deployed
Classification: Unknown
Estimated Strength: ???
Your flame trail is now being tracked
Skill Interference Detected: Anti-Soul Protocol Active
Soulflame Proficiency Recovery Slowed
Dual Blade Resonance Slightly Jammed
Ankit closed the screen, face grim.
"We're being hunted."
Makino looked up from her scope. "You saw the message too?"
Shanks leaned against the rail, arms crossed. "I felt the air shift."
Benn nodded. "Something cold's coming."
Aboard the Red Blade – Strategic Discussion
Nightfall.
The map from the Frozen Crown was complete—but the crew had barely a moment to breathe.
Makino spread the new layout on the table.
"This shows six fragments. We now have five."
Shanks tapped the final position—deep within a no-man's zone called the Gale Rift.
Benn added, "If the sixth one's there, we don't have time to wait. That hunter—whoever or whatever he is—won't stop."
Ankit asked the only question that mattered:
"What is the Other Stormwalker?"
Makino answered quietly.
"A failed prototype... of you."
Flashback – Cipher Pol Omega's Forbidden Project
Inside the underground labs of Cipher Pol Omega, Project STORMWALKER had one goal: create a warrior who could resist future threats like Ankit—unpredictable, foreign, and system-empowered.
They tried soul-enhancement.
They tried Haki-fusion.
They failed—until they stitched together the soul remnants of two fallen warriors from the Void Century and placed them inside a host body bred in a vacuum.
What emerged wasn't human.
It didn't speak.
Didn't dream.
Only followed code:
Neutralize the Unstable Flame.
Midnight Pursuit – The Sea Turns Against Them
Two days later, under a red moon, the Red Blade passed into the eastern storm belts.
Lightning fractured the sky.
But something followed.
Makino's den-den mushi shrieked—not in a call, but a warning.
Benn narrowed his eyes. "He's here."
Ankit gripped his swords.
"Where?"
Shanks said softly, "Everywhere. He's using storm echo."
Suddenly—
Clang!
A black blade slammed into the mast, carving it clean in half.
The ship groaned. Everyone staggered.
A shadow appeared midair.
Stormwalker.
Battle Begins – Blacksteel vs. Soulflame
Ankit surged forward—blades lit in flame, cutting through the air.
Clash!
His strikes met a void.
The Stormwalker's blade did not clang.
It absorbed.
Soulflame was swallowed.
System Alert – "Anti-Soul Core" Contact
Your flame is being devoured at 4.7% per strike
Caution: Extended combat may destabilize soulflow
Makino fired a round from her pulse rifle—deflected midair.
Benn used bullet-style Haki—melted before contact.
Shanks moved last—using pure Conqueror's pressure to try and halt the creature.
It blinked through it.
Ankit's Realization – This Isn't a Duel
Each move he made was mirrored.
Each step countered.
The Stormwalker didn't have instinct.
It had programming.
Worse—its fighting style was based on Ankit's own soulflow logs.
Makino gasped. "It's mimicking his past fights!"
Ankit pushed off a chunk of wreckage and charged again, using Flare Cross—
The Stormwalker copied it perfectly, but without delay.
Only Ankit's unpredictability kept him alive.
Turning the Tide – Breaking the Pattern
System Option Unlocked: Soulflame Disruption Technique
Risk: Disabling core stability for 10 seconds
Result: Rewrite personal fighting flow mid-battle
"Do it," Ankit muttered.
Accepted.
He dropped his stance.
Let everything fall away—form, flow, rhythm.
And moved with pure intent.
No style.
No logic.
Only will.
His next strike slipped under the Stormwalker's guard.
And cut its armor.
Benn and Makino Strike Back
Seeing the opening, Benn fired a concussive haki shot into the exposed side.
Makino lobbed a cryo-grenade into the joint gaps.
Boom!
The Stormwalker stumbled.
And for the first time—growled.
Escape Initiated – Destination: Gale Rift
Shanks grabbed Ankit by the collar and hauled him back as the ship pitched.
"We leave. Now."
"But—"
"No!" Benn roared. "We've got what we need. This thing doesn't die. It learns."
The crew jumped aboard the skiff. Makino triggered the emergency sail burst.
As they vanished into the storm, the Stormwalker stood on the fractured deck of the Red Blade.
Its mask hissed.
Then turned north.
System Update – Status and Warning
Stormmark Progress: 5/6 Acquired
Next Location: Gale Rift – Abyssal Sea Chain
Note: The Other Stormwalker is adapting
Soulflame Counter-Efficiency Increased by 2.1%
Memory Sync Level: 18%
You have 6 days before it reaches peak mimicry
Ankit clenched his jaw.
"If I'm going to win... I have to evolve faster."
Final Scene – A Message Left Behind
As the Stormwalker stood in the rain, a piece of Ankit's broken blade drifted near its feet.
The creature picked it up.
And slid it into a hidden sheath on its own belt.
Not for study.
But for honor.
Even machines knew what kind of warrior they were hunting.