SYNCHRONIZATION: 34%... 46%... 59%...
:: WARNING: CORE PRESSURE RISING
:: USER DAMAGE LIKELY
:: PHYSICAL RESILIENCE REQUIRED
INITIATING PHASE ONE...
INTERNAL LIMITERS: OFFLINE
CROWN CIRCUITRY: ENGAGED
NEURAL INTERFACE STRESS LEVEL: 78% AND CLIMBING
:: SYSTEM OVERRIDE IN EFFECT
:: FAILSAFE DISABLED
STAND BY FOR FULL ASCENSION
NEXT PHASE IN: 00:00:07
Then came the dragons.
Not literal—energy made manifest. Amethyst spirits surged around her like wrath incarnate.
Her eyes burned violet.
The Shikiban flinched.
And Reika rose.
Not like a girl healing.
Like a storm unleashed.
The earth cracked. Trees nearby withered into dust. Her hair floated upward like the world no longer held her down.
"You're not gods," she whispered. "You're bricks. I'm the fire."
She vanished.
A purple streak slashed the ground.
The first Shikiban screamed—his arm gone. Then his chest split, exposing the core.
She drove the broken sword into it. Twisted. Heard the crunch.
The second tried to flee. Too slow.
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Her arm shimmered—dragon's claws formed of spirit energy.
She plunged through his back, hand straight into his core.
"Ryujin…"
The core pulsed.
"…Requiem."
The explosion swallowed them.
And then silence.
Smoke curled from her lips. She fell to her knees, body steaming, heart still pounding.
Thirty minutes. That's all she had.
The countdown had begun.
Elsewhere—
"BRO, WHY ARE WE STILL RUNNING?!" Yeaga yelled, dodging tree branches.
"We're baiting them!" Daigo snapped. "Keep 'em moving. Drain their power!"
"You're gonna get us killed!"
Behind them—madness. Screams. Blood. Explosions.
A group of Kageshiki girls ran toward them, crying out.
"HELP! PLEASE!! HELP US!!"
Then—
CRASH.
A massive boulder dropped from above.
Silence followed. No more screams. Just a red smear on the grass.
Daigo froze.
Ishigo stumbled. His lips parted, but no words came. Just wide, shaking eyes.
Yeaga's voice dropped to a whisper. "God…"
From behind the stone, another Shikiban stepped forward—tall, slow, terrible.
He raised his hand.
The stone rose again, dripping blood like rain.
