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  Chapter 33: The Death of Freedom**

  The sky over Neversand wept ash and a fine, persistent rain. Fires still burned in scattered pockets, licking at the carcasses of ruined houses like open wounds on the landscape. The ground, once paved with the city's history, had become a mosaic of holes and craters that, under the rain, turned into muddy pools of water and debris. It was a battlefield that refused to fall silent, even after the climax of the fight.

  Heavy, dark clouds suffocated the sky, a funeral shroud over the agonizing city. However, in small openings, cracks in the darkness, the distant light of the Golden Tree pierced through, casting golden beams that painted the destruction with a melancholic, almost divine beauty. The wind sounded like an empty lament, a breath that hurt as it met the skin, carrying the whispers of a city without salvation—bankrupt and annihilated.

  Amidst this scene, the battle had fragmented. Bael, Taida's corrupted Kugutsu, had finally been subdued, trapped in chains of green energy that pulsed with Amok's power.

  — *His fight is over, Yuzuki. He will not leave this prison* — Amok's voice sounded in Yuzuki's mind—calm and resolute, but distant.

  Yuzuki did not answer. His eyes, two incandescent emeralds, were fixed on Taida. The traitor of Kugutsu Island remained standing, but he was the picture of defeat. His body trembled; his disfigured face was a mask of pain and exhaustion. In Yuzuki's eyes, he was a finished, weak enemy—a king deposed from his throne of chaos.

  "What the hell kind of look is that?!" Taida shouted, his voice hoarse and full of a rage that seemed to be the only thing keeping him on his feet. He tried to maintain his posture, but a gust of wind almost knocked him off balance.

  "Shit... It hurts so much," he whispered to himself, taking a deep breath—each inhalation a visible effort that made his whole body tremble.

  In the distance, a hill rose, its steep summit curved like a falcon's beak. Its green, lush grass contrasted brutally with the surrounding devastation—a sanctuary untouched by death and fire. Taida cast a quick glance at the hill, a glimpse of something Yuzuki couldn't read. In a sudden movement, he slammed his fist on the ground. A cloud of dust and rock rose, obscuring the view.

  Yuzuki reacted instinctively, his body tense, his eyes focused on the curtain of dust, expecting a hidden attack. Taida had erased his presence. Even severely wounded, his genius as a warrior was undeniable. Yuzuki stomped his foot, anchoring himself like an ancient tree, and swept his hand in a sharp motion to clear the dust. It was a quick and effective move—but useless. Taida was no longer there.

  He spun in a full circle, searching, but there was nothing. Desperation began to bubble in his chest. "*Bastard... he's going to escape.*" Sounds echoed everywhere—the crackling of flames, the dripping of rain, the groaning of structures about to collapse. Taida was using the environment to his advantage. "*This is a battlefield; nothing here is silent*," Yuzuki thought, preparing to run, knowing that Taida couldn't go far in his state.

  But as he took the first step, a sharp pain pierced his head. His body began to tremble—not from cold, but from an overwhelming weakness. He managed to take at most ten steps before his legs gave out. He fell to his knees in a large puddle of rain and blood.

  "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" Yuzuki shouted, his voice filled with a growing panic.

  "Amok, damn it!! Amok, what's happening?!" Fear flooded his heart, a sick and familiar feeling he knew all too well.

  Silence. Amok did not answer. His body would not obey. His mind, once sharp, was clouded and exhausted. "*Maybe from the excessive use of energy... Keeping Amok and the book active for so long...*"

  But then a sound cut through his thoughts. A sound that froze his blood.

  — **KKWWWHAAAHAAAAAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!**

  A laugh so uncomfortable, repulsive, and terribly familiar.

  — **KKWWWHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAHAAAHAAAHA!!**

  — **I have waited, how I have waited, Kanji.** — The voice poured out like a whisper of morbid pleasure, a melody of madness. It was Mao.

  Yuzuki recognized him immediately.

  "SHIT!!! Not now, Mao, not now, damn it!!" he replied, his hand trembling uncontrollably.

  Kneeling, he looked at his reflection in the puddle and went into shock. His face was smiling. A wide, predatory smile that did not belong to him. A smile that filled him with a primal fear.

  "Amok, damn it!!... Where are you?!"

  — *Genkai*!!! — he shouted, desperately, trying to force the separation, but nothing happened. The despair deepened.

  — **DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SUBJUGATE ME LIKE THAT, KANJI......HHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAWWHHAAAAAA!** — Mao's voice echoed in his mind, distorting his thoughts, drowning his will.

  "WHAT DID YOU DO TO AMOK?!"

  — **He is trapped** — Mao replied, his voice full of cruel delight. — **He used too much energy and won't be able to defend himself for a while. And you... now it's my turn to play.**

  The image of Mao in his mind—the memory of almost killing Akari and Gotier when he was possessed—assaulted him. He began to punch his own face, trying to destroy the smile that was not his, trying to expel the invader. He would rather die than be dominated again. His hand, trembling in a mixture of despair and Mao's will, moved toward his sword. He drew it from its sheath with a spasmodic movement.

  "I'm nobody's puppet, damn it!!"

  With his other hand, he grabbed the blade, ignoring the pain, and drove it toward his own heart. A deep, lascivious laugh full of pleasure exploded from Mao at the sight of Yuzuki's final act of desperation. The blade drew closer. Yuzuki's eyes were fixed on it, without hesitation, ready to pierce his heart. But before the tip touched his skin, darkness swallowed him. He fainted.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The sword fell with a dull thud into the mud. The blood from his face dripped into the puddle, and in his reflection, Mao's smile still lingered.

  — *Nooooo, damn it!! I don't want this, I don't want this anymore!!* — His eyes teared up as consciousness faded. — *I'm always useless and in the end I end up killing someone...* — were his last words before sinking into darkness.

  ...

  A strong, golden light shone brightly. A feeling of something soft and gentle touched his skin. His eyes, still closed, felt the bright light and, with it, a peace he had never known. In that moment, Yuzuki felt... alive.

  He was lying on the grass. He felt the soft texture under his hand and raised his head to understand what had happened. He was on the steep hill—the one with a summit like a falcon's beak. And there, sitting on the edge, was Taida, watching the Golden Tree in the distance, its majestic glow affecting the entire continent.

  — *How am I alive? What happened to me? I should be dominated by Mao... WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?* — the questions echoed in his mind, a torrent of confusion. — *Why am I here? How did I get here? And what the hell is Taida doing here?*

  But underneath it all, a question more frightening than the others began to form. Taida was sitting in silence, as if simply appreciating the beauty of nature.

  "*Did he... save me?*"

  The Sanctuary of Contradiction**

  A strange and unsettling peace enveloped Yuzuki. It was not the quiet of death, but the serenity of a deep sleep—a balm for a tortured mind. He tried to move, but his body was still weak; the headache persisted like a distant memory of the hell he had just been through. The light of the Golden Tree bathed him, filtered through the dark clouds that still hung over Neversand, but here, on top of the hill, they seemed more ethereal.

  His eyes opened slowly, meeting the gray sky and, beside him, the still figure of Taida. The traitor of Kugutsu Island was sitting on the edge of the slope with the posture of a monk in meditation, contemplating the majestic Golden Tree in the distance. The golden light of the Tree enveloped them, creating an atmosphere of forced, almost surreal truce. Yuzuki noticed Taida's wounds, still visible, but somehow stabilized, like ancient scars on a statue.

  He tried to call Amok, but found only silence. Mao's mocking voice was also absent—a void as alarming as it was comforting. A pang of doubt struck him: was Taida responsible for the silence? What had he done?

  Taida, as if sensing Yuzuki's gaze, turned slowly. His eyes, once full of fury and madness, now carried a deep, almost understanding melancholy.

  "Awake, Kanji?" His voice was hoarse, but devoid of the previous aggression.

  Yuzuki tried to speak, but only a grunt escaped his throat. Taida smiled, a small, sad smile.

  "I saved you, yes. Not out of benevolence, but because... you were not yourself. And I hate, above all, the act of not being who you are, of not being able to choose. In that moment, you could not choose to be free."

  Taida pointed to the Golden Tree.

  "This Tree... is not a symbol, it is not folklore. It is a body that breathes light and devours names. It has a field of influence that purifies corruption and calms tormented minds. But only for those it 'accepts'. Your despair, your suicide attempt... the Tree considered you worthy of its 'presence'. I just brought you here—one of the few points in Neversand where its influence is stronger and more constant."

  "And Mao? Amok?" Yuzuki managed to ask, his voice still weak.

  "I used *Genkai* and *Shinkō* to suppress Mao. He was about to consume you. Amok... is recovering, exhausted from the fight and from trying to protect you from Mao's possession. I did not remove them, but I put them in a latent state. A temporary sanctuary, let's say."

  Taida sighed, looking at the devastated landscape.

  "The corruption of Kugutsu Island is already affecting the soil, the water, and the nature of Pangea. All of this..." he gestured to the destruction below, "...did not completely collapse because of the Golden Tree. It is the last barrier. And Kugutsu Island did not hunt me out of fear, Kanji. I have enough information to end the Island. I made a truce with the King: they could not hunt me if I kept my mouth shut. And the proposal was 'accepted'."

  Shocked by the revelations, Yuzuki asked, "Zeke was Kubo's slave. How are so many from Kugutsu in Pangea as slaves?"

  Taida looked at him with a bitter smile.

  "The King of Kugutsu Island... he delivers people to the kings every month in exchange for a false peace. These people become experiments, guinea pigs to understand the unique abilities and powers of the Kugutsus. It is a trade of souls, Kanji. An even more insidious form of control."

  "Freedom?" Yuzuki spat the word, his anger growing. "You talk of freedom, but you have become a slave to your own perversity, Taida. You sacrificed everything to gain this power—what have you gained?"

  Taida laughed, a humorless sound.

  "The Golden Tree does not offer answers, Kanji. It offers the opportunity to confront oneself. I am a mirror for you. True freedom is not the absence of chains, but the acceptance of one's own nature, even if it is monstrous. Your suicide attempt... that was weakness. You do not accept the monster that you are."

  Yuzuki felt Taida's words like physical blows. The peace of the Tree, combined with Taida's brutal clarity, forced him into a painful introspection. He questioned the nature of the Tree—whether it was a blessing or a curse—and if the "salvation" it offered was just another form of prison.

  "I did what had to be done!" Yuzuki shouted, his voice breaking. "I killed everyone in my clan!" He paused, his voice almost a whisper. "Even the children were killed. I do not apologize. Suffering is not an option. For me, the less my people suffer, the better."

  Taida watched him, his lidless eyes fixed on Yuzuki.

  "And Pangea? What will you do with Pangea?"

  "Everything must end," Yuzuki replied, his voice firm. "Before, I thought the Island was not the mistake, that the King was. But today I understand that the problem was never the people—it was the Kugutsus. All of them."

  Taida smiled, a wide, satisfied smile, and clapped his hands.

  "Now we're talking, Kanji!" He looked at the Golden Tree. "Even if you kill and exterminate every Kugutsu on this earth, they will find a way to return. It is their nature."

  The two stared at each other, a silent understanding passing between them.

  — *We could be friends, Yuzuki... we could be...* — Taida whispered, and Yuzuki nodded. A deep sadness, a feeling of loss and guilt, hung between them. For the first time, Yuzuki could be himself, without hiding anything. An enemy—someone who should die—but who understood him perfectly.

  Taida swung his feet like a child on the edge of the cliff, plucking a blade of grass to smell. Yuzuki watched him carefully, feeling a strange happiness for Taida—a unique feeling toward someone who was clearly an enemy. Taida opened his arms, and the light of the Golden Tree passed over his body. The smile on his face grew, genuinely happy and, in a twisted way, free. He turned to Yuzuki, his eyes shining with an intensity Yuzuki had never seen.

  "Keep your promise, Kanji. In the future, you will have moments of doubt. But remember your pain and your origin. Difficult choices will have to be made," Taida said, and Yuzuki nodded in agreement, understanding the situation.

  With a final look at Yuzuki, Taida threw himself off the cliff, his arms open like a bird finally finding its flight. Yuzuki watched the only person who understood him fall among the trees. Sharp branches pierced his body on the way down—a cruel scene under the light of the Golden Tree that illuminated it. Taida died with his body impaled, his eyes fixed on the Golden Tree, a frozen smile of freedom on his face.

  Yuzuki remained silent, watching the scene. The only person who understood him had committed suicide.

  "*This is the world we live in*," he thought, "*it eats you alive*."