Immortal Mythos: Bound by Void

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Yuki stood alone.

The Core was silent now. A boundless expanse of shifting space where time refused to move in a straight line. Shadows danced around him—echoes of past selves, of battles fought and memories lost. Here, the void wasn't just a power. It was alive.

And it was watching him.

His body floated, suspended in nothing and everything at once. Every second in this realm felt like years outside. The energy here was raw—volatile. Pure reality warped and folded around him like an endless ocean.

He'd trained endlessly. Failing, breaking, rebuilding.

The void manipulation that once tore away at his mind… now curled around him like a second skin. Controlled. Patient.

But the other half—the reality warping—remained unstable.

He reached forward with both hands, feeling the power spark between his palms. One dark, one glowing faintly blue-white. Two forces clashing inside him, each trying to dominate the other.

His voice cracked through the silence. "I don't want control... I want balance."

The moment he said it, the Core trembled.

A vision spiraled around him—memories of Aiko's aura, Ren's words, Himari's presence… even Nogitsune's cryptic guidance. And something else—a thread, golden and thin, connecting all of them to him.

Yuki narrowed his eyes and opened his palms.

The void swirled up from the floor, while a second wave—his inner reality bending light—spilled from his chest. He pushed both forces together, feeling them tear at him, trying to unravel him.

But he held them.

Fought them.

Unified them.

His body screamed. His vision blurred. Blood trickled from his nose. The realm shattered and stitched itself back together around him.

And then—silence.

In that stillness, a new form emerged. Not kitsune, not human. Something in-between. Ethereal markings stretched across his body, and a new tail of shifting light and darkness formed behind him. The void around him no longer swallowed the light. It reflected it.

Yuki collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily.

"I'm not done," he muttered. "Not until I bring them back."

The Core pulsed once—like it approved.

Then, in the distance, something stirred. A doorway, forged from woven time and reality, began to open.

Yuki stood tall again.

He was ready.

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Yuki stares at a floating number above his head.

"What the… 40 power stones?! Are those edible? No? Whatever they are, thanks!"

Ren shakes his head. "You're hopeless."