Navid stood over Kaiser's fallen body, his breath steady but his eyes filled with cold determination. The battle was over—or so he thought.
A chill slithered through the air. From the shadows cast by Kaiser's unconscious body, Alzalel crept forth, its eerie presence distorting the light around it. Its dark, clawed form twisted unnaturally, its eyes glowing with an ominous hunger. The entity loomed toward Navid, its gaze sharp and invasive, an attempt to overpower him with sheer intimidation.
But as Alzalel's spectral gaze locked onto Navid, something unexpected happened.
Navid's own eyes flickered—no, they changed. A monstrous, otherworldly gleam burned within them, something strong, something superior. The very air around him trembled. Alzalel let out an unnatural screech and immediately recoiled, its form unraveling back toward Kaiser in a panicked retreat.
Navid smirked. "So... there is still life in you?" He lifted his dagger, aiming to finish the job.
But in that very instant, his body flickered.
Not by his own will.
Navid's eyes widened in confusion. He found himself standing several feet away, as though something had forcibly moved him. His stance broke slightly, his mind processing the anomaly.
"What was that?"
Then, he saw it.
A shadow blade, embedded deep into the stone floor where Kaiser now lay.
Navid's expression darkened. He turned his gaze back to Kaiser, who remained unconscious, his chest barely rising with breath. But within Kaiser's mind, a desperation raged.
—
Inside the depths of his subconscious, Alzalel's voice echoed, distorted yet commanding. "Wake. Up. WAKE UP!"
Kaiser felt the pull, the drowning sensation of his mind slipping into darkness. His body ached. His very soul burned from the battle. But Alzalel's voice grew louder, more urgent.
"You still have a chance. Wake up."
A flicker of memory returned. In that brief moment when Alzalel faltered against Navid's monstrous gaze, Alzalel had thrown a shadow blade. Not as an attack—but as an anchor.
Kaiser's fingers twitched. His breathing steadied. The warmth of his own blood seeping into the ground reminded him—he was still alive. And if he was alive, then the fight wasn't over yet.
Navid exhaled sharply, turning his attention back to his fallen opponent.
"Tch, your tricks won't work this time." He stepped forward, gripping his dagger tightly. The next strike would be the last.
But as he raised his weapon, a shift in the shadows made him pause. A sharp, almost imperceptible breath left Kaiser's lips.
Then—
A hand shot up, gripping the handle of the embedded shadow blade.
Navid's instincts flared.
Kaiser's eyes snapped open.
The fight wasn't over.
An eerie distortion of reality rippled through the air around Kaiser. The atmosphere thickened with an unnatural chill as his blood dripped onto the ground, forming dark pools beneath him. Navid instinctively took a step back, eyes narrowing at the sudden shift in presence.
Alzalel's voice slithered into Kaiser's mind, a whisper laced with an ominous thrill. "Can you feel that surge of doomed power within you, Kaiser? This is your true nature. Embrace it."
Kaiser's body trembled, his breathing ragged yet controlled. Then, with a violent surge, his form began to change.
His arms withered into spectral, lifeless hands, pulsing with a ghostly aura. His eyes flared an eerie, luminous blue, and his already pale skin became even more devoid of life. The most terrifying transformation, however, was the two additional arms that sprouted from his shoulders—just as lifeless, just as spectral, but brimming with malevolent intent. A dark smirk curled onto his lips, something twisted and unnatural.
With a mere flick of his newfound limbs, two more shadow blades materialized. Now, he wielded four shadow blades, each humming with orangey lethal energy.
Navid's instincts knocked at him. His grip on his dagger tightened as he steadied himself. "What in the hell are you? That form... it's like death itself."
Kaiser tilted his head, his voice a guttural whisper, layered with Alzalel's presence. "Navid... you pushed me this far. I should thank you. Now, you get to witness something no one will ever lived to tell."
Navid scowled but refused to let fear take over. He lunged forward, using every ounce of his strength, every sliver of his experience. His dagger danced with speed, aiming straight for Kaiser's heart.
But Kaiser was no longer in the same realm of movement. With a ghostly flicker, his four blades intercepted Navid's attack effortlessly. The clash of steel rang through the distorted air, a discordant symphony of power.
Navid gritted his teeth. "Then I'll just have to kill you before you get used to that form!" He spun, his dagger flashing, aiming for Kaiser's exposed flank.
Kaiser only chuckled.
"Try."
The eerie distortion of reality grew heavier as Kaiser, now in his Partial Fusion Form, stood with his four spectral arms, each gripping a Shadow Blade. His pale, lifeless skin seemed almost translucent under the dim light, his blue-glowing eyes burning with an unnatural presence. His lips curled into a twisted smirk as his entire being exuded an aura of pure, creeping death.
Navid clenched his dagger, his breath steady but his eyes wary. He had faced countless assassins, had carved his legend into the blood of his enemies, but this… this was different.
"Tch… Just what in the abyss have you become?" Navid muttered, his grip tightening.
Kaiser tilted his head slightly, a sick amusement dancing in his ghostly gaze. "You don't like it, old man? I thought you'd appreciate it. After all, isn't it fitting for an assassin to embrace death itself?" His voice carried a chilling resonance, as if spoken by something beyond human.
Navid narrowed his eyes. "Don't get cocky, boy." With a flick of his wrist, his King's Presence surged forth, a crushing wave of dominance pressing down on Kaiser.
Kaiser flinched, but his smirk never faded. Even as his movements dulled slightly under the oppressive aura, he flickered—his body vanishing and reappearing in rapid succession between his shadow blades.
Navid activated his Time Manipulation, the world around him slowing to a near standstill for 1.5 seconds. He maneuvered between the flickers, reading Kaiser's movements with the precision of a ghostly predator. With a perfect counter, he twisted his body and drove his dagger straight toward Kaiser's throat!
But—
SHNK!
Pain shot through Navid's abdomen. His slowed time returned to normal, revealing Kaiser grinning just inches from his face, one of his shadow blades buried deep into Navid's side.
"I told you," Kaiser whispered. "I'm death itself."
Navid coughed blood but didn't retreat. With a beast-like roar, he drove his knee into Kaiser's gut, forcing him back. He twisted, ignoring the wound, and slashed at Kaiser's head. Kaiser flickered again, but this time Navid was ready, predicting his movement through sheer experience. He anticipated the next flicker, twisted mid-air, and—
CLANG!
His dagger met another blade— Kaiser's 3rd arm.
Kaiser's spectral arm had caught his strike.
A heartbeat of silence followed before Kaiser capitalized. His three remaining shadow blades shot forward, piercing Navid's shoulders and side.
Navid's eyes widened. Blood splattered onto the arena floor.
The watching bandits went dead silent.
Kaiser leaned in close, his breath chilling against Navid's ear. "This is the end, 'Assassin King.'"
Navid growled, still refusing to fall. He lifted his dagger, aiming for Kaiser's throat in one last, desperate attempt.
But Kaiser flickered.
Then—
It happened.
Kaiser appeared directly behind Navid, four shadow blades plunged into his back, twisting violently.
SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!
Navid screamed. Blood gushed from his wounds as Kaiser dragged his blades downward, carving through flesh and muscle. The sheer force of the attack tore open his back in a grotesque display of violence.
Navid, the once-feared assassin, staggered. His knees buckled. His dagger slipped from his fingers, clattering against the blood-soaked ground.
Kaiser wasn't done.
He gripped one final shadow blade and, with a merciless, arcing motion, slashed across Navid's throat.
A gurgling sound escaped Navid's lips as blood poured from the deep gash. His body convulsed, his vision darkening. He collapsed onto his knees, staring up at Kaiser in disbelief.
"…You… really…" Navid coughed blood, struggling for words. "…became a monster…"
Kaiser stared down coldly. "No," he whispered, raising his final blade above Navid's skull. "I was always a monster."
SHNK!
The blade sank deep into Navid's head.
The Assassin King was no more.
Silence overtook the arena as Kaiser stepped back, his form still eerily shifting, his spectral arms retracting slightly. His breathing was slow, methodical, the blood of his opponent pooling at his feet. The bandits watching had no words—only stunned, horrified faces.
Kaiser let out a slow breath, wiping the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand. He turned away, his glowing blue eyes piercing the darkness as he muttered:
"Who's next?"