---
Falling Into Darkness
The ground beneath Akira, Hiroshi, and Mei vanished.
Not collapsed.
Not shattered.
Vanished.
Like it had never existed.
The trio plummeted into a bottomless abyss, swallowed by absolute darkness.
Void Nakamura's Abyss Waltz had activated.
---
Akira's Rapid Response
Akira acted instantly.
"Echo Chamber—Sound Stabilizer!"
A concentrated blast of sound waves erupted from his Stand, forming an invisible force field around himself, Hiroshi, and Mei.
The vibrations created a temporary foothold in the empty void, slowing their descent.
Hiroshi gritted his teeth, gripping his katana. "Damn bastard—what is this?!"
Mei's sharp eyes scanned their surroundings. "No walls. No ground. It's like we're floating in nothing."
Void's voice echoed through the abyss.
"Correct."
His figure materialized above them, standing effortlessly in the darkness.
His expression remained neutral—calm, analytical.
"You're in my world now."
His fingers snapped.
The void shifted.
And suddenly—
Thousands of black tendrils shot toward them from all directions.
---
Mei's Counterattack
Mei reacted first.
She flicked her wrist—
"Razor Symphony—Severing Waltz!"
Her Stand's blades extended in a full-circle sweep, slicing through the incoming tendrils.
The void rippled where they cut—
But the severed tendrils reformed instantly.
Mei's eyes narrowed. "Tch. That's a problem."
Void sighed. "Of course it is. You can't cut what doesn't physically exist."
Hiroshi clicked his tongue. "Then we hit him directly."
---
Hiroshi's Bold Charge
Hiroshi launched himself forward, katana blazing with orange flames.
"Blazing Ronin—Ignition Dash!"
The fire illuminated the abyss, cutting through the black tendrils as he shot straight for Void.
Void barely reacted.
Hiroshi slashed—
But his blade passed straight through Void's body.
"…What?!"
Void smirked.
"I told you."
"You're in my world."
Then—
A pulse of black energy erupted, slamming into Hiroshi's chest like a truck.
"GUH—!"
He was sent flying, crashing into the endless darkness.
Akira's heart pounded.
This wasn't a normal battle.
Void wasn't just warping space.
He was fighting in an entirely different plane of existence.
---
Akira's Critical Thinking
Analyze.
Void Nakamura's Abyss Waltz could do more than just erase things.
It warped reality itself.
Physical attacks didn't work. Hiroshi's katana passed through him.
Cutting the tendrils was useless. They weren't truly "there."
Mei's speed didn't help. She couldn't touch anything real.
That meant—
This wasn't a battle of strength.
It was a battle of perception.
Akira exhaled.
He adjusted his stance.
Then—
He activated Echo Chamber.
---
Breaking the Illusion
"Echo Chamber—Resonance Detection."
A wave of sound pulses spread through the void, bouncing off the unseen surfaces.
Akira listened.
Frequencies. Echoes. Vibrations.
And then—
He found it.
A distortion.
A place where sound didn't behave normally.
Akira smirked.
"There you are."
Void's eyes narrowed.
Akira raised his hand—
And clapped.
BOOM.
The entire void shattered.
---
The Illusion Collapses
Reality ripped apart.
The darkness peeled away like glass breaking—
And suddenly—
They were back in the Financial District.
Standing on solid ground.
Mei's eyes widened. "What—?"
Hiroshi groaned, holding his chest. "Ugh. That was unpleasant."
Void staggered.
His once-calm demeanor was gone.
He scowled, wiping a drop of sweat from his forehead.
"…You really are annoying."
Akira smirked. "You rely too much on tricks. But the thing about sound? It always finds the truth."
Void exhaled, then chuckled.
"Well. This just got interesting."
Then—
He vanished.
Retreating into the shadows.
---
Aftermath & New Intel
The battle was over.
For now.
Mei crossed her arms. "That was way too easy."
Akira shook his head. "No. He wasn't fighting seriously."
Hiroshi exhaled. "Then why retreat?"
Akira's gaze darkened.
"…Because this was never about winning."
He turned to the city skyline.
Far away—
Plumes of smoke were rising.
And Renji's voice crackled through their earpieces.
"Guys. We have a problem."
"The other teams are under attack."
Akira clenched his fists.
The real battle had just begun.
---