The echo of Shun Asamaru's boots resounded through the hollow corridors of Veyl Academy. Dust drifted in the trembling air, and every creak of the broken beams above was like a reminder of absence, the students, the younger warriors, even the chatter of daily life. All gone.

His long coat whispered behind him with each step, the faint glow of the Echo-inscribed blade at his hip marking him as one who had walked through countless battles. Only his right eye, sharp and unyielding, scanned the halls. The other remained hidden beneath a faintly glowing seal-mark that pulsed faintly like a heartbeat beneath the bandage.

"As expected… no one's here," Shun muttered, his voice flat yet edged with unease.

He paused, his gaze falling to the distant cafeteria doors where muffled thunder echoed. He tilted his head slightly, whispering under his breath.

"That light… it must have been the cause. Everyone vanished. Kaen… where are you?"

The silence answered him until it didn't.

A voice slid across the hallway, smooth and mocking:

"Finally… I found you."

Shun turned swiftly. His hand instinctively brushed the hilt of his blade.

A figure emerged from the dim. His body was wrapped in tendrils of black Shinrei, thick and writhing like serpents. The aura he exuded wasn't merely oppressive, it was wrong. It clung to the air like tar. He was humanoid, but not human. His smile was jagged and alive with hunger.

"Who are you?" Shun's voice dropped, steady but cautious.

The man's grin widened, silver chains materializing from his long fingers and clinking faintly like shackles. Blood stained his knuckles.

"Me? I am Greed. Eclipse of Greed."

Shun's stomach tightened.

Greed casually flicked the chains, the metallic ring echoing down the corridor.

"On my way here, I killed a few. Teachers. Some active Veinwalkers. Honestly… disappointing. Weak. But me? I can't just let them run, you know? I'm Greed. I take everything. Especially what I want."

Shun's jaw clenched, his voice sharp.

"You monster!"

He lunged, but Greed's foot snapped forward, slamming into Shun's stomach with crushing force. The air burst from his lungs as he stumbled back, gritting his teeth against the pain.

Greed tilted his head, studying him, eyes glowing faintly with a predatory gleam.

"Weird… I sense something inside you. A Voidborn. Strong, too."

Shun froze.

Greed's gaze drifted to the sealed eye beneath the faintly glowing mark. His grin widened until it nearly split his face.

"Ah… now I see. That eye. You've locked something inside it, haven't you? That's why you feel so drained. Your own Shinrei… feeding your prison."

Shun's hands tightened around the hilt of his blade. His thoughts burned bitter.

(He's right. That's why… I've been weaker all these years. Because of this cursed eye.)

Greed leaned forward, chains rattling as he stepped closer, voice dripping with greed itself.

"I want it. That eye. Give it to me!"

Shun spat back with fury.

"You'll never have it!"

He retaliated, drawing his blade in a swift arc, lightning-fast. Sparks tore through the hallway. But Greed's chains snapped forward, deflecting with a clang that rang like a twisted bell.

Greed's smile didn't fade. Instead, his hand darted, ripping the bandage free in a blur.

Shun staggered back, hand shooting up to cover his left eye. His heart pounded.

"No—stay away from it!"

Greed's tongue slid across his teeth, voice throbbing with hunger.

"Oh, don't be shy. Show me. What are you hiding? Let me take it."

Shun's pulse thundered in his ears. His breath came sharp, ragged. His grip on his blade trembled as his thoughts clawed at him.

(I can't… not again. I swore I'd never use it. Not after what happened last time… Not after that incident.)

But Greed advanced, chains coiling like snakes ready to strike.

The seal pulsed beneath his palm, burning hotter, demanding release.

Shun's teeth ground together. His choice was gone.

(I have no choice… If I don't, I'll die here.)

His fingers dug into the seal. Slowly, painfully, he peeled it away. The mark unraveled in glowing threads, vanishing into the air like smoke.

The moment the eye opened, the air collapsed.

Whispers, countless and ravenous, poured into his skull like a flood:

"Finally… you are using me. Let's go wild. Let's go crazy."

The voice was sharp and hungry, echoing like a chorus of Voidborn gnawing at the edges of his sanity.

Shun's jaw clenched. He forced his voice through grit teeth.

"Shut up. I don't need your madness. Just… help me."

The eye glowed, a deep, abyssal black threaded with veins of crimson. It swirled like a void, a gateway to something that should never have existed in Elysera.

Greed froze, then laughed, chains rattling violently as his Shinrei writhed in response.

"Oh… oh, this is beautiful. You've sealed a monster inside yourself. A Voidborn Eye. You… you're cursed."

Shun leveled his blade, black Shinrei spilling from his left eye and crawling down the steel. His voice dropped, low and dangerous.

"Then come and take it… if you can."

Inside his mind, voices flooded in hundreds, thousands, a swarm of whispers clawing at the edges of sanity.

"Kill him."

"Bleed him."

"Let go. You don't need restraint."

"Become me."

His breath hitched, sweat slicking his palms. His own voice cut through the maelstrom, fragile but firm.

(No. I'm still in control. I… I have to be.)

Greed snapped his fingers. Chains shot forward like striking vipers.

Shun's cursed eye flared. Time seemed to slow. His blade screamed through the air, tracing arcs of black Shinrei. The first chain snapped in half with a shriek of sundered metal. The second wrapped around his arm tight, crushing before a surge of void energy exploded outward, disintegrating the links into dust.

Greed staggered, then laughed, delighted.

"Magnificent! Even Wrath couldn't break my chains this easily. What are you?"

Shun lunged. His blade cleaved through the air, each strike trailing shadows that lingered too long, twisting unnaturally before dissipating. Sparks flew as steel met chain, each clash rattling the stone floor.

(Keep it steady. Don't listen. Don't give in—)

The whispers pressed harder.

"Stop pretending. You love this. The speed. The power. You've always wanted more."

"Why fight it? Why fight me?"

For an instant, Shun's strike went wide. The blade gouged the wall, stone crumbling as void energy ate through it like acid. He hissed, shaking his head.

"Shut up!"

Greed seized the opening. His chains coiled around Shun's leg, jerking him off balance. A kick slammed into his ribs, the impact rattling through his bones. Shun hit the floor hard, the taste of iron filling his mouth.

Greed leaned close, eyes wild.

"That voice inside you… it's not your enemy. So Let it out. Stop fighting and surrender it to me. That way, you'll finally be whole and I'll take what's mine."

The cursed eye pulsed, veins spreading like cracks across Shun's cheek. The Voidborn's laughter swelled inside his skull, giddy and unhinged.

"He's right. You'll never win if you fight us both. Use me. Let me in. I'll tear him apart."

Shun's hands trembled on his blade. His chest heaved. His heart screamed one truth: if he yielded completely, he would no longer be Shun Asamaru. He'd be just another monster.

But if he resisted too much, Greed would tear him apart before the others even arrived.

He whispered to himself, raw and broken:

"I'll… use you. But I won't become you."

The void roared. Power surged. His next swing carved through Greed's chains as if they were threads. The backlash knocked Greed back several steps, his grin faltering for the first time.

Shun rose slowly, blood dripping from his lips, the cursed eye burning like a black sun. His voice was ragged but steady.

"Greed… if you want this eye… then you'll have to tear it from a man who refuses to bow to you."

To be continue