11 - The Ace

While Prague was seeing a war the likes of which it had never seen before, Kaito Kamiki, the head of the coalition that waged the war against the stronghold was traveling around the world. Not to rest, though, his activity was anything but resting. He was on the hunt, looking for his next target to devour.

But, like any other supreme general, he was being consistently updated with the latest information from the Heisei. So far, everything implied that the operation was going smoothly. He was relieved. As a matter of fact, he was even excited. He couldn’t wait to see his star soldier shine.

...

[01:22 - SAKUTO HITORI HAS BREACHED THE PERIMETER OF THE HEART OF THE EURA STRONGHOLD]

Sakuto walked along the dimly moonlit path, and something caught his eye. He noticed a remnant of something, which, after later inspection, he ruled out to be a corpse - a rather large one at that. It was a tremendous mech-like structure that laid motionless on the ground. There were no soul presences present inside.

He approached LV3’s carcass, at first deducing that it was just another one of the NV models that were overwhelming the area. But something seemed off, for him, the NV that he had to face before this were much more colorless and lifeless, this one looked like it had lived not just one lifetime. He jumped up to its head and saw a corpse in the exposed cockpit.

“What the hell? There were human pilots inside of these things?”

He saw Nightseer’s corpse and didn’t assume anything. He lightly inspected him, running his hands through the cold body, and felt something. He found the photograph.

“Huh...these guys look...happy, I guess?”

“Wait a minute, the blindfold-! This was what the guys that attacked Ichika looked like.”

He looked back at the corpse.

“None of us came into contact with this specific mech. Pair that with a powerful presence appearing and the rest of the mechs disappearing...it was probably this guy.”

“...”

“So she targets her own soldiers too, huh?”

He inspected the photograph more thoroughly before turning it around and seeing the words and the signatures. He turned the photograph around again and strangely appreciated the three’s genuine expressions, they looked as real as it got.

“Not even soldiers, more like..."

"Subjects."

He left the picture where he found it and gently tucked it in Nightseer’s clothes. He took his time to gaze at the horizon, and he noticed the distant shape of the half-destroyed castle. He jumped off of LV3 and headed that way. And he felt something worrying.

“What’s this...?”

He looked at his own hands, they were slightly shaky. He felt his feet, they felt a little heavy, and he felt nausea.

“This...”

“Back in the day, when I was about to fight in a tournament, this is the way I felt. Kouta probably felt this way too. Tight feet, warmth in my stomach, dizziness and inability to concentrate, all symptoms of...”

Sakuto took a deep breath.

“There’s no room for any mistakes, so there’s definitely no room for hesitation or anxiety. I just go there and do my job. Takechi-sensei told me the same, when I step into the cage or the ring, I just do what I’m supposed to do.”

He summoned his sword and held onto it tightly, and moved forward. The moonlight illuminated his path, which would still be tainted with some obstacles, but those were nothing. He could already sense Aizawa’s incredible presence flaring up in anticipation...

Aizawa remained seated on the broken up chubks of concrete.

“The main heavy hitter of the Heisei, a force that breaks the laws of being a soulful...”

She remembered what she felt during Sakuto’s world-scale divine acclamation. She remembered reading Oskar’s memory of him breaking the Replicator apiece as if it were made out of cheap glass. From those memories, she also remembered Sakuto’s apparent mastery over shadow manipulation, an ability she considered especially dangerous and problematic. And most importantly, even though Sakuto didn’t notice it, his own presence was rather high. She could sense it, and just like everyone had said about it before, it was...scary.

For the first time in her recent memory, she felt a special type of feeling. Not anxiety, more like excitement and anticipation. This was it, the key to her cauae. She stood up and summoned Blossom Reaper. Her pure black dress was reinforced by armor plates from underneath, but she knew they wouldn’t do anything. She had her soulful minions placed around the area, she knew they'd be slaughtered within seconds.

“What’s this that I feel...?”

She took a deep breath. She grabbed a small tablet that was tucked in her dress, it was mostly projecting straight lines.

“The vitals of most of the Nachtvessels are unresponsive. Only Omega’s heart is still beating.”

“But neither the Nachtvessels nor the rest of the Heisei matter. They are all heaps below the likes of us in power.”

"I shall show him true despair.”

She put the tablet down next to the black book on the throne. And she flared up her presence as much as possible, as if acting like a beacon to lure Sakuto in. “Sakuto Hitori is already headed towards this location.”

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Sakuto sent a flying slash towards a pair of soulful armed guards, decapitating both of them in one motion. He had some thoughts, for a few seconds, after seeing the photograph he began thinking whether or not all of Aizawa’s servants were victims of her ability. Instead of filling him with guilt, however, it filled him with even more hatred. He noticed another such guard attempting to ambush him, and with a flick of his finger, a shadow tentacle launched itself at the target and killed it instantly.

He popped out of his shadow a few dozen meters ahead and took down two such guards with a surprise attack. The last one shot him in the head, but the bullet didn’t do any damage at all. The gunman was subject to a quick death via a pair of flying slashes.

“Right...I feel better now. Feet are no longer stiff.”

“If her ability involves wiping out memories, that means there’s likely an activation condition."

"Assuming that it interacts with the brain, I'll have to avoid getting hit in the head."

“I don’t have intel on the weapon, but...I’ll need to avoid getting touched as much as possible.”

“Shit, I can’t even set up a self-destruct condition, because...fucking hell, it’s either I live, or the worst possible outcome arrives.”

“But at least now...”

Sakuto watched the pool of shadows underneath him. His blade shone with the colorful gray.

“I’m confident. I’ll make her feel the same despair she made me feel.”

“Oskar, hang in there.”

...

Aizawa watched a pitch black raven fly over the throne room. Something black fell down from it. It splattered on the ground, and a moment later, the raven itself dissipated into nothingness. Aizawa’s eyes opened up a little with excitement, and his black iris shone with an indescribable darkness.

From the small black pool, Sakuto emerged. He had an expression of utter concentration. His Heisei uniform, paired with his black clothes underneath, and the shadows aggressively wrestling one another beneath and behind him created a rather terrifying appearance for the regretless soulful. Aizawa looked content, like a spoiled child receiving a gigantic feast, ready to indulge and leave nothing behind.

“At last, you’ve come.” Aizawa smirked and took a single step forward. She tried to be careful and not approach any more, she had the intention of getting a few words across before getting to the meal.

Sakuto replied with nothing.

“After all of these games and wars, there you are.” Aizawa said.

Sakuto replied with silence. His blade was in his hand, and Aizawa held her weapons too. He clenched his fist so hard it felt like he was going to rip right through his blade’s handle. The tension was thick enough to be cut apart.

“The Servata Cordis is my intention of saving mankind.” Aizawa explained. ”With you as a Nachtvessel, nothing will stop it. Come to think of it, you’d make for a perfect Nachtvessel.”

“Is that what you call your brainless slaves?” Sakuto asked, trying to contain his anger. He was sizing up Aizawa like an elite dressmaker would size up a piece of fine clothing, or even better, how a butcher would glance at a chunk of meat. “You evil fucking bitch...”

“That is what your old friend is known as now.” Aizawa smirked a little. ”He was a necessary asset to my cause, just as you are."

Sakuto wanted to attack her right at that moment, but he didn’t. Aizawa originally intended to attack after that remark, but she stood there.

“Since it appears you know what your goal is...” Aizawa said, gripping her own weapons tighter.

Sakuto retained his silence. He took a few deep breaths. Just like in the old days, he was worried before the start of the fight, but once it started, all of that tenseness would disappear. He felt lighter on his feet, lighter than he’s ever felt. The air he breathed felt just right, and his weapon felt like it wasn’t even a weapon, but a part of his body.

“The key to the Servata Cordis...” Aizawa thought, her presence beginning to rise. Sakuto’s did so as well. They were both at their full power...

“So then, shall I give you some time to ponder over your regrets?” Aizawa asked.

“I have no regrets.” Sakuto replied. Her pitch black iris attained a strange attribute, a spark of sorts. Sakuto's own eye gained a hint of color, accompanied by a lingering gray.

“Then so be it.” Aizawa said, closing her eyes.

An event of this magnitude had never been recorded before.

Aizawa opened her eyes. Her iris were now green and purple.

" ✦ DIVINE..."

-

"...ACCLAMATION ✦ "

The skies and the earth all trembled before the divine event. The heavens crashed down, and the depths of hell were woken up from the impact. The two acclamations wrestled, and fell into disagreement so hard that they decided to try and erase one another’s very existence.

" ✦ MINDLESS VORTEX // REGRETLESS SOULSCAPE ✦ "

The soulful world was paralyzed. The soul presence of the two clashing soulfuls was strong enough to be felt by every single soulful alive, and almost paralyzed every complete soul with its terrifyingly overwhelming nature.

The fountain of green and purple, and the colorful gray. Sakuto’s acclamation that was now fully enhanced with his shadows, and Aizawa’s acclamation that had a beautiful and eerie appearance. They were evenly matched, every moment, they tried to dim one another and emerge victorious. Aizawa's purpose as the savior of mankind powered the acclamation more and more, but Sakuto, and his knowledge that his friend's life is on the line, kept up through spewing all the hatred out in the form of his ultimate ability. Throughout soulful history, this was the first time there were two such powerhouses fighting on these terms.

Zawadski, Ichigo and Jian, who were trying to properly recover, were almost blinded by the sheer power of the event, they were stunned. Ichigo was still unconscious, Jian was worried, and Zawadski had never been more hyped in his entire life.

“There he fucking is...”

Yuuka was trying to look after Ichika. She was amazed by the release of power, and Ichika was concerned, and even a little scared for a few moments. But after remembering their promise, and putting all of her faith in him, she calmed herself down and even felt proud. It was her very own soulmate doing all that.

Yuuka patted her on the head, also appearing rather proud of the moment.

“We’re far away enough from them to not disrupt them or get caught up.” Yuuka said. “Heehee, Sakyuto was Mr. Kamiki’s biggest investment yet...”

And Kaito himself, while in a completely different part of the world, busy turning over every single rock to find his prey, was also amazed by the event.

“There ya go, come on!” He cheered on with pride. “That’s my boy!”

The clashing acclamations raged on, but their constant destabilization and dimming of one another had its effect. They started cracking under the pressure, and eventually, they were broken apart - shattered like plates of glass. They knocked each other out...

However, their ultimate gifts were not lost.

They were both strengthened. Aizawa attained the full potential of Blossom Reaper and the ability to erase one's identity with a touch of her palm. Sakuto, on the other hand, gained his accelerated adaptation and the power to break the soul itself...