Zeke Harutora

I collapsed onto one knee, my breath ragged as I watched Harutora materialize before us. His presence was overwhelming—ethereal yet imposing. The air crackled with his arrival, charged with the power of something ancient and boundless.

For twenty years, he had lain dormant within me, the familiar spirit of the vulpine descendant, Harutora. Lelith had sealed him inside my body the day she sacrificed me to revive my brother, Carter.

Harutora’s fierce yellow eyes locked onto mine, a silent question burning in their depths. He knew I had sworn never to summon him. Yet here he stood.

Draped in flowing white, his form exuded an eerie, spectral glow. His nine tails swayed behind him, each movement calculated, each step weighty with intent. He said nothing, but the moment he turned his gaze toward the last descendant, his demeanor shifted.

The bastard was grinning at us. Mocking.

Harutora moved first, his stance shifting with an effortless grace that spoke of centuries of battle-honed instinct. With a slow, deliberate wave of his hand, the air around him shimmered, charged with an ancient, unseen force. A whisper of white light flickered into existence, growing brighter by the second.

From the void, five ethereal wisps emerged, their forms twisting and curling like living flames. They hovered in perfect synchronicity, encircling Harutora like silent sentinels, each radiating a spectral glow. Their soft luminance cast eerie shadows against the surrounding darkness, illuminating the faint traces of intricate sigils forming beneath his feet.

The energy they exuded was potent—otherworldly. The air itself seemed to hum in response, pulsing with an ancient resonance. The ground beneath them cracked subtly, unable to withstand the sheer force gathering in the atmosphere.

The wisps, though seemingly weightless, pulsed with latent power, their flickering movements too precise to be random. They were waiting—anticipating their master’s command, ready to unleash devastation upon his foes.

"Spirits of the Northern skies…"

He wove another sign, and the wisps transformed into searing blue flames. Their glow cast eerie shadows against the cavernous darkness. He chanted in a language I couldn’t comprehend, his voice resonating through the void. The five flames fused, forming a single burning force, seething with barely restrained power.

Without hesitation, Harutora launched the fire toward the last descendant. The attack was swift, deadly—yet the enemy twisted through the air, evading it with inhuman ease.

A dark miasma coiled in his palm, writhing like a living void, tendrils of shadow twisting and curling with a sinister hunger. The very air around it warped, crackling with an unnatural force that sent shivers down the spine. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the seething mass toward Harutora, the darkness tearing through the air like a ravenous predator seeking its prey.

Harutora moved with the fluid grace of a specter, his golden eyes narrowing as his instincts took over. In a heartbeat, he pushed off the ground, twisting midair with inhuman agility. The cursed energy surged past him, missing by a hair’s breadth but searing the space where he once stood, leaving behind a charred rift in reality itself.

As he landed, his white robes fluttered, untouched by the devastation behind him. His bushy tail flicked once, his piercing gaze locked onto his opponent—not with fear, but with a quiet, calculating intensity.

I could only watch, mesmerized. Their battle transcended anything I had ever witnessed. Their movements were beyond mortal comprehension—divine, cataclysmic.

A sudden explosion rattled the ground beneath me, sending shockwaves through my bones. Dust and debris clouded my vision, and I gasped, my balance faltering. Through the swirling chaos, two figures burst into view—Yosuke and Kevin.

They were barely standing. Yosuke’s face was smeared with dirt and blood, his arm cradled against his ribs as if something had shattered inside. Kevin staggered beside him, his breaths ragged, his clothes torn and bloodstained. His left leg dragged slightly, his body trembling from sheer exhaustion.

"How in the world—"

"Yuki told me to use the ice sphere to break the seal," Yosuke groaned, throwing an arm around my shoulders to help me up.

"BUT WHY?!" I shouted, my voice raw with disbelief.

We all turned toward the last descendant, who now stood at the entrance.

His grin widened. "Freedom, at last!" His voice dripped with cruel amusement. He spared me a final glance, eyes gleaming with promise. "I’ll come back for you—"

And then he vanished.

Harutora lunged after him, disappearing into the abyss in pursuit.

I spun toward Yosuke, my frustration boiling over. "WHY DID YOU BREAK THE SEAL?! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?! He’s going to cause havoc! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"You think we’d let you fight alone?" Yosuke shot back, eyes blazing. "I’d rather die fighting for you than watch you be sacrificed!"

I clenched my jaw, exasperated beyond words.

"Tabitha! Are you okay?"

Carter and Yuki rushed toward me, but Yuki skidded to a halt, eyes fixed on my neck.

I stiffened. My hand instinctively flew up to my throat, concealing the wound with my coat.

"Did he claim—"

"No!" I cut Carter off, panic lacing my voice.

But the way they were all staring at me said otherwise.

"He didn’t claim me," I repeated, but the words felt hollow even to my own ears.

Yuki’s expression darkened. "But he will be back for you."

Tyler stepped in front of me, brushing dirt from my face, his touch gentle but his eyes steely. "Zeke can hold him off for now."

"Zeke?" I echoed, confused.

"Zeke Harutora," Kevin murmured, wincing as he cradled his injured arm. "Prince of the Northern skies. Right hand of the God of War, Anthony."

Before I could process the weight of that name, another force erupted from the distance.

A collision of two immense powers sent shockwaves tearing through the air.

A massive explosion erupted, the impact sending dust and debris into the sky. My ears rang, my vision blurred. Yuki barely managed to cast a barrier spell in time to shield us from the sheer force.

As the dust settled, two figures emerged—Harutora and the last descendant.

They stood unmoving, facing each other, as if communicating in some unspoken language.

I leaned closer to Yuki, whispering urgently. "Do you remember the sleeping spell you gave me before?"

She frowned. "Yeah… why?"

"Do you have it on you now?"

"Of course, but—wait, are you planning to use it against him?"

"You got it. Hand it over."

Her lips thinned, but she handed me the vial without argument.

"Wait!" she gasped, but I had already uncorked the bottle and flung the potion into the air.

A shimmering mist spread outward.

One by one, they crumbled.

"What is—" Ryuu’s voice cut off as his body collapsed into unconsciousness.

Yuki tried to fight it, reaching for me weakly. "S-stop…" Her voice faded, and she, too, fell.

Only I remained standing.

"This is my fight," I muttered, my grip tightening on the empty vial. "You all need to stay out of it."

I turned and sprinted toward Harutora.

The last descendant’s gaze met mine. He grinned, his fangs glinting under the eerie light.

"Just give me the tamer," he said, voice smooth as silk.

Harutora shifted, stepping in front of me, shielding me entirely from view.

His height alone was enough to obscure the bastard from sight, but his long, silvery-white hair brushed against my nose, forcing me to take a step back before I sneezed.

The last descendant chuckled, tilting his head. "Watching a first-class tamer hide behind a familiar… how pathetic."

He smirked. "Oh! My mistake—demi-god, rather."

My fingers curled into fists. I surged forward, intent on making him eat his words, but Harutora blocked me with his arm.

"Mind your own business!" I snapped, but his unreadable gaze silenced me.

He knew.

He knew I didn’t stand a chance against the last descendant.

And that truth burned more than any wound.

"You two seem to be at odds," the last descendant sneered.

His red eyes gleamed with something dark—something sinister.

"But that won’t last."

Pain.

A searing, unbearable pain tore through my chest.

I gasped, my knees buckling. The agony was indescribable, like my

very soul was being clawed from my body.

I would have collapsed had Harutora not caught me.

My vision darkened. The world blurred.

Then—

Oblivion.