Chapter 27: Shadows of the Past

Chapter 27: Shadows of the Past

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Pikachu fought with every ounce of his newly awakened strength, but within Kenjaku's dark, oppressive domain, he felt his energy slowly fading away. The new power he had managed to unleash was running out, and Kenjaku knew it. The sorcerer's smile remained unwavering as his domain grew stronger, enveloping Pikachu in a prison that felt increasingly inescapable.

"I told you that you couldn't defeat me here, Pikachu. This is my world, my realm," Kenjaku said in a voice filled with malice.

The domain's cursed energy crackled around him, and Pikachu felt his movements grow slower, his vision blurrier. He was trapped. But then, what Kenjaku did next filled him with horror.

In front of him, shadows began to take shape. From the darkness of the domain emerged bodies, known and loved by Pikachu. First, it was Jin Murasame, his dark-haired friend with a determined gaze. Then, Tsubaki Gojo, the prodigy of the Gojo clan, with her signature glint in her eyes, but now lifeless. Angel and Takako Uro, who had fought at his side, also appeared. Their bodies hung limp, moved by Kenjaku's invisible threads.

"Look at them, Pikachu. Your friends... those who fought with you. They have all fallen," Kenjaku whispered, a chilling satisfaction in his voice.

The lifeless bodies of his companions were lifted by an invisible, dark force, and though their eyes were empty, their hands moved with deadly precision, heading toward a new figure that appeared in the distance. It was Tengen, the silver-haired woman, her long, flowing hair shining in the dim light of the domain, and her expression, though filled with her usual calm, reflected the imminent danger.

Kenjaku had directed the bodies of Jin, Tsubaki, Angel, and Takako towards Tengen, as if they were mere lifeless puppets. The stiff limbs of his former friends moved without their own will, their bodies controlled by Kenjaku's nefarious technique. Tengen, motionless at first, showed no fear, but the overwhelming presence of those who were once Pikachu's companions quickly surrounded her.

—"No..." —Pikachu thought, as his eyes shone with anguish. He tried to move, but the domain's claws held him back, weakening him more by the second.

Kenjaku, watching from his throne of evil, laughed. —"Even now, you cannot save them, Pikachu. This is your punishment. Your friends, those you tried to protect, are now tools to subdue Tengen. And she, like you, will fall."

Pikachu fought against the despair engulfing him. How had it all come to this? How could Kenjaku use the lifeless bodies of his friends against him, against Tengen? He knew he couldn't give up, but the weight of pain and helplessness was crushing him.

As the bodies of his friends advanced, Tengen tried to resist. With his hands forming seals, he tried to summon his own barrier to protect himself, but Kenjaku's puppets were relentless. Jin, Tsubaki, Angel, and Takako attacked with deadly precision, moved by the dark force that controlled their lifeless bodies. Each blow was cruel, each movement calculated to destroy.

Pikachu, his energy waning, let out a desperate cry. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He couldn't let this continue. He gathered all of his remaining power, focusing every spark of electricity into his body. Though Kenjaku's hold weakened him, his will was stronger.

—"I won't let this happen!"—Pikachu thought furiously. With one last burst of energy, he unleashed a Cruel Volt, a technique that channeled both his physical and electrical strength into a brutal bolt aimed at the hold's claws.

The bolt collided with the shadows holding him, creating an explosion of light that temporarily shattered the restraints. Pikachu, now free, launched himself toward the bodies of his friends, determined to stop the attack.

Kenjaku, watching Pikachu advance, raised a hand to increase the pressure on the inert bodies, trying to make his attacks even more deadly. But Pikachu didn't stop. He dodged Jin's first blow, rolling under his attack, and then leapt onto Tsubaki's arm, deflecting his attack with a shock of electricity. Angel and Takako surrounded him, but Pikachu knocked them back with a blast of energy, stopping their bodies from continuing the massacre.

—"I will not allow you to use their bodies like this!" Pikachu mentally screamed, his fury transforming into pure energy.

The electric shock released was so intense that for a moment, Kenjaku's domain faltered. His friends' bodies came to a standstill, the shadows controlling them beginning to weaken.

Kenjaku frowned, irritated. —"Pikachu... you're still a nuisance."

With a wave of his hand, the sorcerer rekindled his power, reinforcing control over the puppets and launching a wave of gigantic curses towards Pikachu, as he tried to regain full control of the situation.

Pikachu, exhausted but with his heart burning with determination, knew that the battle was not over yet. Tengen, weakened by the offensive, looked at him with her eyes full of confidence, as if she knew that Pikachu was the last hope.

—"They have to trust me," Pikachu thought, as his body once again glowed with a power that seemed to have fully awakened.

The final battle was far from over, but Pikachu was no longer alone. The memory of his fallen friends, their sacrifices and their spirits, guided him. He was not fighting only for his own survival, but for them and for everything they had defended.

—"Kenjaku, I'll stop you! For them... for all of them," Pikachu mentally roared as electricity built up around him, his body glowing like an electric sun in the midst of the cursed darkness.

The decisive showdown was about to begin.

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