Fifth Loop, Chapter 24 : 永遠への鍵 (The Key to Eternity)

The ground beneath him began to tremble, glowing veins of blue and purple spreading like molten lava. A deep, resonant hum filled the air as cracks splintered outward, radiating from where Daichi stood.

Above him, Alter Izumi's eyes widened in alarm. "What… what are you doing?!"

Daichi didn't answer. He slammed his hands into the earth, and with a deafening roar, a massive form began to rise from the rubble. Its crystalline body shimmered with translucent energy, glowing veins pulsing in sync with Daichi's power. The golem's sheer size dwarfed the ruins around it, its towering form casting a long shadow over the battlefield.

The golem let out a low, guttural roar that shook the air itself, its glowing eyes turning to Daichi. Slowly, almost reverently, it bowed its massive head in acknowledgment of its master.

Daichi took a deep breath, his gaze locked onto Alter Izumi. "This ends now."

Her expression twisted in fury and disbelief. "A guardian? You think that will stop me?" She raised her hand, the dark sphere above her palm crackling violently. "I'll destroy it—and you—just the same!"

The golem roared again, its massive fists slamming into the ground as it charged forward. Alter Izumi leaped into the air, her movements unnaturally graceful as she dodged its strikes. Dark energy erupted from her hand, a jagged bolt of lightning striking the golem's chest with a thunderous crack.

The creature staggered but didn't fall.

Daichi didn't waste the opening. With blinding speed, he dashed behind Alter Izumi, pouring everything into a single, desperate strike. His energy flared as his fist connected with her back, sending a shockwave that tore through the battlefield.

"Why do you keep fighting?!" Alter Izumi screamed, spinning around to face him. Her crimson eyes burned with a mix of fury and anguish. "I'm doing this for you, Daichi! For us! Can't you see that?!"

Daichi's chest heaved as he met her gaze, his voice raw yet unyielding. "I don't need humanity to be destroyed for us to be together, Izumi. This isn't what you would want."

Her crimson eyes locked onto his, filled with fear and uncertainty. For a moment, the battlefield fell silent, the storm around them calming as if holding its breath.

But then, as though sensing her hesitation, the black energy surged once more, engulfing her in a violent maelstrom. When she emerged, her form was different—her hair streaked with pale grey with black strands, her eyes glowing with an unnatural white light. "I will never give up my ambition, Daichi; to destroy those filthy humans!"

Daichi's fists clenched, the glow of his veins pulsing brighter. "I won't let you do this, Izumi," he said, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions raging within him.

Her smile faded, replaced by an expression of cold finality. "Then fight me, Daichi. Let's see if your love is stronger than my resolve."

The battlefield erupted once more, light and shadow clashing in a storm of raw power. The fate of the world—and of Izumi—hung in the balance.

The storm above them intensified, dark clouds swirling into a maelstrom of chaos as Alter Izumi raised her hand. Her fingers crackled with raw power, the storm responding to her fury. The sky seemed to split open as jagged arcs of black lightning shot down like vengeful serpents, each bolt filled with the promise of destruction.

Daichi and the golem braced themselves as the violent barrage rained down upon them. The crystal guardian, its form still glimmering with the remnants of Daichi's energy, stepped forward, its massive body absorbing the full force of the storm. The crystal surface cracked and shattered with each strike, but it held steady, its will as unyielding as Daichi's.

Daichi's heart pounded in his chest as he watched the golem take the blows meant for him. "Hang on… just a little longer," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the howling winds.

The golem groaned, its body shuddering with the strain of holding back the storm. Massive shards of crystal broke free, falling like deadly rain to the ground below, but the creature remained firm, shielding Daichi with its own body.

Alter Izumi's eyes burned with rage, the storm above her twisting into a vortex of darkness. She extended her hand toward Daichi, her voice dripping with venom. "You've become a nuisance, Daichi!" she snarled, her words sharp enough to cut through the howling winds.

Without warning, the clouds overhead churned violently, and black lightning struck once more—this time, not just at Daichi, but at the very earth beneath them. The blasts collided with the golem, sending shockwaves of power across the battlefield. The creature's crystalline form cracked further, its once-glowing body now riddled with fissures. But still, it did not fall.

Daichi's eyes widened. This was his chance.

He pushed himself to his feet, forcing his exhausted legs to carry him forward despite the toll the battle had taken on him. His hands trembled, his veins alight with the burning remnants of his power.

With a shout, he leapt into the air, his body spinning in an elegant arc as he summoned his blade of pure energy. The blade crackled with purple and blue lightning, the very essence of his will imbued in its form.

Alter Izumi's eyes widened as she saw him coming. She tried to dodge, but Daichi was too fast—his energy-infused blade slashing through the air in a sweeping arc. The attack struck her square in the chest, sending her crashing into the ground below with a force that cracked the earth.

The explosion of dust and rubble kicked up around her, obscuring the battlefield.

Daichi landed heavily, his knees buckling as the strain of the fight caught up with him. He staggered, barely keeping his balance as sweat poured down his face. His breath came in ragged gasps, each one a painful reminder of how much he had given in this battle. He slowly turned to where Alter Izumi had fallen.

The crater she had created was still.

"Is it… over?" Daichi whispered to himself, his voice barely a breath. His heart pounded, and for a fleeting moment, he dared to hope.

But that hope was short-lived.

The ground trembled violently, and with a deafening roar, the earth split beneath him. Daichi barely had time to react as Alter Izumi rose from the crater.

Her form was wreathed in a swirling aura of grey and black, the very air around her crackling with malevolent energy. Her once-silver hair was now streaked with threads of intense black and red, her glowing white eyes with red spider web like pattern locking onto Daichi with an intensity that made his skin crawl. On her face's right cheek, etched a sagittarius zodiac sign, glowing with dark aura. 

In her hand, she held it.

The key.

Daichi's heart lurched in his chest as his eyes locked onto the artifact—the very thing that had once saved humanity. It was the key to rewriting time itself. A power so dangerous, so immense, that Daichi had once sworn to protect it at all costs.

"How… how do you have that?" he breathed, his voice cracking with disbelief.

Alter Izumi's lips curved into a cruel, knowing smirk. "You're not the only one who can rewrite time, Daichi," she said, her voice soft, almost taunting. She lifted the key high, its gleaming surface reflecting the chaos of the world around them. "With this, I'll undo everything. I'll create a world where it's just us. No pain. No suffering. Free from humanity's betrayal."

Daichi froze, the weight of her words settling over him like a crushing storm. His chest tightened as his pulse roared in his ears. The key's power was undeniable—he knew all too well what it could do.

"No… Izumi, you can't," he whispered, his voice raw with anguish.

The ground beneath him seemed to tremble in response to his despair. The golem rumbled weakly beside him, barely holding itself together after the barrage it had endured.

Daichi clenched his fists, the light in his veins glowing brighter as he forced himself to stand tall. His heart pounded in his chest, but his voice remained steady. "I won't let you do this," he declared, his words echoing through the shattered landscape.

Izumi's smile faded, her expression turning colder than the storm above them. The air around them grew thick with finality, the silence pregnant with the weight of their impending clash.

"Izumi…" Daichi's voice softened as he stepped forward, his eyes searching hers for a trace of the woman he once knew. "Please… This isn't you. This isn't the world you wanted. You wanted to protect people, to save them. This... this won't bring us peace."

Her glowing white eyes narrowed, her lips curling into a thin, dispassionate line. "There is no peace in this world, Daichi. There never was. This is the only way."

Daichi's chest tightened, his throat dry as he swallowed hard. "Please…" he whispered again, his voice trembling with emotion. "Don't do this. You don't have to carry this burden alone. I… I still love you, Izumi."

A flicker of something—something human—seemed to pass through her eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. The storm above them roared to life once more, and Izumi's hand tightened around the key.

With a sudden, violent motion, she thrust her hand into the air, and the storm responded. The clouds above churned, lightning crackling with raw power. The entire sky seemed to break open as bolts of black energy rained down once more.

The golem stepped forward to shield Daichi again, its body breaking under the barrage of strikes. It groaned, its crystalline surface splintering into shards, but it held strong.

Daichi's eyes widened in desperation. He didn't have much time left.

Daichi's world was collapsing. The air around him trembled under the pressure of Alter Izumi's overwhelming power, a suffocating tide that threatened to drown him completely. Every breath he took felt like fire burning his lungs, and his limbs refused to respond, as if they had been turned to stone. The muffled echoes of destruction—the roaring storm, the crackling lightning, the groan of his crumbling golem—faded into a dull hum. His vision blurred at the edges, the once-vivid battlefield bleeding into darkness.

And then, there was her voice.

"Just stay right there, Daichi," Alter Izumi commanded, her tone a chilling blend of menace and heartbreak. Her words rang out like a bell tolling his demise, but behind them, there was a crack—a faint tremor in her voice, a sorrow she couldn't completely mask. "It'll all be over soon. You'll see. This is for us. For you."

Her words struck something deep within him, cutting through the fog of despair like shards of glass. His heart clenched painfully, but his body remained still, unresponsive. He felt himself slipping further into the abyss, the weight of his failure dragging him down like an anchor.