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

The ground beneath me trembled violently, glowing veins of blue and purple spreading like molten energy across the battlefield. A deep, resonant hum filled the air, growing louder with every passing second as the cracks in the earth splintered outward, radiating from where I stood. The power surged through me, coursing like liquid fire in my veins, and I barely held myself together against its overwhelming force.

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

I didn't answer.

Instead, I slammed my hands into the shattered ground, my breath ragged as I channeled everything I had left. The earth rumbled in response. Then, with a deafening roar, the rubble around me began to shift. A towering form—crystalline and shimmering with translucent energy—rose from the wreckage. Its massive body pulsed with the same glowing veins that ran through me, a creature born of my will, my desperation, my final stand.

The air quivered as the golem let out a guttural roar, its glowing eyes locking onto mine. And then, almost reverently, it bowed its massive head. A silent acknowledgment. A pact between master and guardian.

I exhaled slowly, my gaze shifting back to her. "This ends now."

Alter Izumi's expression twisted into something between fury and disbelief. "A guardian? You think that will stop me?" She lifted her hand, and the dark sphere hovering above her palm crackled violently, tendrils of black lightning lashing out like hungry serpents. "I'll destroy it—and you—just the same!"

The golem roared again, its colossal fists slamming into the earth as it lunged forward. Alter Izumi shot into the air, her movements unnaturally fluid as she weaved between the golem's strikes. Then, with a sharp flick of her wrist, she hurled a jagged bolt of darkness straight at the creature's chest.

A thunderous crack echoed across the battlefield as the attack struck. The golem staggered, the impact sending fractures splintering across its crystalline form—but it did not fall.

I didn't waste the opening.

Summoning what remained of my strength, I dashed forward, my body a blur of motion. Before she could react, I was behind her, my energy surging as I poured everything into a single, desperate strike. My fist connected with her back, and the force of the impact sent a shockwave tearing through the battlefield.

She screamed. A raw, anguished sound.

Spinning midair, she twisted to face me, her crimson eyes ablaze with emotions I couldn't begin to untangle—fury, pain, desperation. "Why do you keep fighting?!" she demanded, her voice trembling at the edges. "I'm doing this for you, Daichi! For us! Can't you see that?!"

My breath was ragged, my body screaming in protest, but I held her gaze. "I don't need humanity to be destroyed for us to be together, Izumi," I said, my voice raw but unwavering. "This isn't what you would want."

Something flickered in her expression—hesitation, doubt—but it was gone in an instant.

As if sensing her moment of weakness, the dark energy surrounding her surged violently. It consumed her in a maelstrom of shadows, twisting and reshaping her form. When she emerged, she was different. Her once pristine silver hair was streaked with pale gray and black strands, and her eyes… they glowed with an unnatural white light.

A cold chill ran through me.

She tilted her head, studying me with eerie calm. "I will never give up my ambition, Daichi," she whispered, her voice a mere breath of ice. "I will destroy those filthy humans."

I clenched my fists, the glow of my veins pulsing brighter. My heart ached—because the girl I once loved was slipping further away from me with every second. But I couldn't falter now.

"I won't let you do this, Izumi."

For the first time, her expression softened. Not with tenderness, but with something even more painful—cold finality.

"Then fight me, Daichi." She lifted her hand, the storm above us roaring in response. "Let's see if your love is stronger than my resolve."

Then, the battlefield erupted.

Light and shadow clashed in a violent storm, raw power colliding in an explosion of destruction. The sky above twisted into a vortex of darkness, black lightning splitting the heavens as the storm intensified.

The golem stepped forward, shielding me as another barrage of strikes rained down upon us. Each impact sent tremors rippling through its colossal body, cracks spiderwebbing across its crystal form. But it stood firm.

My hands trembled. My breath was ragged.

"Just a little longer," I whispered.

The golem groaned in response, shards of crystal breaking free as it endured the relentless assault.

Alter Izumi hovered above us, her glowing white eyes locked onto mine. "You've become a nuisance, Daichi," she hissed, her fingers tightening around the raw power in her palm. "So let me erase that nuisance once and for all."

I barely had time to react before the sky shattered.

Black lightning crashed down, striking not just me—but the earth itself. The entire battlefield quaked violently. The golem roared in agony as the energy engulfed it, its crystalline form fracturing at an alarming rate.

I gritted my teeth.

This was my chance.

With a burst of energy, I pushed forward, summoning my last reserves of strength. My body was screaming, every fiber of my being burning with exhaustion, but I couldn't stop now.

I leapt into the air, my blade of pure energy materializing in my grasp. It crackled with blue and purple lightning, a manifestation of everything I had left.

Izumi's eyes widened.

Too late.

I swung. The blade carved through the air in a brilliant arc, striking her square in the chest.

The impact sent her crashing into the ground below. The earth cracked beneath her, an explosion of dust and rubble rising into the sky.

I landed heavily, my legs nearly giving out. My vision blurred at the edges, and I forced myself to stay upright, my breaths ragged. My entire body ached.

I turned toward the crater.

It was still.

For a moment, I dared to hope.

"Is it… over?" I whispered.

Then the ground trembled again.

With a deafening roar, the earth split open, and from the crater, she rose once more.

My heart plummeted.

Her entire body radiated power, her form wreathed in a swirling aura of gray and black. Her silver hair now carried streaks of crimson. But what shook me the most… was the mark.

On her right cheek, a glowing sigil burned into her skin—a Sagittarius zodiac sign, pulsing with dark energy.

And in her hand… she held it.

The key.

The artifact that could rewrite time itself.

A chill ran down my spine. My breath hitched. "How… how do you have that?" I whispered.

Her lips curled into a knowing smirk. "You're not the only one who can rewrite time, Daichi."

I swallowed hard.

No…

She lifted the key high, its surface gleaming with unfathomable power. "With this, I'll undo everything. I'll create a world where it's just us." Her voice softened, almost tender. "No pain. No suffering. No betrayal."

I took a step forward, my throat tight. "Izumi… you can't."

She didn't answer.

The storm raged above us, the sky breaking apart as she raised her hand toward the heavens.

This was it.

If I didn't stop her now… everything would be lost.

"Izumi," I whispered, my voice trembling. "Please… I still love you."

For a fleeting moment, something in her eyes wavered.

Then the storm roared to life again.

. The sky split apart.

With a single, violent motion, Izumi thrust her hand into the air, and the storm answered her command. The clouds churned like a living beast, writhing as arcs of black lightning tore through the heavens. The entire sky trembled, the air thick with raw, crackling energy. Then, like a god's wrath made manifest, the storm broke.

Bolts of darkness rained down, each one carrying the power to tear apart everything in its path.

I barely had time to react before the first strike fell.

A deafening crash erupted as my guardian—a towering golem of crystalline energy—moved to shield me. The battlefield shook as the creature absorbed the brunt of the attack, its massive form cracking under the pressure. Shards of its glowing body splintered, raining down like shattered stars.

Still, it didn't fall.

I staggered to my feet, my chest heaving. My hands trembled as I reached out, veins pulsing with what little power I had left. I could barely keep my vision steady, but I couldn't stop now.

Not when she was standing there—so close, yet so impossibly far away.

Izumi.

Her presence was suffocating, drowning the battlefield in an aura of terrifying power. It pressed down on me, squeezing the air from my lungs like an invisible force, making it hard to even move. My legs felt heavy. My arms refused to lift. My body screamed at me to stop.

And then—her voice.

"Just stay right there, Daichi."

Her words were calm, yet beneath the chilling command, I heard something else. A crack. A tremor in her voice. Something she was desperately trying to hide.

"It'll all be over soon," she continued, softer now, almost… pleading. "You'll see. This is for us. For you."

For me.

My breath hitched as something inside me twisted, sharp and agonizing. I wanted to reach out to her, to shake her, to tell her that she was wrong—that she didn't have to do this. But my body refused to obey.

The weight of everything—of my failure, of her pain—dragged me down like an anchor.

The battlefield blurred at the edges, darkness creeping into my vision. The howling winds, the crackling storm, the groan of my crumbling guardian… they all faded into a dull hum. My mind drifted, slipping further into the abyss.

And yet, even as everything else faded, one thought remained.

Izumi…