Nightmare

The Battle Against Darkness

A heavy tension filled the chamber.

Yami raised his hand, dark energy swirling around his fingers.

The Elements braced themselves, preparing for the fight—

All except for Hikaru.

His feet remained firmly planted, his body unmoving.

He couldn't bring himself to raise his fists against Yami—his childhood friend.

Haruto noticed. "Hikaru—snap out of it!"

Hikaru's hands trembled.

"I—I can't," he muttered.

Reito, Moriya, Ikazuchi, Daichi, Tetsuya, Sora—they all charged forward.

But Yami didn't move.

He simply watched them come.

Then, with a simple flick of his wrist—

Dark energy burst from the ground.

BOOM!

The entire chamber shook as waves of black tendrils shot out, blocking and countering every attack.

Ikazuchi's thunder was absorbed into the void.

Reito's ice spikes shattered before reaching Yami.

Moriya's wooden vines withered the moment they touched the darkness.

Tetsuya's steel projectiles were swallowed by shadows.

And when Daichi tried to use his Element of Earth, the ground itself betrayed him, turning into an abyss that swallowed his footing.

The Elements were overwhelmed.

"His power… it's unreal," Moriya gritted his teeth.

"We can't land a hit!" Haruto gasped.

Hikaru watched in horror.

His friends—**his allies—**were losing.

Yet still, he couldn't move.

He couldn't fight Yami.

Not like this.

Not when he had no idea why his friend had turned to darkness.

The Element of Darkness – A True Nightmare

Yami let out a slow breath.

Then, in one sweeping motion, he extended both of his hands outward.

Darkness spread like wildfire.

A deep black mist enveloped the room, drowning out all light.

And then—

Their bodies grew heavy.

Haruto's legs buckled.

Ikazuchi's arms felt like lead.

Reito, Moriya, Sora, Daichi, and Tetsuya all felt the same crushing fatigue.

It wasn't just exhaustion.

It was something deeper.

Something pulling them down.

Their eyelids grew heavy.

Yami's voice echoed softly, almost like a whisper in the void.

"Sleep."

And just like that—

They all collapsed.

Hikaru tried to shout—but his voice wouldn't come out.

Darkness consumed his vision.

His body fell.

And then—

Everything went black.

Yami's Nightmare Curse

Mind watched as every single one of the Elements collapsed.

He raised an eyebrow. "You put them to sleep?"

Yami exhaled, lowering his hands.

"I didn't just put them to sleep," he muttered.

Mind tilted his head. "Oh?"

Yami's violet eyes glowed.

"I gave them nightmares."

A twisted smile formed on Mind's face.

"Well now… isn't that interesting?"

A Nightmare Begins

Hikaru's eyes snapped open.

He wasn't in the chamber anymore.

The world around him was dark, damp, and cold.

A narrow alleyway stretched endlessly in both directions, the only source of light coming from a flickering streetlamp.

He could hear dripping water somewhere in the distance.

His breath came out uneven.

Where… am I?

A sudden clank echoed behind him.

Hikaru turned around—

And froze.

Standing there, watching him, was a man—

His skin was bright red.

His expression was blank, his eyes hollow, and without a single word—

He charged.

The Red Man Attacks

The Red Man lunged at Hikaru, moving at inhuman speed.

Hikaru barely had time to react before a fist shot toward his face.

BAM!

Hikaru dodged just in time, feeling the air explode behind him from the force of the punch.

He's fast.

Hikaru countered—summoning the Element of Light and slamming his fist into the Red Man's chest.

CRACK!

The Red Man staggered.

Then—his body shattered into dust, disappearing like he was never there.

Hikaru panted.

"What… was that?"

Then—he heard footsteps.

An Endless Wave

Hikaru turned around—

And a Blue Man appeared.

No time to think.

The Blue Man attacked.

Hikaru dodged—barely—and countered with a burst of light energy, taking him down.

Before he could even breathe, a Green Man charged from the shadows.

Then a Yellow Man.

Then another.

And another.

The coloured-men kept coming.

Every time Hikaru took one down, more appeared.

The attack was non-stop.

Their expressions were empty.

Their movements were relentless.

It was like they had one goal.

To break him.

Hikaru clenched his fists, his breathing ragged.

This isn't real.

It's a nightmare.

But no matter how many times he reminded himself of that—

The pain from their attacks felt very, very real.

A Strange Place

Ikazuchi's eyes opened slowly.

He was no longer in the chamber.

Instead, he found himself standing inside an abandoned grocery store.

The lights flickered, casting long, eerie shadows across the cracked tile floor.

Dust covered the shelves.

The air was stale, the silence heavy.

Rows of empty shelves stretched out before him, long since picked clean.

But what stood out the most—

Were the mannequins.

Dozens of them, scattered throughout the store.

Some stood near the registers, others in the aisles.

Their blank, lifeless faces stared forward, motionless.

Ikazuchi exhaled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

This is a dream.

It's not real.

So, without a second thought—

He kept walking.

Something's Wrong

As he moved deeper into the store, his footsteps echoed.

The flickering lights buzzed above him.

Nothing else moved.

No sounds.

No wind.

Just the cold silence.

Then—

A soft tap echoed behind him.

Ikazuchi froze.

Slowly, he turned his head—

But there was nothing there.

Only the mannequins.

But something felt… off.

Ikazuchi narrowed his eyes.

The mannequins were facing a different direction.

Had they been like that before?

He wasn't sure.

"…Tch. Whatever."

Shaking his head, he turned back around and kept walking.

The Footsteps

Another tap.

Ikazuchi's heart skipped a beat.

He whirled around instantly.

Still—nothing.

But this time—

The mannequins were closer.

A lot closer.

His stomach twisted.

His mind tried to rationalize it.

It's a dream. It's a nightmare.

But something about it felt too real.

The way the mannequins stood—

Like they were waiting.

Like they were watching.

Ikazuchi took a slow step back.

The moment his foot hit the ground—

Another tap sounded.

Then another.

Then another.

A slow, rhythmic movement.

Ikazuchi's breath hitched.

Then—he saw it.

The mannequins had moved again.

They were almost touching him now.

One of them had its hand raised.

As if it was about to grab him.

Ikazuchi's body tensed.

"…Okay," he muttered.

"Screw this."

Mind's Secret – The Controlled Army

Yami stood in the shadows, watching as the Elements struggled within their nightmares.

Their bodies lay motionless, trapped in a mental prison.

Mind stood beside him, arms crossed, his eerie blue eyes glowing.

Yami had been waiting—waiting for the intel Mind had promised him about Teshii.

Instead, Mind smirked.

"I think it's time I show you something… far more interesting."

The air around them shifted.

Suddenly, the chamber melted away, replaced by a war-torn battlefield.

Yami's eyes widened.

Before him stood an army.

Not just any army—mutants.

Hundreds of them.

Each one standing still, eyes blank, faces devoid of thought.

Controlled.

Yami turned to Mind. "What… what is this?"

Mind grinned.

"My army."

Yami clenched his fists. "You're controlling them."

Mind nodded, completely unfazed. "It's quite useful, don't you think?"

Yami's stomach twisted.

He had always known that Mind's telepathy was powerful—but this?

This was something else.

"This is what we can achieve," Mind said smoothly. "Imagine what we could do… together."

Yami's breath caught in his throat.

He had come here to find out the truth about Teshii.

Instead, he had found something far more dangerous.

This isn't what I wanted…

Hikaru's Awakening – The Final Battle Against the Coloured-Men

Hikaru stood in the dark alleyway, surrounded by an endless army of coloured-men.

His body ached.

His breathing was ragged.

But—

He refused to fall.

"No more," Hikaru muttered, his hands glowing with intense light.

The coloured-men lunged.

Hikaru closed his eyes.

And then—

A blinding explosion of light erupted.

BOOM!

The coloured-men vanished, their bodies dissolving into nothingness.

The darkness shattered.

Hikaru gasped, his eyes snapping open.

He was back in the real world.

The nightmare was over.

He had won.

Ikazuchi's Desperate Escape

Back in his nightmare, Ikazuchi was losing it.

The mannequins kept multiplying.

Every time he destroyed one, two more appeared.

Their blank expressions haunted him.

Their slow, eerie movements sent chills down his spine.

"THAT'S IT!" Ikazuchi shouted.

He unleashed a massive lightning bolt, blasting through a whole section of the store.

It barely made a dent.

Then—

He saw it.

A glowing EXIT sign in the distance.

Without hesitation, he ran.

The mannequins chased him, their footsteps echoing.

He didn't look back.

He slammed through the exit doors—

And woke up.

Ikazuchi gasped for air, his eyes wide in shock.

The first thing he muttered—

"I never want to see another mannequin again."

The Others Wake Up

One by one—

The Elements snapped out of their nightmares.

Moriya jolted awake, gripping the floor like he had just been drowning.

Haruto groaned, rubbing his head.

Reito gasped, his body shivering from the cold nightmare he had endured.

Daichi looked around, eyes filled with relief.

Sora blinked, utterly confused.

Tetsuya sat up slowly, his expression unreadable.

They were all back.

All except for Yami.

Hikaru clenched his fists.

Yami was still standing beside Mind.

Still watching.

Still undecided.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes.

This wasn't over.

Not yet.