Chapter 51: What Only He Would Know

---

Yuki stood still, eyes burning with frustration and dread. The sealed chamber's walls pulsed with faint spiritual light, but all he could hear was the echo of Himari's shaky breath, Aiko's soft sobs, and the distant scream from beyond—the void where Nogitsune had vanished.

"Let me go," Yuki muttered, voice low and trembling with power. The aura around him rippled, unstable. "He's still fighting. I have to help him."

Before he could take another step, a hand gently caught his shoulder.

"Kairo?" Yuki blinked, the aura dimming slightly.

Kairo's usual laid-back expression was gone. He looked dead serious, calm—but there was something ancient in his eyes now. A memory buried so deep only Kairo and Yuki shared it.

"You once told me," Kairo said, voice barely a whisper, "that even if the world was ending... you'd wait until the last ember faded before giving up."

Yuki froze. That line. He'd only ever said it once—when they were kids, when he thought no one had been listening. That line wasn't just words. It was his core. His heart. Kairo had remembered it all this time.

The tension drained out of Yuki's shoulders. His fists unclenched.

Kairo's hand tightened briefly, then he smiled faintly. "So wait. Trust him. He's doing what he has to."

---

Meanwhile…

The void crackled and bent unnaturally around Nogitsune as he fought alone. Velar had already begun to shift—his form breaking reality in half, splitting space and memory like fragile glass.

Nogitsune's illusions flickered, his wind blades dissipated.

He knew it was time.

His eyes narrowed, wings spreading wide as he summoned the last of his spiritual energy—wrapping Velar in a cocoon of burning, ancient sigils. Not just sealing him—but embalming him. Locking away his essence as Yuki had done to Kairo.

"Not yet," he whispered to Velar. "He's not ready."

Velar's smirk twisted as his body was consumed in the binding light.

Nogitsune vanished.

---

The clash echoed like thunder.

A crater bloomed in the training grounds as Yuki, now calm-eyed but sharper than ever, twisted midair to dodge a spiraling gust from Ren—whose wings were spread wide, his movements almost too fast for the eye to follow. Just as Yuki's feet touched the ground, Haru slammed down with an aura-fueled punch that cracked the earth.

Yet Yuki was smiling.

"Is that all?" he asked, brushing dust off his shoulder like it was nothing.

Across the edge of the cliffside ring, Kairo sat lazily under a sakura tree, sipping miso broth and slurping noodles. "Man... You'd think after all that dramatic void nonsense, you'd be more chill," he muttered, chewing thoughtfully. "Still… look at him go."

Not far away, Himari was locked in a deep meditation, surrounded by swirling glyphs of spiritual energy. Aiko, on the other hand, was mid-air—spinning with a new aura technique, clearly mimicking what she'd learned from Yuki.

"This is crazy," she laughed to herself, "I never thought I'd be doing this."

Back in the ring, Ren huffed. "He's not even trying!"

Haru, catching his breath, glanced at Yuki, then smirked. "Let's go all out."

Yuki's eyes flashed faintly—a pulse of void energy and aura control leaking effortlessly from his form. His tails flickered into view for a second. "Sure. Just don't cry if you lose."

As they lunged again, the mountain trembled.

---

A shockwave blasted out as the three collided again—Ren's wind scythe crashing against Haru's raw power, only to be split in two by Yuki's hand slicing through the air like a blade.

Ren pulled back, panting. "I'm not holding back anymore."

"You never were," Yuki said, his voice calm but edged. "You just forgot how fast I've grown."

Haru cracked his knuckles, sweat on his brow. "Tch. And I thought I'd finally caught up…"

From the tree, Kairo leaned back, arms behind his head, grinning. "Man, these kids… they grow up so fast. One minute it's crying over void beasts, next it's casual god-tier sparring before lunch."

He slurped his noodles. Loudly.

Aiko sat near the edge of the hill, eyes wide. "Yuki… he's faster than before. Is it the void training, or…"

Himari spoke quietly, watching Yuki closely. "No. He's not just faster. He's cleaner. Every move is purposeful."

Back in the ring, Ren disappeared mid-strike—reappearing behind Yuki with a flurry of wind-infused jabs. Yuki ducked, twisted, then flipped over Haru's incoming shoulder bash, landing in a crouch.

"Your timing is still predictable," Yuki muttered, launching them both back with a pulse of aura that flickered with shades of violet and black.

The earth cracked. Dust swirled.

And in the silence, Kairo whistled. "Sheesh. That would've ended a real battle."

Ren and Haru glanced at each other.

Then both… laughed.

"You've changed, Yuki," Ren said, brushing his hair back. "But you're still you."

Yuki stood, stretching his arms. "I had to change. We all did."

His gaze lifted briefly toward the sky. The clouds were thin. Quiet. Still.

And yet something in his eyes said he knew… this peace wouldn't last.

---

"If you're enjoying the ride, don't forget to leave a power stone or a comment—it really helps this grow!"