9. The Rebirth Begins in Chains

Moon and Kai's eyes opened at the exact same moment.

There was no sunlight. No breeze. No noise. No pain.

Just an overwhelming silence… and a strange, twisted space around them.

It was like the laws of reality had folded in on themselves.

The sky above them didn't look like a sky at all—it was as if space itself had melted, colors flowing and bending in unnatural ways.

Their bodies were floating, but they were not free.

They were chained.

Thick cosmic chains, glowing faintly with dark runes, wrapped tightly around their bare, fragile bodies, suspending them in the void.

These weren't ordinary chains—they were alive, pulsating with something vile.

Moon blinked slowly, his mind foggy.

As his blurry vision cleared, he saw Kai directly in front of him—also chained, also suspended.

The moment their eyes met, a warmth bloomed in both their hearts.

Moon gave a weak smile, his lips trembling.

"You're alive…" he whispered.

Kai nodded slowly, his own eyes beginning to glisten. "You too…"

That moment of emotional relief lasted only seconds.

Suddenly, Moon's body jerked.

His eyes widened in alarm.

The chains around his torso and arms began to tighten, glowing faintly with a purple-black energy.

A vile, ancient force began to leak from them, slithering like liquid shadow across his skin.

Then, without warning, that dark energy pierced into his flesh, entering every pore.

"AAAGGHHHHHHH!" Moon screamed, his voice echoing across the empty void.

His body twitched and convulsed, every muscle tightening as the energy forced its way through his nervous system.

It felt like every cell was being boiled, then frozen, then shredded—all at once.

He thrashed, or at least tried to, but the chains only gripped him harder.

The pain was so intense, so utterly inhuman, that even Ruok's poisonous fluid from earlier felt like a mere pinch compared to this.

Moon couldn't even feel the physical pain of the chains tightening—because the energy inside him was burning his insides to ash.

On the other side, Kai watched in horror.

"No… Moon!" he shouted, trying to move towards his brother—but as soon as he struggled, his chains responded too, beginning to pulse with the same dark energy.

And then… the pain found him too.

Just like Moon, Kai began to scream as the same merciless agony invaded his body.

The two brothers, helpless, suspended in a nightmare realm, were being tortured by a power far beyond anything they'd ever known.

The pain was so severe, so extreme…

It was said to be twenty times worse than childbirth.

And for them, it felt like they were giving birth to death itself.

---

Time lost all meaning.

They couldn't tell day from night.

They didn't sleep. They didn't eat.

There was only agony… followed by numbness… then more agony.

The dark energy continued to enter their bodies again and again, in waves.

Each wave lasted what felt like hours, then a brief pause—just enough to breathe—before the next surge began.

After what could have been days or weeks, something shifted.

Kai, through his haze of pain, began to notice something strange.

Moon… wasn't screaming as much anymore.

At first, Kai thought Moon had lost consciousness or died.

But then he saw it.

Moon's eyes were wide open.

And he was… smiling?

No—laughing.

A soft, unhinged, almost maniacal laugh.

It escaped Moon's cracked lips in short bursts between gasps of pain.

"Hahaha… ha… it hurts… but it's nothing… compared to being worthless…"

Kai was horrified.

Moon… had begun to embrace the pain.

But he had no time to process it.

Because his own body was next to be attacked again—this time, twice as intensely as before.

The cycle continued.

For thirty long days, Moon and Kai were trapped in that hellish void, tortured by chains that carried a power no human should survive.

---

Day 30.

And then… finally…

The energy stopped.

Not suddenly. Not cleanly.

But slowly, like a beast growing tired of its prey.

Both Moon and Kai were left dangling, breathless, lifeless…

Their skin glowing faintly from the energy overload.

Then came the next change.

Their bodies began to dissolve—not in pain, but in light.

First their fingers… then their arms… then everything.

They weren't dying… They were transforming.

Into pure, raw energy.

And in that form, they both lost consciousness.

---

Moon's Awakening

Moon's eyes fluttered open.

But the moment he did, he groaned in discomfort, quickly raising a hand to block the blinding light shining on his face.

It was… the sun?

He slowly sat up, squinting.

The light of day bathed his skin, warm and gentle.

His body was resting beside a quiet river, its surface sparkling like diamonds.

The air smelled pure. Holy, even.

He looked around, confused.

He was completely naked, his body unscarred and clean—as if reborn.

But he was alone.

"Kai…?"

His voice was raspy. Dry.

He looked around in panic.

Where was his brother?

The peaceful scenery did nothing to calm his racing heart.

Moon stood up, covering himself with his hands, and began to search.

He spent hours—no, the entire day—searching.

He ran through the forest.

Dove into the river, exploring its depths.

Scoured a 150-kilometer radius, climbed hills, combed through trees…

But Kai was nowhere to be found.

As the sun began to set, Moon found himself exhausted, collapsing under a tree.

Only then did he realize—he had been wandering naked the whole time.

"...Tch. Dammit."

He quickly grabbed a bunch of broad leaves and vines, tying them around his waist like makeshift shorts.

At least now, his "precious parts" were covered.

He sat under the tree, resting his head against the trunk.

His body still ached lightly from the torture, but compared to what he'd endured, this was nothing.

And slowly, he drifted into a light sleep.

---

Midnight Thoughts

Moon's eyes opened again—this time in the middle of the night.

The stars above him shimmered softly.

Crickets chirped. A gentle breeze blew past.

But his mind wasn't calm.

He stared up at the sky, lost in thought.

"I remember dying…" he whispered to himself.

The memory came rushing back—his body rotting, torn apart.

So how… was he completely fine now?

He touched his face. His chest. His arms.

There wasn't a single scar.

His body felt… better. Stronger.

Too perfect.

"Could it be Ruok…? Did he save me?"

He shook his head. "But why would he? And if it was him… why leave me alone?"

Too many questions.

No answers.

He took a deep breath and stood up.

"No use sitting around. I have to find Kai."

---

A Flicker in the Sky

Almost an hour later, as he was walking along a hilltop, something caught his eye.

A dark column of smoke, rising far in the distance.

Moon's eyes widened.

"Could that be… Kai?!"

Without a second thought, he ran up a nearby tree to get a better view.

But the smoke was still too far away.

All he could see was a distant plateau nearby.

He leapt down and ran straight toward it.

His heart beat faster—not from fear, but from excitement.

He was moving faster than ever before.

Only then did he realize—

"Wait… how am I moving like this?"

He looked down at his feet.

His breathing wasn't heavy. His legs didn't ache.

It was as if his entire body had been reborn with divine strength.

He smiled slightly.

So this was what came from that torture…

When he reached the base of the plateau, he didn't hesitate.

With a deep breath, he leapt—so high that he reached the top in seconds, even though the plateau was nearly 5 kilometers tall.

Standing atop it, Moon finally saw the source of the smoke.

And his eyes lit up.

"Hah!" he grinned. "Found you…"

He launched himself off the edge, racing like the wind.

---

To be continued…

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