Countless giant, ancient roots stretched down from the surface through the open ceiling of the cavern, plunging deep into the stone floor. Thick as colossal tree trunks, they stood like a silent, towering underground forest, acting as organic pillars supporting the vast weight of the earth above.
Navigating this sprawling expanse, Toka led the way down a narrow path, with Cindy stepping closely behind him as they pressed deeper toward the West Territory monument.
Over his shoulder, Toka glanced back. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Cindy replied, her voice still carrying a trace of lingering tension.
Toka slowed his pace slightly. "Still feeling the aftermath of that spider's attack?" he asked, recalling when she had been trapped inside the suffocating silk cocoons.
Cindy gave a quiet nod, pulling her arms closer around herself. "It was really scary back there..." She looked up, her eyes wide as she stared at the looming, shadowed root stems surrounding them. She shivered. "And it's terrifying down here, too. I just hope Kairo and the others are okay..."
Toka turned his head fully to watch her speak, a hint of reassurance in his expression. "Stay close. We'll find them after we complete our objective."
As they resumed walking through the forest of tall root stems, a clear, open passageway loomed a short distance ahead. Toka pointed forward, narrowing his eyes against the dim light. "Over there. We're almost close."
Cindy peered past his shoulder into the deep, pitch-black maw of the tunnel ahead. "Is that going to lead us straight to the main monument?"
"It's the only pathway in front of us," Toka answered in a calm, steady voice. "We have to find out."
Neither of them noticed the subtle, horrifying shift taking place along the cold stone wall right beside them.
Blending seamlessly into the solid rock, mimicking its exact texture and color with eerie, camouflage-like precision, a figure had been shadowing them. As Toka and Cindy walked past, Cindy stepped a little too close to the cave wall.
Without a single sound, a human hand phased directly out of the solid stone.
Before Cindy could even register the movement or process what was happening, a hand clamped brutally over her mouth, silencing her scream before it could begin, while a second arm wrapped around her waist, yanking her backward against the rock face.
Up ahead, Toka stopped, suddenly noticing the absence of footsteps behind him.
"Cindy?" he called out, spinning on his heel. "Cindy?!"
He whipped his head around, scanning the towering roots and dark shadows, but she was completely gone. "CINDY?!"
"Hey, hey now..."
Toka froze.
The voice echoed softly from the darkness ahead. Standing right at the entrance of the pitch-black pathway, framed by the shadows, was a tall, slim boy. A sharp, egotistical smirk played across his face as he looked at Toka.
Furious, Toka stared at the shadowed figure. "What have you done to Cindy?!"
The boy chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Keep your voice down, you little wimp. You're going to bring down the whole cave if you keep shouting like that." Toka’s eyes narrowed into a fierce, dead-serious glare as the boy smirked, crossing his arms. "Sorry, but your little trip ends right here."
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"I'll ask you again," Toka demanded, his voice dropping to a dangerous register. "What have you done to Cindy?!"
The boy sighed, his expression turning sharp and serious. "I told you not to raise your voice at me. If you want to see your friend... you'll have to go through me first."
Toka took a long, deep breath. A cold, determined light entered his eyes. "Fine then. If that's the only way... I'll just have to make you cough her back up."
As he spoke, a brilliant, swirling surge of gradient red and light green seikon energy erupted through his veins, wrapping around his limbs as he dropped smoothly into his fighting stance. One foot stepped forward, the other planted firmly behind, both palms raised in a calm, ready guard.
Across the path, the boy watched him with sharp, calculating eyes. Seeing the vibrant aura, a smile touched his lips. "Oh? So he's a Stage 2 user." He tilted his head. "Hey, boy... what's your name?"
"Does it matter?" Toka replied coldly.
The boy let out a cheeky, mocking laugh. "Oh, come on! You're no fun at all." His smile vanished, replaced by a cold, predatory smirk. "Anyways... I'll be adding your corpse to the collection with the rest of your friends."
Toka tightened his grip, the seikon energy flaring brighter around his skin. "Is that so? The name is Tokisora of the Hakushō household... and I'd like to rephrase your words. It'll be your corpse instead."
The boy grinned wider. "Oh really?! Well, I am Pico, and..." Before he could even finish his sentence, Pico exploded into a dead sprint, charging straight toward Toka while slipping a small, concealed knife from behind his back. "Be my guest!" Pico shouted.
He's charging forward just like that? Toka thought, keeping his calm, defensive posture anchored to the ground as Pico closed the distance in a blur.
Once Pico got into striking range, he lunged, driving the knife low toward Toka's lower body. Toka reacted instantly, crossing his forearms into a tight scissor block, intercepting the blade right before it could reach his stomach.
The knife struck his crossed arms, but Pico didn't stop there. Using rapid finger dexterity, Pico flicked the handle upward, leveraging the blade against Toka's defense as it shot straight up toward Toka’s chin like a rocket.
Toka jerked his face backward just in time, letting the blade slice harmlessly through the air inches from his nose.
Mid-motion, Pico released his grip on the knife with one hand, twisting his body mid-air to catch the falling blade with his left hand. As he caught it, he violently yanked his arm backward in a sweeping arc, attempting to slash the blade across Toka's cheek on the rebound.
Toka’s eyes widened as the blade flashed past. He's fast!
SLAASH.
The knife grazed sharply across Toka's cheek, leaving a thin line of crimson in its wake. Toka staggered back a step, lifting a hand to his bleeding face.
Pico landed lightly on his feet, flashing a cocky smile as Toka recovered his balance. Without missing a beat, Pico bolted forward again.
This time, he thrust the knife toward the left side of Toka's face. Toka dodged right. Pico whipped his hand back to the right. Toka snapped his head back left, the movements flashing by with blinding speed. Pico dropped low to sweep at Toka's lower body, forcing Toka to take a quick, evasive step backward.
"Come on!" Pico laughed, his voice echoing off the cavern walls as he darted around. "Are you just gonna play around all day?"
Seeing the knife thrusting straight for his face once more, Toka channeled a dense, concentrated burst of seikon flow into his left arm. Dropping his body low, he used a sweeping left backhand to swat Pico's wrist away, knocking the knife cleanly off-target and leaving Pico's lower ribs completely exposed. Capitalizing on the opening, Toka drove a powerful, clawed right fist straight into Pico's ribs.
THUD.
Pico’s eyes flew wide as the kinetic shock hit him. The sheer force sent him hurtling backward across the stone floor.
He skidded to a halt, pressing both hands against his aching ribs. Through a wince of pain, a twisted smile crept onto his face. "Now... that's more like it."
Toka watched him coolly, lowering his guard just a fraction. "Well... are we going to play with the knife all day? We're not in the kitchen, you know."
Pico chuckled, straightening up. "Don't get too cocky. That was just a warmup."
"Well," Toka replied, his seikon energy pulsing brighter. "I'm waiting."
Pico took a deep, steadying breath. The air around him suddenly grew heavy, dust particles kicking up from the stone floor as a violent wave of red and green seikon energy violently surged through his own veins.
Toka’s eyes widened in sudden shock. He's a Stage 2 user, too...?
Pico grinned, seeing the realization hit him. "Surprised? Well, sorry to disappoint, pal... but you're not the only special one here."
Toka gave a sharp, confident sniff, sinking back down into his solid stance as his aura flared.
Pico bared his teeth, tightening his grip on the blade. "Here I come, Toka!" he screamed, launching himself back into the fray.