The Seven Seals and the Living Descent

(S-SHIIIIIIING!!!)

The emerald arc of the Mangetsu completed its path, leaving behind a trail of light that split reality itself.

(VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!)

The Valkyrie’s head separated from her torso, rising into the air with an almost dreamlike slowness.

(Fshhhhh...)

At the point of the rupture, no blood sprayed; instead, violent and erratic black flames erupted from the severed tissues, as if the darkness dwelling within her were desperately trying to consume her...

(THUD!!)

Finally, when the head struck the cold marble of the crater, it underwent a metamorphosis.

(FROOOOOOOOSH!!!)

As if the impact against the ground were a signal, the jet-black of the flames faded, transforming into a pale, ashen gray.

(Fssshhh, shhh...)

That grayish flame began to spread quietly, consuming both the head and the decapitated body that still remained on its knees.

(Ssshhh...)

It wasn't a violent combustion, but rather a dissolution...

"...."

And Shija, watching the scene without turning his gaze away, still holding the posture of his final strike, watched with heavy eyes as his opponent disintegrated.

"It's over..."

At his words, the silk sword in his right hand unraveled, turning back into inert threads that fell upon his sweat-drenched skin.

"BLUARGH?!!"

However, despite the Valkyrie's fall, Shija's ordeal did not cease immediately.

(FSSHHHHHH!!)

The serrated sword, driven to the marrow of his shoulder, seemed to possess one final will for destruction, coiling and twisting with a frenzied intensity that sought to sever not only flesh and bone, but the very fibers of his soul.

(SISHHHHHHHH!!!)

To Shija, the sound of the dark energy devouring his spirit was deafening...

("... Goodbye")

Yet, when the Valkyrie's head finished being consumed on the ground, the ultimate change occurred.

(fsssh~)

From the hilt of the sword, right where the guardian's hands had gripped it for the last time, gray flames began to sprout.

(Fwiiish!, Fwaei!)

Like a tide of living ash, the gray fire advanced slowly across the structure of the sword, canceling the damage and darkness wherever it passed, extinguishing the ancient flame...

"¡¿?!"

In this manner, the spiritual tearing and consumption that Shija was suffering ceased abruptly as the blade began to crumble into ashes.

(... Crec-crec... Chas-chas... P'k'p'k')

The black flames, deprived of their source of hatred, dissolved into an inert ash that the cavern wind began to sweep away.

"....."

As the blade crumbled, Shija felt a glacial relief race down his arm, while the scorching heat that had prevented him from breathing vanished, leaving behind an open but "clean" wound.

(... fisss)

And so, finally, the edge of the blade completely dissolved...

(BA-DUMP... BA-DUMP...!!!)

Causing Shija, freed from the weight and the anchor, to stagger while clutching his chest, falling to his knees on the ground.

"¡¡¡!!!"

As soon as the sword vanished and the adrenaline of combat began to drain away, Shija's world tilted violently.

"A-AAAAAGH...!!!"

A volcanic pain, raw and absolute, erupted from his Qi core and branched out toward every nerve ending.

"Kghh!! G-GAAAHHH...!!"

His breath was an erratic hiss, and cold sweat mingled with the gray ash that covered the crater.

(Sssss~)

At that moment, the emerald snakes tattooed on his body as marks took action, zigzagging across his bare torso and limbs with rapid, spasmodic movements...

(ZUUUM-ZUUUM-ZUUUM!!)

The marks stretched and contracted over his skin, acting as metaphysical sutures.

(No... not yet...!)

Shija could feel the snakes tightening around his muscles, desperately trying to hold his physical body together before the internal pressure of the residual energy tore him to pieces from the inside and he was assimilated by the environment.

(... I haven't arrived yet... I can't stop here...!)

Every time Shija tried to collapse, the movement of the snakes triggered a surge of energy that forced him to remain conscious, keeping him awake to keep fighting in turn.

(CLICK-CLACK-KRAAAA!)

But amidst the agony Shija was enduring, the sound of a lock clicking open resonated...

(GRRR-SHHH-GRRR-SHHH!!!)

This caused the doors in front of Shija to react at that very moment, while the wall behind them folded in on itself.

(GRRR-SHHH-GRRR-SHHH!!!)

The masonry slid with liquid fluidity, and what appeared to be a solid wall began to descend, step by step, transforming into a massive spiral staircase that sank into an even deeper abyss.

<"Finally~">

The structure moved in an organic and unnatural way, as if the cavern were a living organism rearranging its entrails.

(... thud-thud... thump-thump...)

Each section of the wall that lowered emitted a faint and disturbing glow, revealing that the path did not lead to another cave, but to the very depths of a beating heart.

<"You didn't come this far to give up... did you...?">

The air rising from the new steps was heavy, filled with a sweet and suffocating aroma that contrasted with the smell of ash and blood on the surface.

<"Move forward... Shija Retsu...">

Shija, his vision blurred by pain and the "snakes," had fallen into a trance, unable to hear the voice that was whispering to him...

(It is there...)

The staircase seemed to invite him down toward the epicenter.

<"... You must cut them... Cut the darkness... Break them~!">

The stairs vanished into a darkness that vibrated with distant echoes—sounds Shija couldn't identify, yet they made his warrior instinct stand on guard despite his deplorable state.

(... I must get out... I must move forward... I...)

With his consciousness fragmented into a thousand shards of pain and a will that no longer belonged to human logic, Shija began to move.

<"... You don't have much time left to escape... I can no longer hold you together... At this rate... you will be assimilated...">

In his critical state, Shija couldn't hear the words being transmitted to his mind...

"¡¡!!"

But despite that, his will was such that he forced his muscles, taut with agony, to respond.

(S-SHHHHH-ZAP!!!)

Noticing that the warrior's body was on the verge of failure, the threads of mystic silk hanging inert around him sprang to an instinctive life. Acting as external supports, the ribbons coiled tightly around his joints and open wounds, squeezing the torn flesh like an exoskeleton of reinforced fabric.

(I can move... As long as I have my sword... I still can...)

The fabric around his wrist didn't just stop the bleeding; it served as invisible crutches that kept him upright as he took his first step into the abyss.

(Thump... thump... thump...!)

However, as he moved forward, his heartbeat began to quicken its pace.

(SHHH-TICK-SHHH-TICK!!!)

As he descended the staircase, which twisted like the entrails of a monster, the architecture around him grew more erratic. The stone walls gave way to surfaces that looked like skin or organic metal, vibrating with an energy that sought to cloud his purpose.

(Pum-pum... Pum-pum...!!)

With every step he descended, the pulse amplified in his ears with increasing strength.

"I’m... coming..."

Shija's journey through the corridor defied sanity.

(Tap... Tap... Tap...)

As his footsteps echoed in the oppressive silence, seven doors appeared on the walls.

"...."

Each of them was a visual anomaly, imbued with a representative color and representative images carved into their frames.

<"There is wrath...">

The first door was a visceral red, almost black, featuring the relief of a beast tearing at its own chest in an eternal frenzy.

<"... Sloth">

The second door, of a deep and icy blue, was engraved with the image of a creature sinking into a sea of supplicating hands that tried to steal its breath.

<"Envy~">

The third door, a bilious green, showed shadows mutually devouring each other's entrails with faces of absolute indifference.

<"Gluttony...">

The fourth, an incandescent orange, showed twisted figures in an infinite banquet where the food was their own limbs.

<"How could one forget lust~">

The fifth door, shrouded in a sickly magenta, displayed the relief of a crowned figure looking into a cracked mirror, where its reflection was a monster.

<"PRIDE">

The sixth door, of a vibrant violet, depicted a usurped throne.

<"... And finally, greed">

Finally, the seventh door, of a glowing amber, was carved with the image of a skeletal hand clutching a heart that dripped gold coins and flesh.

"....."

Yet, even in his trance, Shija did not slow his pace, descending deeper and deeper...

<"I suppose it is about to begin~">

Until he reached a door in the depths whose chains were on the verge of collapsing.