Page 46 of Echoes of Eternity

Listening to the old guy’s mumbo jumbo, I began to put pieces of the story together. The more I learned, the more unsettling each new revelation became. What the heck did I ever do in a previous life to deserve this kind of crap? To have the past continuously haunt me beyond the fabric of time and space?

“I will destroy you,” Noboru growled, blood staining one of his wings.

The old man stepped closer, a predatory glint in his eyes. “You’re merely a shadow of the warrior you oncewere. How quaint that you think you can protect her. Your bond with her is a weakness I intend to exploit.”

“Matsui! Or is it Mae, now? Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he taunted. “Is this any way to greet your previous husband? You’ve always been a whore.”

I could hear Kaito cursing as a few of the men took him down.

Think, Mae. Think! What the heck is happening right now?

The Yakuza leader’s arrogance was palpable, his demeanor that of a man who relished in his own triumph. “Don’t be a fool, Kaito. Your destiny is beyond your understanding. As for you, Mae, and yes, you too, warrior, listen closely. You see, we’re not just a criminal organization. We’re the apex of power and influence.”

I slowly peeked around the broken wall, watching as he turned in my direction with a sinister grin. “You, my dear, are now part of our grand design. Join us willingly, and you may find a place in our empire. Resist, and well… I will show you mercy by letting you watch your lover die by my hand… before I burn you alive.”

What the hell kind of fucked up cosmic whatnot is unraveling before me?

The Yakuza leader’s smile widened, a cruel glint in his eye. “I have to admit, I did enjoy watching my son fuck you.”

“What the hell?” Kaito snapped, his arms locked behind him by one of his father’s men.

“You were always easy on the eyes, Matsui. But asMae, your newfound confidence made you splendid,” he said with a wicked chuckle. “I’ll enjoy watching as we dismantle everything you hold dear.”

20

The leader’svictory was palpable, his confidence now a dark, suffocating presence. His eyes gleamed with an unsettling blend of anticipation and malice as he prepared his next move.

In the center of the room, my ex, who had been a mere spectator these past few moments, was now being dragged forward by the Yakuza members. His expression was a mix of confusion and fear as he was forced to stand before his father. The room’s atmosphere shifted, the air thickening with an ominous energy.

The Yakuza leader raised his hands, the dark, binding chains around Noboru glowing ominously, catching my attention. What was this? Dark magic? He began to chant in a language that seemed to twist reality itself. The words echoed with an unholy resonance, each syllable dripping with arcane power. The incantation wove through the air, casting an eerie blue glow that enveloped the room.

Noboru groaned and my heart ached.

As the chant reached a fever pitch, the Yakuza leader’s focus intensified. His eyes locked onto his son, who was now trembling uncontrollably. What was he doing? Concern laced me for both men. The Yakuza members surrounding him held him firm, their faces masks grim.

Suddenly, the leader’s voice rose in a final, resonant cry, the magic building to a crescendo. The room seemed to vibrate with the force of the spell, and a malevolent wind whipped through, sending debris scattering in circles like a tornado. The energy coalesced around my ex, his body writhing in agonizing contortions.

The transformation began with a horrific, inhuman screech. Kaito’s screams of pain filled the room, a primal sound that seemed to pierce through the fabric of reality. His body twisted and elongated, muscles shifting and stretching in ways that defied natural form. The air was filled with the crackling of dark magic and the smell of burning ozone.

I thought I had seen everything. I was wrong. Before my very eyes, his human form was being reshaped into something both magnificent and terrifying. Scales sprouted from his skin, ripping his flesh apart, shimmering with an iridescent sheen beneath the splattering of blood. His limbs elongated and transformed, claws emerging where fingers once were. His face distorted into a fierce, dragon-like visage, the transformation complete with a pair of colossal, bat-like wings unfurlingfrom his back as the remnants of his human flesh stretched and snapped.

The creature that stood before us was no longer recognizable as the man I once knew. The black dragon’s eyes, glowing with a malevolent intelligence, surveyed the room with a mixture of rage and bewilderment right before he shook the rest of his eviscerated human flesh onto the ground. Its roar was a deafening sound that reverberated through the building, quaking the very walls.

His father’s laughter rang out, filled with dark triumph at the macabre sight before him. “Behold,” he declared, his voice echoing with the authority of a god. “This is the true reach of my power and everything I’ve learned. The Yakuza bends even the most formidable beings to our will. One of our very own is now an instrument of our dominance!”

The dragon’s roar reverberated through the air, a bone-chilling proclamation of the leader’s unholy power, its scales glimmering with a spectral, unsettling light. Before me stood my ex—now a grotesque beast of myth, a living nightmare. The sight was surreal, a horrifying spectacle that clawed at my sanity. The transformation was complete, and with it came an insatiable dread that coiled in my gut like a viper, whispering that this creature was no longer the person I once knew, but a harbinger of destruction and despair.

I could only watch in trepidation as the dragon paced around the room, its eyes occasionally turning to me with a sense of forlorn recognition. The room was now aplace of unimaginable power and dark magic, the Yakuza leader’s spell having transformed the balance of the conflict in a way I could scarcely comprehend.

As the dragon’s eyes met mine, I felt a pang of both sympathy and recoil. If he thought I would screw him in this form, he had another thing coming.

Noboru’s grip on the glowing chains tightened, and I could feel an unfamiliar energy pulsing through him, resonating in my chest. It was as if the very air around us had shifted, crackling with an ancient power that surged from deep within. I watched in awe as he began to break free from the chains that bound him, the metallic links snapping like twigs under the pressure of his newfound strength as his size grew to massive proportions.

“Dragon!” he called, his voice resonating with an intensity that seemed to shake the room. “You and the terror of your clansman will end here.”

The dragon’s massive head jerked in his direction, its gaze narrowing as it sensed the shift in power. “What is this?” it snarled, its voice rumbling like distant thunder. “You think you can stand against me? You’re nothing but a pawn in my way!”

But Noboru stood tall, his aura radiating confidence and defiance. “No more games, Asato Kenzan,” he declared, his voice booming with authority. “You’ve hidden behind your darkness for too long. It’s time to face the consequences of your actions.”

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