(A/n: Trigger Warning: blood is mentioned a lot later in this chapter)


Chapter 29: Death Is Not An Option

Sharon

Sharon, Clyde, and Craig stop by the porch, having no other choice since the Nullification Barrier is blocking further advancement. It's clear, invisible even, but exudes strong magical energy. Sharon places a palm against it, able to feel its solid texture. She furrows her eyebrows, aware that she must take down this powerful spell herself. Even if Clyde hadn't overexerted himself, neither his nor Craig's magical strength are equivalent to the Being of Darkness'. But Sharon is hesitant. She knows it's going to take a lot of energy to dismantle the barrier, she'd rather use that much energy against the enemy itself, not its spell. It would be a huge waste.

"Mrs. Marsh?" The concerned voice came from Craig. "You okay?"

"Yeah, you're tensed," Clyde says.

Cognizant of her rigid posture, Sharon relaxes while heaving a soft sigh. She shouldn't be reluctant, Kenny is in desperate need of assistance. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking of a way to dispel the barrier."

"I'll help," Craig says.

Sharon almost shakes her head, but after quickly thinking it through, her mind hasn't changed and she says, "No, save your strength."

"But-"

"Don't worry, I can handle it."

"...Okay."

Sharon closes her eyes and puts her other palm against the barrier. A purple aura emanates like a mist from her body as she concentrates on discharging her magical energy onto her target.

Slowly, similar to haze shrouding a glass window, purple begins to color the barrier.


Kenny (Fifteen minutes ago)

It's cold.

So...

So...

Cold.

The pain hadn't dulled, instead it felt like the coldness from the hard wooden floor was making it worse. The scent of blood was making Kenny nauseous. He wondered how much he'd lost.

Gradually, he realized someone had been talking to him inside his head, screaming at him to open his eyes. They had also mentioned something about healing. He's too tired to distinguish the voice.

Footsteps approached him, thudding like drums in his ears. Once the sound stopped, a heavy menacing pressure pushed down against his body.

"Oh, yer still alive?"

Kenny winced when he felt a cool metal press against the side of his temple, then the item emitted a clicking sound.

"Let me put you outta yer misery then."

Kenny braced himself. He had no strength to fight back. For the first time in a long while, he's afraid to die. He had experienced this same kind of fear back when he had faced off against the first Being of Darkness as a child. His addled mind could not recall how he overcame it. But the one thing he's certain of was that he would deeply regret leaving Stan here to fight both the Being of Darkness and its minion without any help—physical help. He felt warm tears building up behind his eyelids. When he thought about Stan losing his life because of him, because he wanted to know if his siblings were still here or not even though he knew this house was a trap, a teardrop managed to slip out from underneath his eyelid and plop silently to the floor. He weakly curled one of his hands into a fist.

"Stan...I'm sorry I dragged you into this..."

Kenny felt himself swiftly losing consciousness.

"...I Won't Let You Die."

The trigger was pulled with a reverberating bang.

/

A warm breeze startled Kenny awake. He breathed in fresh air, and his eyes noticed a partially cloudy sky and the soft grass he's lying on. The fact that he could breathe properly indicated that the wound he had received in his chest was gone. Not only that, his body wasn't aching anymore.

Did...he die?

A little befuddled, he stood up on his feet, then put a hand up to his chest, feeling the spot he had been shot at. He underwent no pain, neither did he feel any dampness. He examined his shirt, it was stainless and undamaged. He frowned. Whenever he ended up in Heaven or Hell, his clothes would appear as if he had never suffered a brutal death just moments prior. So, perhaps he really did die.

He inspected his surroundings, automatically wondering if he was in a recently developed area of Heaven. Like an enormous garden or some sort. The moment he saw a tree in the distance, familiarity struck him instantly.

This was...the meadow he had met Yuna in.

However, he soon laid eyes on a person standing several feet away from him, staring ahead, their black locks fluttering in the light wind. Kenny recognized them based on their attire.

"S...Stan?" Uttering that name almost left Kenny breathless. But then he thought, what if they weren't Stan? What if he mistook this stranger for his best friend?

The male turned around, sapphire-colored eyes meeting hazel ones. The noirette smiled as if to contain a laugh at Kenny's flabbergasted mien.

"Seems my presence has stunned you once again."

Kenny blinked, confusion replacing shock. "What?"

The other teen's lips formed into a line. "You know I'm not really your friend, right?"

Kenny frowned again, aware of the fact. "Yeah, so who are you?"

"Hmm, call me Vivi."

"...Vivi?" Kenny repeated. Was this spirit actually a female?

"Yes. You'll know my real name when we meet again, whether it be on earth, in my domain, or in another dream."

Ah, so Kenny was dreaming... "Wait, I'm dreaming?!" How the hell did he fall asleep when he was just about to be killed?!

Vivi raised a hand at chest level. "Calm down, Kenneth," he said. "At the moment, your Inner Guardian is in possession of your body. I assume you already know about 'Power Link' and 'Forced Power Link', correct?"

Kenny gave a stiff nod. He won't ever forget the information Mrs. Marsh imparted to him regarding those abilities, plus even if he did forget, Stan and Chris would refresh his memory. He later understood that their reasons for doing 'Power Link' were for training purposes. This was the first time Yuna initiated a Link, and it had to be the forced version. Kenny was aware that she had no choice, but the uncertainty of the outcome filled him with trepidation.

"Good." Vivi lowered his arm, and folded both arms behind his back. "I asked only to make sure. Some humans still do not know about them, or were told after they'd undergone either ability." Vivi shook his head disapprovingly. Kenny pitied those people. "Since your Inner Guardian initiated a 'Forced Power Link', I'll keep the purpose of my visitation as brief as I can, so do not expect some of your questions to be answered."

Kenny sighed heavily, then nodded again, pushing aside his worry to dwell on later. He's rather eager to know one thing. "Can I ask a question right now?"

"Go ahead."

"Why did you appear as Stan?"

Vivi expressed genuine shock. "Oh...I'm gonna be honest, I didn't expect you to ask that."

Kenny raised an eyebrow at the spirit's tone shift from ingenious to colloquial. "What did you think I was gonna ask?" Vivi pointed at his head, more specifically, at his hair. "Oh, I was gonna ask about that next."

His face relaxing, Vivi lowered his arm, crossing it with the other behind his back again. "I see. I thought you would want answers about your hair above anything else, like how to revert it to its original color or why you acquired a white strand in the first place. Seems it was unwise of me to judge your character so soon after a single meeting."

"..." Kenny took some moments to figure out if he wanted to comprehend the first half of Vivi's statement or the second half. His inquisitiveness leaned closer towards wanting to learn the cause of his hair turning white. There had been theories and speculations from Mrs. Marsh and his best friends regarding the reasons, but that's it. Yuna hadn't been able to get any conclusive answers from the spirits in the Realm of Light and Darkness; her Superior had only told her that Kenny had been 'marked' (whatever that meant) by someone, and it was up to him to find out who they were. But then again, should Kenny trust Vivi? The spirit hinted as well as mentioned that they had met before, but Kenny had no recollection of ever meeting another spirit anywhere. Didn't help that he or she was not in his or her real form either. "You know how I can turn my hair back to normal?" Kenny asked.

Vivi grinned impishly. "Yes, but which do you want an answer to first? Why I took on Stanley's appearance or why your hair is turning white?"

Kenny developed a calm, contemplative expression on his face. He kind of hated that he had to choose, which was most likely what Vivi anticipated. But he didn't feel indecisive for long. Since he didn't fully trust Vivi even though this was apparently their second time meeting, he came to a quick decision. Knowing about his hair was very important to him, but he thought it was best to wait until they came across each other again. This was an opportunity he wouldn't really regret missing. He looked steely into sapphire irises. "I still wanna know why you look like Stan."

Vivi chuckled. "How interesting," he said. "Very well. The reason I chose to appear as your friend is because..." He paused dramatically. "You wanted me to."

Kenny became confused all over again. "I wanted you to? How?"

Vivi tapped his own head twice as he said, "A human's mind is quite the powerful tool. Right before you lost consciousness, you thought of only one person, hence I've appeared before you looking like him."

His explanation helped Kenny understand what he meant. Kenny couldn't believe he had that much power to change a spirit's external appearance. He frowned, though, as realization quickly set in. He had only thought about Stan because he felt extremely guilty for forcing him into this mess. That feeling had never left.

"Do you wish to save Stanley with your own hands?"

Of course Kenny did, and he didn't waste time confirming his answer with a nod. His eyes went wide. He remembered now, how he got over his fear of death. It was because he was reminded of a friend in need. At first, it was Kyle. Now, it's Stan. He must get Stan out of the dilemma he got them into.

"Then," with a small smile, Vivi pointed at something. Kenny followed his finger, looking at the lone tree in the distance. "Go and reclaim your body."

Kenny still had a few more questions, however those were going to have to be asked another day. He needed to finish his fight against his literal monster of a father with his own strength. However...he didn't move, despite the urge. There's one thing he needed to know. He looked back at Vivi, who's lowering his arm.

"But aren't you gonna tell me why you came to see me?"

"I've just fulfilled my purpose." Vivi's body began to fade away. "See you next time, Kenneth. Hopefully, it's not when you're in a life-threatening situation."

Once he's gone, Kenny ran towards the tree.

That was a bizarre encounter. Kenny still wondered when and where he had met Vivi before, but he drew an instant blank. Perhaps Vivi had erased his memories of their first meeting. Nonetheless, he was looking forward to seeing him or her again, whether they're in their real form or not. At least he would know the spirit's actual name whenever the day came, which would help him confirm their gender.

Closing in on the tree, Kenny sensed a familiar energy. He wasn't sure if it's coming from the tree itself or from somewhere near it. He slowed down beside the tree, not feeling the slightest bit out of breath. Placing a hand on the trunk, Kenny peeked behind it. His eyes widened.

"Yuna?"

The girl didn't react to his quiet voice. She's sitting on the ground resting against the trunk, an arm on her stomach, seemingly asleep. Her face gave off the impression that she's having a nightmare—she's enduring it without a sound.

Kenny got down on one knee beside her. "Yuna?" He called for her again, making his voice louder. She remained in idle slumber.

Kenny pursed his lips. He's left with only one last option, and it's to physically wake her up. However, he's not sure if it's a good idea to touch her. She's currently possessing his body, fighting in his stead. He didn't want to ruin her concentration, but at the same time, he couldn't let this drag on any longer. He's the one who should be fighting right now.

With a deep breath, he extended a hand towards her. He gently nudged her shoulder. Her furrowed eyebrows creased slightly more.

"Eh...? K-Kenneth?"

Why did she sound exhausted? "Yeah, it's me. Quick, let's switch back."

Yuna didn't say anything for a second. "...Are you sure? I..." She fell silent.

Kenny discerned the reluctance in her voice. He smiled. "It's okay. I'll take it from here."

Yuna looked a little less tense. "Okay, but I can't end the Link, or you will faint instantly." Kenny's smile wavered into a slight frown. "I won't interfere unless it's necessary. That Being of Darkness...was once your father, after all. Just please..." Kenny felt Yuna start to tremble. "Be careful."

He patted her shoulder comfortingly, a sad look in his eyes. "Don't worry, I will."

Both of their bodies started glowing, then they disappeared shortly after.

*Present Time*

A gunshot rings in Kenny's eardrums the second he's conscious. His hazel eyes radiating in a low light go big. Thanks to 'Forced Power Link', his enhanced sense of awareness allows him to dodge the bullet that was very close to blasting a hole through his forehead. He rushes at the enemy before it can pull the trigger again. He quickly realizes that it only has one pistol left. That's one of the noticeable differences that sticks out to Kenny, the second are the contusions on the Being of Darkness' body. Damn, Yuna really did a number on it. No wonder it looks pissed off.

Kenny smirks. He decides to disarm the Being completely. He grabs its gun and squeezes it so hard that it breaks into pieces.

"You fuckin' shit'!" The Being of Darkness says lividly.

Kenny takes a punch to the cheek. Only his head moved. It doesn't hurt, like, at all. It felt like he got hit with a pillow. He chuckles. "I didn't even feel that."

"You...Yer not that annoyin' ass Inner Guardian anymore."

Kenny seizes its wrist, prying its fist away from his cheek while turning his head to look at the Being of Darkness. "It doesn't matter who I am, you were never gonna beat me anyway." This arrogance...It feels...new, like it's someone else's emotion, not his. But he likes this feeling. He strengthens his grip on the Being of Darkness' wrist, breaking it as well. It swears in pain. "Become my punching bag for a minute." Kenny punches it in the stomach. It coughs up purple blood, the fluid splashing onto his face. He smiles again, and continues to punch the Being of Darkness with all his might, pummeling anywhere on its body except the head. It grunts and curses at almost every blow.

So this is what it feels like to combine powers with an Inner Guardian. It is a totally different experience compared to when Yuna buffed his magical energy that one time. He feels a whole lot stronger now. He recalls never wanting to undergo either Links, of course his views about the abilities still haven't changed. However, he understands now that there will be circumstances he can't get out of using just his strength and his Inner Guardian's support. Today is a prime example of that. If Yuna hadn't initiated 'Forced Power Link', he would not be alive.

And neither would Stan.

Kenny really hopes nothing bad has happened to him, that he successfully defeated the Being of Darkness' pet.

After punching the Being of Darkness once more, Kenny grabs its neck with his right hand, keeping it from falling. He's done toying with it. "Time to put you outta your misery," he says, repeating the same words it said to him. He clenches his left fist, a white aura emerges around it. He thrusts a punch at the Being of Darkness' bruised chest, his aura disappearing once he strikes through it, the impact making a squelching sound. He releases its neck while pulling his arm back, shaking his hand to get rid of its viscous remains.

Purple blood is leaking profusely from between the Being of Darkness' fangs. It falls backwards.

As soon as it lands to the floor, the front door bursts open all of a sudden. Somehow, it stays on its hinges.

"Holy shit!" Kenny exclaims in a fright. He gapes at three familiar people standing outside the doorway that nearly gave him a heart attack.

"Kenny," says Mrs. Marsh, giving the blood on his chest a nervous stare. "Are...you okay?"

Kenny frowns out of shame. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. What about Stan?"

"He's...okay as well."

Kenny didn't expect to hear an evasive reply from Mrs. Marsh. It's like she was about to tell him what happened to her son, but decided to omit the details—whether to prevent him from worrying any further or not, Kenny isn't sure. Just knowing that Stan is alright mattered the most to him anyway.

"Is...is it dead?" Clyde asks, eying the Being of Darkness.

Quickly wiping the tears that surface in his eyes, Kenny looks at the Being. Its body is breaking apart into black particles. "Yeah. Had you gotten here a second earlier, you would've seen me deal the final blow." He grins.

"Don't you mean your Inner Guardian?" Asks Craig, an eyebrow raised in doubt.

Kenny shakes his head. "Nope, was all me." He frowns. "But...Yuna did weaken it for me."

Mrs. Marsh turns around. "C'mon, let's go to the back. I'll transport us home."

Assuming Stan is resting in the backyard, Kenny walks around the disintegrating corpse. Mrs. Marsh, Clyde, and Craig leave the porch. He grabs the doorknob, pulling the door closed as he steps out of the house, but stops—the door halfway closed. He turns his head back, looking wistfully into what was once his home, then to the Being of Darkness, who was once his father. Looking away, he resumes walking.

Once the door shuts, the black particles halt in mid-air. They travel back down towards the Being of Darkness, slowly healing only the serious wound it received. Its body emits a faint red aura, resembling steam. It heals its other injuries at a faster speed. The fragments of its pistol glow in a grey light, then group together, morphing into a ball. It floats over to the hole in the Being of Darkness' chest. It lets out a gurgled chuckle.

Outside, Kenny and the rest arrive in the backyard. Prior to seeing the noirette, who was stabbing away at a headless humanoid that's pinned down to the ground, Kenny knew it was actually Chris thanks to the color of his Inner Aura. It's red instead of dark blue. Seems the Being of Darkness' pet gave Stan a hard time.

Chris narrows his eyes at the unmoving entity. "Hmph, that didn't last too long," he grumbles. He slices off the arm that's latched onto his leg from in the middle using a katana Kenny doesn't recognize, then detaches the other half of the arm off. His red aura mixed with small amounts of silver heals his injury instantly. This is the first time Kenny has seen no blood re-enter the wound during the process. Throwing the severed limb in a random direction, Chris forces up a small smile at Kenny. "Glad to see you're alive."

"Were you actually worried about me?" Kenny asks, skeptical.

"Yes."

Kenny still doesn't believe him. With the way he treats Stan most of the time, it's highly likely that he only said that to seem less of an inconsiderate asshole.

Mrs. Marsh glares at Kenny. "We're going to have a long talk once we get home."

Kenny nods his head nervously. He is prepared, he deserves to be punished for his foolishness. But not Stan. He only came along because Kenny insisted. He could've refused—no, he should've refused just as assertively. Kenny would've dropped the subject right then and there. He's not one to pressure someone into doing something they don't want to do, especially if it is just for his own benefit. Maybe as a joke, but never seriously.

A few gentle pats on his shoulder snaps him out of his self-reproaching thoughts, looking to see Clyde giving him a sheepish smile.

"You mind if me and Craig sleep on your futon?" He asks.

Kenny huffs, although he isn't annoyed. Just mildly amused. "Sure. I can sleep on the sofa." Clyde pats his shoulder once again before taking his hand away.

"Wait..." Mrs. Marsh says. She turns to look at the bungalow. She gives it a hard stare. "Something isn't right."

An abundant of Dark magical energy is coming from the house. It becomes apparent to everyone else that the Being of Darkness...has not been defeated.

"I-I thought you said it was dead!" Clyde quietly exclaims at Kenny.

"Talk about an epic fail," Craig quips monotonously.

Kenny is at a loss for words. He knows for a fact he killed the Being of Darkness. He clearly saw its body breaking down into particles!

The humanoid's head regenerates back onto its neck. Its laughs loudly. "You fools are dead!" It shouts excitedly. "Dead, dead, dead!" It laughs again.

"Tch, shut the hell up." Chris plucks Stan's katana out from the humanoid's chest, and forcefully stabs it in its mouth, silencing it.

Kenny, Clyde, and Craig spin around when they hear a crashing sound disturb the momentary silence. Chris appears unconcerned as he stares in the direction of the noise. Everyone sees a glimpse of a black and red figure dart into the air through the roof of the bungalow, landing next to the crater.

The Being of Darkness stands up straight while laughing boisterously. Kenny recognizes that aura, it had once again healed all of its injuries. Perhaps even saved its life.

"Yuna? How're you feeling?" Kenny asks. She hasn't spoken for awhile. He frowns anxiously when he hears the girl groan.

"I...I'm Trying To Keep The Link Active...It's Consuming...A Lot Of My Magical Energy."

Kenny had no idea 'Forced Power Link' was draining her to this extent. No wonder she sounded so tired in his dream. "Just hang on a little longer. I'll end this for real this time."

"Mmm..." Yuna hums weakly.

Spotting a square-shaped object nearby buried under the dark-infested snow, Kenny sprints over to it. The Being of Darkness ceases laughing when it hears him running.

"Kenny!" Mrs. Marsh shouts.

Kenny puts one foot on the object, then leaps off of it, jumping high enough to reach the roof. Again, he curls his left hand into a tightly closed fist, preparing to punch the Being of Darkness using the Light aura produced from his glove.

The Being of Darkness levitates into the air to avoid the teen's strike. Since Kenny expected it would dodge, once he lands onto the roof, he hurls an Orb of Light up at it.

The Being of Darkness smacks it away like it was a pesky fly. But another magical orb - one that's colored dark purple - is thrown, and it hits the Being of Darkness with a resounding impact. "GAH!" The Being screams in pain. The faint winds blow the dust cloud away, its injury had quickly healed. The Being turns its head, baring its fangs at the person who threw the other projectile. "You bitch, stay outta this!"

Kenny agrees, though not with calling Mrs. Marsh a bitch. He wants to fight the Being of Darkness one on one. It's only right since this all happened because of him, plus the Being of Darkness was previously his father. He faces Mrs. Marsh and the others. "I'll handle it by myself," he says. Before any of them can object, he adds, "Please, it's...something I have to do."

While Mrs. Marsh still appears against it and Clyde looks puzzled, Craig is able to discern the extreme guilt and desperation in Kenny's dim, bright eyes, as well as on his face. "Will you actually kill it this time?" Craig asks.

Kenny forces a smile. "I promise I will." "Yuna, keep hangin' in there."

Suddenly, multiple screeching blares throughout the vicinity.

Not too far in the distance, Kenny sees many pairs of red eyes in the sky. They're getting bigger the closer they get. He instantly knows who all those eyes belong to, and their unknown yet large numbers unease him tremendously. He is running short on time, Yuna is pushing herself beyond her limit. Any longer and she might...

The Being of Darkness releases a short laugh. "More pets are comin' ta play! They'll keep y'all busy fer awhile." It looks down at Kenny, grinning widely at his fear-stricken face.

Kenny fails to react to the Being of Darkness appearing like a phantom before him. He feels a sharp pain erupt from his abdomen, like he'd just been hit by a sturdy, blunt weapon. He vomits up a lot of blood, then gasps desperately for air. The B-O-D retracts its fist from his stomach, revealing a very painful bruise on his skin.

"You betta focus up, son. Didn't you say you were gonna kill me?" It mocks.

The shrill ringing in Kenny's ears is louder than the Being of Darkness' voice. Blood is welling underneath his chin, dripping down into the red fluid that's splattered on the roof in between his and the Being of Darkness' feet. His vision is swimming, and his legs are struggling to keep him standing. As soon as his knees buckle, he winces when a hand seizes him by the hair. He indistinctly hears someone shout his name, then he's shoved forward. Once again, he cannot make out what the Being of Darkness is saying to him before it faces away.

. . .

A second passes.

It becomes dark.

The ringing grows dull, and changes to the sound of rushing wind. It's comforting, but it chills his body, making him feel weightless. It feels like he's falling—falling from a very high place.

This isn't real, and he knows this. Yet, he can do nothing. He can't fathom how he lost his resolve so quickly, it's never happened before, no matter the plight he was in. He hates feeling like this, but he has no one to blame but himself. He deserves to sink in despair. Had he and Stan just stayed home, no one's lives would be in peril.

"𝒪𝒽 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇."

Heat abruptly replaces the cold. The wind is still swooshing around Kenny. That...wasn't Yuna he just heard. That mellifluous voice did not only resound directly in front of him, but it came from a man.

"𝐼𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓈𝓃'𝓉 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝒾𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓁𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝒹𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉."

Kenny slowly opens his eyes. They are a dull brown color. He sees a figure shrouded in a luminous white aura hovering above him. If they had a pair of wings and a yellow halo floating over their head, he would've thought they were an angel.

"𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒾𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒶𝓃 𝑜𝓅𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝒦𝑒𝓃𝓃𝑒𝓉𝒽. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓁𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝑀𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇'𝓈 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈. 𝒲𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓊𝓅 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒻𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉."

Kenny frowns sadly. "I can't. My Inner Guardian...she won't be able to maintain the Link for much longer."

"𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓅 𝓎𝑜𝓊."

The ghostly silhouette stretches out an arm, and a small pale blue orb comes from out of their palm. It hovers towards Kenny, going into the center of his chest. Four strands of his blonde hair sprinkle into white tints. His eyes sparkle at the newfound energy surging throughout his body. It...it feels strangely familiar. The pain is still very much prominent, however his strength has been rekindled.

"𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒶𝓁𝓈𝑜 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶 𝓉𝒶𝓈𝓀. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝑜𝒷𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈𝓁𝓎 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓇𝑒𝒻𝓊𝓈𝑒. 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝒻𝑒𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 ℬℯ𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝒻 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝓊𝓉𝑒𝓈."

Kenny grins resolutely at the spectral being. With this incandescent entity's powers, two minutes feel too long of a time limit. "I'll kill it in thirty seconds."

"𝒪𝒽? 𝒴𝑜𝓊'𝓁𝓁 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒷𝑜𝓃𝓊𝓈 𝓅𝑜𝒾𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝒾𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝓊𝒸𝒸𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉. 𝒩𝑜𝓌, 𝓌𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓊𝓅 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓅𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝓃 𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈."

The glowing figure fades away as the black space reverts to the outside of the bungalow. Gravity steadily increases Kenny's descent towards death. He snaps his eyes open, the light in his hazel irises burning a bit brighter. He fixes his position to plant his feet on the ground, landing with a profound thud. Bits of snow scatter in diverse directions upon collision.

"Damn, that didn't sound pretty," Kenny hears the Being of Darkness jeer. Over several crow monsters are soaring through the air, heading towards the back. Based on the commotion in the backyard, it is clear to Kenny that everyone else has begun fighting those monstrosities. This time, he doesn't fret about how long their battles will take.

"K-Kenneth, This Energy...H-How-"

"I'll explain later," Kenny responds in his head, wiping the blood from his face on his shirt. "For now, you can take it easy."

"...Okay. Just...Don't Play Around Anymore."

"Don't worry, I won't." After he's done rubbing the bloodstains off, though not entirely, Kenny balls his hands into fists at his sides. "I have a mission I need to complete."

An imaginary timer begins its countdown from thirty seconds.

Looking up at the rooftop, Kenny takes two steps back. The Being of Darkness is enthralled with the action occurring below it. Kenny narrows his eyes. Its back is exposed, it's the perfect opening for a quick shot. However, he wants to try something new. An idea comes to him almost instantly, and its thanks to a brief memory of the the Being of Darkness' dual pistols. His chest throbs a little, but he ignores it. He raises his left arm, shaping his hand to mimic a gun, his finger pointing at the B-O-D's back. He extracts a small portion of magical energy from his Magical Core to the tip of his index finger, a white orb sprouts from his finger. Its size is akin to a golf ball. Uttering no incantation, he fires at the unwary Being of Darkness.

It takes only a millisecond for it to pierce the Being's body. It went through its dense aura as if it wasn't even there.

The Being of Darkness lets out a cry of pain. Placing a hand over its injury, it whirls around, its fangs expressing pure anger and a hint of shock.

"Tch, damn," Kenny curses in annoyance. It's so lucky it doesn't have a physical head. The thirty seconds are almost up, he was hoping to kill it with that one shot. Well, second times the charm. He prepares another magical bullet, and shoots it at the Being of Darkness.

It gets dodged this time, the Being appearing behind Kenny. The teen calmly turns around while lowering his arm. He smirks at the sight of purple blood dripping and seeping into the infected snow. Its injury isn't healing.

"The hell you lookin' so smug fer? That was a cheap shot."

"I was just returning the favor," Kenny retorts with a shrug.

The Being chuckles. "Alright, fair enough. But since Aah don't have mah pistols anymore, let's stick ta hand-ta-hand combat."

Which is Kenny's specialty. "That's fine by me."

With the thirty second time limit being up, the make-believe timer changes its numbers to two minutes. It starts ticking down.

Kenny acts first, his lightning speed catching the Being of Darkness momentarily off guard. It blocks his fist by crossing its arms like an 'X', grunting but then coughing up some blood when Kenny's other fist connects with its stomach. The Being recovers from each blow, and tries to kick Kenny. He sidesteps its boot and grabs its ankle, bringing his elbow down with enough force to break its leg.

"You just love breakin' bones, huh?"

Kenny didn't expect to hear a teasing query leave the Being's mouth. But since its aura isn't mending its leg, Kenny suspects its having some other kind of effect on it. He needs to figure out what it is, and quick.

The Being of Darkness throws a punch at Kenny's face. He catches its fist with his free hand and releases its broken leg, grabbing the collar of its cardigan when it stumbles. Kenny pulls his left arm back, balling his fist tightly. The white aura resurfaces.

"Let's see you heal from this a second time."

The Being of Darkness' fangs arch into an ambiguous smile. "Go ahead," it says, daring Kenny.

Kenny hesitates. His instincts tell him not to risk dealing a fatal blow to the Being. It must be because of the hidden buff this thing's aura is providing it. "What the hell are you plotting?"

"You'll find out once you strike me," the B-O-D responds.

Kenny scowls at the man-looking monster intently. It is making no blatant or sneaky attempts to attack him. Whatever it's scheming, Kenny will indulge it. He trusts this power that the enigmatic figure bestowed upon him.

Kenny throws his fist towards the Being of Darkness' chest, then all of a sudden, the aura explodes inside of it. Both Kenny and the Being of Darkness are taken by surprise.

The fictitious timer stops with half of a minute remaining. This result pleases a certain individual.

"W-what?!" Purple blood gushes out of the Being's mouth, splattering onto Kenny's face. "Mah...Magical Core!"

Kenny pulls his arm back as he lets go of the stunned creature's cardigan. Its aura whisks away. Kenny uses his shirt to wipe his face again. The Being of Darkness wobbles back, then collapses to the ground, its blood and chunks of flesh trickling out of the big wound and into the snow.

"The aura detonated on its own," Kenny thinks, done using his shirt as a napkin. He finds it unusual that his glove's aura blew up without his command. That never happened before, hell, he didn't even know that was possible to do. He looks at his black glove, checking if any purple blood and flesh got on it as he ponders the cause. Inscribed on the palm is a white pentagram, his white glove has a similar symbol on the palm, but it's black. Perhaps it was the mysterious figure's ability. He'll practice it first to see if that's actually the case or not. His glove has no new stains on it. He coughs up blood when both his chest and stomach throb. He doesn't have enough magical energy to heal himself, he wonders if he'll be of any help to the others. Groaning, he looks at the Being of Darkness. Its body is in the process of disintegrating. There's no way it'll heal from that. "Well, you got what you wanted," Kenny says. He turns and walks away.

"W-wait..."

Kenny keeps on walking. "Why should I?"

"Aah know where...our family went..."

Kenny pauses mid-step. Closing the gap between his feet, he turns around, his eyes slanted into a glare. "You mean my family. Mom, Karen, and Kevin wouldn't want anything to do with a literal monster."

The Being of Darkness starts to chuckle, but ends up coughing harshly. "Y-yer right, b-but it was betta me than them."

Kenny hardens his glare. "What do you mean?"

The Being wheezes before speaking again. "We were all corrupted, Kenny. But...Aah was i-infected by somethin' different, known as...a parasite. It was what turned me...inta this..."

Kenny frowns. "So what happened to the others? Where did they go? Are they okay?"

"Heh...wow. You must really hate me. You didn't even a-ask how Aah became like this as soon as you found out Aah was yer dad."

"Why would I care about someone who didn't care much about me?" Kenny has no memorable memories of him and his father that are good. When he came to that night after nearly freezing to death, turned out his mother was the one who told his father to warm him up. He didn't do it out of his own free will. He had just laid him down on the couch, and deemed that a decent enough deed.

Kenny doesn't know what to make of the Being of Darkness' silence. Its breathing is slow and labored, and it is on the verge of being one with the clouds.

"What, got nothin' to say?" Kenny asks derisively.

"...You won't accept mah apology, so Aah won't even botha."

The twinge in Kenny's chest makes him grimace, feeling both hurt and angry. "Then you must not know me well enough." An apology would've been better than none, unless his father really meant it. Kenny would've forgiven him-no, it one day.

"Yeah, like the fact that yer immortal." Kenny knows that the Dark Master told it about his immortality. "Killin' you would've made mah Master proud, even more so had Aah brought Kyle ta him. Such a shame."

The disappointment in its voice pisses Kenny off even more. He has heard enough. "Just tell me where the rest of my family is."

"...Aah...don't know where they are exactly, but a man with brown hair and glasses freed them from corruption, then took them away. Aah remember that he wasn't alone, had four more people with 'em. He said he was gonna take them all somewhere...safe."

Kenny sinks into deep thought. "A man with brown hair and glasses..." He is unable to recall anyone that fit the description. Perhaps he's someone his friends or Mrs. Marsh know or remember.

"CLYDE!" The panicked voice came from Craig.

The Being of Darkness laughs quietly. "Sounds like someone's probably dead. Sucks Aah couldn't see how it happened."

Kenny refuses to believe Clyde has died. "Fuck you," he hisses. He hurries to the backyard. The scene that greets him look straight out of a rated-M horror film.

Purple gore and guts are nearly everywhere on the ground and on miscellaneous leftovers from the neighborhood. Five crow monsters remain, they are pecking, biting, and clawing at a dark purple barrier. Their attacks aren't damaging it. Inside the barrier, Kenny is able to see four vaguely discernible figures—Mrs. Marsh and Chris are standing, and Craig is on the ground on his knees, his hand behind Clyde's head, keeping his upper half propped against his lap.

Kenny presses his hands together, a black aura emanates from his right hand and a white aura on his left hand. He aims his palms at the mutated monsters. Just when he's about to fire two different colored orbs at them, an intense pain from his chest and abdomen disrupts his focus. Blood spurts out of his mouth when he cries out, alerting the crows of his presence. They fly towards him, flapping their wings eagerly.

The auras disappear as he falls to the ground, almost hitting his head on a rusty pipe covered in snow and blood. He feels incredibly weak and lightheaded. His heavy breathing slows as his vision dims. All sounds gradually reduce to silence, then his world goes utterly dark.