A deep breath.A deadly silence.Asahi's eyes narrowed. His gaze sharpened, piercing through the stillness as he lunged.
His fist cut through the air like a bullet—fast, precise, unrelenting.
But—
The Black Man tilted his head ever so slightly.
A motion so effortless it seemed as if time itself bent to accommodate him.
He dodged.
Without even flinching.
The Black Man (thinking):He knew I was coming?
The realization struck him, but his expression remained unchanged. His eyes, though, were calculating. Watching. Analyzing.
This Asahi… was different.
Asahi stood tall, unshaken, the air between them crackling with unspoken tension. He stared back, cold, unwavering.
Asahi (coldly):"I knew."
The words—sharp, chilling—echoed in the emptiness between them.
The Black Man's fingers twitched.
The Black Man:"Huh?"
A flicker of something—curiosity?—passed over him.
Asahi didn't stop. He stepped forward, his voice steady, his eyes locked on the Black Man's in a deadly promise.
Asahi:"I knew everything."
A weight hung in the air, dense and oppressive. Asahi wasn't guessing. This wasn't a theory. This was a certainty.
Asahi:"Your power—Repulsion."
The Black Man's lips twitched slightly, a smirk barely noticeable, but Asahi's words didn't stop.
Asahi:"Your suit—it's not armor."
Asahi's breath was steady, his expression unreadable, yet there was an undeniable intensity in his gaze. The Black Man's smirk grew ever so faint.
Asahi:"It's a jelly-like substance."
A cold breeze seemed to pass between them, hanging in the tense silence.
The Black Man's lips curled upward slightly, amusement flickering in his eyes. But Asahi—
He didn't stop.
Asahi:"It absorbs damage, reducing impact."
A fact. Not a guess. Not a theory.
The Black Man exhaled slowly, his amusement apparent, but something deeper stirred behind his eyes.
The Black Man (thinking):This one... is different.
He watched Asahi, noting every detail. His grip relaxed, the slightest flicker of interest growing.
The Black Man (thinking):That makes it more interesting.
A smirk. A shift.
Asahi threw another punch—
But the Black Man caught it mid-air.
His grip was firm, impossibly so—like iron wrapped in silk. A moment passed, a ripple of understanding, and then—
A whisper, low, almost like a threat.
The Black Man:"REPEL."
A shockwave burst outwards, the air splitting as a 40-centimeter gap appeared between them. Asahi stumbled back slightly, but his body—it wasn't weak. Just human. Flesh and bone.
He clenched his fists, the pulse in his chest wild, his breath heavy. Yet, despite the overwhelming force, he stood.
The Black Man didn't give him a moment to recover.
He moved.
Faster than lightning. Too fast for Asahi to register, his movements like the wind itself bending to his will.
A fist—a blur—came straight for Asahi.
It was impossible to dodge. Unstoppable.
Then—
It stopped.
Barely an inch from Asahi's face.
The air shuddered with a pressure so intense it seemed to warp reality. A forcefield—no, Repulsion—pushed outward. Asahi felt it in every fiber of his being. The overwhelming power between them.
His heartbeat slowed.
But still—
He smiled.
Asahi:"I know that you can't kill me."
The Black Man froze.
His fist hovered in mid-air, an eerie stillness between them.
The Black Man:"Huh?"
For a moment, the air held its breath. The Black Man slowly pulled back his arm, his face betraying the faintest flicker of something akin to surprise. Then, a small, amused chuckle escaped his lips.
The Black Man:"Anari."
Asahi's stomach dropped.
The words hit him like a brick to the chest. His breath caught, his body tensing as if the world itself had stopped spinning.
Asahi:"What?"
The Black Man moved.
Not teleported. Not phased out.
He moved with an impossible speed—so fast that Asahi couldn't track him. Like the very laws of space bent and twisted to let him pass.
And then—
The Black Man stood before him.
He was holding something—someone.
Anari.
She was smiling.
Her eyes—locked onto Asahi's.
A soft, warm smile.
The Black Man (mocking):"Who told you she could watch this fight for free, huh?"
Anari wasn't struggling. She wasn't afraid.
She simply smiled.
And then—
Her lips moved.
Anari:"I lo—"
SNAP.
Her neck twisted, unnaturally, with a sickening crack.
Her head—tilted in a way that shouldn't be possible.
Lifeless.
Weightless.
Falling.
Asahi's breath left his body.
His ears rang, his knees buckled beneath him, and his chest—ached.
Asahi:"Huh...?"
His voice trembled.
The Black Man's grin stretched into something victorious, triumphant.
A low, cruel whisper followed, his words dripping with malice.
The Black Man:"This is your destiny."
His voice—low, resonant—hung in the air like a truth carved into stone.
The Black Man:"A destiny made by me."
Asahi's expression didn't change.
No tears. No rage.
Just—
A small, bitter smile.
A cruel one.
He reached into his pocket.
Pulled out a bottle.
Swallowed.
Five pills.
The Black Man's expression faltered.
For the first time—
He looked uncertain.
The Black Man:"What was that?"
A deep breath.
A slow, dangerous grin spread across Asahi's face.
Asahi:"You know what?"
His chuckle—soft, deadly—hung in the air.
Asahi:"Thank you."
The Black Man stiffened. A flicker of doubt passed over him.
A slight hesitation. A pause that lasted too long.
Then—
Asahi:"I will show you…"
His lips curled into something colder.
His body—suddenly—collapsed.
His vision—faded.
And just before the darkness took him—
A whisper—
Asahi:"The power of a TIME LEAPER."
The Black Man's eyes widened.
His hands—twitching.
His mouth—opened slightly, as realization crashed over him like a tidal wave.
The Black Man:"Huh… Time loops?"
But it was too late.
Asahi was already gone.
The loop had begun again.
TIME RESET.