"Fear is a disease, and it spreads the more you give in to it," Raiden said, his gaze lifted to the endless blue above them. Soul remained at his side, both of them watching the clouds in comfortable silence.
"No disrespect to your struggles." Raiden turned to Soul, his voice gentle. "I just find it hard to know how to talk to you sotis—you’re seventeen, but you look so young."
Soul’s smile was understanding. "It’s okay. I’m still a child, either way."
Raiden leaned down to her level. "That smile right there?" His hand found the top of her head in a gentle pat. "I want to see it every ti things get hard."
Soul started to speak, but Raiden raised a hand to stop her. "Don’t fight your fears. Embrace them." His gaze returned to the sky above. "Let them shape you, and then push through."
Soul nodded firmly, though her expression quickly darkened. Uneasiness crept into her golden eyes as her fingers found each other, twisting nervously.
"Do you want to know sothing?"
"Yes..." The word ca out strained, fragile.
Raiden smirked. He typically avoided sharing personal details, but if it would help Soul and strengthen their bond as master and student, he could allow himself to be vulnerable.
"When I was six, I saw soone very dear to die before my eyes." His smile grew, though it didn’t reach his eyes. "Do you know why?"
Soul shook her head.
"Because I was weak. Too afraid, too lenient." He sighed deeply. "That mory doesn’t haunt anymore—it drives to never repeat that mistake."
He drew in a deep breath, bracing himself for what ca next. "That’s why I want you to fight with —through our fears."
Raiden turned to Soul, his expression darkening instantly. Her dark energy was intensifying, sending violent tremors through the ground as her eyes flickered wildly, as if sothing else had taken control.
"What’s happening, Soul?" He reached toward her, trying to break through her trance, but she couldn’t hear him.
Soul gave no response except for her overwhelming aura, which intensified with each passing second.
Raiden stood frozen, completely at a loss. He had never witnessed anything like this and didn’t know how to help. He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her desperately, trying to pull her back to reality, but she was unreachable.
But then Soul’s aura quadrupled in intensity, slamming into Raiden like a crushing weight. He dropped to his knees as the earth cracked and shuddered around them.
Blood began streaming from Raiden’s nose, spattering the earth beneath him. His vision blurred and darkened as the world around him grew distant and hazy. The overwhelming pressure felt identical to the crushing force of Soul’s Soul Condemn technique.
As the aura bore down on him with increasing weight, the ground fractured further beneath them. Raiden’s body was being pressed deeper, as if the earth was trying to swallow him whole.
But Soul was still trapped in her trance, her eyes flickering wildly back and forth, her mouth hanging slightly open, oblivious to the destruction she was causing.
With the situation deteriorating so rapidly, Raiden found himself unable to stand. The crushing weight of Soul’s aura was like bearing a mountain on his back, and the steady stream of blood loss was becoming dangerously significant.
He had to act fast, or he’d be dead within seconds. His thoughts scattered frantically, jumping from one desperate idea to another. The overwhelming pressure was clouding his mind, making him want to surrender and let himself fall.
But he refused to give up. If there was ever a mont to prove himself worthy of Soul’s trust, it was now. He had just asked her to fight through her fears—as her master, he had to show her how it was done.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. He had no idea if it would work given his desperate circumstances, but he had to try sothing.
He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, forcing his head up slightly. "I command you to stop, Soul!" he rasped, his voice barely escaping his constricted throat.
Soul’s body started to convulse, as though she were fighting against whatever had trapped her mind. Raiden managed a weak smile when he noticed, hope flaring that this nightmare was finally coming to an end.
But the aura’s density only intensified. He tried to force himself through it, but the crushing weight suddenly doubled, driving him hard into the earth. The ground cracks that had appeared earlier spread wider, triggering a tremor that shook the entire area.
Suddenly, everything ceased. Soul collapsed to the ground, and monts later, the others rushed outside to find both of them lying there—Raiden covered in blood.
Raiden could hear their footsteps rushing toward them, though every bone in his body felt pulverized. Despite the pain, he tried to process what had just occurred while his regenerative abilities slowly began their work.
Speed hurried to check on her sister, but Freya and Levi hesitated beside Raiden, exchanging glances as they wordlessly argued over who should help him up. Both were reluctant to get covered in blood.
Raiden’s gaze shifted to Levi, who was standing there with his arms crossed and a smug grin on his face. "You bastards..." he growled, forcing himself to push up from the blood-soaked earth.
His regeneration had restored so of his strength, and he needed to see how Soul was doing. When he finally managed to push himself upright and looked her way, she was cradled in Speed’s arms.
Her dark aura had intensified tenfold, manifesting as a nacing cloud that lood behind her. Raiden’s eyes widened in bewildernt as he wiped the blood from his mouth.
"What’s wrong?" Levi asked.
There was no point ntioning her overwhelming aura since none of them could see it. But as he looked at them with his mouth agape, a realization hit him. He turned toward Speed, who was gazing intently into Soul’s eyes.
Raiden sensed imdiately that sothing was wrong. Before he could utter a warning, Speed’s eyes started flickering with the sa terrifying rhythm as Soul’s. Without warning, Levi went flying and slamd into the earth.
Raiden didn’t have ti to process anything. Given Speed’s incredible speed, by the ti he finished a single thought, they would all be dead.
"I command you to stop, Speed!" The words burst from his lips so quickly that Raiden barely realized he’d spoken them.
Nevertheless, Speed froze mid-attack, her fist hanging in the air just inches from Freya’s head. She stayed perfectly still as Raiden managed to pull himself to his feet.
"What the hell is happening?" Freya demanded, outraged by Speed’s aggression.
Raiden’s gaze swept frantically as he tried to make sense of it all. Speed and Soul seed to be losing their minds sohow. He rembered the day the Stars, June and Alora, had visited—their auras had been acting strangely, but he hadn’t given it much thought.
"It’s the effect of being corrupt," Levi said as he rose to his feet, his body already pale from just that one strike.
"This has been nagging at for so ti," he said, struggling forward. "Both of them are black crest bearers, so why weren’t they going berserk like they should?"
Raiden’s eyes widened as the pieces fell into place. "They’ve been suppressing it."
Levi limped up to them. "Exactly... and I think Soul’s defenses slipped, letting the madness break through."
Raiden’s mouth opened slightly as he turned to Soul, who was drenched in her overwhelming dark aura.
He began to smile. He’d believed Soul feared the Jasper family, and maybe that was true—considering all they’d put her through. She avoided them because she didn’t want to dive too deep into her emotions. She was terrified of going berserk.
"I think they tried to hide it. That’s why they were outside of the house most of the ti," Levi said, clutching his torso.
Freya let out a sigh. "Stop acting pathetic." She directed her words sharply at Raiden. "This is easy to fix. Just allow them to unleash their madness from ti to ti, and they will be fine."
Raiden turned to Freya. She was right; that seed like their best option to avoid situations like this. But sothing about Soul wasn’t right with him. He had to take care of them—and probably himself—for now.
"Bring Speed inside... I will carry Soul."
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