Hidden Soul

4.3 | True Power

Mu-Jin put the Crosses together and tried to shoot a laser, but was punched straight through the throne and into the wall right before he could fire. "I've got everything back now, and I'm not losing it. Had Mei not said what she said earlier, you could've defeated us." Keith said, walking to the throne and breaking it apart.

Mu-Jin tried to attack from behind, only for Keith to catch the Cross right before it could stab him in the back. "No." he said, as a stab wound suddenly appeared on the former's stomach.

"Ack! What kind of tricks have you been playing?" Mu-Jin shouted, trying to get up.

"No tricks. Just power."

As Crosses appeared above him, he was reminded of the time Mu-Jin killed Johnson. "K Style: Trauma Punch." he said, teleporting in front of the former and slamming him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Mu-Jin rolled to the left just as he stomped on the place where his head was, and jumped up on his feet, before summoning a red Cross and placing it on his right hand.

"Stop using your Crosses as swords. They won't work anyways." Keith said.

"You sound like a villain more than the actual villain here." Mu-Jin replied, apparently breaking the fourth wall.

"I'm just mad."

Keith created a sword to combat his Cross. Both weapons clashed, and Keith swung the sword in a circle while Mu-Jin swung his Cross upwards to block the attack.

"What the fuck have you been doing these days?" Keith asked as he thrust his sword.

"Attempting to take over the world, that's what!" Mu-Jin shouted as he swung his Cross horizontally.

A scar was formed on Keith's chest as his jacket and shirt were cut. Blood came out, but he didn't mind. He broke his sword into multiple pieces before launching them all at Mu-Jin, who created a Cross to block them all. Keith knocked him towards the wall with a single punch, and after he got up, both of them ran towards each other. Their fists collided, before their lasers did.

"You shouldn't go this far to kill me." Mu-Jin said.

"What makes you think I won't try to avenge my friends?" he asked.

"It was their fault they leaped straight towards that creature."

They took a few steps back before leaping at each other, getting into a fight. Keith managed to punch Mu-Jin's face, while he managed to elbow the former's gut. Keith kicked forward in order to interrupt a punch, then slammed his head onto his face, making him fall backwards.

"I'm done with brawling. You?" Keith asked, taking a few steps back as Mu-Jin got up.

"I'm done too. And I'm going to kill you."

Summoning the seven colored Crosses, Mu-Jin created blasts that bounced everywhere. One or two of them hit Keith, who still didn't bother minding the pain.

"What kind of drugs are you on?" Mu-Jin asked, directly shooting lasers at him. They hit, but he didn't flinch. Keith started slowly walking towards Mu-Jin, who ran in and tried to punch him. The former grabbed the latter's hand, and released immense power, making the room crack.

"Keith, you're committing suicide." Mu-Jin said.

The former levitated Mei through the door and closed it just as it broke apart, the room now shaking. He let go of the latter's hand, and said, "This is precisely what is currently happening to the world. Falling apart, because of you."

Mu-Jin smiled, and said, "That's right. I intended to go with whatever my instincts took me, no matter whether it would lead to destruction or not."

He kneeled, his wounds getting severe, and said, "Well then. I'll be seeing you soon." A large rock then came down on him, crushing him.

"I wouldn't be able to save him if I could bring him out from underneath. He was already dead with those stab wounds." Keith said to himself, seeing the dirt fall from above. The room was underneath a secluded place in a forest. He jumped out to have a look at his surroundings, but saw only trees, along with a river nearby. He walked to the river, seeing his reflection, and washed himself with the water.

He heard a group of people approach, and stood up. Once they got into view, he saw that they looked a little weird. They had dark skin, clothes made of leaves, had a sort of paint on their faces, and looked slim.

"I'm sorry, young man, but this river is sacred." the one in front said.

"Oh, sorry about that. I didn't know." Keith said.

"You don't seem to be around here. Are you with the builders?"

"No. I came here through a sort of portal."

"The door? We also have one at our place. However, it only allows the worthy to pass through."

"I see. Can I come along with you?"

The man nodded, and Keith followed him. Walking along the stream, they got to a small village with wooden huts. The people greeted the group, and Keith felt like an outsider for once.

"Are you in a hurry?" the man asked.

"No, not really."

A man ran outside his hut, holding a clock and cheering. The rest of the village cheered along like monkeys dancing at a party, and Keith asked, "What's going on?"

The man turned to face him, and said, "Every once in a week, someone comes through the door to bring us food from the other side of the world. Now's the time."

Keith walked to the front of the crowd and saw the people circling a door. Once it opened, a familiar woman came through the door, and when their eyes met...

"Major Theresa?"

"Keith?"

The crowd stopped cheering and looked at the two. In an attempt to break the silence, Keith levitated everything inside of the box Theresa brought and handed it over to every villager.

"I didn't know you stayed back, Keith."

"And I didn't think you'd survive."

The two of them hugged each other as the villagers started eating the food. Theresa suddenly widened her eyes in shock as she said, "Shit! The door!"

The door closed, and she facepalmed, saying, "I forgot to charge it."

The man whom Keith spoke to earlier came up to them as he took one last bite on his cheeseburger, and said, "We have a shrine that will grant a wish to any travelers that come across this place. Would you like to visit it?"

"Sure." both of them said in unison.

The man led them in front of a small house, and said, "Anyone can go first."

Theresa walked into the house first, only to disappear a few moments later once the man opened the door. "Young man, you can go next."

"Thank you, sir."

He walked into the house, only to have a hard headache once the door closed as his memories started flashing before him. The shrine, a statue on top of a small table with torches on the side, was visible, and he walked towards it.

"Welcome, young traveler. Do you have any wish to be granted?" a loud voice said.

"I do." Keith said, "Please reverse the effect the End of the World caused on this world. Reverse the damages and casualties the Destruction Devil has caused, but keep everyone's current abilities and Legend Powers."

After Keith finished, no one said a word as the torches glowed brighter. Eventually, the voice spoke,

"Your wish has been granted. I will not take anything from you, for you have already lost enough. However, I have a small favor to ask. Please, close your eyes."

Keith closed his eyes, only to fall unconscious as he fell down on the floor.