Blink: Ethereal Fury

The Silence After

For a long, agonizing moment, Benji lay there, staring at the space where Nemesis had been. The eerie silence pressed down on him, broken only by the distant sound of crumbling stone and the faint groans of the wounded survivors scattered around the temple ruins. The once-grand structure was a shattered husk of its former self, and the air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the acrid smell of burning debris.

He coughed, wincing as his ribs protested the movement. Each breath was a struggle, his body battered beyond recognition. But despite the pain, there was a single, overwhelming thought in his mind: *Nemesis was gone*.

Yet, it didn't feel like a victory.

Mira's soft, broken voice pierced the silence. "Benji..." She was slumped against a jagged piece of rubble, her body covered in bruises and gashes, her light barely flickering in the dim surroundings. "Is... is it over?"

Benji swallowed, his throat dry and raw, and forced himself to sit up. His muscles screamed in protest, but he had to assess the damage. He blinked around the room, trying to find signs of life—anyone who had survived Nemesis's onslaught. He spotted Daichi's twisted form, half encased in his liquid metal armor, unconscious but breathing.

But Tao...

Benji's heart sank as his eyes landed on his old friend. Tao lay motionless, his body battered beyond recognition. His chest barely rose, the breath that escaped him faint and labored. The once-vibrant and proud student was now just a shadow of himself, his life hanging by the thinnest of threads. If there was any hope of saving him, it was slipping away fast.

Benji dragged himself to Tao's side, his knees scraping against the rough stone, and pressed his trembling hands against Tao's chest. "Come on, man," he whispered, his voice hoarse and desperate. "Stay with me. Don't you dare die on me, Tao. Not after everything."

But Tao didn't respond. His breathing was shallow, his face pale, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth. Benji could feel the tremors of panic building in his chest. His powers had always been destructive, fueled by the energy that surged through him like a raging storm, but healing? He had never been able to do that.

"Benji..." Mira's voice was closer now, fragile but still burning with determination. She had dragged herself toward him, her battered form trembling as she knelt beside Tao. "We... we have to help him. There has to be a way."

Benji shook his head, trying to fight back the hopelessness that threatened to consume him. "I don't know how," he admitted, his voice cracking. "I don't have the power to heal."

Mira's light flickered, brighter for just a moment. "Then we find someone who can."

Benji turned to her, his eyes searching hers. She was as drained as he was, her light barely a whisper, but her spirit—the unbreakable fire inside her—was still burning. Even now, after all they had been through, after witnessing the unimaginable power Nemesis had wielded, Mira refused to give in to despair.

But that power... it wasn't gone. Nemesis had absorbed it, had become part of it. And as Benji looked around the ruined temple, he couldn't shake the feeling that the danger was still there, lurking in the very air they breathed. The energy that had been released when Nemesis vanished was thick, oppressive, and malevolent. It had tainted the temple, turning it into something far more sinister.

"What... what do we do?" Daichi's voice rasped from behind them. He had regained consciousness, pulling himself up despite the damage to his liquid metal form. His eyes were dark, grim. "That power... it's still here. I can feel it."

Benji nodded slowly. "It's not over. Nemesis might be gone, but whatever he unleashed... it's not finished with us yet."

Mira's gaze darkened, her brow furrowing in concern. "You think it's still inside the temple?"

Benji hesitated, his eyes scanning the shattered structure. It felt like the temple was holding its breath, waiting for something. "I think it *is* the temple now," he said quietly. "That power was never meant to be controlled, not by us, not even by Nemesis. It's been released, and now it's... changing everything."

Daichi grunted as he stood, shaking off the last of the debris that clung to his form. "Great. So we survived the impossible, and now we're standing in a ticking time bomb. What do we do about Tao?" His voice was strained, his usual calm shattered by the sight of his comrade's near-lifeless body.

Benji clenched his fists, his violet energy sputtering weakly as it flickered around him. He didn't know the answer. He didn't know if they could even survive what came next. But one thing was clear: they couldn't stay here. Whatever Nemesis had done to the temple had corrupted it, twisted it into something far beyond their understanding. It was no longer a sanctuary. It was a prison—a prison that held something even worse than Nemesis.

"We leave," Benji said at last, his voice steady despite the uncertainty in his heart. "We get out of here, now. Find a way to heal Tao, then figure out what the hell is happening to the temple."

"But what if Nemesis comes back?" Mira asked, her voice shaking slightly as she glanced at the spot where the stranger had disappeared.

Benji's jaw tightened. "He will. I can feel it. But when he does, we'll be ready."

Daichi grimaced, limping toward the others as his liquid metal reformed. "And if we're not?"

Benji forced himself to his feet, wiping the blood from his face as he summoned whatever strength he had left. "Then we die fighting. But I'm not letting him win. Not after what he did."

With a grunt, Benji hoisted Tao over his shoulder, his body screaming in protest at the weight, but he ignored it. He looked at Mira and Daichi, their eyes tired but resolute, and nodded. Together, they stumbled through the wreckage, their only hope to escape before the power Nemesis had unleashed consumed them all.

But deep in the ruins, where the temple's heart once beat, something stirred. The energy that Nemesis had tried to claim twisted and writhed, growing, evolving. It had no master now, no vessel to contain it.

And it was hungry.