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  Chapter 18: The Gluttony of Endeavour**

  Time seemed to stop. This was not a metaphor—it was as if the world, sensing what was awakening in the heart of Chagas, had decided to hold its breath.

  The atmosphere grew thick, dense as oil. The clouds stretched into an ominous silence. The birds had stopped singing. The wind refused to blow. Only the cruel glow of the golden light from the crater—born of Yuzuki's return—continued to pulse like the heart of an ancient god.

  Atop the city's highest district, in room 602 of the Old Rock Hotel, Gotier awoke abruptly.

  — *Hrk...*

  He fell from the bed as if drowning in his own room. Sweat poured from his forehead and back like springs. His mouth was dry. His chest tight. Breathing felt like inhaling bone dust.

  — What... is this energy...? — he whispered, coughing, still tasting the bitter cheap wine from the night before.

  On the corner of the balcony, Zeke was already standing. Silent. His sword—a black, reflectionless blade—rested in his hand. The half-moon shield spun on his back as if breathing on its own. He watched the sky. His expression was serious. Tense.

  — Zeke...? — Gotier murmured, trying to compose himself. — Why the long face...? I just drank too much, you do not have to judge me...

  Zeke did not answer immediately. Then he turned his face, cold as ever.

  — We have company.

  Gotier froze.

  — What do you mean...?

  — We are being watched. — His tone was dry, cutting. — The roof of the house across the street.

  Gotier followed his companion's gaze. The window creaked as it opened. The blue moon and the snow fell outside like the silent ashes of a world's end. His body shuddered. It was not just fear. It was the feeling of being devoured by unseen eyes.

  Zeke leaped from the balcony in a clean motion, landing on the opposite roof without a sound. Gotier, hesitant, followed, stumbling slightly but managing to steady himself beside his friend.

  There, sitting on the roof—in complete silence—was the man.

  He was a tall, dark figure, his body defined as a sculptor would carve a statue of war. He wore loose fighter's garb, wrapped in cloths that floated gently despite the still air. A white band covered his head, and red eyes glowed under the moonlight. He had a large, well-kept beard, and white stone earrings dangled from his ears. A thin twig was being chewed calmly between his teeth.

  He was watching. Like one witnessing the birth of something inevitable.

  Zeke and Gotier stood side-by-side in a combat stance.

  — Who are you? — Zeke asked.

  No answer.

  The entire city was shrouded in an absurd energy. Gotier felt his stomach churn. The rooftops trembled slightly, as if the whole city were under an invisible pressure. In the distance, the sky snowed violently. But it was no ordinary snow. It was frozen blades, thin as needles.

  Gotier looked up. The blue moon hung enormous, and the Golden Tree—the one that existed only in ancient legends—pulsed on the horizon like a lighthouse amid the apocalypse.

  — Zeke... this is much bigger than us, is it not? — Gotier whispered.

  Zeke kept his eyes on the stranger.

  — A new battle is about to begin. And maybe... we are not ready.

  The man chewing the twig finally spoke. His voice was hoarse and deep, but calm like a monk on the verge of a volcano.

  — I am just the shadow that follows the light...

  He spat the piece of wood onto the roof, the dry sound echoing like a thunderclap.

  — My name is Ezra. And I have come to reap the survivors.

  ***

  ### **The Gluttony of Endeavour**

  Ezra brought his bloodied thumb to his lips. He bit down hard, his red eyes fixed on Gotier. Then, he bent his finger downward. A sign of death. The blood trickled in a crimson thread, falling silently... and that simple gesture was enough to set the world in motion.

  — Now! — Zeke roared.

  Gotier did not hesitate. In a flawless spinning motion, he drew his dagger and carved the floor with his feet, forming a whirlwind of dust and energy. The blade flew like a silver serpent, aiming straight for Ezra's eyes.

  But Ezra... smiled. With a minimal gesture, he caught the dagger between two fingers—thumb and forefinger—as if taming a leaf in the air.

  Before Gotier could react, Ezra's foot rose like a hammer.

  — *Hrk—!*

  The kick struck Gotier's head with absurd violence. The impact threw him against the ground like a human missile, shattering the entire roof of the house below. A thunderous crash echoed. The building collapsed in seconds.

  Rubble. Dust. Silence.

  Zeke looked down from the roof. His eyes widened.

  — Damn it... — he muttered.

  Amid the wreckage, he saw the bodies of civilians—families who had been sleeping, unaware that hell had been unleashed upon them. The face of a child—still, her eyes still caught in a dream that would never end—made Zeke clench his fists.

  — **Rupture.**

  Zeke's black sword trembled in his hand. The air around it grew denser, as if the blade were tearing through the very atmosphere. The snow stopped. The moon seemed to blink. Existence stretched into silence.

  Zeke vanished. Like a contained thunderclap, he reappeared behind Ezra, ready to crack his skull with a single blow. Gotier, his face bloodied, took three leaps back and landed in an attack stance.

  — *We got him...*

  Zeke smiled.

  But Ezra... did not move. And yet—Zeke was kicked.

  — *URGH!!* — his body flew through two houses, crashing through walls and windows before landing in a cloud of dust.

  Gotier paled.

  — What power is this...? Who the hell are you?!

  Ezra cracked his neck and spat out the blood from his thumb. His voice was calm, but laced with venom.

  — I am the envoy of the Lepra King.

  He looked directly into Gotier's eyes and smiled the cruelest of smiles.

  — And he asked me to deliver this message: 'Killing your wife and daughter was the best thing that ever happened to me... Better than sex.'

  Gotier's world froze. For a moment, everything went silent. The snow ceased. The sky stopped breathing. The heat of rage consumed him, a wordless roar tearing from his throat. The image of his wife, his daughter, the blood on the walls... it all came flooding back.

  — ...You are going to die — Gotier whispered. — I swear I will torture you until you tell me where he is, you bastard...

  But then... he saw it. A red energy was leaking from Ezra's body. It was blood, but more than that. It was something impure. Ezra was a Kanji.

  — Damn it... — Gotier swallowed hard. — Zeke... Zeke, get out of here! He is a Kanji! HE IS A KANJI!

  Zeke rose slowly from the rubble, coughing. But his eyes never left Ezra.

  — I am not leaving you here, Gotier.

  Ezra opened his arms.

  — The gluttony that consumes my blood... makes me stronger.

  He drove his bloodied nail into the floor.

  — Come to me... **Endeavour.**

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  It was like summoning an ancient nightmare. The ground trembled. The wood of the houses rotted in seconds, the walls melting like wax. The dead vegetation writhed. The corpses of the dead swelled with rot. The stench that rose was not just of blood—it was of carrion, of despair, of life being consumed.

  From Ezra's chest sprouted red and black tumors that spread across his arms, legs, and face. They moved on their own, pulsating, leaking a dark, hot pus. The red aura spread through the city like a wave of disease.

  — Endeavour... The Kugutsu born of human hunger.

  Ezra raised his right arm. The air crackled. Gotier and Zeke, despite their training, fell to their knees.

  — This... is nothing like anything else — Zeke murmured, his voice trembling.

  Ezra laughed.

  — This is just the beginning.

  I Am from Kugutsu Island!**

  The city of Chagas sank into a nightmare. Ezra's energy rotted everything it touched—and the monstrous form of Endeavour pulsed on his back like a living curse. Tumors spread like tentacles, flesh boiled, and skin bubbled.

  But Zeke did not back down. He rose from the rubble with blood on his lips, holding his sword in his right hand and the shield strapped to his left arm. The sword seemed alive. *Rupture*.

  — Let us finish this quickly, Gotier. He is a Kanji, but he bleeds. And if he bleeds... he dies.

  Zeke vanished again, but this time even faster. Ezra barely saw it. A white flash cut through the sky. By the time he realized, Zeke's sword had already struck his shoulder—but it did not penetrate.

  Ezra laughed.

  — Is that all you have?

  *CLANG!*

  Zeke's shield smashed into his jaw with brutal force, sending Ezra flying backward. But before Ezra could fall, Zeke spun in the air, tucked the sword under his arm, and delivered a two-footed kick to Ezra's chest, crushing him into the ground and opening a crater.

  — **Shield Skill: Impact Burst.**

  The earth trembled as if struck by a meteor. Dust rose. Ezra emerged with blood in his mouth, smiling.

  — You are good. But I am the end.

  He touched the ground. The earth rotted in seconds, cracking, blackening, dying. Zeke retreated, but he did not see the attack coming. Ezra appeared before him in a burst of motion. Three punches struck Zeke's torso, each accompanied by a dry crack. The fourth punch hit his shoulder—and Ezra gripped Zeke's flesh with his fingers.

  — Touched... and decayed.

  The flesh on Zeke's left arm withered and necrotized, turning black and flaccid. He cried out and used his shield to push Ezra away, but he was already bleeding, gasping for breath.

  Gotier lunged forward with his dagger in hand—a beam of steel tearing through space. Ezra tried to block with his forearm.

  — *Aaaaaagh!*

  The blade sank into the flesh like hot butter. Gotier spun, drove his knee into Ezra's side, and slashed diagonally with the dagger. The cut hit his hip, tearing through the rotten flesh. Gotier's style was almost bestial—a trained assassin with surgical precision.

  He moved behind Ezra, crouched, his fingers on the ground. In the blink of an eye, he was above him, spinning, and the dagger descended with the weight of his entire body—straight for the jugular.

  — **Style of the Black Faith: Blade of Scars!**

  Ezra screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Gotier was different. His eyes glowed red. His veins bulged. His face trembled with rage.

  — You... mentioned my wife. My daughter. — He spat blood. — And now you will pay for every word with a broken bone.

  Ezra rose, furious, the tumors exploding, leaking hot pus. Zeke, though wounded, reappeared beside Gotier.

  — Gotier... aim for his heart. *Rupture* is a trap. I will distract him.

  Zeke vanished again, but this time... he left his sword behind. Ezra did not understand. He followed Zeke's movement—until he felt an insane pressure on his right hand. Zeke reappeared beside the sword, which hovered in the air—and smiled.

  — **Rupture Skill: Convergence.**

  Zeke activated the ability directly on his hand. The air exploded. Ezra's right hand was destroyed—bones shattered, the flesh opening like a bloody flower. His scream tore through the sky. Ezra staggered. But before he could fall... Gotier reappeared. He took three steps—swift as arrows—and his shoulder struck Ezra's jaw, lifting the Kanji's body.

  — **Style of the Black Faith... Celestial Execution.**

  Gotier's body twisted in the air, and the dagger rose from below, tearing from abdomen to chest. Ezra collapsed, blood gushing. But he was still smiling.

  — You think it is over...? Endeavour... is just beginning.

  The rotten aura exploded outward. The dead bodies began to move, red eyes glowing, spitting blood. A small army of corpses took shape.

  Zeke fell to his knees.

  — This is hell...

  Gotier looked around. He was sweating. Trembling. But his expression was one of pure fury.

  — It does not matter. I will finish you. Even if it costs me everything.

  ***

  ### **The Awakening of the End**

  Ezra knelt, spitting blood, but his laughter still echoed—sickly, like an animal that felt no pain. The surrounding corpses began to rise. Some without eyes. Others without arms, without half a head. All with rotten tongues hanging out and bones cracking as they moved.

  — They are mine... — Ezra murmured, his voice echoing like a dark spell. — Part of me. Part of Endeavour.

  Suddenly, the earth split in two. A gigantic tentacle, covered in open eyes and mouths weeping blood, shot from the ground. Then another. And another. The sky seemed to close in. The clouds darkened. The moon vanished behind the smoke. The stench of burnt flesh and clotted blood filled Zeke and Gotier's lungs.

  — My God... — Gotier whispered, backing away.

  In the center of the ruined city, there it was. Endeavour. A misshapen creature over four meters tall. Its face composed of multiple stitched-together human visages, all screaming. Its body seemed made of twisted bones, pulsating flesh, and concentrated fury. From its arms grew black blades of nails and teeth. Its chest opened like a mouth, where small, weeping souls seemed trapped, screaming in silence.

  Ezra merged with the monster, his flesh dissolving into the creature's dark veins.

  — **This is true hell!** — he shouted, his voice layered with Endeavour's. — **And you two will be the sacrifice!**

  Zeke took a step forward. His left arm still necrotized. His eyes firm. Gotier, sweating, wiped the blood from his eyes with his forearm.

  — We are not going to win this like this...

  Endeavour moved. Fast. Too fast. The first tentacle struck Zeke. He raised his shield but was thrown far away. The second tentacle whipped toward Gotier. He spun like a living blade, cutting the deformed limb in two, but took a direct kick from the monster to the chest. A dry crack. Broken ribs. Gotier fell to his knees, spitting blood. But he got up.

  — I... am not finished yet.

  He charged at full speed. His eyes pulsed with the rage of loss. His dagger glowed—incandescent.

  — **Style of the Black Faith... Crimson Penance!**

  He delivered three direct blows to Endeavour: at the neck, the torso, and the leg. Black blood exploded from each cut. But the monster did not fall. It roared with dozens of voices—and the air around them shattered like glass. Gotier was thrown against a wall, breaking the structure and fainting for a moment.

  All seemed lost. Until... Zeke stood up. His body trembled. His arm burned. Yet, he was smiling. His shield lay broken in pieces. He ran his hand over the sword *Rupture*—and it glowed with a different hue. Gold and red. His gaze turned to the monster. Then he spoke, with the voice of one who carries a hidden past.

  — Gotier... I am not just a warrior.

  He pointed the sword.

  — I am from Kugutsu Island.

  The wind stopped.

  — And I will show you... what a true Kugutsu is.

  On his chest, a sealed mark glowed—a scar in the shape of an ancient spiral. The seal of *Rupture* opening. Golden light emerged from his flesh. The air vibrated. The stones floated. Endeavour seemed to hesitate for a moment.

  Zeke drove his sword into the ground and opened his arms, his eyes burning white.

  — Awaken... **Karura.**

  An ancestral roar echoed. An unknown power emerged. The chapter ends in silence. Only the sound of a heartbeat is heard. Strong. Deep.

  ***

  The smell of death saturated the air of Chagas. The city's ruin was shaped by chaos. Zeke stood firm, his eyes fixed on the enemy, his body bleeding, but his soul... still, solid as rock. Gotier knelt behind him, spitting teeth and blood. The silence that fell between the three was the prelude to calamity.

  Then Zeke closed his eyes. And the memory came like a flash of lightning. Kugutsu Island—Fuba Clan—The massacre.

  The moon was the only witness that night. Children wept silently, women prayed in despair, and the men, their faces beaten, already knew their fate. A circle formed in the center of the village, and within it lay a baby with empty eyes on a blanket of raw silk. Zeke.

  The clan members—five hundred in all—joined hands. Each began to chant, their bodies trembling, their skin drying, their eyes losing color. A pale, golden energy escaped from their mouths, veins, hearts. They were literally disintegrating. One by one, they fell like autumn leaves, until silence reigned once more, this time permanently.

  In the center, the child breathed alone. But now she glowed.

  Zeke opened his eyes. Within them lay centuries of pain, memories of a forgotten clan, and the will to destroy everything that prevented his people from existing.

  — I was not born — he said, his voice low, hoarse. — I was forged.

  Ezra took a step forward, mocking.

  — Giving up, king's dog?

  — Harden your soul now, Kanji. You will need it where I am sending you.

  Zeke dropped his sword. The ancestral symbol of the Fuba clan glowed on his chest. The ground beneath him trembled. The air grew dense as molten iron. The clouds opened—not to light; to the darkness born in the heart of that battlefield.

  Then the world broke. Behind him, the earth tore open like living flesh. An abyss opened, spitting out a grotesque mass of pure demonic energy. From the abyss, a creature crawled out, groaning, spewing steam and decay.

  Zeke's Kugutsu. A monster of abyssal proportions. Its face composed of dozens of glued-together human visages—some crying, others smiling, all alive and constantly shifting. Its body a misshapen mass of muscles and protruding bones, with multiple arms, each wielding a black weapon: sword, scythe, chain, spear, shield. Its triple legs rooted themselves in the ground like poisoned roots, absorbing everything around. The creature bowed slightly, as if awaiting a command.

  Ezra shuddered for the first time. Gotier, between blood and broken teeth, laughed.

  — So... that is what you were hiding from everyone...

  Zeke pointed at the Kanji.

  — This is the Kugutsu of the Fuba clan... the last one. Born from the pain of five hundred, created to kill a king... But today... it starts with you.

  The sky exploded in black lightning. The creature roared—a deep, distorted sound that made the earth weep. Zeke advanced, and the Kugutsu with him—a specter of war, a nightmare made flesh.

  And amid the destruction, Zeke shouted with an ancestral fury:

  — I AM FROM KUGUTSU ISLAND! AND I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT A TRUE KUGUTSU IS