Chapter 82: A Brighter Day

Chapter 82: A Brighter DayVincent sighed, lowering his head slightly. His breathing was uneven, his posture just slightly off, and his eyes flickered with something between exhaustion and frustration. "That was quite the hit you gave me," he muttered, rolling his shoulders as if trying to reset his balance. "I can still feel everything spinning, and I can barely focus on you."

As he spoke, the hardened armor around his face cracked apart, fragments falling in small clinks against the shattered ground. Beneath it, his skin was bruised, the earlier impacts leaving their mark. Yet, even as his body showed signs of damage, his voice still carried an arrogant confidence. "I still have much to learn about my Ikona," he admitted, flexing his fingers as if feeling out his power again, "and how it can take me to new heights."

Yui shifted, lowering into a stance that centered his weight onto the balls of his feet. His gauntlets, still humming faintly from the earlier energy transfer, gleamed under the broken lights above. His posture wasn’t just defensive—it was coiled, ready to strike, like a predator waiting for an opening.

Vincent smirked. "I believe it’s not even fair to call us just humans anymore," he continued. "At this point, we are superior creatures. We have the right to rule. No longer should we listen to those with influence or power—we should rule by our power!"

Yui exhaled slowly, his expression unreadable. "Are you going to keep yapping like an idiotic pup, or are you finally going to come get your face smashed in again?"

Elias observed the exchange in silence before clapping his hands together. "Dots, we have to be fast-moving from here. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt," he muttered under his breath. His eyes flicked toward Elara for a moment before shaking the thought away. "Would have been nice to still have the exosuit, but whatever."

Dot’s small hands clasped together in response. A surge of energy passed through Elias like a current, his vision shifting in an instant. His irises darkened, his pupils replaced by a single, thin red dot at the center.

Everything around him distorted—Vincent and Yui became hollowed-out figures, their movements appearing as traced outlines of grey, pulsing slightly as they shifted. Black dots hovered in the air.

Then, something caught his attention—a faint golden flicker at the edge of his vision.

He turned sharply, instincts firing, only to see Junjio.

Junjio still lay on the ground, half-buried under a broken slab of concrete with a twisted metal pole jutting out beside him. Dust clung to his skin, and his half-lidded eyes flickered open as he groggily took in his surroundings. His breathing was shallow, every movement sluggish.



Elias cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Yui! Hold him off for as long as you can! I’ve got something planned!"

Vincent’s head snapped toward him, his body twitching slightly as if something inside was misfiring. The spiral-shaped break in his armor led directly toward his chest, a weak spot Elara had exposed earlier. He grinned, tightening his fists. "You really think whatever he’s planning will be able to save you?" he spat before lunging forward, closing the gap between them in seconds.

Yui tched, shifting his stance as the punch neared his face. He noticed something—the way Vincent’s pupils dilated, his attacks becoming more direct, less fluid. His body was adapting, but something about the gas he used earlier was affecting him too.

"Of course not," Yui muttered, throwing his weight forward. As Vincent’s fist cut through the air just inches from his face, Yui twisted at the last second, redirecting his momentum. His palm shot up in a brutal strike under Vincent’s chin.

"I fully expect to take your ass down myself."

Meanwhile, Elias slid down the crumbled debris, kneeling beside Junjio. He lifted the young man’s head slightly, brushing some of the dirt away. "Hey, how you holding up?"

Junjio gave a weak chuckle. "Good... just trying to figure out how you’re still walking around like this." His voice was hoarse, but his curiosity was genuine. "I barely believe we’re dealing with the same problem... But the way your leg flickers every so often? It makes it clear you’re compensating—adjusting your balance within fractions of a second."

Elias blinked, glancing at his own leg. It twitched slightly, barely noticeable unless someone was looking for it. "To be honest, I didn’t even notice that," he admitted. "Wish we had more time to talk about it, but we need to help Yui before he gets turned into mush."

Junjio exhaled, shifting slightly. "...And how exactly am I supposed to help with that?"

Without hesitation, Elias grabbed him, hoisting him onto his back. "Focus. I’ll do the carrying. Don’t worry about moving."


Junjio hesitated for a moment before sighing. "I’m not sure how I’ll be useful, but I guess I’ll put my trust in you. If we’re all going to die anyway..." His voice trailed off before he shook his head. "I guess it’s obvious by now, but my Ikona lets me set up portals. If I use my left hand, a portal opens at my feet. If I use my right, the exit portal appears at the destination, about a foot off the ground."

Elias’s eyebrows raised slightly. That was... extremely useful.

Junjio continued, shifting against Elias’s shoulder. "It’s weird, though. I can move to places I don’t even know about—it’s like I’m tapping into the thoughts and intentions of others. The problem is, my range caps out at about two miles, and the more exhausted I get, the harder it is to focus. When my head gets foggy, the distance gets shorter."

Elias nodded as he adjusted his grip on Junjio and pushed forward. Just ahead, Yui took a devastating blow to the stomach, the impact knocking the air out of him. His feet barely stayed grounded before he twisted again, catching Vincent’s outstretched wrist. Using the momentum against him, Yui pivoted and slammed a powerful kick into Vincent’s face, sending a sharp crack echoing through the ruined resort.



But Vincent was relentless. Even as his body whiplashed from the strike, he retaliated in an instant. His hand shot out, grabbing Yui by the collar and hurling him ten feet back. Yui hit the ground hard, skidding along the broken pavement before stopping just short of a collapsed wall.

Elias blinked, momentarily distracted as a faint hum echoed in his ear, his hand instinctively reaching up to rub against the side of his head. His mind felt scattered, but he pushed through it, refocusing on Junjio.

"So, what exactly does your Ikona do?" Elias asked, adjusting his grip as he kept moving forward.

Before Junjio could answer, something soft and small landed on Elias’s head with a light plop.

Dot’s tiny voice immediately shrieked in protest. "Hey! What are you doing? He’s mine!"

Elias spun slightly in confusion as the new Ikona—a small, multi-colored creature with a swirling blend of purple and orange across its fur—perched comfortably atop his head.

The creature wiggled, small strands of purple fur shifting with the motion. Then, with an excited burst, it threw its little arms up. "I make things colorful!"

With a dramatic gesture, a swirl of vibrant colors shot from its tiny hands, splashing over Dot’s body.

Dot gasped, her pattern shifting wildly. The usually sleek blue-and-black hues morphed into chaotic swirls of neon purple, fiery orange, and streaks of green.

Elias raised an eyebrow. "...That’s it?"

The little Ikona wiggled proudly. "Yep! That’s it! I don’t know how it’ll ever be useful, but I can change anything to match my pattern for a little while!"

Elias sighed, shifting his attention back to Junjio. "And that works on just... people? Or Ikonas?"

"Nope!" Junjio exhaled, still slightly dazed but regaining focus. "Anything I target changes temporarily to look like me."

Elias frowned. That... didn’t explain why the system had labeled it a teleportation Ikona. If the ability came from the boy, why was the creature’s power so different?



But there was no time to figure that out now.

He gritted his teeth and snapped his focus forward just as Vincent planted his feet, stopping his charge toward Yui entirely.

For a brief second, Elias expected Vincent to rush forward again, but instead, a slow grin stretched across his face. His shoulders relaxed, a chuckle bubbling up from deep in his throat.

Elias’s instincts screamed at him.

Why did Vincent look so pleased?

Then, something caught his eye—a faint, lingering glow still circling Vincent’s waist, barely visible under the layers of hardened rock-like armor.

Elias’s mind worked fast, rounding through every possibility as the realization struck. There was something underneath that armor. Something Vincent was actively guarding.

"No, this is perfect," Elias muttered to himself, his gaze narrowing.

Dot shifted on his shoulder, still uncomfortably bright from her forced color change. "What’s perfect? What did you just figure out?"

Elias cracked his knuckles. "Dot’s—craft me something to slice through that hardened crust."

Dot’s fur bristled slightly as she thought, then nodded. "Got it!"

A brief shimmer of light flickered in Elias’s hand, and then—