The entire arena plunged into absolute darkness. Not the partial darkness of shadows, but a complete absence of light that seemed to eat sound itself. Krad couldn't see his hand in front of his face, couldn't hear the crowd, couldn't even sense the walls of the maze anymore.
"This is my ultimate technique," Kira's voice came from everywhere and nowhere. "In this darkness, I am everything and nothing. Your Lunar Sense won't help you here, because in perfect darkness, spiritual pressure becomes meaningless."
Krad felt something cold touch his neck. "Any last words about friendship?"
"Yeah," Krad said quietly. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Kira paused, confused. "For what?"
"For whoever hurt you so badly that you can't believe in friendship anymore," Krad said. "For the people who were supposed to protect you and didn't. For the fact that you've been alone for so long that you've forgotten what it feels like to have someone care about you."
The cold pressure against his neck wavered. "You... you're trying to manipulate me."
"No," Krad said simply. "I'm trying to understand you. Because even though you're trying to kill me, even though you hate everything I believe in, I can still feel your pain. And I'm sorry that the world hurt you so badly."
For a moment, the darkness seemed to flicker. Kira's spiritual pressure wavered, uncertainty bleeding through her absolute control.
"Stop," she whispered. "Stop talking."
"I know what it's like to lose everything," Krad continued. "I know what it's like to feel abandoned and alone. But I also know that the people who hurt you don't get to define what friendship means. They don't get to decide whether love is real or not."
"Shut up," Kira's voice was shaking now. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"My friends aren't perfect," Krad said, his voice gentle despite the deadly blade at his throat. "They've made mistakes, they've hurt people, they've done things they regret. But they're still trying to be better. They're still willing to fight for each other, to sacrifice for each other, to believe in each other even when it's hard."
"LIES!" Kira screamed, and the darkness exploded outward in a wave of pure malevolent energy. "All of it lies! There is no such thing as true friendship! There is no such thing as loyalty! There is only pain and betrayal and the inevitable realization that everyone you trust will eventually let you down!"
The shadow weapons materialized again, dozens of them, all pointed at Krad. "I've killed hundreds of people who believed in friendship. I've watched the light die in their eyes as they realized their friends weren't coming to save them. I've heard their last words, their pitiful calls for help that went unanswered. And now I'm going to do the same to you."
"Then do it," Krad said simply. "But know that even if you kill me, even if you prove that friendship is a lie, my friends will still mourn me. They'll still carry the memory of our time together. They'll still love me, even though I'm gone. And that's something you can't take away, no matter how much darkness you command."
The weapons trembled in the air, Kira's control wavering.
"They'll forget," she whispered. "They always forget. Give them a few years, and you'll just be a story they tell at parties. A cautionary tale about someone who believed too much in things that don't exist."
"Maybe," Krad acknowledged. "But right now, in this moment, they care about me. Right now, they're hoping I'll survive this. Right now, they're sending me their strength and their love, even though they can't fight this battle for me. And that has to count for something."
In the competitor's section, Mist was gripping the railing so tightly his knuckles were white. "Come on, Idiot," he whispered. "You can do this."
Queen Hania was on her feet, her emerald eyes blazing with memories of her own darkness and the light that had saved her. "Fight, young hero. Fight for all of us who have been lost in the shadows."
Even Ragnar, who had been defeated by Krad's power, was shouting encouragement. "Show her the strength of your convictions!"
The darkness in the arena flickered again, and for just a moment, Krad could see Kira's face. She was crying, tears streaming down her pale cheeks, but her expression was one of absolute fury.
"I hate you," she said, her voice breaking. "I hate you for making me remember what hope feels like. I hate you for making me want to believe in something I know is impossible. I hate you for being everything I can never be."
"You could be," Krad said softly. "You could choose to believe. You could choose to give friendship another chance."
"NO!" Kira's scream shattered the darkness like glass. "I will not be weak! I will not be vulnerable! I will not open myself up to that kind of pain again!"
The shadow weapons launched themselves at Krad from every direction, moving with killing intent. This time, there was no holding back, no mercy, no hesitation. Kira had chosen her path, and she would see it through to the end.
But as the weapons closed in, Krad did something unexpected. He didn't dodge. He didn't defend. Instead, he opened his arms wide, as if to embrace the darkness itself.
"Then I forgive you," he said simply. "For what you're about to do, and for everything you've done before. I forgive you, and I hope that someday, you'll be able to forgive yourself."
The shadow weapons stopped mere inches from his body, trembling in the air as if caught between two opposing forces.
"You..." Kira's voice was barely a whisper. "You can't... you can't just..."
"I can," Krad said, his voice steady and sure. "Because that's what friends do. They forgive each other, even when it's hard. Even when it hurts. Even when the other person doesn't think they deserve it."
For a long moment, the arena was completely silent. The darkness hung in the air like a held breath, and even the crowd seemed to sense that something profound was happening.
Then, slowly, the shadow weapons began to dissolve. The darkness receded, revealing Kira standing in the center of the arena, her face streaked with tears and her hands shaking.
"I can't," she whispered. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep pretending that hate is stronger than hope. I can't keep telling myself that being alone is better than being hurt."
She fell to her knees, her shadow magic dispersing like smoke. "I forfeit. I... I can't fight someone who sees me as more than a monster."
The arena erupted in confusion. Spectators were shouting, demanding explanations, unable to understand what had just happened. But Krad ignored them all. He walked over to where Kira knelt and, after a moment's hesitation, extended his hand.
"Come on," he said gently. "Let's get you out of here."
Kira looked at his hand as if it might bite her. "Why?" she asked. "Why would you help me after everything I just said? After everything I tried to do?"
"Because," Krad said with a smile, "that's what friends do."
After another long moment, Kira reached out and took his hand. As he helped her to her feet, she whispered, "I don't know how to be a friend. I don't remember how to trust."
"That's okay," Krad said. "We can learn together. One day at a time."
And as they walked toward the exit of the arena, leaving behind the confused shouts of the crowd and the bewildered announcements of the officials, Kira allowed herself to feel something she hadn't felt in over a decade.
Hope.
"WINNER BY FORFEIT: MOON FIST!" the announcer finally managed to shout. "ADVANCING TO THE FINAL BATTLE!"
But for the first time in the tournament's history, the victory felt less important than what had been won in the darkness of the Shadow Maze. A friendship that had been forged not in battle, but in the choice to see beyond the shadows to the light that still flickered within.
In the competitor's section, Mist smirk. "That's my student," he said proudly. "I knew it... that's exactly the kind of person he is."
Queen Hania nodded, her own eyes wet. "He saved her the same way he saved me. Not with power, but with understanding. With the simple act of refusing to give up on someone who had given up on themselves."
And as they watched Krad and Kira disappear into the tunnel that led away from the arena, they all understood that they had witnessed something more important than any tournament victory.
They had seen the true power of friendship in action.