The last thing she saw was Kael's hand reaching for her—eyes wide, arm outstretched—before her world dissolved into mist.
"Kael!" Yumi screamed, but her voice was swallowed by the crackling light surrounding her.
Then—impact.
Her body hit cold stone, knees scraping across a jagged floor. She gasped, the air thick and stifling like a closed tomb. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the crimson glow cast by mineral veins pulsing through the cave walls. Shadows danced across the uneven rock.
She was underground. Alone.
"The Cave Zone…" she whispered, pushing herself to her feet. She turned in place, searching. "Kael?" she called out, even though she knew the answer.
No one replied.
She clenched her fists, blinking back the sting behind her eyes. There was no time to fall apart. Not here.
Not now.
A flicker of energy spiraled in her palm—soft, starlit, and familiar. Her Quirk: Cosmic Energy Manipulation. The one thing she could always count on.
She closed her eyes for a moment. "You're okay," she told herself. "You're strong. You're not scared." Her breath steadied.
A sudden sound—a soft hum, like air twisting through words—reverberated through the stone corridor.
Then a voice followed:
"Collapse."
The ground shuddered. To her right, the cavern wall exploded—stone and dust erupting outward. A boulder-sized slab hurtled toward her.
She reacted instinctively. Cosmic energy surged through her body, launching her into a side roll. Her boots scraped against stone, trailing sparks as she barely avoided the impact.
From the dust, a silhouette emerged—tall, thin, wrapped in dark fabric with crimson energy pulsing through his exposed skin like molten veins. His irises gleamed gold, unblinking, eerie.
Yumi stood up slowly, eyes narrowing. "Who are you?" she asked.
The man tilted his head. "I'm someone who's been waiting to meet you, Yumi Hoshino."
Her spine stiffened. "How do you—?"
"Your father," he said with a smile, "was a remarkable hero. But maybe you'll be an even better message."
The energy in her hands flared brighter. "My father? What the hell do you want?"
"I want to see how much pain you can withstand," he said simply. "Before you break."
He raised a finger.
"Spikes."
From all around her, black jagged spikes burst from the floor and walls. Yumi's eyes widened—then narrowed. She leapt into the air, flipping as glowing silver energy formed beneath her feet like a platform. She landed with grace, then launched herself forward, flinging orbs of cosmic light.
The man laughed, dancing away with inhuman speed. "Still don't understand, do you?"
Yumi gritted her teeth. "Your Quirk… it can manifest whatever you speak."
He smiled wider. "You're catching on."
A verbal manifestation Quirk? But she'd never seen anything like it. No gestures. No buildup. Just words—commands—and reality listened.
"My Quirk is called Verbal Law." he said. "Each word I speak becomes the temporary truth."
Yumi blinked. "That's insane…"
"I agree. Now, Blind."
A burst of red light exploded from his mouth. Her world went white.
"Agh!" Yumi cried out, falling to her knees. Her eyes burned, her vision flashing and strobing with static.
But she could still feel.
Her cosmic senses—like strands of gravity and light—remained active. Not vision. Something deeper. Something primal.
"I don't need to see," she muttered, forcing herself up.
She raised both hands, drawing in ambient energy. Stars flickered to life in the space around her—her own miniature constellation.
"Gravity Flare."
A pulse of force surged outward, repelling loose rock and redirecting pressure. The cave groaned.
"You can manipulate space," the villain noted. "Interesting. But still…"
"Break."
The ground split beneath her. Yumi dropped, landing hard in a lower chamber, the floor cracking. She coughed, blood in her mouth.
Then her eyes—still blurred—cleared just enough to see him descending slowly through the air, as if gravity bent around him.
He didn't even have to move to chase her. He just spoke. That was all it took.
"You're not just idiotic," he said. "You're stubborn."
Yumi wiped her mouth. "You haven't seen stubborn yet."
She thrust both arms upward—energy streaming toward the ceiling.
"Nebula Vein."
Cosmic chains of light burst from her hands, wrapping the chamber's edges, stabilizing her footing. With a cry, she propelled herself toward him, fists charged with stellar force.
He raised a brow.
"Slow."
The chains froze. Her body jerked midair—like her motion was trapped in syrup.
But only for a second.
"Counter-flare!" she roared.
The stored energy in the chains reversed polarity and exploded outward, scattering light and dust. It broke his command just long enough for her to close the gap.
Her fist collided with his jaw.
The villain stumbled back, red light cracking off his body like glass. He snarled.
Her heart raced.
"I don't care how strong your Quirk is," she said. "I'm not letting you win."
The villain's eyes narrowed.
"You've just become… interesting."
"Shut up," Yumi hissed—and threw a blast of energy.
A cone of concentrated cosmic force surged from her palm, warping the air as it roared toward the villain. The ground cratered beneath her feet from the sheer recoil, but her stance held firm.
"Deflect," the villain said.
A shimmering wall of light appeared between theem. Her blast shattered it, but it slowed just enough for him to duck and counter.
"Impact," he said, and a concussive wave burst from beneath Yumi's feet. She flung herself sideways, but the blast caught her leg. Pain cracked through her thigh as she slammed into the stone wall.
She coughed—gritted her teeth—and snapped her hand out.
"Scatter!" she shouted—not as a power command, but a battle cry.
The energy around her responded instantly. Dozens of flickering points of light erupted from her arms and shoulders, darting around the battlefield like embers from a wildfire. They weren't random; each orb she fired off was calibrated—drawn from her own life-force and shaped by instinct.
The villain's eyes followed them. "Oh? They respond to intent."
He raised a hand.
"Collapse."
A single word.
The ceiling groaned—and then large portions of stone came crashing down.
Yumi hurled herself forward, light trailing behind her like a comet's tail. She didn't dodge the debris so much as blur through the falling pieces, weaving and spinning, the Cosmic Energy around her forming temporary shields in every direction. Her breathing hitched, her vision narrowed—but she kept moving.
She reached him.
Her elbow struck his chest, sending a jolt of energy directly into his ribs. He grunted, stumbling back.
That moment—brief as a heartbeat—was hers.
Yumi slammed her palms together, and the space between them pulsed. A spiraling spear of light shot from her fingertips, twisting like a drill.
The villain whispered, "Redirect."
The spear turned mid-flight—its own force reversed.
Yumi's eyes widened.
It struck her shoulder.
She screamed as the energy punched through her armor and flung her backward across the chamber, slamming her into an outcrop of stone with a sickening thud. Her whole right side went numb.
Her vision blurred. The taste of iron filled her mouth.
"Getting tired already?" the villain asked, his tone light, amused. He twirled his fingers playfully in the air.
Yumi didn't respond.
She forced herself to stand.
Her knees trembled. Her arm refused to lift. Blood ran down her side, soaking into the ground.
But her eyes—they burned.
"You're strong," she said, her voice ragged. "But you're still just a coward. You hide behind words."
"Words shape the world," he replied. "And I've mastered that truth. You're simply a girl who just too young and naive to realize that."
"Maybe," she said quietly.
Then her left hand rose.
The light around her shifted.
No more fire. No more blasts.
Instead, a halo of energy began to form around her entire body—thin and subtle, but constant. It flickered, almost like a heartbeat.
"What's this?" he asked, voice tightening.
Yumi's eyes narrowed. "You're not the only one who can adapt."
Her aura condensed, the glow from her body no longer wild or crackling. It became fluid—precise. She wasn't just using her Quirk now. She was controlling it on a level she hadn't before, binding it to her body like armor.
The villain took a step back. "Interesting indeed."
This time, Yumi didn't lunge recklessly.
She stepped forward—calm, collected.
Her fingers curled. Her power throbbed in sync with her heartbeat.
And as they closed the distance again, the word-wielder muttered under his breath—
"Obliterate."
The floor between them shattered.
But Yumi didn't stop.
She moved through it.
And her fist, surrounded by compressed starlight, hurtled toward his face.
She launched toward him like a comet—raw, fast, and deliberate. Her body blurred with light, a radiant shimmer of condensed cosmic force as she descended on the villain's smirking face.
He didn't flinch.
"Repel."
A translucent force erupted midair and sent Yumi flying back with a sharp crack, the air around her bending. She twisted in the air, catching herself with a quick burst of starlight under her feet before she could crash into the jagged wall.
"Not bad," she muttered, eyes narrowing. "But you'll have to do more than shove me around."
He took a step forward, hands clasped behind his back. "Oh, I intend to."
The villain raised a hand lazily.
"Shatter."
The ground beneath Yumi cracked apart. Stone burst like glass, throwing up a cloud of debris. She leapt, backflipping onto a floating slab of rock she stabilized with a stream of energy from her palm.
The villain's lips curled into a smile.
"Rust."
Her shoulder pauldron, forged from stabilized cosmic matter, corroded instantly, flaking into dust. She yanked it off and flung it aside.
"You're choosing your words carefully," she said. "They match what's around you—like you're drawing power from the surroundings."
He tapped his chin. "She's clever. That's unfortunate."
Before he could speak again, she surged forward, fists gleaming with swirling light, moving faster than before. She struck low—then feinted—and twisted behind him.
"Vanish." he said.
Yumi's blast dissipated mid-swing, leaving her open.
But she'd expected that.
Cosmic light flared behind her—she'd left a sliver of energy behind as a delayed burst. It exploded like a flaring sun, engulfing them both in a flash.
The villain rolled out of it with a laugh, his sleeve singed.
"Now we're dancing."
"Keep talking," Yumi said, charging again.
He raised both arms.
"Multiply."
Suddenly there were five of him—four illusions, all grinning, all circling her.
"Sear."
A blast of heat surged from behind. She spun and raised a wall of radiant energy, taking the brunt of the flame with her forearms. Her coat burned at the edges.
"It's hard to say all those commands, isn't it? You need to focus. You need to control your breathing."
"True," all five said in unison, voices echoing.
"But that doesn't matter when dealing with small fries like you!"
He lashed out.
"Stumble."
Her legs faltered for half a second—just enough for one of the illusions to get close. She vaporized it with a pulse of light.
The real villain whistled. "You're adjusting faster than expected."
"Keep underestimating me," she snapped. "See how far that gets you."
He said nothing. Instead, he reached into the air and drew a long, curved sword of jagged obsidian.
"Weapon."
A Quirk-forged weapon? No. A verbal construct.
The blade sliced through the air as he lunged.
Yumi ducked beneath the strike, slamming a palm into his chest. The resulting blast sent him flying—but he twisted midair and landed smoothly.
She breathed hard. Her energy reserves were holding, but the mental toll of reading his speech, anticipating his next word, and avoiding the effects was exhausting.
The villain dusted himself off.
"You're not just some kid, huh?"
She glared. "I'm the Daughter of Voidflare and Star Gaze. You tell me."
He smiled, showing sharp teeth.
"Silence."
The word struck her like a thunderclap in the mind. Her voice—gone. Her thoughts, however, remained sharp.
Cosmic energy surged behind her eyes, not needing sound to respond. She raised her hands—and bent light into shape. Stars orbited her arms now, tiny but glowing dangerously.
The villain tensed.
"Let's see how well you adapt," Yumi thought.
Then she launched her next barrage.
No shouting. No speech. Just pure control.
Arcs of gravitational force wrapped around him, squeezing—but he vanished with a whisper:
"Phase."
He reappeared behind her.
"Collapse."
The ceiling quaked.
Chunks of stone plummeted. Yumi's body vanished in a blink, appearing beside the villain in a burst of white light. A palm to his back, another blast.
He was getting slower.
She was adapting.
Still, he wasn't finished.
"Invert."
Her next blast turned inward, slamming her against the wall. The air fled from her lungs. She gasped.
"You're creative," he admitted. "But you're not untouchable."
Neither was he.
Yumi's right arm glowed faint violet. She reached back and hurled a spear of raw cosmic energy at his midsection.
He reacted too slowly.
The spear pierced his side.
He screamed—but the wound sizzled with strange static and began to seal.
So, he had a healing factor now?
"Fortify," he hissed through bloodied teeth. His body shimmered, muscles hardening. A backup command to reinforce his defenses.
Yumi panted, chest rising and falling rapidly. The cave shook with their battle, rocks falling, the ground itself cracked.
She'd never faced someone like this—someone who could conjure effects with words, as if the universe listened to him. But even his power had limits.
And she was starting to see the patterns.
He needed time to think.
He needed to hear himself.
She could use that.
As she prepared her next strike, the villain chuckled darkly.
"This is only the beginning," he said. "They sent me because your name came up on our list."
Her eyes narrowed. "What list?"
But he didn't answer.
Instead, he said:
"Crumble."
And the cave began to do exactly that.
…