Obsession

"Screeeech--screeeech--"

The sound of consciousness being torn apart echoed in the vast mental world, piercing and desperate.

Genki's spiritual body was already on the verge of collapse, and now, under the erosion of the ghost claws, it became even more hollow and numb.

His eyes lost all focus, his pupils dilated, his tightly clenched hands slowly loosened, and even the strength to struggle was draining away bit by bit.

Memories in his mind were like sand paintings being washed away by the tide, rapidly blurring and dissipating--Izumi's smiling face, Hazuki's gentle reminders, the laughter and joy of the clan grounds, the rage and unwillingness for revenge... everything was fading, becoming indistinct.

"Who... am I..." He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a complete sound, only broken breaths rolling in his throat.

He couldn't remember why he was here, what the corpses pressing down on him were, let alone what he was desperately trying to protect.

His consciousness was like a candle in the wind, about to be extinguished at any moment, and that pitch-black hell was opening its monstrous maw, waiting to swallow him whole.

Just at the last moment before the darkness completely engulfed his consciousness, two ethereal figures suddenly flashed through the endless darkness.

One figure was tall and the other short, their outlines blurred but carrying an indescribable warmth, like a ray of light in the dead of winter, instantly piercing the thick darkness.

The taller figure wore familiar Uchiha traditional clothing, surrounded by a gentle halo, their movements carrying a tenderness etched into his bones;

The shorter figure had the hairstyle he was most familiar with, and seemed to be clutching the paper kite he had given her as a child, hopping around with childish vitality.

The moment he saw the figures, Genki's dilated pupils suddenly contracted, and a faint but incredibly stubborn light flashed in his previously hollow eyes!

That glimmer of light was like a spark, quietly igniting in the ashes of despair.

"Mo... Mother..." He used all his strength, squeezing out a broken cry from his throat, his voice as hoarse as a worn-out bellows, "Sis... Sister..."

It was this cry that seemed to trigger some mysterious contract.

The black ghost claws that had been pulling him suddenly paused for a moment, and the approaching darkness actually began to recede strangely, like a retreating tide.

At the same time, a faintly glowing kite string suddenly appeared in his spiritual body's hand, its other end connected to a small paper kite. The kite carried his soul and began to rush forward desperately in the direction the two figures had disappeared.

"I... I can't die yet!"

A beast-like roar erupted from his chest, filled with endless unwillingness and stubbornness.

Fragmented memories in his mind began to flash wildly--his mother's determination as she blocked a fatal blow for him, his sister's gentleness as she shielded him before her death, and the vow he made amidst mountains of corpses: he must revive them, he must bring them back to his side!

"Mother... Sister... they haven't been revived yet..." His eyes grew brighter and brighter, and the previously hollow pupils reignited with a burning flame, "No matter the cost! No matter how many worlds I have to crush! No matter how many universes I have to defy! I cannot die!"

As this obsession grew stronger, the light in Genki's eyes erupted like a prairie fire.

He suddenly raised his head and let out a roar filled with unwillingness and resolve: "I absolutely... absolutely cannot fall here!!"

In the roar, his spiritual body erupted with unprecedented power.

He suddenly raised his hand, tightly grasped the black ghost claw wrapped around his arm, and with a forceful pull, he actually tore the ghost claw, as hard as iron, to shreds!

Black soul blood gushed from the torn ghost claw, splashing onto his spiritual body, but it only made his eyes more frenzied.

He no longer passively endured, but actively charged forward.

He desperately clawed away the corpses piled on top of him, his fingernails grinding until they bled, exposing bone, yet he was oblivious.

With each corpse he pushed away, he moved one step closer to the direction of the two figures;

With each step forward, his obsession grew firmer.

The mountain of corpses and sea of blood collapsed under his frenzied actions, the viscous blood pools splashing as he stepped through them, the stench of decay lingering around him, yet it could no longer shake him.

"Even if I have to destroy all parallel universes! I will bring them back!"

The final obsession erupted like a volcano, instantly breaking through all barriers of memory.

His past memories began to flood back wildly--the warmth of his mother sewing clothes for him in his childhood, the joy of his sister flying kites with him, the despair and hatred of the night of the clan massacre, the loneliness and madness on the path of revenge... All memories became incredibly clear, flashing through his mind like a movie.

At the same time, his soul no longer passively endured the erosion of surrounding souls, but instead actively unleashed its devouring power.

The soul corpses pressing down on him, like dust encountering a black hole, were all absorbed and devoured by his soul. With each wisp of soul devoured, his spiritual body solidified further, and his power grew stronger.

"Aaaaah--!!!"

A roar, like that of a human and a ghost, filled with power and obsession, echoed throughout the entire mental world, shaking the boundless mountain of corpses and sea of blood, and causing ripples to appear even in the dark sky.

In the roar, Genki's spiritual body surged upwards, his previously small frame becoming upright and full of power, his scarlet pupils re-condensing, flashing with an ultimate, unwavering light.

He looked up, and at the end of the mental world, the two ethereal figures stood there quietly, no longer just a fleeting glimpse, but clearly visible.

The tall figure gazed at him tenderly, her eyes filled with heartache and expectation;

The shorter figure waved to him, a familiar smile on her face.

It was his mother, Uchiha Hazuki!

It was his sister, Uchiha Izumi!

Looking at the two figures, so close yet seemingly worlds away, Genki's eyes were no longer filled with despair and emptiness, but only with burning obsession and unyielding faith.

He clenched the kite string in his hand and roared word by word, his voice piercing the endless darkness and resounding throughout the entire mental world:

"As long as time has meaning! As long as there is a sliver of hope! As long as there is a glimmer of life! I... absolutely cannot fall!!"

Before the roar in the mental world had even faded, in reality, Uchiha Genki's body had already begun to undergo earth-shattering changes, absorbing the terrifying power of soul fusion.