KUROGANE ENMA:CRIMSON SYNC

ONE BUTTON

His finger was an inch from the buttons.

Door A: *SAVE 100 D-CLASS.*

Door B: *SAVE JIN.*

The red camera light blinked. Waiting.

*CRIMSON SYNC: 32%*

_“B,”_ the King whispered. _“Always B. Blood first. The rest are nothing.”_

Enma could feel it. The pull. The certainty. If he chose Jin, the King would be proud. The red would feel good.

If he chose the 100, Jin would stay in that cell. Maybe forever.

Aoi’s voice crackled in his earpiece. “Enma. Don’t. This is rigged.”

Kuroda’s voice came over the speakers. Smug. “30 seconds. Choose.”

Enma closed his eyes.

He thought of F-Block. Of Hana’s cousin. 10 years old. Gone.

He thought of Jin’s face through the glass. _“Come get me, big brother.”_

He thought of Rule 3. _Don’t forget where you came from._

He opened his eyes.

His hand moved.

*HE PRESSED DOOR A.*

The room went silent.

Then alarms.

Kuroda’s voice, suddenly sharp: “What did you do?”

The screen flickered. Door A lit up green.

*INITIATING RELEASE: 100 D-CLASS PRISONERS. TRANSFER TO F-BLOCK.*

The second screen, Door B, flashed red. *ACCESS DENIED.*

Enma exhaled. His whole body was shaking. 45%.

_“You fool,”_ the King hissed. _“You chose them over blood.”_

“I chose right,” Enma said out loud.

The door to the arena opened.

Aoi ran in. She grabbed his face, checking his eyes. “You hit 45%. You didn’t break.”

“I chose,” Enma said.

Aoi pulled him into a hug. “You i***t. You’re going to get us all killed.”

“Worth it,” Enma muttered.

Above them, Kuroda was screaming at someone through a comm. “Get me those prisoners back! Now!”

Too late. The transfer had already started.

---

*F-BLOCK. 20 MINUTES LATER.*

Chaos.

The gates opened and 100 people stumbled out. Men. Women. Kids. Some crying. Some just staring like they didn’t believe it.

Hana was at the front. She saw Enma and Aoi on the wall and ran.

“You did it,” she said. Breathless. “You really did it.”

Enma nodded. He didn’t feel like a hero. He felt sick.

One of the released kids, maybe 9, grabbed his pant leg. “Are you the Null?”

Enma knelt. “Yeah.”

“Are you going to get my brother too?” the kid asked.

Enma looked at all of them. 100 faces. Hope. Fear.

“I’m trying,” he said.

The kid nodded and ran off.

Aoi put a hand on his shoulder. “Kuroda’s furious. He’s going to retaliate.”

“When?”

“Now,” Aoi said. “Floor 8 is in 3 hours. And it won’t be a choice. It’ll be punishment.”

---

*FLOOR 8: THE PUNISHER*

The arena was a cage. Literally. Black metal. No floor, just a pit 50 meters down.

And in the pit: *ENEMIES.*

10 of them. All C-Class. All with one order.

*KILL THE NULL.*

A voice: “Begin.”

The floor dropped.

Enma fell.

He hit the ground rolling. 10%. The first attacker was already on him.

This wasn’t a fight. This was an execution.

Sword. Spear. Hammer. Fire. Ice.

They came all at once.

Enma moved. Not fast. Precise.

He used their attacks against them. Dodged. Blocked. Broke bones. 20%. 25%.

_“They want you to hit 60%,”_ the King said. _“So give it to them.”_

Enma ignored it. He thought of the 100 people now in F-Block. Of Jin.

One of the attackers got a blade in his side. Pain. 30%.

Another grabbed his arm and twisted. Crack. 35%.

He was bleeding from 4 places by minute 3.

Aoi’s voice in his ear: “Enma, you can forfeit. This isn’t worth—”

“I’m not forfeiting,” Enma grunted and drove his elbow into someone’s throat.

5 down. 5 to go.

The last 5 circled him. Smarter now.

One threw a net. It caught him. Electric shocks ran through it.

*CRIMSON SYNC: 48%*

Enma screamed. Not from pain. From rage.

_“Yes,”_ the King said. _“More.”_

Enma tore the net. 50%.

He looked up. The 5 were hesitating.

“Come on,” Enma said. Blood in his mouth. “Finish it.”

They charged.

Enma met them.

It was ugly. It was fast.

When it was over, all 10 were down. Breathing. But down.

*WINNER: KUROGANE ENMA. TIME: 6 MINUTES 11 SECONDS. PEAK SYNC: 52%.*

The cage opened.

Aoi was there. She didn’t ask if he was okay. She just started wrapping his ribs.

“You hit 52%,” she said. “And you stopped.”

“Yeah.”

“Kuroda’s going to change the rules,” Aoi said. “He can’t let you keep winning like this.”

“Let him,” Enma said. He stood. Every muscle hurt. “Floor 9.”

---

*VISITATION. CENTRAL SPIRE. 0800.*

Jin was waiting. He took one look at Enma’s bandages and frowned.

“What happened?”

“Nothing,” Enma said.

“Don’t lie to me.”

Enma sighed. “Floor 8. 10 vs 1.”

Jin’s eyes went hard. “They’re trying to break you.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you see the news?” Jin asked suddenly. “About the 100?”

Enma nodded. “You heard?”

“Everyone heard,” Jin said. “Guards were pissed. They said Kuroda lost control of F-Block.”

Jin smiled. First real smile in days. “You’re a legend now, bro.”

Enma didn’t feel like a legend. “Jin. About Floor 90...”

Jin’s face went blank. “Don’t.”

“What?”

“Don’t go there,” Jin said. Quiet. “Please.”

“Why?”

“Because if you do, you won’t come back,” Jin said. “The kids that go there... they change. I’ve seen them come back for ‘checkups’. Their eyes are empty.”

Enma’s chest hurt. 20%.

“Okay,” Enma said. “I won’t. Not yet.”

Jin nodded, relieved.

The timer beeped.

Before he left, Jin whispered: “Enma. Be careful. There’s something on Floor 9. The guards are scared of it.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know,” Jin said. “But they call it The Mirror King.”

The door closed.

---

*FLOOR 9: THE MIRROR KING*

The arena was a perfect circle. Mirrors on every wall. Floor to ceiling.

And in the center: *A THRONE.*

On it sat a man.

He had Enma’s face.

Older. Scarred. Crowned in red light.

*CRIMSON SYNC: 10% to 40% instantly.*

The man stood. “Finally,” he said. His voice was Enma’s, but deeper. “My vessel.”

Enma didn’t move. “You’re not real.”

“I’m as real as you make me,” Mirror King said. “I’m what you become at 100%. I’m what the King wants.”

He stepped down. Bare feet on glass.

“Rule 1,” Mirror King said. “Fight me.”

“I won’t.”

“Rule 2,” Mirror King said. “Then I fight you.”

He moved.

He was fast. Faster than Enma. He hit like a truck.

First punch: ribs. 45%.

Second punch: jaw. 48%.

Third: Enma was on the ground.

Mirror King stood over him. “This is what power looks like. No holding back. No rules. Just you and me and the world burning.”

He offered a hand. “Join me. Hit 100%. Get your brother. Burn the Wall.”

Enma looked at the hand. Then at his own. Red lines up to his shoulders.

He thought of the 100 people. Of Jin saying _don’t go to Floor 90._ Of Aoi’s oath.

He spat blood. “No.”

Mirror King’s smile dropped. “Wrong answer.”

The fight was brutal.

Mirror King knew every move Enma would make. Because he was Enma.

But Enma knew something Mirror King didn’t.

Pain.

He let himself get hit. Used the pain to stay under 60%. 55%. 56%.

He waited.

When Mirror King went for a finishing blow, Enma caught the wrist.

And drove his forehead into Mirror King’s nose.

The mirror cracked.

Mirror King stumbled.

Enma didn’t stop. He hit him again. And again.

Not to kill. To break the illusion.

The mirrors around them shattered. One by one.

Mirror King screamed. “You can’t— this is what you ARE!”

“No,” Enma said. 58%. “This is what I choose.”

He hit him one last time.

The Mirror King exploded into glass.

Silence.

*WINNER: KUROGANE ENMA. TIME: 8 MINUTES 44 SECONDS. PEAK SYNC: 58%.*

The door opened.

Aoi ran in. She stopped when she saw the glass. And Enma. Standing. Breathing. 58% fading to 40%.

“You killed it,” she whispered.

“I chose,” Enma said.

Aoi hugged him. Hard. “You’re insane.”

“Probably.”

---

*NIGHT. HEADMASTER’S OFFICE.*

Kuroda threw his teacup at the wall.

“He chose the D-Class,” he snarled. “He hit 58% and didn’t break. He’s resisting.”

An aide bowed. “What are your orders, Headmaster?”

Kuroda smiled. Cold. “Floor 10. The Final Test before the upper floors.”

“What is it?”

Kuroda looked at the screen. Footage of Enma helping a D-Class kid up in F-Block.

“The Executioner,” Kuroda said. “Let’s see how he chooses when the enemy begs for mercy.”

---

*ENMA’S ROOM. MIDNIGHT.*

He couldn’t sleep. The glass from the Mirror King was still in his head.

There was a knock.

Aoi. She looked exhausted.

“Can I come in?”

Enma nodded.

She sat on the floor. Not the chair. On the floor next to his bed.

“Floor 10,” she said. “It’s called The Executioner.”

“I heard.”

“The opponent will beg,” Aoi said. “Cry. Say they have kids. That they’re sorry. And if you kill them, you pass. If you don’t, you fail.”

Enma was quiet.

“Kuroda wants to see if you’re a monster or a martyr,” Aoi said. “Either way, he wins.”

Enma looked at his hands. The red was gone. For now.

“What did you do?” he asked.

Aoi frowned. “What?”

“When you were 8. And your grandfather...”

Aoi went still. “I ran,” she said. “I couldn’t do it.”

“So they did it for you.”

“Yeah.”

Enma nodded. “I won’t run.”

Aoi looked at him. “Enma...”

“I won’t run,” he repeated. “And I won’t kill.”

Aoi stared. “Then what will you do?”

Enma picked up the gray stone. “I’ll find a third option.”

Aoi laughed. Tired. “You always do.”

She stood to leave. At the door she stopped.

“Enma. If you hit 60% on Floor 10, the deal is void. I become Kuroda’s. And Jin...”

“I know,” Enma said.

Aoi left.

Enma laid back. Held the stone.

*CRIMSON SYNC: 9%*

_“There is no third option,”_ the King whispered. _“There’s kill or be killed.”_

Enma closed his eyes.

Tomorrow: Floor 10.

Tomorrow: The Executioner.

Tomorrow: He finds out if he’s human or not.

---