Cycles of Eternity

The stench of sulfur filled the room, oppressive and dense. Each breath Raku took was a struggle as he faced the monster standing before him: a hellish being with three dog heads, each exhaling smoke and small flames. The cerberus' body was covered in pitch-black fur, interrupted by glowing fiery marks that burned on its skin like embers. Its eyes were empty voids radiating malevolence, and its imposing figure seemed to fill the entire room. 

Raku gripped tightly the weapon he had taken from one of the skeletons on the lower floors—a spear reinforced with metal that seemed barely enough to face the creature before him. 

The first attack came quickly. One of the monster's heads roared, causing the walls to tremble, then opened its jaws and unleashed a stream of flames that bathed the room in red and gold hues. 

"Damn it!" Raku shouted, rolling to the side, narrowly dodging the fire. Even so, the searing heat singed the edge of his clothing, and sweat began to drip down his face. 

The monster didn't relent. The other two heads moved in perfect synchrony, slashing with claws and spewing fire. Raku kept moving, striking when he could, but each blow seemed insignificant. The spear barely scratched the cerberus' tough hide, while each of the beast's attacks pushed him closer to exhaustion. 

During one clash, the cerberus blocked his attack with one head and countered with a swipe that sent Raku crashing to the ground. The impact knocked the air out of him momentarily. 

"I can't... give up," he muttered, struggling to his feet, using his spear as if it were the only thing holding him up. 

He charged again, aiming for one of the heads, but the monster reacted quickly. One of its jaws clamped down on the spear, snapping it in two with a dry crunch. The metallic shards clattered to the ground, leaving Raku disarmed and vulnerable. 

"No... It can't end like this!" he exclaimed, backing away as he desperately calculated his options. 

With no weapon, he was forced to resort to hand-to-hand combat. Every move was desperate: dodging swipes, throwing punches and kicks that barely made an impact. But his luck ran out when one of the heads clamped its jaws directly onto his left arm. 

The pain was unbearable. 

"AHHHHHHHHH!" 

Raku let out a gut-wrenching scream as he felt the monster's fangs tear through flesh and bone. With a brutal jerk, the Cerberus wrenched his arm off completely, flinging him against one of the room's walls. 

The impact was harsh. Raku crumpled to the ground, hitting it hard as his vision blurred. The sound of his blood dripping rapidly to the floor filled his ears. Struggling, he raised his gaze and saw the monster slowly advancing toward him, each step a harbinger of death. 

Pain burned through his body, and exhaustion began to overwhelm him. His mind started to drift, and memories surged forward. 

It was a sunny day in the backyard of his home. A six-year-old Raku was happily chasing a ball. His mother watched him from the window with a smile, while his father tossed the ball gently to him. 

"Harder, Dad!" Raku yelled, laughing. 

"If I throw it harder, it'll fly over the wall!" his father joked, throwing the ball with a little more force. 

His childhood had been happy, filled with quiet moments alongside his parents. The yakuza clan into which he was born wasn't a place of peace, but for him, his parents had always been a source of stability. He remembered how they smiled at him, caring for him and guiding him down a path that seemed inevitable. His father, the clan's leader, had always been a strong, respected man. His mother, a serene woman, always looked out for his well-being. 

It was a life that seemed predestined for him. 

But everything changed one night. 

Raku sat on the sofa, staring impatiently at the clock. His parents had gone out together hours earlier and hadn't returned. When he asked the clan members, their answers were evasive, as though they were hiding something. 

Finally, the door opened. His father stumbled in, a deep cut across his face and his suit torn. 

"Dad!" Raku shouted, running toward him. 

His father barely managed to stay upright as he embraced Raku with a trembling hand. 

"Where's Mom?" Raku asked, his voice full of worry. 

"She... she's in the hospital, son. But don't worry, she'll be fine," his father replied in a strained tone, trying to sound calm. 

But Raku knew something was wrong. Something had happened, something they didn't want to tell him. That night, his father didn't tell him the truth. It was then that Raku began to hate the idea of following in his father's footsteps, of becoming the yakuza clan's leader. He couldn't bear it. 

From that moment on, he isolated himself, distancing from everything he knew, searching for a way to escape a fate he didn't want. For a long time, he lived in that emptiness, unable to find his place in the world. 

But years later, he met Shirogami and the rest of the group. For the first time since that dark day, he found people who didn't judge him, who accepted him for who he was. Slowly, he began to open up again, to laugh, to trust. And with that, he made a silent promise: to protect them all, no matter the cost. 

The present hit him again with full force. There he was, facing death, his blood pooling around him. But something inside him ignited. 

"I can't fail them... Not now," he whispered, his voice trembling but resolute. 

A searing heat began to surge from deep within. Images of his mother, father, Shirogami, Eriri, Kaori, Shizuku, Onodera... all of them filled his mind. And with them, an unyielding determination. 

Suddenly, his body was engulfed in furious flames. They weren't ordinary—they burned bright red mixed with golden hues, seeming to ignite not just his body but his very soul. 

Raku gritted his teeth and, with a decisive movement, pressed the flames against his wounded arm, cauterizing it. The pain was excruciating, but he didn't let out a single cry. 

Slowly, he stood up, stumbling at first, but with each step, his stance grew steadier. The flames around him intensified, illuminating the room with a blinding light. 

The cerberus halted, confused by its prey's sudden transformation. For the first time, it stepped back, letting out a low growl. 

Raku lifted his gaze, his eyes glowing with renewed ferocity. 

"This isn't over," he declared, his voice echoing with a strength that didn't seem his own. 

With the flames dancing around him, Raku charged forward, ready to prove that even in the darkest adversity, a determined heart can burn as fiercely as an unstoppable wildfire.