The wind stilled. The battlefield fell silent.

K's shadow towered over the cracked stone, his presence devouring the light itself. His laughter echoed low, cruel, resonant.

"Vince the Wandering Fist... look at your state."

The man before him smiled. His body bore scars of ages an arm lost, countless battles survived but his eyes still gleamed with the same indomitable light.

Vince rolled his shoulder, raised his remaining arm, and smirked.

"I still have this arm, don't I?"

A pause a grin.

"And this arm is enough to defeat the likes of you."

K's grin widened, voice dripping with mockery.

"Is that so… the Taishin Master, the Affinityless, still clinging to delusion."

But the air shifted.

A faint ripple ran through the ground like a heartbeat.

Vince stepped forward. The dust at his feet scattered, as if repelled by unseen force. His Shinrei though faint resonated with something deeper, older. It wasn't the brilliance of affinities nor the radiance of Vein Gates. It was the raw, unshaped rhythm of the flesh itself the Taishin Pulse.

K: "No Shinrei. No Affinity. No Gate. What drives you, old man?"

Vince: "Discipline. Will. And the spirit that refuses to bow."

Vince's stance lowered. His aura vanished entirely so still it frightened even K. Then, with a quiet exhale, Vince whispered:

"Taishin Form… Sixth Gate: Pulse Gate."

The world cracked.

A thunderclap burst under Vince's feet. His body blurred faster than sight, faster than thought. K barely raised his hand when Vince's fist crashed into his guard, the shockwave hurling them both backward.

The ground shattered for miles.

K twisted midair, recovering, eyes blazing. "You're still human!"

Vince landed hard, blood dripping from his knuckles. "And proud of it."

K extended his hand, the void behind him swirling into a vortex. "Then perish as one."

A spear of black light surged forward Void Art: Devouring Star.

But Vince didn't dodge. He stepped through it. His body moved in a rhythm beyond comprehension instinct, breath, and muscle aligned perfectly. The spear grazed him and vanished, the energy dispersed.

"Impossible." K hissed.

Vince's voice rang calm. "The Taishin Path isn't about power. It's about control. The flesh remembers what the soul forgets."

He closed his eyes.

"Taishin Gate — Seventh Limit Gate."

A golden crack of energy burst through his veins. His skin glowed faintly. For a moment, he looked like the embodiment of will itself.

Vince: "Now, come, Shadow. Let me show you the power of the Affinityless."

The ground quivered.

The air itself bent around Master Vince, trembling as if the very world feared what was about to awaken.

A golden crack ran down his body like lightning, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. Every breath he took rippled through the field like the roar of a slumbering beast, steady, unstoppable. His one arm clenched, veins glowing with molten light.

"Taishin Gate — Seventh Limit Gate: Soul Pulse!"

The world exploded with sound.

A single step from Vince shattered the ground beneath him, sending concentric rings of golden energy rippling outward. The sky above turned white, clouds dispersing in concentric halos. Even the Void around K distorted under the pressure.

K's grin faltered.

"What… is this pressure…? This isn't Shinrei! This is… raw existence!"

Vince lowered his stance, one knee bent, his fist resting at his hip. His aura was gone not suppressed, but transcended. What stood before them was not light nor darkness, it was will incarnate.

From the edge of the field, Juno watched, his eyes wide, his chest trembling.

With a low, reverent tone, he whispered, "Master… that's beyond Taishin… that's something else entirely."

Beside him, Ceyla's breath caught. The air stung her skin as if the world itself was vibrating.

"He's… fighting without Shinrei… and still overwhelming K…"

Andromeda's usual grin faded to awe. He muttered, "That's what true mastery looks like, huh… Junjun, even you're quiet."

His Echo Pet only gave a low, uncertain growl.

In the village below the battlefield, the people of Tashi had gathered at the ridge, the farmers, guards, even the children.

Captain Robi, the stout leader of the protector corps, gripped his spear so tightly it shook.

"That's… the Taishin Path…" he said, voice trembling.

An elder beside him wept openly. "So the Way of the Flesh still lives… after all this time…"

The villagers were Affinityless, every one of them — and yet as they watched Vince, their chests filled with pride.

They weren't powerless anymore. They saw what flesh, will, and heart could do against the darkness.

And they cried out —

"Taishin! Taishin lives!"

Vince's body trembled not from weakness, but from the sheer energy flowing through him.

He raised his fist.

The world dimmed.

The air quivered, sound bending.

"…Final Form — Earthshatter Pulse."

The ground beneath him turned to dust as he moved. There was no step, no warning one instant he was there, the next, he was everywhere.

His fist struck K's defense once.

A thunderclap. The tree behind them split.

K staggered, snarling, his Void armor splintering. Black tendrils lashed out like serpents, each infused with pure Void energy.

"You think a broken old man can challenge the Void!?" K roared.

"Old men built the roads you walk on," Vince said calmly, twisting his body.

Another strike his knee collided with K's ribs, sending him spiraling upward.

Vince followed, barefoot, leaping into the air as though gravity itself submitted. His body flickered midair Taishin movement, pure muscle control at its peak.

K's fury exploded. "Void Art: Eclipse Maw!"

A black vortex engulfed the sky, swallowing the light.

Vince's eyes hardened.

"Not this time."

He planted his foot midair Taishin Step — Sky Anchor!

A sonic boom cracked through the heavens.

He drove his fist forward. The golden energy around him condensed into a singular pulse, smaller than a breath and then, with a whisper, it detonated.

A sun bloomed in the middle of the storm.

K screamed his body flung backward, the Void Core within him fracturing.

On the ground, Juno shielded his eyes, shouting, "Master! The recoil—!"

But Vince only smiled through the light.

"Don't worry, Juno. A true Taishin never breaks, he bends."

When the light finally faded, both warriors stood motionless.

Vince's arm hung limp, his breathing shallow but he was still upright.

K staggered, his chest fractured with golden veins of energy, the Void leaking from within. His voice cracked with disbelief.

"You shattered… my Core…"

Vince straightened slowly, his eyes fierce even through exhaustion.

"No, K… I shattered your arrogance."

In the distance, the villagers fell to their knees, tears streaming down their faces.

Captain Robi raised his spear high and shouted,

"For Master Vince! For Tashi!"

The others joined, their voices echoing like thunder,

"Taishin lives! The Wandering Fist endures!"

Ceyla pressed a hand over her chest, whispering through tears, "He… did it."

Andromeda grinned again, shaky but proud. "That's our master's master. Damn legend."

Juno, silent for a long moment, bowed his head and murmured, "Thank you… for showing us again what it means to walk the Taishin Path."

Vince turned his gaze to the horizon, where K had vanished into the collapsing Void.

He exhaled softly. The golden cracks on his skin began to fade.

"One arm… one life… that's all I needed."

Then he looked to the sky, the clouds parted, sunlight bathing the ruins.

His voice was faint but sure.

"Tashi… is safe again."

To be continue

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