Divine Emperor In Another World

Episode 28: The Marionette's Theatre

The stairway twisted into darkness, stone bleeding into wood, mist into velvet curtains.

When the three emerged, they stood not in a cavern but on a stage. Rows of shadowed seats stretched into infinity, filled with faceless silhouettes that clapped with hollow hands.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

A spotlight snapped open above them, blinding, painting them as actors caught in someone else's play.

[System Alert: Zone Progress – 57% → 66%]

[Entering: The Marionette's Theatre]

[Warning: Cognitive Control Hazard – Extreme]

The air itself shifted—thick strings of silver light descended from above, attaching to their wrists, their shoulders, their necks.

Elira flinched, frostfire sparking instinctively. Akira's hand went for his katana, but it was too late. The strings yanked taut.

Their bodies jerked.

---

Kuro hissed, pulling against the invisible force. "Tch—what is this?!"

From the seats rose a figure cloaked in crimson velvet, a mask of porcelain hiding its face. Its voice echoed, smooth and theatrical.

"Welcome, little actors, to the grand stage. Here, you will dance to the strings of your own weaknesses. Fight, perform, bleed—for the audience craves tragedy."

The faceless silhouettes clapped again, laughter echoing like broken bells.

Akira growled. His arms moved against his will, his blades rising as if guided by a cruel puppeteer. "No—stop…!"

His katana slashed toward Kuro in a blur of steel.

Kuro parried just in time, sparks scattering.

"Elira—!"

But she too staggered, strings jerking her forward, frostfire lancing toward him in a spiraling spear. Her eyes widened in horror. "Kuro, I can't—stop myself—!"

---

The stage exploded with chaos.

Akira's blades struck relentlessly, his voice torn between rage and desperation. Elira's frostfire clashed with Kuro's emberlight, spirals of flame and ice tearing across the boards.

The masked conductor raised a hand, strings tightening. "Magnificent! Betrayal, despair, love undone—it makes for such exquisite theatre."

The audience roared in hollow laughter, stomping their feet.

Kuro gritted his teeth, emberblade locking against Akira's katana. His eyes blazed, refusing to waver. "No. This isn't their show. It's ours!"

He forced his flame outward, burning at the silver strings latching to his wrists. They sizzled but didn't break. The control pressed heavier, dragging him toward the role the theatre demanded: victim, betrayed by allies.

---

Elira's body shook violently as her frostfire lashed. Tears burned in her violet eyes. "I don't want to hurt you!"

Kuro turned toward her, even as Akira's blade nearly cut across his side. His voice boomed, unshakable. "Then don't let them decide for you. You are not a puppet. You are Elira!"

Her heart jolted. His words cut through the haze, but the strings still pulled, grinding against her soul. The system screamed:

[Warning: Subject Elira – Autonomy Erosion 68% → 79%]

She screamed, frostfire bursting outward. "No! I won't be their doll!"

The frostfire flared so violently it seared her own skin. But in that agony, the strings snapped, one by one.

Shhhk—!

She collapsed to her knees, free, gasping.

---

Akira wasn't so lucky. His swords flashed with murderous intent, strings yanking tighter. His pupils dilated, his jaw clenched in agony.

"Kuro… kill me before I—"

"Shut up!" Kuro roared, blocking both blades in a shower of sparks. "I'm not losing you to a bunch of shadows!"

He slammed his emberblade against Akira's, forcing him back, but the strings burrowed deeper, embedding into his very veins.

The conductor's laugh rang out. "Yes, strike him down! Make his death your crescendo!"

The faceless crowd erupted into applause.

---

Kuro's fire surged, eyes burning brighter. He sheathed his blade in both hands, his voice steady and iron.

"You want tragedy? Too bad. This isn't your theatre."

His emberlight burst upward, igniting the strings tethered to the rafters. The flames roared across the stage, consuming the false stars above.

The masked conductor staggered, screeching as its porcelain mask cracked. "Impossible—!"

But still, Akira's strings clung, dragging him toward Kuro with merciless force.

"Damn it!" Akira shouted, sweat dripping down his jaw. "I can't break them!"

Elira staggered up, frostfire wings spreading. Her voice rang across the stage.

"Then I'll cut them!"

She slashed her frostfire into the threads binding Akira. They hissed, resisting, but the combined force of her frost and Kuro's flame seared them into ash.

Akira collapsed to his knees, free at last. His chest heaved, fury in his eyes. "That… was way too close."

---

The conductor shrieked, raising its hands. The entire audience of faceless silhouettes rose, strings jerking them into twisted marionette soldiers. Their hollow mouths opened, releasing a deafening chorus.

"DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!"

The shadows lunged onto the stage in a tidal wave.

Akira's katana spun in a deadly arc, cutting down the first wave. "Finally—something I can kill!"

Elira's frostfire spears impaled rows of puppets, shattering them into shards. Her breath still trembled, but her eyes burned with defiance.

Kuro raised his emberblade high, flame spiraling around him. "Burn their stage to the ground!"

---

The battle raged like a storm.

Puppets swarmed from every direction, strings tightening and pulling their corpses back up even after death. Akira tore through them with savage precision, but for every ten he cut, twenty rose.

Elira's frostfire wings slashed across the stage, freezing puppets solid before shattering them with a single burst. Yet more kept crawling.

The conductor screamed from the balcony, its strings weaving endlessly. "Your fates belong to me! You will dance until you are nothing!"

Kuro's fury flared. He leapt onto the rafters, emberblade blazing like a second sun. "No—we write our own fates!"

He carved through the web of strings overhead, igniting them in a cascade of fire. The entire theatre shook, curtains burning, seats collapsing into ash.

The faceless crowd screamed and melted into smoke.

The conductor screeched, its mask finally shattering, revealing a hollow void beneath. "CURSE YOU—!"

Kuro drove his emberblade straight through its chest.

Flame erupted, consuming it utterly.

---

Silence fell.

The stage crumbled, the theatre dissolving into mist. Only the three of them remained, standing on scorched boards.

[System Notice: Marionette's Theatre Cleared]

[Zone Progress – 66% → 78%]

[Frostfire Pact Resonance – 79%]

Akira panted, wiping his blade clean. "…I hate puppets."

Elira exhaled shakily, her frostfire dimming. She turned to Kuro, her voice soft. "You… pulled me free again."

Kuro met her gaze, warmth flickering in his emberlight eyes. "You didn't need me. You broke your strings yourself."

For a heartbeat, silence lingered—just their eyes locked, closer than either expected.

Akira groaned loudly, shoving his blade back in its sheath. "If you two are gonna make heart-eyes again, at least wait until after we're out of this cursed labyrinth."

Elira flushed, snapping her gaze away. Kuro only smirked faintly.

---

The stage split open, revealing another stairway descending into abyssal dark. Mist bled from it, heavier than before—thick, suffocating, dripping with whispers.

[System Alert: Next Zone – The Grave of Eternal Echoes]

[Warning: Soul Imprint Hazard – Maximum Tier]

Kuro's eyes narrowed, emberblade humming faintly at his side. "…This one's going to be worse."

Elira steadied herself, frostfire flaring in her palms. "Then we face it together."

Akira cracked his neck, smirking despite the exhaustion. "Good. I'm ready for round three."

And with that, they descended once more—into the deepest whisper of the labyrinth yet.

---

[To Be Continued…]