I AM EXTRA IN A SHONEN MANGA

Kaen stirred, eyes fluttering open. The first thing he saw was the blurred figure beside him, Khael, battered and bruised, but still there.

"You're awake." Khael's voice was quiet, yet steady.

Kaen blinked, the memories crashing back. His chest tightened, tears flooding his eyes.

"I… I remember… you saved me, Khael. I'm… I'm sorry." His voice broke, and he wept, his body trembling.

"I tried to stop it… but it wouldn't listen to me. My body… it wouldn't listen…"

Khael studied him, expression unreadable. His thoughts cut deep.

"(This kid… he's still only thirteen years old…)"

Footsteps approached.

Rael, his body already mended by his Bloom Affinity and Seraphis' healing, walked with a stern expression.

Lira limped forward too, still hurt but her spirit unbroken.

Juno and Ceyla followed both standing tall, their Echoes ready if needed.

Kaen looked at all of them, shame twisting his face.

"Guys… I'm so sorry."

Rael crossed his arms, his gaze sharp.

"Hmph. Next time you lose control again… I'll be the one to kill you."

Kaen froze, swallowing hard.

"…gulp…"

Lira rushed forward before Kaen could respond, throwing her arms around him.

"Kaen… thank the gods you're okay."

"O-Ouch, ouch!" Kaen winced, his ribs still sore.

"Ah! Sorry!" Lira let go quickly, cheeks flushing.

Ceyla gave a short laugh.

"Heh. Same old, reckless bitch."

Juno's gaze, however, lingered not on Kaen, but on Khael.

Khael wiped the sweat from his brow, sitting down heavily beside his friend. His breaths were shallow, every movement weighed down by fatigue.

Ceyla crouched, concern softening her features.

"Are you okay?"

Khael gave a faint smile, shaking his head.

"I'm fine… just need some rest."

Then—

A slow, mocking voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Hoh… seems like a lot is going on here."

A cry followed.

"Bastard! Let me go!!!"

Everyone turned.

From the shattered temple gates emerged a figure shrouded in crawling voidflame. Even the Temple Guardians, Warrior Orders clad in sacred armor—froze at the sight. Echo Priests and Priestesses fell silent, Shinrei trembling in their hands.

He dragged a boy no older than ten by the collar. The child kicked and screamed in vain.

The figure stepped into the light.

The Cursed Eclipse Lord.

Lord Veymorr—The Eclipse of Wrath.

Lira's voice faltered.

"…It can't be."

Khael's blood ran cold, his eyes widening.

"Impossible… how can you be unsealed?"

The monster smirked, his voice like steel grinding against bone.

"Well… the Eclipse of Jealousy unsealed me before that rotten void swallowed her whole."

Kaen's fists clenched, his teeth grinding.

"Let that boy go!!"

Rael's hand gripped the hilt of his blade—Seireiken, the Spirit Sword. The air shimmered as its spirit aura flared.

Juno slid into his Taishin stance, eyes narrowing like a drawn bow.

Ceyla's thoughts sharpened, her pulse racing.

"(This bastard's Shinrei… it's enormous. No—it's monstrous.)"

Khael tried to rise, his body trembling, but his voice cut through.

"Guys… you can't win this. He's too strong."

Kaen struggled as well, planting a shaky hand on the ground. His aura flickered weakly, but his eyes burned with fire.

Lira's Bloom Affinity surged once more, her petals shimmering with determination.

"We have to protect the boy first!"

Khael raised his voice, glaring at Veymorr.

"Let that kid go! He hasn't done anything to you!"

The Eclipse Lord sneered, tightening his grip on the child.

"This boy killed Jealousy… during the moment of my release."

Gasps broke from the Priests and Guardians. The child struggled, his face pale, but his eyes unyielding.

Kaen growled, staggering upright.

"That's wrong! I was the one who beat the shit out of that bastard! Jealousy was already dying! It should be me you're after—not him!!"

The void around Veymorr flared, his crimson eye glinting with malice.

The air grew heavy.

Even the bravest warriors faltered.

And in that suffocating silence, a single truth sank in:

The Eclipse of Wrath had returned.

The air was suffocating under Veymorr's voidfire. Then, a voice—hoarse but commanding—cut through the chaos.

"Serin!!"

Kaen spun around, eyes widening.

From the rubble staggered a familiar figure, wrapped in bandages, his once-proud armor cracked and bloodstained.

"Captain… Kaedros?!" Kaen's voice shook.

"I thought you were dead… I thought Jealousy killed you!"

The man gave a broken laugh, leaning on his blade for support. His steps were slow, but his presence was unyielding.

"It takes a lot more than that to kill me."

Gasps rippled through the Guardians and Priests. The Captain of the Order, believed fallen, still stood scarred, barely healed, yet alive.

Kaedros' aura flickered like a dying flame, but his eyes blazed with defiance.

Veymorr threw his head back, laughing, his voice rumbling like thunder.

"Kehahaha… this is going to be fun!" His grip tightened on Serin's collar, the boy dangling like a ragdoll in his shadow.

Serin's eyes burned not with fear, but fury.

"Don't fight him!!!" His voice cracked, raw with desperation.

"You're all going to die in vain! Don't… don't pretend to be heroes! And don't you dare think I need saving!!"

His fists trembled, nails digging into his palms.

Inside, his thoughts clawed at him like blades:

"(You'll all die… just like my father did…)"

Kaen's aura flared, fire sparking violently off his skin. He snapped, his voice roaring like thunder.

"Shut up, you brat!!"

Serin's head whipped toward him, eyes wide in disbelief.

"What? What did you say?!"

Before Kaen could spit fire again, Khael stepped forward, his voice steady, carrying the weight of truth.

"He said… don't say a word like that. Don't pretend you don't need saving—because clearly… you do."

Serin trembled, biting his lip hard.

"No… if you save me… you'll just end up dying. Just like him… just like my father…"

Kaen's teeth ground together, rage burning in his chest, but beneath it—something else. A refusal. A fire that would not break.

He bellowed, his voice shaking the air.

"You brat—we won't die. I won't die. Not until I achieve my dream!!"

Serin's eyes widened, stunned.

"…What makes you say that?"

Kaen grinned, bloody and defiant, slamming his fist against his chest.

"Because that's my motto, da!!"

The words rang out like a war cry, cutting through fear and doubt, igniting the air around him.

Serin's breath hitched. His eyes clouded as fragments of memory clawed their way back.

The village of Heliana burning.

His father's back standing tall against the tide of shadows.

That voice firm, steady, even as death closed in.

"Protect them, Serin… live."

And then, that final smile bright, unbroken before the darkness swallowed him.

Serin's fists clenched so tight his nails drew blood. His throat tore with a shout:

"No! You're going to die just like my father!!"

The air stilled. Everyone froze.

Khael's gaze sharpened, the weight of understanding flickering in his eyes.He knew. He knew because, unlike the others, he had seen the pages, he had read the tale that shaped Serin's pain.

He stepped forward, his voice low, steady, cutting through the noise.

"Your father… even though I didn't know him… from the way you speak, from the way you tremble—it's clear to me. He died sacrificing his life… for you."

Serin whipped his head toward him, fury and grief twisting his young face.

"What do you know about him?! He died like an idiot! They call him a hero, but to me… he was just stupid!"

The words cracked, venom and grief tangled together. His small frame shook, not just from rage, but from the unbearable weight of memory.

From the side, Kaen's jaw tightened, eyes blazing, while Rael and Lira exchanged grim glances, silent but shaken.

Above it all, the oppressive void presence of Veymorr lingered.

The Eclipse Lord's lips curled into a dark grin, his voice rumbling like distant thunder.

"Heh… yes… this is entertaining. Struggle. Break. Show me how fragile your little convictions truly are."

The tension swelled, the clash of belief, trauma, and cruelty spiraling tighter and tighter, like a bowstring about to snap.

To be continue