At first, the light caught me off guard. When it finally faded, I froze.
My daggers… were gone. In their place lay a weapon unlike anything I had ever seen—
a white katana, its blade gleaming like moonlight, its handle etched with deep violet details that seemed to pulse faintly.
I picked it up carefully. My reflection in the steel was distorted, almost as if the blade itself was alive. Beautiful, yes—but terrifying. This was no ordinary weapon.
The longer I stared at it, the stronger the thought grew inside me: this sword could cut through anything… not just flesh, not just steel, but even the massive boulder back at the beach.
"You're right."
The voice came from the corner of the room.
My body went rigid. I was supposed to be alone.
I whipped my head around—and there he was. A man, lounging casually on the red sofa. His golden hair shimmered in the dim light, and his face wore a lazy, almost mocking expression.
I raised the katana instantly, my stance steady. Yosuke had trained me in countless weapons, and I had mastered them all. I was ready to fight.
But this man… he had no presence. Not even a whisper of life-force. My instincts screamed that he shouldn't exist at all.
He stood slowly, his black, empty eyes locked onto mine.
"Hey, myself," he said, raising a hand as if in greeting. "Miss me?"
A shiver shot down my spine. His smile widened.
"Who… who are you?" I demanded, tightening my grip on the sword.
"You are me," he replied softly. "And I am you."
He stepped closer. The dim light shifted, revealing his face—clear, undeniable.
It was me.
The man standing before me was Sai. Another Sai. A Sai from that cursed dimension.
JIRO IKIGAI
"We're leaving now?" I asked.
"Yes. Right now," Taro replied firmly.
Finally—after two and a half long years—we were leaving the motel.
Yuri and I had trained tirelessly under Taro during this time. Now, at last, we would move forward.
"I wonder how they'll look after so long," Yuri said, her voice carrying both hope and nerves.
I nodded. I couldn't agree more.
The plan was to reunite after three full years. There was still half a year left… but waiting here any longer felt unbearable.
Taro had made the decision—we were heading for Yoshi Village. It was far, but it was better than rotting away in the same place, clinging to memories.
So we packed what little we had and began our journey.
NARRATOR
At that very moment…
Sai stood face-to-face with himself.
Yosuke had stepped into another dimension.
And Taro, Jiro, and Yuri were on the road toward Yoshi Village.
Then, without warning, it happened.
Across the world, every being felt it—
a presence so overwhelming, so absolute, that the air itself seemed to tremble.
A force that pressed down on every soul, crushing, suffocating, reminding them how small they truly were.
And then—just as suddenly as it came—it vanished.
But the aftermath was undeniable.
From the sky, fragments began to fall. Strange, glowing stones of pure magic, scattering across the earth.
This was no accident.
Only one being—or one thing—could unleash such a terrifying event.