—
Silence.
The kind that settles after a storm—unnatural and heavy. Smoke spiraled through the clouds, cloaking the shattered skyline in a haze of ash and flickering light.
Hoshiro landed hard on one knee atop a collapsed broadcast tower. His mask was cracked nearly in half. Blue energy still sparked from his limbs, but it was dimming fast. The last exchange had drained him more than he let on.
Far above, Amaterasu hovered erratically. One wing flickered, barely stable. Its golden halo—once pristine—now hung lopsided, fractured like stained glass.
"It's injured," Kazuki said, watching the feed through a distorted lens. "You did it, man… You actually wounded a god."
"No," Hoshiro muttered, rising shakily. "I reminded it that it can bleed."
Ayame appeared beside him, panting, her blade steaming with heat. "I finished the binding seal. We have one shot before it resets its structure."
The god screamed again, this time in a voice that sounded more human. Almost… frightened.
Hoshiro steadied his breathing. "Then let's end this."
He leapt again—this time with Ayame beside him. Their auras combined mid-air, blue and crimson spiraling in harmony.
The moment their blades struck Amaterasu's core, light shattered in every direction.
—
In the fallout, the clouds parted.
The god was gone.
But where it vanished… something was left behind.
A child.
Unconscious. Glowing faintly. And wearing Hoshiro's old school uniform.
"What the hell?" Kazuki muttered.
Hoshiro's eyes widened. "That's… me?"
—