Renji, sitting inside the pilot cabin, grabbed a tape recorder and hit play.
The song started:
RAIN IN THE BLOOD
"What's wrong? You're scaring me. Are you okay, Renji?" The co pilot asked.
"Don't stress too much. You know what Ghost Hunters are capable of, TATSUYA said
"Just focus." Renji replied
The song began on 3... 2... 1...
From the tape came cinematic drums, piano, and a touch of guitar, playing from 0:00 to 0:10 seconds.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the flight,
Thornessa stood with closed eyes.
She felt like she was in a void complete darkness and silence. No flight, no fire, just blackness.
Cherry blossoms floated down from nowhere, looking beautiful.
She smiled naturally, showing her upper teeth, and whispered,
"Terravitae."
A small root sprouted from her ankle, duplicating and glowing golden.
Behind her grew huge cactus trees with sharp thorns.
Her body began to change her eyes turned pink with yellow pupils.
Tiny thorns sprouted all over her skin.
She yawned. When she opened her mouth,
her teeth were replaced by thorn-shaped fangs.
The song kicked in with a blend of male and female voices, mixed with autotune:
[Verse 1] Ash falls like snow from the heavens above Engines scream in a sky gone red Steel wings groan, the wind holds its breath
But he stands where no soul dares tread
Suddenly, the wind shifted, making Thornessa's hair flutter.
She realized it wasn't wind it was Mizukane.
Mizukane stood at the edge of the plane and leaped.
A dragon carrying Mizuno soared forward,
heading straight into the flames attacking them.
Mizukane ran on the dragon's back, his fist glowing blue with water dripping from it.
He jumped, pulled back his arm, and punched the fire.
A massive blast of steam exploded, hitting him in the face.
He fell.
But the dragon sped up, catching him on its back. It surged upward and dashed toward the plane's fans.
"Don't look at me. Do your job, Thornessa,"
Mizukane said. The dragon was flying so fast.
[Verse 2] Ghosts howl in fire, claws on the wind But he speaks with the sea in his veins Born of the wave, forged in the war He bends the storm to break their chains
Thornessa ran and jumped to the left side of the plane but didn't fall because roots connected her ankle to the rooftop.
She hung midair and spotted a fuel tank. She raised her ring finger, and it glowed green with leaf-like patterns.
A flame-shaped dragon approached. "Let's see who wins," he thought.
Mizukane leaped from the water dragon's back, and the fire dragon charged. They clashed, flooding the area with water.
The pilots peered out the window.
Callum looked outside.
"Feels like we're underwater... Just missing the fish."
[Chorus] He rides the rain on burning skies A river rising where fire flies From Tokyo's dusk, through thunder's gate He carries the weight of fate
A tidal shield, a blade of grace On metal wings in a dying place The fire may rage, the sky may fall But water answers every call
Suddenly a voice came from behind: "Hey, look! Is that Thornessa?" "Yeah, that's her."
Callum ran toward the sound. An old man peered through the window, others watching too.
Callum entered and saw Thornessa hanging, her legs barely touching the flight's surface.
[Verse 3] Shadows reach with a thousand cries But they drown in the flood he casts He is silence in the roar of death A whisper deeper than the past
Elsewhere, the flight struggled to keep flying.
Mizukane whispered, "Abortion."
Water surged toward him like a sinkhole pulling everything in but he did not stop swimming to the roof . Finally water has gone and now he is standing in the roof
The chaos stopped. The moon was waning, the night calm.
He lay on the rooftop, hearing taiko drums build, flute wails, and the storm swelling..
[Final Chorus] He rides the rain on burning skies A river rising where fire flies The world may burn, the heavens break But the sea walks where he wakes
A tidal shield, a soul reclaimed A hunter lost, yet never tamed No ghost can touch the storm he became A man of water, a name in flame
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING
The tape recorder stopped.
Thornessa stepped onto the roof and saw the bright full moon shining against the dark blue sky.
As she approached, she saw a shadow lying on the roof of the plane.
She walked over and lay down beside it, staring at the sky.
"I'm so tired today," he finally said.
"Too tired to even have sex?" Thornessa teased.
"Yeah, absolutely," he replied.
"Summoning dragons and unleashing DELUGE drains a lot of energy,"
He continued "I've only used DELUGE once, but summoned the dragon many times."
"I get it," she smiled.