Geko is standing behind the throne of Ishi, in a room, lighted with candles.
Ishi asks:
"Your presence here tells me enough… you've been appointed as his right hand, have you not?"
Geko replies:
"Yes, I managed to play some cards against them."
Ishi says:
"Very well... now I want you to do as I said before."
Geko nods:
"Sure, I'll take him there."
(Opening)
As the vibrant chime of the Seiryo High School bell echoes through the halls, students spring to their feet, a ripple of energy surging through the crowd.
Laughter and chatter fill the air as they gather their belongings, eager to spill into the evening, each one fueled by the anticipation of freedom and the adventures that await beyond the school gates.
Marshal peeks at the chair kept beside his own. He sighs and thinks:
"She took a random off day..."
He hears a voice from behind:
"Ayee, Marshal!"
Marshal looks behind and sees a boy with light blue hair:
"Oh, Yusuke?!"
Yusuke asks:
"Are you free today?"
"I was wondering if we could hang out just like before."
Marshal replies:
"Nah! I can't hang out today because I will be a little busy."
Yusuke questions:
"Aren't you free from today's after-school duties?"
Marshal replies:
"I have some other wo-"
They both hear someone yelling in the hallway:
"MaRshAl!"
The door of the classroom opens. A girl with sea-green colored hair enters. She grabs his collar and speaks:
"Didn't the student council order you to do something?"
He says to Yusuke:
"Did you hear it?"
Yusuke isn't there—he ran away in fear. The girl leaves his collar. Marshal stands:
"Thank you, Suzu-Senpai!"
Suzu waves her hand in his hair:
"Did I hurt you? I am sorry. It's just I am soooo bad at acting."
He shakes his head:
"Nah! You are better than I am at it."
She, in excitement, questions:
"Oh yeah, what level am I?"
"Intermediate or Professional?"
He—dead serious—speaks:
"You are a beginner because I don't do acting at all."
She falls on the ground:
"Ughh! You are soooo mean..."
She grabs his ear:
"I hate youuuu!"
He asks:
"Can I leave now?"
She sighs and lets him go. Before leaving he says:
"Thanks again for helping me."
Suzu—seeing her nails—replies:
"Oh! My pleasure, cutie."
Marshal walks away thinking:
"What a great senpai I have."
He moves left—passing by a door—while continuing his thoughts:
"I was thinking about something, but I can't remember it now."
The door of the classroom opens and a girl pulls him inside. She pushes his back towards a table and gently holds his face.
She whispers:
"I... missed you so much!"
He whispers back:
"Hanae Senpai?"
(PAUSE)
Marshal is sitting on top of a building—in his alien form. He is eating
popcorn while looking at the city—he says:
"Hi, there!"
He looks in front of him:
"Yeah, you, the one who's reading it... c'mon, I am metaphysical, and when Sage gets too lazy... I can take over the story.
Heheh! Do you know who pulled me in the classroom? I am going to tell you about her. Because we aren't going for normal introductions anymore.
Her name is Hanae Miyu... she is the president of our Student Council. She once proposed to me, but I rejected her.
Let's forget that and lemme clarify one of your thoughts. Marshal if you were there then what are you doing here? I will say... Doesn't it fit my Everywhere yet Nowhere type of paradoxical state? Anyway, go back to the story now!"
(RESUME)
Miyu places her finger on his lips:
"Ssssshhhhhh!"
She grabs his hand and holds it. The distance between their lips slowly starts to vanish.
Marshal in his mind:
"Should I get excited or fear? Nahh, I reject both."
He snaps his fingers—time stops—and he runs away. After leaving his school, he snaps—letting the time run again.
He sighs while walking towards a vending machine. He stands there and picks a drink from it.
Everyone from the building is gone. After sitting on a bench, Marshal opens his drink and takes a sip.
He hears a voice; someone saying to him:
"Something in you makes the reason why the Gates of Tusatra chose you even stronger."
Marshal looks beside and sees Geko sitting with a warm smile on his face:
"Oh, Geko-san!"
Geko asks:
"How are you doing, Marshal?"
Marshal smiles:
"I am doing... great. What about you?"
Geko says:
"I am doing very well too."
Marshal asks:
"Why did you come here?"
Geko looks at the playground while saying:
"I apologise for not informing you... The Elders of Skyward Society have made me your right hand."
Marshal points his finger at his own face:
"My right hand?"
Geko nods.
Marshal says:
"Wait, Miss Shikiya didn't tell me anything about it."
Geko replies:
"Didn't Naoya say they won't be calling you for random reasons?!"
Marshal—takes a sip of his drink:
"I see! So the decision was made after I left."
Geko—takes a deep breath:
"I am the only one free in the Skyward Society. I've been there from the start and I know what I should do in certain situations like this..."
Marshal closes his eyes:
"If you are going to be my right hand. Does it make me the tenth Elder of this society?"
Geko chuckles:
"No, hehe!"
After some minutes, Marshal asks:
"But, why?"
Geko replies:
"Elders are those who made the Skyward Society itself. If I am your right hand, it doesn't make you an Elder, but it might suggest that the Elders accept you as their member only."
Marshal stays silent.
Geko moves his finger to open a portal:
"I would like you to follow me. There is something I want to show you."
Marshal says:
"Sure!"
Geko takes Marshal in front of a stone—kept in a jungle, in front of a cave. There is a half-embedded katana constantly emitting black particles.
Marshal looks at it.
Geko says:
"Shi no Karasu!"
(Trans. Death Crow)
Marshal's eyes seem to drift into an endless abyss, reflecting a deep sense of emptiness, as he mumbles:
"Death you say? Because this weapon is much more beautiful than anyone can think of."
Geko with a confident smile on his face:
"Where others fear its deadly presence, a Supreme falls in love with it."
Marshal slowly nods.
Geko continues speaking:
"Throughout history, there is no open record whether the Supreme Entities of Nothingness existed or not. Everyone tried to gain knowledge through the Gates of Tusatra, because they were the main source, that prepared them.
This Katana you see here—according to all the Ancient Giants—is the only record that even in the past the Supreme Entities of Nothingness really existed."
Marshal asks:
"Does it represent something?"
Geko points at its blade:
"The will and power of all Supreme Entities of Nothingness is here in this Katana.
These black radiation are actually particles of Empo, and the only one who can hold it in this whole verse is you."
Marshal walks near it. Geko says:
"You should giv-"
Marshal interrupts by asking:
"Why are you standing so far away?"
Geko replies:
"I may be powerful, but right now my body isn't capable of handling the Empo that this katana holds. So I can wait here."
Marshal stands near the stone—his one leg is on top of it, and his other leg on the ground—mumbles:
"Let's give it a try!"
Marshal grips his hands on its handle (Tsuka). His alien form automatically takes over his body.
The sky turns black—full of clouds and thunder. The hum of the wind starts increasing, and the leaves on the trees start to burn with black fire.
Geko moves his fingers to create a shield (barrier) around his body. Marshal doesn't care about his surroundings—he focuses on pulling the katana out.
As soon as the curved edge (Boshi) of the katana is revealed, a sudden burst of energy throws Marshal far away alongside the katana.
The stone—in which it was embedded—breaks. Marshal is lying on the ground, his one hand is holding the katana.
Marshal mumbles:
"Is it... mine now?!"
Geko after sitting beside him replies:
"Yes, as long as you live, it will stay with you, and once you die... it will come back here in this stone."
Marshal says:
"Hmm! And once it comes back here it will then contain my will and power too, isn't it?"
Geko nods:
"You are not the first to touch Shi no Karasu, nor will you be the last. But now, the blade has accepted you — as its Successor. The Successor of the Black Crow."
Marshal looks at it:
"Sounds like I'm really carrying the will and power of all those Supreme Entities who came before me."
Geko replies:
"Yes, you are."
Marshal holds the hand of Geko and starts running:
"Geko-san, I want to test it out."
Geko in confusion:
"You want to try its abilities on me?"
Marshal shakes his head:
"A week ago, before the Gates of Tusatra were opened, I heard in the news that some students were missing with no significant progress in their cases."
Geko says:
"Oh, I get it now... are we going to rescue them?"
Marshal in excitement:
"Exactly! It's going to be our first mission together... The mission to fight against this crime back in Yokohama."
Geko snaps his fingers and the portal opens in front of them:
"Let's rescue them!"
Marshal replies:
"Yeah, the katana has already started to give me signals, and I can sense where they are."
They both jump into the portal. Marshal's thought echoes:
"I also want to see how powerful you are, Geko-san. This way I'll be able to decide whether you should stay as my right hand or not."
(Ending)