Fire rained down upon the Architects' Domain.
One flame after another crashed into the floating grounds surrounding the castle.
The gardens that had once been peaceful were suddenly engulfed in chaos.
Trees caught fire.
Stone pathways cracked beneath the impact.
The castle walls trembled as flames spread across the surrounding grounds.
The Architects could only stare.
For a brief moment, nobody moved.
Then—
Mao opened her umbrella.
The falling flames struck its surface and immediately slid away, leaving her completely unharmed.
Kural raised his hand.
"Box."
A massive barrier formed around him, shielding him from the flames.
The old man lifted his cane.
His eyes narrowed as another wave of fire descended.
"...This is troublesome."
Time stepped forward.
"I need to fix this..."
He raised his cane.
The air became strangely quiet.
Then—
Everything stopped.
The flames froze in midair.
Smoke stopped drifting.
Even the falling embers remained suspended.
Time had stopped the world around them.
Only three people were still capable of moving.
Time.
Kural.
And Mao.
Mao slowly lowered her umbrella.
Her eyes immediately moved toward Sasaki.
He stood in the middle of the ruined grounds.
Completely still.
His expression was difficult to read.
Mao stared at him.
Then slowly began walking.
One step.
Then another.
She didn't know why she was approaching him.
Maybe she was afraid.
Maybe she was hoping.
Maybe some part of her still believed that the Sasaki she knew was somewhere inside him.
Mao finally reached him.
Her hand trembled.
She reached forward.
And gently grabbed his hand.
Tears began streaming down her face.
Sasaki didn't react.
He simply looked at her.
Mao's grip tightened.
"Sasaki..."
Her voice shook.
She looked up at him.
For a moment, their eyes met.
Mao froze.
Sasaki was looking directly at her.
Not through her.
Not past her.
At her.
Her breathing became unsteady.
"...Sasaki?"
Nothing.
His expression didn't change.
Mao slowly released his hand.
She took a step backward.
Her eyes filled with fear.
"No..."
She raised her hand.
Chains erupted from the ground.
They wrapped around Sasaki.
Mao clenched her fist.
"Please..."
The chains tightened.
Then—
Sasaki moved his hand.
He simply flicked them away.
The chains instantly burned to ash.
Mao's eyes widened.
Kural looked over.
"...What?"
He immediately raised his hand.
"Box."
A massive barrier formed around Sasaki.
The space inside the box began compressing.
Kural clenched his teeth.
"Come on..."
The barrier continued closing.
Then stopped.
Kural's expression changed.
The box wasn't touching Sasaki.
It had stopped around his silhouette.
As if something was preventing the barrier from reaching him.
"...Impossible."
Sasaki slowly raised his head.
Then—
He laughed.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't joyful.
It was quiet.
Almost empty.
Mao stared at him.
"Sasaki?"
Sasaki lifted one hand and covered his face.
His fingers slowly spread apart.
A sword formed in his other hand.
Dark energy gathered around him.
Then something appeared above his head.
A small crown.
Mao took another step backward.
Through the gaps between Sasaki's fingers—
Two golden-yellow eyes stared back at her.
The atmosphere changed.
Even Time's expression hardened.
Kural slowly lowered his fist.
"...That's not Sasaki."
The figure standing before them smiled.
The Coalescence had emerged.
Sivarnte lowered Sasaki's hand.
His gaze moved toward Mao.
He began walking toward her.
One step.
Two.
Mao didn't move.
She couldn't.
Sivarnte continued forward.
Deep inside his mind, Sasaki's voice echoed.
Don't kill Mao.
Sivarnte stopped.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Sivarnte walked past Mao.
He wasn't interested in her.
His attention had shifted toward the others.
Kural raised both fists.
"Alright."
He stepped forward.
"If that's how you want to do this..."
Time immediately moved as well.
He raised his cane.
"I'll rewind this."
The world around Sivarnte began to distort.
Time itself twisted.
But before the technique could take effect—
Sivarnte appeared directly in front of him.
Time's eyes widened.
Sivarnte grabbed his wrist.
The distortion immediately disappeared.
Time's cane fell slightly.
"...You stopped time?"
Sivarnte said nothing.
Kural suddenly appeared behind him.
"Got you."
He threw a punch.
Sivarnte didn't even look back.
He caught Kural's fist.
Kural's eyes widened.
Sivarnte turned his head slightly.
Then kicked him away.
Kural flew across the ground.
He quickly caught himself and looked up.
Sivarnte had already raised his sword.
The blade pointed toward Kural.
Mao's eyes widened.
"Sasaki!"
Sivarnte stopped.
The sword remained suspended in the air.
His golden eyes slowly shifted toward Mao.
She stared back at him.
Tears were still running down her face.
"...Please."
Sivarnte remained silent.
His grip around the sword slowly loosened.
The crown above his head began to fade.
The sword disappeared.
The golden color in his eyes vanished.
Sasaki lowered his hand.
His eyes had returned to their usual gray.
He looked down at Kural.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Sasaki straightened his clothes.
He adjusted his tie.
"Ahem."
He calmly looked around.
"Please forgive my rudeness."
He placed one hand against his chest.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"I am Sasaki Oyuki."
He paused.
"Architect of Stars."
The others stared at him.
Sasaki's smile widened slightly.
"And I have come back to help."
Mao stared at him.
She couldn't speak.
She had just watched something else take control of the person she cared about.
And now he was standing in front of her again.
Like nothing had happened.
Her legs suddenly gave out.
Mao collapsed.
Sasaki's expression immediately changed.
"Mao?"
She looked at him for a few seconds.
Her eyes were heavy.
Then she quietly closed them.
Her body went limp.
Sasaki caught her before she hit the ground.
He gently lifted her into his arms.
Kural slowly got back to his feet.
Time lowered his cane.
Neither of them said anything.
Sasaki looked toward Mao.
Then carried her toward the castle.
Inside the castle, Sasaki carefully placed Mao down.
He looked around.
The damage outside was still everywhere.
Burned gardens.
Destroyed pathways.
Ruined structures.
Sasaki raised his hand.
"Reverse Recovery."
A wave of energy spread throughout the Architects' Domain.
The flames vanished.
The damaged ground repaired itself.
The trees returned.
The gardens bloomed again.
Cracked stone restored itself.
Even the destroyed sections of the castle returned to their original state.
Within moments, the Domain looked exactly as it had before the attack.
Sasaki lowered his hand.
He stood silently for a moment.
Then looked back toward the others.
His expression became serious.
"I'm sorry."
Kural looked at him.
Sasaki's eyes lowered.
"For letting Siv kill Love."
He paused.
His fingers tightened slightly.
"It won't happen again."
Nobody answered.
Sasaki turned away.
And quietly walked deeper into the castle.