Two days had passed since Kato was taken by Gaki and his men, though time inside the room felt warped, stretched thin and meaningless. The darkness never truly lifted. It clung to the walls, the ceiling, even to his thoughts, as if the room itself was swallowing him whole.
He had no way to tell when day ended and night began. The only proof that time was still moving came when the door creaked open and a tray of food was shoved inside, a brief slash of light cutting across the floor before vanishing again.
Those moments of light were almost cruel. They reminded him of everything he'd lost; sunlight through his bedroom window, the noise of the city outside, his normal life.
As soon as the door shut, the silence returned, thick and suffocating, broken only by the sound of his own breathing and the faint clink of the chains whenever he shifted.
Kato's thoughts always circled back to his mother.
The fear sat heavy in his chest, refusing to loosen its grip. Every second he spent trapped in that room was another second she might be in danger.
He replayed her smile over and over in his mind, the way she spoke his name, the warmth of home that now felt impossibly far away. Not knowing was worse than anything else. Was she still alive? Was she hurt? Or had Gaki already done something to her?
Guilt gnawed at him relentlessly. If he hadn't survived, if he hadn't been different.
The room felt smaller with each passing hour, the walls closing in as despair slowly seeped into his bones. Sleep came in short, restless bursts, plagued by half-formed dreams and the constant dread of waking up to an even worse reality.
Somewhere deep inside, anger began to smolder beneath the fear; anger at Gaki, at the organization, at the shadow energy coursing through him without his consent.
But more than anything, Kato felt powerless.
Alone and trapped in the dark, all he could do was wait and hope that he wouldn't lose everything before this nightmare was over.
The door creaked open, and Gaki stepped inside. A flood of light poured in, stabbing into Kato's eyes and forcing him to shield his face.
Gaki: Get up, kid. Time to prove your worth.
Kato: (covering his eyes) Prove my worth…?
Gaki: We're going to have you fight someone. See if you've got the power we're looking for.
Kato: Power? What are you talking about?
Gaki: You talk too much. Get moving already.
Kato pushed himself off the cold floor, his legs stiff as he shuffled toward the open door.
Kato: (to himself) I don't understand any of this… but maybe if I leave this room, I can find a way out.
Gaki followed closely behind, his footsteps heavy and deliberate, herding Kato down the corridor.
They emerged into a massive room wide and open, nearly the size of a basketball court. Dim lights hung overhead, casting long shadows across the floor. Around the arena stood several people, watching silently.
Kato's heart sank.
Every pair of eyes was on him.
Kato: Wait… am I really going to fight someone?
Gaki: Didn't I already tell you? Show us what you've got and try not to get yourself killed.
Kato: K-Killed?!
Gaki let out an annoyed sigh and turned away, heading toward the spectators. He took a seat as if this were nothing more than entertainment.
From the opposite end of the arena, a man stepped forward.
He wore a wide, unhinged grin, his eyes sharp with excitement.
Kenny Kentaro.
Kenny: (smirking) Name's Kenny. Looks like I'm your opponent! So what's your name, kid?
Kato: U-Um… K-Kato. Kato Hamura.
Kenny: Kato Hamura, huh? Alright! I'll go easy on you, so don't disappoint me. Try to put up a decent fight!
Kato: W-Wait! I've never been in a fight before, so…
Kato's voice trailed off.
Fear clawed at his chest. His hands trembled, his breathing uneven. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't a fighter. The thought of being injured or worse, sent a chill through his spine.
Then Kenny's smile widened.
Kenny: [WHITE: BODY REINFORCEMENT]
A sharp surge of light energy rippled across Kenny's body.
Kato's eyes widened.
Kato: (to himself) He's a Clarion?! Shadows and Clarions don't work together… That's how it's always been!
His gaze snapped around the room and that's when he felt it. Shadow energy and Light energy both pulsing through the air.
Kato: No way…
He scanned the spectators again, his breath catching.
Kato: (to himself) They're here… Shadows and Clarions… together?
The realization sent a deep, unsettling chill through him. Nothing about this place followed the rules of the world he thought he knew.
Before Kato could fully process what was happening around him, Kenny rushed forward.
In an instant, Kenny grabbed him and slammed him into the ground. The impact shattered the floor beneath them, a sharp crack echoing through the arena as pain exploded through Kato's body. Blood spilled from his mouth as the air was forced out of his lungs.
Kenny: Come on, kid! Fight back!
Kato groaned, struggling to push himself up. His vision swam as he frantically looked around the arena, desperately searching for some kind of escape route.
Kenny didn't give him the chance.
He came at Kato again and again, his movements fast and brutal. Each strike carried an overwhelming amount of power, far more than Kato could react to.
Every punch landed hard.
Too hard.
Kato spat out blood, his body screaming in protest.
Kato: (to himself) His strength… it's overwhelming. I can't keep up…
Kenny's Clarion ability—Body Reinforcement—made him feel untouchable. To Kato, it was like fighting an immovable wall. He barely managed to block or evade the blows, his arms trembling under the strain.
Kenny lunged again.
This time, Kato barely saw it coming.
He twisted at the last second, dodging the attack, and instinctively broke into a run, straight toward the door Kenny had entered from.
It was a mistake.
Kenny: Running away won't help you, Kato!!! You have to fight back!!!!
Kenny slammed his fist into the ground.
The shockwave rippled across the arena floor, cracks spreading outward like spiderwebs. The sudden tremor threw Kato off balance.
He stumbled and then fell.
Pain flared through his entire body as he tried to rise, but before he could even push himself up, Kenny was already there.
Kenny grabbed him by the collar and yanked him off the ground.
Kenny: (tsk) If this is the best you can do, then I'm disappointed in you, Kato Hamura.
Holding Kato in his left hand, Kenny began punching him repeatedly with his right.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Kato couldn't fight back.
His consciousness flickered, darkness creeping in at the edges of his vision. The crowd remained silent, watching—not a fight, but a beating.
Gaki's expression darkened.
Gaki: Hey, Kenny. Don't kill the kid. He won't awaken anything if you beat him to death.
Kenny stopped mid-motion.
Kenny: Aren't people supposed to awaken their powers in situations like this?
Gaki: It doesn't work the same way for everyone.
Kenny: And you're only saying that now? (clicks his tongue) Damn it. Way to ruin the fun, Gaki.
Gaki: Try something else. Just drop him.
Kenny sighed and let go.
Kato collapsed to the floor, barely conscious.
As the pain washed over him, fragments of the life he was supposed to have drifted through his mind, walking to school with Takimo, arguing over dumb things, smiling at Mira, hearing his mother's voice at home.
Kato: (to himself) This wasn't supposed to be my life… I was supposed to be normal. I was supposed to go on a date with Mira, graduate, protect my mom… How did it end up like this?
Then Gaki's words echoed in his head.
Kato: (to himself) The world doesn't care about what we want… But I can't let this end here. I have to escape. I have to see my mom. I have to fight back.
His fingers dug into the cracked floor.
Kato: (to himself) Get up… Get up… GET UP!!!
Slowly & painfully, Kato began to rise.
A murmur spread through the arena. Kenny froze mid-step and turned around. Shadow energy pulsed from Kato's body, dark and unstable.
Gaki's eyes widened.
Gaki: His aura changed…? Could this be…
He didn't finish the thought.
A sudden surge of foreign light energy flooded the area.
Before Gaki could warn anyone—
A bolt of lightning tore through the ceiling and struck the ground.
Electricity surged across the arena floor, sending anyone whose feet touched the ground into convulsions. Kato and Kenny were hit instantly.
Gaki leapt upward just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike.
When the lightning faded, everyone who had been hit lay unconscious.
Gaki didn't hesitate.
He ran.
Moments later, the hideout was stormed by HFA Hunters, armed and moving swiftly through the wreckage.
Among them was a man in his mid-20s.
Jason Enderby, A Level 1 Hunter, the same man who had called down the lightning.
The other Hunters stared in awe, whispering among themselves as they followed him.
After a full sweep of the area, one of them approached.
1st Hunter: Sir, the sweep's complete. No other hostiles detected.
Jason: Good work.
1st Hunter: What about the rest?
Jason: Take them into custody. (points at Kato) Him too.
As they moved to restrain Kato, one Hunter froze.
2nd Hunter: Sir… this is Kato Hamura. The kid reported missing.
Jason's eyes widened.
2nd Hunter: Reports said he was kidnapped by Shadows, but I'm sensing shadow energy from him. He's… one of them?
Jason: What?
Jason focused, activating his light energy to observe Kato.
The result was unmistakable.
Jason: …This case just got a lot more complicated. I'll report it. Let's move.
Before they could leave, a sword made of shadow energy slammed into the ground in front of Jason.
He looked up.
Two figures stood on the ceiling, a masked man and a masked woman.
Shadow swords rained down, plunging the area into chaos. As the Hunters scrambled, the masked woman swooped down, grabbed Kato, and vanished into the evening sky.
Jason watched, stunned and intrigued by the unexpected turn of events.
2nd Hunter: I don't get it… If they took him, doesn't that mean—
Jason: That he's one of them? …Maybe he always was. I don't know yet.
He glanced at the sky where Kato disappeared.
Jason: What was his name again?
2nd Hunter: Kato Hamura, sir.
Jason's lips curled slightly.
Jason: Kato Hamura… Interesting.