I stand frozen.
"What was in your mind when you touched that crystal, kid?"
My breath grows thin. No sound comes out.
KRAAK—a branch snaps behind the tree at his back.
SPLASH—he turns in an instant, his sword flashing, splitting the tree trunk with a single clean strike.
GMRMRR—the cat growls.
"Kid."
CLACK—he sheaths his sword.
He turns back, then—CKAHK—the tip of the scabbard presses against my forehead, forcing my face upward to meet his gaze.
"You touched it?"
"…Yes."
"Huh?"
"I touched it."
THWACK—a heavy blow strikes my forehead. Once, then again. The impact rings inside my skull. My vision blurs, narrows.
Pain erupts. The world spins.
He steps closer, his shadow swallowing everything.
"There is no use," he mutters coldly. "Even if I take that crystal, this entire journey means nothing. Unless… I kill you."
"Hmph… hmmh… hmn." A fractured laugh escapes me—fragile, trembling. Tears fall uncontrollably.
He is right.
My life means nothing.
My mother leaves when I still need her warmth. My father leaves before I am tall enough to reach his shoulder.
"Then kill me," I say faintly.
"As you wish."
THWACK—another strike. Blood runs down my cheek. My legs tremble, yet I remain standing.
"Not enough," I say quietly. "If you are going to kill me, do it properly. Do not hold back."
He falls silent.
His sword is planted into the ground.
"I do not want to imagine what you will become," he whispers.
"What do you mean? I am not asking for mercy. Just kill me."
"And I will."
He raises his sword.
"One thing," he whispers. "Your name. I want to know the name of the one I end."
Silence.
"…Hiroshiki."
"I will meet you… Father… Mother…"
The tip of his blade lifts my chin—
SPLASH.
The hilt of his sword strikes my chest.
Darkness spreads rapidly across my vision.
"My name is Jiza, kid. Remember it."
His voice fades.
He stands over me—waiting for something I do not understand.
My consciousness disappears.
---
Central Government Castle, Dominatus.
Vanguard Residence.
Inside the temple, four figures sit around a long table. Dim light falls upon an open parchment:
An explosion is reported at a relic shop in Terravane Village, Zepharia Region.
"The Lady has spoken," says the first figure. "The crystal has awakened. This explosion proves it. Who will descend?"
"Not I," replies the second. "Acting in haste only invites disaster."
"Not I," murmurs the third. "She despises those who move too quickly."
Silence.
All eyes turn to the fourth figure—seated apart, calm.
"You," says the first softly. "What is your decision… Jiza?"
Unlike the others, he leans back casually in a velvet chair. One hand rests over the armrest, the other hangs loosely at his side. His posture appears careless, yet his presence is not.
"I have waited long enough," he mutters.
He rises slowly, stretching his body.
"Even before the Lady foretold it… I already knew this day would come."
He straightens.
"But everything will be too late when it happens."
"Too late? What do you mean?" asks one of the cloaked figures.
Jiza looks up at the dark ceiling.
"If that crystal is touched by a human… and he survives, its power will flow. And the soul bound to it will return."
He pauses.
"Paragon."
The room freezes.
---
I open my eyes.
White.
Everything is white—without boundary, without shadow, without direction. My vision is still unclear as I look left and right, but there is nothing. Only empty space that feels unbearably silent.
But—
"He—eh." I recoil, pushing myself backward instinctively.
Someone stands before me.
His body is covered in a long robe. His face… has no mouth. On his forehead is carved a black mark—a reversed crescent, with four uneven lines beneath it.
I swallow. My body tenses.
"W-who… are you?" I ask, my voice sounding unfamiliar even to myself.
From the beginning, he has been staring at me.
Without blinking.
"Oh," he says briefly, raising both hands to chest level, as if realizing something.
He looks upward, as though speaking to the empty space above us.
"I thought it was merely a rumor," he continues softly.
Then—
"I… have been reborn, have I?!"
---
Jiza leaves Hiro lying on the ground. He does not kill him—only renders him unconscious.
He walks several dozen steps.
Stops.
Hiro's finger moves.
Jiza turns, drawing his sword without hesitation.
Hiro's body rises from the ground, suspended as if pulled by something unseen.
SWASH—in an instant, Hiro shoots toward him.
Jiza narrows his eyes.
Hiro's body spins—
BLAM—a kick strikes Jiza's face, dragging him across the ground.
He falls at Hiro's feet.
Yet Jiza laughs—rough, satisfied.
"Impressive. As foretold. A kid forged by despair… the chosen vessel to cleanse arrogance."
His smile turns wild.
His sword falls swiftly—
inches from splitting Hiro's head.
But—
Hiro evades. Too fast for an ordinary human.
"Pitiful kid," Jiza hisses, leaping to his feet. "A life full of suffering… yet you still choose to rise?"
Hiro remains silent.
His face is empty. His eyes hollow.
He is not the one controlling that body.
Jiza charges.
SPLASH.
Steel pierces flesh—
yet the wound closes.
Jiza steps back.
"Impossible."
"Why should I care about this kid?" Hiro's voice changes. Cold. Not his own. "I have returned to life. That is all that matters."
Something is different.
Not power.
Presence.
Jiza raises his sword again.
"Then it begins," he mutters. "At last."
Hiro steps forward.
"Then show me. Make my rebirth worthwhile."
They charge again.
No elegant technique.
Only brutality.
Blows, slashes, collisions.
Until finally—
Jiza brings Hiro down and pins his shoulder with his foot.
"Surrender. I will end it quickly."
Hiro lifts his head. A faint smile forms.
"You missed something."
Jiza looks up.
His sword floats.
He dodges.
Hiro rises.
Jiza takes his stance—unarmed.
"I will fight you as a human."
Hiro nods.
"More fair."
They charge again.
---
The darkness thins.
I open my eyes.
The treetops sway above me. Cold wind brushes against my skin.
I am still alive.
Somehow.
A river flows beside me. My body feels heavy, yet intact.
Too intact.
"What… happened?" My voice is hoarse. "Why am I not dead?"
Something small stands near the water.
"A cat," I murmur.
It approaches, dropping a fish near my feet, then looks at me.
My chest tightens.
"Thank you," I whisper.
The cat leaves, then returns with another fish.
I pierce the first fish, start a fire, and roast it.
The cat comes closer. I reach for the second fish—
Grrr—
It growls.
"Relax," I say. "I am cooking it, not stealing it."
It scratches my hand.
A sting. A little blood appears.
"I will give it back," I mutter.
It meows softly.
The fire crackles. Smoke rises slowly into the air.
And for the first time since I awaken—
my breathing feels calm.