5 Years Later
"Attention, everyone. The spirits have struck back once again. We have lost track of the princess, and now we face yet another grave threat that endangers our nation. If any of you encounter this male spirit or the missing princess, do not approach them. Stay away and immediately report their location to the nearest authorities. AST and DEM forces will ensure their elimination, once and for all."
The female reporter's sharp voice echoed from the television before the screen suddenly went dark, silenced by the press of a remote.
A soft click, followed by silence. The one holding it, a girl with long light-blue hair that cascaded down her back lowered the remote with an expressionless face.
She turned her attention to the man who was sipping his wine leisurely.
"Why don't you hide your face, Khan? It would be very dangerous for you if you are spotted by humans." She asked with concern.
"None of the spirits ever hide their faces anyway." Khan shrugged. "How many fans can you control directly, Miku? Rather than waiting for them to strike, let's destroy AST and DEM directly."
After he bid farewell to the past Miku, he directly went into the canon timeline. Now, Miku had matured a lot and the timeline had also changed a lot.
Unlike her canon self who was lesbian and perverted, this time, she was brainwashing her fans because of her narcissistic feeling of being in control, and she used her fans' power to build a huge network to search for him and Kiana. Unfortunately, she found nothing until he decided to appear in front of her himself.
"Liar, you said you are from the future, but I found nothing about you. Who are you, Khan? Who is Kiana too? Where is she?" She glared at him.
"But we didn't talk about that." Khan reminded her.
"I know..." She murmured softly. "But I also need answers."
"Well, we are really from the future, but we are also not from this world. The multiverse is vast, there are some worlds with themes of fantasy, ancient worlds, mythology worlds, devil and angel worlds, and things like that. Maybe you will also meet someone who is the same as us too, a cosmic traveler being." Khan answered.
"Can I go to those worlds too?" She asked with a yearning look on her face. She had to admit this world was boring, being hunted and forced to hide her specialness was unpleasant.
"You can, but for now, I want to clear this world first." Khan answered directly.
"Why?" She asked with a confused look on her face. After all, in her opinion, Khan and Kiana had no deep feelings or bonds with this world, so why should he go as far as to linger longer in this boring world?
"Do you believe it's because I like to conquer the world?" Khan answered in a joking tone.
Miku studied him in silence for a long moment before speaking her thoughts plainly.
"You don't come across as someone who is deeply attached to that." Miku said her opinion honestly. "To be precise, you strike me as someone who doesn't care at all. Your eyes are telling everything, they're detached and empty."
Honestly, he was surprised that she could see through him, after all, in anime, she seemed dumb, but reasonable, after all, the protagonist itself was dumb, and if the protagonist wanted to conquer heroines, it needed to dumb down their intelligence too. Otherwise, the whole premise would fall apart. That was the unspoken rule
Author is God, after all, if the author willed it, logic didn't matter, the power of the pen is omnipotent in novels and anime.
"It's to create the perfect world for her, you should know who she was." Khan finally said.
"Kiana?" Miku asked unsurely.
He shook his head. "No, it's the worst spirit, Kurumi. She wanted to create a utopia world for spirit and human, and I made the best strategy for all of us, to make sure that dream comes true."
Miku's brows furrowed deeply. "Don't you already have Kiana? Isn't that... cheating?"
Her voice was tinged with accusation, because from her point of view, the relationship between Khan and Kiana already seemed solid, almost perfect. Why would he need another woman? Why Kurumi of all people?
"Nah, it's not cheating if they consent with it." Khan answered with a chuckle, shaking his glass of wine amusedly.
She glared at him. "Hmph. If I ever see you hurt Kiana, I'll bite you and never let you go."
"Can I count that as a proposal?" Khan asked teasingly.
Her face flushed even more, the weight of her own words crashing back into her. She realized how ambiguous it sounded, how her threat came across less like anger and more like the kind of flirting only couples would toss at each other. Her chest tightened, embarrassed at the unintended intimacy.
She coughed lightly, clearing her throat to kill the tension and drag the topic back to safer ground. "Alright, you said you wanted to crush AST and DEM, do you need my help? After all, with them gone and your goal achieved, it seems good too, they are too annoying, especially those reporters, they seem fake and deliberately targeting us."
"Well, Westcott basically controls the media and economy of most nations." Khan answered the reason.
"No wonder, after all, he was the leader of DEM and the enemy of spirits." Miku clenched her fist in anger, now she understood why the world painted them as bad, it wasn't because spirits were bad, but because the one who controlled the media never intended to coexist with them.
"So, what should we do? Against all of them?" She asked unsurely, even she had a hint of retreat, after all, fighting against so many people seemed an impossible feat for them.
"Continue what you were doing." Khan shrugged, leaning against the sofa as he sipped his wine, totally enjoying her panicked expression.
Her face darkened at his playfulness. It felt like he wasn't taking Westcott seriously at all. But then she remembered, Khan wasn't bound to this world. He could cross back and forth between worlds, slipping through barriers that even Westcott couldn't scratch. Westcott was stuck here, chained to this plane, while Khan was free. Suddenly, his arrogance, his dismissive attitude, made sense.
Calming herself with a slow breath, she leaned forward, her voice steady but laced with doubt as she needed to make sure she understood what he was implying. "Are you saying... I should take control of the masses and turn them into my informants?"
"Your layout is too small, Miku. Of course, you should make them your dog. If you wanted to fight evil, fight them with greater evil. Westcott took control of this world silently not because he was talented, well-mannered, or because he took it by brute force. No, he basically mind-controlled almost all of the upper class of this world with his spell and magic, and you can do the same."
His tone was calm, almost gentle, but the weight of his words dripped with a sinister meaning that made her skin tighten and her breath catch.
She shivered, not from fear of him exactly, but from the rawness of how easily he looked at the world and accepted it as nothing but a board for domination.
Yet, when she thought about it, she realized she wasn't that different. Not really. The only thing that set her apart was her goal. She had never wanted the entire world, she had only wanted to build her own, a small, beautiful world where she could live adored and worshipped. That had been enough.
But with Westcott still alive, with DEM and AST still breathing, that dream of hers, the dream of living as a beloved idol forever was impossible. They would always come. They would always ruin it.
So, she chose to cooperate with Khan. Her voice softened, but the steel underneath was undeniable.
"I will take care of it. This city or even this country will be yours the moment I make sure they obey your words and command. But I need a powerful spirit or bodyguard to protect me."
Khan nodded and agreed to her condition. "I will let Princess protect you, and I will also take care of everything that threatens your life. Don't worry, I also live here, so no need to hold back, just enjoy wrecking havoc and unleashing your inner megalomania, my beloved idol."
She gave him a sharp look and muttered, "You're such a jerk, Khan. I'm not like that."
But the grin spreading across her face betrayed her words. She wasn't convincing even herself. This task, this job, it was exactly to her liking.
The idea of bending others to her will, of being the axis around which the world turned, it resonated with her far too strongly. It was intoxicating. And it was honest.
Her trauma, the scars left behind by betrayal and abandonment, had carved this into her.
Once, she had placed her faith in people, in the faceless love of her fans. But rumors destroyed that illusion. The moment they turned against her, the moment their love proved shallow and conditional, she had learned the truth. Humanity was fickle. People couldn't be trusted.
And in that emptiness, control was the only thing that ever felt safe.
Khan simply shrugged, his expression unreadable. "Yeah. You're not like that. Don't worry. No judgment."
"Humph, you're so annoying, don't you know the girl would hate you if you kept leaking out their secret and inner feeling?" Miku huffed, crossing her arms, her eyes appearing to be intimidating.
But instead of intimidation, the look only appeared cute to him. Amusing, even. A smirk crept across his lips as he watched her. "Anyway, when you are done, don't forget to cooperate with Kurumi, she will sneak you into the Military Base and Police Interior and even among the higher-ups of this country. Once we seize control back from DEM, those people will be armed, and we'll strike down every one of DEM's bases. We'll declare war openly and free the other Spirits imprisoned by them."
His gaze shifted then, turning distant, as if he were no longer speaking to Miku but to himself, confessing the vision that burned in his chest. "And I will build something greater, an Academy City here, in this place. A city where Spirits, otherworldly beings, and humans stand together as equals. A place where unity exists, where division ends. A utopia."
"That's a very noble dream, even if your methods are..." Miku trailed off, letting her words hang unspoken. But Khan understood perfectly. He only gave a small shrug, dismissing her hesitation.
"It doesn't matter, I will bear that sin." Khan declared with certainty, his voice unwavering.
"Then I will help you, Khan. I want to see that dream of yours take shape, to see that place built in the future." She smiled sincerely.
Her heart also softened, it turned out Khan was not only a romantic man, but also had a noble heart, but what she didn't see, what she couldn't yet know, was that his dream wasn't born out of selfless love for unity.
No, this was the dream he had carried since he was a child: a vision where the entire world revolved around him, where every person shone like a star only because he was the singular sun.
A world where he alone stood as both ruler and savior.
In the past, such a dream would have been dismissed as nothing but childish delusion.
But now he possessed the tools, the power, and the possibility to bring it into reality.
With those in his grasp, he no longer questioned. He no longer doubted. He would do whatever it took.
-x-X-x-
After Khan executed his ruthless plan and seized control of key politicians, the military, the Prime Minister of Japan, the royal family, and many other high-ranking figures using Izayoi Miku's power, he ordered them to drive out and aggressively purge every last DEM agent and Westcott's henchman from the country.
At the same time, he established Academy City as a sanctuary for all spirits and anomalies who had been brutally rejected by humanity.
His actions were bold and public, and with Izayoi Miku-a spirit and beloved idol -openly endorsing them, some spirits began to arrive while others remained cautious.
The first to come were the twin sisters and Kotori, who stormed into his office with her black ribbons tied, fully in commander mode.
She crossed her arms tightly, her small frame radiating fury.
"I know it was you...!" Kotori Itsuka pointed at him accusingly. "You and that Worst Spirit are connected. I saw you together with her. Now return my brother back to normal-turn him back into an adult!"
Khan looked at her like she was an idiot. "Why should I? What's in it for us? Your brother wanted to turn all spirits into powerless cripples while DEM hunted them down. Why would we help someone who wants to weaken us?"
Kotori's eyes flashed defensively. "He just wanted to help! We believed spirits and humans could live together if we showed them we're not aggressive."
Khan's smile turned strange and knowing.
Kotori immediately felt a chill crawl down her spine.
"Really?" he said, his voice dripping with dark amusement. "Then how about we show you exactly why you became a spirit... and who was truly responsible for your dear brother friend parents' death?"
Kotori's face went pale.
Her eyes widened, then immediately narrowed with denial. "No. Thanks. I don't believe you. I saw it myself-I killed them. I was the one who lost control. Please don't speak about this again."
Her voice was shaking now, and there was a hint of bloodshot red creeping into the corners of her eyes.
Khan didn't buy a single word of her denial.
He raised his hand without hesitation and activated his power.
"Zafkiel!"
The world around them shattered and reformed.
Time itself bent to his will, dragging them both backward through the years until they stood in a familiar neighborhood on a familiar day-five years ago, the day Kotori had first awakened as a Spirit.
Everything was peaceful at first.
Quiet and normal.
The calm before everything went horribly wrong.
And then it wasn't peaceful anymore.
Kotori watched in frozen horror as a phantom-a figure she recognized instantly, a figure she had trusted, a figure she had called her best friend-slipped silently into her house.
She watched as that same phantom injected her younger self with a crystal that triggered the awakening.
She watched as the massive fire consumed the residence, flames roaring to life and spreading with unnatural speed.
And she watched as her brother-Shido-somehow, coincidentally came back from school earlier than usual. Earlier than Origami.
And kissed her to seal her power.
Why had he known that a kiss was the solution?
In this setting, he was supposed to be her brother. Yet he had kissed her without hesitation-something the adult Shido of later years had never once shown the guts to do.
"Coincidence?" Khan asked wickedly, his voice low and mocking.
"NO! PLEASE, STOP IT! BRING ME BACK! RIGHT NOW!" Kotori screamed hysterically, her Spirit power spiraling completely out of control.
Flames erupted around her in a raging inferno, blasting everyone and everything in the immediate radius.
But Khan simply stood in front of her, completely untouched by the flames, and lifted her chin with his fingers, forcing her to meet his eyes.
"You know who the phantom is, don't you, Kotori?" His voice was soft.
Almost kind.
Which made the words cut even deeper.
"Want me to spell it out for you?"
"I... I..." Kotori couldn't form words.
She couldn't do anything except feel the hot tears spilling down her cheeks as she stared at the tragedy unfolding before her eyes.
This was where everything began.
Where her normal life was no longer normal. Where her family was shattered. Where she became something other than human.
And where she finally understood, with crushing, undeniable certainty, that Reine -her supposed best friend, the woman she had trusted and confided in and leaned on for years-was actually the one responsible for all of it.
The phantom. The manipulator. The architect of her suffering.
It had been Reine all along.
"Want to go back thirty years? I'll show you your brother's true face."
Khan wasn't finished.
Not even close.
He was just getting started, and the wicked gleam in his eyes made it abundantly clear that he had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
"Zafkiel!"
In an instant, he pulled Kotori back thirty years, and she stood frozen, stupefied by the scene unfolding before her eyes.
The world shattered and reformed around them once again.
Time bent and twisted to his will, dragging them both thirty years into the past.
When the light faded and the world settled back into focus, Kotori found herself standing in a place she didn't recognize, watching a scene that made her blood run cold.
She saw her brother.
Shido.
But not the Shido she knew-not the awkward, kind-hearted, slightly useless brother who couldn't even work up the courage to kiss a girl without stammering.
This Shido was older and happier.
And he was sitting across from Reine at a small outdoor café, sharing ice cream and laughing at something she had just said.
They looked so happy together. So connected. So completely at ease with each other, like two people who had known each other for years and shared secrets that no one else in the world knew.
Kotori's legs gave out beneath her.
She crumpled to the ground, clutching her head with both hands as the reality of what she was seeing crashed over her like a tidal wave.
"Is that my brother... and he's dating Reine? How could this be? How are they both still alive in the present day? This has to be a lie, right? This has to be some kind of illusion!"
Her voice cracked with desperation, her eyes wide and bloodshot as she stared at the scene before her.
"Tell me this isn't real! Tell me you're making this up!"
Khan said nothing.
He simply stood beside her, watching her unravel with the patient satisfaction of a man who had planted a seed and was now watching it grow.
Kotori's mind raced, connecting dots that she had never wanted to connect.
Her brother wasn't just some innocent bystander caught up in events beyond his control.
He was an active participant. He had been involved with Reine-with Rastarork-from the very beginning.
He was probably the one responsible for everything that had happened to her. To all the Spirits. To everyone.
Why, Shido? Why would you do this? Why would you pretend to be my brother? Why would you deceive me for all these years?
The brilliance of Khan's plan was in its simplicity.
He wasn't showing her the full truth-he was showing her carefully selected pieces of the truth, biased and incomplete, arranged in exactly the right order to make her draw the worst possible conclusions.
By showing her Shido and Reine together thirty years ago, by letting her see their happiness and their connection, he was making her completely distrust her brother.
Making her believe that Shido was some kind of undercover agent, someone who had been manipulating and corrupting her from the very beginning for reasons she couldn't even begin to understand.
And it was working perfectly.
"If you want to stay here and confirm everything with your own eyes, I'll give you one week." Khan turned away, preparing to leave her in the past. "I'll come back and retrieve you when the time is up. Take as long as you need to verify the truth."
Kotori's hand shot out and caught his wrist before he could take another step.
"No. I'm not a fool, Khan." Her voice was firmer now, steadier, though the tears were still streaming down her cheeks.
"Shido and Reine are clearly not innocent. I don't know what they were planning or why they did what they did. But since Reine was the one who injected us with those crystals and gave us this power, I believe she could have transformed Shido back into an adult without my help. Without anyone's help. She has that kind of power."
She released his wrist and straightened her posture, forcing herself to meet his eyes despite the turmoil raging inside her.
"I will investigate this myself. I will confirm whether everything you've shown me is true or not. Until then, I will not trust you. And I will not move against my brother until I have proof that cannot be denied."
Khan's grin widened with genuine satisfaction. "Of course, Kotori-chan. Of course. Take all the time you need. Investigate. Confirm. I wouldn't expect anything less from the Commander of Ratatoskr."
He spread his arms wide, the picture of magnanimous patience. "Now, shall I take you back? Or would you prefer to stay a little longer and see what else the past has to offer?"
"Take me back," Kotori said firmly. "Now. I will not bother you or help you until I have confirmed everything myself. That is my final word."
"Then back we go."
Khan snapped his fingers, and time folded around them once more. When Kotori opened her eyes, they were standing in his office again, exactly where they had been before the journey began. Nothing had changed except everything.
She turned and walked out without another word, her mind churning with questions and doubts and the slow, creeping horror of realization.
Khan watched her go, his grin never faltering.
The seed of doubt had been planted. It would grow. It would fester.
And when it finally bloomed, Kotori Itsuka would no longer be an obstacle standing in his way-she would be an ally and another piece on his board, pointed directly at the people she had once trusted most.
His conquest over all Spirits and Japan had officially begun.
And it was going exactly according to plan.