Kenshin stepped out of the pod, seemingly the first among nearly fifty participants to awaken. Above the testing facility, a large one-way glass panel overlooked the chamber below.
Inside the observation room, Instructor Silva watched the results unfold.
"Heh, looks like that rambunctious brat from back then actually succeeded."
He chuckled to himself.
Turning away from the glass, Silva focused on a row of monitors displaying the mental landscapes of the orange fledglings undergoing Trial Two.
The door suddenly swung open.
A flamboyantly dressed man entered, wearing a silk polka-dot robe and tinted bifocals. His long crimson hair was tied neatly into a bright red knot.
Following behind him was a short young woman dressed in red assassin garb.
"Reaper Ono!"
Silva immediately straightened.
"What brings you here?"
"Do I need a reason?"
Ono replied dryly.
"N-No, of course not! I was simply surprised by the honor of your visit!"
"Hmph. Ease up on the bootlicking. Your master already knows exactly where I am."
Ono casually strolled toward the monitors while No.711 silently followed behind him.
His eyes wandered across the various screens displaying countless personal nightmares.
Then one monitor caught his attention.
No.00.
The screen was completely static.
No image.
No audio.
Nothing.
Ono raised an eyebrow.
"Why isn't this one functioning?"
Silva scratched his head.
"Honestly, Reaper Ono, I've been wondering the same thing. It may be some technical issue. Once the trial concludes, I'll investigate."
"See that you do."
Ono replied.
Though outwardly indifferent, his curiosity toward No.00 only deepened.
Liz slowly opened her eyes.
She found herself lying beneath a massive plum blossom tree.
Pink petals drifted peacefully through the air.
Her head rested comfortably upon someone's lap.
A familiar voice greeted her.
"My sweet baby girl."
Liz's eyes widened.
"Mom?"
Elizabeth smiled down at her.
The resemblance between mother and daughter was unmistakable.
Unable to contain herself, Liz immediately sat up and wrapped her arms around her mother.
"Momma!"
Tears streamed down her face.
"I missed you so much!"
"It's okay, sweetheart."
Elizabeth gently rubbed her back.
"I'm right here."
For a moment, Liz forgot everything.
The Hidden Cave.
The trials.
The pain.
All of it.
Nothing mattered except her mother's embrace.
Eventually they settled beneath the tree together.
The scenery around them resembled a paradise.
Rolling green fields stretched endlessly beneath clear blue skies.
The world felt warm.
Safe.
Peaceful.
"Mom, this place reminds me of those stories you used to tell me."
Elizabeth smiled.
"It does?"
"Yeah. The ones you read to Kenshin, Zeke, and me."
Elizabeth blinked.
"Who?"
Liz frowned.
"Kenshin and Zeke."
Her mother looked genuinely confused.
"I'm sorry, dear. I don't know anyone by those names."
Liz sat upright.
"What?"
"You seem tired."
Elizabeth chuckled softly.
"You're my only child."
The words struck Liz harder than expected.
"No."
Her voice trembled.
"That's not true."
"Sweetheart, you're mistaken."
"No!"
Liz stood.
"You have two sons!"
Elizabeth slowly rose to her feet.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
Liz shook her head.
"Mom... don't you remember them?"
Elizabeth stared at her.
Then asked quietly,
"If I did have these sons..."
Her eyes narrowed.
"...why would one of them kill me?"
Liz froze.
The memory resurfaced instantly.
"Zeke..."
She barely whispered the name.
"What was that?"
"Zeke."
Elizabeth's expression hardened.
"So one of these supposed brothers murdered me."
"No!"
Liz quickly defended him.
"It's not like that!"
"Then explain it."
Her mother's voice grew colder.
"What could possibly justify a son killing his own mother?"
Liz clenched her fists.
"You didn't deserve what happened."
"Yet he still did it."
The sky above began to darken.
Pink petals withered.
The warm breeze vanished.
"I wouldn't have killed you."
Elizabeth said.
"Because you're my daughter."
The implication hung heavily between them.
Liz slowly stepped back.
"Mom..."
"Those boys aren't family."
Elizabeth smiled.
"They never were."
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Liz stared into her mother's eyes.
The warmth was gone.
Only emptiness remained.
"No."
She shook her head.
"My mother would never say that."
The smile widened.
Too wide.
"Wouldn't she?"
Dark veins spread across Elizabeth's face.
"After all..."
Her voice distorted.
"...they took me away from you."
The illusion shattered.
The creature before her was no longer Elizabeth.
Its skin split apart.
Tentacles erupted from its lower body.
Its jaw stretched unnaturally wide.
"Come here, daughter."
The monster reached toward her.
"I'll make everything better."
Liz stumbled backward.
Then something brilliant pierced the storm clouds.
A silver-and-gold sword landed beside her.
The moment she grabbed the hilt, a familiar image flashed through her mind.
Zeke.
Then it vanished.
"Little brother..."
Warmth surged through her body.
Confidence followed.
She raised the sword.
The creature lunged.
Liz dashed forward.
One clean slash.
The monster split in half.
Its body dissolved into ash.
Liz lowered her blade.
"I'm sorry."
Her voice trembled.
"But I have to keep moving forward."
The illusionary world began collapsing around her.
Just before everything disappeared, she heard one final voice.
A voice that truly belonged to Elizabeth.
"I'm proud of you, my little firecracker."
Liz awakened inside the pod.
Dried tears lined her cheeks.
"Liz!"
Kenshin rushed over immediately.
Relief washed across his face.
Liz smiled for the first time in months.
Then she looked around.
Several others had already awakened.
"Where's Zeke?"
Kenshin silently pointed toward one of the remaining active pods.
"With one final strike, the Hero King defeated the Demon Lord and brought peace to the Seven Kingdoms."
Akari closed the book.
"And thus, he ascended to the heavens as an immortal hero."
"The end."
A young boy bounced excitedly on his bed.
"Another story!"
Akari laughed.
"Not tonight, Zeus."
"Aww."
"Big day tomorrow."
The boy reluctantly accepted defeat.
After tucking him in, Akari exited the room.
Outside, her husband waited.
Zeke leaned casually against the wall.
"That little gremlin has enough energy for ten people."
Akari rolled her eyes.
"Why do you insist on calling our son a gremlin?"
"Father-son bonding."
Zeke grinned.
"It's practically tradition."
She smacked his shoulder.
The two shared a laugh.
Then Zeke's expression slowly became serious.
"Are you sure you and Zeus shouldn't stay home tomorrow?"
Akari frowned.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
A horrible feeling settled over him.
Something felt wrong.
Dangerous.
"Maybe I'm just being paranoid."
"You've earned this."
Akari smiled.
"Tomorrow you're officially becoming an Elder of the Elemental Sect."
The moment those words left her mouth—
A memory surfaced.
Blood.
Screams.
Akari.
Their unborn child.
Dead.
Zeke staggered.
Akari immediately caught him.
"Zeke?"
"I'm fine."
But he wasn't.
Because he finally understood.
This wasn't reality.
He rushed into Zeus's room.
His son blinked sleepily.
"Dad?"
Zeke stared.
The boy didn't exist.
Never had.
Yet every instinct in his body screamed otherwise.
"I love you, Dad."
Zeus smiled.
The words nearly broke him.
"Heh..."
Zeke's voice cracked.
"I love you too."
More than you'll ever know.
Hours later, Akari slept peacefully beside him.
Zeke sat awake.
Watching.
Remembering.
Mourning.
Finally he stood.
Floating high above the mountain village they called home.
Tears rolled down his face.
"This isn't real."
His voice barely carried through the night.
"But that doesn't make this any easier."
He drew his crystalline sword.
Moonlight reflected across its blade.
The weapon slowly rotated until it stopped.
Seven o'clock.
"Sixth Cycle..."
His voice trembled.
"Waning Moon."
A sliver of silver light cut through reality.
The mountain vanished.
The house vanished.
His family vanished.
Space itself fractured.
The illusion collapsed.
And Zeke floated alone in the darkness.
Feeling emptier than ever before.