The tension between Shion and Kuro mounted with every word exchanged, each sentence tightening the invisible vice that weighed between them. Kuro was beside himself, the muscles of his face drawn tight, fists clenched at his sides, demanding answers about his brother's actions. Shion, for his part, appeared outwardly calm — but in reality, the atrocities he had just witnessed had shaken something deep within him. His vision of the world, his goals, everything he had believed in for as long as he could remember seemed to crack, shattering in silent pieces inside his chest.
As Kuro stood before him, breathless and with a gaze heavy with barely contained fury, Shion drew a long breath. In a matter of seconds, he let his memories drift through him, his emotions, everything he had carried for too long without ever truly examining it. He tried to make sense of what he actually wanted.
After only a few moments, Shion spoke, his voice measured but sincere. "To be completely honest with you… I don't know what made me stop you. When I saw the scene, my body moved on its own."
Kuro's anger erupted without restraint, his eyes blazing with dark rage. "Your body moved on its own? Are you serious? I wonder whose side you're on — ours or theirs. Because the more I hear you talk, the more I start asking myself questions."
Shion said nothing more. The silence was an answer in itself, and Kuro had understood that. At that moment, Shion no longer knew where he belonged. He was lost between all these worlds surrounding him, torn between loyalties that no longer seemed as clear-cut as they once had. He lowered his head, eyes fixed on the rubble at his feet, and said slowly. "Tell me… what does all this bring us. For what reason, truly, do we cause all this suffering. We act without even knowing why. Father always refuses to open up to us. What justifies all of this? Tell me, Kuro."
Kuro stepped forward in silence, his footsteps heavy on the debris. Once within reach, he grabbed the collar of Shion's shirt with a firm hand, tilting his chin slightly upward, forcing him to meet his gaze. His voice was low and laden with old pain. "Father never opens up to us? If you dare say that… think about what I've been feeling all this time."
Shion froze. Until now, the relationship between the two of them had never been that of true brothers — nothing deep, nothing genuine. But at that instant, for the first time, Shion realized that Kuro suffered too, every single day, despite his strength, despite his apparent advantages. He understood with a pang of shame that he had never tried to understand him. Simply because, in Shion's eyes, Kuro had always seemed so far ahead — whereas all along, he had been standing in exactly the same place. He thought, eyes faintly burning. "If only I had taken the time to truly look at him and understand him… we could have helped and supported each other."
Kuro released his collar and continued, his voice quieter but heavier, as if each word cost him something. "At birth, my parents abandoned me. I had to live alone and learn to fend for myself to survive on the streets. Every day was hell. I was starving, and no one wanted to help me." He shoved Shion to the ground with a sudden gesture, then continued, teeth slightly clenched. "But one day, Father found me in the street. I was sitting on the ground, my gaze vacant yet blazing with a vivid red. That day, he was the first and last person to have ever shown me any attention. He was the only person in my life to have given me a glimpse of what love felt like."
Shion, on the ground, lowered his eyes, and said in a soft and hesitant voice. "I knew you admired Father… but I had no idea what he truly meant to you."
Kuro cut him off, his voice hollow and deep, as if he were finally releasing something he had held back for far too long. "No. You have no idea. After that day, he adopted me and put me through brutal training, day after day. My daily life was in reality worse than when I'd lived on the streets. But I kept silent and endured, because at the end of all that suffering, he gave me the attention and the love I had always craved." He paused, fists trembling at his sides, then screamed with every ounce of strength he had, his voice breaking halfway through. "But no matter how hard I train, no matter how strong I become, no matter how obediently I follow his every command — he still won't give me the love I want most!"
The cry vanished into the sky above a burning Paris. Out of breath, Kuro stood facing Shion, his chest heaving violently, his gaze shattered beneath the fury, no longer knowing what to do with what he had just confessed. Shion rose slowly and tried to approach his brother to offer some comfort, but Kuro stepped back instinctively, closing the distance he had just opened.
Kuro steadied his breath and composed himself, burying the pain behind a serious, cold expression. He fixed Shion with a level stare and spoke in a calm but absolute voice. "To you, this may seem trivial. But I would do absolutely anything to earn his love. You, his biological son — he has always given you attention regardless of what you do. I am only an adopted son. I must become stronger to be of use to him, so that he will look at me."
Suddenly, his eyes lit up with a vivid, intense red. He activated his Shugan. His arms began to swell, thick black fur spread across his skin, razor-sharp claws formed at the tips of his fingers, his pupils contracted into vertical slits, and fangs appeared between his parted lips. He no longer looked entirely like a boy — he looked like the fusion of a human and a wild creature.
With a piercing and feral gaze, he said to Shion. "I won't hesitate to end you if you stand in my way. So tell me, Shion — are you going to stop me again? Are you going to be an obstacle on my path?"
Shion did not step back. He held his transformed brother's gaze and answered, his voice calm and clear. "You want Father's love — I have no reason to stand in the way of that. And I don't want to fight you. Today, I realize I never truly knew you… and yet we've known each other since we were young children." He stepped forward slowly and placed his hand on Kuro's shoulder, feeling his brother's muscles tighten beneath his fingers. "But it's not too late to make up for lost time. You're not alone. I'm with you, and so is Shinsei. Together, we make a family. The love you're looking for — we can find it together."
Kuro shoved Shion's hand away with a sharp gesture, as if the touch burned his skin. He looked at him with a dark and direct expression. "All those years spent at your sides… you never gave me any attention. I tried, you know. To fit in. I considered you brothers. But you never saw me as a brother — just as an intruder."
Shion, taken aback, contradicted him immediately, his voice faintly trembling. "You're wrong…" But he didn't have time to finish. Kuro struck him with sudden, brutal force, sending Shion flying backward at terrifying speed. He crashed through the wall of the building in an explosion of concrete and steel, debris collapsing around him, before slamming heavily into the ground, buried under the rubble.
Fortunately, Shion had had the reflex to reinforce his body with aetherium just before the impact, which softened the blow. But the pain was very real — wounds had opened across his entire body, his arms lacerated by shards of debris, a searing burn in his right side, lips split and the taste of blood on his tongue. He struggled to pull himself up, pushing aside the heavy rubble pressing down on his legs and shoulders.
Once upright, he raised his head and saw Kuro watching him from the top of the building, motionless and impassive. Then Kuro jumped, landing at Shion's feet with an impact that cracked the concrete. The aura radiating from his body was oppressive, crushing — a physical pressure felt against the chest and shoulders.
His Shugan still active, his eyes burned with an ardent red, and the power inhabiting each of his limbs was palpable, visible in the way the ground cracked faintly beneath his steps. Shion, down on one knee, met his brother's gaze and thought, teeth clenched. "At his age, he has already awakened his Shugan, and on top of that he masters it to perfection, already ranking among the most powerful in all of Father's army. Compared to him… I am nothing. And I dare to stand before him and speak to him. Who do I think I am."
Kuro, through relentless effort and brutal training, had at only ten years old already been recognized as one of the most talented and promising Shugan users in history. While he had mastered the five fundamental powers with excellence, he also belonged to the very exclusive circle of those who had awakened the sixth power of the Shugan.
The sixth power of Kuro's Shugan was called "Incarnation of Chaos". Upon its awakening, his Shugan had defied every law of physics and given birth to a Colossal Alpha. Colossal Alphas are extremely rare creatures in the universe, and of phenomenal power. They are born from the condensation of an extraordinary quantity of Void, the third energy source in the universe. According to the archives, in one hundred thousand years only fifty of them had ever come into existence. And Kuro's Shugan had given birth to one — uniquely bound to him — from whose power he could draw to become stronger and wield the Void. It was thanks to this sixth power that he had been able to climb all the ranks so rapidly and reach the summit.
Shion was aware that in a one-on-one fight, he would stand no chance. But at that precise moment, he had no intention of fighting his brother. He rose to his feet completely, breathless, blood running down his forehead, and spoke to Kuro, trying to reach him. "I have no intention of fighting back. I don't want to fight you."
But Kuro wasn't listening. He began to advance toward him, step by step, his gaze fixed and determined, claws slightly tensed. Shion retreated at the same pace Kuro advanced, never taking his eyes off him, and continued. "You're right — for all this time, I never treated you as my brother. Or rather, I was too focused on myself to truly see you." He drew a long breath, shoulders slightly curved, the weight of that admission visible on his face. "You wanted Father's love. I wanted to become stronger to be worthy of being his son. But now… I want things to change between us."
Kuro stopped dead, his gaze cold and void of any illusion. "All I need is his love. Nothing else matters to me. I have always had nothing, but now I have something to hold onto. I will do anything to get there, even if it means killing his own son. It's not now that we'll be able to make up for lost time. Between us, there is nothing — and there will never be anything."
The confrontation between the two brothers seemed inevitable. But how would Shion react — he who had for the first time truly seen who his younger brother was, and what he felt deep inside? It was impossible for him to imagine hurting him, to stand before him with his fists raised.
The battle had resumed elsewhere in the city, and the damage was being felt more and more in every street of Paris. Harris, Aria, and Shinrei had gathered themselves and their composure. Thanks to their iron resolve, they had managed to re-engage in the fight without being too shaken. However, the sheer number of enemies was becoming increasingly overwhelming, and it was only a matter of time before they could no longer hold back so many soldiers.
Meanwhile, Nozomi — back on his feet after the blow Reimu had dealt him — set out immediately without wasting a second. He leaped from building to building, ran faster and faster, propelling himself through the air with aetherium beneath his feet, trying to reach Kael and Reimu as quickly as possible. As he tore through the city at full speed, he caught glimpses of the true extent of the devastation — gutted streets, facades blown apart, fires smoldering in every direction. A pang of grief, which he swallowed at once. The only thing he could do was defeat Reimu as quickly as possible and put an end to all this chaos. He pushed himself harder, the fear for Kael tightening his throat with every passing second.
When he reached the foot of the Eiffel Tower, Nozomi stopped dead. His blood ran cold and his throat seized in an instant. Kael lay on the ground, covered in blood and wounds across his entire body, his clothing torn to shreds, his face swollen, barely conscious, collapsed on the concrete, unable to rise. And seated on him, with an ice-cold nonchalance, was Reimu — waiting, eyes turned toward the sky, as if this had all been nothing more than a way to pass the time.
The moment Reimu spotted Nozomi, he rose slowly, then seized Kael's weakened and bloodied body by the collar with one hand, lifting him off the ground. "I was starting to lose patience. You took your time getting back."
Nozomi, his voice trembling with mingled rage and terror, screamed at him. "What have you done to my brother?!"
Reimu answered with an insulting calm. "I had my fun. I liked his eyes — I wanted to face him alone. He impressed me at first… but in the end, he didn't last long."
He threw Kael like a common sack onto the ground, his brother's body hitting the floor with a dull thud before Nozomi's eyes, who clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles went white. Reimu looked at him with a gleam of anticipation. "I hope you'll be able to entertain me for longer. I expect a great deal from you — the one chosen to be the new elemental master."
He let out a laugh, then placed his hand over his face to cover one eye, leaving the other exposed — and in it, the Shugan blazed with a cold intensity. A mocking smile curled his lips. "Either way, whether you entertain me or not, I'll take your power from you in the end. So I have a proposition for you."
Nozomi, perplexed but above all furious, jaw tight, answered. "A proposition? What kind of proposition could you possibly have for me?"
Reimu, his smile still in place. "Either you keep fighting and you lose everything, including your power. Or you give me your elemental power, and I promise to leave — leaving you in peace. You, your family, and your planet."
"You covet my elemental power… What is your goal in all this? What justifies going this far for my power?"
Reimu's smile vanished. His voice became dry and final. "That is not something you need to know. Because no matter what you choose… you won't be there to see it."
"What do you mean by that?"
Reimu burst into a deep laugh that echoed through the rubble, then advanced at a slow pace, his voice filling with a cold and ancient hatred. "I said I would leave you in peace — not that I would spare you. For now, it's your power that interests me. But one day, I will return to settle my score with the Yuutaka."
After Reimu's words, everything became clear to Nozomi. He dropped into a fighting stance, flames slowly rising around his fists, refusing every word Reimu had just spoken. "All I sense in you is hatred. The elemental power must never fall into the hands of someone like you."
He drew a deep breath, eyes locked on Reimu, and added in a firm and grave voice, each word placed like a promise. "I would rather fight until my last breath, until death comes to take me, than give you my power. As long as I still draw breath, you will never have it."
"You have made your choice. Don't come to regret it if the death of your entire family ends up being your fault."
The final confrontation between Reimu and Nozomi seemed to be reaching its peak. The two faced each other in the ruins of Paris, the heavy silence between them like a promise of destruction. On one side, Reimu — a cold and absolute power, forged in hatred and domination. On the other, Nozomi — broken, exhausted, but standing. And sometimes, that is all it takes.
Meanwhile, a few streets away, Shinsei was still searching for Shion among the ruins of Paris — unaware that his younger brother was already standing face to face with Kuro, on the edge of a confrontation no one had foreseen. The pieces of fate were falling into place, and the night had not yet given up all its secrets.