Zack was on his knees, his body trembling in a silent convulsion. A sharp, high-pitched hum pierced his ears, muffling the sounds of the square and the distant cry of the baby. The figure of Death, a specter of androgynous beauty, moved toward the cradle, each step an echo in his fragmented mind. He tried to stand, but his muscles would not obey, paralyzed by a terror that transcended the physical.
It was then that he felt her. An ethereal embrace, a warmth that enveloped him like a cloak of golden light. A blonde woman, with skin as white as snow and golden eyes that shone with infinite kindness, held him. It was a spiritual touch, a caress on his wounded soul. "Wake up," she whispered in his ear, her voice a soft melody that contrasted with the chaos in his mind.
Her energy, golden and caring, flowed into him, a gust of sanity amidst the madness. His memories, previously a whirlwind of disconnected images, began to settle. He saw Orpheus, not as the adult warrior he knew, but as a frightened child. He saw K, a desperate hunter, struggling to survive. And he remembered the Violet King's castle, the blood on his hands, the fury that consumed him.
The dissonance was overwhelming. Had he gone back in time? Or had it all been a hallucination, a fever dream? The perfection of that world, the feeling of completeness, now seemed a cruel lie. And Death... Death did not fit into any of his memories. If he had returned to the past, why did he not remember that being, that ritual, that smell of cherry and blackberry that now suffocated him?
The spiritual woman called him by name, her voice a beacon in the darkness. "Zack... awaken." And then, she was gone, leaving behind a trail of warmth and a painful clarity. Strength returned to his body, his veins pulsing with renewed vigor. His breathing became heavy, and his black eyes, previously clouded with confusion, exploded into a cold, determined fury.
With a movement that defied logic, Zack reappeared in front of Death, blocking its path to the baby. But something was wrong. The figure before him was not the same. The androgynous beauty had vanished, replaced by a terrifyingly familiar presence.
The details, previously hidden by manipulation and chaos, now clicked into place with terrifying clarity. Ra's unanswered scroll, the questions about freedom and death, the feeling of being guided down a tortuous path... it all made sense. And at the center of it all, the truth, a dagger plunged into his heart: Tobi.
His childhood friend, his hunting brother, his loyal companion. Tobi was Death. He was the master of the ritual, the manipulator of shadows. And Zack's group, in their search for answers, had stumbled onto his stage, ruining his show.
Tobi stood there, in his long coat, black hat with a single red stripe, and ocean-blue eyes. A cigarette dangled from his lips, and a mocking smile played on his face. The image of betrayal was so overwhelming that Zack felt the air leave his lungs.
"Tobi..." he whispered, his voice hoarse with disbelief. "What... what is this?"
In a gesture of denial, he tried to appeal to the friendship that once united them. "We can fix this, Tobi. A beer, a talk... like the old times." He pulled the compass from his pocket, the symbol of their brotherhood, the last relic of a past that now seemed a lie.
Tobi did not answer. He just took a long drag from his cigarette, the smoke mixing with the sweet, nauseating smell of the ritual. Then, with a contempt that cut deeper than any blade, he spat on the compass and crushed it under his foot.
Zack screamed, the pain of betrayal consuming him. "Nanashi gave us that! His memory keeps us alive!"
Tobi laughed, an empty laugh, devoid of any joy. "Nanashi..." he repeated, the name a poison on his lips. "You really don't remember anything, do you?"
Zack moved closer, grabbing Tobi by the collar. "Someone is manipulating you, Tobi! I know they are! I'm going to get you out of this, friend. I'm here!"
Tobi's smile widened, revealing white, shining teeth that looked frighteningly out of place in that scene of horror. And then, Zack noticed. The crowd, the citizens of the Red City, all smiled the same way. A chorus of mockery, a nightmare of white teeth and empty eyes.
"Look, I didn't want it to end like this," Tobi said, his voice calm, almost casual. "I just wanted to send you to hell. I wanted to see you wallow, go insane, without ever discovering the truth. I wanted to see you question reality and, after a long time, beg for death. But you found me out. I don't know how, but you found me out. And that hurts me, because you didn't even suffer what you should have."
Tobi's words were like acid, burning Zack's soul. He recoiled, his body trembling, his legs failing. The man in front of him was not his friend. He was a monster, a demon in human skin.
"I planned everything carefully," Tobi continued, irony dripping from his voice. "I was going to be killed helping you in the battle against 'Death,' Zack. What a crude, idiotic character I created, and you believed it. You would swear revenge, blame the Void... but the truth, my dear Zack, is much more delicious."
Zack stumbled and fell, the uneven ground of the square receiving him with a dull thud. He was paralyzed, his mind unable to process the enormity of the betrayal.
Tobi approached, the sadistic smile still on his face. He grabbed Zack by the neck and delivered the first punch. Zack's head hit the ground, the sound echoing through the silent square. And then, the rain of blows began. Violent, merciless punches that turned Zack's face into a mask of blood and pain.
And, amidst the torture, Tobi whispered: "I'm going to tell you a secret, old friend. You're going to die, and in the end, all our little game was for nothing. The entire weight of your struggle was for nothing. I am cruel, but I still have a drop of kindness. So, before you die, I'm going to give you the truth."
---
The punches ceased. Tobi stepped back, lighting another cigarette. "Remember D-Day?" he asked, the smoke curling around his face.
Zack, his face swollen and bloody, could only shake his head. The only eye he could still open was filled with tears.
"The king was going to kill everyone with black eyes," Tobi said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. "The man who adopted you, who took care of you... he, the army, they all thought the same thing. YOU HAVE BLACK EYES, Zack. You are a monster. And they were going to purify the world of you."
Tobi opened his arms in a gesture of praise, and the crowd mimicked him, a sea of empty bodies raising their hands to the blood-stained sky. "The great heads of the country made a worldwide agreement with all nations. A day would come, at such a date and such a time, when the greatest global purification in the world would happen. You needed to see it, Zack. It was truly unique. Countries that hated each other, that could never agree on how to keep the peace, how to fight the monsters, how to deal with the Red Continent... all united for a single purpose: to exterminate your race."
"The Void dominated the globe, and all that remained were the cities. And the story of the Messiah, the great savior of the black-eyed people, was getting stronger. Nations were being threatened, villages taken by black eyes. Not by force, but by blood. The mixing of races. Impure people marrying black eyes and having children... how disgusting."
Zack, with difficulty, grabbed Tobi's shirt. "Why?" he whispered, his voice a thread. "I know you loved Momo."
Tobi took a long drag from the cigarette, the pleasure evident on his face, but his eyes were an abyss of darkness. "She had black eyes. Today I understand. It was just a childhood crush."
"Tobi, I don't believe that," Zack replied, his voice low and weak.
Tobi turned, looking at the red moon that hung in the sky like a bleeding eye. For a long moment, he was silent, the cigarette smoke rising in slow spirals.
"You know, Tobi," Zack said, his voice a little firmer, "I never told you this, but she made me promise that I would save you."
Tobi laughed, a bitter laugh that was lost in the vastness of the night. "Why would she say something so idiotic? Her life really wasn't worth anything. She was a black-eyed filth."
"You don't understand," Zack said, shaking his head in denial. "That's why she asked me to save you. She knew her life wouldn't be worth anything, but yours..."
Zack's words hung in the air, carrying a weight that Tobi could no longer ignore. He continued to look at the moon, but now, his shoulders were trembling. Drops of water began to fall on Zack's face. "It started raining, Zack," he said, his voice choked. "A heavy rain is coming."
"Yes, friend," Zack replied, the compassion in his voice a balm for Tobi's pain. "It looks like it's been brewing for a long time."
Tobi turned, his face contorted in a mask of agony. He was a broken man, a destroyed hunter. The love for Momo, which he had tried to bury under a mountain of hatred and cruelty, now consumed him.
"D-Day...", he continued, his voice a hoarse whisper. "All the countries joined together to destroy your race. There would be no black eyes, and thus, they could end the Void. The plan was made to silence the spread of your people and destroy any chance of a Messiah or some idiotic story being made up."
Zack was paralyzed, his mind reeling from the enormity of the revelation. But one question tormented him. "How did you know all this? And I didn't?"
Tobi wiped his face with the back of his hand, the mask of hardness slowly reconstituting itself. "Because the one who planned all this, Zack... was Nanashi."
---
"WHAAAAAT!" Zack's scream tore through the air, a sound of pure agony and denial. He grabbed Tobi more tightly, shaking him. "Stop lying! Why are you saying this, Tobi? You're trying to manipulate me!"
"I'm not lying, Zack," Tobi said, his voice now calm, resigned. "You don't remember, friend, because you discovered all this and ran away. You left me and many of our other friends behind. Your best friend, your brother, the one who raised you... yes. He betrayed you."
Zack no longer had the strength to scream, to hit, to fight. The truth had emptied him, leaving only a hollow shell.
"I don't know what happened, Zack," Tobi continued, his voice a murmur. "But you ran away, leaving everything behind. I don't know why you don't remember. I really don't know. I just know that everyone feared you. You wouldn't let this plan happen in the country. Besides being feared in other countries, the war made your name, and everyone was afraid of you, of what you could do after this action. Nanashi knew how to stop you, so he started the plan. That's why all countries hunt you. The world hunts the black eyes, and you are a symbol of resistance."
Zack was silent, his face expressionless, his eyes empty. Nanashi. D-Day. Friends. Nations. All the pieces of the puzzle fit together, forming a picture of indescribable horror.
"I don't even know why I told you," Tobi said, his voice tired. "I think Momo's death was my mistake, and in the end, I always blamed you. Zack, I embraced the racism I was against. This is my destiny. I want to die as a monster, doing what I do best: killing my friends and those I love."
Tobi looked at Zack, his eyes fixed on his. Tobi's lifeless gaze, the smoke from his cigarette spreading between them, the citizens smiling as they looked at the two, the macabre energy that made the place lifeless. In the background, the baby cried for help.
And then, a scream tore the silence. A scream of pure, primal, agony.
"COME TO ME, BLACK MOON!!!"
A black lightning bolt tore through the sky, falling toward Zack and Tobi, a promise of annihilation and, perhaps, of liberation.