A single chess piece—a pawn—fell onto the wooden board with a sharp clack, the sound echoing unnaturally through the silence of the room.
A hand slowly withdrew from the board.
Beside the player sat a half-full glass of red wine, the dark liquid catching the dim light. Across the table sat a man—his features lost in the shadows. Only the edge of his jawline caught the glow.
"Well," came his voice, smooth and indifferent, "that's to be expected. I was only using him to give the boy a little push."
The chessboard was lit only on one side. The opposing side remained untouched, a single black king standing tall, alone.
---
Modern Day – Classroom
The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. Inside a modern classroom, three teens sat quietly at their desks. Bandages wrapped their arms. Bruises dotted their skin. Their eyes looked tired—drained.
Luna, Kaito, and Messiah. The trio sat in a triangle of silence.
A student passing by slowed, eyes wide as he took in their injuries.
"Damn…" he muttered, not even trying to hide his shock. "It looks like someone really fucked y'all up."
Messiah barely glanced at him, jaw working a piece of gum, his voice flat. "Yeah… we kinda got caught in the wrong neighborhood."
The student blinked, shrugged, and kept walking.
"Well, shit," he called over his shoulder, "be more careful. You know we got a lot of gangs in the city"
Messiah didn't respond. His eyes drifted to the desk. The humor drained from his face. His fingers tapped against the wood in a slow rhythm, but the movement betrayed the tension crawling under his skin.
He looked lost in thought, his gaze heavy—conflicted.
---
Flashback – After Loki's Death
Messiah stormed forward, his hands trembling as he grabbed Ryu by the collar.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he shouted, voice cracking. "You killed him!"
Ryu didn't flinch. His eyes were cold, but calm—like still water hiding something deeper.
"If I didn't," he said quietly, "that girl would be dead."
Messiah shook his head, the tremble in his voice betraying the storm inside. "But you didn't *have* to kill him!"
Before the tension could snap, Kaito stepped in, arms crossed tightly across his chest. "I don't like it either," he said, his tone level but firm. "But… it was him or us. He gave off that vibe. If he let him live, he would've come back."
Messiah exhaled sharply and looked away. He had no retort—just pain.
Ryu turned in silence, walking away without another word. Only Flare, watching from a few paces behind, glanced back at the others before following.
---
Back to the Present
Messiah leaned forward on his desk, his expression blank, shoulders heavy. He didn't move. Didn't blink. The weight of memory had returned, crushing his focus like a vice.
From the side, Luna watched him quietly, unsure of what to say—how to help. Her eyes softened, and a thought whispered through her heart.
"He's still thinking about that night…"
A rusted, worn-down gym stood silently within the training grounds of the camp. Chain-link fences framed the edges, and the floor beneath was cracked, its concrete bearing scars of countless drills. From a thick steel beam hung a heavy punching bag, swaying slightly with each strike.
Ryu stood barefoot, shirtless, dressed only in a pair of faded basketball shorts. Around his neck, his phoenix pendant glinted with each movement. His fists slammed repeatedly into the leather bag, each strike sharp and deliberate. But there was something off in his eyes—focus tainted by unease. Not rage… not yet. Something heavier.
Curled under a set of old, rusting bleachers was Flare, fast asleep, her small body rising and falling gently.
Beads of sweat rolled down Ryu's brow. His fists kept rhythm, slamming into the bag over and over. The air around him was heavy, as though trying to suffocate whatever thoughts clung to his mind.
Then—images surged forward.
A blur of memory.
Messiah's hands clutching his shirt, face twisted in fury.
His own back turning on the group… walking away.
Flare discusses with Ryu about what she was told.
A voice. Weak. Fading. Whispering.
"He… he didn't say it'd end like this…"
The voice belonged to a beaten bandit. He lay crumpled, barely conscious, muttering to Flare.
"Who?" she had asked, forcing herself to speak. "Loki?"
The bandit coughed blood, face pale.
"Some guy. Said the kid's blade was worth a fortune… Told us to bait him with… a grimoire…"
Ryu's eyes widened as the memory faded, the pieces snapping into place. He stopped punching, shoulders rising and falling with ragged breaths. A tremble rolled through him—one he couldn't stop.
His hand clenched into a fist, so tight his knuckles turned white.
"When I find you…" Ryu growled through clenched teeth.
His voice cracked into a roar.
"I'LL SLAUGHTER YOUUUUUU!!!"
The yell reverberated through the empty training ground.
Flare jolted awake beneath the bleachers, heart pounding.
"—Wha?!"
The air began to ripple around Ryu like heat waves. The entire training ground wavered, shimmering as though reality itself were melting. Colors blurred. Sounds twisted. And then—
Drip... drip... drip...
A heartbeat echoed, faint and distant.
Darkness consumed everything.
Ryu opened his eyes to find himself standing in a space that didn't belong to the world he knew. It was surreal—endless. A vast void of obsidian ash stretched beneath his feet, while crimson clouds churned above, thunderous and slow. Glowing magma veins pulsed across the land like dying embers from a volcano's core.
In the distance stood a fractured mountain, and embedded into its peak was a colossal dragon statue—cracked, ancient, and bound in heavy chains.
From the shadows, something stirred.
A figure emerged.
It was Minerva—the fire dragon sealed within Ryu's blade. He was no simple beast, but a terrifying fusion of man and monster. His crimson eyes shimmered like molten rubies, slitted and full of contempt. Fangs poked from the edge of his smug grin.
His body was lined with scales, and claws curled lazily at his sides. His frame was lean but powerful. Flowing dark hair framed his face, and remnants of tattered robes clung to his form like a fallen king stripped of his throne. From beneath his chest, a molten glow pulsed with each breath.
"Shut it, child. You're too loud."
The voice echoed through the void, low and crackling like firewood splitting in flame.
Ryu gritted his teeth, fists clenched.
"...You," he muttered.
The two stood facing each other—Ryu still grounded in confusion, Minerva towering in presence. Behind them, the chained dragon statue loomed like a broken god.
Minerva's voice dripped with mockery.
"You're still letting that man toy with you? Pathetic. Just a pawn on someone else's board."
Ryu's fists trembled.
"Shut the fuck up, you overgrown lizard," he snarled. "Last I checked, you're just a caged bird."
Minerva's eyes narrowed, the ember-like glow in them pulsing with something unreadable. A smirk crept across his face—sharp, amused, and heavy with implication.
"Two caged birds…" he whispered, voice low and cutting.
"Always seem to flock together."
---
In the blink of an eye, the surreal void shattered.
Ryu gasped—back in the training ground. His chest heaved, sweat dripping down his body as he staggered backward slightly. The heavy punching bag in front of him swung gently, the only sound in the still air.
His heart raced.
His breathing slowed.
But his mind…
"Two caged birds... always seem to flock together."
The words looped over and over.
He stood there frozen—eyes wide, fists trembling. Minerva's voice, though distant now, lingered like heat after flame.
The late afternoon sun spilled across the cracked sidewalk as Luna, Messiah, and Kaito walked side by side through the city. The golden light did little to lift the mood.
Luna stared down at the ground, arms crossed tightly against her chest. Messiah lagged behind slightly, his usual energy missing, the silence between them unusually heavy.
Her face said it all—distant, worn, the shadows beneath her eyes darker than usual.
Messiah glanced up at the sky, squinting at the clouds, clutching the straps of his bag. He didn't say a word.
Kaito, walking between them, slowed. His eyes scanned the sidewalk thoughtfully.
"...This suck," he muttered under his breath. "Gotta do something."
Without warning, he veered off and crouched down near the edge of the sidewalk, out of sight for a moment.
When he stood up again, he was grinning—cradling a small, mangy street rat in both hands. It was about the size of a Pomeranian, twitching violently with bloodshot eyes and foaming at the mouth like something out of a horror movie.
"Hey Luna," Kaito said, beaming with childlike pride,
"Look! Another Lola."
Luna froze in place. Her pupils shrank.
Then her entire face twisted into a grotesque mask of pure horror—tongue lolling out, eyes bulging, and sweat launching from her forehead like a cartoon explosion. It was the kind of reaction so over-the-top, it looped back around to comedic genius.
With no hesitation, she spun around and smacked Kaito on the back of the head.
THWACK!
"Kai, what the FUCK?! Put that thing down!!"
Still holding the foaming, twitching rat in his hands, Kaito just smiled—like a gremlin drunk on chaos.
"Think it's part possum…" he muttered proudly.
Luna grabbed him by the shirt and began shaking him like he was a human maraca, but Kaito refused to drop the creature.
Then—through the chaos—a small, unexpected sound cut in.
A soft, surprised "heh."
Luna and Kaito both paused.
Messiah stood a few feet behind them, his head tilted back as laughter finally broke free from his chest. It was genuine—bright, alive. His eyes sparkled with life again for the first time that day.
"I swear," he chuckled between breaths, "y'all are actually hilarious…"
Luna and Kaito glanced at each other, and then, like an unspoken signal had passed between them, they burst out laughing too.
The three of them stood in the middle of the sidewalk, laughing together like idiots.
And for just a moment—the weight on their shoulders lifted.
As their laughter began to fade, Kaito glanced ahead—something shifting in his expression. The light in his eyes dulled, his grin fading as quickly as it had come.
Through the thinning crowd ahead of them, he saw a familiar silhouette walking alone.
It was Ryu.
Unaware. Silent. Isolated.
Kaito didn't say a word—but the others followed his gaze.
The laughter stopped. All three of them—Luna, Messiah, and Kaito—went still.
Their faces turned serious.
In that single breath, the lightness of the moment vanished. The mood shifted again, like the sudden drop in temperature before a storm.
Together, they stared ahead in silence, the world falling quiet around them.
They knew what they had to do next.
The group stood at the edge of a strange but lively park—where futuristic design met creeping nature. Sleek metal structures curved around patches of wild grass and tangled roots. Broken hologram boards still flickered, casting neon reflections on nearby trees. Kids could be heard laughing in the distance, and a dry fountain hummed with soft mechanical life.
Ryu leaned silently against a bench beneath a chrome tree, his eyes fixed on the sky.
The trio—Luna, Kaito, and Messiah—stood a few feet away, hesitating. None of them knew how to approach him.
Messiah crossed his arms and took the first step forward.
"Alright… first question. Who are you?"
Ryu didn't answer. Didn't even glance their way.
He just kept staring upward.
Messiah's brow twitched.
"Second—who *was* that-"
Behind them, Kaito's voice piped up dryly from the background.
"Queer."
SMACK!
Luna had walked up behind him and smacked him clean upside the head.
"Kai, not the time," she said, clearly annoyed.
Messiah leaned forward, now visibly irritated.
"And what the *hell* is a grimoire?!"
Still… Ryu didn't say a word.
He simply turned his head, ever so slightly, and glanced at Messiah with a face so full of sarcastic, comedic disgust that it could've belonged on a drama mask.
Messiah stepped back, arms flying up.
"What?! What'd I say?!"
A voice cut in from the side—calm, clear, and completely unexpected.
"I'll explain."
The trio froze mid-motion, their bodies locked in place as if struck by lightning.
"HUH?!" Luna, Kaito, and Messiah all yelped in unison.
From inside Ryu's jacket, a familiar figure emerged Flare. She stretched her small, ferret-like body out like a cat waking from a nap, her eyes steady and thoughtful.
"It's the least I can do," she said softly, "for dragging you three into this mess."
Luna's eyes sparkled as she gasped, practically squealing.
"You can *talk?!* Oh my GOD you're even *cuter* now!"
Messiah took a slow, nervous step backward, sweat beading on his forehead.
"What the fuck is going on here."
Kaito's jaw dropped as he pointed, mimicking the same face Ryu had made earlier in disgust.
"...Dear God. They can speak now."
Ryu sighed loudly, already turning away from them.
---
By nightfall, the glow of the city spilled across Kaito's cluttered apartment.
The apartment was cluttered but cozy. Blankets were spread across the floor like makeshift comfort. Snack wrappers and half-empty cups littered the space around them.
Luna, Messiah, and Kaito sat in silence.
The atmosphere felt heavier than the air itself.
Messiah lay back on a pillow, arms crossed. Kaito was sprawled out on his back, eyes fixed on the ceiling. Luna sat upright, legs crossed, clearly restless.
Messiah broke the silence first.
"So… what now?" he murmured quietly, as if the question itself might shatter them.
Luna looked up at him, frowning.
"You don't just get news like that and act like nothing happened."
No one replied.
No jokes were made.
The weight of everything they'd learned was still fresh, pressing down on all of them.
---
FLASHBACK – Earlier That Day
Location: Overgrown Park – Evening
Ryu sat silently on a cracked bench, his sword resting beside him like a reminder of everything he'd endured.
Flare stood in front of the trio—Luna, Kaito, and Messiah—her expression dead serious.
"For four years, Ryu and I have been hunting down grimoires," she began, her voice steady.
"They can either reshape the world… or destroy it."
The trio listened carefully. Messiah shifted uncomfortably, as if trying to make sense of something far too large to grasp.
"There's a man named Hades after them," Flare continued. "We don't know his exact goal, but it's nothing good."
Ryu didn't speak. He just sat there—still, unreadable.
"And he's put Ryu through hell," Flare added softly, her voice now off to the side like an echo.
"He's lost friends. Family. Trust."
She looked down at the ground.
"...He doesn't want to see that man's dream come true."
Silence settled over the trio. The wind rustled gently through the trees around them. No one spoke for a while. The weight of what they'd just heard still hung in the air.
Then, without looking at anyone, Kaito finally broke the silence.
"...Guess I'm in," he said, casually but sincere. "Would suck if the world ended before I graduate."
Messiah jolted upright, clearly offended—but also a little amused.
"Damn it, I was gonna say that!"
He slouched again with a shrug.
"...Fine. I forgot to do my homework anyway."
Luna glanced toward him and smiled. A faint blush touched her cheeks as her thoughts wandered.
"This is why I like him…" she admitted silently.
"Count me in too," she said out loud, eyes warm. "School's almost out anyway…"
---
Without warning, Ryu stood.
His entire body trembled with fury, and flickers of aura sparked around him like fire threatening to catch.
"This isn't a fucking game!" he shouted.
The words hit like a thunderclap.
The trio flinched, instinctively stepping back. His tone wasn't just intense—it shook them.
"This isn't summer vacation. It's not about grades or skipping school," Ryu continued.
"This is about me—my life—"
"...and watching everything that bastards-built turn to ash."
Flare looked away, sadness welling in her eyes. The others remained silent, too stunned to respond.
Ryu's voice dropped, but the heat behind it remained.
"Do as you please." he muttered as he turned his back.
"Just don't get in my way."
Back inside Kaito's apartment, the three sat in silence again—but something had changed.
Kaito was the first to move. He extended his fist forward without a word.
Messiah looked at him, then smirked. He bumped his fist against Kaito's and turned toward Luna.
She smiled softly; eyes warm despite everything.
"Let's not let some old guy end the world," she said gently.
All three of their fists met in the middle, pressed together with quiet resolve.
---
That night, Ryu lay alone on the roof of the facility, staring up at the stars. The air was cool. Flare slept peacefully on his chest, her tiny body rising and falling with each breath.
He didn't say anything.
But in his thoughts, one promise echoed like a heartbeat.
"...I will end him."
Far away, atop a dark spire lost in shadow, Hades stood grinning—his crooked smile slicing through the darkness like a blade of ice.
And above it all...
A vision split across time and meaning:
On one side—three fists united in solidarity.
On the other—Ryu's quiet, defiant eyes under the starlit sky.
And above them both—Hades' sinister smirk.
Narration filled the void.
"When freedom feels far... some still choose to walk the fire, barefoot and unafraid."