—
The heavens above Tokyo burned white as Hoshiro and Akushiro's clash ignited a shockwave that rippled across the atmosphere. For a second, every screen, phone, and camera across the globe flickered—and showed the battle live. The world was watching.
Far below, Ayame and Kazuki fought through waves of Riftborn beasts spilling from dimensional tears. "This is getting worse by the second!" Kazuki yelled, discharging his pulse rifle.
Ayame spun, slicing down a twisted hound. "The fabric of reality is unraveling! If they don't end this soon, everything's going to collapse!"
—
Above the chaos, Hoshiro's mind was being pulled inward.
Akushiro's attacks weren't just physical—they clawed at his memories, dragging out visions from the past. Training days with Ayame, the fire that consumed their school, the first time he wore the mask…
A child's voice echoed inside him.
"You always ran toward danger… even when you were scared."
Hoshiro gasped.
It was *his* voice.
But younger.
The image of a boy—his past self—stood before him inside his own consciousness, holding a flame.
"This is what you buried," the boy said. "The courage to be human, even when the world told you to be more."
—
In the real world, Akushiro roared, summoning spears of Rift energy to impale him.
But Hoshiro opened his eyes—now glowing *white-hot*—and raised his hand.
The spears shattered before they reached him.
"You tried to erase me," he said. "But I *remember* who I am."
And with that, he charged—powered not by chaos, but by the memory of his own humanity.
—