Yuuma, barely able to see anything, feels the world around him spinning—like he's underwater, drowning in memories he never asked for. His body is stiff, trembling. His voice cracks when he whispers:
"Where... am I...?"
Taishiro stands over him, his shadow long and heavy.
"You're in an underground hospital. Our agency found you in Hanadiro. You were the only survivor."
Yuuma's breath stops. He doesn't scream. Doesn't ask anything.
He just... breaks. Silent tears sliding down like he's afraid even crying will get him killed again.
Taishiro sits beside him slowly, voice low.
"I know the ache of losing your entire world in one night... I lived it too. When I was ten, The Helix destroyed my home. I escaped with only my toddler brother."
Yuuma forces out a single word.
"Helix...?"
Taishiro's fist tightens, knuckles white.
"Yes. Helix. The shadow empire ruling the world for six centuries. Even nations bow beneath them. Eight leaders... armies that don't feel fear...
We, the Illuminati, were formed five hundred years ago to fight them. And yet... not once have we made them tremble. Every 'world war' you studied? Just our war with them—hidden behind political lies."
Yuuma just stares. Dead-eyed. Like something inside him unplugged.
Taishiro leans closer.
"I know this is too much to—"
"WHY?!" Yuuma erupts. His voice is raw, animalistic.
"WHY MY CITY?! WHY MY FAMILY?! WHAT DID WE DO?! WHY DID THEY CHOOSE US?! I SHOULD'VE DIED WITH THEM, I SHOULD'VE—"
Taishiro grabs him, steady but gentle.
"Listen to me. They destroyed your city because your mother... was one of us. Illuminati. She was the architect behind the destruction of a major Helix base. They couldn't identify her—but they found the city she lived in."
Yuuma's pupils shake.
"My... mom...? This... this is a lie. She—she was NORMAL—"
Taishiro's voice hardens.
"Yuuma Sangakai... your mother's legacy didn't die. It passed to you."
Yuuma shakes, biting his lip so hard it bleeds.
Then something inside him snaps—not cleanly, not heroically—messily. Broken. Rage mixing with grief so sharp it feels like drowning.
"I'LL—" his voice cracks, "I'LL DESTROY THEM. EVERYONE IN HELIX. I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES. IF MY MOTHER FOUGHT..... THEN I WILL TOO.
I... I'll join the Illuminati."
His tears keep falling. But his eyes burn.....