Rain struck the pavement.
Water gathered along the edges of the road before spilling into the gutters. The streetlights blurred behind the sheets of rain.
Thunder rolled somewhere beyond the clouds.
Then—
Lightning tore across the sky.
For an instant, the entire street turned white.
And Light saw him.
A figure.
Walking toward him through the rain.
Light's eyes stopped moving.
Another flash came.
This time, he saw the face.
His breath caught.
His fingers tightened around the metal seat beneath him.
"N-no way…"
His eyes widened.
Not from surprise.
From fear.
"…Father?"
The word barely left his mouth.
Light pushed himself up from the seat.
His hands slipped against the wet metal.
He stood.
Rainwater ran down his hair, across his face, and along his clothes. He didn't wipe it away.
He couldn't.
His eyes remained fixed on the figure.
"This is not possible…"
The figure kept walking.
One step.
Then another.
Light took a step backward.
"What in the world is happening here…?"
Another step.
The figure came closer.
Light stepped back again.
And again.
His breathing grew uneven.
The distance between them continued to disappear.
Then—
His heel struck the metal seat.
Light's balance broke.
"Ah—"
His leg gave way.
He fell backward, landing hard on the pavement.
For a moment, he didn't move.
Rain struck his face.
His eyes remained fixed on the approaching figure.
The figure stopped.
Another flash of lightning illuminated the street.
The face became clearer.
Light's pupils contracted.
That face.
That height.
Those shoulders.
That frame.
Everything.
Everything was the same.
His lips parted.
"Dad…?"
The figure looked down at him.
Light stared.
Then his expression changed.
Something was wrong.
He couldn't explain what.
The face was his father's.
The body was his father's.
Even the smallest details seemed to belong to the man he had spent years remembering.
But the eyes—
They weren't his father's eyes.
Light's body recoiled.
"No."
He pushed himself backward with both hands.
His palms slid across the wet pavement.
"No…"
The figure took another step.
Light crawled back.
"You're not him."
His voice shook.
The figure continued toward him.
Light's breathing became faster.
His hands trembled against the ground.
"Who the fuck are you?!"
The figure stopped.
For a few seconds, neither of them moved.
Rain fell between them.
Then the figure raised his head and spoke in Japanese.
"I am God."
The words were calm.
Almost gentle.
Light froze.
The choir that had filled the air moments ago rose into a single note.
It began softly.
Then higher.
Higher.
The sound stretched through the rain until the harmony no longer felt heavenly.
The church walls trembled.
The windows rattled.
The note continued.
Too long.
Too high.
Too unnatural.
The beautiful music had become something else.
Something that made Light's stomach tighten.
He pushed himself backward again.
His shoulders struck the church wall.
He didn't seem to notice.
His eyes remained fixed on the figure.
"I…"
His lips moved.
No words came.
The figure looked down at him.
Light's breathing broke apart.
His hands rose to his face.
His fingers pressed against his temples.
"No…"
The single note from the choir continued.
Light shook his head.
"No… no… no…"
His hands covered his face.
His shoulders trembled.
A sound escaped his throat.
"Ah…"
He tried to breathe.
Another sound followed.
"Ahh…"
His fingers dug into his hair.
The memories came too quickly.
The voice.
The smile.
The hands.
The man who had once stood between him and the world.
His father.
Dead.
He was dead.
Yet his face was standing in front of him.
Light's chest tightened.
His mouth opened.
And finally—
"AAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!"
His scream tore through the rain.
The choir swallowed it.
The single high note continued above him.
And somewhere beneath it—
The voice of the man wearing Daniel's face remained calm.
Then a splash of water struck Light's eyes.
His scream stopped.
His mouth closed.
For a moment, he could hear nothing but the rain.
Then—
"Stop screaming, you fucker!"
Light's eyes widened.
The figure stepped closer.
One step.
Light's heart beat faster.
Another step.
Faster.
Another.
His chest tightened.
Then—
Slam!
A leg shot forward.
Light's head struck the church wall as the figure's foot slammed into his face.
"Ahh!"
The figure kept his foot pressed against him.
Light's cheek was forced against the shoe.
"Who are you?!"
No answer.
Light struggled beneath the pressure.
His hands pushed against the ground.
"I said…"
His voice shook.
"Who are you?"
The pressure disappeared.
The figure leaned down.
"Light…"
His hand grabbed Light by the shirt.
"You ungrateful bastard…"
He pulled him upward.
Light's back struck the wall.
The figure's grip tightened.
Then—
Pow!
Light's head snapped against the wall.
Pow!
Again.
His vision shook.
Aghh…!
His head felt like it was spinning.
My head's shaking…
Everything around him began to blur.
The rain.
The church.
The figure standing in front of him.
All of it.
His vision struggled to focus.
Then—
The figure released him.
Light's body remained against the wall.
The figure took a step back.
Then another.
And another.
He stopped.
His left leg moved forward.
His foot slid across the wet pavement.
His body lowered slightly.
His fist rose.
Light's vision was still recovering.
He could barely make out the figure.
Then—
Whoosh!
The fist came forward.
Light's eyes widened.
His vision finally cleared.
The first thing he saw—
A fist.
Already inches from his face.
There was no time to think.
His body moved on instinct.
Light barely slipped to the side.
The fist passed beside his face.
The figure's arm extended completely.
Light's head turned toward it.
His eyes were wide.
Trembling.
Then he looked past the fist.
At the wall behind him.
A massive crater had been carved into the church wall.
Light stared.
His body went still.
His legs gave out.
He fell onto the wet pavement.
His eyes remained fixed on the crater.
If that had hit me…
His breathing stopped for a moment.
I'd be dead.