The boys stood in awkward silence while Aymar recovered from the hit. Daya didn't seem to care anymore. She sank deeper into the bean bag like the whole situation bored her.
Not sure what to do, Yuma looked at Akira, hoping he would act first. Akira only returned the look with a shrug, just as confused as he was.
"Y'all should sit," Aymar offered, gesturing toward the couch.
Keisuke was the first to move, though every step toward the couch looked painfully awkward. Akira followed and sat beside him. Not wanting to be the only one left standing, Yuma sat on the arm of the couch.
The boys exchanged a look before Yuma finally asked the question he had been holding back from the start.
"How does this place work?" Yuma asked, glancing around the room before looking at the dark veil separating the space.
"It's my storage? You know… how you use your element to store things?" Aymar replied, confused by Yuma's question.
Akira looked at him, just as confused.
"That's not how that works…" he quickly pointed out.
Yuma looked between them, completely lost. What did Aymar mean by using his element to store things? And what was Akira talking about?
Unfortunately, neither of them gave him a chance to ask.
"Not if the opening's too small, yeah. But if you make it wide enough, you can walk right in," Aymar shot back, baffled that Akira didn't know this.
Akira's confidence didn't waver. As far as he knew, only items could pass through storage spaces.
"You can only pass items through. Every storage is linked to your region. You're making things up," Akira snarled, skepticism and arrogance lacing his voice.
Aymar's face scrunched in irritation.
"Who are you to talk, jackass? Acting as if you were born into this…" Aymar snapped back.
Almost immediately, Akira got up in his face, staring down at him.
"I was a shithead. I know more than you ever could. You and your fraud ass—"
Keisuke stepped between them before Akira could finish.
"Could you guys relax?" Keisuke said, trying to stop them before they tore each other's throats out.
Akira looked at him, scoffed, then sat back down.
Aymar still glared daggers until Daya opened one eye and looked directly at him.
Like a scolded dog, Aymar backed down and dropped onto the bag near her feet, grumbling under his breath.
Yuma was surprised by the power Daya had over him. To him, it was like she had a foot pressed to Aymar's neck. He didn't understand why Aymar obeyed so easily, but the feeling reminded him of Akame.
He glanced at Keisuke and saw the same familiar look on his face.
For a moment, the room went quiet.
Then Keisuke cleared his throat, deciding it was finally time to get to the point.
"I know you're both wondering why we came looking for you," Keisuke started.
"There's a man looking for you both. He's strong, dangerous, and he wants you dead. He's after us too, which is why we need your help stopping him."
Aymar turned toward Keisuke with an eyebrow raised. Apparently, this was news to him.
"Huh? What for? Did I do something?" Aymar asked.
Daya opened both eyes and looked directly at Keisuke. Unlike Aymar, she seemed to take his words seriously.
"No. It's because you two could harm him, or whatever he has planned. That's why we need your help more than ever," Keisuke answered.
"Well, pretty sure we could handle him alone if he's that scared," Aymar replied, dismissing him with a few waves of his hand.
"He's not someone you could handle…" Yuma muttered softly.
Aymar caught his words and looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
Yuma picked up on the look and spoke again.
"He somehow managed to collect other conduits and send them after us… but he's on his own level. I would know."
Aymar's expression shifted for a moment. Yuma couldn't tell what it was, but the look made his skin freeze.
"He got someone close to you, didn't he?" Aymar asked plainly.
Yuma stiffened. The accuracy of the guess threw him off.
"Y-yeah… how…"
"I've had that same look for years," Aymar said quietly. "Let me guess. A parent?"
"Yeah. My mom…" Yuma confirmed, unsettled by how easily Aymar had read him.
Akira shifted his eyes toward Aymar, suddenly interested.
"I see…" Aymar's voice lowered. "I'm sorry. Before I got stuck here, I lost my family too."
Yuma stayed silent, quietly urging him to continue.
Whether it was because of the moment or their similar pain, Aymar did.
"Daya and I came from Shanghai. We became conduits a little while ago, but in the process, we lost our way…"
"How did you lose your way?" Keisuke asked.
Before Aymar could answer, his body seized.
He hit the floor hard, muscles locking as a scream tore out of him. His body spasmed violently against the ground, every breath twisting into pain.
Daya shot up immediately and grabbed him, holding him as tightly as she could. The boys jumped to their feet, frozen between panic and confusion.
Daya held him tighter, but the helpless look on her face made it clear she could only wait it out.
Then, just as suddenly, it stopped.
Aymar lay there trembling, a broken sigh slipping out of him as the pain finally released its grip.
"That's why…" Aymar moaned, still coming down from it.
"What was that?" Akira asked.
The edge in his voice had faded, replaced by concern.
"Speak of the devil…" Aymar chuckled weakly, exhausted. "Ever since I became a conduit, my body's been going through this."
Akira looked confused.
To his knowledge, there had never been a case where a violent attack like that had afflicted a conduit. He wanted to question him about it, but chose to let the words die on his tongue.
Yuma looked at Daya, wondering what she was thinking.
Her face was filled with nothing but guilt and concern for Aymar. It threw him off, considering how she acted toward him and how she had seemed to have no problem hitting him earlier.
"You alright?" Yuma asked her directly.
"Shut up," Daya shot back without taking her eyes off Aymar.
Yuma's face tightened. He had only tried to check on her, and that was what he got in return?
'Bitch.'
"Don't mind her…" Aymar said, looking at Yuma. "She gets like this every time I go through it."
Yuma looked at him and decided to move on from the harsh response. He reached out a hand, trying to help Aymar up.
Aymar grabbed it and stood.
Daya tried to support him, but he patted her back, silently assuring her he could stand on his own. Once he settled back onto the bag, he looked at Akira.
"Sorry…" Aymar said softly. "I know this is all new to you and suspicious. Instead of explaining, I lashed out."
Akira gave him a curt nod. His suspicion didn't disappear, but for now, he swallowed it.
The mission mattered more than his pride.
"Then explain yourselves," Akira said, his tone calmer than before.
Aymar nodded.
"As I said before, we're newer elements. Ten years ago, the current Fire and Water monarchs clashed, and from that came Kamori and Daggett—the newest elements added to the descendants' roster. Mine leans more toward water. Daya's leans more toward fire."
His voice was still hoarse from the attack.
"I see…" Akira mumbled quietly.
He wasn't sure what to believe. There was no way to prove or disprove Aymar's claim, but something in the back of his mind screamed that Aymar was hiding something.
Akira chose to ignore it—for now.
Aymar shifted his attention to Keisuke and Yuma.
"…You two said you needed help taking someone down, right?"
Yuma nodded.
"Yes. A man named Killian," Keisuke said, thrown off by the sudden attention.
"Killian?" Aymar asked, a tinge of recognition in his voice.
"Yeah. You know him?" Yuma asked immediately.
"Not personally," Aymar said. "But he's well known back in Shanghai."
"What do you mean?" Akira asked, raising an eyebrow.
Aymar's expression grew serious.
Yuma glanced at Daya and saw her struggling to hide the fear that crossed her face when she heard Killian's name.
"He's a notorious criminal. Worked with the triads. Stories about his cruelty spread everywhere back home… especially the one about how he denied death."
Aymar's voice lowered as tension crept into the room.
"He was known as rén miàn shòu xīn. In Japanese, the closest term would be jinmen jūshin. A man-faced beast. He was a sick man known to kill without discrimination. If there was a crime to commit, people said Killian had already done it."
The room seemed to grow colder as he continued.
"He became truly infamous when the family of a rival gang went missing. Later, they found the body of a woman half-eaten in a box sent to that man's family."
Yuma's stomach twisted.
"The day the government went to execute him, he survived and killed everyone who was there. I'm guessing that was around the time he became a conduit."
Aymar shuddered.
"Truly a man-faced beast."
Yuma felt the chill first, crawling slowly down his spine. Beside him, Keisuke had gone completely still.
Akira returned to his stoic expression, unable to react to the news.
Yuma already knew Killian was twisted, but cannibalism just to send a message made something clear.
They weren't dealing with some low-tier madman.
Keisuke snapped out of his horror and refocused, determination hardening in his eyes.
"That's exactly why we need you. Together, we might actually be able to take him down for good."
"Got a plan?" Aymar asked immediately.
Keisuke nodded vigorously, his passion to protect and take down Killian clear on his face.
"Alright… I'm i—"
"No."
Daya cut Aymar off, a dark expression crossing her face.
Aymar turned toward her, trying to figure out what was going through her head. Yuma and the others looked at her as well.
"Why not?" Keisuke asked, breaking the silence.
Daya ignored him completely and looked only at Aymar.
"Look at your condition! You're in no position to fight at all!" she snapped.
"Daya…" Aymar chuckled softly.
"I'll be fine. I don't need you hovering over me."
"THAT!" Daya shouted. "That's exactly what I'm talking about! You take so much from me and still act like you can take more! Why can't you just—"
"What is she talking about?" Akira asked, his voice monotone as he looked at Aymar.
Aymar sighed, offering no resistance to the question.
"She suffers the same thing I do," he explained calmly. "But I take her condition on top of mine."
Akira looked confused, but before he could ask for clarity, Aymar continued.
"I linked her shadow to mine. Anything that's supposed to afflict her hits me instead."
He pointed to the ground near Daya's feet.
Yuma followed his finger and froze.
Daya had no shadow.
Then he looked at Aymar's feet. His shadow was darker than everyone else's, thicker and more solid, like two shadows pressed into one.
Yuma hadn't realized Aymar had that much control over his ability. Akira seemed shocked as well. His eyes were wide, his lips pressed into a thin line.
"How far along are you with your abilities?" Yuma asked.
"'Bout the same as your silver-haired friend," Aymar replied.
"You've attained Perfect Echo?" Akira mumbled, taken aback.
Aymar paused.
"Wait, you have Perfect Echo?" he asked, suddenly stunned and confused.
Akira nodded slowly, hoping Aymar's claim was true.
"My bad then. No, we're not there," Aymar corrected quickly. "It's more like halfway."
The faint spark in Akira's expression vanished, leaving his face flat again.
No one else could have noticed it, but Yuma had learned how to see through him.
Still, Yuma stared at the two of them in disbelief—Daya glaring with resentment, Aymar worn down but still standing.
Halfway to Perfect Echo was still better than anything they had now.
'These guys are absolutely needed.'
Yuma thought quietly.