After Three Months
Three months had passed since Jinsu disappeared.
Three months since Kaizen appeared.
Three months since the World Tournament came to a halt.
And during those months...
The world had changed.
The streets were no longer the same.
People no longer talked about the tournament or its champions.
Instead, they spoke of only one thing.
"The Crimson King."
No one knew where the name had originated.
Yet everyone had heard the rumors.
Cities whose populations vanished overnight.
Members of organizations who never returned from their missions.
And witnesses who swore they had seen a man with crimson eyes standing atop mountains of corpses.
And as the world slowly sank into fear...
There was one person who never stopped searching.
---
Inside the headquarters of Kyoketsu no Hikari...
Silence reigned.
Jinsu's room remained exactly as he had left it.
No one had dared to touch anything.
The wooden sword he used for training.
The black coat draped over his chair.
Even the window...
It was still open, just as it had been the last time.
Yuna stood before the door for several seconds.
Then, slowly, she stepped inside.
This was the third time she had come this week.
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She approached the empty bed.
And sat down in silence.
"You're such an idiot..."
No one answered.
Her gaze fell upon the small table beside the bed.
An old cup sat there.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"Remember?"
"You used to say that one day, you'd become stronger than me."
Silence.
"You know..."
"I still think that's impossible."
She paused.
Then gently picked up the black coat.
"So..."
"Stop making everyone worry about you."
Her voice trembled ever so slightly.
"You promised me you'd come back."
And for the first time since his disappearance...
Tears streamed down her face.
---
Elsewhere...
BOOOOOOM!!
A training dummy exploded into dozens of pieces.
Kenji stood in the middle of the training grounds, breathing heavily.
His hand was bleeding.
But that didn't matter.
He raised his fist once more.
BOOOOOOM!!
The second dummy shattered.
"Weak..."
He gritted his teeth.
"I was weak."
He remembered Kaizen's hand piercing through his body.
He remembered standing there, powerless.
And how others had to save him.
"A king..."
He let out a bitter laugh.
"What kind of king can't even protect a single person?"
He slammed his fist into the ground.
"If only I had been stronger..."
"None of this would have happened."
Silence.
Then he slowly closed his eyes.
"Next time..."
"I won't lose."
---
On the other side of the world...
The sound of a blade cutting through the air echoed without end.
Once.
And again.
And again.
Levi stood beneath the rain while bandages still covered his body.
He should have been in a hospital.
But he refused.
He raised his sword once more.
"Five hundred ninety-seven..."
The blade fell.
"Five hundred ninety-eight..."
A member of Tenkuu no Ken stood nearby.
"Stop."
"Your body hasn't healed yet."
Levi didn't even turn around.
"Six hundred."
The man sighed.
"Are you doing this for Jinsu?"
The sword stopped.
Silence lingered for several seconds.
Then Levi answered without looking back.
"Don't make me laugh."
He slowly lowered his sword.
"I'm not training for his sake."
He closed his eyes.
"He took something from me before he disappeared."
"What?"
Levi raised his head toward the sky.
"My chance to defeat him."
Silence.
"So..."
He tightened his grip around the hilt.
"He'd better come back."
"Because I won't forgive him if he dies before I defeat him myself."
---
And in a place known to no one...
Jinsu opened his eyes.
Darkness surrounded him from every direction.
There was nothing.
No sound.
No light.
No time.
How much time had passed?
A day?
A month?
A year?
He no longer knew.
Slowly, he lifted his gaze.
The chains still bound his body.
But something was different.
He no longer screamed.
He no longer resisted.
Instead, he simply stared into the void in silence.
And suddenly...
A familiar voice echoed through that dark world.
"Three months."
Jinsu raised his head.
Kaizen sat upon his black throne.
"That is how much time has passed outside."
Silence.
Then he continued:
"But for you..."
A smile appeared on his face.
"Three years have passed."
Jinsu's eyes widened ever so slightly.
"You know..."
Kaizen rose from his throne.
"In the end..."
"Everyone breaks."
"And you will be no different."
He stopped directly in front of him.
But Jinsu said nothing.
He merely...
Continued to stare at him.
And for some reason...
Kaizen's smile disappeared for a moment.
"What is it?"
Jinsu did not answer.
That was not the gaze of the person Kaizen once knew.
It was too calm.
As if something...
Had begun to change.
---
That same night...
Thalen stood atop the highest point of Gaya's headquarters.
Dark clouds covered the sky.
Tsukiro quietly approached him.
"You're still here."
"Hm."
He stood beside him.
"Three months."
Thalen remained silent.
Then Tsukiro asked,
"Do you still believe he's alive?"
A long silence followed.
Then, at last, Thalen answered.
"If he were dead..."
"I would know."
Tsukiro looked at him.
"Then?"
Thalen closed his eyes.
"He's calling to me."
For the first time...
Shock appeared on Tsukiro's face.
"What?"
Thalen raised his eyes toward the moon.
"I can't hear his voice."
"But I can feel him."
His hand slowly tightened into a fist.
"And the more time passes..."
"The stronger that feeling becomes."
Silence.
Then, in a low voice, he said:
"It's as if he's asking me to hurry."