Yami no Enma
Three months were enough...
For the world to realize that something had changed.
In the past, people feared wars.
They feared organizations.
They feared the Yami.
But now...
There was something else.
Something without a name.
Something without a face.
Yet it existed.
And with each passing day...
It drew closer.
---
Within a city far from Gaya's headquarters...
Rain poured heavily from the sky.
A little girl sat beside the window, staring at the empty street.
"Grandpa..."
The old man slowly raised his head.
"Hm?"
"Is it true that the man with crimson eyes really exists?"
The old man's hand froze.
Silence lingered for several seconds.
Then he stood up and closed the window.
"Who told you that?"
"Everyone at school talks about him."
The old man lowered his gaze.
"Some say he steals souls."
"Others say he's a king."
"And some say he isn't even human."
The old man stood motionless.
Then, in a low voice, he said:
"Do not speak of such things."
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"Why?"
He looked at her for a long moment.
"Because some names..."
"If they spread too far..."
"They become reality."
---
At that same moment...
Three members of Gaya stood in what was supposed to be a village.
But it no longer existed.
The houses were gone.
The trees were gone.
And so were the people.
It was as though the entire place had been erased from the world.
One of them knelt and examined the ground.
"There are no bodies."
Another added,
"And no signs of a battle."
The third...
Was staring at a massive stone in the center of the village.
His eyes widened.
"There's something written here."
Everyone gathered around.
The words had been carved deep into the stone:
«"When the King awakens...
Hell shall follow in his wake."»
Silence.
Then one of them spoke with a trembling voice.
"There's another line..."
«"Yami no Enma."»
---
Several hours later...
Inside Gaya's council chamber.
Silence filled the room.
All eyes were fixed on the report lying before Tsukiro.
"The sixth village this month."
Akuro said with his arms crossed.
"And this is the first time a name has been left behind."
The leader of Raikō no Ikari turned toward Thalen.
"I told you."
"We should have ended this from the very beginning."
Thalen did not answer.
Nor did he look away.
"This isn't Jinsu's doing."
The man let out a mocking laugh.
"Oh, really?"
He slammed his fist against the table.
"Then tell me!"
"If this isn't Jinsu..."
"Who is it?!"
Silence.
Thalen answered without hesitation.
"Kaizen."
The leader of Raikō no Ikari laughed.
"And what's the difference?"
The entire room fell silent.
Because spiritual pressure began leaking from Thalen's body.
"There is one."
Thalen looked directly into his eyes.
"Try saying that again."
For the first time...
The man's smile disappeared.
Tsukiro quickly intervened.
"Enough."
He raised the report.
"The problem isn't the culprit's identity."
He continued:
"It's the name that was left behind."
Everyone's eyes fell upon the words written on the page.
Yami no Enma.
Kaya spoke quietly.
"Enma..."
"The Judge of the Dead."
Valiana continued,
"And when combined with the word Yami..."
"It becomes..."
Tsukiro lowered his gaze.
«"The King of the Dark Underworld."»
Silence.
And for reasons none of them could explain...
A chill ran down everyone's spine.
---
And in a place beyond the world...
There was a black sky.
An endless land.
And an ocean of darkness.
At the center of that world...
Thousands knelt.
Men.
Women.
Yami.
Even some humans.
All of them looked upward.
Toward the black throne.
Kaizen sat upon it in silence.
His crimson eyes gazed down upon his followers.
Then he spoke.
"How many?"
One of the men bowed.
"One thousand, two hundred and twenty-seven, my lord."
Silence.
"That number is insufficient."
The man's body trembled.
"W-What are your orders?"
Kaizen slowly rose from his throne.
And the moment he stood...
Everyone felt as though the air itself had vanished.
"The world believes I have gone into hiding."
He smiled.
"But kings do not hide."
He raised his hand toward the black sky.
"They wait."
Then his gaze swept across the crowd.
"From this day onward..."
"You are no longer Yami."
"And you are no longer human."
"You are..."
"The beginning of a new era."
Everyone's eyes widened.
Then he spoke the name that would become the world's nightmare years later:
«"The world shall know you as..."
"Yami no Enma."»
In that instant...
Every follower bowed.
"Glory to the King!"
"Glory to the King!!"
"GLORY TO THE KING!!!"
As for Kaizen...
He merely smiled.
---
Deep within his mind...
Jinsu opened his eyes.
The chains still bound his body.
But this time...
Dozens of new scars covered him.
Slowly, he raised his head.
"How much time has passed?"
Kaizen appeared before him.
"Four years."
Silence.
While only four months had passed in the outside world...
Jinsu had lived through four entire years.
Kaizen stepped closer.
"Tell me, Jinsu..."
"Are you still waiting for someone to save you?"
No answer.
"Thalen?"
Silence.
"Yuna?"
Nothing.
"Or have you finally begun to understand?"
Jinsu slowly lifted his head.
And for the first time...
Kaizen felt something strange.
Because Jinsu's eyes...
No longer held despair.
They held something else.
Something Kaizen could not understand.
Then, at last, Jinsu spoke.
"Are you finished?"
Kaizen's smile vanished.
"...What?"
"You've said those words so many times."
Silence.
"I've memorized them."
For the first time in years...
Kaizen didn't know what to say.
As for Jinsu...
He simply returned his gaze to the void.
As though he no longer cared.
Deep within that dark prison...
Something new was born.
Something...
That even Kaizen had yet to notice.