The Legacy of the Greatest Defender
“I came…”
Kaizen paused for a moment.
“To tell you that the war has begun.”
Silence fell over Tsukiro's office.
His eyes remained fixed on the young man standing before him.
Jinsu's face.
And yet...
No one could deny the truth any longer.
This was not Jinsu.
Tsukiro let out a slow breath.
“So, that is why you came?”
Kaizen smiled.
“No.”
He took a single step forward.
“I also came to see what remains of his legacy.”
Tsukiro frowned.
“Whose legacy?”
Kaizen's gaze drifted to the emblem engraved upon the wall.
The symbol of Gaya.
“Solar.”
Silence.
“The Greatest Defender…”
Tsukiro spoke quietly.
“The founder of Gaya.”
Kaizen lowered his eyes for a moment.
“That is what you call him.”
Then he raised his crimson gaze to meet Tsukiro's.
“But to me…”
“He is the man who imprisoned me.”
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Tsukiro's breath caught in his throat.
“So…”
“The legends were true.”
Kaizen's faint smile returned.
“Legends?”
“They are always far less interesting than the truth.”
He walked toward the window.
“Hundreds of years ago…”
“When my existence became a threat to this world…”
“There wasn't a single person capable of stopping me.”
Silence lingered in the room.
“But Solar…”
“He found a way.”
Kaizen turned his head slightly.
“A seal.”
“A legacy.”
“And a sacrifice.”
“Those are the three things he left behind.”
Tsukiro stared at him for a long moment.
“Then you hate him.”
For the first time...
Kaizen's smile disappeared.
“Hate him?”
“No.”
Silence.
“I respect him.”
Tsukiro's eyes widened.
“What?”
“He was weak.”
“But he was willing to sacrifice everything for his world.”
He continued in a calm voice.
“That does not change the truth.”
“He stole my freedom.”
Darkness began to seep from beneath his feet.
“And because of that…”
“I will take this world's future.”
Kaizen looked directly into Tsukiro's eyes and spoke coldly.
“He may have sealed me away, but I am eternal.”
“He is dead now. They are all dead.”
“So tell me, Tsukiro…”
“Who is still standing?”
The entire office trembled.
“I will destroy Gaya.”
“I will crush every organization that stands in my way.”
“And I will make the name Kaizen the last name this world remembers.”
Silence.
Yet Tsukiro did not retreat.
“And do you think Thalen will simply stand by and watch?”
For the first time...
Something akin to interest appeared in Kaizen's eyes.
“Thalen…”
“He is strong.”
“Stronger than anyone I have seen since my return.”
Then he added,
“But even the strongest…”
“Cannot save everyone.”
Tsukiro's hand tightened into a fist.
“You are wrong.”
Kaizen smiled.
“Then tell me.”
“How many villages have disappeared over the last three months?”
Tsukiro said nothing.
“How many people have died?”
Silence.
“And how many of them was Thalen able to save?”
The room fell deathly quiet.
Then Kaizen continued.
“This is not a war of strength, Tsukiro.”
“It is a war against time.”
“And with every passing second…”
“I grow stronger.”
Tsukiro answered without hesitation.
“You will not succeed, Kaizen. I swear it.”
“Even if it is the last thing we do.”
He reached for the sword at his side.
But then—
Kaizen vanished.
Tsukiro's eyes widened.
A voice suddenly whispered from directly behind him.
“I wouldn't advise that.”
“I don't want you to die just yet, Tsukiro.”
Kaizen leaned close to his ear, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
“I want you to live long enough to watch me erase your ancestors from existence.”
“But if you draw that sword…”
“You already know what will happen.”
Tsukiro spun around.
But Kaizen had already returned to his place beside the door.
As if nothing had happened.
“Tell Thalen one thing.”
Tsukiro lowered his gaze.
“…What?”
Kaizen smiled.
“If he wishes to bring Jinsu back…”
“He should hurry.”
Tsukiro's breathing stopped for an instant.
Kaizen placed a hand upon the door.
“Because I don't know how much longer he will remain.”
Then he left.
Just as he had entered.
Without anyone sensing his presence.
And without anyone stopping him.
Silence remained.
Several seconds passed.
Then Tsukiro looked toward the wall behind his desk—
And froze.
New words had been carved into the stone.
«"The age of the Defenders is over."»
---
At that same moment...
Thalen stood beneath the moonlight.
Suddenly—
His eyes opened.
He had felt something.
Something he had not sensed in months.
“…Kaizen.”
He disappeared from where he stood.
Seconds later, he appeared inside Tsukiro's office.
His gaze moved to the Supreme Leader.
Then to the words engraved upon the wall.
And for the first time in a very long time...
His expression changed.
“He was here.”
Tsukiro slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then he said,
“He declared war.”
Thalen looked at the moon beyond the window.
Then closed his eyes.
“So…”
He opened them once more.
“When all of this is over…”
“Only one of us will remain.”
Far from the world...
Kaizen sat upon his black throne.
And at his feet...
Countless followers knelt before him.
One of them raised his head.
“What are your orders, my lord?”
Silence.
Then a smile spread across Kaizen's face.
“Begin.”
“The time has come…”
“…for this world to learn the meaning of fear.”