[The dust is still suspended in the air, the rays of light from the ceiling vents hit the dust particles, forming ghostly colors.]
[Silence... no one moves. Everyone is watching where the masked man stood.]
Suddenly, we hear a slight cracking sound... and then something falls to the floor - a small piece of the mask breaks off, falling next to his finely polished black shoes, like a splinter of his pride.
[The dust rises slowly... and when it clears, the masked man is standing, one knee on the ground. He hasn't fallen completely. But he is wounded.]
Through the slit that covered the side of the eye, a glimpse of his pale skin emerged... a light gray eye, like a dull crystal glass, shining coldly.
The first thing everyone notices... strands of his snow-white hair, flowing out of the slit in his mask... cold, lifeless, as if time itself had passed.
Ryoko (takes a step forward, his tone of voice angry but stunned):
- "Who the hell are you? Why are you hiding your face?"
The Masked One (quietly... his voice is slightly broken, but he shows no pain):
- "You want a name? Or a truth you can't stand?"
- (looking at Erica)
- "Your power was beautiful... but you don't know to whom you directed it."
đź”· Ryuichi (thinking to himself, words echoing within him):
> "That hair...?"
Erica (takes a step forward):
- "If you mean it... stay and face the truth."
The Masked One (in a cold, sarcastic voice):
- "The truth? You haven't touched it yet."
[The Masked One raises his right palm up - a black-violet mana circle forms beneath his feet, silently widens, and begins to make a sharp buzzing sound.]
Jihan (in a trembling voice):
- "He's running away!"
Erica (screaming):
- "Wait! Don't disappear now!"
The Masked One (his last words before he disappears, looking at Ryuichi):
- "See you soon... heir."
[A purple flash suddenly flashes - and in an instant, the Masked One vanishes completely, only the wind blowing the remnants of his cloak.]
---
> Ryuichi (thinking to himself, sweat beading on his brow):
- "What did he mean by heir?
The remnants of the explosion still scatter light through the shattered mirrors. Intermittent breaths, and the sounds of debris falling slowly. No one speaks. Everyone is looking at the void where the masked man used to stand.
Sigma (advancing quickly, his eyes glinting with anger):
- "No... he can't just disappear like that."
- (Kneeling on the ground, he runs his hand over the mana remnants in place, his artificial eye glowing)
- "Even the traces of mana... scattered. It's like... He hid it on purpose."
Ryoko (gets up slowly, breathing deeply):
- "Can you trace it? Anything... even a single thread?"
Sigma (slowly shakes his head, eyes widening in disappointment):
- "Nothing... vaporized."
- (Silent for a moment, then whispers softly)
- "I was so close... I just wanted to see him. To know who he was."
Jihan (in a low voice):
- "Even his face... he didn't show up at all. All we saw... fragments."
Erica (sitting on the floor, breathing heavily, putting her hand over her heart):
- "But we touched him... for the first time. He felt danger. That means something, doesn't it?"
Sigma (looking at his hand, which is still shaking slightly):
- "Yeah... but if only I had arrived a moment earlier, maybe... I would have ripped that mask off myself."
---
A moment of collective silence
[Ryuichi looks at the ground. His face is pale. His mind is full of questions... but his tongue is silent.]
> Ryuichi (talking to himself):
- "Who is he... and why that sentence?"
[Ryoko approaches Sigma, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder.]
Ryoko:
- "Don't worry... we'll meet him again. He will reveal himself to us when the time comes. He can't stay hidden forever."
Sigma (nods slightly without looking):
- "I hope that time is soon... before
Breathing slows, silence descends, before a faint sound is heard... moaning.
Jihan (turns around quickly):
- "Takeru?!"
Erica (getting up despite her exhaustion, running towards him):
- "He's bleeding! His mouth... and his eyes too!"
Ryoko (quickly approaching, kneeling next to him):
- "He's not moving... his heart is beating, but it's weak."
Ryuichi (with great concern):
- "Crimson Dominion... I've completely consumed him."
And here...
[Quiet footsteps are heard, before Sigma kneels in front of Takeru's body, slowly raising his right hand, his fingertips displaying tiny interlocking circles of light like a delicate techno-organic pattern.]
Sigma (seriously calm):
- "Stand down."
[Everyone looks on in amazement, as no one has ever seen Sigma use anything resembling therapy.]
Jihan:
- "What are you doing?"
Sigma (placing his hand on Takeru's chest):
- "This is a technique I don't normally use. But no time for questions. If I don't stabilize Manah's flow now... he may go into fatal shock."
[Sigma's hand glows a cool blue color, like a vivid flash, and complex patterns of data appear to flow in the air above Takeru's body.]
Erica (in an amazed whisper):
- "This is... not traditional magic... it's a combination of... mana and a healing system."
[Moments pass, Takeru's breathing begins to stabilize, and the bleeding from his eyes stops.]
Ryoko (looking at Sigma with amazement and respect):
- "I didn't know you were capable of... do this."
Sigma (sighs):
- "There's a lot you haven't learned yet."
[Walking away, he stands up quietly, looking at them with a steady gaze.]
- "Now... let's get out of this place before it collapses on us."
---
exiting the basement...
[The staircase leading to the roof is flooded with dim light from the vents, and everyone walks in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.]
Jihan (looking behind her):
- "You think he'll come back?"
Sigma (answers without turning around):
- "It's not a question of if... it's when."one of us pays the ultimate price."
[Ryuichi puts his palm to his forehead silently. Ryoko stretches, his arm bleeding from a superficial wound. Jihan checks on Takeru, who is still unconscious and placed next to a cold wall. Sigma stands beside the shattered window, contemplating the horizon.]
Erica (squats down, her eyes half-closed from exhaustion):
- "I'm fine... don't worry."
Jihan (in a soft tone):
- "But how did the masked man catch you? We thought you were in college."
Erica (looks at the ground, then sighs slowly):
- "I was already there... with Ryuichi."
Ryuichi (suddenly raising his head):
- "What?"
Erica (with a tired smile):
- "When you came to me at college, and after Jihan and Ryoko showed up... I felt that my presence might arouse suspicion... I didn't want them to know that I was accompanying you."
Ryoko (stepping forward slightly in surprise):
- "Wait... what do you mean 'escorting'?"
Erica (hesitates, then dodges as she looks away):
- "It's not important right now..."
Ryoko (in a semi-angry tone):
- "Erica, have you been watching Ryuichi? Why?"
[Heavy silence. Everyone stares at her.]
Erica (turns away, continuing as if she didn't hear the question):
- "Anyway... when you went to the cafeteria, I felt it would be a good time to follow you without being noticed."
[She pauses for a second, then squeezes her hand tightly.]
- "But... the moment I walked out the back door, a blue flash suddenly appeared in front of me."
[Everyone's eyes widen slightly.]
- "Someone was there... it was the masked man. He put his hand on my shoulder... and-"
[Silence.]
- "I couldn't move. My body was no longer mine. Everything became blurry. Then... nothing. I woke up blindfolded in that basement."
[Her eyes drop to the floor as a wave of tension echoes through the audience.]
Ryuichi (in a hushed voice):
- "The Masked One... uses a mana freezing technique. Terrifying."
Sigma (from the window, not turning around):
- "What's more... he was able to bypass our perceptual field undetected."
Jihan (clenches her fist in fear):
- "That means... he can catch any of us whenever he wants?"
[Silence. They all realize now: The Masked One is not just a threat... he is a threat beyond normal logic.]
The gray fog was still slowly dissipating in the post-battle silence of the basement. Fatigue was evident on everyone's faces, and staccato breaths filled the space, as if they had just emerged from the depths of hell.
Sigma, watching the scene with tired but sharp eyes, said in a low, confident voice:
"I think it's time for you all to go home. There's no point in staying here any longer, in this condition."
Everyone exchanged glances. The decision made sense; everyone was in a state of disrepair. But Ryuichi broke the silence as he walked slowly forward, looking at Erica and then at Ryoko:
"Ryoko... Can you give me and Erica a ride to the miko's house?"
Surprised by the request, Sigma quickly turned to Ryoko and asked in surprise:
"Really... Can you do that?"
Ryoko was a little confused, stuttering for a moment before straightening up and saying in a slightly nervous tone:
"Yes... I can."
Sigma didn't comment, instead looking at Ryoko's face as if trying to read beyond the words. At that moment, Erica raised her voice as she pointed at Takeru, who was sitting silently in a corner, the traces of blood still drying on his face:
"What about Takeru? He doesn't look well... Are we going to leave him alone?"
Everyone turned to Takeru, who was sitting against the wall, trying hard to look coherent despite the dried blood on his mouth and eyes. Breathing slowly, he said as he stood up with difficulty:
"Don't worry, I have something important to do... I have to go, even if I'm not at my best."
Suddenly, Jihan took two steps forward with unmistakable confidence, looking at him steadily:
"If you think I'm going to let you go alone like that, you don't know me very well, Takeru."
He looked at her in surprise, his voice sounding hesitant:
"Jihan... I'm fine, there's no need to-"
She interrupted him in a firm tone:
"I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not. You don't always have to be the one to bear everything alone."
Takeru wanted to object, but Jihan's steely gaze kept him silent. He turned half his face as if to hide a gratitude he couldn't express.
On the other side, Ryoko put his hand on Ryuichi's shoulder and motioned for Erica to take his other arm. Concentrating his energy, he said in a low voice:
"Hold on tight... This move won't be repeated very often."
The air around them began to shake, and then, in a flash, they were out of sight, leaving behind a void that seemed to pull all the noise and stillness together.
The others stood staring at the spot where they had disappeared, a profound silence enveloping them. The battle was over, but the real questions had yet to begin.
In a flash, three shadows appeared in front of the gate of an old house surrounded by silent cherry trees. The effects of the quick transition were still evident on the ground, as Ryuichi breathed heavily, pressed a wound on his right arm, and tilted his head toward Ryoko tiredly.
In front of the wooden door, Ryuichi knocked lightly and hesitantly. It was only seconds before a small window appeared behind the opaque glass, opening from the inside, two wide eyes watching.
It was Natsumi.
She looked expectantly at the knocker, and when she recognized his features, her eyes widened in surprise. Ryuichi... Standing there, tired, his clothes torn, his face covered in ashes and wounds.
She quickly opened the door, letting out a worried sigh:
"Ryuichi... Finally..."
But before she could get any closer, she automatically turned toward the girl holding his arm, her eyes avoiding looking directly at him. Erica.
Natsume didn't speak, but that brief, silent moment was enough to expose everything that was going on inside her. Her features were rigid... But her eyes burned with an invisible fire. A fierce jealousy mixed with disappointment. It was as if every moment of worry and fear for him had turned to ashes in that moment.
She took a step back and silently opened the door. She didn't look at him. She didn't look at him.
Ryuichi entered first with lumbering steps. He felt a heaviness that came not only from the battle, but from Natsume's gaze that pierced his heart without a word.
Erica followed quietly, but her sensation was not absent from Natsumi's. She caught the look in his eyes, that subtle tension, but she didn't say a word either.
Ryoko, sensing the tense atmosphere, turned quickly and said:
"I think I'll leave now. I won't be long if you need me."
Then he disappeared out of sight as he had come, leaving three hearts hanging: One burning, one bleeding, and one... still hiding the unsaid.