The skies above the Angel Realm were no longer cracked from the war. They were oddly still signalling that the war has been brought to an end or did it..?
As silence doesn't always mean peace…
The stone pathways were still broken. Wings, Guts and Blood were still scattered in some corners–white feathers, dead bodies of angels and burned edges as well as some destroyed buildings. Some were still red and sprayed of Blood.
Angels. Demihumans. Vampires. Humans. Half-breeds. All gathered together, building. Healing. Trying to at least move on and find some solace in the aftermath.
Some smiled. Some couldn't look each other in the eye.
The war was seemingly over. But not everyone made it out alive.
Lucia, now with a tattered ribbon tied to her sword's hilt, helped patch up a broken archway. She didn't say much. She just worked. Beside her, Evangeline stood in place of Yusei, quietly keeping everyone in check.
Tsukasa, Koji and Hikari would eye each other, nodding in silence as they went to help out in rebuilding the local towns over in the angel realm that got hit in the crossfire of the war.
Akihiro stared out toward the portal remnants in the sky.
"He's not back," he whispered.
Dakota, bruised and limping, walked past him. "He'll come back. He has to." He chuckled bitterly. "This is Kairo we're talkin' about. Dude probably just got lost again."
But Akihiro didn't laugh.
He knew better. Interfering with timelines was his job… but reviving a soul that gave everything?
That would shatter everything.
Endless black.
Not empty.
Not cold.
Just… still.
Kairo floated in the void, barely conscious. The final clash with Yami had torn apart his executioner weapon, torn through every form he'd used. His limbs were numb. His strength? Dust.
Kairo (confused): "I could've sworn I went through the gate… (He thought for a moment)..Was that an actual vision or did i get a weird flashback that i haven't had..before."
He would quiet down for a moment, feeling the echo of Yami's final scream still lingering in the air. The smell of ash was still present in the air.
He'd won.
But at what cost?
"I thought you've left, runt?"
That voice.
Kairo's eyes flickered open to see Nova, crouched beside him, her purple strands swaying in the blackness.
"...You again?" Kairo muttered weakly.
Nova smirked, but her eyes were soft. "What can I say? You clearly take a liking to me."
Akara appeared behind her, her presence like a soft breeze. She knelt beside them.
"We need to talk." Akara spoke up.
Kairo responded back, "I need to know how I was sent back into the void from the gate?"
Nova answered Kairo's question with ease by saying, "Well we've never sent you to the gate…, Fool… you were obviously looking at yourself from the perspective of the alternate version of you who has died fighting Yami."
Akara would shake her head, confirming what Nova said was in fact the truth.
Behind them, an old man emerged who looked very ancient. His cloak shimmered with galaxies.
"You fought like a god. But you're still a boy. What comes next… is your choice."
He raised a hand. "I can return you. Back to your friends. But only if you accept the role of Overseer of the Realms. A watcher. A protector. No longer part of their world.
Kairo stared at him for a moment.
Then looked at Nova and Akara.
Then Smiled for a moment.
"No" Kairo whispered. "I'm not ready to be some god. I just wanna go back… as a Shadow Hunter. That's just who I am."
The old man blinked for a moment before he smiled gently. "Then go."
6 MONTHS LATER
The world had changed.
Lotus was still crowded. Loud. Fast. But this time, there weren't any angels dropping from the sky.
People of all races—angelic, human, demihuman, vampiric—lived together now. There were problems. But peace was real.
And in the middle of a plaza, where a crowd had gathered for the annual celebration of "Realm Unity Day"..
A flash of white streaked through the sky.
Wings. A silhouette. A slightly different outfit.
And a hard landing on the plaza fountain.
Kairo.
Hair windswept. A newly designed version of his executioner weapon strapped across his back. A confident grin.
"You guys started without me?"
Everyone wide-eyed for a moment before running over with some people crying and some people throwing objects.
Mai (sobbing): "YOU LEFT US IDIOT!"
Miyu tackled her brother in a hug, crying. Dakota bear-hugged him next. Hana, Akari, Zahira, Catalina, Madison, Crystal, Sumiko, Mai, Wei—they all rushed towards him for a hug.
"You Moron, I missed you." Zahira said, hugging his arm.
"You were gone for 6 months.." Sumiko added.
"You don't realize how much we've missed you." Wei said with a tearful grin.
In the distance, Arisu stood with Evangeline, watching. As the Angel Realm's new ruler, she smiled faintly.
Then walked up, kissed Kairo on the cheek, and whispered, "Thank you. For Everything."
Kairo blinked, dumbfounded.
And earned death glares from every girl in the group.
Back in the human realm, Kairo stood with his squad in black uniforms. Graduation robes. A fresh wind blew as they looked over the city skyline from the rooftop of their school.
"Still feels weird," Rebecca said. "Us. Normal."
Paul responded. "Do you think my story, Spirit King will make it big one day?"
Kairo added, "Spirit King? What's that?"
Alan grumbled for a moment, before whispering to Kairo. "Don't read it.."
Kairo nodded for a moment, even though he wanted to read the story.
As he looked around at his class all together in the huge field as our class year was very huge as it was.
Akari. Hana. Dakota. Miyu. Mai. Wei. Zahira. Crystal. Evelyn. Catalina. Madison. Paul. Alan. Sumiko.
Maybe they weren't "normal". But they were together.
A Brief Flashforward.
Tokyo, 2019. September.
Riku Akiyama, 15, leaned against the school wall, headphones in, glaring at the teachers already telling him off.
As he walked towards the cafeteria, he was stopped by five individuals who were arguing with some lady in the same grade.
Riku (arrogant): "Move."
They were ignoring Riku to continue their harassment and bullying towards the girl.
Riku (yelling): "I SAID MOVE, YOU FLYBRAINED MORONS."
They stopped bullying the girl and faced Riku, smirking for a moment.
Rikio (smugly): "Piss off, Orphan."
Riku rolled his eyes at the insult for a moment, as he heard this plenty of times in the past.
Kenta (mockingly): "What is it like not having no parents or any one in your life?"
Tsuyoshi (evilly): "He should join his parents if he had any so he can meet them again in heaven."
Umeji would laugh along until Hokuto spoke out something, "How is it like being a fucking orphan must be pretty boring..? You could have joined your parents to save us the trouble."
Riku's facial expression cracked a bit as he stood there with an evil smirk.
Riku: "Quit copying each other, you sound like you all are in love with one another."
They stopped speaking for a moment, eyeing Riku with a slight disdain.
Riku (Serious; Cont.): "Just admit that you are all worthless and pathetic.. How did your parents decide to not swallow you.."
That comment ticked off Rikio and the other four bullies causing them to run towards me.
Riku was ready as he pivoted forward—sending a clean uppercut into Rikio's gut, causing him to tumble over first.
Tsuyoshi and Umeji eyed at this in shock before attempting to send their fists forward in unison but Riku ended up ducking underneath their blows, causing them to knock out each other in a single hit.
Riku eyed Hokuto and Kenta for a moment, slowly stepping forward. Hokuto would shove Kenta forward, only to trip on his shoe and slam his head on the table, stumbling back.
Riku used Kenta as a Hurdling Point as he hopped over him, using his shoulder as a way to gain jumping momentum to send a devastating axe kick into Hokuto, knocking him out.
Kenta eyed at this, shaking violently in fear. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm Sor–" Riku tossed a can of soda at Kenta's forehead—knocking him unconscious.
Riku eyed the five bullies he dropped on the ground with ease, as he then kneeled and took their pocket money. "Pathetic.."
Riku (mocking): "You five claimed to be strong.. Yet you act weak… and still no damn self-respect for your own pride… Sad."
Up on the rooftop, he played music from his phone. Sega. Intense. Chill. Hype.
Below the skyline—Yusei stood near a glass tower, handling some corrupt executive with Evelyn on speaker.
As Yusei walked away from the scene.
He passed Riku.
They looked at each other for one second.
Yusei recognized him.
But said nothing.
Riku kept walking.
Just another day…