NARRATOR
Two and a half years had passed since Sai and Yosuke left the group. In that time, Sai, Jiro, and Yuri had trained relentlessly, honing their powers.
The bonds between the two separate groups had grown stronger, yet there was still half a year remaining until they would all meet again.
SAI SHINU
I woke up and blinked, letting my surroundings come into focus. Where am I?
Oh, right… I got separated from Yosuke. It felt strange—not being with him after two and a half years of being together every single day.
I packed my things and began heading toward Sora Village.
I hope he finds his identity, I thought.
NARRATOR
One day, a few hours before Sai's departure…
YOSUKE ■ ■ ■ ■
"Sai, we need to talk," I said.
"Right now?" he asked, and without hesitation, I nodded.
We sat facing each other on our beds. I said proudly, "Two and a half years have passed. You're now a strong warrior—and an even greater person. We still have half a year before we reunite. What do you want to do?"
Sai didn't reply immediately. I could see him thinking, his gaze distant and dark.
I placed my right hand on his shoulder and said, staring into his deep, dark eyes, "You better become stronger than me."
As I looked at him, memories of that night flashed before me. After the first day of training, we returned home and he fell asleep. In the middle of the night, that dark moon-shaped mark on his chest began to glow.
I saw Sai sweating, frozen in place. I tried to wake him, but nothing worked. His mark slowly moved across his chest.
At first, it was just a curved line, then it shaped into a half-moon. After some time, it became two-thirds of a moon. Immediately, Sai woke up, sweating and traumatized.
When I asked him what had happened, he told me he had seen the incident with his father again. I felt helpless. I could do nothing.
For days, the pain was so intense that Sai didn't dare to sleep. I realized then that Sai had been cursed for the rest of his life. Heaven or hell wouldn't matter—this curse would follow him always. What had been a blessing—the gift of life—had become the worst curse imaginable.
For nearly every night of those two and a half years, Sai relived his father's death. I wished I could take some of his pain for him.
"Hey… are you here?" Sai's voice pulled me back to the present.
"Ah, yes… sorry," I replied.
"I want to go on a journey alone," he said confidently.
I hadn't expected that answer, but I had no reason to deny him.
"Why?" I asked.
"I want to learn more about this world… and become a better person," he answered.