"S-So I've been fighting alongside you all this time?!"
Cherl choked on her words, still trying to process the emotional whiplash of the identity reveal.
"Ain't no way…"
Shijun mumbled, eyes wide.
"O-Okay, but maybe we should head back to the surface first before we talk about all this?"
"Yeah, good idea."
Cherl nodded in agreement.
—Earth — Surface —
FWOOM!
Cherl phased out of the ground gracefully, while Shijun blasted upward, erupting from the earth in dramatic fashion.
They landed together, dusting themselves off.
Shijun untransformed with a purple hew.
Cherl changed out of her suit instantly with a subtle shimmer.
After a quiet beat—
"Well,"
Cherl exhaled, brushing her hair aside,
"That was one hell of a detour from our hangout. And… one big-ass surprise."
She let out a small laugh.
Shijun scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"…Sooo… the date's not canceled, right?"
Cherl blinked.
"D-D-Date?"
Shijun froze.
"Oh shit. Did I fumble?! Did I read that wrong?! Did I—"
But then—
"Though… I wouldn't mind considering it one."
Cherl smiled softly.
Shijun's eyes widened. Inside, he was screaming.
On the outside? He barely held it together.
But before he could respond, his stomach betrayed him—
GRRRRRGHH!
"…Heh. Can we switch this date to a dinner date instead? I'm kinda starving after all that chaos."
Cherl laughed.
"Oh, I get that all the time after being Cupid. I'm starving too. Wanna grab some noodles?"
"Absolutely. Let's go!"
As they started walking—
"You know,"
Shijun glanced sideways,
"Tell me more about you. As Cupid, I mean. I've seen you on the news a bunch."
Cherl chuckled.
"And you've gotta tell me more about yourself. Ever since the Devil Frosbeil incident, people have really started to notice you. If you start showing up more often? You could rise all the way to Elite Rank."
"Elite Rank?! We talking about that already?!"
"DUMBASS,"
Minus interjected.
"I ain't a patient person. If you're using my body, use it properly."
"Fair enough,"
Shijun muttered with a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Cherl waved him over.
"C'mon, let's go already."
"Oh—AH! Coming!"
Shijun bolted.
—Corps CSX – Outskirts
"AAARGHHH!"
SLICE—DICE!
Phantomblade cut down multiple devils with chilling ease. He stood amidst the carnage, emerald blade dripping with corrupted,alien blood.
He wiped it clean, then slowly traced his hand down the edge of its glowing surface.
But something was off.
For once, he didn't move on as nonchalantly.
He just… stared at his blade.Longer than usual.
"Phantom?"
A voice came from behind.
Phantomblade tensed. He turned around, face sharpening into cold neutrality.shooting his blade up.
"Oh. It's just you."
The speaker was Shadow.He quickly lowered his blade.
"You alright, man?"
Shadow asked, voice gentle.
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"
Shadow stared at him quietly, eyes scanning for cracks in the armor.
"…Stop staring."
"My bad. Didn't mean to—trigger anything."
"NO!"
Phantomblade's voice snapped like a whip.
Shadow flinched.
"…Sorry."
Phantomblade slouched slightly…
But quickly straightened up again. He cleared his throat and sheathed his blade.
"You sure you can hold all of that in?"
Shadow asked.
Phantomblade glanced down at his weapon on his waist.
His eyes lingered before squinting.
"…Hm."
—Flashback: 3 Years Ago — The Brothers
"CHAOS BLADE!!"
Two voices rang out in perfect sync as Phantomblade and his younger brother blitzed through a devil together.
BOOM!!
It exploded behind them.
SHIIIINK.
Both of them sheathed their weapons in unison.
"Nice work out there, bro."
"You too, man. You too."
Back then… Phantomblade smiled often. A far cry from the warrior he was now.
—
Sparring Arena – HQ Training Chambers
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
Emerald blade met dark-calibur steel again and again.
BOOM!
They were both knocked down from the force of their spar.
"God DAMN!"
Phantomblade laughed.
"Ha… you've gotten better."
He grinned.
"You too."
They sat on the floor, catching their breath.
"I'm glad I've got a brother like you. I can always count on you—nothing's ever gonna get between us."
Phantomblade said it with such conviction.
"…Really?"
His brother's voice softened slightly—almost… off.
"Of course. Why?"
"Oh… it's nothing. You're already ranked 7 in the Elite Hero corps. You're eligible to compete for Elite Five. I'm… still Rank 11. I need Rank 10 to qualify."
Phantomblade stood up and extended his hand.
"You'll get there. I believe in you."
His brother hesitated. His fists clenched just a little tighter.
"…But what if you make it into Elite Five… and I don't?"
"First,trust me we will both get into elite 5."
He continued.
"And even if so,you really think I'd abandon you?
We've been through hell together since we were kids.
We're brothers. We don't break."
"…Of course."
His brother smiled.
But something behind his eyes… didn't.
CSX Management Wing – Days Prior
"The two are damn inseparable,"
the manager muttered, watching the field reports.
"They make me jealous,"
his assistant chuckled while fixing her hair.
"Phantomblade's kind of cute, though."
"…Really?"
The manager raised an eyebrow.
"What? I'm just saying, sir."the assistant blushed.
[Redacted] – Date Unknown
"W-Who are you?!"
Phantomblade's brother backed up, eyes narrowed. Cautious.
The figure was cloaked in shadow.
"Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you.
I was sent by the Lord. I am one of the elders,you may just address me as a elder."
"Stay back! I don't need whatever bullshit you're selling!"
He rushed forward, striking with his dark calibur—
CLANG!!
It was easily deflected with a simple swipe of the elder's hand. He was slammed into the ground.
SPAT!
Blood hit the soil.
"Don't you ever get tired… of being overshadowed by your brother?"
The Elder circled him slowly.
"N-No! Phantomblade,he's not like that! We're equals!"
"Are you? I've watched you both closely. Tell me… during solo missions, do you get the same praise?
Or do people see you as a footnote?
A sidekick?"
Chrono went silent.
"You're Rank 11… but even the heroes below you get more recognition.
You might wear the name Chrono, but in the world's eyes… you're just his brother."
The words sank deep.
And unfortunately…
They weren't wrong.
"I'll tell you what.
Accept my offer. A small gift.
A taste of true power.
Surpass him. Surpass the Elite Five.
Be something… more."
Chrono said nothing.
But he didn't say no.
—[Redacted] Date – 2 Days Later—
BEEP! BEEO! BEEP! BEEP!
SYSTEM ALERT: THREAT LEVEL – EXTREME
INTERCEPTION REQUEST INITIATED
ELITE 5 REQUIRED – IMMEDIATE RESPONSE
The world had gone quiet…
Just before the storm hit.
"AHHHHHH!!"
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive kaiju-like figure roared across the burning skyline.
Devil energy surged through its corrupted veins, boiling out like a nuclear wave.
Chrono… had lost his humanity.
His body had transformed into a montrous,devil hybrid—towering in size, with massive spikes jutting from his spine. Crimson energy leaked from his eyes.
"STAY DOWN, DEVIL!!"
A bloodied Phantomblade roared from above, diving in with his emerald slash.
KRA-KOOOOOM!!
The slash carved deep into the beast's side.
But it wasn't enough.
—Battlefield: Ground Zero—
The once-proud Elite 5 now lay strewn across the battlefield.
Their bodies mangled. Their armor shattered.
All five.
Gone.
If their not dead their crippled.
Phantomblade hovered in disbelief, his emerald blade glowing weakly.
"…No. This… this can't be real."
The monster turned toward him.
"PHANTOOOOOOOM!!"
It bellowed—
but within that monstrous scream… was a voice he knew too well.
"…Chrono?"
Phantomblade whispered, lowering his blade for a moment.
"…It… It can't be."
WHIPLASH!!
A black tentacle whipped out from the devil's body, slamming Phantomblade aside like a ragdoll.
—4 Hours Later — CSX Temporary HQ
Phantomblade sat, trembling.
His armor cracked. His face cut.
His hands clenched tightly around his blade.
"It… It can't be… CHRONO WOULDN'T—!"
The manager placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I know it's hard to accept, Phantom…
But he's already turned. That wasn't just some corruption.
That was full surrender."
"NOOOOOOO!!"
Phantomblade screamed, eyes filled with disbelief and sorrow.
He stood and flipped the entire desk in a single motion—
papers, monitors, everything shattered.
Other heroes stood by, watching silently.
"…He's lost it," one of them whispered.
Shadow, younger but still recognizable, just shook his head.
"If you don't go crazy after someone you love THAT much betrays you…
you're not even human."
—Redacted Date – Day 3 — 09:00 H
"I'LL GO!!"
Phantomblade slammed his fist into the table.
His eyes burned with fury and purpose.
"You go alone, you'll die! Chrono's monster form is too strong! You're not ready!"
The manager shouted.
"I DON'T CARE!
HE'S STILL MY BROTHER!"
"I SAID NO."
Phantomblade dropped to his knees.
"PLEASE! APPROVE THIS! I BEG YOU!!"
Tears poured from his eyes as the entire room fell silent.
Even the toughest heroes had no words.
No one knew how to comfort him.
"…We need a strategy,"
the manager finally said.
"That traitor has already killed two of our elite 5. The rest are wounded beyond recovery."
Phantomblade's breathing quickened.
He stood.
"…I WON'T WAIT ANYMORE!!"
FWOOSH!!
He burst out of the HQ like a green comet tearing through the clouds without thinking.
"HEY—PHANTOM WAIR!!"
The manager shouted.
But no order would stop him now.
"…That guy…"
The manager clenched his jaw.
"He's going to die chasing a ghost."
"I'll go after him,"
Shadow stepped forward immediately.
"Please. Go."
The manager gave the order.
Shadow nodded and took off in a burst of violet flames.
—Day 3 – 11:05 H —
"PHANTOM—CALM DOWN!!"
"NO!!"
Phantomblade flew toward the impact zone.
"STAY OUT OF THIS, SHADOW!
IF YOU'RE GONNA LECTURE ME—DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!"
"I KNOW YOU'RE—!"
"YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT!!"
Phantomblade screamed back.
Shadow shutted up.
With a war cry, Phantomblade dived down into the wreckage—
where the beast awaited him.
It turned.
Its eyes—red with corruption, but somewhere inside—recognizable.
"PHANTOMBLADE!!"
The roar shattered the sky.
Sonic ripples tore through clouds and cracked tectonic plates.
"AHHHHH!!"
Phantom screamed back and charged with his emerald blade drawn.
Shadow landed just seconds later.
He reached out.
"…This guy…"
He had no choice.
He rushed in after him.
—Day 4 – 12:30 H — Aftermath
Flames.
Ash.
Alien energy and phantom aura mixed together across the wrecked battlefield.
Crimson cracks split the landscape, and violet fires flickered across the debris.
Chrono knelt in the center—
bloodied, beaten, defeated.
"P-Please, brother… don't do this…
I… I just… I couldn't bear it anymore…"
Phantomblade stood above him, emerald blade clenched tight.
"There's no need to explain.
I was briefed on everything."
His voice trembled.
His hands… shook.
"But I just never expected… that your will would be this weak."
He looked down at the weapon.
"This blade was forged by your hands…
We salvaged the alien alloy from one of the rift in space.
You mixed it with an emerald ore.
You called it the ultimate weapon—for me."
Phantom closed his eyes.
"All this time, I thought we were unbreakable.
I trusted you. I believed in you."
Tears fell silently down his cheeks.
Across the scorched field, Shadow—collapsed—watched the scene in silence.
"Honestly… by some miracle… I'm surprised we even survived this."
He barely moved, his body spent.
He teleported beside Phantom with the last of his strength.
"You don't have to do it. I'll do it for you."
Phantomblade shook his head.
"No."
"…This is my burden, Shadow.
Stay out of it."
Then—
He raised his blade.
One clean cut.
SHINK.
Chrono was gone.
The blade clattered to the ground.
Phantomblade collapsed to his knees.
And then—
He broke.
He cried.
And cried.
And cried…
For hours.
Tears pouring like a storm.
Not for his enemy.
But for the brother he lost.
—End of Flashback—
"Phantom…? You good?"
Shadow asked gently.
Phantomblade clicked his tongue.
"…Tch. Of course I am."
But deep down?
Shadow knew exactly what memory had just resurfaced.
"…Don't worry, Phantom.
You still have me today, alright?"
Phantomblade nodded silently.
No words.
Just silence.
And the ghost of the past.