After merging fully with Rocky's soul and sealing his regrets, Isshin was no longer fractured. He was whole, perfected, and with perfection came an unexpected longing: the desire for a life not of conquest, but of quiet renewal.
Thus, he retreated from the flashing lights of power, cloaking himself in another identity. The Campione, the commissioner of empires, became simply a landlord in a quiet district outside Tokyo. He purchased an entire apartment complex with ease, his wealth and influence flowing like rivers unseen, and took residence among ordinary people. The air was different there—filled not with boardroom politics nor divine authority, but with the voices of neighbors, the laughter of children, and the scent of morning meals drifting through narrow hallways.
Isshin would sit on the balcony at dusk, watching city lights flicker to life like stars below him. In this place, far from the grand halls of Arima Tower, he sought to begin a new family, a new life, a new chapter. Yet beneath the calm exterior, his aura never truly faded. Darkness and divinity coiled around him like an unseen crown. Even in silence, he remained a sovereign of death and gods.
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While Isshin embraced his new existence, a shadow stirred across the sea. From the ancient lands of Europe came Marquis Voban, the oldest and most savage of the Campiones. He was a man both feared and reviled, a wolf draped in human skin, whose very presence chilled the air. Voban did not come for peace nor renewal. He came hunting.
The prey was none other than Athena, the goddess of wisdom, reborn as the Snake Goddess, a deity with powers entwined with the legend of Medusa. She had wandered into Japan, her form weakened and shrouded, yet still radiating a divine essence that drew the scent of predators. To Voban, Athena was no divine friend or neutral figure—she was prey, a heretic god to be slain, her power to be devoured.
The news spread quickly through hidden magical networks. Whispers carried the story to the ears of another Campione residing in Japan: Kusanagi Godou, the youngest and perhaps most reluctant god-slayer.
The meeting came beneath a sky bruised with twilight, in an abandoned district on the city's edge where ruins stood like broken teeth. There, Voban's presence was unmistakable. He stood tall, draped in old-world finery, his eyes gleaming with hunger, the aura of ancient authority radiating around him. Opposite him stood Godou, the boy who bore the title of Campione unwillingly, his fists clenched with both fear and determination.
By his side was Erica Blandelli, his sworn patron mage, her crimson cloak fluttering as her sharp eyes measured the old wolf with contempt. And behind them, hidden but not cowering, was Athena herself—reduced in form, yet her gaze carried the depth of centuries.
Voban's lip curled into a grin, wolfish and cruel. "So this is the famed Kusanagi Godou, the naive child who dares call himself Campione. And here I find you shielding a heretic goddess."
Godou's voice rang out, steady though edged with fire. "Athena is not an enemy to mankind. She is not like Ares or the mad gods who rampage for destruction. She has guided humanity, and she has shown me mercy. I will not allow you to harm her."
Voban laughed, the sound hollow and sharp. "Foolishness! You speak of mercy? Of guidance? She is a god, boy. And gods are nothing but beasts wearing crowns. You are a Campione, and yet you cling to childish notions of good and evil. How utterly pathetic."
Erica stepped forward, her blade gleaming as magical circles lit around her. "Watch your words, Marquis. Godou's resolve is stronger than you think. If you move against Athena, you face us both."
Voban snarled. "You dare lecture me, little mage? I have slaughtered gods before your ancestors ever drew breath. I have seen centuries burn, empires fall, and fools like you turn to ash."
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The air cracked with tension as Godou and Voban's auras clashed—two titans of divine theft, their presences warping the very ground beneath them. Ruins trembled, windows shattered, and the sky itself seemed to recoil.
Godou's voice rose. "If protecting Athena makes me foolish, then I will gladly be a fool! I will not abandon her, no matter what you say!"
Voban's eyes glowed, and his laughter split the night. "Then prepare to be devoured, child. I will show you what it means to fight a true Campione!"
With a howl that was both human and beast, Voban summoned forth his authority. Shadows coalesced into the form of spectral wolves, their fangs dripping with hunger, their eyes burning red. Dozens, then hundreds, erupted from the void, circling Godou like a storm of death.
Godou clenched his fist, his aura surging as golden light burst from within him. Ancient words spilled from his lips, calling forth one of his Authorities. Beside him, Erica wove her incantations, her magic reinforcing his strength. The boy Campione's will collided with the wolf king's savagery, and the ruins became a battlefield of gods.
Athena watched silently, her serpentine eyes unblinking. Though diminished, she felt the weight of the clash, the destiny unraveling before her.
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Far away, in his quiet apartment, Isshin Arima felt the ripple. The battle between Campiones sent tremors through the fabric of power itself, a disturbance no slayer of gods could ignore. He sat in the dark, sipping tea, his gaze turning toward the horizon.
''So… Voban has come to Japan, he thought, a smile curving at the edge of his lips. And Godou stands in his path. How quaint.''
Though Isshin sought peace, fate whispered otherwise. The game of Campiones was never finished, and the presence of gods and wolves alike meant his solitude would not last long. He looked once more at the quiet apartment complex around him, the fragile illusion of ordinary life.
Then his eyes glowed faintly crimson.
"If the storm comes to my doorstep… then I will show them what it means to cross Isshin Arima."
And somewhere in the distance, the laughter of the old wolf and the defiant cry of the young boy echoed into the night, heralding the chaos yet to come.