The sun shines in the sky, clouds move, and birds chirp. Naoya Fumihiro — Eighth Elder of the Skyward Society, is sitting in the library and reading a book.
A sudden gust of wind turns the page of his book. He looks out of the window and says to himself:
"Something is happening but I can't exactly tell what's going on... It's hard to focus on reading this way. Maybe, I'll go check on her."
Mika Fuyuko — Ninth Elder of the Skyward Society, and the right hand of Naoya Fumihiro, is sitting in the grand hall and reading a book.
Naoya walks by, he sees her and says:
"There you are..."
She sees him and says:
"Oh! Is something wrong?"
He replies:
"I believe not."
She asks:
"Then why did you come here?"
He replies:
"I couldn't focus... Thought to check on you."
She nods and starts reading her book. He keeps his book on the table and asks:
"Where are the others?"
She says:
"Koto and Jirou were sitting here but left the moment I entered."
He says to himself:
"Hmph... They might have finished their research on the Eki Eki circle and the Tenden chamber — what if they found anything? In this case, finding nothing is much better."
On the other side, Aya Tomoe — Sixth Elder — is on top of the roof with her right hand, Miyako Shiori — Seventh Elder.
To break the silence between them, a maid enters and says:
"Pardon, Miss Tomoe."
Aya looks at the maid and says:
"Is the work done, Fabeline?"
Fabeline nods and says:
"The news of Reegers invading Aeonic Dusk is one hundred percent correct. Later on, Sato-sama who happened to be in Aeonic Dusk, sealed the Reegers in no time."
Aya says to herself:
"So, Geko-san was there."
Miyako asks Fabeline:
"There was something else we asked to check on too."
Another maid appears and says:
"Allow me to explain the rest of the matter, Miss Shiori..."
Miyako gets confused and asks:
"We know Fabeline but who... Are you?"
The maid replies:
"I apologise for not introducing myself... My name is Gibelnelle and I'm the third of royal classes."
Miyako says to Gibelnelle:
"Explain the rest of the matter then."
Gibelnelle nods and says:
"Marshal-sama is under the influence of cursed bindings."
Both — Aya and Miyako — get in quite disbelief, as if they have learned something they weren't supposed to know.
After some time of silence, Aya asks Gibelnelle:
"Repeat... Yourself."
Gibelnelle repeats herself and says:
"Marshal-sama... is under the influence of cursed bindings."
Aya asks:
"And how are you so sure of it?"
Gibelnelle replies:
"The symptoms are more than visible now. I kept an eye on him for many weeks, and he wasn't even able to trace my presence."
Fabeline says:
"Gibelnelle is certainly right, Miss Tomoe... Marshal-sama is losing control over his powers."
Aya nods and says:
"You both may leave."
Fabeline and Gibelnelle bow in respect and leave. Right after the maids leave, Miyako says:
"This is bad..."
Aya says to herself:
"I had a feeling this would happen but unfortunately, it all happened so quickly."
In the Euralups, Shikiya and Daigo are attacking Candro. She punches him, teleports behind, and Daigo attacks with his katana — trying to cut through him but fails.
She kicks with full force, the ground breaks, but Candro is standing there — unfazed. She gasps in shock and mumbles:
"Why isn't he moving at all?"
Earlier, when Candro ran towards Shikiya and Daigo, he stopped midway and allowed them to attack him. He moves his eyes towards her:
"Useless. I'm not the same anymore."
She asks:
"What... Do you mean by that?"
Candro replies:
"Even in my base form, the combined effort of Skyward Society couldn't defeat me until Nagare Ishi entered and took me down."
"Do you think you two can take me down now, huh? When I'm in my highest form powered by multiple Eki Eki itself, and when Ishi isn't here to help the Skyward Society?"
Shikiya and Daigo teleport in front of him. Daigo mumbles:
"Powered by multiple Eki Eki?"
She says:
"I'm afraid I may have misheard."
Without them knowing, Candro teleports behind them and says:
"You didn't mishear anything, Elder. I only speak the truth, as there is no place for lies in my character."
Candro kicks her down, grabs the arm of Daigo, and effortlessly throws him away. The ground turns into a void, as multiple portals to dimensions open, and reality itself is disrupted.
THE ONLY ONE WHO STANDS AMIDST ALL THIS CHAOS IS CIRANDRO DEL CANDRO EL CUROSPA.
He turns his back and starts walking after saying:
"Until next time but I must say I'm disappointed."
As he walks, Itsuro appears infront of him and says:
"Forget me?"
Candro calmly says:
"Oh! Satoru Itsuro, hmph? The one who sliced me two million years ago in our first battle."
Itsuro — with the same calm — replies:
"Correct."
Candro says:
"I believe we have nothing left to carry on as I had you down my feet right after you sliced me."
Itsuro replies:
"I'm here to take my revenge."
He runs towards him with a speed far beyond light, after tightening his grip on his katana. Candro effortlessly dodges his attack, by his sheer presence the katana breaks.
Itsuro crouches to kick him, but Candro teleports behind him and stands with his eyes closed.
Itsuro teleports in front of him and tries to throw a punch, Candro grabs his arm and throws him away. He then teleports and kicks him in his face.
Before Itsuro falls into the void, Candro teleports and punches sending him back in the air. He tries to gain balance, but Candro grabs his leg and says:
"Roll 66, Section 12: Dimensional Trap!"
A portal opens, a chain comes out, and pulls Itsuro inside — then closes. But he manages to break away and lands a kick on Candro's head.
The sheer pressure from his body sends Itsuro behind, as he says to himself:
"In my current state, I'm no match for him."
Candro's voice echoes as he says:
"Nyxoria!"
(Nightmare Summoning)
A giant shadow appears behind Candro with a giant sword in its hands. As it roars and moves its sword — the sky tears apart and pulls the moon towards it.
As the moon approaches, the tidal forces begin to increase, and the timeline of Millennia breaks — as tears in reality start showing.
The silver locket of Candro shakes. His white cloak moves, and the black lines on it start shining in green color, alongside the '1' on his heart side.
On the other hand, the sky starts turning dark. Aya and Miyako get into shock. The Skyward Society gets red alarm:
"RED ALERT!!! THE TIMELINE OF MILLENNIA IS FRACTURED. THE MOON IS APPROACHING!!!"
Koto is resting in her room, she wakes up and sees through the window, the only words she uttered:
"Hmph... What is going on?"
Naoya and Mika look out from the grand hall, she says:
"WHAT IS HAPPENING OUT THERE?"
He replies:
"Something bad is approaching, I can sense it but can't comprehend what it is..."
Jirou — who heard the red alert — leaves his room immediately, while walking through the hall, he says to himself:
"Is it the imbalance of Eki Eki or someone powered by it?"
Back on the rooftop, Miyako says:
"This is terrifying!"
Aya closes her eyes and takes a deep breath:
"Miss Shikiya, Itsuro, and Daigo... If three of you are there... Are you... Alright?"
In the Euralups, Candro is still standing calmly, as he says:
"Skyward Society, after two million years, I've come again... but this time, a lot stronger. The only question that remains is... will you all be able to confront me?"
(TO BE CONTINUED)