Nozomi had lost all control of his body. An all-powerful force had taken possession of him — a force that seemed to be that of the elemental master. The Nozomi everyone knew had completely disappeared. All that remained was his physical shell, empty of life and soul, inhabited by something else.
But suddenly, Aria, Harris, and Shinrei appeared — they who had followed Nozomi, sensing that something was wrong. They intervened to stop him and try to bring him back to himself. The situation and Nozomi's state preoccupied them so deeply that they hadn't yet noticed their parents' presence nearby. In that moment, Nozomi alone occupied all their thoughts.
Aria held Nozomi tightly in her arms, immobilizing him with all her strength to keep him from taking another step. She cried out with all her heart, her voice broken by urgency and fear. "Nozomi, come back to us, please! You had promised never to let that force take control of you again!"
Harris, standing beside her, continued in the same breath as Aria, his jaw clenched. "She's right. Fight. You never gave up. You were always the one who kept hope alive when everyone else had lost it."
Shinrei placed his hand on Nozomi's shoulder — trembling, but pressed firmly, refusing to let go. He turned Nozomi's face toward his own and looked at him, his eyes heavy with a deep sadness. "Come back to yourself. I want to see the brother I have always known. The one who is serious, strategic, calm — but who knows how to laugh, who loves deeply those close to him. The one I admire."
However, without a word, his gaze empty and distant, Nozomi simply turned his head forward. Calmly and delicately, he removed Shinrei's hand from his shoulder, then set Aria aside with an almost disconcerting gentleness — without causing her the slightest harm. Once done, he resumed his march toward Reimu, in an absolute and glacial silence.
That silence froze everyone's resolve. They no longer knew what to do. They were all in shock before the relentless, mechanical coldness of Nozomi. But Harris refused to be beaten. He was not going to abandon his brother so easily. He activated his mastery of air to create a powerful current that held Nozomi in place. Aria followed suit, mobilizing her mastery of pure aetherium to form circles at Nozomi's feet, from which brilliant chains surged and coiled around his ankles.
But without uttering a single word, Nozomi simply took a step forward — and the chains shattered like glass. Then he slowly turned his head toward Harris. That empty, soulless gaze was enough to paralyze Harris on the spot, who collapsed to his knees, unable to move. Immediately, Shinrei surged in front of him, attempting to tackle him to the ground by counting on his speed to catch him off guard. But Nozomi shifted his body to the side with a perfect fluidity to dodge the charge, and followed directly with his mastery of earth, trapping Shinrei's feet in the ground to immobilize him.
He resumed his march, still without a word, still as cold, as empty, as devoid of emotion. And yet, every action, every step, every gesture was executed with absolute perfection. The power radiating from him was immense — a power no one had ever seen emanate from him. But all were asking themselves the same question, without daring to voice it: was this power truly Nozomi's?
As Nozomi was about to continue, he felt something grip his foot. It was Shinrei, lying on the ground, his body locked but his mind intact. Even deprived of his power, he hadn't given up — he had simply adapted, and was gripping Nozomi's foot with all his strength, refusing to let go. Without emotion, Nozomi raised his hand to free himself. But it was at that moment that Harris slipped in behind him, seizing the distraction, and grabbed both his arms from behind, immobilizing them as best he could. Exhausted, at the very limit of his strength, Harris said anyway, his voice desperate but firmly resolved. "If my powers are too insignificant for you, then I'll just use brute strength."
Aria seized the opportunity to recreate chains of aetherium, this time far more solid and resistant, weaving them with all the concentration she had left to have any chance of holding him. Once done, Harris looked Nozomi straight in the eyes, his voice heavy and determined. "Listen to me. I don't know what you are, or what you truly want. But you had better give me back my brother. He doesn't need you to accomplish great things or to become a hero. He's already proven it — he's already a remarkable hero."
Aria, holding her chains with all her strength and trembling, also wanted to say what she felt. She took a deep breath, and in an exhausted but sincere voice, she finally let the words out. "I want to keep spending time with all of you. I don't want any of this to end. Nozomi, if you can hear us somewhere — we're all waiting for your return. So come back soon!"
Hearing the words of his brothers and sister, Nozomi's face — until then entirely devoid of emotion — let slip a single tear, which rolled slowly down his cheek before he gently collapsed to the ground.
Inside Nozomi's mind, his consciousness found itself in complete darkness. An immense void, without bearings, without sound, without light. Then two voices rose in the darkness, distinct and opposing.
The masculine voice said. "What are you doing? You know perfectly well that he cannot defeat Reimu. He is too weak."
The feminine voice answered. "Perhaps. But we have absolutely no right to do what we are doing. He is the one who was chosen to be the elemental master. He alone can decide what is right or wrong for the world. He will inevitably make the right choice."
The masculine voice retorted, with a bitter conviction. "It is precisely that way of thinking that caused the catastrophe a hundred years ago. If we act, it is precisely to avoid a new tragedy."
The voices gradually faded, and the darkness surrounding Nozomi began to be tinged with light. But before everything faded away, he managed to catch the last words of the feminine voice. "He is the elemental master… we must trust him."
He opened his eyes on the battlefield. He felt a deep exhaustion, but all the pain that had devoured his body had vanished, as if wiped away at once. He rose, still confused, and before he had even had time to understand what was happening around him — Aria, Harris, and Shinrei leapt on him, all three holding him as tightly as they could. Their voices merged into a single desperate cry. "You're back! We finally have you back!" The adrenaline was so powerful that the tears refused to come — but the emotion showed through their broken voices and the force with which they held him close, as if afraid he might slip away again.
Nozomi understood the situation. He let them be for a moment, then simply let out, in an exhausted but present voice. "I'm back."
In the distance, on a rooftop spared by the debris, Shion found his brother Shinsei. On spotting him, Shinsei said calmly, without taking his eyes off him. "You're back. What came over you to save that man? You must have understood when you saw him."
Shion didn't let him finish. He answered calmly, his gaze lost toward the devastated horizon. "I know. That man was a simple human — he had no power." He paused for a moment, contemplating the chaos reigning over Paris from their perch. Then he continued, his head slightly bowed, his voice gentler. "And yet, he gave his life for a stranger he didn't even know. I don't know what came over me — but faced with that act, I couldn't help but intervene. To at least save the people with him. And that boy… I didn't see his face. But just from his voice, I understood how deeply he cared for those people. Today, I'm glad to have allowed him to exchange one last time with his father."
Shinsei listened to his brother in silence, then said. "I understand. But try not to draw too much attention. We have to wait here until we can go home." He continued watching Shion from behind, and a slight smile crossed his lips. He thought inwardly, with a sincere warmth. "Shion, you have a great heart. You are profoundly good. That is what sets you apart from the others of the Hikarizuki clan — and that is your true strength."
Returning to the Yuutaka, after that emotional moment, spirits had settled. Everyone had caught their breath. It was then that they finally noticed the presence of the parents, who had witnessed everything in its entirety. The surprise was unanimous — and entirely understandable.
They all went to reunite with their parents, tears in their eyes, moved to see them there, in this place, in this most difficult of moments. Words exchanged in hushed voices, tears flowing without anyone trying to hold them back, smiles despite everything.
Aria threw her arms around her mother and said, her voice broken with guilt. "I'm sorry for lying to you. Sorry for worrying you." But her mother gently stroked her head, whispering to her with a tenderness that needed no words to exist. "I know you did it to protect us. You can be proud of what you've accomplished."
Harris rejoined his parents with his usual humor — a wide smile, but tears in his eyes, unable to hold them back entirely. "I faced dozens of villains, fought dragons, and had to fend for myself… but I never would have thought that seeing you would do me so much good." Before even finishing his sentence, he jumped into their arms.
Shinrei, relieved to see his parents safe and sound, sank to his knees — the strength of his body abandoning him all at once, swept away by the flood of emotions and everything he had just been through. His parents bent down toward him, and with a proud and gentle smile, told him. "Well done for what you've accomplished."
Nozomi, for his part, rejoined his mother, who was still sitting beside his father's body. He sat near her and was about to speak. "Mom, I'm…" But she didn't let him finish. She held him in her arms without a word, and said in a muffled but firm voice. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're safe and sound. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you too."
Nozomi said nothing. He lowered his head, hiding his tears, and rested his head against his mother's chest, letting himself go for just a moment — just a moment — to simply be her son. Still in her arms, she took his face in her hands and said gently. "Without realizing it, you've grown so much. And today, seeing you, I realize just how much you have become a man." She pressed her palm against his left eye, where the scar lay. "I know your father was thinking exactly the same thing."
Nozomi lifted his head and wiped his tears. His gaze fell on his father's body, and something made him stop. He narrowed his eyes and asked his mother, pointing discreetly. "That jacket…"
His mother smiled through her tears — a smile both gentle and painful at once. "Yes. It's the jacket you gave him for his birthday. He wanted to wear it today."
Nozomi didn't answer. He stayed silent, letting the weight of those words settle within him.
After a few moments, the other parents drew closer and Harris's father spoke. "Nozomi, your father was a remarkable man. We are sorry we couldn't do anything for him."
Nozomi rose and answered them, his voice calm and steady. "I know what kind of man my father was. You have nothing to reproach yourselves for. In that situation, I would have done exactly the same thing as him."
Aria's mother stepped forward and said to Nozomi, her voice filled with a deep sincerity. "Today, we saw how deeply connected you are, and how much you mean to one another. We understand now the bond that unites you. And we are now convinced that you will succeed. You have swept away all our doubts — we trust you."
No one said a word. But that silence carried nothing heavy — it was laden with gratitude and recognition, the kind of silence one sometimes prefers to words.
It was then that Kael's parents broke the silence. They asked, their voices taut with worry. "Do you know where our son is? We don't see him anywhere. Is he alright?"
Hearing Kael's name, Nozomi lowered his head and clenched his fists. He felt every gaze turn toward him. Then he summoned his courage, lifted his head, and said to Kael's parents, his voice firm and determined. "He's fine. Don't worry. He will come back alive — I promise you that."
Kael's parents exchanged a hesitant glance, not entirely convinced. But they had no choice but to believe those words. Nozomi, for his part, regained his composure. He set his emotions aside and became once more what he was when the situation demanded it — the strategist, the leader. He asked in a measured voice. "How is it going on the secondary fronts?"
Shinrei answered. "Heroes have come to lend us a hand and are currently fighting on the various fronts. Even if Reimu's army remains more numerous, the forces seem balanced on each side."
Nozomi stayed silent for a few seconds, building a plan in his mind. He had to account for Reimu, the enemy soldiers, the parents, the strengths and weaknesses of each. After intense reflection, he reached the conclusion that the reinforcements could hold against Reimu's army. He spoke, his voice clear and assured. "Harris, Shinrei — take the parents out of the city and get them to safety. You'll be in charge of protecting them. The reinforcements should manage thanks to their experience." He turned toward Aria, and his gaze darkened slightly with worry. "Aria, in the world of Drakaryon you learned healing techniques. I'd like you to go to the back of the Eiffel Tower. That's where Kael is. You'll need to heal him — he was in a terrible state, but still alive."
Aria understood the crucial role Nozomi was entrusting her with. She nodded, her gaze determined, without hesitation. Then Aria formed a luminous circle beneath the body of Nozomi's father to protect it. Before leaving, Nozomi bent over his father's body and gently removed the jacket he had given him. He then unwound the strip of cloth covering his right eye — strangely, the wound had healed, leaving a clearly visible scar that crossed his eye from end to end. His own jacket was in shreds, beyond saving. He put his father's on instead — green and black, slightly too large for him, the sleeves falling a little too far over his hands. He wore it all the same, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Under the proud gaze of his mother, who watched him from behind without saying a word, her lips trembling ever so slightly.
"We'll answer all your questions afterward. For now, wait for our return." He added nothing more. He took flight without looking back, leaving the others behind him.
Aria set off immediately to go to Kael's aid. But as Harris and Shinrei were preparing to escort the parents out of the zone, Harris held Shinrei back by the arm and said in a low voice. "Shinrei, I have a favor to ask you."
In the distance, tucked in the shadow of a secluded corner, about fifty silhouettes watched the scene in silence. Once the heroes had dispersed, a man spoke in a low and cold voice. "They've separated. It's time to deal with them. The boy with the jacket — their leader will handle his case personally. Forty of you will follow the group of the older people and the two heroes. The remaining ten take care of the girl — she's alone, that should be enough."