Their peace didn't last long.
Two days after leaving the Village of Memoria, following the River of Reflected Stars deeper into the northern territories, they encountered the first of the Void Emperor's generals.
Malachar, the General of Despair.
He appeared as a beautiful man with dark skin and darker eyes, dressed in armor that seemed made of solidified nightmares. His smile was charming, his voice melodious, but everything about him radiated wrongness.
"Bound Souls," he said, appearing on the path ahead of them. "How delightful. I've been so curious to meet you."
Akira and Kaori immediately took defensive positions, weapons drawn.
"Let me guess," Kaori said. "You're here to kill us on behalf of your master?"
"Kill you? Oh no, no, no." Malachar laughed. "Killing you would be wasteful. I'm here to break you."
"Good luck with that," Akira said coldly.
"Oh, I won't need luck. You see, my power is unique among the generals. I don't fight with strength or magic. I fight with truth."
He gestured, and the world around them changed. They were no longer in the forest but in a void of darkness.
"What is this?!" Kaori demanded.
"Your greatest fears made manifest," Malachar said. "Let's start with you, little thief."
The darkness shaped itself into a hospital room. A young girl lay in a bed, machines beeping around her. Yuki.
"No," Kaori whispered.
Yuki's eyes opened, but they were empty, accusing. "You left me, sister. You chose him over me. And now I'm dying alone."
"That's not real!" Kaori shouted. "It's an illusion!"
"Is it?" Malachar asked. "Time flows differently between worlds. How long have you been here? Weeks? Months? How do you know Yuki isn't dying right now, calling for you, wondering why you abandoned her?"
Kaori stumbled, and Akira caught her. "Don't listen to him! He's trying to break you!"
"And now for you, Agent," Malachar said.
The scene shifted. Tokyo in flames. Bodies in the streets. The Void Emperor's shadow spreading across the city like a plague.
"You failed," Malachar said. "You came to this world, wasted time falling in love, and your world burned. Everyone you ever knew, everyone you could have saved—dead. Because you were too weak. Too distracted."
Akira felt the words like knives. Because part of him had worried about exactly this. What if they failed? What if he was wasting time?
"He's lying," Kaori said, gripping his hand. "Look at me. Akira, look at me!"
He met her eyes, and the illusion wavered.
"We're doing this together," she said firmly. "We're going to save both worlds. We're going to win. But only if we don't let him break us."
"How touching," Malachar sneered. "But love isn't enough against despair. Let me show you your true fear."
The illusion shifted one final time.
They saw themselves, but wrong. Akira stood over Kaori's body, his sword buried in her chest. His face was twisted with hatred.
"This is what happens when Bound Souls fail," Malachar said. "The bond breaks, and you become each other's destruction. In the end, you will kill her. Or she will kill you. It's inevitable."
"No!" Akira shouted.
But the illusion-Akira spoke: "She's a criminal. She deserves this. I should have done this years ago."
And illusion-Kaori, dying, whispered: "I knew you'd betray me. I knew I couldn't trust you."
Akira felt something crack inside him. The fear was too real, too vivid. What if Malachar was right? What if their bond was destined to fail?
But then Kaori did something unexpected.
She laughed.
"Nice try," she said to Malachar. "But you made one mistake."
"Oh?" The demon seemed amused. "And what's that?"
"I know Akira. The real Akira. And he would never say those words. He would never look at me with hatred. Because I've seen inside his soul, and it's beautiful. You can show me a thousand illusions, but none of them will change what I know is true."
She turned to Akira, cupping his face in her hands. "Don't listen to him. I trust you. Completely. With my life, with my heart, with everything. And I know you trust me too."
Akira stared into her eyes and saw absolute certainty. And in that moment, his fear dissolved.
"You're right," he said. "I do trust you. More than I've ever trusted anyone."
Their marks blazed with light, and the illusion shattered like glass.
They were back in the forest, and Malachar was stumbling backward, his beautiful face twisted with shock and pain.
"Impossible! No one breaks my illusions through faith alone!"
"That's where you're wrong," Akira said, raising his sword. "Our bond isn't weakness. It's strength."
"And you just showed us exactly how strong it is," Kaori added, raising her daggers.
They attacked together, their powers merged into twilight energy. Malachar tried to fight, to cast more illusions, but nothing worked. Every attack bounced off the shield of their combined power.
"The Master will destroy you!" Malachar screamed as twilight energy consumed him. "Your love means nothing! NOTHING!"
Then he was gone, dissolved into light and shadow.
In the silence that followed, Akira and Kaori stood together, still holding hands.
"That was..." Akira started.
"Intense," Kaori finished.
"Did you mean what you said? About trusting me completely?"
Kaori smiled. "Every word. Did you doubt it?"
"No. But it's nice to hear."
"Well, get used to hearing it. Because I love you, Akira Hayashi. Across all our lives, in all our forms, I have always loved you. And I always will."
Akira pulled her close, kissing her deeply. "I love you too, Kaori Shirogane. In this life and every life to come."
Their marks glowed brighter than ever before, and around them, flowers bloomed in response to their joy.