The morning after the storm felt strangely hollow.
Soren Town, usually lively with students training for the Spirit Cup, moved in a slow, muted rhythm — as if the clouds themselves were mourning something.
Riku walked down the narrow street with Bolt beside him.
His mind was still drowning in last night's truth.
> I'm a lab child… a Core experiment… mother's sin.
Bolt kept glancing at him, worried.
"Riku… talk to me," Bolt whispered.
"I don't know what to say," he murmured. "If I start talking, I might break."
They both looked up as the town's public screen flickered on.
Static. A short pause.
Then a calm yet sorrowful voice filled the air.
[Scene 1 – The News That Shocked the World]
> "We bring you breaking news… Legendary anime director Ryuzen Takahara has passed away at age 61."
People stopped walking.
Shops fell silent.
Even the street dogs stared at the screen.
The anchor continued:
> "Internationally acclaimed for his work on Sky Pirates Odyssey and the box-office hit Dragon Soul Rebirth, Takahara-sensei inspired generations of artists and storytellers…"
Riku blinked.
"A director died…?"
Bolt tilted his head. "Who was he?"
"He made half the shows I grew up with," Riku whispered.
"His worlds taught me how to dream…"
The screen showed a montage of Takahara-sensei smiling behind a camera, drawing storyboards, and hugging his staff.
Then the last line hit Riku like a punch:
> "The world has lost a creator today…
but the dreams he left behind continue to live in us."
Riku's breath trembled.
Just like MK Pahad's disappearance…
Just like the mother who hid her sins…
It felt as if the universe was whispering:
> Everyone you look up to… leaves eventually.
[Scene 2 – The Storm Approaches]
Toma ran toward Riku, panting.
"Riku! Did you feel the Core fluctuations in the mountains last night?"
Riku nodded. "Yeah… it wasn't natural."
Toma held up his holo-pad.
A heat-map flickered — unstable purple spikes near the Soren mountain range.
"This isn't lightning energy. This is something else."
Bolt stiffened.
"It's him… the one who made the sky burn purple."
Kaen Drayze.
[Scene 3 – Kaen's Advance]
Far beyond the hills, Kaen walked through the misty forest, cloak drenched from the night rain.
Draygion's voice echoed in his mind:
> "The boy awakened. The Lightning Containment Child… he lives."
Kaen smirked faintly.
"So the Dominion's secret survived. Interesting."
He raised his hand.
A violet flame orb formed in his palm.
> "Let's meet him soon…
before the Cup begins."
The trees bent from the pressure of his aura.
[Scene 4 – Riku's Resolve]
Riku returned home at sunset.
His mother was sitting alone, staring at the Core devices on her table.
He didn't speak.
She didn't look up.
The silence hurt more than the truth.
Finally, Riku placed his hand on the door.
"Mom… I don't forgive you yet."
Her breath hitched.
"But I don't hate you."
Tears blurred her vision.
Riku continued quietly,
"I want to understand everything… one step at a time.
But until then… I need space."
She nodded — broken, but relieved.
Bolt whispered to him,
"You're strong, Riku."
"No," Riku said softly.
"I just don't want to become… like them."
[Scene 5 – The Day That Froze Time]
As night fell, the town gathered for a candle vigil for Director Takahara.
Riku stood among the crowd, the soft glow reflecting in his eyes.
"He created worlds," he whispered.
"And today… he became one with the stars."
Bolt nudged him.
"Riku… you'll create a world too. Not with a pen… but with your strength."
Riku smiled faintly.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
[Final Scene – The Storm Before the Cup]
Riku looked at the horizon.
Blue lightning sparked from his wrist.
And far away, violet lightning answered.
Two destinies.
Two awakened cores.
Two storms heading toward collision.
The Spirit Cup was only days away.
And somewhere in the shadows of the
mountains…
Kaen whispered:
> "Let's see whose lightning breaks the sky first."