‘Urgh… What’s happening?’ A thoughtless groan echoed out from inside Gin’s psyche as the light slowly came back to his darkened life. The Silver Monkey had been under constant stress ever since he had been chained, facing torture after torture from Shin. To make matters worse, once Shiro came flying from the roof, the Mirror Deity refused to save him and instead… Force a radiant light upon his weakened body, further degrading it and sending waves of pain into his broken brain.

Even if he were a Tier 9 Spirit Beast and one of the Nine Colours blessed by the Allfather’s mana, there was still a limit to the Silver Monkey’s tolerance. It took him a good few minutes to come to as the pain subsided and his body slowly got onto the path of complete recovery. His short eyelids started to flicker, and a blazing beam broke through his retina.

‘So… Bright...’ The Silver Monkey raised his left arm over his eyes while he turned his hip to the side. Gin opened his mouth, slowly tasting the damp air that surrounds him. Bit by bit, the senses that he’d lost after his mind had gone completely awry was coming back to him. The light was the first to permeate through his brain, and soon, his sense of touch returned. He tapped the gravelly floor, bringing his substantial body up to an uprooted position. Blood pumped all over his seemingly frozen body, and colour soon returned to his face. And finally…

‘I’m… still alive?’ Gin thought to himself. His latest memory was a brilliant light, one that was filled with killing intent and adverse pain. The Silver Monkey was one of the strongest Spirit Beasts alive, but there was no way that he could resist that powerful light. To a certain degree, he had even resolved himself to passing on. Alas, by some mystical miracle, Gin was still alive.

Pivoting his head, the Silver Monkey instinctively turned towards the one he was connected to the most. Kneeling just mere metres away from him, a Golden Fox was sprawled out on the floor, its four legs and bushy tail beaten into a submissive pose. Though her position was troublesome, there weren’t any visible wounds on Kin’s body, allowing Gin to breathe out a sigh of relief.

‘Kin… Thank god! You’re still alive!’ Gin sent a mental message over to his sister.

‘...’ There was no reply. Kin was entranced, looking up at the sky with a blank expression, one that Gin had hardly ever seen. Though, the Silver Monkey never thought for one second to investigate the reason behind his sister’s trance. Instead, he attempted to call out to her one more time.

‘Kin! Can you hear me?’

‘Gin?!’ This time, there was a response. Hearing her younger brother’s voice, the voice that she’d been praying to hear for the past few minutes now, Kin dropped her jaw and snapped her head back. ‘GIN!!! You’re finally awake!!!’

The Golden Fox tried to embrace her younger sibling, but the bindings of the Spirit Saints were just far too potent. She struggled a little, but ultimately, the Golden Fox was still far too weak to resist the Spirit Saints.

‘These stupid restraints,’ Kin cursed. All she wanted to do was to have a sweet little reunion and yet, the Alliance members weren’t going to give her that simple luxury.

‘Gin! Are you hurt?! Can you still move?! How’s your psychological state, your spiritual body?! Tell me, are there any complications?!’ Since Kin couldn’t examine her brother, she resorted to shouting questions at him.

‘Don’t worry… Overall, I feel fine...’ Gin was still in the midst of recovery and couldn’t accurately determine what the real damage done to his body and soul was. Perhaps he was crippled for life, or maybe he was completely fine. Once they were free of the bindings, then the Silver Monkey could give a thorough assessment. Alas, he couldn’t do that as of yet. What Gin could assess, was their current state within the prison?

‘What happened? Why was there a light that tried to kill me?’ The Silver Monkey asked.

‘T-That...’ Kin hesitated, her eyes shifting from her younger brother to the ceiling. Intrigued, Gin’s focus followed his sister’s vision, and well…

“W-What… What’s going on?!” Gin widened his eyes and unconsciously let out a shout with his own vocal cords. A fatal mistake as a prisoner who has just woken up from a coma, but who could blame him?

Overhead, two entities were locked in a heated battle, one not giving up a single inch to the other. A white-haired boy was creating vast amounts of mirrors, leaping into most of them to switch locations spatially. On the other side, a pink rabbit was hopping on top of a Grey Otter, which sent forth hoards of disgusting mana like a locust plague through a wheat field. It was a one-sided battle, for sure. But what truly shocked the Silver Monkey, were the two beings that helmed the struggle.

‘Momo and Shiro?! Why are they fighting?! And isn’t that...’

‘Yes, that’s Brother Haiiro...’ Kin interrupted Gin’s thought with a confirmation. ‘Or to be more precise… That’s Brother Haiiro’s corpse that fell under Momo’s control.’

‘WHAT?!’ Stunned beyond belief, the Silver Monkey had thrown away all of his drowsiness and pain. ‘D-Did Momo...’

‘No, Momo didn’t kill Brother Haiiro...’ Kin shook her head, disproving Gin’s hypothesis. ‘Brother Haiiro died in that battle with the intruders! Momo used her powers as the Moon Rabbit to keep our sanctuary running and place an image of Brother Haiiro, one that could interact with us like the real deal! She’s been deceiving us all this while!!!’

The Golden Fox whined. Although, it was unclear if it was from anger or complete resentment… Resentment to her own self. Resentment for not seeing the truth sooner, and… resentment for hating the youngest sister that had attempted to protect her for the longest time.

‘She joined the Black Masks… She joined the Allfather… In the hopes of resurrecting Brother Haiiro and giving us eternal life. An eternal garden to play in, as we used to before...’

‘No… No way...’ Just like his sister before him, Gin failed to accept that truth. From the day they were expelled from Moon Valley, the twins had been blaming Momo for breaking their peace and quiet… For thrusting their lives into this whirlwind that they never wanted to be part of in the first place. Yet… The peace that they had yearned for… was actually just an illusion? A mirage that had been lost a long time ago?

‘We’ve been… misunderstanding the situation this whole time?’ Gin raised the question, but there was no reply. Neither of them wanted to believe that this was the truth. Like ostriches, they stuck their heads into the sand, not hearing, not seeing…

But alas… The light of the battle was far too bright for anyone to ignore.

‘T-then… Why is Momo fighting Shiro? Why aren’t they joined together to save us? Look! Four Spirit Saints are staring at them, ready to pounce at any moment! Shouldn’t they save us first?’

‘That’s the problem...’ Kin gritted her teeth, holding back the overwhelming rage that was bottling within. ‘Shiro tried to kill you! He wanted to silence us, to prevent us from revealing any secrets of the Black Masks and the Allfather! He never wanted to bring us out from this hell in the first place! If not for Momo’s arrival, you may have...’

The Golden Fox didn’t need to complete the sentence to convey her wrath. No, there was even a tinge of fear hidden within her shaking voice. Gin could clearly feel that, and a wave of emotions surged up in his brain as well. He looked up at the two beings amid their tense battle, and with a resolute sigh, Gin declared: ‘We have to help her...’

‘Do you think I don’t know that?!’ Kin screamed. ‘But we’re still stuck to the Spirit Saints! We are powerless to help Momo… Sister Momo!’

The Golden Fox was in no shape to contest the fight. Kin was, by far, the most emotional of the four siblings back in Moon Valley. Everything was a blur to her now. The reality she believed was all a lie and the sister she hated the most, was actually her most trusted ally. Therefore, it was up to Gin to bring a new solution to the table.

‘Just leave it to me...’