(Prelude to the War Arc)

“Kai… How?”

Erina’s questioned Kai. Her eyes were trembling as she stared at Akane’s back.

“Even I didn’t know that it would end up this way, this didn’t happen the first time.”

Kai didn’t look them in the eyes. There were tears in his eyes as he embraced Akane.

“Kai, my soul… It’s not only mine.”

Akane made a small space between the two of them and spoke.

“Yeah, I know. The angel’s soul is still mixed in, isn’t it? I managed to remove a good chunk of it but it's only enough to restore your consciousness."

“It’s not just her.”

Akane shook her head and touched Kai’s chest.

Once Kai felt the mysterious feeling that stemmed from Akane’s finger, his eyes widened.

“Could it be… everyone?”

“No... My father isn’t here. Neither are your parents.”

“...”

Judging by how she talked, it appears the Soul Thief had never found her father. Then, where could he have gone? Kai hadn’t remembered him dying in the clan either. About his parents... he already knew where they were.

“Yoko, get everyone. We’re going back home.”

“Right now? But, what about the other two continents?”

“They’re safe."

Though Yoko didn’t know where Kai’s confidence came from, she had a great deal of trust in him and nodded. She took a second look at Akane before leaving. There was more time to catch up with her later.

“Erina, I’m going to need your help once we return to the Kuroshi Clan’s burial spot.”

“What are you planning to do?”

Erina frowned. She had seen him act like this many times before and each time, he always did something reckless that would risk his life.

“Other than Amelia, you’re the only one who can use Green Ki. I need you to manipulate it for me.”

“...I understand.”

“I’ll explain everything later. I’ve decided that I won’t hide anymore after all.”

“...”

“I’ll share my memories to you and Amelia directly. The others will have to make do with word-of-mouth.”

“...okay.”

Though Erina was reluctant, she agreed and neared Akane who wouldn’t release Kai. She continued to cry and sniffle as she held onto Kai.

“Akane, what do you remember?”

“Everything. From my first memories to the clan’s destruction and everything else up to this point. I remember everything clearly. And… I know most of what everyone else knows too.”

“...”

Kai growled. The Soul Thief was too much of a monster. Even without Akane’s explanations, he finally understood why her soul was so compatible with the angel’s.

The Soul Thief melded Akane’s soul with every other clan member and tempered it until it could withstand the angel’s souls. More than ten thousand souls were inside her body and it was a miracle she hadn't lost her sense of self.

Kai's rage was burning fiercely inside him. The Soul Thief was lucky he had already died and that Kai couldn't take his soul. If he was still here, he'd have suffered a fate far, far worse than death.

‘Though, I guess that’s the reason the Soul Thief chose her out of the ten thousand.’

Her soul was frighteningly strong. Though fragmented, ten thousand souls were no small number. Even Kai didn’t have the confidence to take them all on.

The unbelievable pain and anguish that she must've felt during the proces made him hold her tighter.

A few minutes later, everyone had finally arrived.

“...”

Kai looked at the woman standing by the door. Anastasia Willow Mathers. Though they were enemies in the other timeline, they were closer to lovers than anything else here.

“I knew it…”

Anastasia laughed and walked towards Kai. Nobody stopped her as tears built up in her eyes.

“You fooled me, and quite magnificently at that.”

Kai kept silent. He couldn’t make any excuses now that she had figured out the truth.

“My offer still stands.”

Kai spoke up.

“When I return, I’ll confront you. At that time, you can make your decision.”

“Do you really think I’d still go with you? You may have stolen my heart, but I’m not a fool.”

“I know."

Kai sighed and held up his index finger. He tapped his own forehead and a pale violet light suddenly engulfed his finger.

“I’ll give you this.”

In two years, the war would be in full swing. Now that Kai had gotten rid of the Blind Swordsman and made his presence known to them, it wouldn’t be surprising if the war were to happen at any day now.

Anastasia wouldn’t have long to give her answer. That’s why Kai decided to give her what she needed, his memories. Though they were enemies, they had indeed spent a great deal of time together.

He hoped she could make a better decision with his knowledge. He needed every person he can get.

Anastasia didn’t reject him. Kai’s finger touched her forehead and memories came rushing in. Her steps faltered, but she didn’t fall.

“It’ll take a bit of time to digest it all, so you should go and rest.”

Anastasia bit her lip and stepped back. She glared at Kai one more time before disappearing with a flash of light. There was reluctance in her steps, but she was resolute. She wasn't planning to stay even if Kai had told her to.

As she left, a giant magic circle engulfed Kai and the others.

“Let’s go back home.”

Kai stroked Akane’s hair as the magic circle’s light engulfed all of them completely.

Tens of thousands of kilometers away, they reappeared. The area surrounding them was in ruins.

"This place is..."

Arata muttered as he looked around.

"It's where everything started."

Kai closed his eyes.

He was reincarnated here and met Yoko and Akane. He saw Reo and they formed a contract. Erina then met him in the forest and stayed here for a period of time. The demon found Kai dying from a disease and took over his body.

And... using the power that Kai had acquire to protect those he wished to protect, he slaughtered the very people he cherished.

Kai gathered his mana and made a gesture with his hands. The ground began to tremble.

Akane, who was still nestled in Kai's arms, looked around with her tear-stricken eyes. She blinked a couple of times before her eyes lit up.

"Kai, you..."

Kai opened his eyes and looked down at her. Their gazes met for a few seconds before he talked.

"It's going to hurt you quite a bit, will you be alright?"

Akane quickly nodded repeatedly. He couldn't help but laugh at how cute she looked and pecked her on the forehead. He was feeling a huge turmoil of emotions right now, happiness, anger, despair, and excitement. They were all swirling around inside him as if they were ready to burst.

He was happy that he got reunited with Akane. He was angry because of the suffering she and everyone else had gone through. He was despairing at a possible future where he fails. And, he was excited that he would succeed.

Hundreds—thousands of skeletons shot out of the ground. Everyone was startled for a brief moment but they kept their calm. Erina and Amelia neared him and he passed on what they needed to do.

The two of them began glowing. Their entire beings were being enveloped by a bright, warm, green light. The world itself felt like it was catering to their powers.

"Manipulating life and death is something no mortal can nor should do. It's impossible for them to bring the dead back to life."

Kai closed his eyes briefly one more time and when they opened, his eyes shone a strange light. Just looking at them was enough to make one feel reverence and majesty.

"But, a God is different."

His voice was accompanied by another. It reverberated, as if someone was overlapping with Kai.

"A God is able to make the impossible, possible. Manipulating life and death is a common occurence to them as they aer not bound by morality and the power they wield is the mightiest."

The floating skeletons suddenly began shaking. Erina and Amelia's green ki slowly started surrounding all of them. The cracked and broken bones were slowly regenerating and the missing parts were being returned back to their proper places.

Soon enough, organs began appearing accompanied with blood, then their flesh started to show up and cover the bones.

It was a surreal sight, one that would make many gag at such a horrid sight.

However, it was complete.

What was once were skeletons were returned back to their former glory. Humans of flesh and blood were floating in the air.

"Akane."

"Nn... Do it."

Kai didn't waste anymore time. He held Akane tightly as his hand phased through her back.

"A-ah..."

Akane tried to hold back but couldn't help crying in pain. It felt like she was being stabbed by a thousand needles and she had no way to defend herself. If it wasn't for Kai's grip on her body, she would've thrashed around and ran away.

The process was slow and the whole time, Kai and Yoko watched over her. Erina and Amelia were busy maintaining the green ki to rejuvenate the bodies while the others couldn't do anything even if they wanted to.

It was an arduous five minutes. Everyone felt like it had taken them years just to go through those five minutes. However, it all paid off.

Kai held the collapsed Akane and stroked her head.

"You did great. Leave it to us from here."

Akane looked at him through her hazy vision before collapsing. Yoko moved next to Kai and took Akane from her.

"You need to focus."

Kai nodded at Yoko's reminder and looked at the flame-like entity floating on his hand.

A soul brighter than any other.

It was the accumulation of the fragments of ten thousand lives.

Kai raised the soul up into the sky and with another gesture, the soul split into countless pieces. They all began flying into the mouths of the floating corpses.

"It's like I'm dreaming..."

Date muttered. There really wasn't any other way to describe what was happening before their eyes.

Soon, all of the souls managed to find their true origins and Kai dropped the now asleep people. He was successful in implanting their souls back to them.

It didn't take long for them to open their eyes.