The scene opened on the cold, cobbled streets of London. Lantern-lit fog clung to the air, trailing behind two boys sprinting through the dark. Blood dripped from their cuts. Breaths were ragged. Jupiter carried an unconscious Jason over his shoulders, legs trembling with each step.
"There has to be someone—" Jupiter's thoughts raced. "Someone who saw the flare… Jason shot it. They should've seen it by now…"
But then—
A voice cut in. Calm. Mocking. Bone-chilling.
"You brats sure are slow at running, huh?" the voice teased from the shadows. "Why don't you ditch that friend of yours and try saving yourself next time?"
Jupiter froze mid-step.
That voice belonged to the monster they were fleeing from. The one who had torn through them like paper, without even trying. The one who came alongside Heinrich on their mission to wipe out the Lantern Society and anyone tied to it.
Yuto Takasugi.
Jupiter staggered, nearly falling backward as Yuto emerged from the fog. His face bore that same twisted grin as before.
"What's the matter?" Yuto taunted, eyes gleaming. "Scared?"
"Like hell I am," Jupiter shot back, though his voice cracked.
"Oh my! What foul language!" Yuto clutched his chest dramatically. "Who raised such a rude little brat?"
"Not your business. Just shut up and leave us alone, freak."
Yuto opened his arms wide. "Then come do something about it. You really think I'd just let you and your little friend walk away? This all could've been avoided if you hadn't tangled with an underworld cult."
"The Lantern Society isn't a cult," Jupiter snapped.
Yuto raised a brow. "You actually believe that garbage?"
"I do."
Carefully, Jupiter propped Jason upright against a wall. His head tilted forward, unconscious. Jupiter stood, fists raised. His purple aura flared faintly from his skin.
"I should've brought my blade," he muttered to himself. "If only I knew something like this would happen when we followed Miss Victoria."
Before he could ready himself fully, a fist exploded across his face. He stumbled back, blood spilling from his nose.
"Losing focus in a fight? Rookie mistake," Yuto said, shaking his hand.
Jupiter retaliated with a punch, but Yuto sidestepped effortlessly. A counterstrike to the ribs. An elbow to the jaw. A flurry of blows followed, relentless. Jupiter cried out as a brutal kick launched him across the stone road.
Yuto strolled forward, calm as ever, not even glancing at Jason's battered form. His eyes were locked on Jupiter—the stubborn kid who still dared to stand.
The fight was over before it began. Another punch sent Jupiter flying into a brick wall with a sickening crunch. His head struck the stone. Blood trickled down his forehead. His vision blurred.
His thoughts spiraled.
"Why am I so weak?"
"I couldn't even help Jason. I couldn't fight back. I couldn't stop him."
"Maybe I'm not as special as everyone thinks."
"I'm not like Xavier. I wish I was."
"I'm always one step behind."
He clenched his fists weakly, whispering to himself:
"Sorry, Xavier… I guess I wasn't the rival brother you deserved."
"You moved forward, even after your father's death. I'm proud of you. Really."
"But me? I can't even protect myself. Let alone someone I care about."
A memory flashed. A warm voice. A gentle smile. A woman with kind eyes.
His mother.
The image was ripped away by another kick. Pain seared through his chest. Something cracked.
"You're a persistent little kid," Yuto muttered. "But it's over."
"Stop talking to me," Jupiter rasped, his head falling forward.
Yuto's grin faded.
"Hmph. Fine. Guess my voice will be the last one you hear."
He stepped forward, fist pulled back.
Time slowed.
"I don't want to die."
"I still haven't done what I promised you."
"I just need…"
"More power," he whispered.
The moment before impact, Jupiter raised his arms. Blood suddenly ran from his left eye, dripping down his cheek and chin. Then—something ruptured.
The whites of his eye turned pitch black. His iris vanished into a void.
A black aura erupted from him, violent and cold. It wasn't the same light-purple hue as before. This was something else. Something dreadful. Reality itself warped around him. The ground cracked. The air twisted. And then—
Everything turned black.
They were no longer in London.
They stood in a void. A pitch-black vacuum. Yuto and Jupiter. Nothing else.
Yuto looked around, confused and uneasy. "What the hell is this?!"
He turned back to Jupiter, who stood blank-eyed, as if his mind had vanished. His aura throbbed like a dying star.
Yuto unsheathed a short blade from his thigh, his own energy flaring. He rushed forward to strike first—
But he was too slow.
Far too slow.
As the void twisted, its form shifted into something grotesque—a gaping mouth. Not just a maw, but an endless chasm of teeth. Rows upon rows, perhaps millions, all razor-sharp and glistening with hunger. It made even the fiercest dragons seem tame.
"HEY!" Yuto roared, panic cracking his voice. "W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU BRAT?!"
He tried to run. Tried to summon any kind of defense. But he was trapped.
The jaw-like realm encased him from every angle. Hands—twisted, shadowy things—clawed out from the corners, crawling toward him. Gripping him. Holding tight. Voices began whispering from the darkness. Dozens of them. Hundreds. Their tones layered and distorted. And somehow, Yuto knew: those voices belonged to the hands.
He struggled, resisting with all the strength he had left—but it was useless. Despite being the stronger fighter by every measure, he was overwhelmed. Utterly.
The void closed in.
Teeth clamped down. A symphony of shrieking and tearing erupted as the fangs dug into his flesh. Yuto screamed—not just in pain, but in raw, unfiltered terror.
Until... he was gone.
Ripped to shreds.
Consumed by nothingness.
And then, as if none of it had ever happened, the world returned to normal.
The cobbled streets of London. The silence of the fog. Reality reassembled itself.
Jupiter blinked, finally regaining consciousness—though his eyes had been open the entire time.
"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" he gasped. His voice trembled. His thoughts raced. "What... what did I just see?"
A sharp, agonizing pain pulsed through his entire body, radiating especially from his left eye. He clutched it with a groan, overwhelmed.
"This... This has never happened before," he thought in a panic. "I've never felt this. Never."
He nearly threw up. The memory of Yuto's death—that horrifying, surreal death—burned into his mind. His body shook. From pain. From fear. From sheer disgust.
And then—
Clapping.
Slow. Measured. Followed by a chilling, amused laugh.
"Splendid!" a voice echoed through the mist. "Truly splendid, Jupiter. I'm genuinely impressed. To defeat someone clearly beyond you? Bravo."
Jupiter turned his head, still panting, still reeling. And when he saw who the voice belonged to, his blood froze.
Standing calmly amidst the smoke was the devil himself—
Percival Ashford.
"Hello, Jupiter," Percival said with casual friendliness, as if greeting an old friend. Not a trace of concern for Yuto's demise. His own subordinate. "How have you been? I've been meaning to speak with you again. It's been what... two years? Since Xavier's hospital room."
Jupiter couldn't speak. His body instinctively tensed. His heart raced. Memories crashed in—of what Percival did to Xavier, to others. Rumors. Stories. Horrors.
He raised his fists, still weak, still hurting. But ready.
"What the hell do you want from me?!" he snapped. "Why are you here, you monster?!"
Percival raised his hands, feigning innocence.
"No need for hostility," he said smoothly. "I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you!"
"Really?" Percival tilted his head. "Well, I suppose I'll just go, then. Shame. I was hoping to discuss your mother... and those sudden powers of yours."
Jupiter froze.
His heart sank.
"WAIT!" he shouted, despite the pain, despite everything. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY MOTHER?!"
That was all Percival needed.
He turned back with a devilish smirk. "Oh? So you are interested."
Jupiter immediately regretted it. "No, I—It's nothing. I don't need anything from you."
"If that were true, you wouldn't have asked."
Jupiter stayed silent.
Percival saw the opening and stepped through it, his words like hooks.
"I know all about you, Jupiter," he said. "You're a remarkable child. As remarkable as Xavier in many ways. Maybe more. I saw it the first time we met. I always make a habit of researching the people I take interest in."
He drew closer.
"I know about your mother. Evelyn. How she died. At the hands of your father—Henry. Abusive. Violent. How she succumbed to her wounds when you were just three."
The name alone shattered Jupiter.
His legs shook. Eyes welled with tears. The trauma. The buried memories. All of it crashing back like a tidal wave.
Percival's smile widened.
"And now... this power. You don't understand it, do you? You're scared of it. Lost. Alone."
"But I know what it is. I know what you are, Jupiter. The talent buried inside. The potential most will never comprehend."
He stepped in just a bit closer.
"You're tainted steel. Misunderstood. Abandoned. But not broken. Never broken."
Jupiter trembled.
And the manipulation began.
The game had started.