— — — — — —
The Sunflower Field
As always, the ruler of the field lounged under the sunlight, peacefully basking in its warmth. But the moment she sensed a familiar presence stepping into her territory, she lazily tilted her head and murmured in mild surprise, "Oh? What's this?"
"Photosynthesis. Pretty amazing, right?"
With just a thought, golden sunlight began to gather around Veyron.
Even the sunflowers—along with the rare twin-headed sunflowers scattered throughout the field—seemed to lean toward him, their natural pull responding to his presence.
[Photosynthesis (Gold)]
This was a trait that had started out as a plain white-tier ability. After two rounds of "feeding" from Yuuka Kazami, it had evolved to orange-tier.
And now—finally—it had evolved once more, joining the ranks of other gold-tier monsters like [Gene Lock], [Destined Death], [Friend of the World], and [Limiter Remover].
"The amazing one is you," Yuuka said, shaking her head with a rare seriousness.
"So, wanna try it out for yourself? Feel a little bit of my miracle?"
Veyron pricked his fingertip and conjured a drop of golden blood, sending it floating gently toward Yuuka with a flick of his Divine Will.
Back when [Photosynthesis] was still white, green, blue, or even purple in quality, it had only one basic effect: 'While under sunlight, gradually recover stamina, energy, and health.' That's it.
The higher the tier, the faster the recovery speed. Simple as that.
But after Yuuka personally fed him that one sunflower seed, pushing it to orange-tier, the skill had gained something new—an extra passive: "When in perfect condition, excess solar energy can be stored within the body for later use."
That addition gave off some very familiar vibes.
So when Veyron later awakened his "Soul Light," gaining the ability to actively evolve his traits, he thought—why not go all in?
He borrowed inspiration straight from a certain caped superhero—known by some as a "god among men"—and upgraded his skill accordingly.
Now that it had reached gold-tier, [Photosynthesis] didn't just boost recovery or allow for solar energy storage. Under sunlight, everything about him improved—strength, speed, endurance, reflexes, senses, defense, regeneration… all of it surged nonstop.
But that wasn't all.
Even though he already had powerful energy skill traits like [Energy Release], abundant Divine Ki flowing through his body, and the reality-shaping force of his Divine Will, he still went ahead and copied a few of the superhero's signature moves—because why not?
He developed heat vision—concentrated red beams that could burn or blast through almost anything using stored solar energy.
He also created his own version of a bio-electric force field—a layer of living energy that allowed him to fly freely, ignore gravity, and even catch falling planes or collapsing skyscrapers with his bare hands—without either breaking apart.
Incidentally, that even caused his [Energy Release] and other traits to level up a bit.
In short...
[Photosynthesis (Gold)] could basically be renamed "Superman Template," and it would be 100% accurate.
If there was any flaw to nitpick, it'd be that—unlike the original—his "Superman" version didn't come with any Kryptonite, red sun, or other built-in weaknesses.
After the skill evolved to gold-tier, Veyron—being the sentimental type—naturally remembered who helped him get this far.
So of course, he made his way to the sunflower fields to share the good news with her in person.
And if Yuuka Kazami had some kind of status Trait system, he was pretty sure her panel would now show her own version of [Photosynthesis].
Yuuka just stared at him quietly.
At first, Veyron thought she might turn him down. Maybe this whole "sharing via blood" thing was too weird or intimate for her. He started thinking that, in hindsight, maybe he should've brought it in a vial or a test tube instead…
But just as he was about to say something, the green-haired yokai calmly parted her lips—
—and swallowed the golden drop of blood without hesitation.
"Don't bother trying to refine it or break it down," Veyron quickly added. "Because of how my body works, that's basically pointless. Just focus on feeling the trait itself—the photosynthesis part."
Yuuka gave a quiet nod.
As time passed, her aura began to shift—growing heavier, more powerful.
Then, all of a sudden, it reached a tipping point. An overwhelming surge of energy exploded outward from her body, blasting across the sunflower fields and beyond—dozens of kilometers instantly swallowed up by the shockwave.
Everything beyond that range was already sealed off by Veyron's Divine Will.
"…Wait, that actually worked?"
It took a while for the wild energy to settle back under control. When it finally did, Veyron blinked in disbelief, realizing where that massive power spike had come from.
"I didn't think this kind of thing was even possible," Yuuka said, a rare smile playing at the corner of her lips.
She could feel it—her body, her spirit, her very essence—stronger than ever before.
Since reaching the pinnacle of yokai as a Great Yokai, the external forces that once helped her—like the warmth of the sun or the grounding of the earth—had gradually stopped providing direct strength. Instead, they'd simply helped her recover what she'd already used.
Even so, she'd kept her old routine. Day after day, when nothing else was going on, she'd lie in the middle of her sunflower field and soak up the sunshine.
Why?
No special reason.
She just liked the feeling—the cozy warmth of sunlight on her skin. That was it.
But now, that little habit she kept around for comfort… had triggered a miracle.
After absorbing the golden blood and tapping into a trace of Veyron's unique [Photosynthesis], she'd managed to internalize part of its essence. And that—combined with the thousands of years of sunlight she'd quietly absorbed over time—had pushed her through something she never expected: A second true transformation.
Her first had been when she became a Great Yokai.
And now, this was the second—a full-blown leap in her existence.
Yuuka turned to Veyron, her gaze now tinged with something more… intense.
"I feel you're still not a match for me."
Veyron caught the unspoken message in her eyes and replied calmly.
"I see."
Yuuka gave a small nod. But the fiery battle spirit in her eyes didn't waver in the slightest.
"...If all you want is a sparring partner to test out your new strength," Veyron added with a smirk, "maybe wait just a little longer."
He pointed up toward the sky. "There's a better warm-up waiting there."
Yuuka followed his gaze. It was still broad daylight, but that didn't stop her from instantly recognizing what he meant—
The Moon.
"It's starting then?" she asked quietly.
Veyron nodded. "Yeah. Before I came here, I already sent her the signal to get things ready."
---
—Just a little earlier—
Netherworld, Hakugyokurou.
Under a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, Yukari Yakumo was sipping sake and enjoying the view with a few close friends when she suddenly received Veyron's message.
She raised a hand and sliced open a gap in space.
"Ran," she said lazily, "go notify the people we've been keeping in touch with. It's finally time."
.
.
.