A few more hours bled into the night.
Still, neither of them stopped.
From a distance, it no longer looked like two men fighting, only two red-soaked figures locked together, staggering and colliding like torn banners caught in a violent wind. Blood and water blurred until there was no telling where one ended and the other began. Neither yielded. Neither fell.
Astra watched quietly.
"…Interesting," she murmured, head tilting as her gaze followed them. Which one is stronger? Even she couldn't tell anymore. Both refused to break. Both clung to their feet through sheer will.
A small chuckle left her lips. "Do they intend to fight until sunrise?"
She shook her head lightly, almost fond. "…Cute."
Her eyes shifted.
Ryoma dodged a brutal strike but his footing slipped. He crashed backward into the pool, spine striking a submerged rock with a dull, sickening sound. His body went slack for a moment.
Kriya froze for a moment then dove, dragging him back up before the water could claim him.
Astra exhaled slowly.
"My disciple…" she whispered, something cold and bitter threading her voice. "Every year, on this same night… you did the same thing."
Her gaze unfocused, drifting into memory.
"Every year you chained me. Locked me away. Raised every barrier you knew—poured everything you had into keeping me contained… just to stop me until sunrise." Her lips curved faintly. "And … you always stayed beside me."
"So now," she murmured, her eyes gleaming as she watched Ryoma struggle to rise, "I claim my revenge… for binding your master."
Last Year — Flashback
Inside a dark chamber.
Ryoma stood at the center, hands trembling as sigils burned in the air around him. One barrier after another formed ten in total—each heavier than the last. His face was hollow, drained beyond exhaustion, as if every breath cost him something he could no longer afford.
Chains rattled violently.
Astra stood bound at the center of the room her arms, ankles, throat—all locked in glowing restraints that pulsed with suppressive power. She thrashed against them, fury tearing from her throat.
"Release me!" she screamed. "How dare you bind me again—let me go! Argh—!"
Ryoma swallowed hard. "Master… please. Calm down." His voice shook. "I'm doing this for your own good."
She strained against the chains, eyes blazing.
"I can't let you go," he interrupted hoarsely. "Not when you know that. Not when you know where the Black Lotus is. Even without your power, your memory alone is enough to invite disaster. And then everything we sealed with blood and sacrifice would unravel." He looked at her then, eyes rimmed red but unwavering.
"So I can't let you out. Not now," he said quietly. "…and not ever."
Her scream shattered the room, ricocheting violently off the stone walls.
"Let me finish what I was meant to do!" she cried. "Only then can we be free!"Her voice broke into something raw and vengeful. "Only then can I take revenge for what they did to us!" she snarled.
"Everyone…everyone—will pay. For the betrayal. For the crime. For every sin they committed against us."
The chains rattled as she struggled, fury pouring from her like a storm.
"Let me go!" she screamed. "I only need the Supreme Black Lotus power. Just that."
Her breath came sharp and uneven, eyes blazing as she locked onto him.
"Once I free the Supreme," she whispered, her voice trembling with both hatred and aching longing, "the power sealed within me will finally be unleashed."
Her fingers clenched against the chains, eyes burning.
"And with that," she said, each word sharp as a blade, "I will take my revenge—for the injustice, for the lives they destroyed, for everything they stole from us."
Ryoma said nothing.
He stepped forward and sat down beside her, back against the barrier, head bowed. She towered over him, chains biting into her limbs as she continued to struggle.
"…Forgive me," he whispered. "But I can't allow that."
She screamed. "They started this, So let me be the one to finish it and end them all."
Ryoma closed his eyes and focused, forcing every fragment of his consciousness into sustaining the barriers, even as sweat and blood ran down his face.
Outside the chamber.
Kaen leaned against the stone wall, suddenly losing strength. He slid down, collapsing with a heavy breath. "When will the sun rise…?" he muttered. "Every year, this night feels endless." His voice trembled. "It feels like the world could catch fire at any moment."
Seirou knelt beside him calmly. "Ease your mind," he said softly. "Nothing will happen as long as the seal forged through sacrifice remains intact." His gaze was steady. "Even if she escapes… it won't matter unless she knows how to break it."
Kaen exhaled shakily. "…Those sacrifices… they can't be for nothing."
Seirou placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "They won't be."
Back in the present, Astra's eyes sharpened as the memory faded. She looked once more at Ryoma and Kriya still fighting, still standing. Her gaze flicked to Kriya.
Then she turned away, her voice dropping into something almost disappointed.
"My ruin… you are still my weakness." She paused, then added coldly, "That is why I remain trapped. I cannot move forward while you stand in my way—facing me instead of standing beside me. Only when you abandon this foolishness and choose my side will I finally able to move forward." She let out a soft, humorless laugh. "It seems the suffering you endured over the past thirteen years taught you nothing at all. You remain unchanged—still the same foolish child."
"Which means," she added lightly, "…there is still so much left for you to suffer. Let's see how long you can endure this time."
Just as the last words left her lips, something stirred behind her.
"Ahhh—?" a groggy voice mumbled. "Where… am I…?"
Daita groaned, clutching his head as if it might split open. He blinked up at the trees, then tried to sit. "What in the—"
A blur.
Astra appeared in front of him in a flash, her shadow falling cleanly over his face.
Daita barely had time to register her presence. "What is—"
Smack.
Her palm landed squarely on the top of his head with a sharp, deceptively light tap.
His eyes rolled back. His body stiffened for half a second and then he collapsed flat again, unconscious before the echo of the sound even faded.
Astra straightened, brushing her hands together. "Sleep a little more," she said mildly. "You'll ruin the fun otherwise."
She turned then, her gaze drifting back toward the two figures violently entangled in the water.
"Tch," she muttered. "Cat and dog."
Her attention shifted.
Kaen lay a short distance away, crumpled against the damp earth, breath shallow, face pale. Astra's steps slowed as she approached him. She crouched, then sat beside him, knees drawn in, her earlier amusement draining into something quieter.
Her fingers hovered for a moment, as if debating whether to touch him.
"…If only you weren't tied to them," she murmured softly.
Meanwhile,
Xue was laughing so hard his feet barely touched the ground as he chased Seiya in clumsy zigzags across the courtyard, tiny arms stretched forward.
"Gimme—givve meee—" he demanded, words slurring together, soft and breathless.
Seiya darted just out of reach, holding the candy high. "What? I can't hear you~" he sang. "Oh Little Xue~ Oh little Xue~ if you want it, you have to catch me first!"
Above them, Seirou still hung upside down in midair suspended by some unseen force—sneezing violently every time the two sprinted past him.
"A—choo! Ah—choo—!" He scowled, hair swinging wildly. "Could you two not run in circles like chickens?! A—choo!"
Shion leaned against a stone pillar nearby, arms folded, gaze distant. Without looking up, he muttered dryly, "He speaks so rarely I'd almost forgotten the kid could talk. At first for a while, I genuinely thought he was deaf. Or mute."
"Hey!" Seiya protested while still running. "That's rude!"
Suddenly—Xue stumbled.
He fell hard, palms scraping stone, knees knocking painfully against the ground. For a heartbeat, there was stunned silence.
Then—
"WAAAA—!!"
Xue's cry ripped through the courtyard. His knee was scraped raw, blood already seeping through, his arm reddened and trembling.
Shion was at his side instantly, kneeling. "Hey—hey, it's all right," he said softly, inspecting the bruises. He shot Seiya a sharp glare and smacked the back of his head. "Look what you've done."
"Ow—?! Why me?!" Seiya yelped, panicking as he crouched too. "Hey, hey, tiny brat—I mean Xue, don't cry! Here—here—" He shoved the candy into Xue's hands. "Take it! Don't cry so loud, okay? The Madam of this Mansion over there hates noise—you'll wake that woman up!"
Xue cried louder.
"Shh! Shh!" Seiya waved his hands frantically, clearly making it worse. "If you cry like that, you'll attract an ugly demon! Huge teeth! It'll eat you alive—chomp!"
Smack.
Seiya yelped again. "WHY DID I GET HIT TWICE?!"
From above, Seirou sniffed, dangling upside down, and said far too calmly,
"Because your comfort skills are demonic in nature."
Seiya snapped his head up. "You stay out of this!"
"Oh?" Seirou tilted slightly, still suspended. "Why should I? Are you ashamed that your skills are that bad? Poor Xue—look what happened to him because of you."
"I was playing," Seiya shot back defensively. "Since Astra and Kaen aren't here, he was sad, so I decided to cheer him up!"
"Yeah, yeah," Seirou drawled. "By making him cry instead."
"At least I tried!" Seiya jabbed a finger upward. "What are you doing, huh? Hanging there like a bat with allergies?"
"A bat with allergies is still more reassuring than you," Seirou replied sweetly. "Notice how he cried louder the moment you opened your mouth?"
Seiya clenched his fists. "Say one more word and I'll knock you down."
"Please do," Seirou said brightly. "I can't hang here much longer anyway. All my blood has rushed to my brain. You'd finally be useful if you knocked me loose."
Seiya huffed and turned back to Xue, who was still sobbing softly while nibbling on the candy. "See?" he said bitterly. "He's making fun of me. Bad influence. You should stay away from him, understood?"
Right then, Seirou sneezed violently.
The sound echoed, and a few stray droplets hit Seiya square in the face.
"…!"
Xue sniffed once… then suddenly broke into giggles, clutching the candy tightly in both hands.
Seiya froze. "Did you just laugh?"
Xue nodded enthusiastically, laughing even harder.
Seiya gasped, hand to his chest. "Betrayal. Absolute betrayal! How dare you? Give it back. Right now. Hand over the candy. I refuse to fund this disrespect."
Xue hugged the candy to his chest and laughed even louder.
Shion sighed, rubbing his temple. "Children," he muttered.
And above them all, Seirou sneezed once more.
"…A—choo."