Ayato Kazami stepped closer.
His gaze lingered on Shoto—not like a father simply looking at his son, but like a man studying a variable in an equation, as if he were trying to confirm something only he could see. Then his eyes flicked briefly toward Yumiko, sharp but polite, assessing her presence before returning to Shoto.
"I'm glad you came," Ayato said calmly. "There are things you need to see."
Shoto's hands clenched at his sides.
"…You could've just called," he said.
Ayato let out a soft chuckle. "You think there's service in space?"
Before Shoto could respond, a low mechanical hum echoed through the lab.
A gigantic black screen descended slowly from the ceiling, stopping directly in front of the three of them. Symbols flashed across its surface before stabilizing into a single image.
A gate.
Massive. Ancient.
Its surface was carved with runes that twisted and shifted, refusing to be translated—symbols that seemed to move when stared at for too long. At its center hovered a black, spherical orb, swallowing light around it, as though space itself bent inward toward its presence.
Ayato folded his hands behind his back.
"I'm sure you've heard of the Rune Gate."
Shoto stared at the screen for a moment—then deliberately looked away.
"…Yeah," he answered quietly.
Yumiko glanced between the screen and Shoto, confusion knitting her brow. She leaned closer and whispered into his ear, "Isn't that the gate Neko talked about before?"
Shoto nodded once.
Ayato continued, his tone smooth, almost reverent.
"I have plans for this gate. Great plans."
He turned slightly toward Shoto.
"One of which," he said, "is reviving your sister."
The room felt like it stopped.
Shoto's head snapped up, breath catching in his throat. His eyes widened, shock and panic crashing over his face.
"W-What…?" he whispered.
Ayato didn't look at him.
Instead, he stared at the image of the gate, eyes reflecting its dark glow.
"If I revive her," Ayato said evenly, "this entire world will be reborn."
Yumiko stiffened.
Shoto took a step forward. "Dad—what are you saying?"
Ayato finally turned.
"Memories," he said calmly, "do not always last forever."
Shoto's heart hammered violently in his chest.
"Wh-What do you mean…?"
Ayato's expression hardened.
"I will reset this world in its entirety, Shoto."
The words landed like a blade.
"A world where she lives," Ayato continued, voice cold and absolute. "A world without suffering. Without the failures that led to her death."
Shoto's mouth trembled. "So..you're just going to rewrite histor-"
Ayato's eyes locked onto him.
"But you," he said quietly, "will not exist in it."
Shoto froze.
"And neither will Yumiko."
Yumiko inhaled sharply.
Ayato straightened, his voice unshaking.
"I will use this wish to sacrifice the both of you."
Silence swallowed the room.
The hum of machines.
The glow of the gate.
The endless void beyond the station walls.
Shoto stared at his father, disbelief giving way to something darker.
"…You're going to erase us," he said slowly.
Ayato did not deny it.
"A necessary sacrifice," he replied. "For a perfect world."
Shoto's fists trembled.
Shoto didn't hesitate.
The moment the words fully sank in, he grabbed Yumiko's wrist and ran.
The lab doors burst open as they tore into the corridor, alarms immediately screaming to life. Red warning lights flooded the hallway, bathing the pristine white walls in violent flashes.
Behind them, Ayato didn't shout.
He didn't chase.
He only watched.
A faint, almost disappointed smile crossed his face as he raised one hand—and snapped his fingers.
The sound echoed sharply through the lab.
A massive white combat unit powered on.
Its frame unfolded with hydraulic force, muscles of synthetic plating locking into place as its eyes burned to life. Without hesitation, it launched forward.
Shoto and Yumiko sprinted down the corridor, their footsteps pounding against the metal floor.
"He has to be lying—right?!" Yumiko cried, struggling to keep pace. "There's no way he actually thought this through!"
Shoto clenched his teeth. "I don't know… but knowing hi—"
His words cut off.
The air shifted.
Shoto's head snapped sideways just as the robot dropped from above, landing directly in front of Yumiko with a thunderous crash. The floor dented beneath its weight as it reeled back one massive arm, servos whining as it prepared to strike.
Yumiko froze.
"Yumiko—!"
Shoto thrust his palm forward.
Black light exploded outward.
The Zamorak Sword manifested instantly—its form rippling as dark scales crawled up Shoto's arm, slit pupils flashing into his eyes. The blade didn't stay a blade.
It morphed.
Black metal flowed like liquid, wrapping around his arms, reshaping into brutal gauntlets etched with glowing crimson veins.
The robot's fist came down.
Shoto caught it with his left hand.
The impact cracked the floor.
Shoto slid back a meter but held firm, teeth gritted as black energy surged around his arm. With his other hand, he yanked Yumiko against his side.
"Stay close!"
He thrust his right gauntlet outward.
Black flames erupted from his palm, detonating point-blank against the robot's chest. The blast sent it flying backward, smashing through the corridor wall in a storm of debris.
The force launched Shoto and Yumiko forward, bursting them out into open space—
—or so it should have.
Instead, an invisible spherical barrier snapped into place around them, sealing shut instantly. Gravity stabilized. Air rushed back in.
They slammed hard onto the platform beyond.
Shoto rolled, shielding Yumiko with his body before scrambling back to his feet. His eyes scanned wildly until—
There.
An evacuation cube, glowing faintly at the edge of the platform.
He ran.
Setting Yumiko gently inside, he sealed the door halfway.
Yumiko grabbed his arm. "What are you doing?!"
Shoto forced a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He leaned in, rapidly entering coordinates—Earth. Their location. Emergency descent.
"I'll catch up," he said quickly. "You just have to go first."
"Shoto—no—!"
The cube shook violently.
The robot was back.
Shoto spun, black flames roaring back to life as he unleashed another blast, forcing the machine to stagger back just long enough.
Then—
A shadow fell.
Ayato dropped calmly through the hole Shoto had blasted open, landing effortlessly on the platform. A massive greatsword rested in his hand, its blade humming with restrained power.
He straightened slowly.
"My stubborn son," Ayato said softly. "You still don't get it… do you?"
Shoto locked eyes with Ayato.
For a fraction of a second, neither of them moved.
Then—something shifted.
The combat unit behind Shoto abruptly halted its assault. Its glowing eyes dimmed, recalibrating, before it turned away from him entirely.
"No—wait—!"
Shoto spun just in time to see the robot sprint toward the evacuation cube.
Its massive hand slammed against the control panel.
ACTIVATION CONFIRMED.
The door sealed shut with a heavy clang.
"Yumiko—!" Shoto shouted, rushing forward.
Too late.
The cube lurched violently, engines igniting as it shot away from the station, vanishing into the void on a direct trajectory toward Earth.
The last thing Shoto saw was Yumiko pounding on the glass—her mouth forming his name—before the cube disappeared into the stars.
Silence fell.
Only the low hum of the station and the distant rumble of machinery remained.
Ayato continued walking forward, calm and unhurried. As he approached, he reached over his shoulder and slid the massive greatsword onto his back, securing it with a practiced motion.
His eyes never left Shoto.
"Now," Ayato said evenly, "it's just you and me."
Shoto stood frozen, chest rising and falling as the weight of the moment crashed down on him.
They were alone.
On the Moon.
The Zamorak gauntlets around Shoto's arms began to glow, crimson veins pulsing brighter and brighter. The black metal shuddered, then unraveled, flowing back into a single form.
The Zamorak Sword reassembled in his hand.
Beneath Shoto's eyes, dark black scales spread slowly across his skin, creeping outward like living ink. His pupils sharpened, stretching vertically, his gaze losing something human as something far older and more feral surfaced.
The ground beneath his feet cracked as he launched forward, Zamorak Sword screaming through the thin lunar air. Black energy trailed behind him like burning smoke as he closed the distance in a heartbeat.
He swung.
The blade came down in a savage diagonal strike—fast, furious, fueled by rage rather than form.
CLANG—!
Ayato's greatsword flashed into place, catching the blow with effortless precision. The impact sent a shockwave rippling across the Moon's surface, dust and fragments lifting into the low gravity as both blades locked.
Ayato didn't even stagger.
"Reckless as always.. just as always.." he said calmly, eyes locked on Shoto's feral glare.
Shoto snarled and twisted his wrist, ripping the blade free before spinning into a second strike—then a third—each swing heavier, faster, black energy bleeding from the edge of the sword.
Ayato blocked every one.
Steel met steel again and again, sparks and dark embers scattering into the void.
"In order for a balanced world we need to reset it." Shoto shouted, driving a thrust straight for Ayato's chest.
Ayato stepped aside, turning the blade with a sharp flick of his wrist. Shoto skidded past, boots scraping against lunar dust as he pivoted and slashed upward, forcing Ayato to raise his sword overhead.
"STOP SPOUTING NONSENSE AND GET TO THE POINT! WHY ARE YOU EVEN TALKING LIKE THAT." Shoto roared.
Ayato began to laugh, "10 years of research, all I have to do is something Supernatural! Shoto can't you see I can create a perfect world with that gate the wishes have consequences." Ayato leaned into the lock, pushing back just enough to create space.
Shoto broke away and lunged again, black scales flaring beneath his eyes as his pupils narrowed further. His strikes grew wilder—less controlled, more desperate—each one carrying the weight of fear, anger, and betrayal.
Ayato met them all.
"I'm sure you know about it, the kingdom of Natis, the prince using the gate for power and died while winning the war. The God swords, The Elemental Swords! All of this is leading up to something huge! You just need to open your EYES!"
"SHUT UP! Shoto swung again.
Blocked.
Again.
Blocked.
Each impact echoed across the empty Moon, a brutal rhythm of father against son.
"You think I wanted this?" Ayato asked, deflecting a downward cleave and shoving Shoto back a step. "You think I want to erase you?"
Shoto planted his feet, blade trembling in his grip. "Then you can stop this plan of yours!"
Ayato's eyes hardened as he raised his greatsword, bracing for the next strike.
"…I can't."