[Location: Tokyo – Kaito & Aya's Shared Residence]
The quiet was unnerving.
For the first time in what felt like years, there were no alarms, no screaming System notifications, no Gates erupting in the sky.
Just… the mundane.
Sunlight filtered in through sheer curtains. The room was a modest, two-story building nestled in the newly rebuilt District 9. Wooden floors. A low couch. An unfinished wall where Kaito had tried—poorly—to paint.
Aya sat at the dining table, sipping green tea in silence. Her silver hair was down, cascading over her shoulders, and her usual uniform replaced by a simple white blouse and jeans.
Kaito wandered in, shirtless, towel over his head.
"Morning," he muttered, yawning.
"It's 2 PM."
"I refuse that information."
He plopped next to her, leaning on the table dramatically. She ignored him.
"Did we ever pay rent?" he asked.
Aya blinked at him. "We cleared a Gate. Rent is the least of our problems."
He gave a thoughtful nod. "So technically… I'm a national treasure. And you're a war goddess."
"You're a nuisance."
---
[Location: Tower Administration HQ – Japan Division]
Even with only one surviving duo, Japan refused to step back from the frontlines.
A new team was forming under the national banner—Project Phoenix. A second-generation force, composed of rising Awakened, trained by the surviving veterans of Floor One.
Chief among them was an SS-Rank pair: Yuto Tanaka and Rika Morisawa, both 17, both prodigies. Chosen not for power, but for potential.
They watched recordings of Kaito and Aya's battle inside the Gate every day.
"He doesn't move like a UR," Yuto muttered.
"Because he's not fighting like one," Rika added. "He fights like someone who's used to losing."
---
[Location: Global Chatroom – Awakeners' Public Channel]
[Sung Jin-Ho | Korea | SSS]: "Heard Japan's rebuilding. Mad respect to that duo."
[Dev Rajan | India | UR]: "They lived. That's all that matters. Everyone else is just pretending."
[Anya Petrova | Russia | SSS]: "World Event incoming. Anyone else feel like we're rats in a maze?"
[Elijah Voss | Vatican | UR]: "Rats with power. Makes the game more interesting."
[KaitoYamaduh | ??? | Japan]: "Do rats get paid?"
[AyaShirogane | Japan | UR]: "Ignore him."
---
[Location: Training Grounds – Tokyo]
Aya's sword clashed against Kaito's projected shield. He dodged her next strike with a laugh, ducking and weaving with his usual flair.
"You're not focusing," she snapped.
"I'm perfectly focused. On not getting sliced by you."
"You need to stop relying on improvisation."
"I don't rely on it. I respect it."
Aya kicked him in the chest.
Kaito rolled and popped up. "Okay! Respect denied."
They paused.
She stared at him. "When the Mind Event starts, I won't be able to protect you if you get pulled into your own head."
He shrugged. "Then I better clean up in there. Might take a while."
She didn't laugh.
---
[Location: Kyoto – Shrine of the Mindbound Monk]
Across Japan, special locations were designated as Preparation Zones for the upcoming Event.
This shrine—hidden behind ancient torii gates and guarded by monks—was chosen as the training site for Mental Fortitude.
Kaito and Aya arrived just before sunset.
An old monk approached them, his eyes clouded but his aura clear. "You seek to quiet the storm?"
Aya nodded. "We heard this place helps with internal clarity."
The monk looked at Kaito. "He is the storm."
Kaito raised a hand. "Hi. Storm, apparently."
The monk smiled faintly. "Then let the world tremble."
---
[Location: Shrine Courtyard – Midnight]
Kaito sat alone in the courtyard, staring at the moon.
Aya emerged quietly, sitting beside him.
"Do you know what the first event will test?" she asked.
He nodded. "Regret. Guilt. Illusions. Mind fracturing. Memory traps."
She didn't answer.
He turned toward her. "You're afraid."
"I am."
He leaned back on his elbows, gazing upward. "I'm not."
"Why not?"
He smiled. "Because I know what's real."
She looked at him, confused.
"You," he said softly. "You're my anchor."
Aya looked away, cheeks warming despite herself. "Idiot."
They sat in silence, the wind whispering through the shrine trees.
---
[Closing System Pulse – Global Broadcast]
[SYSTEM WARNING]
The Event of the Mind begins in 60 days.
Find what centers you.
Or be lost within yourself forever.
---
End of Chapter 30