In the depths of a dark room, the atmosphere gloomy and bleak,
Taroli sat regally, one leg crossed over the other, dressed in elegant black clothes and a gray shirt with a brown belt. His black hair hung over his forehead, and his icy blue pupils shone like crystal ice. His skin was smooth and white, his features calm and full of malice.
Taroli (with a wicked smile and a sharp voice):
"Dair, come here."
Dair rushed in, his red hair swaying, his black eyes filled with excitement. He wore a white shirt with his name written on it in blue letters, and matching blue shorts.
Dair:
"I'm at your command, sir."
Taroli (in a calm voice):
"I have a mission for you. You must carry it out."
Dair:
"I'll do whatever you command."
Taroli (raising his left arm and pointing his finger):
"Your mission is… to destroy Thunder Village."
Dair (nervously, sweat on his forehead):
"But… I don't have the power to do that."
Taroli (raising his left eyebrow, gritting his teeth, narrowing his left eye slightly):
"Haha, if you can't do it… I'll annihilate both of you."
Dair gulped and began to tremble.
Taroli (coldly):
"Our plan requires the destruction of the village."
Dair (with trembling words):
"Mmm… you're right."
Taroli (with a light laugh):
"Then get up… let's start cleaning out some insects."
Dair:
"Yes, sir."
Taroli (rising slowly and regally):
"Thunder Village… where betrayal was born."
Dair (feeling chills down his body):
"Yes, sir… that village doesn't deserve to exist, their fate is erasure."
Taroli (wagging his finger left and right):
"Tsk tsk tsk… don't erase them immediately…
Make them wish for death, then deny it to them."
The camera rises above the room… Taroli stands tall, and Dair bows before him.
The camera fades from Taroli's room and shifts to Kazuma,
sitting on the grass, the wind playing with his hair.
His eyes narrow as he holds the paper given to him by the mysterious man.
Kazuma (speaking to himself):
"He felt familiar."
Kazuma:
"Will he really make me stronger? Will changing my environment make me stronger?
Why does that person care about me? Or… is he trying to use me more?"
Suddenly, he hears Tien calling out to him:
Tien:
"Kazuma! Kazuma! Kazuma!"
Kazuma:
"Huh? It's the teacher."
He quickly hides the paper in his pocket, then raises his voice:
Kazuma:
"I'm here!"
Tien (with clear concern):
"Why are you here?"
Kazuma:
"I just wanted to be alone… that's all."
Kazuma turned his head to the right and lowered it gently.
Kazuma (in a soft voice):
"Am I just an extra in this world?"
Tien (chuckling lightly):
"Haha, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Kazuma (in a gloomy and hesitant voice):
"Give me an explanation… why don't people accept me?"
Tien stays silent, not answering.
Kazuma:
"Why do humans accuse you of something you didn't do?"
Tien remains silent.
Kazuma:
"Are humans really… just creatures driven by emotion?"
Tien kneels down and places his hands on Kazuma's shoulders.
Tien:
"Humans are like that… but in time, they'll understand you."
Kazuma (slowly narrowing his eyes):
"I think to myself…
And I wonder if humans truly deserve life."
Tien looks at him with sad eyes.
Tien:
"Don't let your emotions control you… or you'll walk the path of Jin."
Kazuma (raising his head, clenching his right fist with determination, eyes shining):
"I'll try to make the village… see the difference between me and my brother."
Kazuma (loudly, his eyes shining like stars):
"I'll make the village respect me!"
Kazuma starts laughing loudly, and Tien laughs with him, their voices rising…
But suddenly, Kazuma stops laughing, and his eyes are filled with shock.
Tien (raising his left eyebrow):
"Why did you go quiet all of a sudden?"
Tien (calling out with concern):
"Kazuma? Kazuma? Where did your mind go?"
Kazuma remains in shock, not responding.
Tien (starts shaking him by the shoulders):
"Speak! Don't go silent like that!"
Kazuma shakes his head side to side and comes back to his senses.
Kazuma (smiling):
"It's nothing…
But at the same time, I don't remember why I drifted off."
Kazuma and Tien are in a small house in Thunder Village, with two windows and a wooden roof. In front of it is a dirt road separating it from a dense forest.
Next to the house is a small grocery store.
Inside, Kazuma sits at a wooden table in a simple room and kitchen with pink walls.
Suddenly, a loud sound is heard outside—screams and loud chants fill the air.
Kazuma (rising quickly):
"What's happening outside?"
At the same time, Tien was at the shop with an elderly vendor in his sixties, with rough brown hair and white-to-brownish skin, and they heard the screams too.
Kazuma exits the house, and Tien shouts from afar in concern:
Tien (urgently):
"Stay here!"
In front of the house, some of the nearby homes were destroyed—as if they never existed.
Kazuma (eyes wide, pupils trembling
):
"Danger… is coming."
From amidst the rubble, Dair appears.
Dair (with an evil smile, shouting at the top of his voice):
"The construction… begins here!"