---
Taroli stands, calmness ruling his posture.
Kazuma extends his left arm forward, fist clenched.
Taroli (speaking calmly):
"Where is Ten?"
Kazuma and Rin remain silent, paralyzed by fear.
Suddenly, a voice is heard from behind Taroli:
"So… you've finally returned."
Taroli (turning his body, with a faint smile):
"It's been a long time, Ten."
Kazuma and Rin watch in silence, tension suffocating them.
Ten (with a calm tone):
"Why all this trouble? You're only hurting yourself… and those around you."
Taroli (a sly grin forming on his left cheek):
"I haven't done anything wrong."
Ten:
"Justice doesn't work like that."
Taroli (with a cold gaze and steady tone):
"Justice? ...Who has the right to define it?
The victor? The ruler? Or the one who's never experienced loss?
I simply walked a path written for me in blood…
I call it justice because I refuse to let my life be meaningless."
Ten (lowering his head, voice broken):
"I never wanted you to walk this path, Taroli..."
Taroli (with icy confidence):
"Humans are enemies by nature... the strong devour the weak, the rich crush the poor."
Taroli (raising his hand as if passing judgment):
"But in my plan… there'll be no strong, no weak.
Everyone equal. No chaos. No injustice."
Ten (looking up, sorrowful tone):
"But your equality… kills freedom and buries mercy."
Taroli (narrowing his eyes):
"Tell me, what freedom? In this world?
The world is in ruins.
There's nowhere left to live in peace."
Ten (with calm confidence):
"I know you had a sad past…
But what fault do the innocent have in your plan?"
Taroli (cold as ever):
"And what fault do the innocent have in the actions of the rich?"
Ten falls silent.
Taroli stares with eyes cold as frost.
The wind howls gently.
Ten's robes sway.
Taroli's hair rises and falls, dancing with the breeze.
Taroli turns his neck toward Kazuma.
Taroli (with confidence and a raised voice):
"Kazuma is the only one who understands what I'm saying."
Kazuma's eyes widen, visibly shocked.
Rin looks at him, fearful and stunned.
Kazuma:
"W… What do I have to do with this?"
Taroli:
"We suffered the same pain.
We share the same thoughts."
Ten (clenching his left fist, shouting):
"Listen, don't drag Kazuma into this!
This is between you and me!"
Taroli (extends his left hand to Kazuma):
"Join me, and you'll see a new world…
A world free of all forms of oppression."
Rin (worried voice):
"Don't listen to him!
He just wants to use you!"
Taroli:
"How about we build a world with no destruction…
No more tears?"
Kazuma trembles, frightened.
His left eye begins to twitch.
Kazuma falls to the ground, holding his eye, teeth clenched in pain.
Ten runs over.
Rin rushes to him.
Rin:
"Kazuma! What's wrong?"
Kazuma (panting):
"I… I don't know… suddenly, this pain!"
Taroli (walking away, loudly):
"This world… is just a page, soon to be turned."
Taroli extends his left hand forward.
His palm glows.
A portal appears, shaped like a door, glowing purple.
Taroli (stepping inside, with a farewell smile):
"Ten… you were always just an obstacle."
He disappears through the portal. It closes.
---
Two hours later...
Kazuma sits on a chair, staring at his hands.
His eyes tremble with fear and anxiety.
Rin (deeply worried):
"What happened to you?"
Kazuma:
"I honestly don't know…
It felt like a blade pierced my eye."
Ten enters, laughing.
Ten (hands on hips):
"Congratulations, you two!"
Kazuma (raises his head):
"Huh? Why are you congratulating us?"
Ten (raising two fingers, grinning):
"Tomorrow… you're going to school!"
---
Next day...
Kazuma and Rin walk with their backpacks.
Kazuma's is green, Rin's is red.
The path to school is stone, not sand.
Shops face the school, surrounded by homes.
The school is large, with a yellow gate.
Atop its roof is a white flag with a roaring lion.
Students enter the school like it's a Titan invasion.
Kazuma spots the boy who once punched him at the market—
The boy smirks wickedly.
Kazuma turns away.
He sees Rin already entering.
---
Inside the classroom...
Kazuma sits at the last desk on the left row, hand on chin, lost in thought.
Rin sits across from him.
The teacher wears a white robe.
He has rough black hair, nearly black eyes, and pale, brownish skin.
The classroom is silent.
Teacher (with a sly smile):
"History… always brings things back to us."
Teacher:
"Humans always take what they believe is theirs by right."
Kazuma looks out the window—
He sees his left eye's reflection.
The pupil is now dark blue,
With a shuriken symbol inside… but with only one blade, aligned diagonally.
Kazuma (eyes widening):
"What... my eye?!"
Kazuma quickly covers it, raising his right hand.
Kazuma:
"Sir… may I go to the bathroom?"
Teacher (gently):
"Only today, since you're new."
Kazuma walks out quickly, nearly running, hand over his eye.
Rin watches, confused.
Teacher (loudly):
"I have a meeting with the principal."
---
Kazuma walks down a large hallway.
Lockers line the walls.
The floor is made of black-and-white tiles.
Kazuma grips a locker, still covering his eye.
Suddenly, he senses a dark aura behind him—
He turns…
It's the teacher.
Kazuma (terrified, breathing heavily):
"Sir…?"
The teacher smiles wickedly and walks away.
Kazuma rushes into the bathroom, stares into the mirror.
Kazuma (sweating heavily):
"What is happening…?
My eye changed out of nowhere!"
Teacher (standing at the door, voice ominous):
"Don't look into the mirror…
Some things, once understood… consume you."
Kazuma looks at him, horrified.
He sees the teacher's eyes entirely black…
A monstrous aura around him.
He has fangs.
His body black like the night sky, like a cosmic void.
Kazuma steps back in fear.
Teacher (closes his eyes and smiles):
"Don't be afraid.
I'm just a normal teacher…
Why all the fear?"
The teacher walks away.
Kazuma's eye returns to normal.
The power fades.
Kazuma stands in front of the mirror, opens
the faucet, and forcefully washes his face.
Water splashes everywhere.
His face is filled with disbelief.
He stares at the mirror, eyes wide in terror.
The camera slowly rises, pulling away from Kazuma… and the bathroom…
And the episode ends.