—
Tokyo's skyline pulsed with static as electromagnetic interference spread across the city. Streetlights blinked out, digital billboards glitched, and drones dropped from the sky like broken toys.
Inside Kazuki's apartment—a hideout now barely holding up under Syndicate surveillance—the trio huddled around the flickering screen.
"It's not just a protocol," Kazuki said, typing furiously. "Amaterasu is an artificial celestial entity—half machine, half... something else. A weaponized consciousness built to eliminate threats before they rise."
"Like heroes," Ayame whispered.
Hoshiro's jaw clenched. "How long do we have?"
Kazuki's face darkened. "It's already descending."
—
Far above, the facility shattered in silence, its remains blazing through the stratosphere like a cursed star. From the wreckage rose a glowing humanoid figure—wings of molten energy, a halo-like crown of light, and no visible mouth—just a single vertical eye on its mask.
Amaterasu had awakened.
—
Back on Earth, underground factions panicked. The Crimson Syndicate's leaders gathered in a secret temple, their holograms distorted.
"We never authorized this," one snarled.
"It doesn't matter," said another. "The moment that boy used the forbidden aura—Amaterasu identified him as a threat."
—
On a rooftop bathed in moonlight, Hoshiro donned his mask once again. His blue aura surged violently around him.
"I'm tired of waiting for fate to catch me."
Ayame placed a small earpiece in his hand. "Then let's go rewrite it."
Above them, a fireball streaked down toward Tokyo.
—
The final war had just begun.
—