Shojiro stood there, steam still rising from his body, the triskelion mark faintly glowing beneath his torn shirt. His breathing was slow but sharp — his instincts screamed that something inside him had changed. The energy felt heavier, deeper, as if his soul had evolved into something beyond mortal comprehension.
He flexed his hand. The air around his fingers rippled faintly with crimson distortion.
"...What the hell did that shard just do to me?"
Kaiser gave a small grunt, crossing his massive arms. "Even I don't know, boy."
Shojiro blinked, turning to him. "What do you mean you don't know? You're the one who gave me the damn shard."
Kaiser's expression didn't change. His tone was calm, but edged with something heavy — regret, maybe.
"I told you before you entered that tower. The ability born from a Primordial Shard isn't chosen — it's forged. Every Chosen's soul shapes it differently. Random, chaotic, unpredictable."
Shojiro frowned, frustration flickering in his eyes. He could feel the power humming inside him like a storm barely held back. "So you're telling me I risked my life in there and you don't even know what I got out of it?"
Kaiser let out a low, rough laugh. "Welcome to the lineage of strength. You don't learn what you are — you fight until the answer bleeds out of you."
Before Shojiro could retort, Kaiser's tone suddenly shifted — sharp, commanding.
"Listen carefully, boy. We don't have time to stand around."
Shojiro stiffened. "...What do you mean?"
The Primordial's gaze turned grim, the crimson light in his eyes dimming.
"You've been in that tower longer than you think. For you, it's been… what? A few days?"
Shojiro nodded slowly, confused. "Maybe a week. Why?"
Kaiser's voice dropped like thunder.
"Outside… fifty-two years have passed."
Shojiro's pupils dilated. His breath caught in his throat. "...What?"
Kaiser continued, each word heavy as stone.
"The tower froze time around you. It's how it preserved your body through those trials. But the outside world kept moving. Arae's forces are already on the surface. The other Chosen are fighting for their lives right now."
The weight of it hit Shojiro like a sledgehammer.
"Fifty… years?" he muttered, his voice barely a whisper.
Kaiser's voice boomed again, leaving no room for doubt.
"There's no more waiting. No more rest. Whatever power you gained in there — you'll figure it out on Earth. You must return to the mortal plane. Now."
Shojiro clenched his fists, the crimson aura flaring faintly once more.
He looked up, his eyes burning with determination.
"Then send me back."
Kaiser nodded once, raising his massive hand. The air around Shojiro began to distort violently, the crimson light pulling inward like a vortex.
Kaiser's final words echoed through the collapsing chamber —
"Brace yourself, boy. The world you knew is gone. What's waiting for you now… is war."
The light swallowed Shojiro whole, and the Trial of Strength — the Cradle that broke and remade him — finally vanished behind him.
Shojiro's eyes snapped open — wind tearing past him, sky flashing in dizzying streaks. For a heartbeat, the world blurred. Then gravity claimed him.
"What the—?"
He plummeted toward the ruined city below, but his body didn't crumple on impact. He slammed into the cracked asphalt, sending dust, debris, and a faint crimson shockwave radiating outward. Not a scratch. Not even a flinch. His legs bent naturally, muscles coiled, and he rolled forward once to regain balance.
Shojiro blinked, taking in the devastation. Fallen skyscrapers jutted out like broken teeth, streets warped and fractured, rivers of dried blood pooling in craters. Skeletons, skeletal husks of once-human soldiers, lay strewn across abandoned avenues. Vines crawled over every surface, reclaiming what remained of the world. Entire blocks were abandoned — haunted by the shadows of Arae's corruption.
It had been over two centuries since he last set foot on Earth. Two hundred years of decay, ruin, and death.
A low growl cut through the silence. Shojiro turned, and a berserker demon — its body towering, sinews taut, claws glinting — had been drawn to the sound of his impact.
It lunged without hesitation, swinging its massive claw toward Shojiro's head. The motion was brutal, a whirlwind of raw strength meant to obliterate anything in its path.
Shojiro's eyes narrowed. Time seemed to slow. The demon's arm struck his chest — and shattered.
Its entire arm snapped mid-swing, unable to sustain the velocity of its own body. Bone splintered, muscles tore. It stumbled back, a roar of pure rage tearing from its throat.
Shojiro smirked, his crimson aura flaring faintly.
"Weak. Much."
Before the demon could recover, he stepped forward, fist cocked. A single punch connected square in its torso. Flesh, bone, and sinew exploded outward in a crimson mist. The upper half of the berserker detached, tumbling backward.
Shojiro's gaze remained calm, almost bored, as he started walking through the ruined streets.
But the berserker wasn't done. From a few meters away, its lower half reformed, limbs knitting together, tendons mending — regeneration. Its glowing eyes fixed on him, hunger and rage coiled into its stance.
It launched a desperate surprise attack, leaping from the ground with clawed fists aimed at his neck.
Shojiro turned, a single arm shooting out lazily. He grabbed the demon by its jaw, muscles taut. The creature flailed, screeching in shock and fury.
"Oh yeah… second life," Shojiro murmured, voice calm, almost casual. "Forgot about that."
With a fluid motion, he crushed the berserker's head, fingers closing around bone and sinew until the scream cut off mid-note. Silence fell again.
Then, at a distance, a faint crackle — static. A high-pitched buzz, growing louder, emanated from a ruined building across the street. Shojiro paused, tilting his head.
Radio static.
Not just noise. Someone — or something — was trying to reach him.
His crimson eyes narrowed. A faint grin crept across his face.
"Well… looks like I'm not alone after all."
The air hummed with tension. The city wasn't silent anymore. And Shojiro, reborn, sharpened, and furious, was ready to answer the call.