**Chapter 24: Echoes of Sakura**
The wind was quiet.
Too quiet.
The fires from Aiki's battle had long died out, leaving the streets of Tensei coated in ash and glowing embers. The crimson cracks of Rift energy still pulsed faintly beneath the rubble, but the city was silent — like it, too, was mourning.
Aiki stood where Sakura had fallen. The faint shimmer of her energy still lingered, slowly fading with each breath of wind. His hands trembled as he reached down, his fingers brushing the cracked ground.
"She always smiled, no matter how bad things got," Enji said quietly behind him. His voice cracked at the edges. "Even when we were fighting those twisted spirits, she was the one keeping us laughing…"
Sen clenched his fists, eyes wet. "She said she'd protect us all… and she did."
Aiki didn't move. He stared at the ground, his expression blank, but his aura — the faint red Ki — flickered in rhythm with his heartbeat. "I should have been faster," he whispered. "If I'd been stronger…"
Kael shook his head, his voice heavy. "You can't blame yourself, Aiki. Sakura made her choice — she knew the risk."
Enji's eyes filled with tears. "That doesn't make it easier, man."
Aiki closed his eyes. A single tear slid down his cheek and fell to the cracked earth. "I promised her we'd all make it back. Together."
Silence fell again — the kind that cuts deeper than any blade.
Sen crouched near Sakura's last resting spot, placing her small charm — a silver blossom she always wore on her wrist — on the ground. "Goodbye, Sakura," he whispered. "You were the heart of this team."
The charm shimmered faintly in the Rift light… then pulsed once.
Everyone froze.
A faint echo of energy rippled outward, like a heartbeat deep within the Rift. The air around them shimmered — and for a brief second, they heard it: a voice, soft and distant, like it came from another world.
"...Aiki…?"
Aiki's head snapped up. His eyes widened. "That voice…!"
Kael drew his weapon instinctively, scanning the air. "That's impossible — she's gone!"
But the Rift pulsed again, and from the faint crimson glow, a silhouette appeared — translucent, wavering, but unmistakably familiar. Sakura's spirit hovered before them, her eyes soft, her smile faint but real.
Aiki staggered back, eyes wide. "Sakura…?"
She looked at them — at Aiki most of all. "Don't cry… please," she said gently. "The Rift… it's not just death. It's connection. I can still see you… feel you."
Enji wiped his tears with his sleeve, disbelief mixing with hope. "You're… alive?"
Sakura's expression turned sad. "Not in your world. Not yet. But there's something here — something waiting. A voice calling all Rifters."
Her image flickered, fading slightly.
Aiki stepped forward, his Ki flaring unconsciously. "I'll find you, Sakura. I don't care what it takes — I'll bring you back!"
Sakura smiled softly. "I know you will. You always keep your promises."
Her spirit faded into the Rift light, leaving behind a faint red blossom glowing where she stood.
Aiki picked it up carefully, closing his hand around it. "I swear," he whispered, his voice trembling but firm. "I'll save you — even if I have to tear through the Rift itself."
The others stood silently beside him, the tears still fresh — but their eyes burned with new resolve.
For the first time since her death, the Rift didn't feel like a curse.
It felt like a door.
And Aiki intended to break it open.