Forgotten Memories
Zeke and Akari were on their knees, immersed in a sea of remorse and anguish. Their faces were contorted by the pain of a past now impossible to deny. Guilt weighed on them like a crushing mountain. The silence between them was muffled by the tears beginning to well up, but neither had the courage to speak. They wouldn't meet each other's eyes, yet they felt the burden of their actions, of what they had done, of what they had become. The hatred they felt for themselves blinded them, and Yuzuki's words echoed in their minds with the cruelty of an inescapable truth.
Zeke, shame filling his eyes, stared at the ground as if he could hide from himself. The weight of his humiliation and what he had done burned like fire. Akari, meanwhile, looked at Yuzuki with her head bowed, her hands trembling with guilt. It was as if the weight of her actions against the boy standing before them now was the heaviest burden she had ever carried. Both were so consumed by remorse they could not imagine how to move forward.
Yuzuki, impassive, continued his story, unaffected by his former allies' sorrow. "After watching my family die," he began with terrifying calm, "the king did not want to kill me. To him, death would be too quick. I had to be an example for others, for all who defied Kogutsu Island's doctrines. So I was locked in a cage, in public. Every clan passed by and threw food at me, mocking me. I was the joke, the spectacle. The warning of what happens to those who dare challenge the laws."
Akari and Zeke were paralyzed by those words. Silence reigned, but in their minds, images of the past resurfaced with painful clarity. Akari remembered passing through the plaza, spitting at Yuzuki and calling him a traitor pig—the contempt in her youthful eyes now mirrored in her own soul. Zeke recalled the jeers he and his friends had made, throwing stones and even urinating on Yuzuki's body as if it were mere amusement. They could no longer deny the truth: they had contributed directly and cruelly to Yuzuki's suffering.
"You remember, don't you?" Yuzuki said, his voice cold and cutting like a blade. "You remember me in that cage. I remember every face. Every word of hate. You are no different from the king who imprisoned me. No different from the clans that destroyed my life. And now you stand here, pretending you can help me?" He laughed bitterly, his voice dripping with contempt. "You are the same as me. You should not judge me."
Zeke tried to speak, but his voice failed him. He opened his mouth several times, but nothing came out. Finally, he whispered, "I… I'm sorry. I didn't know…"
"Didn't know?" Yuzuki interrupted, his voice rising. "You knew! You all knew! You knew what was happening on that island! You knew what you were doing to me! Don't come to me with excuses now. I don't need your pity."
The tension in the air was nearly unbearable. Zeke and Akari remained trapped in a cycle of guilt and remorse, while Yuzuki stood unyielding. He knew there was nothing they could say or do to change the past—and he was not inclined to forgive.
Yuzuki drew a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before continuing. "While I was in that cage, I thought of only one thing: Kaleb. My brother. He was all I had, all that mattered. And I failed him. I promised I would protect him, but I couldn't."
He pulled a small letter from the inner pocket of his coat. The paper was yellowed and worn with age, its edges burned. "I wrote this to him the night I planned our escape. I never delivered it. I never told him how much he meant to me." Yuzuki's voice trembled for the first time, a crack in the wall of his coldness. He gazed at the letter as if it were a piece of his own soul.
"Kaleb…" he murmured, his eyes fixed on the paper. "I hope you found peace, wherever you are. Because I never will. Not while I remain bound to this hatred, to this vengeance. But know that everything I do, everything I've become, was for you."
Silence fell once again, but this time it was different. It was a silence laden with pain, remorse, a sorrow so deep it seemed to consume the very air. Akari and Zeke said nothing. There was nothing left to be said. They simply remained there, facing the truth they could no longer ignore.
And so, Yuzuki slipped the letter back into his coat, his eyes returning to their usual chill. "Expect no forgiveness. Expect no redemption. I am not a hero. I am only someone who has lost everything and has nothing left to lose."
The Death of Hope
Yuzuki, with his cold and distant gaze, continued to share the details of his past—without hesitation, without regret. The weight of the words he was about to reveal seemed to grow heavier with each sentence he spoke. His eyes, once empty, were now marked by restrained rage but also by immeasurable exhaustion. He felt he could finally place all the puzzle pieces where they belonged, and the words pouring from his mouth were like sharp knives, cutting into the hearts of those around him.
"So, I just changed my plans," Yuzuki said, his voice laced with bitterness. "Before, I only wanted to escape... but now, I want to see everything that made me suffer burn. I want to see the culture, the knowledge, the people, the island, the king, and the clans consumed by flames. I understood something... The continent of Pangeia, where we are, is not the problem. The problem is what we do with it—the twisted rituals people use to summon the Kugutsu. It's all our fault. Our very existence is a mistake on this planet. The knowledge we've accumulated, the powers we control—they're flaws. And that's what I am: a flaw."
The silence that followed was heavy, oppressive. Akari and Zeke, both on their knees, were speechless. The weight of Yuzuki's words was far greater than anything they had ever imagined. That was the truth Yuzuki had been carrying for so long. He was neither a villain nor a hero. He was a reflection of the pain and hatred born of a corrupt system that had destroyed his life.
"I'm not a villain," Yuzuki went on, a bitter smile on his lips. "I'm not a hero. I just want peace. I just want freedom... but I'm still trapped, like a bird that lived twenty years in a cage, unable to fly. And when it's finally freed, it no longer knows how to fly... and it dies, wishing for freedom, but unable to have it."
Zeke, still kneeling, swallowed hard. What he was hearing was more devastating than anything he could have imagined. He had never realized how deeply Yuzuki had been humiliated, or how he had become the person he was now. Akari, on the other hand, felt her own hands stained—tainted with guilt and ignorance over everything Yuzuki had endured.
Yuzuki continued his story, immersed in his memories, but now with a cruel clarity. "I spent years training, preparing to escape with my brother. I trained in dankai, shinkō, genkai, sealings, and forbidden rituals. I was preparing myself. Father Gotier, you were surprised, weren't you? You thought I didn't know those techniques—but I always knew. Always."
Father Gotier remained silent, his eyes wide with surprise. He had trained Yuzuki recently, unaware that the boy had such vast knowledge. But now, everything made sense. Yuzuki had always known more than he let on.
"I knew about the Alcali Clan," Yuzuki said, now looking directly at Akari. "I knew about Fasuto's forbidden book. The Tree of Blood, as you call it. Akari, you know that book, don't you? You told me about it months ago. And I knew what it meant."
Akari, visibly uncomfortable, looked down at the ground. She had already feared the consequences of what Yuzuki was revealing, but what she hadn't known was that the boy possessed knowledge far deeper than she had ever imagined. She was more frightened now than ever before.
"That book," Yuzuki continued, "held the most important knowledge of all the clans. Fasuto, Alkaraz's father, was one of the most powerful men, and his name was feared by all. He had uncontrollable power over the clans and the king. But what I did was something even more radical."
He laughed—a low, dark chuckle, as if he had finally reached a point of morbid satisfaction.
"I did what needed to be done. I went to the leader of the Alcali Clan, entered his room, and applied a paralyzing poison. I stabbed him several times until he died. I wanted him to know who was responsible, just as my brother Kaleb knew what had happened."
The impact of Yuzuki's words was immeasurable. Akari and Zeke recoiled, the shock etched clearly on their faces. The Alcali Clan—the very clan Akari once belonged to—was now the target of Yuzuki's cruelty, and she didn't know how to react. Everything he was saying felt like a nightmare, and she was at the center of it.
"Then, I stole the book," Yuzuki continued, now with an inhuman coldness.
"The Book of the Blood Tree. It contains the ritual for splitting the soul and creating a Kogutsu being. But I did something different. I used the information from the book along with the Kanji method. Kings and clan leaders usually summon primordial Kogutsu by sacrificing my clan, but I did it another way."
The silence was now nearly tangible. Father Gotier, who had been quiet until now, looked at Yuzuki with a mix of surprise and contained admiration. Yuzuki was revealing himself to be much more than a mere survivor. He was a master of Kogutsu manipulation, and his deeds now seemed beyond anything they could have imagined.
"I exterminated my entire clan that night," Yuzuki said with a detached tone.
"I sold their souls in exchange for a pact with Mao. And that night, I obtained a primordial Kogutsu. Mao was forced to serve me—a member of the Kanji clan. The great Mao, summoned by kings and feared for centuries. And now, he serves me. Now, he is mine."
Yuzuki laughed, as if amused by the irony of fate.
"Mao killed many from my clan. And now, he works for me. I even understand his rage. But honestly, I don't care."
He stood up, eyes fixed on his former allies.
"I won't say anything more. You already know enough, and I've said too much. I know how to destroy this island and end all of this. I know how to destroy the Kogutsu. And that's why Mao wants to kill me before I complete my goals. He knows that once I'm done, all summonings will vanish."
The air was heavy, Yuzuki's words reverberating like a bomb. Akari and Zeke were in shock, unsure of what to do or think. Father Gotier, unsure how to react, simply listened intently, absorbing every word. But the most striking thing was the coldness with which Yuzuki spoke of it all.
Mao, for his part, only smiled insidiously. He knew this moment would come. Yuzuki was now more than ready. Amok watched everything in silence, finally understanding Mao's hatred and the reason why he treated Yuzuki so peculiarly. But what truly intrigued him was that Yuzuki now saw himself as a completely different being, with goals as destructive as those he had once witnessed.
Gotier remained silent for a moment, letting the weight of Yuzuki's revelations echo among them. Then, without saying a word, he stepped forward and embraced Yuzuki tightly, almost paternally.
— "I will stand by your side, Yuzuki," he said, his voice filled with seriousness.
— "And in the end, if necessary, I will be the one to stop you. But until then, I will be your master, your priest, and your friend."
Yuzuki stood still, surprised by the show of affection—something he hadn't experienced in years. His eyes quickly turned away, refusing to show any vulnerability.
Akari, with quiet tears, stepped forward shortly after.
— "Yuzuki… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did in the past and for what I didn't do." She hugged him tightly, ignoring any resistance from him.
— "I understand you. And know that I'll stand by your side. I will avenge my family against the king and the clans, but I want something different too. I want to take control of Kugutsu Island and change the system. Even if that means we may have to face each other in the end."
Yuzuki didn't respond immediately, but his rigid posture softened slightly at Akari's sincere words.
Zeke, on the other hand, remained silent, arms crossed and eyes fixed on Yuzuki. He was processing everything—every detail of the dark, tragic story. Finally, he stepped forward, his heavy boots echoing on the stone floor.
— "I'm not going to apologize, because I know it changes nothing," Zeke said, his voice deep and resolute.
— "But I understand what my path is now. No matter what lies ahead, I'm with you, Yuzuki. Your plan... your goal... is what I want to achieve too."
The two exchanged a look heavy with mutual understanding. No further words were needed; the connection had been made.