Light folded gently around them: the Myophores vanished into ink-like swirls, merging into a layer of Sakolomi's consciousness as if they immediately found a chamber of their own, warm and strange. He, for his part, was already dressed differently — new clothes, simple but sturdy, designed for the road: a dark tunic with discreet seams, a light coat that snapped at the slightest breeze, and boots that seemed ready to swallow miles of dreams. The quest toward Mü Thanatos stood before him like both a promise and a threat.
Salomi stepped forward silently and embraced him with a softness that contrasted sharply with the harshness of recent days.
— Take care of yourself, big brother, she whispered against his neck.
Sakolomi placed a hand on her head; the pressure was both protective and reassuring.
— Don't forget the tower, he said calmly. Hold on. Be brave. I will come back.
She stepped back, nodded, and smiled, her eyes already heavy with a future she wanted to build.
— I will succeed. Promise.
Kai stood beside him, arms crossed, jaw clenched. He gripped Sakolomi's hand with a sharp, straightforward gesture.
— Listen carefully: you better not die down there. If you die, I'll kill you. Got it?
His tone was half joking, half a fraternal threat.
Sakolomi chuckled nervously, somewhat reassured by the familiar tone.
— Don't worry. I'll do everything to come back. And you don't get swallowed by Oniyurei either — the Pit of Whispers isn't a place you tell stories about after seeing it.
Kai shrugged, haughty and confident:
— I don't care. I'll get out. Always.
Shylty placed a firm hand on Sakolomi's shoulder. Her gaze grew distant, as if she already saw invisible paths taking shape.
— The imaginary world of Oniyurei has stabilized for now. You will soon be returned to the level where you had stopped. But Sakolomi... listen: on your way to Mü Thanatos, you will encounter an entity far harder to understand than anything you've faced so far.
The phrase floated, heavy with warning. Sakolomi felt his heart beat faster — a mix of adrenaline, impatience, and a slight fear prickling at his neck. He thought for a moment of Bakuzan, of everything that had been done for them and their kind.
— It's for Bakuzan too that I do this, he murmured. I must go.
Shylty nodded once more, solemn.
— Very well. Let's go.
Around them, the world seemed to hold its breath. The edges of the room cracked into a shower of sparks, then everything gently collapsed — a controlled descent — and the road to Mü Thanatos opened, black and shiny, ready to swallow them.
The road brought them before a breathtaking vision: a mana sphere, enormous and iridescent, like a small universe trapped within its own light. It spun slowly on itself, emitting bursts of energy that made the surrounding space vibrate.
Sakolomi was silent for a moment, eyes wide.
— What is… what is that? he whispered.
Shylty, calm-featured, answered in a low voice:
— Inside is held what, long ago, was forced to exist from Mü Thanatos.
Their steps redirected, and soon another scene unfolded: arranged around a circle of shadow and light stood known and feared silhouettes — Apollo, Ñout, Poseidon, Thanatos, Hades — primordial gods as if to judge the measure of things. Their mere presence twisted reality until it tasted of eternity.
Apollo, who had already recognized Sakolomi, nodded solemnly:
— Finally, you are here.
Poseidon, with a deep and distant voice, cast a glance at Sakolomi:
— You really want to bring this mortal into this living prison? He might not come back.
Ñout crossed his arms, impatience contained:
— It's not a question of defeating Mü Thanatos — or rather Utha. We are not seeking victory by force.
— It's about inducing the resonance of Mü Thanatos from Saiko, through Sakolomi's body. Making the echo speak, not dismantle it.
Poseidon shrugged, detached:
— Very well. Let the man enter. We'll see what comes of it.
The gods nodded, massive and silent. Then a lighter, almost childlike voice cut through space.
— Wait, look at this.
Goth appeared, tiny and darkly incongruous: a primordial god looking like a child who revealed something with a snap of his fingers. In the fleeting light that opened, someone appeared — and Sakolomi turned pale.
— Father? he stammered. Is that you?
The silhouette stood upright, dressed in black, his build and bearing reminiscent of the father Sakolomi knew — but his gaze was foreign, cold. The voice from his lips had nothing paternal.
— No. I am not your father.
Sakolomi frowned, confusion mingled with anger:
— Who are you then? Why do you look like him? What are you doing here?
The man in black took a deliberate pose and answered as if quoting an old legend:
— I am Niyus⁵. Once, I was called the Tyrant — Killer Man.
The name dropped in the air like a stone. Sakolomi felt bile rise.
— What? The Tyrant Killer Man?! But he is sealed! You can't be here!
Niyus⁵ smiled coldly, almost wearily.
— Yet here I am. It was Bakuzan who freed me. But there will be time for explanations — for now, focus: we must first free Mü Thanatos.
Sakolomi felt his fists clench until his knuckles whitened. Rage rose like an ancient fire.
— You're insane. You want me to team up with you? You, who stained our clan's name with blood?!
The tyrant sighed, as if carrying a burden no one could understand:
— I also came to fix things. For that, we must act. Forget old quarrels, finish with the goddess first — and then, we will see.
Around them, the gods watched, motionless, as if the world itself was holding its breath. The sphere still turned, monstrous and beautiful, and the road to Mü Thanatos had darkened with a gently threatening hue.
Sakolomi remained silent for a moment, gaze fixed on the primordial gods standing in an arc around him.
His voice finally rose, sharp and calm at once:
— Anyway, if you had come here to betray me… the Primordial Gods would never have let you cross their threshold.
Ñout smirked faintly, almost maternally.
— Well said, Sakolomi…
He crossed his arms, his gaze hardening.
— Perfect. Let's go back. But let it be clear, Niyus — if things go wrong, I won't lift a finger to help you.
— I fully understand, replied Niyus⁵ with a calm that contrasted with the ambient tension.
Apollo, whose solar aura made the air vibrate, materialized a spear of light.
— Then listen well. This prison hasn't been opened in eons. Be careful. One mistake and everything that exists here could vanish.
The two men nodded.
Apollo slowly drove his spear down into the cosmic void — and space split in two. A golden rift opened wide, pouring a divine light saturated with energy.
Without a word, Sakolomi and Niyus⁵ stepped through the breach. Apollo immediately closed it behind them, sealing the entrance with a wave of his hand.
Inside, absolute silence.
A silence so deep it became deafening.
Sakolomi raised his eyes… and froze.
Before them, a colossal entity, a goddess of inconceivable size, slept at the heart of the void. Her body, petrified by an ancient seal, stretched over millions of light-years.
Her chains, forged from the very matter of galaxies, bound her limbs to dead stars.
Her face, serene and mute, seemed caught between pain and dream.
Around her floated shards of broken universes: ripped-away planets, petrified nebulae, suspended stars.
An entire universe — perhaps more — had been sacrificed to imprison her here.
Sakolomi felt a weight crush his shoulders.
Even millions of light-years away, the goddess's presence crushed his chest, as if the gravity of her very existence bent cosmic laws.
— … How to wake her? he murmured.
He had no time to get a response.
The giant statue cracked — slowly, delicately — as if the celestial marble crumbled under the effect of an inner light.
A cracking sound echoed… then another… then a thousand more.
The void began to vibrate.
Flashes of light burst in all directions, forming a shower of divine sparks crossing the nothingness.
Even here, in dead space, the sound of this rebirth imposed itself — a roar of existence loud enough to force the void to resonate.
Then she opened her eyes.
Two bloody red suns, two liquid galaxies, ignited in her sleeping face.
The stone evaporated, cosmic dust became astral wind, and the Goddess finally took a breath.
When her gaze met Sakolomi and Niyus⁵, the two beings were no more than microscopic points, two lost specks trapped in the cage of a cosmic entity.
And then… she screamed.
— HHHHYYYYAAAAAA!!!
The scream traversed the entire universe.
Galaxies cracked, stars exploded like bubbles of fire, and the fabric of space twisted upon itself.
Every vibration of her voice made the physical laws shudder, as if reality refused to contain such a being.
A cosmic storm descended.
Comets disintegrated.
Dimensions screamed.
Sakolomi closed his eyes, an almost imperceptible smile on his lips.
— And to think they called this… a prison.