The next day, Sakolomi woke up alone. No sound, no presence. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
He sat on the bed, his body heavy, as if the night had not healed his fatigue but exhausted him further. His eyelids felt like a ton, and every movement required conscious effort.
He finally stood up, walked outside, and sat under a tree, letting the sun's rays caress his shoulders. He closed his eyes, lost in thought, his breath calm but his heart burdened by the inexplicable weariness that inhabited him.
In the distance, Salomi left the Dragons' Heirs castle and spotted her brother sitting there. A smile lit up her face.
— Big brother!!
Sakolomi opened his eyes and saw her running toward him.
— How do you feel, big brother?
He gave a weak but sincere smile:
— I'm fine. And you?
Salomi stopped a few steps away, her eyes scanning her brother with concern. He looked so tired…
— Are you… sure you're okay?
Sakolomi sighed, leaned forward slightly, and gently patted his little sister's head twice.
— Better than I tell you. But I need a favor…
Salomi frowned, intrigued:
— Oh yeah? What is it?
With a snap of his fingers, Sakolomi summoned Maurice and Shaï-Thaêl from his consciousness. The two Myophores floated beside him, radiating calm energy.
— I want to create an imaginary world for the two of them, he said. But I'll need your imagination to help me.
Shaï-Thaêl leapt with joy, her eyes shining:
— Yesss! Finally, we'll have our own world, Maurice!!
Maurice let out a slight smile, while Salomi started smiling too.
— Yeah… that would be great, big brother. But I have a request to ask you, she said mischievously.
Sakolomi raised an eyebrow:
— A request? Which one?
Salomi pulled a small stick from her pocket, faintly shining in the morning light:
— I've trained a lot and improved my combat techniques. I called this stick… Son Goku no Buki.
Sakolomi put his hand on his chin, thinking:
— Ah… and what do you want to do with it?
A mischievous smile stretched Salomi's lips:
— I want to show it to you in a fight… between you and me. Would you accept?
Sakolomi pretended to think, then shook his head firmly:
— No.
Salomi felt her heart break, her forced smile faltering:
— But… but big brother!
Sakolomi crossed his arms, his gaze stern:
— I'm not fit for that right now… Maybe next time.
Salomi pleaded, her hands clasped, her voice trembling:
— Come on, please! Please! I really want to test it against you, big brother… say yes!
— I said no.
Salomi burst into tears, an almost comical expression on her face:
— Aaahh! You hate me, don't you? Admit it! You can't even make your little sister happy!!!
She rolled on the ground, sobbing like a child.
Sakolomi watched her, annoyed but amused by her childish drama:
— Okay… fine. But we'll do it quickly, okay?
Salomi jumped up and threw herself into his arms.
— You're the best big brother I've ever had!!!!
Sakolomi sighed, exasperated:
— Tsk… Yeah, sure.
Shaï-Thaêl chuckled softly beside them:
— You're both adorable!
The sun bathed the scene in soft light, and for a moment, Sakolomi's fatigue seemed to lighten, replaced by the simple human warmth of this shared moment.
The fight took place in the void of space, planets floating silently around them like simple figurines in a cosmic theater.
— Are you ready, big brother? Salomi asked, her eyes shining with excitement.
Sakolomi looked at her with a slight smile:
— So all I have to do is touch you and I've won, right?
Salomi nodded determinedly:
— Yes! Exactly!
Sakolomi cracked his fingers, a sharp snap echoing in the stellar void.
— Good. Then let's go!
Salomi brandished her small stick, which instantly took the shape of a baseball bat.
— Let's go, big…
Before she could finish, Sakolomi appeared behind her, gently but firmly grabbing her.
— You lost… Salomi!
— Huh?! she exclaimed, surprised. That's not fair, you cheated!
— What? Me, cheated? he replied, releasing her gently.
— You… you didn't wait for the signal! she protested, frowning.
— Tsk… Alright. We'll start again, he said with a smile.
They distanced themselves, an expanse like that between Earth and the Moon placing them in cosmic striking range of each other.
Sakolomi launched the first attack. Salomi responded immediately. Her Son Goku no Buki grew to the size of a continent, becoming a colossal bat that Sakolomi barely avoided, the neighboring planets trembling slightly under the shock's power.
— Wow… Sakolomi murmured, dodging the massive attack.
Far away, Salomi smiled inwardly:
— This is just the beginning!
The bat then seemed to animate with a will of its own, gigantic spikes emerging and moving like snakes, tracking Sakolomi in all directions. The Son Goku no Buki was no longer a simple object: it was the expression of Salomi's strength and imagination. It could take any form, any size, responding instinctively to her will.
Sakolomi dodged fluidly, his movements defying time and space, every gesture measured to avoid hurting his sister while testing his reflexes. The space around them seemed to vibrate at every touch of aura and mana, the floating planets oscillating slightly like pieces on a cosmic chessboard.
— You'll have to surpass yourself, he murmured. This isn't just a child's game…
Salomi, eyes bright, chuckled:
— Perfect! Then show me what you can do, big brother!
The stellar void became the battlefield of their duel, where every movement could cause waves capable of crossing light years, and where the will of each shaped reality in their image.
Sakolomi smiled:
— So this is what you wanted to show me…
He moved fluidly in space, dodging all attacks flying around him, the floating planets and fragments mere insignificant obstacles. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind Salomi.
— It's over!
Salomi turned her head and smiled, eyes shining with excitement:
— Not so fast, big brother!
The Son Goku no Buki then transformed into an impenetrable shield, its solidity entirely dependent on Salomi's will. Even as a Deviant, Sakolomi noted the impressive resistance of this weapon shaped by his sister's mind and power.
He retreated slightly, and the shield transformed again: the Son Goku no Buki expanded almost everywhere in the universe, striking in all directions with speed and power defying logic.
— If you think that will be enough… you're sorely mistaken! Sakolomi shouted, a flash of defiance in his red eyes.
Sakolomi vanished in a breath and reappeared in front of the shield. With a precise strike, he hit the heart of the defense, causing cracks zigzagging across its entire surface.
— Impossible! Salomi shouted from inside.
But she immediately vanished and reappeared outside the galaxy, defying all notions of distance and time.
— Come on, try to stop this, big brother!
Son Goku no Buki then became a weapon of unimaginable scale, larger than hundreds of galaxies. The galaxies themselves seemed to reduce to dust before the violet glow pulsing around the weapon. Concepts cracked, notions tore apart, laws disappeared under the magnitude of this mana. Space and time themselves trembled.
— Tsk… Sakolomi murmured, his breath barely audible. This mini-duel was never supposed to reach this level… Salomi really lets herself get carried away too quickly!
He vanished again and reappeared directly next to Salomi. Surprised, she tried to materialize her shield, but Sakolomi gently placed his hand on her forehead:
— You lost.
— No!!! she screamed, furious.
In an instinctive gesture, she dropped her weapon, ready to crush him. But Sakolomi lightly struck Salomi's stomach. The Son Goku no Buki instantly lost its colossal size and became the small stick she had initially drawn.
Sakolomi looked at her, a slight amused smile on his face:
— You really don't know how to hold back, do you…
Salomi, holding her stomach, whispered:
— I… I'm sorry, big brother…
Despite the pain, her gaze remained sharp, still a little irritated by the impact.
— You won… we won't go any further than that, she finally sighed.
Sakolomi nodded, satisfied but slightly exasperated. In the silence of space, he felt his sister's power, her will, and her imagination, and realized how much she had grown since their training at the inverted tower.