Sakolomi had dozed off without realizing it.
And in the golden haze of his dream, a silhouette formed: that of Bakuzan, his older brother.
Seeing him instantly awakened that old inner roar—the lion—that had been slumbering within him for too long.
The moment... had it finally come to an end?
He slowly opened his eyes: he was still resting peacefully on Mü Thanatos's knees.
"Lord Mü Thanatos..." he murmured.
The deity barely turned her gaze, her pupils fixed on an invisible horizon, as if she was watching beyond the world. Then, calmly, she replied:
"What do you want, Sakolomi?"
The young deviant slowly sat up.
"Do you know a mortal turned Deviant... Bakuzan Satsujin Otoko?
They say he might be the most powerful among us."
Mü Thanatos gave an imperceptible smile.
"There is nothing I do not know."
The words fell like an axe.
Sakolomi clenched his fists.
"So... do you know what he seeks? His goal? His intention?"
Mü Thanatos's gaze finally settled on him.
"He wants to free Samael. And allow him to reclaim his title of Lord of the Underworld."
Sakolomi's eyes widened.
"What?... But for what reason?!"
"Do you not know?..." replied Mü Thanatos. "In a way, you and your brother share the same desire: to resurrect your father... and Sally.
But the entity you told me about, the one jealously holding mortal existences in its chains, is named Azazel."
The name cracked in the air like thunder.
"Azazel...?" Sakolomi whispered, trembling.
"Yes," continued Mü Thanatos. "Your brother believes that by freeing Samael and restoring him to the head of the Underworld, he can overturn Azazel. And thus break the chains imprisoning mortal souls… and those of those you love."
A long silence followed.
Sakolomi slowly raised his eyes to the sky, thoughtful.
"And... where is Samael held?"
"In the state of Visnü.
A plane prior to the meta-concept—a domain reserved for the highest, that of Zeus, the Superexistence.
The entities residing there possess a fragment of this absolute essence: Lilith, the devils, and Samael himself.
But Zeus, he is that Superexistence in its entirety.
The primordial Gods, they are but scattered fragments of it."
Sakolomi closed his eyes for a moment.
If all this was true, then Bakuzan planned to become a Transcendant of Visnü.
And since he had already surpassed the Madhurya, he might not be so far off…
"You want to confront him?" Mü Thanatos asked with a voice almost weary.
Sakolomi slowly nodded.
"I don't yet know how… but I feel his presence. As if he were just a bubble in my consciousness."
A silence. Mü Thanatos watched him for a long moment.
It was not a simple perception.
What Sakolomi described resembled a dreamlike connection, a resonance between two consciousnesses.
Seeing it as a dream... an inner world... was disturbing.
Especially coming from a being who had not transcended any higher plane for a long time.
The goddess's gaze slid over his shoulder: the mark pulsing slowly there.
She understood what Sakolomi truly wanted to know: had she made him something greater than a Deviant?
Recently, his strength no longer fluctuated—it persisted, stable, but beyond all measure.
Sakolomi looked at his hands.
"I don't know if I can defeat him...
Even when I see him in my dreams, I feel no victory is certain.
But... I just want to talk to him. Nothing else."
Mü Thanatos sighed, her tone more serious.
It was not a matter of transcendence.
This link, this perception, came from the marks engraved on Sakolomi's body—they made him an exception.
Few beings, even among Deviants, could locate Bakuzan.
And yet, he could.
After a long silence of reflection, Sakolomi stood up.
He no longer had any doubt.
The moment had come to face his brother.
Elsewhere...
The wind ran across a vast meadow, sweeping the tall grass in green and golden waves.
Under an unreal gray sky, Bakuzan walked alone, his long black hair whipped by the breeze.
His steps were heavy but steady—the steps of a man who has lost everything but his determination.
Then suddenly...
He stopped.
A shiver ran through the air.
Something—no, someone—was approaching.
Space vibrated, the light warped, and like swirling red dust, Sakolomi appeared before him.
Bakuzan froze.
His eyes widened, incredulous.
That face... those eyes...
"Sakolomi?" he murmured.
He did not want to believe it.
The black marks running over his younger brother's body seemed alive, pulsing like veins of shadow.
And yet, it was indeed him.
But he looked exhausted, drained, almost spectral.
Sakolomi gave a soft smile, touched with a strange peace.
"Big brother... it's been a long time."
Bakuzan remained silent.
Only the wind answered, sliding between them like a forgotten memory.
"For all this time…" Sakolomi began, "I wanted to see you again.
But now that I am here... you don't look happy to see me."
Bakuzan averted his gaze, jaw clenched.
Then his voice dropped, cold and hard:
"What are you doing here? You're in my way. Get off my path."
Sakolomi slowly raised his head.
His look darkened, grave, without anger but filled with an ancient resolution.
"I'm sorry, big brother... but this path ends here."
Bakuzan frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Sakolomi lowered his eyes again.
"This solitary quest... it must end.
Let me help you free Samael from his sealing."
A breath shook the air.
Bakuzan took a step back, stunned.
"What?! How do you know that?!"
Sakolomi raised his face, and this time his gaze was no longer that of a little brother, but of a man carrying a whole world in his chest.
"I will explain everything... if you agree to listen to me.
Look at what the world has given you: 'The Black Grief,' Ebon Woe.
A legendary name, born of your pain.
But I, Mother, Salomi, and even Bakuran... we know what it truly hides.
Behind that title, behind that rage... there is your loneliness."
Bakuzan froze. The wind stopped.
Sakolomi stepped toward him, his eyes shining with a soft and sad light.
"We know, big brother.
We know that beneath all this violence, beneath your intention to overthrow the gods themselves... you seek only one thing: our salvation.
You suffer because you still love us.
And if you resist this void, if you stand despite the abyss, it is because deep inside, you tell yourself: 'I must do it for them.'"
Sakolomi laid a hand on his chest, eyes raised to his brother.
"For them... for our family. For us."
Then he opened his eyes again, full of light.
"What you do is noble, Bakuzan. And for that, we thank you immensely.
But today... we refuse to see you suffer any longer."
The wind began to blow again.
The grasses swayed around them as if the world held its breath.
And in that suspended silence, two brothers faced each other:
one bearing the burden of hell,
the other, that of redemption.