"Ah, good morning Mr. Mayuzumi." A bow from Iwato as Lucifer and Charon arrived at Dusk rose idol agency.
"Yes, good morning. Your performance last night was exemplary. I'm sure we will find an invitation back to that dome soon enough." Lucifer spoke with such beaming pride for his idols.
"I'm glad to hear. The crowd seemed to be really pumped up when we performed. Oh also, this came for us." A cardboard box placed on the reception desk. No markings or stamps, just a small box marked with the note 'A gift for your actions.'
"I think they're from battle idol head office."
"Oh goody, I suppose our recognition as a proper agency is growing if battle idols themselves have decided to send us gifts."
Charon moved to the box. Opening the box with a quick slice across the tape.
"Maybe it's a trophy for the fight last night? It would be really good to have some recognition for all the hard work he put in every day." Iwato spoke, hoping for something cool to display.
"I agree my little starlight. We do love recognition. Don't we?" He turned to Charon with that twinkle in his emerald eyes.
Charon looked in. Eyes expanding at what lay inside.
"Oh...No..."
*FAWOOOOOOOOM*
An explosion from the box. The entire exploded and collapsed in moments; the blast could be felt by anyone within a hundred-meter radius. The explosion shattered windows of the nearby buildings. Leaving only a malformed concrete structure.
***
"In what can only be described as pure carnage. The Dusk rose Idol agency has been destroyed; no survivors have been found at this time. This is the second such explosion in a matter of hours."
Reporters from all over Tokyo flocked the scene. Police were already investigating the cause. A crime scene cordoned off by yellow tape. With the fires doused, all that remained was left were charred remains and rubble.
"No reason has been given as to why this idol agency has been targeted. Recent tension between idol agencies has only escalated in recent months. Leaving some to speculate that this could be linked to increasing levels of idol sabotage incidents, with this scene behind me the latest level that rivals have gone to. This is what Captain Kaito of the ward 17 precinct had to say."
The captain of the ward 17 police force stood before a crowd of reporters; a sweeping gaze from tired eyes surveyed across them all before speaking.
"We cannot speculate on what happened at this current moment. However, we are actively working around the clock to apprehend any and all parties responsible." The captain spoke with an authoritative gruffness honed by years on the job.
"Please, if you have any information on those responsible. Please contact the police immediately. Help us bring justice to those who have lost their lives in this horrific act of violence. Thank you." The captain looked over to the remains of Dusk rose. A frown on the face; knowing full well what was likely the cause of this. But he didn't want to start a panic.
All this was witnessed by Eren; who now sat on the rooftop of a nearby building. Looking down upon the destruction caused by a cleansing that had begun.
"There is still time to end it." The visage of the ring spoke once again. "You just need to accept my offering... You already killed one that stood in your path. It is no harder than that, a simple push." A smile; that dammed smile that Eren could not look away from no matter where he turned.
The visage now, stronger; no matter how much shunning or rejection, refused to vanish back to the shadows from whence it came.
"Enough!" Eren snapped, although the visage still held that smile.
"Lucifer will live, Charon will live. One cannot simply kill those bound by death. You hold in your heart the men and women who too perished here. Each name a scar on that flesh; your aid gone and squandered. All good deeds undone-"
"Enough!" Eren swatted at the image. The pain, weighed heavy on Eren. Those people were not part of the darkness, yet they were still killed. The blood tooth cartel made good on their threat.
"They had nothing to do with any of this..." Eren felt a weight on his heart grow ever heavier. His chest began to tighten, the pain was becoming more difficult to ignore.
"Down there, in the shadows of the building... There is still time for you to stop it; all it takes is but your hand."
A finger pointed to the edge of the crowd that gathered. A shadow stood out from the rest of those around.
Not La Sombra; but someone that didn't match. Heavily tattooed skin peeked out beneath a tank top, a small bag in hand. Not Japanese either.
The man walked away from the crowd. A slow pace as not to draw attention. He would lead Eren to those who wronged the Reaper. A chance to end this.
---
Across rooftops and high-rise shadows. The man continued to be trailed from high, no longer in ward 17, but abandoned and destroyed buildings from the old world.
"Give in to your true feelings... Don't let the madness in your heart consume you." The visage followed along. Words of honey that only seemed to soothe Eren's growing need for personal justice.
"..."
"I know how to stop it all. Your sister would never be in danger ever again. Just give me your body. Allow our power to blossom like the spring bloom. Then I shall return it to you, without a scar on your heart."
The man stepped into an alleyway; waiting to see if anyone was following. Giving pause to Eren above.
Every word; striking deeper and deeper into the Reaper's heart. His love for his sister, both his anchor and chains. The desire to protect the one he loves so greatly; but the burden of knowing the world would kill her just to get to him. It was maddening.
"Stop talking..." Eren growled; gripping tightly to the railing of the roof.
"You cannot hide your pain from me. I can feel it as much as you can, I can feel the scars burnt into your soul." The visage began to move in; placing itself on the railing next to Eren. "See where he is going?"
The man entered a two-story garage, overrun with black moss and red rust. A door opened, allowing the man inside. It remained that way; inviting Eren into its dark entrance.
"Inside... You will find nothing but pain and suffering. He must have known you would follow, that man was a guide for the dammed." A final warning from the visage, it began to fade into the shadows again.
"It will only hurt… What's inside." The ring was gone, it departing words for once not laced with bitter bites sarcastic strikes. A sadness…
A deep breath as the Reaper prepared for the leap down; landing softly into the shadows of the adjacent alleyway.
Instincts in overdrive to ward Eren off going in, a danger lay within that the Reapers senses could feel. But, a greater desire to end it all forced Eren onward. No more running, no more hiding; no more danger would ever come to Emi. He would see to it that all who stood against them would vanish into the abyss.
The garage was empty. Save for some barrels and crates spread evenly along the concrete floor. A single light that buzzed and hummed above, with no other lights in the building. The floor was damp, with puddles scattered around. The stench of burnt meat and pungent vinegar all mixed in with the all too familiar scent to the reaper; cooper.
Above him stood the empty stare of La Sombra. Looking down at Eren from a grated walkway above.
"You were warned. Sins have become. In penance, all those touched by your shadow will be cleansed. All veiled by your shadow will be brought before the light of the sun." A monotone voice with no emotion, yet it was personal; as though La Sombra was offended by the use of shadows for Eren's actions.
"Enough." Eren growled back. A falcata drawn from his arsenal. Intent as always to cleave the pale man in two; a desire for justice and vengeance for the umbra that proclaimed his sister's name.
"Predictability, the sin of the vindictive. Gaze upon the fruits of your labour, Reaper." With a hand raised, a video began playing on the moulded concrete walls. A projection cast by an unseen projector.
El Rey Sol chained and bound in a barrel; barely clung to life and as pale as La Sombra was. Kept in the same barrel that dotted the garage. Surrounded by two men. One, a man with heavily tattooed skin. The other, a man covered in burnt over scars. Each holding out their hands above the barrel.
"Wait... Wait please don't - I-I can- ARGHHHHHHH!" Liquids began to pour into the barrel, a dark green substance that bubbled and spat on contact.
El Rey Sol cried out in agony as he was slowly filled with the acid. Withering around as the heat and burning of the acid began to melt flesh. His screams of pain brought Eren to a pause.
"I did what you asked! URGHHHHH! I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING-"
The video stopped, and moved to the next scene. Ninki Nanka chained as well; acid poured on. Not a scream, nor a whimper came from Ninki, only silence. As though the women embraced the death that befell her.
"Everything you destroyed... Will be reborn." La Sombra began to descended the walkway and moved towards Eren with slow purpose.
The video kept on playing over different victims; the ones encountered by Eren during his climb.
Ryu Masaru, the small timer. Toshiyaki Kojima, the front for spice. Workers that forced to work with the goblins. Everybody shown, the deeper he sank to the ground.
Around him now, barrels upon barrels of victims. All those that had fallen for being touched by the shadows of the Reaper.
"Do you see the path you walked? Paved with your sin and arrogance; you believed yourself worthy to change the world... Only those above have that power." It had become all the clearer now. A religious fanatic was La Sombra. A zealot of death.
"NO! NO! NO! STOP!" Eyes drawn back to the screen; it showed Hana struggling greatly. Though not in a barrel, she was instead chained and suspended from the ceiling, grappling helplessly against the chains that held her at an acute angle.
"HANA!" Eren cried out; looking around frantically. His eyes finally landing on a wooden chest with leaking blood. Labelled Hana Sasaki.
"AHHHHHH! PLEASE!!!" A blood curdling scream came from the footage; the same men who spat acid in the barrels approached the former idol. Spinning blades sprouted from their forearms, held at the upper arms of Hana.
"STOP!" Eren cried out. He turned away from the screen, but the bone crunching and fatal scream painted the picture perfectly for Eren.
The cartel had expertly worked their way down from the top. And all Eren could do… All Eren did… He stayed on his knees, looking at his nails that turned bloody as he scrapped them on the ground.
"This would have been all avoided... Had you simply taken our hand. All that you touch will end like this, as the blood tooth cartel rises from your sins. You will live to see it all burn." Now by his side. La Sombra raised Eren's head back to the screen.
"Look upon the cherry blossom queen. Offered a chance at salvation, she took with open palms..."
The Cherry blossom queen in the video stood and watched as the two tortures strode past the camera.
"Miss Kaguya please... I don't want to die... I want to go home... Help me." Hayashi Aoi, still dressed in her pyjamas, the girl spared from the fate of El Rey Sol... Would face a far more gruesome end. Restrained by metal to the far wall of the garage. The two stood on either side, one with gasoline poured carefully across her body, ensuring not a drop was wasted on the girl.
"Miss Kaguya, Please- ARGHH! IT HURTS STOPPPP! MUMMMMM DADDDDDDDD! ARGHHHHHH" The other man lit a lighter from her hip… And the flames did the rest. Until a shambling inferno was all that was left.
Kaguya; who could only look away with tears running down her face. This was the price of failure and the price of penance. The sacrifice of innocents to prove loyalty.
Eren's gaze relented as La Sombra lessened his grip; unable to watch as the innocent girl was engulfed in a blaze. Her screams fading away as the roar suffocated her final pleads.
Eren crumbled. No more a reaper, no more a man. What's was left had been broken beyond repair. Something La Sombra frowned greatly upon. He thought he was recruiting a fearsome monster.
He leaned down once more to Eren's ear and spoke:
"Once more... We offer you a chance to be cleansed. Join us, become one with our will. Or face our penance."
The two men wheeled in an empty barrel before Eren. Labelled Emi Heart.
"What you have witnessed will be your sisters end; not her suffering. Without your acceptance of my hand, you cannot stop it. She will pray for a quick end that will never come. Days and weeks will come to pass…" La Sombra didn't finish, he didn't need to.
For all Eren's power to consume a man's soul and leave nothing but blood. He was gone, succumbed to the fear, the despair, the anguish that swirled within Eren's heart. Everything he fought for, all the good deeds and the lives spared; all came to ruin because of him.
"I will give you 30 minutes to decide." La Sombra left with the men. Leaving Eren to stare at both filled barrels and the one empty barrel.
Soon the lights of the world faded. Then the building began to crumble around Eren; leaving the Reaper in a void of emptiness. One by one the barrels and crates fell into the abyss, leaving only Emi's barrel left.
Before that too fell away.
He was all alone. He had fallen.
---
Shoes appeared in his eyeline.
The spectre knelt before the fallen Reaper resting a hand on his white hair.
"You were right..." A low whimper from Eren, a man brought to beyond the brink of despair. His love and desire to protect Emi the only thing that now tethered him to what was left. If there was anything left at all.
"I know." The ring spoke, stroking his hair gently.
Eren looked up meeting his eyes. They were similar now; eyes turned to azure. Wild smiles so often worn, a downward curling of the mouth, he too was saddened by the lives lost to this cleansing.
"Your pain is mine... Mine is yours. Our madness; all the good in the world comes undone. All good deeds lead to suffering. All good suffer while the darkness prospers. That is madness law." The ring helped offered a hand to the empty reaper.
Eren's eyes looked over it, now they seemed so welcoming. The fear of the mad ring faded by the fall into the abyss.
"Here." The physical ring placed into the spectres hand.
No words spoken. There was nothing left to say, or fight for.
The ring looked upon its own form in the last remaining light. It would marvel at itself if not for the pain of the present.
"I will make this right. Your sister, the cartel, everyone will face our madness and all will be put right." Putting the ring on, fitting like the last piece of a perfect puzzle.
Looking down, Eren vanished into the abyss.
The spectre stood alone in the void. No more light nor shadow; only a darkness to welcome him.
The simile returned to him.
---
"He's gone." One of thugs surveyed the garage. Even the barrels too.
"Hmm, stubbornness is the curse of those that fight the returning tide. Begin with the girl; ensure that her pain sends a message to all that seek punishment by shadows." The pale man commanded.
A simple nod, and he texted someone to begin the next cleansing.
Elsewhere in Tokyo:
In ward 4, the sun began to warm up. Some of the last snow of the season began to melt away.
In a back alley, two more men. Looking like lithe twins; wearing baseball caps and sunglasses, hiding in a white van. Keeping eyes on an apartment complex opposite them.
"Es hora." (It's time) Spoke the driver after checking his phone.
"Sí." (Yeah) The passenger spoke.
"La sombra quiere que la niña sienta dolor. " (La Sombra wants the girl to feel pain.) The driver continued.
"Caray, ¿qué le hizo este hombre al cartel?" (Damn, what did this guy do to the cartel?)
"Estaba en el camino equivocado. Solo un tonto que no sabía cuándo rendirse." (He was in the wrong path. Just a fool who didn't know when to give up.)
"Mírala, ¿no te da lástima?" (Look at her, don't you feel bad?) The passenger pointed out the girl leaving an apartment complex; it was Emi Heart, a bag in hand as she left for school.
"El hermano no podía dejar de causar problemas. Además me gustan las piernas de esta chica. La jefa dijo que podemos tomarnos nuestro tiempo con ella." (Her brother couldn't stop causing trouble. Plus, I like the legs on this one. Boss said we can take our time with her.) The driver reached into the back of the van.
A duffle bag filled with various instruments of torture; a sickening grin from the men.
"Mejor ella que nosotras supongo, vamos." (Better her than us I guess, let's go) The driver and passenger left the van.
They watched patiently as Emi came down the stairs and walked with steady pace along the streets; without any attention to the two men stalking her.
The men, ready to follow. Felt their own shadows become heavier. Unable to move. A fear that gripped tightly; something behind wanted their attention.
*Ting*
*Ting*
*Ting*
They turned to see white eyes deep in the dark.
Before shadowed tendrils grabbed at their hands and legs, pulling them close to those white orbs.
" ¡Espera, espera! No hagas esto." (Wait, wait! Don't do this.) The passenger pleaded.
"P-por favor... Tenemos familias- Erupphhh." (Please... We have families- Erupphhh) The other begged; silenced by a long black tendril that infiltrated his mouth.
No words from the shadow.
The tendril began to twist and turn the thugs' bones; joints being pulled apart, and muscle being snapped in two.
"MRRRRRMPPPHHHH! MRRRRMMMMMPPPHHHHHH!" The men cried out through muffled screams.
*SNAP* *CRACK* *SNAP* *CRACK* *SNAP* *CRACK*
A final pull; yanking the arms and legs from the torso. A spray of blood shot into the air, as torsos dropped with wet thuds.
A monster lurked now; no longer would it be contained by the ring. It had become free, and hungry.
With one look at the girl aloof to the danger past; the white eyes lingered for a moment until she rounded the corner.