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### Part 1 – A Morning That Shouldn't Exist
"Takatoo-san! Wake up! Today is our Airi's first day at kindergarten!"
*Smack!*
The sharp sting on his back jolted Kimura awake. His eyes shot open, his heart hammering against his ribs. His body jerked upright, mind foggy as if he had been drifting for centuries in the abyss. His breath caught in his throat.
"Argh!" He winced, pressing a hand to his pounding head. "Where am I? What… what is this place!?"
Panic surged. His eyes darted left, right, scanning the space around him with soldier's vigilance. Instinct told him to check the exits, the corners, the shadows—everything that could hide an enemy. His fingers twitched as if to reach for a weapon, but then he froze.
The walls. The floor. The furniture.
It was his room.
Not the skeletal ruins of Scaletrón City. Not the battlefield of bones and despair. His *room*. The faded tatami mat. The little table stacked with half-folded laundry. The morning light spilling through the curtain in that warm, golden hue that only their home's artificial skylight ever produced.
His breath hitched.
And then he saw *her*.
Saki.
Her long light-brown hair tied loosely at the side, strands falling over her cheek as she bent slightly toward him. She was smiling, her face framed by the glow of the morning sun. And just by her leg—Airi, holding her small wooden horse like a treasure, looking up at him with wide eyes.
Kimura's heart stopped.
It was impossible. His chest clenched. A memory clawed its way up—blood, screams, a man in black armor tearing everything he loved apart. His vision blurred with sudden tears.
Yet here they were.
Alive.
Warm.
Whole.
He couldn't think. Couldn't question. He threw himself forward, arms wrapping around both of them, pulling them into his chest with crushing desperation.
Saki gasped, startled, but Airi squealed in laughter, caught between surprise and joy.
Kimura pressed his face into their shoulders, trembling. Tears spilled freely down his cheeks, soaking into Saki's hair, dripping onto Airi's tiny dress. His body shook with sobs that had been caged too long.
"Thank you," he whispered hoarsely, over and over. "Thank you, thank you, thank you… gods, thank you…"
It had been a dream. A nightmare. The black rift, the golden skeleton, Vanko, the screams—all of it, a cruel trick of sleep.
They were alive.
His family was alive.
Kimura clung to them as if letting go would shatter the illusion. His soldier's heart, forged in despair, softened in the warmth of their presence. For that fleeting moment, everything broken was whole again.
And he wept—not with pain this time, but with desperate, fragile relief.
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### Part 2 – Family's Warmth, Shadows of Longing
"Mama, why is Papa crying?" Airi tilted her little head, her voice filled with innocent worry. Her small hands tugged at Saki's dress. "Is it because you smacked him? Did you hurt him, Mama?"
Her round eyes glistened, her lips trembling with a childish pout. She thought her mother had hurt her father for no reason.
Saki blinked, taken aback. For once, words failed her. Then, with a soft smile hiding her own unease, she wrapped her arms around Kimura and held him close. Her long, silky hair slid forward, brushing against his cheeks, carrying the faint scent of jasmine.
"Kimura-san…" she whispered, her voice trembling. "Did something happen?"
Her heart was aching too. His sudden tears, the way his body shook against hers—it tore at her. Something was wrong.
Kimura tightened his hold, his knuckles white against her back. His breath shuddered. "No… it's okay. Just a nightmare." His voice was sober, heavy. "Promise me… promise me you'll never leave me again."
The intensity in his tone made her breath catch.
Saki's lips curved into a teasing smile, though her eyes shimmered with worry. "Ahhn\~ wow! Hold your horses, you brute! There's a kid in the room\~" Her voice dipped into a sultry tone, a playful mask to hide her own unease.
Kimura blinked, heat rushing to his face. He loosened his grip instantly, stepping back with a flustered laugh. "Ah—sorry! My mistake." He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes darting away. "I… I got carried away, Saki-chan."
"Papa!"
Airi's little cough broke the moment. She puffed her cheeks and pouted, jealousy bubbling in her expression. "You forgot about me!"
Kimura gasped dramatically, clutching his chest as if struck. "Ahh! Sorry, princess! I forgot about you!" He fell to his knees in a comical bow, pressing his forehead to the floor. "So what can this humble servant do to make amends for his terrible sins!?"
Airi giggled, trying to keep her pout but failing. She tapped her tiny wooden horse against his head like a judge with a gavel. "Hmm! I'll forgive you… but only if you play with me after school!"
"Done!" Kimura exclaimed, leaping up as if saved from death. He scooped her into his arms and spun her in a circle. Her laughter rang like bells, filling the room with joy.
Saki watched them, her heart torn between happiness and the strange shadow of unease. She smiled anyway, hiding it behind the warmth of the moment.
Kimura held them both in his gaze. The nightmare faded further into memory, buried beneath the glow of family.
Yet, somewhere deep inside, a shiver crawled along his spine.
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### Part 3 – The Word That Shouldn't Exist
Time skip—after the morning bustle settled, after breakfast and laughter and Airi's fuss about what ribbon to wear. The house was calm again.
Saki sat across the table, speaking casually. "By the way, Kaisen just called this morning. He said something about—"
Her words blurred.
Kimura's ears caught only one thing.
*D.E.N.*
"Snap!"
The sound ripped through the room as his body moved almost inhumanly fast. His chair toppled, the floor groaned under his sudden lunge. He was already at Saki's side, eyes wide, breath shallow, hands trembling.
The world dimmed. The light faded as though the sun had died. His heart thundered, his pulse a war drum. His hands—already shaking—bled at the edges, crimson stains dripping from cracks that hadn't been there moments before.
"Saki… Airi…" His voice was a broken rasp, frantic, desperate. He searched the room, spinning like a man possessed. "Where are you!? Where—"
"Papa! Help me!"
His head snapped back.
There they were.
Saki and Airi—dangling in the iron grip of the one man Kimura hated beyond reason.
Vanko.
The mercenary lord loomed tall, his blackened armor gleaming in the false light, his jagged scars twisting into a grin that could split the soul. His devilish smile widened as he held Kimura's family like toys.
Kimura's chest tore open with rage. "Leave them, you bastard!"
*Clank!*
He tried to move—only to find his legs sinking into dark, tar-like ground. Chains. Purple, glowing, writhing like serpents coiled around his wrists, neck, ankles. They tightened, choking him, crushing his strength.
Vanko tilted his head, his grin widening. "You want to save them, soldier?" His voice dripped with mockery, with venom. "Then try."
The ground rumbled. A pit opened behind Vanko. Shadows screamed from its depths.
And then—with one cruel motion—Vanko hurled Saki and Airi into the void.
Kimura's scream shattered the dream.
"SAKI! AIRI! NOOOOO!"
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### Part 4 – Breaking Point
The chains vanished. Kimura collapsed to his knees, hands digging into the ground. His hair fell over his face, hiding his eyes. Tears splattered on the dirt, dark and hot.
"Phew…" Vanko's mocking sigh echoed above him.
Kimura trembled. His shoulders hunched. His fists clenched until his nails cut skin.
"Wasn't that amazing, soldier?" Vanko mocked, crouching low. His grin stretched into something grotesque, inhuman. "Hahahah! That misery on your face—it feels so good." His features warped, twisting into the hollow visage of a skeleton. His breath, foul and hot, brushed against Kimura's head. "It's even better than violating a woman."
"Kill."
The word slipped out, broken and raw.
Vanko paused, tilting his head. "Hmm? Kill?" His grin widened. "Hahahah! You think you can kill me!?"
"Kill… kill… kill…" Kimura's voice rose, fractured. His eyes lifted—empty, broken, blazing. "How can I forget? How can I… forget?"
"he!.. He! HE–Ha! ha! ha! ha!]
He staggered to his feet, laughter spilling from his lips, wild and jagged.
His head tilted unnaturally, his smile twisting. His aura exploded outward, black and suffocating, cracking the ground around him.
"Vanko must die." His voice was distorted, almost inhuman.
"Vanko must die."
"Vanko must die!"
...
The air quaked with the force of his madness. He did not stop , his voice kept repeating the words like a character in a horror movie, like broken tape recorder, that just keeps repeating the same words , over and over and over again.
The chains that had once bound him shattered into dust. Shadows swirled around his form like a hurricane of despair.
He had lost himself.
The soldier. The father. The husband. All buried beneath the weight of one defeaning truth:
"Vanko must die!"
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**End of Chapter 6**
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