The God of Entertainment kicked Shichiro across the void.
"You're not very entertaining… are you?"
Shichiro hit nothing.Fell through nothing.
The god grabbed his face, fingers digging in, and lifted him effortlessly.
"Go."
Reality twisted.
His body bent the wrong way.
It hurt. It hurt. it hurts. IT HURTS.
Shichiro whispered to himself, barely conscious.
Then.
Light.
A figure stood before him in the dark.
Pink hair. Glowing skin. Warm.
A Goddess.
"I love you, Shichiro," she said softly. "Please don't leave me… You don't have to go through this pain."
Shichiro's lips trembled.
"Asoka…"
The pain surged.
And suddenly.
He was somewhere else.
Not the void.
Not the circus.
A familiar presence stood before him.
Katsu.
But wrong.
Divine.
Cold.
The God of Irony smiled.
"How ironic… you're back. Where did you go?"
He grabbed Shichiro by the hair and lifted him off the ground.
"You look so sad."
For a moment, his grip faltered.
(I don't want to do this.)
"You were once my best friend… you know?"
The air shattered.
Bellerophon's presence crashed down like a collapsing sky.
Katsu froze.
His eyes went empty.
"Where… was I?"
But Shichiro was already gone.
Again.
Asoka's voice followed him through the darkness.
"You and your friends don't have to suffer. Not like this."
Then.
He woke up.
The real world.
The battlefield.
The Aethermimic screeched, its form unraveling.
"Clever… children."
And vanished.
Silence.
Katsu ran forward and pulled Shichiro into a crushing hug.
"Don't do that again."
Rokuro joined.Aegis.Ryosen.Kentarō.Ketsuki.
A mess of arms and relief.
"Where were you, man?" Kentarō said, forcing a laugh."We fought that abnormal thing without you."
They carried Shichiro back to his room.
Gently.
Ketsuki sat beside him as he lay down.
"Don't scare us like that, big brother."
Shichiro stared at the ceiling.
Then spoke.
"I was tortured. Again and again. By the God of Entertainment… and the God of Irony."
The room stiffened.
"Kentarō died," Shichiro continued quietly."He became the God of Entertainment. He beheaded all of you."
Kentarō froze.
"What?"
"And the God of Irony…""He erased everyone with a touch. Katsu fought him. But Bellerophon took over."
Silence.
Aegis placed a hand on Shichiro's shoulder.
"We're not dying," he said firmly."You're here. You're safe."
Ryosen nodded fast.
"It's probably that Forbidden Heart acting up!""We've got things covered now, leader! Mango mango mango!"
Shichiro closed his eyes.
But deep down.
He knew.
None of it was over.
And somewhere beyond reality…
Someone was waiting.