The acrid stench of scorched debris assaulted Kaito's senses as he sprinted through the billowing clouds of grey smoke. His legs, heavy with the exhaustion of the platform duel, suddenly found a surge of energy fueled by pure desperation. He ignored the shouts of the two security officers attempting to pursue him from behind. Kaito's focus was fixed solely on a single point: the guest pavilion, whose roof had partially collapsed to the ground.
The sound of wood crackling under the heat of the fire filled the air around the pavilion. Kaito reached the ruins, gasping for breath. He skidded to a halt as his eyes caught the silhouette of someone standing tall atop a fractured slab of marble. The figure wore an academy uniform slightly different from that of a regular student, adorned with silver accents on the shoulders that denoted a senior or elite rank.
The figure's hand hung casually at his side, but in his fingers was a simple silver necklace with a small, cracked crystal pendant. Kaito recognized it instantly as the only heirloom from their parents, an item Hana always wore.
"Let go of that," Kaito said, his voice a low, raspy growl.
The figure turned slowly. He was a youth with an expression so cold it seemed devoid of any emotion. He dropped the necklace onto the ground with indifference, as if the object were nothing more than worthless trash.
"A useless trinket for a useless person," the youth said. His voice was flat, lacking any overt intimidation, yet every word felt sharp.
Kaito looked toward the ruins beneath the youth's feet. He saw a fragment of Hana's dress pinned between massive wooden beams. "Where is my sister? What have you done to her?"
The youth atop the rubble did not answer. Instead, his gaze drifted toward Kaito's hand, which still gripped the broken black hilt.
"I am merely clearing away the noise. This academy is no place for those from the lower sector who carry cursed objects."
The two security officers pursuing Kaito finally reached the scene. They stopped several meters behind him and immediately offered a salute upon seeing the youth atop the ruins.
"Lord Ren," one of the officers said, his tone a mix of deference and fear. "We are handling this boy. We apologize for the disturbance."
The youth named Ren gave a slight hand gesture for the officers to remain silent. He then leaped down from the ruins with a remarkably fluid motion. As his feet touched the earth, not a speck of dust stirred, as if his weight had no effect on the ground whatsoever.
Kaito waited no longer. He lunged toward the ruins of the pavilion and began tearing at the wooden beams pinning Hana's clothing. His strength felt depleted, yet he continued to pull until his fingernails bled, torn by the coarse wood fibers.
"Hana! Answer me, Hana!" Kaito shouted, digging frantically.
In the midst of his despair, a soft hand touched Kaito's shoulder. He turned quickly to find Airi Himari standing beside him. Airi's face was deathly serious. She did not wield her bow of light this time; instead, she held a small vial containing a clear blue liquid.
"She isn't under there, Kaito," Airi said in a low voice.
Kaito stopped moving. He stared at Airi, bewildered. "But her clothes are here. The necklace was on the ground."
Airi helped Kaito to his feet. She shifted her gaze toward Ren, who remained standing motionless a short distance away.
"It was a diversion. Someone took her before the explosion occurred. Ren only came to ensure there was no pursuit."
Kaito turned his fury toward Ren. "Who took her? Answer me!"
Ren merely regarded Kaito with a hollow stare. "The world has a way of balancing itself. Something that should not exist up here must be returned to where it originated."
Suddenly, a large shadow swept over them. A small airship, bearing the same emblem of the Order of Authority as the officers from the lower sector, began to ascend from behind the academy towers. The vessel moved rapidly toward the outskirts of Sora-no-Kuni.
"What is actually happening—?"
Then, Kaito realized. The incident at his home, the ambush in the subterranean chamber, and the chaos at the academy were all interconnected. They did not just want his sword; they wanted Hana as a point of leverage.
"I'm going after them," Kaito said, beginning to run toward the academy's internal docks.
"Wait, Kaito! You cannot enter there without authorization!" Airi shouted, attempting to restrain him.
But Kaito did not listen. He felt the crystal sphere in his pocket vibrate violently once more. This time, its red light enveloped his entire hand. The heat from the black hilt in his other pocket resurfaced. These two energies seemed to be communicating with one another within Kaito's body.
Kaito reached the edge of a great balcony overlooking the airship lanes. The ship carrying Hana was already high in the air. Simultaneously, Instructor Akuma emerged from behind a pillar with several officers armed with energy spears.
"Apprehend him! He has destroyed academy property and assaulted an elite student!" Instructor Akuma commanded.
Kaito was cornered at the edge of the balcony. Before him was a precipitous drop to the lower layers; behind him was a group intent on his capture. He looked at his palms, which now glowed red and silver in alternation.
Kaito recalled Daisuke's words about the crystal sphere leading him to a secure coordinate. He pulled the sphere out and stared at it for a moment. He then glanced at Airi, who was arguing with Instructor Akuma to buy him time.
"If I stay here, I will never find her," Kaito murmured to himself.
Kaito applied firm pressure to the surface of the red crystal sphere until it cracked. Instantly, a vortex of dark red energy manifested beneath his feet. The space around the balcony began to warp and distort.
"Stop!" Instructor Akuma shouted, hurling his energy spear.
The spear whistled through the air, but before it could strike Kaito, the energy vortex had swallowed him whole. Kaito felt a sensation akin to being forcibly pulled through an incredibly narrow aperture. His entire body ached as if every joint were being disconnected one by one.
Kaito's vision went pitch black for several moments.
When he could finally feel his own weight again, he was no longer on the opulent academy balcony. He had fallen onto an icy-cold metal floor. The surrounding air was thin and heavy with the scent of water vapor.
Kaito tried to stand, but his head throbbed with vertigo. He looked around. The place appeared to be an abandoned, ancient observatory. The walls were made of thick glass, revealing a view of stars that seemed impossibly close.
"You arrived sooner than I anticipated," a voice echoed from the shadows in the corner of the room.
Kaito fumbled for his hilt, preparing for a fight. However, the figure emerging from the darkness was not Instructor Akuma or Ren. It was a woman in a long white robe that covered her entire body, including her face. In her hand, she held an ancient book with a leather cover identical to the one on Kaito's satchel.
"Where am I? Where is Hana?" Kaito asked, breathless.
The woman stepped closer. She placed her hand against the glass surface of the observatory. "You are at the boundary between the upper layers and the void. And your sister—she is being taken to the place where the Izanagi lineage began."
Kaito fell silent. He had never heard that his family lineage held any significance in the structure of this world. The woman then gestured toward the black hilt protruding from Kaito's pocket.
"That object will never be whole again until you find its heart, kept within the Tower of Stardust," the woman continued.
A massive roar echoed from outside the observatory. Kaito saw a large airship with blinking red lights approaching their position. The vessel looked menacing, carrying heavy weaponry aimed directly at their chamber.
"Who are you, really?" Kaito asked suspiciously.
The woman slowly pulled back her veil. Kaito stood stunned as he saw her face. She possessed the exact same shade of crimson eyes as his own.
"My name is Shiori. And I am the reason they so loathe the name Izanagi," the woman said, just before an energy cannon blast struck the observatory wall, shaking it violently.