Ever since that earth-shaking "family reunion" drama, Kyo Kusanagi had unilaterally declared Cloud his long-lost "blood brother" and insisted on "bringing him back" to the Kusanagi clan for proper recognition.
Cloud had initially refused vehemently.
Please. As a free-spirited transmigrator, how could I possibly let myself get tied down by this soap opera "aristocratic family drama"?
But when Kyo wore that expression of "big brother is sorry, this is compensation" and pressed the key to the Kusanagi clan's restricted "Forbidden Martial Library"—containing over a thousand martial arts manuals and cultivation insights, closed to outsiders—into his hands...
Cloud wavered, shamefully.
Then, when the current Kusanagi clan head—that legendary suave old charmer Saisyu Kusanagi—embraced Cloud with tears streaming down his face, wailing "Son! Father has wronged you!" and immediately handed him an unlimited black card with instructions to "spend freely, consider it pocket money from your old man"...
Cloud surrendered completely.
"Ahem... actually, I think experiencing the warmth of a big family occasionally is quite nice."
And so, over the following months, Cloud shamelessly settled into a "decadent lifestyle" at Kusanagi Castle, waited on hand and foot.
By day, he haunted the Forbidden Martial Library, voraciously absorbing the Kusanagi clan's thousand-year martial heritage, "plundering" and analyzing those obscure ancient techniques, integrating them into his Chaos Divine Flame Scripture.
By night, he and Kyo would conduct brutal "brotherly sparring" in his "convenient big brother's" private training grounds.
Of course, most of the time it was Kyo getting one-sidedly scorched by Cloud's "Chaos Divine Flame"—a fusion of Crimson and Azure flames—leaving him howling in agony and questioning his life choices.
"Damn it! Stop stop stop! I'm done! No more!"
Kyo, sporting singed, curly hair and looking thoroughly roasted, shouted:
"Little brother! Your flames... how are they even more overbearing than mine?! Are you sure you didn't pop out of some volcano?"
"Can't help it."
Cloud spread his hands innocently.
"Maybe it's just... talent. After all, I was cast out and suffered so much hardship. My willpower is just a teeny bit stronger than yours, greenhouse flower that you are."
Kyo: "..."
He felt like gaining this little brother back was somehow... kind of stabbing him in the heart?
Beyond training, Cloud's "love life" remained colorful as ever.
Mai Shiranui, ever since being "conquered" by Cloud, had completely opened her heart.
Nearly every week, she would use "martial arts exchange" as an excuse to travel from the Shiranui Peninsula to Kusanagi Castle to "check up on him"—and naturally engage in some "deep" and very private "dual cultivation" with Cloud.
Athena Asamiya would sneak away to Japan during breaks in her global tours to "coincidentally" run into Cloud.
They'd go to Akihabara to buy figures, hit up arcades to play games—like any ordinary couple. The young idol's feelings quietly warmed with each "date."
Even Yuri Sakazaki, under the "death glare" of her "sister-protection-maniac" brother Ryo, would secretly send Cloud handmade gifts (still terrifying in appearance).
Life was simply... "ordinary and mundane."
Cloud's strength also advanced by leaps and bounds in this luxurious training environment and sweet daily life.
[Host: Cloud]
[Constitution: 150 — Your body is now hard enough to serve as aircraft carrier armor plating.]
[Strength: 148 — Your fists can easily punch through the Earth's crust and cause a small-scale earthquake.]
[Agility: 147 — Your speed is fast enough to make traffic cameras crash on the spot.]
[Spirit: 131 — Your mental power is strong enough to... clearly see the other three players' hands during a game of Dou Dizhu.]
[Overall Assessment: Humanoid Mobile Suit. Congratulations, Host. You now possess the qualifications to negotiate on equal terms with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (physically).]
[Realm: Absolute Domain 80%]
Looking at his outrageously "broken" stat panel and the system's commentary full of snark, Cloud felt deeply satisfied.
He felt like he was now the hottest guy in the entire KOF world! He could probably even cameo in the neighboring Dragon Ball universe as "the weakling with a power level of only 5."
However, he didn't know that a massive storm capable of upending the entire world order was quietly brewing.
And he, the "Fourth Calamity," was about to... experience an epic "version update."
...
The bells of the New Year had just rung.
The entire world was still immersed in the joy of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.
However, a series of bizarre "natural disasters"—inexplicable by science—loomed like ominous clouds over the globe.
"Emergency news bulletin: The Amazon rainforest in South America experienced an unprecedented super-tornado yesterday. Wind speeds far exceeded any known human measurements. Several indigenous tribes have vanished as a result. Meteorologists say they cannot explain it."
"Breaking news: A massive avalanche occurred in the European Alps. Several world-class mountaineers have mysteriously disappeared; their whereabouts remain unknown."
"This station reports: A giant sandstorm appeared near the Egyptian pyramids. An international archaeological team conducting excavations has lost all contact..."
Across the world, bizarre disasters related to "wind" were occurring with disturbing frequency.
At the same time, an even more unsettling piece of news began circulating quietly through fighting circles worldwide—
Several powerful fighters who had participated in KOF 95 had mysteriously vanished.
No bodies. No traces. As if they had been completely erased from this world.
An invisible, suffocating terror began to spread.
...
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