back to the heart of SINISH.
The city is a skeleton of its former self. The horizon is jagged with the remains of collapsed skyscrapers, and a thick, grey dust hangs in the air like a funeral shroud. The silence is broken only by the rhythmic scraping of shovels and the distant shouts of survivors digging through the mountains of rubble.
High above the devastation, standing on the edge of a half-shattered rooftop, are Cairo and Luno. They look down at the ant-like movements of the people below, trying to pull their lives out from under the broken concrete.
Luno sighs, the wind whipping his hair across his face. He looks at the endless graveyard of buildings. "Cairo... do you have any idea how long it will take to rebuild our city? To make it look like home again?"
Cairo doesn't take his eyes off the horizon. His expression is hard, etched with the weight of leadership and the trauma of the recent battles.
"It doesn't matter how long it takes," Cairo replies, his voice low and steady. "We won't leave it like this. Too many people bled for this soil. Too many died here for us to just walk away."
Luno looks down at his hands, then back at the ruins. "Axx... I know. But the cost... the cost was so high."
He looks out at a fallen monument in the distance. The "fake world" might be shifting elsewhere, but in Sinish, the scars are very, very real.
Luno let out a heavy sigh, gazing at the chaos from above. SINISH no longer looked like a city; it looked like a vast graveyard of concrete and iron.
"Look down there, Cairo," Luno said, pointing to the main road that once bustled with life. "It will take years. It'll take months just to clear the rubble. Where do you even begin to rebuild a city that was swallowed by darkness?"
Cairo crossed his arms, his gaze fixed as if he could already see the buildings rising again in his mind.
"From the foundations, Luno. Always from there," Cairo replied with a steady voice. "We aren't just going to build houses. We're going to build a fortress. This city will become the symbol that we didn't break. We'll start with the power grid and the hospitals. People need to feel safe before they pick up a trowel."
"Yeah, but the resources?" Luno wondered. "We don't even have half the materials we need. SINISH was always isolated, and now..."
"We'll find them," Cairo interrupted him. "If we have to dig with our bare nails or bring materials from the other side of the world, we'll do it. This city belongs to us. We won't leave it—"
"Cairo! Luno!"
A loud voice cut through their conversation. They turned to see Oz Zephyr standing at the rooftop entrance, pointing downward in a hurry.
"Get down here, fast!" Oz shouted. "REINO is waiting for you at the base. He said it's something extremely important and it can't wait a single minute."
Cairo and Luno exchanged a quick, anxious glance. When Reino called like that, it meant the news was either very good or—more likely—a new problem had just erupted.
"Let's go," Cairo said, and the two began running down the stairs, leaving the silent, ruined city behind them.
SINISH: WEST AREA – GANG BRAVO
The streets of the West Area are narrow and choked with the smell of wet concrete. Yuma and Yurezo walk down a quiet alleyway, the only sound being the rhythmic sipping of Yuma's juice box.
"Yo, Yuma... what are we doing now?" Yurezo asks, his hands deep in his pockets.
"I don't know," Yuma replies distantly. "Maybe we should go far away from the city. Somewhere quiet."
"What are you talking about, man?" Yurezo stops in his tracks. "We're just going to leave the gang here by themselves? Just walk away?"
Yuma doesn't look back. He keeps walking, his eyes fixed on the gray horizon.
"Tell me," Yurezo presses, "what about Eito, Koji, and Osuke? What do we do with them?"
Yuma finally turns around, his expression soft but heavy with regret. "I've made too many mistakes in my life, Yurezo. I can't forgive myself for dragging you all deeper into the darkness. Eito... he's going to be a doctor. Koji is going to study. And Osuke... he needs to get far away from us. I can't destroy their dreams just because I want to destroy ALPHA."
Yurezo takes a shaky breath. "But... I'm not leaving you."
"Yurezo," Yuma says quietly, "you had a terrible childhood. I want you to go. I don't want anything bad to happen to you because of me."
"What the hell are you saying?!" Yurezo's voice rises in anger. "We grew up together! I'm not letting you go! We have so much left to do!"
Suddenly, a figure brushes past them. A small metallic clink echoes as a coin hits the pavement and rolls to a stop.
Yuma looks down, bends over, and picks it up. "Hey!" he calls out to the man's back. "You dropped this!"
The man stops. He turns slowly.
Yuma's eyes widen. He sees the glint of a silenced pistol in the man's hand. The stranger stares at him with cold, dead eyes.
"This," the man says through gritted teeth, "is the price for betraying the LEADER OF SWORD FIRE."
PHUT.
The muffled shot rings out. Yuma is slammed backward, the bullet tearing through his chest, right into his heart. He collapses onto the hard ground, the juice box falling from his hand.
Yurezo freezes. The world turns white. By the time he blinks, the assassin has vanished into the shadows of the alley like a ghost.
"No... no, no, no!" Yurezo screams, falling to his knees over Yuma's body. He sobs violently, his hands trembling as he grips Yuma's jacket. "Please! You said you'd never leave me! Why?! Why are you doing this?! Get up! Please, get up!"
Yuma's breathing is shallow, a crimson stain spreading across his shirt. He looks up at Yurezo, a weak, peaceful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"You... you won the race," Yuma whispers, his voice barely audible. "But I... I can't treat you to dinner. I'm sorry..."
His eyes begin to drift shut, slowly, as the light fades from them.
"No! Don't leave me! NO! AHHHHHHHHH!"
Yurezo's scream echoes through the empty alleyway, but Yuma no longer hears him. He closes his eyes for the last time, his face frozen in a final, gentle smile.
Inside the main hall of the ALPHA headquarters, the air is thick with anticipation and the smell of stale coffee. Reino has called an emergency meeting with all the primary leaders of ALPHA: Keal, Sukizei, Row, Vane, and Uma Lisan.
Joining them are the heads of the allied gangs:
Delta: Kaiser, Omos, and Zalinio (Co-owner).
Echo: Kai Mori, George, Lios, and Fala (Co-owner).
Reino stands at the head of the table, his expression grimmer than anyone has seen it before.
"Listen to me carefully," Reino begins, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. "I just got a call from Bella Misaka, the leader of the BANIZ gang in Tokyo. SWORD FIRE has started to move. They are destroying everything in their path. We are talking about over 10,000 members from various gangs united under one banner. Sword Fire isn't just a gang anymore—it's a faction gang. And the worst part? Someone is pulling the strings behind Sou Lisoy. He's being controlled. Our move is simple: we are going to Tokyo. Get ready."
Kai Mori, the leader of Echo, stands up, looking conflicted. "But what about our city? Are we really going to just leave it behind right now?"
Reino looks him dead in the eye. "They are coming for us, Kai. They are only two hours away from our borders. In about 48 hours, a war is going to break out—a war involving sides you can't even begin to imagine. If we don't meet them there, we won't have a city to come back to."
The room falls into a heavy silence. The reality of a total war has finally set in.
OKYO POLICE STATION
Inside the station, the air is thick with panic. Dozens of phones are ringing simultaneously, a constant, piercing wall of sound. Dispatchers are shouting into their headsets.
"They're smashing the shop windows!" "People are being dragged into the streets!" "Please, help us! They're killing everyone! Come quickly!"
THE MAJOR'S OFFICE
Away from the chaos of the front desk, Major Itou Tasaku sits comfortably in his leather chair. He sips his coffee slowly, calmly reading the morning newspaper.
"What nonsense is this?" Itou mutters to himself, scanning the headlines. 'Terrorist attack in central Tokyo... biological weapons... giant snake was just a balloon. "Hahaha! It seems the government lies started early today."
BANG!
The door flies open. His assistant, Mario, bursts in, his face pale and his voice cracking with desperation. "Sir! Come quickly! It's an emergency!"
The sudden intrusion causes Itou to jump, sending his hot coffee spilling all over his lap and the desk.
"DAMN IT! "Itou roars, jumping up and cursing. "You idiot! Do you knock like that at home? Or do you just have a blanket for a door? I can't get a single minute of peace!"
"Sir, we don't have time!" Mario cries, ignoring the tantrum. "Tokyo is falling into total chaos! Citizens are dying by the second. We have to move!"
"Oh, for God's sake..." Itou groans, grabbing his coat and heading for the door. "Who is behind all this?"
"The FACTION: SWORD FIRE, sir."
Itou pauses for a split second, a dark smirk crossing his face. "Ohhh... so they finally decided to show their claws, huh? Hahaha!"
THE AMBUSH
Itou and Mario sprint toward the parking lot. As Itou reaches for his car door, a black van screeches around the corner, tires smoking as it slides to a halt right in front of them.
Before they can even draw their sidearms, the side door slides open. Masked men surge out with professional speed. Two of them grab Itou, wrestling him into the van.
"Hey! What the—!"
BANG! BANG!
The kidnappers turn their weapons on Mario. Bullets tear through his chest, and he collapses onto the asphalt, his blood pooling rapidly around him.
The door slams shut. The van roars to life and speeds away, disappearing into the city's smoke.
In the distance, toward South Tokyo, a massive pillar of fire rises into the sky. The city isn't just under attack—it's beginning to burn.