New Beginnings
"Hey, Kage, what are you doing? Aren't you ready to leave?" Unknown inquiries.
Kage looks at Seth's grave with an empty look in his eyes.
"No, I'm going to stay here for a while. I'll meet you at the hospital," Kage says in a low tone.
"Well, umm... Ok, just make sure to call me if you need something," Unknown says in a worried tone as he walks away.
Not too far from Seth's gravestone, Mr.Mink and Mr.Chad are both standing at the gravestone of Mrs.Iris.
"So is that really all that happened? You just found her body cut up in the grass. I feel bad knowing she went out in such a gruesome way," Mr.Chad says with an astonished tone.
"Yes, and I'm sure it was Wrath, the feared legend who's in leagues with L.T.O., that killed her."
When Mr.Mink says Wrath's name, the battle he had with him plays in his head.
"I will use the way of the Kenshi to destroy the Kenshi," Wrath repeats in Mr.Chad's head.
Mr.Chad looks at Mrs.Iris's grave with a tired expression.
"I can't believe a guy like that killed Mrs.Iris out of all people," Mr.Chad mutters.
"You know Mr. Chad, Mrs.Iris's death I can get over. I can even let go of the fact that our home was destroyed senselessly, but one thing I can't brush over..."
Mr.Mink begins to grit his teeth in anger as massive OGI begins to leak from his body.
"One thing I can't forgive is hurting my students!" Mr.Mink says in a cold tone.
"Uh oh, they done pissed off the wrong one so tiring," Mr.Chad thinks to himself.
Mr.Mink turns away from Mrs.Iris's grave with a terrifying glare in his eyes.
"Wayne still hasn't awakened from his battle against Hunter. His mental state was already messed up; who knows what it's going to be like once he awakens," Mr.Mink says as he begins walking away from Mrs.Iris's grave.
"So Wayne is the last alive student still in a coma," Mr.Chad states.
"Yes, and to make it worse, Akira hasn't let out a peep since the attack. At least Selena can be there for her, but then there's Kage and Unknown. Both of them watched their friend die right in front of them. There's no way they can stay normal after that!"
"Damn, sounds like those kids need some therapy," Mr.Chad remarks.
After hearing Mr.Chad's statement, Mr.Mink calms down and turns to him.
"Yes, that's it! I should have individual therapy sessions with all my students. L.T.O. can damage the wills of the next generation all they want, but as long as I'm here to guide them, they'll never break them!" Mr.Mink exclaims passionately as his eyes light up.
"Well, if you plan to become a therapist, can you do that later? We still have a business to take care of," Mr.Chad says with a curious expression.
"Yeah, you're right. With Mrs.Doja and Mrs.Nova still hospitalized and Mr.Alex in the Snachro Zone, we have to escort the principal to the conference hall, so let's go before we're late," Mr.Mink exclaims as he nears the exit of the cemetery.
"Uhh, why can't Doc do the escorting? This is all so tiring," Mr.Chad thinks to himself.
As the two teachers are walking, Mr.Mink notices Kage sitting at Seth's grave.
"Hey, Mr.Chad give me a minute," Mr.Mink says as he vanishes.
"Oh come on, we're going to be late," Mr.Chad exclaims with a tired tone.
Over by Seth's grave Kage is staring at Seth's chain with a depressed look in his eyes.
"So Seth really did give that to you?" Mr.Mink asks from behind Kage.
"Mr.Mink? Yeah, Seth did give it to me. It was his last act in life, you could say," Kage responds.
"Well, you should probably cherish it and keep it safe," Mr.Mink suggests with a smile.
"That's what they keep saying. Seth and his father think the same thing, but it doesn't belong to me. I just don't understand why he would hand something with so much importance to me. There's no way I would give it the right amount of care it deserves," Kage tells Mr.Mink with a conflicted expression.
"Look, Kage, with that one month of you being in a coma passing, it is officially the end of the school year, and in August it will have been a year of me meeting you and all your other classmates," Mr.Mink speaks as he reminisces.
"Yeah, I know, so what?" Kage asks.
"Well, in this past year, I've learned a lot about each of you, and in your case, the fact that you even care this much tells me you're perfectly fit to take care of the chain," Mr.Mink says in an encouraging tone.
"And what makes you say that?"
"Well, let's just call it teacher intuition for time's sake. You have your phone on you?"
"Yeah, why?" Kage inquires as he pulls out his phone.
"Let me see it. I promise it will only take five seconds."
Kage hands Mr.Mink his phone, and after he types a little, Mr.Mink hands the phone back. When Kage looks at his phone, he sees that it's open to the Zone news website.
"Why am I on this website?" Kage asks with a confused look on his face.
"At seven, Nixion will be talking to the whole world. I suggest you listen to it," Mr.Mink explains.
"But why?"
"Come on now, Kage, do you not trust your teacher? Just make sure you watch it; you'll see why when you do," Mr.Mink commands.
"Oh come on, don't make me wa—"
Kage turns around and sees Mr.Mink is gone.
"Oh, he's gone."
A few hours later, a gathering begins on the west side of Oltador City. In a row of houses, there is a specific house with visitors at the door.
Aurora answers the door, and she sees the visitors are Kai, Blaze, who has his broken arm in a sling, and Marfumi.
"Oh hello, Kai, I see you brought some extras," Aurora remarks with a stoic expression.
"Yes, I ran into these two on my way here, so I decided to give them an invite," Kai says with his arms crossed.
"Aye, come on now, you know I couldn't miss a a lit party! Go ahead and show me the sound equipment so I can start the music up!" Blaze exclaims.
"I don't think this is a party. We're here to watch Nixion's broadcast," Marfumi comments.
"Marfumi is right; this is no party, but you're free to stay if you would like," Aurora says as she welcomes them inside.
When all of them enter the house, they see Dexter and Liz sitting in front of the TV.
"Oh hi everyone. I didn't think Blaze and Marfumi would be joining us!" Liz says with a blush on her face.
"Oh, what's up, ho—"
Before Dexter could finish his statement, he lagged out, freezing his face.
"That's the third time since he's been here that power is really impractical. All of you can go sit around the TV," Aurora informs.
Blaze and Marfumi walk over to the TV and join Liz and Dexter.
Aurora goes and takes a seat on the sofa, where Kai joins her.
"So you weren't able to get Alexander to show up?" Kai inquires.
"No, it seems the death of Seth is hitting him pretty hard; he won't even answer my calls," Aurora answers.
"Hmm, this is really unfortunate. When he left us during the tournament, I felt a different aura off of him. It almost felt like he was finally becoming more honorable. I hope he can bounce back from this setback," Kai speaks with a serious tone.
"Yes, Alexander is our classmate, so I can't help but feel worried for him."
"Hey, it's starting!" Liz yells.
Once everyone hears Liz, everyone turns their attention to the TV.
Over on the east side of Oltador City, there's a conference hall that is the location of Nixion's broadcast.
Currently, a bunch of reporters, news stations, and curious people are all gathered in the conference hall under a high-up podium.
With the room full of chattering, everything instantly goes silent the second Nixion, followed by Mr.Mink and Mr.Chad walks onto the podium.
The very second Nixion steps onto the podium, the bombardment of questions stemming from reporters begins.
"This is Linda from Zone News! How do you respond to the devastation caused by your student?"
"This is Shao from Legends Papers! Did you know Cyrus Blackwood has been alive for the past three decades?" another reporter ask.
"This is Don from Grava News! What do you have to say to the people your negligence affected?"
As the reporters continue to ask questions, Nixion looks down at them with a stern glare.
"These reporters have no shame; it's clear they're trying to find someone to pin the blame on. Now if Nixion were to say even one thing wrong, they'd paint him as the cultivator of the world's current chaos. He would become under fire worldwide," Mr.Mink thinks to himself with an upset look on his face.
Mr.Mink looks over to Mr.Chad.
"Yeah, I see your face, Mr.Mink I can feel it too. I don't know why you're upset. You know this is what they were going to do, but it's Nixion. He won't be taken aback by this shit," Mr.Chad thinks to himself with a calm expression.
Nixion raises his right hand and shows his palm to the cameras, causing mass confusion around the room. The room finally went silent, and Nixion began speaking.
"First things first, I want to say hello to the Grava, Moro, Snachro, and Mud zones. I know for the past month things have been hard on everyone, whether psychologically or physically. A lot of you feel a part of these problems is my fault. I only have one response to these claims," Nixion says in a deep tone.
As Nixion speaks, everyone makes sure to pay attention to Nixion's words closely.
"It is every last person on this planet's fault that we currently stand in such dark times," Nixion remarks without stuttering once.
"What!" everyone in the room screams.
"Every time someone speaks of the attack on Grava City, they always bring up the effects it has had on the world. That's when I realized out of everything Cyrus Blackwood said that day, the one thing he got correct is that we have fallen into a norm."
Nixion's voice continues to grow in intensity as he speaks.
"All this talk about the end of the world and what different figures are going to do about it. Have you all forgotten what it means to be human? Nixion shouts passionately.
The cameras in the room begin to zoom in closer to Nixion as he speaks.
Cyrus Blackwood is a man who, by himself, gathered a force strong enough to destroy the world, but why hasn't he? It's because his main goal isn't set in motion yet. Every day Cyrus moves more pieces into their correct positions, but look at us."
Nixion slams his left fist on the podium.
"We sit here completely out of order! We're too busy playing the blame game or distracting ourselves with how we feel about the situation! Cyrus Blackwood has declared war on the world. We don't have time to twiddle our fingers; what we need is action!" Nixion shouts with a blood vessel popping out of his head.
As Nixion yells, many people tremble from the intensity of his words.
"Pay attention to where we are at right now! Luthor discovered level three can be found with the level three daggers, and now Cyrus has it in his possession. We have no idea what Cyrus's plan is with level three, but with his declaration of war, it is apparent we must stop him, so to the people of the world, I ask you a question."
Nixion begins to calm down and gets back to his stoic demeanor.
"Do you think being scared, depressed, angry and calling for answers from me will fix a thing? Cyrus Blackwood is right: the world is changing. I think it's about time we adapted."
Nixion cuts off the mic, and with Mr.Mink and Mr.Chad following, walks off, and not a single person lets out a word as they do so.
The broadcast cuts off, and instantly the entire world reacts.
In a place wedged between space and time, L.T.O.'s base stands. At the top of the castle, Cyrus Blackwood is sitting on the throne laughing hysterically after watching Nixion's broadcast.
"Hahaha! Nixion! I didn't think you had it in you! Well, it looks like things are going to start moving a little bit faster now! Damn, fossil knows how to play his cards right, that's for sure!"
Cyrus looks down to where Nisugi is sitting at the round table eating cheesecake.
"Nisugi!"
"Yes, sir!" Nisugi yelps as she clears her throat.
"Call in Hunter; our next move begins now," Cyrus commands.
Over in the Snachro Zone on an island that is currently getting rained on, Exploiter, Ketsu, Mary, and Butch are gathered in a cave.
"Well, that was an interesting broadcast," Ketsu remarks.
"Nah, that speech was boring. Who cares? We're going to be the ones to take down L.T.O. anyways," Mary claims with a playful tone as she types on her phone.
"Yes, you're very correct, Mary, and when we are finally done, me and my girl can go on another vacation!" Butch says, with a blush on his face.
"Uhh, just shut up, Butch. Hey, Exploiter, what do you think?" Ketsu asks Exploiter, who is staring out of the cave with her suitcase in hand.
"I have no opinion on the matter. Nixion is going to go for the confrontational approach as always but while he does that we have to be on the move," Exploiter says with an analytical tone.
Explorer whips out a coat from her backpack and puts it on.
"Ketsu! Mary! Butch!"
Once they hear their names, all three of them look toward Exploiter.
"We're heading to the Moro Zone where the next operation awaits. Be ready!" Exploiter commands.
"Right!"
Over in an unknown area in the Grava Zone, there's a room full of bright light where five ominous figures sit around a table.
Velvet the mercenary, who fought Kage and Unknown, and Miguel the mercenary, who fought Jason during the attack on Grava City, walk into the room.
Both of them take a bow in front of the table.
"Miss President," Miguel says in a respectful tone.
"We have returned from the Oltador press conference and—"
"No need to tell us the details. We watched the broadcast as well, and we have already come up with a decision. Soon we will step in and change everything for the sake of the world," an old-sounding lady states.
Back at Oltador City in Aurora's house, mostly everyone has left except for Kai.
"Kai, are you planning to stay here all night? Because if so, I have a guest room," Aurora states as she cleans up.
"No, I just had a question," Kai says with his arms crossed.
"Go on."
"There was a deeper meaning to Nixion's speech, wasn't there?" Kai says in a serious tone.
"Yes, there is a deeper meaning. It wasn't meant to calm the anxiety of the world like everyone thought. It was a speech to directly battle against Cyrus's speech to the world a month ago. Call it a battle of words if you will, almost like a presidential debate," Aurora explains.
"Could you elaborate a little further?"
"Yes, I can. Cyrus gave a speech to entice those like him to finally stand up and fight against the so-called norm, which we've already seen the results of with the rise of feared legends. Nixion's speech is the same; he wants to entice people against the norm," Aurora explains as she thinks about Nixion's speech.
"Then how would that be a battle? Wouldn't Nixion be helping Cyrus's case?" Kai asks curiously.
"No, because both of their target audiences are different. Just like Cyrus Nixion wasn't actually talking to everyone in the world. He was talking to those who currently feel lost in such confusing times; that's why he waited a month for everything to spiral out of control. He wants to get those who actually want change to get up and make a difference instead of following everyone else into a pit of despair."
Aurora sweeps up some popcorn off the ground and throws it in the trashcan as she speaks.
"Like Cyrus is the head and main influence for his side, Nixion is the head and main influence for his side. Then that's when the battle of ideologies begins," Aurora says with a sparkle in her eyes.
"Watching this go down in real time must have you excited to break it down, Kai remarks with a smile.
"Yes, I can admit breaking this stuff down can be quite fun," Aurora remarks back.
"So do you really think Nixion's speech was effective?" Kai inquires.
"Hmm, only time will tell, I guess."
With the whole world reacting to Nixion's speech, there is one boy who pulls himself together first.
Over at the Oltador City gravesite Unknown enters the site with a worried expression on his face.
"Man Kage hasn't called or come back to the hospital. Doesn't he know it's about to get dark?" Unknown asks himself.
When Unknown gets to Seth's gravestone, he sees Kage standing up in front of it, staring into the sunset.
"Hey, Kage, What are you doing? Don't you realize what time it is? We better get back to the hospital before it gets dark!" Unknown exclaims with a demanding tone.
Unknown looks into Kage's hands and sees his phone in his left hand with Nixion's speech playing and in his right Seth's chain.
"Hey Seth, I really did all of that talking about not worrying about the dead when I've been sitting here bothering your rest all day with my thoughts," Kage thinks to himself.
Kage's hair begins to flow in the wind as his face gets serious.
"Never again..."
Kage begins to remember Seth's last words to him.
"Thank you for being my friend, Kage," Seth repeats peacefully in Kage's head.
"Never again will I let my friends die! Never again will I sit down and be useless!" Kage thinks to himself as he remembers his confrontation with Cyrus.
Kage throws his phone to the ground.
"Never again will I sit down needing a pep talk like I'm some damn child!"
Kage begins to put Seth's chain around his neck with the sunset illuminating his eyes.
"Hey Unknown," Kage says in a serious tone.
"Wait, now you want to talk to me!" Unknown shouts in a mocking tone.
Seth's chain begins to dangle off of Kage's neck as the wind picks up. Kage inhales and lets out a big exhale as he remembers all his memories with Seth.
Kage grabs onto Seth's chain with his right hand and puts a big smirk on his face.
"I think it's about time we began our hunt for level three."
Chapter 200 end