Chapter 79 :The Return of the Phoenix

As the sobs still split the night like a chorus of broken hearts, a dark aura slowly materialized before Sakolomé, Sally, Bakuran, and Yuki.

Silence fell. The cries stopped, as if suspended by an invisible presence.

The aura dissipated, revealing a familiar figure with deep black eyes:

Bakuzan.

Sally whispered, troubled:

— Bakuzan… is that you?

Bakuran, stunned:

— You came back… from the world of myths?

But Bakuzan did not answer. His eyes, as empty as a starless sky, fixed straight ahead. His voice cut the air like an icy blade:

— I want to see Salomé.

Without another word, he stepped toward the hospital. The others, drawn by his icy determination, followed without resistance. He walked straight, his pace slow, shoulders heavy with a silence too dense.

In a corridor bathed in pale light, they crossed Amu, who was crying, curled up in the arms of a nurse.

Seeing Bakuzan, she rushed over, almost stumbling, and collapsed against him:

— Your sister… she… she is dead!

Bakuzan swallowed. His jaw clenched.

— Mom… I want to see her. Right now.

— Huh? But…

— Now.

Guided by instinct, they all headed toward the room where Salomé lay. A grave and worn doctor slowly opened the door. The lifeless body of the young girl was there, covered by a white sheet pulled up to her head. A deceptive peace hovered in the room.

Amu collapsed again, this time into Sakolomé's arms. The silence was so dense one could hear it fall.

Bakuzan approached. The doctor tried a gesture, a word:

— Hey! You can't…

A single look.

Black. Silent. Absolute.

The doctor stepped back, words swallowed.

Bakuzan gently lifted the sheet, revealing Salomé's pale face… then her chest, marked by a huge gaping hole. He gritted his teeth. His throat tightened. His breath became hoarse. But he did not cry. He bent down and gently touched his sister's cold forehead.

— Salomé…

Then, he placed his hand on her stomach. A black mana burst violently from him, an energy so dense, so charged, it made everyone present shudder. They stepped back, terrified. Only Bakuzan remained impassive.

— Please… stay alive.

He closed his eyes and entered the invisible depth of Salomé.

Her body, her mind, her soul: all was broken.

Split. Shredded. Eaten away by a shadow curse, dark, voracious, as if death itself had raged.

— So that's it… he murmured.

He intensified his mana. A black wave, pure, like a sacred fire, devoured the curse. It faded, consumed by Bakuzan's titanic will. Then, in a second gesture, he breathed an order:

Heal. Return. Rekindle the flame.

Salomé's body vibrated. Her wounds, visible and invisible, slowly closed in a sacred silence.

A breath. Weak.

But real.

She was breathing.

The doctor stepped forward, confused:

— What is happening?!

Bakuzan said nothing. He simply smiled softly, looking at his sister.

— Wake up, little rascal… You've slept enough, don't you think?

Then, slowly, in a miracle without fanfare, Salomé's eyes opened.

A fragile voice rose, as if carried from beyond:

— Where… where am I?

No one believed it at first. A noise? A dream? A collective hallucination?

But no.

Salomé sat up slowly on her bed.

She was alive.

Bakuzan, without another word, turned away. He was already walking toward the exit, leaving behind a room frozen between shock and miracle.

The miracle had just happened. Salomé, returned from the void, timidly opened her arms, confused but awake.

A moment of sacred silence… then an explosion of joy.

— Salomé!

Amu screamed, dropping her bag, running across the room as if pulled by a visceral force. She threw herself on her daughter, embracing her with an almost painful fervor. Tears flowed, but this time, they were no longer tears of mourning, but of relief, of gratitude.

— You're here… you're alive… you're here…!

Salomé blinked, surprised, her trembling hands awkwardly surrounding her mother.

— Mom… I don't understand, why are you crying like that? What happened?

But already Sakolomé, Yuki, and Bakuran were hugging her in turn, joining their voices in a joyful cacophony of laughter, sobs, and trembling words.

Salomé, at first bewildered, looked at each of them. She saw their smiles, their shining eyes, their love. Then, without knowing why, she smiled too. And that smile, pure, fragile, and radiant, became the center of all emotions. She laughed. And everyone laughed with her.

Sally, for her part, smiled as well, her heart relieved. She approached gently, watching the scene like a living painting.

But something was missing. A detail.

She glanced around.

— … Huh?

Her smile faltered.

— Wait a minute… he resurrects his sister… and then leaves without a word?

She stepped back. Then, determined, she left the room.

The corridor, empty. No sign of him.

She went down the stairs, crossed the lobby, exited the hospital, her eyes scanning every corner.

The wind was light, the sky black and starry. She circled the building, bypassing the emergency entrance, and arrived behind the hospital.

That's where she saw him.

Bakuzan.

He was leaning against the back wall, alone, arms hanging, eyes fixed on the infinite sky.

Sally stopped dead, hiding behind a container. She squinted, attentive.

He remained motionless for a moment. Then, slowly, he slid down the wall until sitting. His body collapsed in a broken posture.

And then… a sound.

A strangled sigh. A hiccup.

Tears.

Sally's eyes widened, stunned.

— Huh… I'm not dreaming… he's crying? For real?

She held her breath.

Bakuzan, gaze still lost in the sky, let his tears flow. His voice trembled in the evening silence:

— Don't ever scare me like that again… Salomé…

He clenched his fists, tried to swallow his sobs. In vain.

— I was so afraid of losing you.

His voice broke.

— You can't imagine… how anxious I was. Terrified by this news…

His tears now fell freely. It was a pain held too long. A tidal wave of emotions, released in solitude.

Sally, deeply touched, lowered her eyes. She quietly stepped back, leaving him alone in his reversed grief, in his intimate miracle.

She returned to the hospital entrance, her gaze calm. A breeze passed, like an invisible caress.

She stopped, looking at the sky in turn.

— He suffered… as much as we did from Salomé's death…

She smiled softly, sincerely.

— He really cares a lot about his family… It's admirable.

After a few minutes, while the laughter and joyful tears continued to fill the room, the door opened slowly.

It was Bakuzan.

He entered quietly, silently. His gait was calm, controlled. His eyes were dry but slightly reddened. He had wiped his tears, but his gaze still carried the shadow of what he had just released.

Amu looked up, surprised.

— Bakuzan…

Salomé, still sitting on her bed, turned her head. Seeing him, she opened her arms wide, eyes shining:

— Big brother!

She almost jumped out of bed despite her weakness, half stumbling. Bakuzan caught her gently, supporting her with a tender and sure gesture. He placed his hand on her head.

— Easy, rascal… you just came back to life.

Salomé laughed softly, nestled against him.

— I don't know what I missed… but I'm glad to be here…

— So are we, said Sakolomé, voice trembling.

Bakuzan looked at each of them. Amu. Sakolomé. Yuki. Bakuran. Sally.

Then he simply said:

— Thank you… all of you. For watching over her.

Yuki shook his head, eyes moist.

— You're the one who brought her back…

Bakuran nodded slowly, moved but dignified.

— We couldn't do anything… but you, you went all the way.

Sally crossed her arms with a sly smile, half mocking but sincere:

— And then, you sneak away like a ninja? You thought we wouldn't notice?

Bakuzan looked away a little, embarrassed.

— I needed a moment… alone.

Sally stared at him, then silently nodded.

Amu approached her son, placing her hand on his cheek.

— I'm proud of you, she whispered.

For the first time in a long while, Bakuzan gave a true smile, almost childlike, almost fragile.

He looked at his little sister, still in his arms.

— Come on, rest now. We're here now.

Salomé gently closed her eyes, her head against his chest.

— I promise, I'll stay alive… just for you.

And in that room bathed in pale light, surrounded by the whispers of life regained, the family was reunited. Broken for a moment, pieced back together by a miracle. And this time, they fully intended never to let go again.