Chapter 112: A Collapse Before a Cursed Awakening.

Silence.

Jacob is dead.

And of him… nothing remains.

Nothing, except this mask, lying there, motionless, amid the rubble.

Salomé steps forward slowly.

Her eyes shine, full of a sorrow she tries to contain.

She kneels, picks up the mask with trembling hands.

She stares at it for a long moment.

Her voice is almost a whisper: — Oh… Jacob…

Behind her, the others approach silently.

Not a word. Just heavy, tense, helpless looks.

Grafay, his voice broken: — I… I don't even know if we can still call this a victory…

He exchanges a glance with Nairo, as upset as he is.

Yuki, arms crossed, breathes softly: — Let's say it's kind of… a draw.

Sally and Bakuran look at each other. No words needed.

A nod is enough.

They approach Salomé together.

Bakuran places a firm hand on her shoulder.

Bakuran

— What he did was incredibly brave.

Salomé turns her head toward him.

She wipes away tears gathering at the edge of her eyes with the back of her hand.

Salomé

— I know…

But I didn't want it to end like this.

He suffered so much… so terribly…

And when he finally had a second chance… a possibility to start over…

He dies.

She lowers her head. Her fingers tighten around the mask.

The others look away, both touched and helpless.

ErMut, raising his eyes to the gray, cracked sky, murmurs: — Well… who would have thought, huh…

Sally steps a little closer, without a word.

Then she gently embraces Salomé from behind.

Sally

— You know… maybe all that's left is his mask.

But at least we can give him a farewell worthy of him.

Worthy of the hero he was.

Don't you think?

Salomé closes her eyes. Then nods silently.

Sally steps back a step, placing a hand over her heart.

Sally (softly)

— Go ahead.

Salomé squats down. Slowly, she digs a hole in the broken earth.

She places the mask inside with infinite delicacy.

She remains still for a moment, hands resting on the edges of the small hole, as if to delay the moment… then covers it with earth.

She grabs a nearby stone, places it on top.

A simple sign.

A discreet grave, but full of meaning.

Salomé stays kneeling in front of the stone.

She closes her eyes. Her joined hands tremble slightly.

Her voice rises, soft, almost incantatory, carried by the wind:

Salomé (murmuring)

— May the shadow be light upon you…

— May memory never forget you…

— May your name travel beyond pain…

— And wherever you go… may you no longer bear the weight of this world.

She gently lays her palms on the stone.

Salomé (in a breath)

— Rest, Jacob.

Silence settles again. Deep. Respectful.

Then Grafay steps forward, arms crossed, looking a little awkward at first.

He looks at the small grave. Stays there a few seconds.

Then, arms hanging loosely, he sighs.

Grafay

— You could have waited a bit, mask. We were almost becoming friends.

He sniffs. Then clears his throat.

Grafay (smiling sadly)

— You could have told us you planned to croak. I would have fixed my hair.

A small nervous laugh escapes him.

No one interrupts. But a discreet smile appears on Sally's lips, then on Yuki's.

Grafay (mock military salute)

— Alright, safe travels, moonhead.

— I hope at least where you are, there's no fighting.

Because here, it's such a mess.

He steps back a step, hands behind his head, gaze still fixed on the grave.

Then he slowly walks away, saying nothing more.

After this moment of gathering, a slight sigh breaks the silence.

Nairo

— Well… now, all that's left is to wait for the others to come back from the other dimension.

I hope they're holding up over there.

ErMut smirks, arms crossed.

— Of course they dominate. They're only first-rate mutants on the other side.

Grafay turns his head sharply toward him, mock shocked.

— Wait… what?! I thought your buddies were precisely second-rate mutants?

ErMut (indignant)

— Pfff, sure. Keep underestimating us, albino cactus!

Grafay (raising a finger)

— Hey! I don't allow you to call me that!

He turns to Sally, accusatory.

Grafay

— And you, the thorn that scares thorns, it's your fault if this stinker dared that nickname!

ErMut (offended)

— Stinker?! Me?!

Grafay, a mocking smile at the corner of his lips:

— Yeah. Here's your new name: The Stench.

ErMut

— I don't allow it!

The two start loudly bickering, exchanging jabs and absurd nicknames.

Behind them, Yuki gently slaps her forehead, exasperated.

Yuki

— Grafay… could you be quiet for two seconds?

Grafay (without turning)

— You, Yuki, shut up! Nobody asked for you!

The tone remains light, and against all odds, their quarrel eases the atmosphere.

Sally and Bakuran, a little aside, exchange amused smiles watching the scene.

But soon, Bakuran's gaze turns to his sister.

Salomé, a little apart, seems lost in thought, eyes fixed on the horizon.

He approaches gently.

Bakuran

— Salomé… how are you feeling?

She slowly turns her head, sketching a slight smile. Sad. Melancholic.

Salomé

— I'm thinking about Jacob.

You know… some people really have no luck in this world.

A silence. Then she continues:

Salomé

— Say… do you think all this is written somewhere?

That we're just… living a destiny already traced?

Bakuran thinks for a moment, then smiles softly.

Bakuran

— Maybe. But… it's not necessarily fate.

You want to know something?

Salomé

— What?

He looks up at the sky, thoughtful.

Bakuran

— Bakuzan told me, during training, that every living being carries within them what we call fundamental states.

Salomé (curious)

— Fundamental states?

Bakuran

— Yeah. The body, the mind, the soul… the story too.

Everything that shapes your destiny. And above all: your Being.

It's the deepest state. The one you don't see, but that exists in everything.

Salomé

— Do you think it's true?

Bakuran nods, confident.

— Yes. We often transcend our physical limits without even realizing it.

But what matters… is the Being.

As long as your Being exists somewhere, you can reincarnate. Again and again.

A flash passes in Salomé's eyes. An idea, a spark.

Salomé

— So… you mean that… Jacob… he could reincarnate?

Bakuran (smiling)

— Yes. But he will have no memory of this life.

He will be someone else. Maybe even an animal.

Salomé (surprised)

— An animal?!

Bakuran (nodding)

— Yeah. If he had mastered his Being, he could have been reborn as himself.

But now, it's karma that will decide. Based on his past life.

Salomé

— Oh… I see.

She pauses, then smiles softly.

Salomé

— You know, it's almost funny…

It's like when you die, you draw a mystery box. And boom, surprise new life.

Bakuran laughs heartily.

Bakuran

— Hahaha, you really have an overflowing imagination.

Salomé laughed softly beside Bakuran, still carried by her reflection on reincarnation.

But, in the space of a breath, her gaze clouded. She lowered her eyes, and her voice became fragile again:

— Say, big brother…

Do you think… dad also reincarnated?

Bakuran's smile faded too. He remained silent for a moment, then answered in a low voice:

— Bakuzan told me one thing… about father.

He thought that… maybe, it was already too late.

Salomé slowly raised her eyes, her heart hanging on the next words.

Bakuran looked away, shoulders a little heavy:

— If your Being is destroyed… then you no longer exist.

It's not a normal death. It's… as if you were erased from all existence.

Absolutely. Definitively.

Salomé felt her breath break.

— So it was… at that level?

Bakuran nodded.

— I don't know what really happened. But if even Rivhiamë — who was one with him — abandoned him that day…

Then yes. It was maybe… much worse than we imagined.

Salomé lowered her head. Her fists clenched.

— …What a mess…

Suddenly, a loud voice broke this tense moment:

— Hey! You two!

They turned around.

Grafay was waving at them from the other end of the ruin field, standing above a furious ErMut.

— Come tell ErMut, the walking stench, that he's only good at scaring flies! A real second-rate mutant!

ErMut, red with anger:

— SHUT UP, ROTTEN CACTUS!!!

Grafay swaggered closer, chest puffed out: — Come on, say it again!

Their faces pressed close, forehead to forehead. Sparks flew between their eyes.

Sally, in the background, crossed her arms, an amused smile on her lips:

— I think peace isn't made for cactus head.

Salomé and Bakuran, while approaching, laughed softly.

Salomé, eyes half-closed, sketched a serene smile:

— It's true, haha… He can't stay calm.

They all gathered again in the center of the area, as if slowly resuming the rhythm of a normal day, despite the fatigue, despite the wounds.

Then Yuki suddenly raised her head.

— …Did anyone hear that?

They froze.

A distant sound.

A rumble.

Muffled. Stifled. But regular.

Sally squinted toward the south.

— A tremor?

Nairo, arms crossed, frowned.

— No. It's deeper than that.

Bakuran closed his eyes, trying to catch the surrounding energy flow.

Then he reopened them.

— …Something… is awakening.

Salomé felt a strange sensation in her neck. As if an invisible gaze had settled on her. Her heart tightened.

ErMut, serious for once:

— It's not Gaïus. This vibration… it's different.

Yuki bent down and placed a hand on the ground.

— It's not here that it starts.

It's over there… no, it's strange.

A long silence.

Then Nairo, in a grave voice:

— What if our victory… awakened something worse?

No one answered.

The sky, itself, seemed to have stopped breathing.

And somewhere, between two worlds, a dull beat resounded.

THUMP.

THUMP.