Aftermath

Two men were in a dimly lit room.

The blacked-out curtains blocked the sunlight.

"Yamikuro Asaki..."

A man pondered over that name, leaning back on his chair.

"Are you sure that was him, Jacinto?"

Jacinto nodded, his curly hair flowing in the air.

"I'm sure, leader. I even confirmed it with one of the Hunters."

The leader scowled.

"Those government tools are good for nothing when it comes to keeping things confidential."

"In any case, we can now begin the hunt for him... Working separately from the government."

A girl who stood in the shadows spoke up.

"I looked into him more..."

"I know where Yamikuro Asaki lives."

The leader couldn't help but smile over this situation.

"We'll begin our search there."

"The rest, come out of hiding." He said.

From behind the leader jumped out multiple people. All of them posed in front of his desk.

One rested his hands on his two katanas at his waist, his hair reaching his shoulders, and wearing a mask to cover his mouth.

Another, tall and muscular, had a clean-shaven face and short hair.

A third had coiled hair and tanned skin, sitting on the ground in front of the leader's desk.

The last was a woman with short black hair with red tips. Her glasses reflected the dim light.

"That name... Asaki," The man with katanas said, "I've heard of it somewhere before."

"Could he be the one who saved those we hunted?" The woman asked.

"So who's going to search the house?" The tall man asked.

The leader stood up.

"Jacinto and the girl in the shadows will go. The rest of us will stay behind, keeping watch."

"I have a feeling that our paths will collide soon."

The leader smiled, a Resonant whose name he recognized was now his new target; this was going to be interesting.

###

On the streets of The Hideout, a few days after the incident.

Word broke out that a boy with purple powers fought against another Resonant. Their clash destroyed a part of the city, killing around a hundred Hunters.

"Isn't this the Darkness...?" A woman gasped, reading the word in the newspaper.

Another, a man standing in the opposite direction, stuttered. 

"H-hey... Someone destroyed the normal world... What will the higher-ups think about this?"

"Two Resonants fought? But why?"

A tall man, easily over seven feet tall, with the body of someone who has trained for years, stepped near them.

"What's this about Darkness I'm hearing?"

A man standing near him showed the newspaper to his face.

"Caelum-! Look, isn't this power described like you did about the Darkness?"

Caelum's face remained serious, and he grabbed the newspaper.

"Let's see..."

His face didn't change in any way after realizing what the power was.

"It's definitely the Darkness. Do we know who or where that person is?"

The man standing next to him shrugged.

"No idea. There's nothing written or shown about his appearance."

Caelum handed back the newspaper.

"I'll have to look for him. A Darkness wielder has really shown up after all."

Just a few kilometers away, in a hospital, was Yamikuro Asaki.

He lay on the hospital bed, eyeing the TV.

News about his attack spread around like wildfire.

Yamikuro had too many questions, but no one to answer them.

After being on the bed all day, he came up with a few conclusions and promises for himself.

Firstly, the Darkness, despite its insane strength, was far too dangerous to use.

He'd rather rely on his strength from now on. If possible, never use the Darkness again.

The death of Sphairos was proof of that.

He knew that deep down, his desire to kill Sphairos was true- but he'd never have gone through with it. The Darkness influenced his thoughts.

Sphairos didn't deserve to die. There had to have been a way for both of them to survive.

Just thinking about it disgusts Yamikuro.

Secondly, Yamikuro made a promise to himself.

He'll never kill anyone.

No matter the hatred for them, killing someone would haunt him forever. And that feeling of disgust, sadness, anger, and regret was not worth it.

Yamikuro gripped onto the blanket.

That even stands true for Lucian Daichi, the man he hated the most.

No matter what, Yamikuro swore to himself that he wouldn't kill him.

Thirdly, Yamikuro has killed a god.

What would it mean for his future?

There must be consequences for a human who kills gods.

What if more of them show up?

And at last, the appearance of Yamikuro has changed.

After using the ascension, purple lines have appeared under his eyes.

They're not big, but noticeable.

Due to the known fact about the attacker having purple powers, Yamikuro can't just walk around carelessly.

After going through everything in his head, Yamikuro stood up. He used the support of pillows behind him.

He looked out the hospital window, the sun shining into his eyes.

The place he was in was unfamiliar to him.

This was The Hideout.

He wanted to walk around in there more than anything.

The buildings seemed to be themed around medieval times.

The streets were wide, allowing a lot of people to walk at once without problem.

It all seemed lively, compared to the normal world.

Kids were running around laughing, market stalls were a common thing instead of supermarkets, people wore colorful clothes, and some even used powers to travel around.

Behind the city were tall and wide mountains, with a couple of houses placed on top of them.

Despite the medieval houses, the school and what could have been a government building were built using modern architecture and materials.

Everything about this was better than the normal world.

No Hunters creeping around, no traffic pollution, no executions, no fear.

Everything was peaceful.

Yamikuro's admiration of this place was interrupted.

"Knock, knock."

A man said, standing behind the hospital door.

"Come in," Yamikuro said in a quiet tone.

The door opened.

Into the room stepped Kazuhiko Ryoti.

Kazuhiko was the man who saved Isabella and him in the other world.

According to him, Isabella was, in fact, not hurt by Yamikuro.

It was the god who did it, and she has already returned to her normal life, attending school and everything.

He's also Yamikuro's homeroom teacher- when he began attending school after recovering.

Kazuhiko sat down in one of the chairs next to Yamikuro's bed.

"How are you feeling?"

Yamikuro let out a sigh that slightly quavered.

"I'm fine."

Kazuhiko shook his head.

"You're not, mentally, at least. You're able to get out of here today, though, which is a positive."

Yamikuro stared out the window.

His expression was unreadable.

"Tell me, how should I live here? Everyone seems to say nothing but bad things about me."

Kazuhiko started biting his nail.

"I understand that all of this must be very confusing, but once you get free from these walls surrounding you, you'll see that there are a lot of people who don't care."

"And most of them are just curious about your power."

Yamikuro remained quiet, his expression not changing one bit.

"I see."

A doctor peeked into the room.

"May I come in?"

In a hurry, Kazuhiko got himself up from the chair and turned towards the doctor.

"Yeah-, for sure, come right in."

The doctor smiled.

"Based on his quick recovery, Asaki can be released as soon as you guys are ready."

Kazuhiko smiled.

"See that? You're free now."

Yamikuro turned towards them.

A slight smile appeared.

"I'm glad."

With the support of the bed, he got on his feet.

After signing a few papers and walking out of the hospital, Kazuhiko offered Yamikuro a place to stay.

"You can stay at my place tonight. And tomorrow you'll start school, perfectly aligning with the beginning of the week."

Yamikuro nodded, walking with his hands in his pockets.

"Thank you."

He breathed in the fresh air of The Hideout.

Kazuhiko spoke up.

"Before that, though, there's a place where we can stop by to eat at."

"Come on, follow me." He started walking.

Yamikuro wasn't ready for Kazuhiko to just leave him behind.

He stuttered.

"H-hey, hold on, wait for me."

Pretty quickly, they arrived at the place.

"...Dine Diner?" Yamikuro looked at the name, tilting his head.

Kazuhiko smirked. "Yeah, but the food's terrific. Come on."

Walking inside, a smell of coffee and fresh bakery wafted through the air.

At a quick glance, Yamikuro noticed the red, white, and black color scheme throughout the diner.

A woman named Mai glanced up from behind the counter.

Her eyes lit up.

"Didn't think I'd see you today."

Kazuhiko leaned against the counter.

"I thought I'd bring my student here. He could use a break right now."

Smiling, she turned towards Yamikuro.

"I'm happy to see yet another new face here."

Yamikuro nodded politely while also smiling slightly.

"It's nice to meet you as well."

Kazuhiko brought them to a booth near the window.

Kazuhiko relaxed and leaned back on the chair, putting his arms behind his head.

He seemed looser today.

"You two dating?" Yamikuro asked.

Kazuhiko bobbed.

"Fiancé, actually. We've had plans on getting married soon."

"Congrats."

Mai walked up to them, holding two plates in her hand.

"You take a lot of pride in it, don't you?" She giggled.

She placed the plates on the table.

One was stacked with pancakes, and the other was a huge burger.

Kazuhiko leaned forward and reached to Yamikuro across the table, patting his shoulder.

"Eat up."

Yamikuro stared at his meal.

"All of this, for me?"

"Of course," Kazuhiko said. "You deserve it."

For the first time in a while, Yamikuro allowed himself to enjoy something simple. 

The conversations between them varied in different topics, mostly nonsense.

Kazuhiko complained about his workload but also shared his... questionable taste in music.

Mai talked about her worst and best memories of working at this place.

And Yamikuro chatted about his life and why he decided to save Resonants.

Then Kazuhiko leaned forward yet again.

"You don't have to carry all of this by yourself, you know."

Yamikuro stopped mid-bite.

Kazuhiko smiled, but his message remained the same.

"When you find some close people, don't be afraid to rely on them. Trust me, you'll suffer a lot more if you try and do all of it alone."

Yamikuro hesitated.

The words made him want to tear up.

He wasn't sure why exactly.

Yamikuro wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the right words for it.

Instead, he just nodded.

After Yamikuro finished eating, they left, with the words of Kazuhiko carrying him ahead.