The Sky Above the Cathedral
The storm didn't rumble.
It screamed.
Reality trembled as the chains shot skyward, piercing the clouds like cursed spears. The moment they made contact, the sky shattered—shards of lightning and glass cascading down in reverse, defying gravity, defying fate.
Kai stood beneath it all, bleeding from his palms where the altar had bitten him. The Red Widow hovered above, her eyes twin eclipses now.
"You gave me your name," she whispered. "And with it… your fate."
Kai's voice cracked, not from fear—but fury.
"Then I'll take it back."
Shin and Ryuu, Charging the Cathedral Steps
The front gates of the cathedral exploded outward, sending burning wood and rusted steel raining around them.
Shin didn't flinch.
Ryuu, trailing behind, spun his dagger between his fingers and muttered, "You really don't believe in doors, huh?"
Shin's eyes blazed. "Doors are for the forgiven."
And with that, they ran into the mouth of a myth.
The World Beneath
Under the cathedral, beneath layers of forgotten cities, an ancient chamber pulsed with light.
[RESONANCE LINK // SUBJECT: FRACTURE-01] [KEYS ALIGNING]
The Red Widow's voice thundered through every wall:
"Let them come. Let them see what a broken god looks like."
Inside Kai's Mind
He was on his knees again—but not in the cathedral.
This place was colorless. Endless. Silent.
Except for one voice.
"You are not Kai."
A boy stood before him—his exact face, but younger. Eyes filled with sorrow. Not rage. Not power.
"I'm the real you," the boy said. "You just forgot."
Kai gritted his teeth.
"Then remind me."
The boy pointed at his own heart.
"You buried me here… the day she took your name."
And suddenly, memories came flooding back:
A war. A vow. A scream in the dark.
And her—The Red Widow, smiling as the world burned.
Kai's real name echoed inside him like thunder:
Ashin.
Shin and Ryuu Reach the Heart
The cathedral's interior was a warzone—symbols flaring, blood on every surface, gravity twisting like it had opinions.
Ryuu ducked a flying pew.
"Y'know," he said between flips, "when I imagined dying, it wasn't in a haunted church."
Shin wasn't listening. His sword pulsed violently.
Then he saw him—Kai.
Or what remained.
Chains floated like wings behind his back. Symbols burned into his chest. His hair flickered white.
Ryuu gasped. "Is he ascending?"
"No," Shin whispered. "He's breaking."
And the Red Widow watched it all with a knowing smile.
The altar cracked a final time.
Red light engulfed the cathedral.
Kai screamed—not from pain, but from remembrance.
"I AM ASHIN!"
The chains snapped loose.
The void opened.
And something began to climb out.