"Just what is this place?"

As if activated by his inquiry, the same fiery glow that presented itself to Kouki appeared in front of Kaito. This time, the flame expanded upwards, then vanished, revealing the same figure that the statue in the ruins represented.

"I... remember seeing you somewhere. That statue down in the ruins"

Kaito paused mid-sentence, the thought of recalling what occurred in the cavern obviously causing some distress.

"So you remember what happened back there. Interesting. Yet, you seem strangely calm"

Now thinking deeper on the topic, Kaito realized the man was right. He vividly remembered everything that happened, yet all he could feel regarding the events was a foreign sense of hatred that wasn't his own. He stopped talking for a while. 

"Whatever took over my body, I was able to feel it's hatred as if it were my own. I could feel its actions clearly, it was my own body after all, but it still feels distinctly like it was some other entity"

"So that's the effect the corruption has on the human mind and body..."

"And it felt as if I had been trapped in its mind for months. I could see everything in real time, yet my mental perception and thoughts were echoing for multiple times longer"

Kaito felt perplexed. Voicing his thoughts out loud, he realized that he felt strangely nonchalant about the situation. As if when he was separated from the corrupted, his feelings regarding that time span had also been separated. Worst of all, he realized that he was incapable of feeling sorrow over the actions his own body had done, as all that remained when he thought of what happened to his loved ones was the anger from the corrupted. Kaito suddenly froze and glanced up again.

"Wait, who even are you"

The man sighed, having to go through his introduction again.

"You know me as Hayato, your 'hero of legend'"

Kaito was stunned by shock.

"There's no way... Hayato was supposed to have lived centuries ago, and moreover, he sacrificed himself to create World Zero"

"There's the error in your stories. I never died. Well, my body did, but I sealed my consciousness within the Key. It would seem that it's been broken into shards since then though"

"So that's what that shard was-"

"I used that shard to create a new body for you. We're currently occupying your aether while the synchronization process is finishing up"

"What even is an aether?"

"I forgot that you humans don't really know the concept yet- Your aether is basically the metaphysical core of your existence. As an independent concept, aether is an energy source, like mana. Imagine each attribute of mana individuals as a single string or wavelength of energy. There are countless, diverse types of individual mana, but when all is combined into a purified, whole concept, that becomes aether"

"So the aether sorcery they were using back there- It comes from this?"

"Exactly"

"By the way, I was wondering something. You keep speaking of 'humans' as if it's a foreign concept to you. Why is that?"

Hayato chuckled.

"I guess there's no harm in telling you since we'll be sharing a body for a while. You may know me as Hayato, but in lives before that, I was the God Aeolus"

Kaito stumbled backwards.

"W-w-what..?"

"Don't mind it. I'm living amongst you at the moment. I chose this life for myself when I became an incarnate as Hayato"

"Sooo- How should I refer to you then?"

"Just Hayato is fine"

"Also, wait a minute, what do you mean by sharing a body?!"

"My consciousness is sealed in the Key, remember? With that shard functioning as your body, I'm essentially just living inside your aether for now. I assume you have no objections?"

"Yeah, that's fine, I guess. Anyways, what happens next?"

"There's something off about that Calamity Event that occurs in your village. Right now, it's summoning something greater, since that initial corrupted within your body was defeated. With the shard as your body, you'll gain an unnatural amount of aether that can naturally enhance all your abilities without needing conscious effort. My presence will also help to channel that energy"

"So you're saying we've got to defeat a Calamity Event alone?"

"Not just that. As of now, our goals align. We both need to defeat this to get out alive, and I'm going to need to get out of your body eventually. So, I propose an offer: we get out of your village and recover the other shards of the Key. Also, I'd like to add, that corrupted has completely taken over your old body now that your aether has been ejected from it"

Upon hearing those words, Kaito's face immediately grew serious. 

"We have a deal"

The two shook hands as Kaito awakened in his new body.