Genzo was lifted a few centimeters off the ground… his body didn’t reach the ceiling.

When he fell back down, a dull thud filled the room.

— Tsk!! —

Blood streamed heavily from his head; for a moment, his vision wavered.

He raised his gaze.

A rivulet of blood ran across his eye.

At that same moment, Kanzo was approaching with a slow, almost terrifying pace.

«Look what you’re forcing me to do,» he said as he advanced.

«Do you think I enjoy having to kill my own brother?!»

Genzo didn’t answer.

«I see…»

Behind Kanzo, Benimare’s wings began to tremble.

«Swarm…»

A mass of fiery butterflies started multiplying, splitting apart in midair.

«You said I was the one who betrayed the family…»

Genzo pushed himself back to his feet, clenching his teeth.

—He’s still standing? Don’t tell me…— a thought crossed Kanzo’s mind.

«But you were the ones who betrayed me.»

He took a deep breath, shifting into position for a spiritual block.

«Out of everyone… I thought… maybe foolishly…»

His voice trembled.

«That at least my brother would stay by my side…»

Kanzo extended his hand.

The butterflies launched forward.

Genzo grabbed his belt and dropped several small black spheres at his feet.

A thick smoke began to spread rapidly.

—More weapons from the storage…—

Kanzo raised his hands to shield his face.

«Do you think hiding will change anything?!»

Kanzo’s voice echoed as the smoke swallowed the entire room.

—He’s in bad shape, and yet he keeps getting up… has he perfected it?!— he thought, searching for his brother through the haze.

With a gesture, the butterflies returned, swirling all around his body.

«Genzo!»

The air stirred by the butterflies grew increasingly violent.

«I don’t want to go any further…!»

The wind intensified even more, feeding the flames throughout the room.

«Current Reversal!!»

Kanzo touched the ground.

The air, which moments before had been pushing everything away, suddenly began pulling everything inward with force.

—He’s not planning to destroy the monastery, is he?!— Genzo thought.

Among the objects being drawn in, Genzo himself was dragged toward his brother.

The structure began to bend under that pressure of spiritual energy.

Wooden beams, the ceiling, and everything already weakened by the flames lifted from the ground.

«Here it comes!! Reversing back!»

The wind began tearing everything apart.

When Genzo opened his eyes again, he found himself standing on a fragment of floor suspended in the void.

Above him stretched a starry sky.

The Fuyumi Monastery — once a gathering place of the clan, then a structure consumed by flames — had been completely destroyed.

The roar of the wind around him was deafening.

«Why did you destroy the White Place?!»

Genzo shouted to be heard.

On a higher piece of debris, Kanzo watched him.

—If I’m right, it’s better not to continue this fight…— Kanzo reasoned.

«I know exactly what you’re capable of with your spirit. The death of that vessel stabilized that form, didn’t it…?!»

Genzo hesitated for a moment.

He tightened his grip on the scarf around his neck.

—So I have to do it now… Aoi… it’ll be over soon…— Genzo was determined.

Then he looked back at Kanzo.

«Kokuen… get ready.»

The spirit appeared at his side.

Kanzo observed him.

His brother’s spiritual energy kept rising.

—When a wielder is strong enough and deeply connected to their spirit, the boundary between spiritual energy and the human body begins to thin…— Kanzo thought.

The spirit began to envelop Genzo’s body.

—Once, my little brother managed to use this ability for not even a second. But now that he’s willing to do anything for revenge…—

He took a breath.

«Finally, Genzo!»

Kanzo spread his arms, provocatively.

«Let’s see who’s stronger…»

«The one born with superior control over spiritual energy…»

He paused briefly.

«Or the one among the few wielders…»

«…who can achieve Spiritual Union.»

From the fusion with his spirit, Genzo’s body changed drastically.

His skin became paler, while a black cloak, reaching halfway down his back, wrapped around him.

Over his left eye, a white mask had formed, connected to the upper part of his forehead by a thin bridge.

—Can you hear me, Genzo?— Kokuen called.

No response.

—Genzo!—

Still nothing.

—Damn it… he must’ve followed the flow of spiritual energy…—

His words faded into the void.

Genzo was trapped in a completely black space.

Lying on what seemed like water, yet it didn’t wet him.

«It’s a nice place…» he murmured, his gaze distant.

«I’d like to rest…»

He looked at the darkness around him.

Then, a warm sensation enveloped him.

He lifted his head.

Aoi was in front of him.

His head rested on her lap.

«Aoi!» he greeted her, surprised.

«Genzo… what are you doing?»

She gently stroked his hair.

«I… I don’t know…»

She gave a faint smile.

«You can’t stay here, you know… right?»

«Yes…» he hesitated.

«But if I leave… I’ll never see you again…»

His eyes lit up.

«And if you stay…» Aoi said gently,

«you won’t keep the promise you made to me.»

She smiled.

«I’m sure… you already know what to do.»

Her body began to slowly dissolve.

Her lips met his, one last time.

In that instant, Genzo returned to reality.

«Brother.»

A vortex of smoke condensed in his hand, continuously spinning, endlessly.

Genzo was fully aware.

In his current condition,

Spiritual Union wouldn’t last long enough for a battle of endurance.

The calculation he made was ruthless.

Five seconds

and thirty-two milliseconds.

«Come at me, Genzo!»

Kanzo’s tornado folded in on itself, compressing.

In an instant, Genzo reached his brother.

Behind him, a trail of black smoke.

The two techniques collided.

A flash of spiritual energy exploded.

In an instant, that roar vanished into nothing.

All the debris that had been lifted by Kanzo’s technique fell back to the ground.

There was no trace of the two brothers.

Then a piece of debris shifted.

Genzo was still standing.

His body covered in blood, his right arm broken.

He walked a few steps.

Among the ruins, he found Kanzo, gasping.

His brother’s technique had cost him an arm.

«You were… good…»

His voice was low.

«You… defeated me… incredible, the Spiritual Union…»

He gave a faint, resigned smile.

«Go on… finish me… Fuyumi Genzo…»

Genzo clenched his fist.

Then the sound of a half-destroyed clock among the debris suddenly stopped him.

It was midnight.

«What are you waiting for, Genzo?»

His brother didn’t answer.

He lowered his arm.

Then he turned away, without saying a word.

Limping, he began to walk away.

«You’re just going to leave me like this?! Like this?!»

Kanzo shouted with what little voice he had left.

«Come finish me! Go on, murderer!»

«You won’t have a place among the Fuyumi anymore!»

He coughed.

«You’ll be alone forever!»

Genzo kept walking.

For a moment, he tightened his scarf once more.

—Aoi… so this is freedom?—

He disappeared into the shadows of the forest.