Positioned on the hill Takami, Kael and Hikaru observe the terrain, and realize that it is a hospital that the general wants them to destroy. Takami looks a little angrily at the hospital and asks:
-General?
The general responds:
-Yes ? Commander Takami?
Takami:
-Confirm again if the point is that hospital in front of us.
General:
-Takami … yes, that's the hospital you're going to blow up.
Takami looks completely frustrated at the ground and punches the hill. Kael prepares to speak but is interrupted by a message from the general:
-Takami, Hikaru and Kael the target is in front of you I will now distribute your work. Takami will watch the perimeter to ensure security, Hikaru will plant explosives in the hospital as soon as Kael confirms that our targets are inside.
Shouting the general says:
-NOW GO. COMPLETE THE MISSION!!!
Takami hesitantly looks at the two and Hikaru remembers:
-Takami, I know it's difficult but we don't want to end up like Riku.
Takami says:
-Ready, okay, let’s go…
And think to yourself:
(At least I won't be the one doing the action, maybe it will be easier for me... I hope Kael can bear the weight of what he's going to do when he sees them)
The three get into position, Takami on top of a building, Hikaru hiding in some rubble near the hospital and Kael in front of the door. Takami gives the command that everything is safe and Kael takes action. Upon entering the hospital he comes across a room completely in ruins with a reception in the middle and on the left and right two completely dark corridors, the floor completely consumed by destruction and wear, the walls consumed by water running down from some places, plants growing, cracks and holes all over the walls. Kael uses his power to create a small ball of fire that moves around him for light and chooses to follow the corridor on the right. After walking in it for a few minutes Kael only finds the same thing he saw before on the floor and walls plus a few rooms. until around a corner he starts to feel some super low amounts of power and becomes more alert, around a bend he sees a light coming from a door and hides, (leaning against the wall before the bend) Kael hears things like:
-I hope they don't find us here, we have to heal the injured and get out of here as quickly as possible.
-Do we still have salvation? The food is almost gone and we have little water.
-Don't worry, we'll have to go out tomorrow to get more if we find any.
Kael in the corner of the wall hears all this and realizes that they are probably survivors of this city when it was still peaceful. Kael begins to question everything that has happened so far, thinking:
(So these are the types of jobs I'm going to have to do? Is this the right thing to do? Why do I have to kill all these people, they're just trying to survive...)
Out of nowhere, when Kael is about to collapse to the ground, he hears a voice that says:
-Kael, what are you doing, this is not the son of the destroyer.
Kael, hearing this voice, gets angry and closes his eyes, going into a state of rage and releasing his power, but suddenly everything calms down and no one in the room realizes Kael's power, but when he opens his eyes he finds himself in a world with a dirt floor and some plants growing and others dying. Kael looks up and sees a black shadow covered in a black aura that says:
-Kael we finally met.
Kael asks:
-What place is this? Where am I?
The shadow responds:
-Kael, this is you, you are within yourself.
Kael without realizing anything says:
-What do you mean this is inside me... how can I have something like this?
The shadow says:
-Kael this is your subconscious this space represents your feelings and the shape you have there is your subconscious itself.
Kael looks around him and the ground and asks the shadow:
-Who are you?
The shadow responds:
-I am someone who will help you now.
Confused Kael looks at the shadow and the shadow asks:
-Is what's happening outside bothering you?
Kael looks at the ground, not responding to the shadow, then she says:
-Kael, I can put an end to everything that bothers you, just let me do the work. What do you think?
Kael looks directly at the shadow and asks:
-What will you do?
The shadow responds:
-What I can to put an end to your problems, but in return I want to use your body for a few seconds. What do you think?
Kael hesitantly responds:
-Go ahead, I give you permission to finish this one.
(Kael was looking for reasons not to let the shadow he had in front of him do what he wanted but he couldn't find anything that would allow it, not even his master's words that had helped him so much until now)
The shadow upon hearing this says:
-Very well, Kael, it will only be a few seconds.
Takami and Hikaru notice that Kael's aura has changed and look directly at the hospital, worried about Kael, they try to communicate with him on a secret channel that exists in the wiretaps that does not allow the barracks to discover and they both say at the same time:
-Kael, is everything okay?
As soon as they finished the sentence, a large explosion took over the area, a purple and black explosion, the debris from the explosion hits the building where Takami was and causes it to start collapsing, so Takami jumps from it and through the falling debris, he goes to another building. small near the hospital thus saving himself, Hikaru uses the shield that Toru created thus saving himself.
When the smoke starts to disappear Takami sees Kael standing looking into the air with pieces of a purple aura disappearing from him, Takami warns Hikaru and the two get together and go to Kael, when they get there Takami asks:
-Kael, is everything okay?
Kael continues to look up so Takami holds Kael's shoulders and shakes him asking again:
-Kael, KAel, KAEL ARE YOU THERE?
Kael wakes up and looks at Takami and says:
-Yes, everything is fine.
Before they can continue, the general says:
-Very well, now you can go back, the return ship should be arriving.
The return ship arrives and the three return to the barracks, being greeted at the door by the general with the rest of the team behind him:
-Congratulations to the three of you, the mission was a success, I hope it will always be like this in the future.
Turning his back, the general leaves and the three of them get together and go into his room. Once there, Takami goes to the roof to smoke, Hikaru goes back to his research on explosives and Kael goes to his room.
Sitting on the bed, Kael begins to reflect on everything that had happened and thinks:
(What was all this? Who was that shadow? I was called "Son of the Destroyer" again but I still don't know who that destroyer is. Those people...)
Shadow:
-Kael...
Kael:
-You again?
Shadow:
-Kael, the time has come, I want you to know what I did there, they've probably already told you, but if not, I'll explain it to you. I took control of your body and what I did was consume part of your power with mine which is much stronger than yours and I just released it, causing that whole explosion and how have you controlled yourself all this time, even though I wasn't As easy as it seems I want you to know part of my name...
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Kael, completely interested, listens attentively:
-The part I will give you of my name is Kuro, you can say it mentally or out loud and I will appear to talk to you and you will communicate with me however you call me.
Kael thoughtfully looks at the ground and the shadow says:
-I'll leave you alone, Kael.
A few minutes later Kael hears the door slam and goes to open it, seeing Aria he feels safe, letting her in and they both sit on the bed and sleep until nightfall.
The next morning, Kuro waits for Kael to wake up and thinks:
(Kael, Kael wanted so much to tell you the past, what really happened...)
Kael wakes up with a knock on his bedroom door, he goes to check who it is, it's Takami, he went to his room half an hour before everyone woke up and goes to talk to him:
-Kael, how are you? After everything that happened yesterday, do you think you are ready to continue as a member of this team?
Kael responds:
-Yes, I'm ready for another one, I think.
Takami laughs and says:
-Hahahahaha. There's no problem with not being ready for another one, you'll have time left to recover, we'll spend 3 days without missions and, as I do with everyone, I always talk a little. Is there something you wanted to ask me?
Kael:
-There's something I want you to tell me.
Takami:
-What is it ?
Kael:
-Want to know about my parents?
Takami:
-What was their condition when I arrived?
Kael:
-Yes, what if you saw my brother too?
Takami:
-Your brother? I didn't even know you had one... but now your parents only saw your mother in the last moments giving me the information to help you get into school your father I don't know if he was even there I didn't feel any presence other than hers.
Kael looks at the ground a little sad and Takami says:
-Kael, don't be sad, I'll try my best to find the records from that day and let's see together what they report, but now go to the main room, let's have a meeting.
Then the two go to the main room where everyone else is waiting, Takami tells Kael to sit on a chair near the computers and says out loud to everyone:
-Sorry to wake everyone up at this hour but I want to announce that we will have 3 days to ourselves without missions so I wanted to organize something so that everyone feels more comfortable here and yes I'm talking about you two Kael and Aria. You are a little distant from the other members so I want everyone to get to know each other properly now does anyone have any ideas on what to do?
Shiro suggests:
-Why don't we have a little party to celebrate the arrival of the new members and ready is another excuse to have a party here by my side.
Everyone looks at each other and agrees with Shiro's idea so Takami says:
-Well, I think it has been decided that a party will be organized tomorrow so that it can take place on the second day and on the third day I can rest and tidy up everything. I will just ask the general for permission and in principle the party will be held.
Everyone celebrates and at the door is the general who had heard the entire conversation and says:
-You don't need to talk to me, you can have the party if you think it will help the team to work better together, you're welcome, Takami:
Takami smiles and looks at the general thanking him:
-Thank you, general.
And the general says:
-Just don't do anything you regret, I want everyone ready
in 3 days.
When the general turns his back and leaves, everyone celebrates and preparations for the party begin.
On the day of preparation, Takami divides the team to pick up the decorations and food for the party. Renji and Hikaru are in charge of going to the planet Elysoria to buy the decorations, Shiro and Toru are in charge of going to the same planet and buying the food, Takami nominates set up to prepare the music and asked Mikasa to set up the tables and place chairs and finally sent our hero Kael and his friend Aria to rest, the party was to be prepared by them to meet them better and he didn't want them to be part of the party for ethical reasons(Organizing a party for someone and having that person work for them didn't seem right in Takami's eyes) so he told them both to take the day off and go taking a walk around the last few days had been difficult.
And so it happened Renji, Hikaru, Shiro and Toru left together on the squad ship to the planet Elysoria, Takami went to the warehouse of their hideout together with Mikasa, leaving Kael and Aria in the control room alone and Kael suggests that the two of them can give a walk around the outdoor part of the barracks, Aria agrees and the two go.
On the planet Elysoria, when the four land and leave the ship, they divide into groups of 2, as Takami had said, Renji and Hikaru go to buy decorations in the shopping area of the planet, Shiro and Toru go to buy food and drinks in the fair area.
In the shopping area Renji and Hikaru notice that it has changed a lot and the store they were looking for is not in the same place. Hikaru asks a person who was passing by:
-Sorry, do you know where the party decorations store is?
The person responds:
-Yes, I know, go straight ahead and turn left then continue and, following the number of aisles on the right, count 4 and enter the fifth one then look in that aisle and you should find the store you are looking for.
Hikaru asks:
-Since when are there so many runners like this?
The person says:
-You know this city is growing a lot and will become a power in this universe so it has to grow a lot and develop, that aisle I told you is the toys and decorations aisle where each store sells the things you want but they have a special item that only they can sell so none of them loses customers because of the others.
Hikaru thanks him and tells Renji:
-Is it just me or is this city growing at a worrying rate?
Renji says:
-Yes, the last few times we were here it changed a lot and they added another floor to almost all the buildings, it seems to me that the floor on the ground is always a store and the rest are apartments.
Hikaru looks at the city and admires it saying that one day when all this is over he will want to live in this city.
Following the man's instructions, they found the store they were looking for and inside they bought hats, glasses, plates, table decorations and much more, buying everything they started on the way back to the ship.
On the other hand, Shiro and Toru went to the city's fair side and went from stall to stall looking for food such as cake, some meat, pies and much more, they also looked for drinks, some juices, and a bottle of wine. , taking less time as Renji and Hikaru returned to the ship first and were already waiting when the two arrived and said:
-So how was the trip to the big city? Was it full of people? Hahahaha
Hikaru says indignantly:
-You don't even know how big the city is now, do you know what it's like to walk 5 corridors through a crowd of people and then come back?
Shiro says:
-Calm down Hikaru, we were just playing.
Understanding each other, the four enter the ship and prepare to return to the barracks.
The flowers are growing and growing
like hope
but nothing is forever
Will they wither?