Zelos sat on a rotten log outside of the sandy wasteland surrounding Fallen Star’s incubation facility and watched as his little sister Thanatos fought against the multi-headed serpentine beast Yamata-no-Orochi. Despite the Myth’s love of combat, he had to warn Thanatos not to fight as hard as she had been due to Yamata still being in the Level 400 range. Every time he’d bring it up she’d acknowledge his words, pull her punches, make a distinctly angry face, then go right back to fighting like she was trying to kill her opponent. As much as he wanted to yell at his little sister, Zelos imagined he’d be the same right now if it were him fighting Yamata-no-Orochi and Limos were the witness. Thanatos may have been angry, but Zelos was furious.
Futakuchi-Onna, a Myth that’d been over Level 800 in her heyday, allowed herself to be defeated by sub-Level 200 fighters!
Just another Myth killed by humans…
That wasn’t entirely true, though. Fallen Star, of all people, had helped Futakuchi-Onna’s descendant claim victory. Zelos knew, wherever he was, that Ares would be proud to hear that. Him, though? He couldn’t understand his brother’s fascination with Fallen Star. Of all the Iteration Curses, Fallen Star was the weakest. He used the least of his actual power, and the power he did use he was terrible at utilizing. Fallen Star didn’t need to be Gashadokuro or anything, but there was no reason that i17 was stronger than him.
“Still mad about the whole Futakuchi-Onna thing?” A new voice asked from beside Zelos. He turned to find Limos seated beside him. Unlike the impractical ruffled black dress his heavily tattooed little sister wore, his older sister Limos was dressed in a white variant of the Galerose uniform with black accents where the gold normally was.
“It bothers me that she could’ve killed them at any time! You know as well as I do that Fallen Star is a failure among the Iteration Curses, and Okita Hana isn’t even Level 200!”
Limos laughed, leaning her head on Zelos’ shoulder. “Don’t let Ares hear you say that about his precious Fallen Star! But yeah, I hear you. Still, it was Futakuchi-Onna’s desire to be defeated by Hana, you know.”
“I know that. Which is why I’m respecting her wishes and not destroying the Saikou Prefecture.”
In the distance, Thanatos revived Yamata-no-Orochi once again. The moment the colossal beast returned from the dead, it charged at Thanatos like an eager puppy, ready to continue the battle. Despite still looking angry, Thanatos shook her head. Yamata bellowed, lowered its heads in gratitude, then slithered off into the distance. As Thanatos stomped toward Zelos’ log, Limos stood from her seat and faced Zelos with a mischievous look. Zelos closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“I know you didn’t come here just to check on us. What did you want to tell me.”
“First, I really did want to see you guys. It’s been a while! Second, well… It’s a long story. Do you really wanna know?”
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Zelos barely opened his eyes. “Limos, I’m not in the mood for games. Just say it.”
“Well, you know how the Demogorgon used to treat her Demons?”
“...Yes?”
“Well, there’s a Wild Man doing the same thing right now. His name’s Zakaria I think.”
“The same one Ares has been meeting with?”
“The very same.”
Zelos buried his forehead in his palms. Sometimes he wondered whether his brother was actually just a Gremlin Myth in disguise. Still, all Ares did was speed up the natural progression of Wild Man society. Every fifty years or so, there were usually a few Wild Men that would evolve a bit too quickly and cause problems for the species. In most cases, they’d simply be cast out from Wild Man society. In worse cases, they’d be cannibalized so that superior genetics could be inherited by future generations of Wild Men. If Limos was bringing it up, that meant they were headed for the latter.
As if that wasn’t enough to be annoyed about, Thanatos finally made her way to the two of them with arms crossed and an uncomfortably familiar scowl etched onto her face. Her black hair was matted with blood and dirt, making it even harder to see her eyes through the curtain of hair that normally covered them. She’d been huffing and groaning, and when neither Zelos nor Limos asked her why, Zelos decided to be the one to finally ask – though they all knew the reason.
“What’s wrong, Thanat–”
“Yugo killed Goro! They’re both Mamoru! Mamoru!” Thanatos stared daggers at Zelos. “Goro told him that Ruma wanted him home! Why didn’t Yugo recognize that? Does he not understand how much his mother misses him?! He is the patriarch of the Mamoru Clan. This isn’t the attitude he should carry surrounding his Clan!”
Zelos might’ve hated the Mamoru Clan just as much as Ruma’s son did. Had he been in town for their fight, Zelos imagined he would’ve looked the other way when Yugo killed Goro. But he knew better than to say this to Thanatos. As erratic and moody as his little sister could be, Zelos still loved her. He knew what to say to calm her down.
“Don’t worry. Next time I run into Yugo I’ll knock some sense into him.”
“Hmph!” Thanatos grunted, though she allowed herself a tiny grin. “I’d do it myself, but I’m going to be busy with some work for Ruma soon near one of the Aura Points.” She smiled wider, all traces of anger suddenly gone. “Ruma said she’ll train with me when I’m done!” She beamed, grabbing Zelos’ hands and waving them around. “Just the two of us! I can’t wait!”
Zelos and Limos shared an uncertain look, but neither said what they’d been thinking. Instead, Limos cleared her throat and separated her little sister from Zelos. She patted Thanatos on the head. “You have fun with that. Ah! Talking about the Demogorgon reminded me of something! I need to go to Harrowstead after this. Ares has something big planned there that he needs my help with. Zelos, come by as soon as you’re finished up in Oni Village.”
“Got–”
He never got to finish. Without warning, Thanatos formed a ball of aura in her left hand and detonated it on Limos, blasting her older sister to bits. Zelos seized Thanatos by the shoulders.
“What?” Thanatos laughed. “She’ll respawn in Burnnchester. I’m saving her time.”
“Yeah, but you can’t just do that without warn–”
Once again, Zelos didn’t get to finish. She’d ‘killed’ him next, blasting him to bits with that very same attack. When he revived, he was on a rice field on the outskirts of the Azuma Saikyou region – nowhere near the Wild Man colony.
“You’re lucky I love you, Thanatos,” Zelos groaned to no one in particular.
This was a blessing in disguise, Zelos told himself. It gave him more time to consider what he’d say to Fallen Star when they met. What he’d say to his brother Ares when they met. What he’d do to Thanatos the next time they met. With that, Zelos gathered his aura and kicked off – speeding through the Azuma Saikyoujin countryside like a bullet train.