The morning after her vision, Akari gathered the heroes in a secluded chamber within the academy. Her heart pounded as she relayed every detail—how Kael had been tormented, twisted by the gods, and forced into his current state. She spoke of the goddess of life and nature, the only divine being who had ever tried to help him.
When she finished, silence stretched between them.
Then Shiro scoffed. "You're being naïve, Akari. That man isn't Hoshi anymore. He's Kael, the Warlord. The moment he chose to embrace his power, he stopped being our friend."
Akari clenched her fists. "You don't understand! The sin of Pride is controlling him! He's still in there, but his emotions are being suppressed. If we could just—"
"Just what? Save him?" Shiro snapped. "You saw what he did to us, to this world. How many people has he killed? And you think we can bring him back? You're delusional."
Renji, who had remained quiet, let out a heavy sigh. "I... I don't know. I see both sides. I want to believe that Hoshi is still in there somewhere, but if Shiro is right and he's truly gone... then what do we do? Do we keep fighting him, knowing he might be beyond saving?"
Akari's voice trembled with desperation. "I can't give up on him. I won't. If there's even the slightest chance that he can be saved, I have to take it."
Shiro turned away, his voice cold. "Then you'll die chasing a ghost."
The room fell into an uneasy silence. The divide between them had never been clearer.
As Shiro stepped out into the corridor, his mind raced. There's no way Hoshi is still in there. Not after everything he's done. Not after everything we've seen. He clenched his fists. People don't come back from that kind of darkness. The gods turned him into something else—something we can't fix.
He exhaled sharply, forcing himself to keep walking. If Akari keeps chasing this fantasy, she's going to get herself killed. And when that happens... I won't be able to forgive her—or myself.
And Kael's war loomed ever closer.