Erebus.

A wave of darkness hit me like a shockwave. Erebus had no idea how serious the situation was now. He was so ignorant and carefree that it was becoming comical. "So what you are saying is that you and I are the same?"

Erebus looked down, staring directly into my eyes. I could feel the weight of the words he was about to say. "You're as much like me as you are different." He mumbled softly. "Do you understand the meaning of those words, young man?" I nodded, feeling overwhelmed by all the feelings and emotions that were rushing through me at that moment. I could feel my anger, rage, and everything else coming to a climax, about to explode. This was a lot to take in at once. "What I can tell you, though, is that you will never accomplish the things that Rain and I accomplished. All you are is a man filled with regret and anger for what he has done in the past. You tried to atone by killing yourself at a point in time before he committed every heinous crime in the book. Now the question becomes, Why are you willing to do such things?"

His words stung deeper than any of the wounds inflicted during the past years of battle. All that time spent fighting and protecting people... All that time spent killing and ruining others lives... This was a waste. Why didn't I just give in? Why didn't I die before anything got out of hand? The truth is that it wouldn't matter anymore because Rain has won, and we will never be able to escape this madness.

Erebus looked at me with a maniacal grin. "There is one more thing to note: Rain is heading towards you to give you your punishment. Trying to kill yourself to fail his goal is like spitting in his face; I doubt you'll be able to think straight after Rain is done with you." Erebus sneered. "Once he is finished, all that you will want is to die and escape your anguish and suffering." He walked forward and patted me on the head.

I had heard enough. My heart sank into my chest, my knees trembled, and I was about to vomit at the very notion of Rain's inevitable appearance in my life. It would not end like this, though. There has to be a way out of this.

"That's all from me; this will probably be the last time we speak without fighting. It was good knowing you, Sora Katayama."

In one swift move, the Erebus in front of me vanished into the dark void. I watched, silently waiting for the arrival of this universe's greatest threat. Within moments of his departure, I could sense something coming toward me. Within moments, there it was: the entity stood directly in front of me with a grim expression on his face, his eyes glowing brighter and darker than any other known star in this realm. "Are you ready for your punishment, Sora?" He said it darkly, staring at me intensely. I knew that the punishment would be horrific, and it would ruin me forever. I took a deep breath before answering the man. "Do what you will with me; just leave the others out of this."

"Very well..."

Rain flicked his wrist, and a knife shot out of his forearm and went directly through my skull, sending an excruciating amount of pain throughout my entire nervous system. I felt the urge to fall to my knees and cry in agony. In that moment, I knew my mental state was going to be brought to it's limits.

Enzo's Perspective:

1 Month Later...

It's been a month since Sora has attacked any kingdom or assassinated anyone, for that matter. His motive was unknown, so I'm glad the others don't have a clue either. Maybe that'll buy us some more time while we find him before he attacks someone else. We have had zero success in the search so far, which is pretty damn frustrating. All we have so far are clues, and none of them seem like much.

The news had made it public that Sora Katayama was planning a huge event where he would finally make his presence known in the world. So now I knew that no matter what happened, Sora would never let the people live in peace and harmony.

"Enzo, this propaganda that people are spreading is a bunch of bullshit; something is going on with Sora. We need to find him before something happens." Remi scoffed.

I had decided not to disclose any of the details of what had occurred between Sora and me that day for obvious reasons: the mere fact that we might die if the government ever discovered what had happened. Even with the current circumstances, it's still best we stay quiet about what happened, at least until I understand why he's going this route. That also reminds me of what he did before the last time I saw him and the previous days. He's been acting rampant, acting on the whims of violence against those closest to him.

"I suggest you start looking for Sora, and quick." A man appeared behind me; it felt as if his presence was invisible, like he wasn't actually there. How did he slip past our defenses undetected like that?! Even in this barren land, one wrong step, and someone dies because they tripped over their own two feet, or worse, were assassinated! There is no such thing as an accident in my books anymore.

"Woah! Who the hell is this?!"

"My name is Erebus Katayama; you could call me Sora's brother. It is an honor and a privilege to meet the protector of this kingdom; you have an exceptionally vast amount of power." The mysterious person before me was none other than Erebus Katayama. Before today, I had never seen a picture of him.

"What the fuck did you just say?" I was in shock; this man looked like he was even beyond Sora's strength. I could just tell by his aura that there was something unsettling about this guy. "Sora has been captured by our father, Rain Katayama. He's not really our father, more so our creator. Anyways, Sora is getting tortured by our father for trying to erase a past version of himself."

"Aren't you going to try and rescue Sora?"

"Oh, we tried already." The man sighed, seemingly in pain from what happened before. "Our entire group of elites were wiped out. Our father is a demon that would massacre billions if he wasn't stopped, and with the threat of a greater threat looming over the horizon, you and your companions should watch your backs and avoid conflict with our family."

"So wait, then where has Rain been since Sora was born?" My anger began to boil over. It is pure blasphemy that someone could allow the world to descend to such levels without stopping it. Rain will get an extremely powerful force thrown at him once Sora gets to full strength. I've never felt such raw determination in my entire life before! Not to mention Rain can easily wipe out any single race if given enough motivation; if Rain doesn't kill you in this world, someone else will.

"Rain and I were sealed up until 5 years ago; Sora was already doing fine just by himself by then, so we decided to leave him be and flourish into what he is today. Rain is afraid of Sora, but his pride will not allow him to admit that. Sora has the potential to surpass the man who created him for the sole purpose of destroying this world, yet it turned against him, and now he's forced to use these measures to mentally break him and create a monster."

"Then you and me are on the same page, except one thing: I won't just leave Sora in this state. That's why I am going to get Sora and save him from his torment!" I clenched my fists. I hate all these situations where the "main hero" suffers.

"By all means, go ahead; however, it will be your inevitable demise if you think you can survive an encounter with my father. As strong as you are, no one in this world can stand up to his pure strength alone, and that includes me. I will warn you: Sora does not even come close to his father's level, and I won't hesitate to call myself second best because of that. If Sora can't beat our father, then you won't be able to either." Erebus chuckled.