A calm casino. Only a few patrons remain.

  Empty chairs. A bartender behind the counter, quietly mixing a drink.

  The atmosphere is subdued. Piano Man plays softly in the background.

  Johnny sits close to the bar, his face hollow, drenched in sadness.

  He drinks hard. Too hard. Soaked in booze.

  Sonia sits at the counter, eyes closed as always — yet watching him.

  Then she feels it.

  His aura hits her like a blade.

  For a moment, she mistakes it for legend-tier pressure.

  Nobody in this city carries weight like that.

  Her hand moves to her sword.

  She rises. Steps toward him.

  Almost draws it.

  Then she pauses.

  It isn’t killing intent.

  It’s heavier.

  What’s with this guy? she wonders.

  She takes the seat beside him and turns her head slightly.

  A smirk touches her lips.

  “You look like you've been hit by a truck.”

  Johnny grips the glass tighter.

  “That'd have been better. Life’s been messy. Real difficult. And unfair.”

  Sonia studies him.

  The pressure isn’t violent.

  It’s empty.

  “You’re in a valley,” she says, leaning forward slightly.

  "Yet you keep pushing everyone away. You won’t get the family you want if you keep tossing aside the people who love you.”

  Johnny freezes.

  His eyes widen.

  For the first time, the glass trembles in his hand.

  Sonia stands.

  So that’s what it is.

  Not a legend.

  Just a man who already sees himself as dead.

  She turns and walks away.

  Killing this one would be a waste.

  What’s the point in ending a man who’s already buried himself in mud?

  OWEN’S TOWN–CENTRE CITY

  K.B. lies strapped to a bed, hands bound.

  His master enters, syringe in hand.

  “Stay calm, boy. This is going to hurt.”

  The needle sinks in.

  K.B. slips under.

  The master brings out the blue box. shatters the glass.

  Liquid pours over K.B.’s body.

  He starts to vibrate.

  Blood pumps violently.

  Inside his mind, he’s moving—travelling—at impossible speed.

  Space and time folding, slipping between moments.

  The vibration stops.

  His left arm splits open, flesh peeling as if consumed by a parasite.

  The master smiles.

  “It’s finding its way inside.”

  K.B.’s eyes snap open. He screams.

  The master stiffens.

  “You’re not supposed to be awake.”

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  He rushes back, grabs another syringe, injects K.B.’s right arm.

  Still awake.

  Blood leaks from K.B.’s eyes. From his mouth.

  The master leans in, shouting,

  “Boy, stay in control! Don’t fight it. Connect with it instead!”

  The vibration surges—faster, stronger.

  K.B.’s body shrinks. Neck. Legs. Stomach.

  “What’s happening to me?” K.B. gasps.

  The master only watches. Silent. Focused.

  Moments later, the vibration halts.

  K.B.’s body liquefies.

  He vanishes.

  The master smiles.

  “The process is complete.”

  He straightens.

  “That was fast. Probably the quickest I’ve ever seen.”

  K.B. reforms.

  His left eye glows—crimson, eerie, shining.

  He exhales slowly.

  Now I can see… what lies before and after.

  The master steps closer, presses a hand to K.B.’s chest.

  “Your heart isn’t destroyed,” he chuckles. “You’re in control.”

  ANTARA'S TOWN–CENTRE CITY

  Inside the Blue Whale's mansion. Fury’s Edge and his two Elites slaughter Blue Whale gang members with rapid, surgical precision.

  In the distance, Salion and Satan rush forward.

  The two women sprint at full speed.

  “Satan, do not use your reality swapping,” Salion warns, gripping her arm. “I repeat—do not use it.”

  “Don’t call me that,” she mutters, not slowing. “It’s Tanya. You of all people should know that.”

  Salion exhales sharply. “Fine. Tanya. Just don’t use it.”

  They keep running.

  They once called her Satan’s Soul.

  A name born from fear.

  A name she wears when she needs to survive.

  But she has chosen something else.

  Tanya pushes forward.

  They reach the Blue Whale's headquarters.

  They stop.

  The tattooed man from the north stands outside. Alone.

  Salion frowns.

  "He's Terrifying."

  Tanya lifts her machine gun.

  “Who cares.”

  She fires.

  Bullets sing.

  They hit—

  and do nothing.

  Tanya pauses, staring at the weapon.

  “No good?”

  She tosses it aside and lunges.

  “I love this,” the tattooed man says calmly. “Looks like the Alligator sent his allies.”

  Tanya punches the ground.

  It cracks.

  He weaves.

  Salion is already there—her punch flying.

  He dissolves.

  Air warps.

  He reforms in the same spot.

  Tanya closes in—

  A hand snaps out. Grabs her throat.

  She slams his arm, breaks free, leaps back.

  A massive hook solidifies in his hand. Wind rotates around him. But fades

  Salion and Tanya steps back. Cautious.

  Salion locks her eyes.

  “He’s an amplifier. Super rare.”

  “How do you know?” Tanya asks.

  “When Amplifiers are ready for intense battle, a sudden wind rotates around them."

  Before Salion could blink—

  He was in front of her.

  Too fast.

  They try to jump away—

  The hook swings.

  Both crash to the ground.

  Tanya rises, stepping forward.

  “Tanya, wait!” Salion shouts.

  The hook dissolves.

  His fist smashes Tanya’s jaw—she flies.

  He follows her mid-air.

  Time freezes.

  He floats, relaxed, watching her fall.

  “You weakling. You really thought you could fight me? Didn’t you feel the difference in power?”

  Time resumes.

  Tanya slams into the ground.

  Earth fractures.

  She groans.

  He leans in.

  “Where’s the—”

  Salion’s foot drives toward his neck—

  Cut off mid-air.

  Her eyes widen.

  She leaps back.

  Fast.

  Salion’s foot regenerates—bone, flesh, skin snapping back into place.

  He’s beside her now.

  “When?” she gasps.

  She retreats—

  His punch caves into her stomach.

  She hits the ground, rolls, stands again.

  His speed… I can’t track it.

  Before she could brace—

  He was in front of her again.

  Another punch.

  She doesn’t fall this time.

  Her boots grind into the pavement.

  Her suit glows crimson, humming with power.

  “That suit's what’s keeping you alive,” he says.

  Tanya attacks from behind—kicks—

  He spins, grabs her mid-motion, and slams her down.

  She bounces.

  Blood spills from her mouth. Her vision shakes.

  Salion charges—

  punches his gut, sending him skidding back.

  Salion leans close to Tanya.

  “We have to retreat.”

  Tanya nods.

  Twilight speed.

  He’s in front of Salion.

  “How about I tear that suit apart?”

  She tries to move—

  His hand punches through her stomach.

  Wet. Tearing.

  Her eyes tremble.

  He slams her body down.

  Bone cracks. Ribs shatter.

  “Salion!” Tanya screams. “No!”

  He bends close.

  “This is what you get for fighting someone who plays at a higher tempo—beyond your perception.”

  Her suit fades. Dissolves.

  “Oh, and since you’re dying,” he whispers, “I’ll give you the honor of my name.”

  “Captain Hooker.”

  Tanya’s eyes turn black.

  Wind erupts.

  The air screams.

  Her body lifts.

  She becomes a raging tornado—pressure crushing outward.

  A massive face forms within the storm, roaring.

  The tattooed man steps back, exhilarated.

  “A Saturn… incredible. Killing one will be worth the effort.”

  Salion stares at the sky.

  Mami… I hope you forgive me. I always wished I could call you my mother someday.

  She smiles faintly.

  My God, guess that day won’t come.

  Her vision fades.

  She dies.

  The tattooed man swings his hook toward the vortex.

  No effect.

  Buildings crumble.

  The wind tightens, dragging him skyward.

  He dives into the storm, swings again.

  The vortex collapses.

  Tanya reforms—tears streaming. Her fists clench, then loosen.

  She collapses.

  Unconscious.

  He approaches.

  “You lack the stability to control such ability.

  His lips curl. "An incomplete perception makes you fail. That vortex… a Saturn's gift.”

  He looks at her.

  “No doubt. You’re the daughter of Saturn himself.”

  He grabs her hair, dragging her unconscious body through the ground. Heading towards the Blue Whale's mansion.

  “Killing you now would be a waste.”

  Fury’s Edge stands with his two Elites.

  “These men are weak,” the pink-haired Elite says.

  The tattooed man enters, dragging Tanya.

  “Search the area. Find survivors. Kill them all,” he orders.

  “We need the Alligator’s location.”

  They move out.

  ---

  MAMI SHALLOW’S RESIDENCE

  Mami studies Daisy carefully.

  “Your height has increased far more than expected.”

  “How much?” Daisy asks.

  “Over many inches. You were five-four. Now you’re five-eleven. Be careful– One-biskae's aggressive, it feeds through rage. Stay in control.”

  The wind howls.

  Mami freezes.

  Daisy frowns.

  “Mami? What’s wrong?”

  “Salion’s been killed,” Mami says quietly. “I can feel it. The suit I gave her… it’s fading.”

  Daisy stiffens.

  “What?”

  Mami exhales, clenching her fist.

  “I should have noticed. My recklessness got her killed.”

  She disappears into another room and returns with iron gloves covering both hands.

  She walks toward the exit.

  “Wait. I’m coming,” Daisy says.

  “You’re not ready.”

  “I am. I won’t hide anymore. This time, I fight.”

  Daisy raises her palm.

  A distant hum answers.

  One-biskae crashes through the door and settles on her hand, vibrating.

  Mami turns back.

  Her eyes turn completely white.

  The white intensifies like light— a brief flare from within.

  “Among legends, that humming sound is a declaration,” she says quietly.

  “If a legend hears it… they won’t wait to see if you’re ready.”

  She turns back and starts to leave.

  Daisy tilts her head—a habit she’s just learned—and rests One-biskae on her shoulder.

  They dissolve.

  Air wraps around them.