Hah... Under the light of the sun...
The sun...
Azael glimpses where Kamui stands. Their earlier battle tore open the ceiling, and outside, the morning sun shines through.
A beam of light descends through the breach, falling upon Kamui. It is perhaps the first sunlight to touch Azael's sight in many long years.
He yearns to step forward and bathe in it too, or simply extend his hand to touch even a small piece of it; that would be enough. But he can't do anything.
Struggle as he might, he can no longer command this broken body to move. He can only remain in the darkness, imprisoned within boundaries of his own making.
Is this... this body's instinct?
Catrayv... even now, your body still can't bear the dark? That's just like you, Kamui...
Kamui offers no reply, remaining silent and still in thought.
When he finally moves, it is only to the boundary. He approaches the line where light gives way to shadow, wanting to taste the oppressive darkness that has been Azael's torment for so many years.
It is so dark, so cold. To be trapped here year after year would drive anyone mad with loneliness. Kamui recognizes the feeling, but he has no wish to sink into it, nor any intention to forgive.
Half of his body remains in the light. It is a stance, a choice, that has defined him from the very beginning.
...You wanna know what that assessment said?
Azael never expected Kamui to bring this up. During this long wait, he has revisited many memories, but this particular subject is one he has always steered clear of contemplating.
What's there to guess? Either the World Government shot it down... or you passed and got the green light.
Why else would Catrayv give you his solar essence? Why else would you make it to Babylonia...?
So what now? You here to rub it in? To wave your survival in my face—
You know why he did it. You've always known. You're just running away.
No matter what that report said, if we had to do it all over again, Catrayv would make the same choice. Every time.
...He noticed something was off with you way before any of us. But he didn't wanna put anyone in a tough spot.
He tried to make everyone's wishes come true, except his own.
And the reply Leif got from the World Government?
"All three seed candidates have passed the evaluation. After review, Ezette's support request is approved."
"The World Government will begin research and supply of artificial solar essence. Full support will be provided to all three candidates."
That's what we wanted to tell you. Back then.
...?
In this moment, Azael's heart—long as still as stagnant water—finally stirs. He looks toward Kamui in disbelief. How could this possibly be the outcome?
So... was it he who killed their hope with his own hands? The hope that belonged to him, to all of them?
With his own hands, he dragged three nearly-rising suns down into the abyss.
...Even if that was true... it would've ended the same way.
You know how it goes, Kamui. Hope comes first. Then it gets ripped away. And all that's left is despair.
Even with the World Government backing us, you think the modifications would've worked for sure? You think something else wouldn't have gone wrong?
Azael.
Do you remember Ezette's core creed?
Kamui cuts off Azael's wallowing, gazing up at the towering sun emblem as if it were a real, blazing star with the power to dispel all darkness.
For a moment, Azael is speechless. They were just speaking of this. He still doesn't understand why Kamui always does this, latching onto a single phrase and hammering it home again and again.
"To let no one among us ever lose their home again."
"To let... every person, every family, live under the light of the sun."
Most people who came here had already had their homes ripped apart. This place was always a shelter for those with nowhere else to go.
We'd already seen what loss looks like. So why keep being afraid of it?
When we built this new home with our own hands, we never once stressed about losing it again someday.
Because we knew... that a home could never really be destroyed.
Walls fell down? We built them back up. People left? New ones showed up. The ones who lived on? They moved forward in search of new hope.
War tore us apart, but it also brought us together. Even knowing life means losing people, means grief... we kept moving.
Because that's who we were. Naive, fearless fools.
And that courage was what kept our family alive and thriving.
Azael stops arguing. He is not completely oblivious to these truths. He once claimed to know every soul and every secret in Ezette intimately, so these thoughts haunt him without mercy.
How could he not feel regret? The very minds he loved now resist him; he can only mumble to their long-decayed remains, never again to hear them warmly speak his name.
He simply can't turn back now.
This is a prison he welded shut with his own hands, a cage with no escape. He must force himself to spin excuses and justifications, just to hold on until Kamui returns to finally give him release.
...You're right, Kamui.
In the name of "family," I've been clinging to life, struggling all this time...
This twisted fantasy... should've ended long ago.
AARGHH!!!
Azael, with his dying strength, steadies his weapon on a killing spot, making the choice to end his own sin-cursed life.
My... consciousness... will be gone...
Soon... there will be nothing left of me... in this body.
Then, you won't feel bad about this anymore, Kamui.
You can finally... take them home. What's left here... will be clean.
A home... unstained by me.
His consciousness scatters like dust motes in the wind. As his weary eyes begin to close for the last time, a torrent of memories washes over him.
Of all the souls he has crossed paths with, only Kamui is there with him at the end. He feels it all again: everything the troublemaker has woven into the fabric of his life.
The unfamiliarity and rejection. The tears and playfulness. The concern, attachment, longing, and gratitude.
Then, Azael finally sees that bright, clear light, just like the afternoon sun on Ezette's training ground, where he and Kamui once played without a care in the world.
Kamui... don't remember me... as I am now.
Don't remember... this Azael you hate and despise.
If you ever think of me again... only remember the Azael from before.
The one who protected Ezette with you. The one... who would never betray you.
That song... Do you still remember it? I taught you... how to sing it.
With sparks of life
Ah the sun comes back every dawn
'Cause hope never dies out in a war
Inner words
Inner words
Will the wind stretch to the horizon
Carrying silent prayers
The song fades away as the singer finally pulls himself from the mire. He dissolves into white feathers, becoming an invisible bird that flies beyond this cage.
You're finally free, Azael.
But the song isn't over yet, so Kamui's singing continues.
His voice trembles at first, but with each passing note, it grows more and more steady.
I hear your call
