Taiyou Family Restaurant, 6:03 PM...
The restaurant was already closed at around 6:00 PM, but only on that particular Wednesday since that was the day that Mizuhashi Hideoki would do a certain ritual. But it was a secret ritual that only his cousin knew.
Before he decided to do the ritual, he was in his working station to prepare the ingredients needed by the next day. As he did so, he was also watching the 6:00 night news. But a certain headline caught his attention. He wasn't too sure about it, though.
Hideoki stopped slicing the vegetables and increased the volume of the TV for him to be able to hear the news.
~"This afternoon, at 1:30, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 8.7 struck the area near Mt. Kumamoto, killing 312 people..."~
But Hideoki wasn't busy concentrating on the report but on the series of footage overlooking the damage of the aforementioned earthquake. Not only did the scattered bodies of the victims shock him, but also the other damages around the scene. What put him in a state of disbelief was the fact that the damage was something the earthquake didn't do.
"This can't be..." were the only words Hideoki could ever utter in shock.
But despite being in shock, he knew one thing.
The victims... moreover, the children... They didn't die because of the earthquake. Whatever caused the earthquake to happen became the catalyst for the perpetrators to kill them.
It was the terrifying truth that lies in it that Hideoki had been afraid of ever since.
He felt weakened at the truth flashing in his mind about the news. He collapsed to his knees as he kept shaking his head.
"Don't tell me... It's time already? Mariko... don't tell me you knew this would happen?"
xxxxxx
Hoshizora Bookstore, same time...
The owner Kinmura Nanami, the cousin of Mizuhashi Hideoki, was busy putting newly-arrived books on their designated shelves. She had already closed her store so she wasn't worried about incoming customers-most of them were either bookworms or just people who wanted to read a few books to pass the time. As she did so, she was watching the news on TV.
But the currently airing news headline about a field trip that went bad caused Nanami to unconsciously drop the other books she was holding. Her eyes were wide open as she watched the news in shock. She proceeded to increase the volume of her TV to hear it even clearer. It was for her to know that it wasn't a dream or maybe even a nightmare at all.
'312 people, including elementary students, die in a field trip mishap. The cause of the 8.7 magnitude earthquake, is still undetermined.'
It was that byline that made Nanami know something was weird. What supported her theory was the series of footage with regards to the disastrous event. Being the one familiar with different types of wounds, the sight of the injuries of the victims made her know what exactly killed those teachers and students on that mountain.
"Someone... broke one of the seals?" Nanami managed to utter before continuing to watch the news about the disastrous field trip. After watching it, she went to a cabinet on the counter and took a decorated chest box from there.
Nanami carefully looked at the crest engraved on the top of the chest box. It was a fully bloomed lotus flower with its five visible petals having five different colors, starting from red, blue, green, yellow, and white.
"Mariko... if that time had come already, I want you and the others to guide them all the way. Don't let them suffer even more than they all had for the past 10 years since that fire..." she whispered as she touched the chest box as carefully as she could.
With a distraught expression that gradually changed into a determined one, she decided to finish what she had to do first before heading to her cousin's house.
xxxxxx
Well, if one could describe the word "disaster", the death of almost 400 people and counting in one day would have been one of the best pictures for it. Too many bodies were scattered everywhere around the mountain area. Rescuers, police, and even nearby villagers were doing their best to find at least a few survivors in that area.
But there was no such luck.
The police did state to the reporters that the earthquake killed the students, along with their teachers. But they purposely left out one important piece of information and decided not to mention it to the media at all.
Many of the victims died not because of the earthquake. Their perpetrator wasn't nature's wrath but a ruthless murderer wielding bladed weapons sharp enough to slice their bodies open, killing them instantly. What was even weirder was the scorched boulder near the scene where they found two more bodies---one belonged to a boy (Kouta) and a teacher.
Even normal humans could feel that something ominous was lurking around the area.
If only they knew, that ominous feeling would soon spread out to continue an ancient agenda-one that threatens to destroy everything...
xxxxxx
Mizuhashi Mansion...
Things couldn't get any weirder.
Before finding out one by one that Hideoki wasn't in his working station of the Taiyou Sweets and Pastry Shop or the kitchen of the mansion, Shuichi, Eichirou, Itsuki, Misae, and Erika had found themselves arriving at the house's gate almost at the same time.
"This has never happened before... AT ALL!" Eichirou stated with a laugh.
Shuichi nodded. "I agree."
"Well, maybe because we're all hungry," Misae said.
"...or we're just afraid of getting scolded by Hideoki-san if we come home late for dinner," Itsuki added placidly.
Erika sighed. "And we'll be scolded even more if we stay here any longer. We have to find Hideoki-san first since he wasn't at the restaurant."
"That rarely ever happens," Misae commented.
But Eichirou immediately stopped in his tracks and the others noticed.
"What's wrong, Eichirou-san? Did you forget something?" Erika asked.
Eichirou shook his head. "Nothing. I just remembered that today is important to us. Especially for Dad..."
The other four exchanged glances at each other. At that point, it all hit them.
"Mariko-san's death anniversary..." Shuichi muttered.
"...which makes tomorrow a specially sad day for the four of us, as well," Itsuki stated. "After all..."
"...it will be our parents' death anniversary," Misae finished.
"Well, before we all become gloomy around here, let's do something about dinner. I guess Dad left without even cooking dinner for the five of us," Eichirou said, breaking the gloomy atmosphere surrounding them.
Agreeing to that, the rest entered the house to follow Eichirou.
For the past 10 years since the hotel fire that took their parents' lives, the Mizuhashi mansion had been the house where Shuichi, Misae, Itsuki, and Erika resided and where they had grown up. They grew up together like siblings, and Eichirou treated them as such. Among the group, only Eichirou wasn't the person whom one would call a total orphan. He still had his father who, in turn, had become the other four's guardian. Hideoki saved them from the fire and raised them all these years. But Eichirou's mother Mizuhashi Mariko died of a terminal illness 2 years before the hotel fire.
In a way, Eichirou knew what it was like to lose someone important in life. He was a Mama's boy, after all.
The five of them were surprised to see dinner served and ready to be eaten on the dining table.
"I guess Dad didn't forget our stomachs, after all," Eichirou commented.
"You're the only one who thinks like that, Eichirou-san," Itsuki retorted, which earned him a pout and a slight glare from Eichirou.
"Mou! Itsu-chan's mean to me again!"
Misae and Shuichi just smiled while Erika giggled.
"Then stop acting like a baby if you want Itsuki-kun to treat you nicely," Misae said as she began to help the others serve the dinner.
When the five of them already sat in their designated seats, Shuichi looked around one more time. "I hope Hideoki-san wouldn't mind if we eat dinner without him."
"We'll just ask forgiveness if he did get angry about that," Erika said.
"Itadakimasu!"
And the dinner started without Hideoki, who would usually sit on a chair designated for the head of the household. It felt weird, that the other family jester wasn't having dinner with them. Now, it felt sort of incomplete without Hideoki.
"I wonder what happened. Dad doesn't usually forget to have dinner with all of us, even during Mom's death anniversary," Eichirou started in the middle of their dinner.
"That's not the only weird thing that happened today," Misae said as she was done munching her food. "Did you guys see the news? The one about the earthquake at Mt. Kumamoto."
"You guys saw it, too? It was a total disaster," Eichirou commented as he resumed eating his food. This time, he put a spoonful of it right in his mouth.
"But if it was in Mt. Kumamoto, shouldn't we have felt it, too? I mean, we're only a few kilometers away from the site," Erika stated.
"Something's off about it," Shuichi added.
"About what?" Misae asked. "The earthquake? It's a natural disaster. Mother Nature can be extremely surprising sometimes."
"Not the earthquakes. The deaths," Itsuki answered nonchalantly while busy slicing the meat on his plate.
"I only saw a few about the bodies lying in the mountain where the field trip took place. But Itsuki's right. The earthquake isn't the one considered weird. It's how the victims died," Shuichi added.
Erika shrugged. "The earthquake is still considered weird to me, Shuichi-san. I mean, they couldn't locate the epicenter of the quake even after using all of their instruments to determine that."
"What could've caused it, I wonder?" Misae mumbled.
xxxxxx
Tareus Dimension...
Eternal darkness filled with an ominous aura... This was probably one of the most concrete descriptions of this place. In the center of that dark evil dimension lies a large mass used as a platform by the crystalline fortress that floated there.
It was a fortress called the Fortress of Dark Screams.
For the past 5,000 years since the dimension was last opened, it had been the realm where the dark force that once threatened the world's safety was sealed. But revenge could be a very powerful drive for those who were determined to destroy the very world they once wanted to conquer.
A child's curiosity rendered one of the ancient warrior's seals to be broken.
"Foolish humans... Who would've thought that a boy's curiosity will break one of the five seals that the wretched Priestess of Life and her retainers had cast upon our kind?" the Dark Shadow Emperor Darshao muttered with a maniacal laugh. He was sitting on his throne inside the top tower of the Tareus Castle inside the Fortress of Dark Screams, ever proud of his demonic-looking subjects as he eyed them all with a smile---or maybe it was more of... a smirk?
"I guess she's not as powerful as we all thought she was," one of the 7 Great Shadow Defenders, the revered deadliest Assassin Alvre, stated.
"She is powerful, Alvre. We wouldn't have been sealed for the past 5,000 years if she wasn't," the Wise Orcus, another of the 7 Great Shadow Defenders, said.
"But now, one of the seals was broken. We wouldn't have to worry about her appearing before us to stop our plan of rising to the surface and destroying the Earth for good," Nemia, the Shinobi and a part of the 7 Great Shadow Defenders, responded.
The rest of the Defenders faced Emperor Darshao and bowed.
"What is your plan, Your Majesty?"
No words came out of the leader's mouth... at least for a while.
"We need to make sure that no one will ever stop us from destroying this world that she protected."
"That's already possible, Your Majesty," Commander of the 7 Great Shadow Defenders Karkino said. "The Priestess of Life was already dead. She died right after sealing us 5,000 years ago. No one will be able to stop us from implementing our plan."
"Do you know the Priestess' ability that much, Karkino?" Orcus interjected. "Her body might have been gone but her powers weren't."
Karkino growled. "Do your own business, Orcus! Stay with your precious scrolls and rot with them." After that, he stormed out of the Throne Room.
"Tsk! Karkino... He's ever the short-tempered one," Nemia commented before facing Orcus with a calculating stare. "Are you sure about what you said earlier, Orcus?"
"Orcus had never been wrong, Nemia," the most aggressive Defender, General Siriso, stated. "Five thousand years of stealing the scrolls using the small gaps from the 5 seals and studying all of those related to the Priestess of Life provided him the knowledge we need to continue our plan."
"Hmm... It seems to me you have your plan, General," Alvre said with a knowing evil smile.
Her words caught Emperor Darshao's attention. "Is that true, Siriso?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Siriso replied with a bow. "I'll do the initial plan to ensure that no one will try and be reckless to defy us and our powers. If there are such beings, I'll immediately proceed with the plan to destroy them forever."
Darshao nodded, seemingly agreeing with the General's plan.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" And with that, Siriso vanished.
Darshao's grip on the hilt of his sword tightened as he recalled the humiliation he received from the wretched Priestess 5,000 years ago.
'Everything you've protected all this time, Priestess... I'll make sure to let you see the destructive end of it!'
A growl of frustration and determination resonated throughout the entire Tareus Castle, causing the ground where the fortress stood to tremble badly.
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