“Looks like I got here just in time,” Sora greets, breaking the silence as Ken tries to make sense of the destruction he witnessed. Ken is about to thank him, but Sora holds his hand up. “Before that, I just need to do something.” He turns around and shouts, “YOU CAN COME OUT NOW–”

  The man with glasses he saw earlier appears behind Sora–two young children with him–and taps his shoulder, startling him. “You don’t need to shout, we weren’t far.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you and your mom not to do that?” He complains as he fixes his composure.

  Ken looks back at his group: Stella is busy reviewing the footage Melanie took, while Melanie herself is staring deeply at the man in glasses. Bristol, on the other hand, is looking around, nervous about any more Ascenders appearing. Ken is the only one watching what is happening.

  Returning to Sora, he is busy gloating about the fight, even striking some of the poses. The young boy seems to be the only one excited, while the girl is watching with a blank expression. The man with glasses, on the other hand, seems embarrassed.

  Putting aside the savagery Sora displayed, Ken builds up the courage to speak to him. Sora is distracted playing with the boy, as if the chaos around him is non-existent. Clearing his throat to attract his attention, Sora notices him waiting for him.

  “Sorry, sorry. I got a little carried away,” Sora laughs. He introduces the people with him, and he first points at the one in glasses. “This is my eldest son: Danzo. He is accompanying me today.” Danzo weakly waves back at him, his neatly middle-parted black hair, black formal clothing, and gentle smile betraying his uncomfortable greeting. Looking closer, he shares some features with Agami.

  Sora then points to the two children. “These two bundles of joy are my youngest: Vito and Maria. As you can probably tell, they’re twins. It’s my turn to babysit them today.”

  The twins share the same height but are opposites of one another: The boy’s hair is grey and spiky, while his sister's hair is dark and neatly tied in a ponytail. His eyes are sharp and aggressive, while her eyes are gentle and modest. She is wearing a tidy dress, while the boy wears a shirt with a superhero on it. They share almost nothing besides their father.

  Maria gently bows and greets, “It is nice to meet you.”

  Vito, on the other hand, gives a disinterested look and greets, “Yo!”

  “Manners, Vito!” Maria scolds her twin brother. The two begin arguing and ignore the group. Laughing nervously, Sora walks forward to speak to Ken.

  “Sorry about that, they are going through a phase.” He crosses his arms. “Back to the issue at hand. Good job on the intel. We were able to find out some useful stuff. It would be unfair to throw you to the wolves, so we are going to move you into our place for the next couple of days.”

  Ken raises an eyebrow and asks, “We’ll be staying with you?”

  “Yep! Usually, I would have some Slayers come pick you up and keep you safe, but it seems a bit unnecessary since it's only a couple of days.”

  “What do you mean?” Ken asks, his questions only growing in number.

  “Basically, Baltro is holding a big event called the Ascension. According to our in-house expert, it is his final step in this cult or whatever before they go on to world domination. It is happening over the next couple of days, and we know where he will be. Once there, we face him, win, and then you are free to do whatever you want.”

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  The way Sora smiles and speaks about Baltro, it’s as if the Ascenders and their plans are only a hindrance.

  “Are you sure you can stop him?” Ken asks.

  “Definitely, but enough questions. Just pack up what you guys need, and we will make our way back to the others.”

  Ken nods and walks over to Stella and her group; they are waiting for him to share what Sora told him. This feels too clean and simple.

  “Since we are being targeted by the Ascenders, Sora thinks it's best right now for us to stay with him and his team for the next couple of days. Mainly until they can stop them once and for all,” Ken explains.

  “Nice! I will go grab my stuff!” Stella smiles and runs to fetch her stuff.

  Ken sighs and says, “As I was about to say, you guys should grab what you will need for the next couple of days until this is sorted. Bristol quietly nods and follows Stella. It seems this situation has shaken him. The only one still waiting is Melanie. “Is something wrong?”

  She stands next to him and covers the side of her mouth, whispering, “Is that guy a part of his team?”

  Ken looks over and realizes she means Danzo, unsure why she wants to know, he simply says, “Well, that is his son, so I guess so. Why?”

  She smiles and says, “Look at how cool he is. He is exactly my type!” She peeks at him before returning. “Do you know his name?”

  “His name is Danzo.”

  “Danzo! Got it. I will go grab my stuff, and I’ll be right back.” She runs to the destroyed house to get her belongings. Ken looks back at Danzo, who is busy on the phone, unsure if Melanie is always like this or if it is due to the lack of sleep.

  With everyone gone, Ken walks around the yard, looking for Senzo’s corpse. As he looks, he is still unsure if he wants to find his body. While a majority of the bodies were absorbed by Farah when she transformed, the ones that were too far remained. There are no corpses near the house, so he began to walk to the wreckage. Near the other side of the road, he finds a corpse that had similar clothing to Senzo's. Upon moving closer, he looks at the face.

  It is Senzo.

  Ken feels his heart drop. The droning sound in his ears returns, and the world is closing in on him. He remembers Melanie’s advice and focuses on his breathing. He takes deep breaths, calming his nerves. He can’t be shaken by something like this.

  After a few minutes, he somewhat regains his posture. He just stares at the corpse, the gaping hole in its chest not bothering him.

  How should I feel? I already mourned…didn’t I? He remembers the first time Senzo met him. He remembers the times they went to Arduo Cafe and how Senzo was kicked out for trying a little too hard with the barista. Ken had to apologise on his behalf before they were allowed back. You were a brother and my saviour. You didn’t deserve this. The amount of trust you have in me and the expectations. He can’t feel anything in him anymore. I– His mind goes blank. He does not know what else he can say.

  Ken feels someone place their hands on his shoulder.

  “It never gets easier, especially when it’s someone you know.” Ken looks back to find Sora watching over his shoulder. He returns to Senzo. “I saw this guy trying to speak to you. You know him?” He sits on the curb facing Ken.

  “Yeah…He was like a brother to me.” Why am I telling him this?

  “Makes sense. You were about to go to them, but luckily I stepped in.”

  Ken doesn’t respond. He did not have time to process it. But now seems like the best time. Sora sits quietly, watching.

  A few minutes later, he speaks, “Have to admit, Baltro loves using that little trick.”

  “Trick?”