Two days ter.

  The Fifth Gate had begun to breathe again.

  What once was rubble and ash now echoed with footsteps, chatter, and purpose.

  Reinforcements had returned. Barracks refilled. Cleanup crews moved like veins through the Gate’s wounded body.

  But the scars hadn’t healed.

  Not yet.

  The cracked pza at the front of the gate where Sylvetta had fallen was being swept clean. The shattered stone had been repced with tarp and tents. Fresh uniforms moved between repair stations, whispering confusion.

  “What happened here?”

  “Why is half the eastern wall caved in?”

  “Was this really… just a simple accident?”

  The answers didn’t come easily. Only one phrase passed between every Gomōnban warrior like a shadow—

  “There was an attack.”

  Inside one of the restored chambers, Captain Kusanagi stood by the window, bandages around his arm, his tattered coat repced with his captains’ shinsei gai. His expression was quiet. Reflective.

  Ayase stepped beside him.

  “…You’re healing well,” Ayase noted.

  Kusanagi didn’t answer right away. Just nodded once.

  Then, softly, he asked, “What’s next?”

  Ayase looked out the same window. “The Elders have thrown an emergency meeting.”

  Kusanagi’s jaw tightened slightly. “I see.”

  Ayase continued, “My captain has gone to attend. To see what the matter is.”

  A small silence followed. Then—

  “…Of course she has,” Kusanagi said quietly, almost to himself. There was something in his voice. A heaviness.

  Ayase noticed.

  “I’m afraid I can’t stay much longer,” he said. “I must report back to the Jūmonban.”

  Kusanagi gave him a sidelong gnce.

  Ayase folded his hands behind his back. “But don’t worry. This felt like a test. The Kegare trying to measure our responses. Next time, I doubt it will be the same phantom—or the same gate.”

  Kusanagi’s hand clenched slightly. “…Whatever gate it is next time… make sure I know about it.”

  Ayase gave him a rare, genuine nod. “Of course. Captain.”

  His eyes shifted across the room—toward the group waiting near the central ptform.

  “And I’m sure,” he said, voice louder now, “you all have questions you want answered.”

  The squad looked up.

  “But unfortunately, I don’t have time to answer any of them.”

  He raised a hand, swirling Tamashkii into the air.

  A ripple shimmered open—an elevator like realm. The same kind that had brought them here.

  “You’ll return to the Ichimon to complete your training. When you next meet the captain, ask her what you need to know then.”

  He paused as the rift widened, light curling along the floor.

  Ren, Kaito, Yumi, Akira, and Ryuko stepped forward.

  Watari tilted his head. “You know, I can’t tell if you just hate answering questions—or if you’re just zy and always dump everything on Koharu.”

  Ayase smirked. “Sadly Hayashi, I don’t even have time to answer that question.”

  He stepped back, letting the rift light paint across the stone.

  “I trust you’ll all make the most of what you’ve learned.”

  And with that, he vanished into the mist.

  Watari nodded, then turned to Takeya.

  “Hey…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks for helping in that fight.”

  Takeya waved it off. “I didn’t do much. You’re the one who mastered all five forms.”

  Watari put an arm around him. “Didn’t do much?! You were the MVP out there. I couldn’t have taken her down without you…… but don’t tell Kaito I said that.”

  Takeya let out a light chuckle.

  Watari grinned. “Still… I knew you were the man for the job. Oh wait—”

  He snapped his fingers.

  “I still gotta expin that to Koharu.”

  Yumi elbowed him lightly. “Let’s go, idiot.”

  Watari ughed. “Hey, are you proud? I didn’t get my ass kicked this time.”

  She smiled. “Not completely. This one barely counts.”

  “Because you guys got the harder one,” Watari said, gncing at the others.

  He sighed, dragging his hand through his hair.

  “…But hey. Isn’t that just another day in the life of a Tamashkii—”

  “USER,” everyone groaned.

  Watari looked around. “Seriously?! Still nothing?”

  The others began stepping into the Rift.

  Ryuko hung back just a second, fumbling near the glowing edge.

  “…How does this thing even work?” he muttered.

  Ren leaned over. “Man. We’re never gonna understand it.”

  Ryuko squinted. “So we can’t just… leave him here?”

  Kusanagi chuckled under his breath.

  Then looked to the squad—steadier now, matured by battle.

  “Make sure you get to the Gomōnban as soon as possible for our training phase,” he said. “You all have great strength now. But with Chūkan knowledge and technique… you might just become the ones who turn the tide.”

  They didn’t say anything.

  But the weight of it nded.

  Watari looked back at him—more serious now.

  “You don’t have to tell us.”

  He stepped into the rift.

  “That was already our pn.”

  And with that—

  The rift closed.