In the slums of Hunturist, there's a hike in the wall bar awaiting the evening patrol. At the bar sits a man with a sword in its sheath and a helmet on his head.


The bartender talks to the man.


“You going to buy something, son? Or what?”


“The name’s Pain. I'll have Whiskey.”


“How do you like it?”

Uirusu finds himself in the Hunturest Athenaeum, sporting Nova's trench coat and oxygen shroud. He reads the city's history. Hunturest was not as industrialized as it is now; two decades ago, it was struck by a great economic depression. He reflects on the story Tengu told him of his mother, Aerial, and father, Aegis, as he reads.


He remembers what Tengu said that Uirusu's father, Aegis, said.


"Not much further now,

A large bedroom is seen. A queen-sized bed is surrounded by a curtain, and there is a desk offset in the corner with large textbooks atop it. A luxurious cushioned chair is beside the bed, and an older woman is sitting in it. In the bed, an elegant young woman is brushing her hair as she speaks to the older woman.


“I can’t stay here long, Granny Hinatashi.”


Then Hinatashi responds with a question.

A
dreg thug is blasted against a tree by a pillar of flame as his body
is engulfed in the inferno.
“ERG!
When the boss- AUUUUUGHHH!”
“What
were you saying? Humph”
Blaze
burned the man to ashes, then turned to pounce on another dreg that
was behind him. He took a flame whip his attacker’s neck, burning
the dreg, and tossing him with a spin across the forest floor like a
rock skipping water. Birds scatter from their roost as sounds of
agony echo throughout the dense thicket. As the pilla

Nova
awakens in a dense forest where a circle of moon light shines through
the canopy and onto him. He mumbles from regaining consciousness, due
to the vacuum snare recently wearing off. Nova stumbles to his feat,
leaning against a tree. Nova regains control of his center of
gravity, and brushes trench coat off, then peers into the moonlit
sky.
"Figures..."
Nova grumbled in a cocky tone.
Nova
had no interest in returning to the moon immediately. Without Luna's
band, he wouldn't be able

An
arcane section of the continental forest, did not harbor the chirps
of crickets, owls, or frogs, instead a meeting of a somewhat secluded
community was gathered together for special event. Torches planted
into the trees, the flames bore the resemblance to a symbol,
indicating the group's insignia, as a gathering of people in tan
robes, cowls, and frocks, baring the mark the fire danced into. In
the middle of the mob was a eager looking young boy, sporting a loin
cloth and an elderly man who a

Now
morning, Uirusu emerges from intensive care to meet a bustling
sidewalk, typical of any other day.
"You're
a cop now?"
Uirusu
turns to see Aiori waiting outside on a bench.
"No,
why do you ask?"
"My
mother and I saw the news this morning. Were worried. She wants to
know what kind of life are you living? Do you want to die?"
"Is
there something wrong with what I did?"
"You
could have died, fighting that thing!"
"It
wasn't a fight I wanted

There
was a wide panel of a variety of controls and keyboards. There are
test tubes with what appear to be human organs preserved for later
use. Professor Cypher lays on an operating table, with his skull
removed, needles with cords connected to them that dug into through
the bone and into his brain. The opposite end of the wires reach to
super computer, displaying Big Punk's current position. Sordid types
on a keyboard, the screens light reflects off of his reading glasses.
"Big
Punk is al

Uirusu
makes his way back to the destroyed girl's home. He finds the
tire-tracks of the Dregs' caravan. Following their trail, the tracks
eventually disappear. Closing his eyes, he suddenly feels a sight
take hold in his mind's eye. His stride became very hesitated as he
walked as if guided by a temporal entity. Walking for miles in the
wilderness, Uirusu eventually was led to a abandoned mine shaft. A
cold wind blew from the tunnel, encouraging him to open his eyes. He
sees a rusted mine cart

The
following morning. The children try to salvage what they can from
what was left.
Seiya
spoke to Uirusu as she watches the children rummage through what was
their home.
"Aiori..."
Uirusu
looks down then to the ashes.

"Forgive me. I will reunite you with your daughter"
Seiya
looks to him.

"Have I become selfish...?"
"With
your love, that's impossible. I don't think that may of been the last
of them, making this location insecure. You all must go."

A ragtag band of miscreants lead by
Gyp, are preparing to storm the Takemoto girls home. Transported by
their caravan of tank trucks, Drub then question's their status to
Gyp.
"Headin' in the right direction
sir?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, stopping
your ass, and keep the hell up with the scheme of things."
Sordid and Drub are driving and Gyp
is in the back seat, behing them on motor cycles are peons of thei
gang as they approach the ouside of the wooded area that will lead
them to t

Night has fallen. There is a
neighboring small settlement. There, many of its citizens are nestled
in their beds, a few men as guards are out, at post, patrolling
around the perimeter. One sees something and starts to investigate.
In one cottage a mother is cleaning while her children are in bed.

Crashing through them window is a
napalm fireball and through the door, barging in by kicking the door
down are gangsters. This is happening to most of the homes in the
village by the organization kno

Next morning, Uirusu is paying his
respects to Tengu's makeshift grave, bandages cover Uirusu's shoulder
and wrap around his chest beneath his sando. The birds chirp with the
rise of the morning sun. Uirusu takes what he can from his camp site
and is prepared to sojourn to find whatever he secretly can about the
occult of purgatory without himself mentioning it.

Uirusu sighs solemnly.

Uirusu, now making his way to the
edge of the wilderness, comes to a shallow but flowing stream. He
takes a

Tengu channels his mana to the palm
of his hand.

"Dare you disobey me?!"
Tengu shouted.
He lashes out at Uirusu with a
whip-like energy slash, tearing through his garment top, slicing
through his flesh, shredding out blood, as Tengu continues to punish
Uirusu, Uirusu grabs Tengu by his wrist with one of his shadow
tentacles, ceasing Tengu's attack.

"Stop" Uirusu
murmured.
Tengu redirects his mana to the
other hand, and fires an energy spike, the width of a ne