From the Shadows, Comes Regret - P12 | S1

Location: Warehouse Base - Iustitia Clan Headquarters

A quiet dusk lingered outside the dilapidated warehouse that once pulsed with power and control. Now, silence reigned.

Inside, Rumoto stood motionless, his fingers resting on the hilt of his axe as Reiku sat nearby, pistols dismantled on the table before him -- but not for maintenance, just... for something to do.

"So this is it?" Reiku asked, voice seeming empty.
"Are we really just done?"
"The Iustitia Clan--"

"Is finished," Rumoto interrupted, regret in his voice. "Tyrant's dead. Rez's gone. Kayma, Zamy, Kuddle, Davie, and half of RJ&Co... Too many. Too fast."

The words hung like ghosts between them.
No talk of revenge. No schemes. No power struggles.
Just tired soldiers and shattered belief.

Rumoto, starting to tear up. "If only... I was Stron-"

"You were the strongest you could be." Reiku interrupted. "You're a Mana-less being but you still wield your Ice Magic through your Axe." Reiku stated, with eyes empty and her heart tightening.

Location: Eagle City's 'Ruliet' Office Building - RJ&Co Office

The top floor of their once-glorious high-rise HQ lays empty with boxes and dust. Walls bare, banners taken down, and the old sound of laughs, scheming, and talking, now all taken away by a petty war.

Para and Ina the only two left standing, knelt before three helmets laid in line: Casa, Loth, and Beau.

"We were supposed to rise together," Para whispered.
"I told you we were unstoppable."

Ina gritted her teeth, tears burning.

"Why didn't I die instead...?"

"You were our lights, but now all that is left is your shadows" Para added, eyes watering.

In the Silence, all that was heard was tears hitting the ground and hearts being broken.

Location: Hidden Fortress - Tenebris/Tyrannical Joint-Meeting

The stone roundtable, once the seat of carefully-planned strategy and brutal ambition, now bore only the bitter echo of what once was.

Tenebris and Tyrannical members sat with each other. There weren't many left.

"Kuro and Kai abandoned us," TLK mumbled.
"Gone into exile. Said they needed to find... meaning... beyond this war."

Mek slammed his fist on the table.

"Tyrant's gone... and we didn't even recover his body... it's like he was erased from this world but not our memories." He said, sounding angry yet sad.

No one spoke for a while. The war they'd wagered everything on ended with broken legacies, dead comrades, and no crown to claim.

Musi, Kuddle's adopted half fairy/half vampire daughter, walked up to the table, hollow-eyed.

"Kayma. Zamy. Dad. Everyone could've been saved. But I wasn't there, I was held back, but I told Dad that I would be good for the team. But he said no and wouldn't tell me the reason"

"I feel like he knew he was going to die..."

"Even Mister Ty is gone..."

"I don't even know what do anymore with myself or even this... place..."

Mek, angry, upset, and most of all, going down a spiral of despair.

"Abolish it."

The Moments Before the Fall

Faust, protecting her ally, facing what she thought was the enemy, -- then within a moment's notice, light faded around her, with her body being pulled into the darkness.

Davie, attempting to take out one of Astralla Clan's Leaders -- But the true darkness around him didn't just overwhelm his mind, but also his strength, dragging him off into the abyss.

Kayma, eyes wide as LuLu's blade pierced him with fire and turned him into ash.

Kuddle, trying to resurrect his fallen ally in the midst of chaos -- but becoming the focus of a bigger threat, making him disappear off the face of the planet.

Zamy, his scream of pain echoing as Toku's Spear drove itself through his torso.

In every heart, every mind, and in every moment, memories replayed.
Not as inspiration.
But as punishment.

Everyone didn't just lose allies -- they lost pieces of themselves.
Their... Family.

Location: Warehouse Base - Iustitia Clan Headquarters

Back in the warehouse, Rumoto stared at the wall. No maps. No missions. Just and empty-void.

"Maybe we deserved it," he muttered.
"Maybe we became the monsters we thought we were fighting."

Reiku finally stood, holstering the pistols she hadn't fired in days.

"Then maybe it's time we stop pretending to be anything else."

"And just go back to where we belong"

Rumoto, finally able to give a small smile.

"Ha, time to go back to the dumps then"

The Only Thought

As night fell across the fractured world, the remnants of former powers stayed scattered -- no longer enemies, but broken echoes of what was once a roaring storm.

And deep within the hearts of those left behind, one haunting truth whispered louder than any battle cry, than any order, than any chant, cast, or powerup:

"We survived. But at what cost?"