Sakolomé remained frozen. Silent. Sally's words still echoed in his mind, but he found nothing to say. He simply stared at the rain-soaked ground, as if searching for answers where there were none.
Suddenly, Sally furrowed her brow, clenched her fists.
Sally (accusing): Why are you saying nothing, Sakolomé? Why do you always keep that damn silence? Sometimes I feel like you care about the whole world… except your own family.
Sakolomé (shouting): NO! YOU'RE WRONG!!
Sally (yelling): Oh yeah? Then why did Bakuzan fall, huh?! You were the closest to him, the one who could understand him! YOU WERE THE BEST PLACED TO HELP HIM!
Sakolomé (breaking down): Bakuzan… he has always been stronger than me. In every way. Mentally, physically… I thought he was handling everything. He advised us, reassured us, he smiled…
His voice broke.
Sakolomé: …I believed he was okay.
Sally (screaming): DO YOU EVEN LISTEN TO YOURSELF?!
She lunged at him, slapping him violently, sending him to the ground. Sakolomé collapsed, unable to react. Carried away by anger and pain, Sally sat heavily on top of him, pinning him down, and began to hit him, fist after fist.
Sally (hitting): IDIOT! YOU HIDE IN SILENCE AS IF IT WILL FIX EVERYTHING! YOU DON'T TRY TO UNDERSTAND! YOU DON'T TRY TO SEE WHAT HE WAS GOING THROUGH!!
In the bushes, Salomé trembled. She didn't know whether to come out or look away.
Sally (crying, screaming): You think Bakuzan was untouchable? That he didn't suffer? You think he couldn't have needed help too?!
She raised both arms in a desperate motion. One strike, this time stronger. But she held back at the last second, bringing her fist down just beside Sakolomé's head, into the damp earth.
She stayed there, panting, tears streaming down her face, mixing with the rain.
Then, in a broken whisper, she murmured into his ear:
Sally (whispering): I hate you, Sakolomé…
Those words pierced him. His eyes widened in shock. He had seen nothing coming. Understood nothing.
Sally got up without a word, looked up at the overcast sky, then turned away.
Sally: I'm leaving.
And she turned on her heels, walking away in the rain, her footsteps drowned in the patter of the shower.
Sakolomé, still on the ground, remained lying down. His empty gaze scanned the clouds. The rain fell on him without reaction. He closed his eyes… as if to flee, or sleep, or disappear.
But suddenly, he felt a presence. A figure above him.
He opened his eyes. It was Salomé.
She stood there, soaked to the bone, tears in her eyes.
Sakolomé (hoarse voice): Salomé… You're here to tell me I was useless too?
Salomé (crying): Big brother… Everything is happening just like in my dream. Dad is dead. And now… Bakuzan lets himself be devoured by darkness.
Those words woke Sakolomé. He sat up abruptly, suddenly seized by a start.
Sakolomé (alarmed): Your dream… it's getting more and more worrying. Tell me, Salomé. Tell me everything.
She nodded, wiping her tears with the back of her sleeve.
Salomé: It was when I was looking for shells on the beach, with Aquila. There was… a huge beast, then an explosion. And after that… I started having this dream. In it, I saw a strange creature. A god, a spirit, I don't know. But it wasn't like us. It was called… Velda. Or Veldana.
Sakolomé's eyes widened again. His heart skipped a beat.
A memory struck him full force.
A silhouette, a cemetery. A strange voice.
"My name is Veldana. I am a demon from the underworld. I have existed for more than ten billion years."
A little demon, with a helmet shaped like a goat's skull.
Sakolomé snapped out of his reminiscence.
Sakolomé (whispering): …Veldana.
After whispering the name Veldana, his gaze hardened, resolute, as if a spark had just rekindled something long buried.
Salomé (surprised): You know her?
Sakolomé (staring into the void): Maybe… Did she tell you who would want to come after us?
Salomé slowly nodded.
Salomé: Yes… I think there are two. One of them was called… Gaïus.
Sakolomé (stepping back): Gaïus?!
That name hit him hard. Yet, in Salomé's memories, she knew no Gaïus. A strange disconnect. An unease settled.
Sakolomé (more serious): And the other? Do you remember his name?
Salomé: Not really… but I think I recognized Dr. Grijan.
Sakolomé's fists clenched with a slow menace.
Sakolomé: …Dr. Grijan, huh? Very well. I know what I have to do now.
Salomé (worried): What? What are you going to do?
But Sakolomé said nothing. He turned on his heels and started walking straight ahead, without a word. Salomé, lost, followed him without asking more questions.
They returned home. Sakolomé went upstairs, still followed by his sister. He entered his room and slammed the door behind him, leaving Salomé outside.
Salomé (softly knocking on the door): Big brother… What are you doing? Tell me what you plan to do…
No sound came back to her.
Salomé (pleading): Please, answer me! I need to understand!
The door opened slowly.
Sakolomé appeared, transformed.
He wore a red outfit resembling a combat suit, a black t-shirt visible under the open jacket. His hands were gloved in black, combat goggles partially masked his gaze. But that gaze… red, intense, calm… was no longer that of a broken man.
Salomé (almost whispering): Big brother…?
Sakolomé (serious but gentle): Stay here, Salomé. Take care of mother. It's important.
He started to move, ready to leave.
Salomé (running after him): But… where are you going?!
He stopped at the doorway, then turned his head, a slight melancholic smile on his lips.
Sakolomé: I'm going to find Bakuzan. And change that frightening future you saw in your dream.
Salomé felt her legs tremble. Her eyes filled with tears.
Salomé (trembling voice): Big… brother...
Sakolomé (half turning): And by the way… go see Sally. Talk to her about Gaïus. You must stop him before he acts.
Salomé (surprised): Sally knows Gaïus?
Sakolomé (staring at the horizon): I know him too. But yes, Sally is probably the best placed to neutralize him.
She then saw, in Sakolomé's eyes, something new. Something she had never seen before.
Hope.
The future… might just be changing.
Without thinking, she ran to him and hugged him.
Salomé (in tears): Thank you… thank you from the bottom of my heart, big brother. I love you.
Sakolomé gently tousled her hair, a peaceful smile on his lips. And silently, he thought:
Bakuzan… you can finally rest. I'm taking over. I will protect you all. From now on, I will bear alone the weight of our pains, our regrets, our wounds. For our family.