Sakolomé was sitting atop a skyscraper, observing the city below. Wearing a red jogging suit, a matching open jacket over a black t-shirt, and combat glasses, he seemed lost in thought. His gaze scrutinized the moving civilization when a female voice resonated in his head.
"Sakolomé..."
Surprised, he stood up and looked around, but there was no one.
"Strange... I must have dreamed or hallucinated," he murmured before sitting back down.
As he contemplated the cars below again, the voice resonated once more:
"Sakolomé."
This time, he straightened up abruptly.
"Is someone there?" he asked aloud.
The voice replied directly in his mind:
"I'm not around you. I'm speaking to you telepathically."
"What? But who are you?" Sakolomé replied, perplexed.
"I am Rivhiamë. Listen carefully."
Sakolomé furrowed his brows but agreed to listen. An image appeared in his mind: a young woman with piercing red eyes, long white hair, dressed in a pristine robe. Her presence was imbued with a supernatural aura.
"I don't know you... Who are you exactly?" he asked, wary.
"I am Rivhiamë, a young demon who was once a friend of your father, Niyus," she revealed calmly.
The mention of his father made Sakolomé's eyes widen.
"My father? I don't understand... Everything seems to be happening so fast!"
Rivhiamë continued:
"Your brother Bakuzan was the first to meet me when I brought your father's lifeless body to him..."
Sakolomé listened attentively, trying to analyze everything. She explained that she had waited for Sakolomé to be emotionally ready to contact him.
Intrigued by this mysterious ally and her revelations about demons, he asked:
"Demons... Are they not all evil?"
Rivhiamë smiled inwardly:
"It depends. Some are good, others bad. You've been lucky to meet the good ones so far."
She continued telling him the story of his father and the battles he had fought against destructive forces like the God of Destruction. Sakolomé learned that Mü Thanatos was real and had intervened to stop the fight between Niyus and the God of Destruction.
"I don't know how, but is it possible to see this goddess? Every time you talk about her, I feel like it's a myth and you're just trying to get our attention," he said with a mix of curiosity and skepticism.
Rivhiamë replied:
"To be honest, even I don't know how you could meet her. Even when she appeared before Niyus, it was unexpected. If I had to say something objective, it's that being a deviant might spark her interest."
Sakolomé was intrigued:
"A deviant? What's that?"
"It's a living being who is neither a god, nor a demon, nor a dragon, yet rises to the rank of a great mythical being, reaching divine levels," Rivhiamë explained.
Sakolomé looked at the sky, trying to imagine this.
"I don't know where to place this, but it must be something truly extraordinary. You're telling me too many things, Rivhiamë, like how dragons exist too... It's too much information, I think..."
Rivhiamë chuckled softly:
"Haha... yes, for a human like you, it's indeed completely strange or nonsensical. But with me, you'll learn gradually. There's no rush. I don't know what Niyus expected from you, his children, but I'll do my best."
Sakolomé looked at the sky with a smile, strangely at peace.
"What are you doing, Sakolomé?" Rivhiamë asked.
"I'm strangely proud to be Niyus's son. He was a great man, truly, but one who worked in the shadows. Could I ever be exactly like him? Or better?" he replied with a soothing tone.
Rivhiamë laughed softly:
"You are his son; his blood runs through your veins, aren't you?"
Sakolomé closed his eyes delicately and smiled.
"Sakolomé?" a voice called behind him.
He remained indifferent, as if he knew who was calling. Rivhiamë replied in his mind:
"I'll talk to you more often, but now I'll leave you with your friend..."
Sakolomé responded internally:
"Alright... Rivhiamë!"
"Hey Sakolomé, are you listening?" the female voice behind him repeated.
Sakolomé stood up and remained standing, fixing his gaze on the horizon with his hands in his pockets. His hair and clothes fluttered in the wind. He turned his head and looked at the girl behind him with an indifferent and nonchalant gaze. It was Sally.
Sally looked at Sakolomé and said with a concerned expression:
"Sakolomé, are you okay since then?"
Sakolomé continued looking at Sally and smiled in a friendly manner.
"What do I look like, Sally?"
Then he closed his eyes and widened his smile even more, which gave Sally a visual answer. Sally also smiled.
"I'm so happy to see you. It's been two weeks already. I passed by your house, and they told me you were in the city, and while flying in the sky, I saw you on this skyscraper," she explained.
Sakolomé walked towards Sally and said:
"Anyway, we've moved on from Father's death. Come with me? Let's join Salomé and Bakuran at the beach."
Sally was intrigued:
"What are they doing there?"
Sakolomé took Sally's hand and replied:
"That, we won't know unless we go there. Come on!"
Then he let go of Sally's arm and flew off first under her gaze, who watched him move away.
Sally smiled and flew as well.
"Wait for me, Sakolomé!!!" she called out.
On the beach, the waves made noise. Salomé was sitting on the sand, watching the waves crash on the shore. She seemed thoughtful, her gaze at the horizon, her hair in the wind. She was wearing a large gray sweater, blue shorts, and striped black and white socks.
In her concentration, she breathed in and out a bit harder, then said:
"I really hope I can spare us from that future..."
Her attention was suddenly caught by two people landing on the beach.
"Salomé!!" one of them called out.
Salomé stood up smiling.
"Sally, I'm here!!"
It was Sakolomé and Sally who had just arrived. They joined Salomé and then headed towards Bakuran, who was also on the beach, wearing a large white t-shirt and black pants.
"Are you here to relax on the beach too?" Bakuran asked.
Sally replied:
"No, we came to join you. Besides, I really wanted to see you. I hadn't seen you in two weeks already."
Salomé replied to Sally:
"You've missed me too, Sally."
Sally was touched and took Salomé in her arms.
"You're always so adorable!!"
Sakolomé and Bakuran watched them without knowing what to do. Sally noticed their gaze and said:
"What? Have you never seen people showing affection?"
Sakolomé and Bakuran quickly looked away, looking elsewhere with embarrassed expressions, which made the scene funny for Salomé, who laughed.
After that, Sakolomé, Bakuran, Sally, and Salomé decided to return to the Satsujin Otoko home. They found Bakuzan cleaning the courtyard.
"Ah... Sally, it's been a while," Bakuzan said.
Sally replied:
"I'm so happy to see you. You don't know how much."
Salomé intervened:
"It's normal; you're one of us now. You're going to marry Sakolomé and become a Satsujin Otoko!!"
Sakolomé and Sally blushed at Salomé's words. Bakuran and Bakuzan laughed.
"So, are you our future sister-in-law?" Bakuzan added.
Sally, embarrassed, replied:
"Come on, that's just nonsense!!"
Sakolomé, also embarrassed, intervened:
"Stop teasing her, you guys!"
Later in the evening, Amu came out of the house and looked at her children gathered with Sally, all laughing. She smiled, happy to see this, and said inwardly:
"Niyus... our children are really strong. Since your death, they've managed to move on and become even more united than before. But the biggest and strangest change is in Bakuzan. Since your death, he's been intrinsically linked to me. He trains but at home and responds to everything I ask him. He even does chores for me without me asking, always by my side... Do you think he might be watching over me? Trying to protect me from potential danger? My poor and adorable son maybe doesn't want to take over, but I understand him so much... hihi..."
Sally went to see Amu and shared the joy of seeing her again. Later, an unexpected visit was announced: that of Ramos. He had come after learning of Niyus's death while on a mission in Gu-HoiT City. He warmed hearts, made everyone laugh, and organized a small picnic for the next day, where everyone had a great time.
Despite all this, the future was not reassuring. Niyus had not won his battle, and Grijan was still scheming in the shadows. What would the future hold for the Satsujin Otoko exactly?