Shinji Shirodo's words deeply resonated with Sougo.
In many ways, he and Shinji were alike. As he walked past a store, he caught sight of his reflection in a transparent glass panel. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the watch Woz had given him.
At that moment, a familiar figure appeared in the reflection—it was Kagami Sougo, his mirror self.
"So, you've finally decided to accept it?" the reflection asked lightly.
"Accept that you'll become the most feared and ruthless Demon King?"
Sougo shook his head. "No, I don't want to be a ruthless Demon King. My goal is to become the most benevolent one."
Kagami Sougo smirked. "And you think you can accomplish that with just pretty words?"
"No," Sougo replied firmly. "I have both kindness and ruthlessness within me. I can speak of beautiful ideals, but I also harbor dark thoughts. These two sides are both part of me. You are me, and I am you! If I don't accept this, there will be no future."
His mirror self seemed taken aback. After a brief silence, he asked, "Aren't you afraid of the future? Afraid of the Day of the Devil?"
"Yes," Sougo admitted. "But because I'm afraid, I want to take a gamble on my future self."
After a moment's hesitation, Kagami Sougo extended his hand, revealing a golden watch. "Take this."
"What is it?" Sougo asked.
"The one who can unite light and darkness, past and future—that is the true king," the reflection said before merging back into Sougo.
The transformation was complete.
The audience watching was deeply moved.
"What Sougo said makes a lot of sense. Everyone has a dark side."
"Yeah, no one is perfect. Accepting your flaws and controlling them is what matters."
---
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Gates was struggling against Longya. No matter how hard he attacked, Longya rebounded every strike effortlessly.
Determined, Gates made up his mind. "If that's how it is, I'll have to use that technique!"
White Woz's eyes widened in shock. "Savior, are you really going to…?!"
Tsukuyomi, worried, called out, "Gates, don't!"
Ignoring their warnings, Gates activated his final move. "The End Moment! Time Blast!"
Soaring into the air, he launched a powerful kick straight at Longya.
"Boom!"
Longya was struck, resulting in a massive explosion. Fire and debris scattered in all directions.
However, as expected, a mirror suddenly appeared, and from it emerged another version of Gates. This mirrored version delivered a devastating counterattack, sending Gates flying.
His armor shattered, exposing his real body. His transformation watch fell to the ground, completely destroyed.
Tsukuyomi ran to him in despair. "Gates!"
She and Gates had come from the same era. They shared a deep bond forged through hardship. Seeing him like this filled her with grief.
White Woz, too, was panicking. "Savior!"
He had always believed in Gates. If Gates failed, who else could defeat Oma Zi-O and save the world?
At that moment, Sougo arrived.
Tsukuyomi, her voice trembling, said, "Sougo, Gates…"
Sougo remained calm. "I knew this would happen. I already foresaw it."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a watch.
Suddenly, time seemed to rewind.
The battlefield changed.
Once again, Gates was in midair, preparing his attack.
"The End Moment!"
Tsukuyomi, as before, ran forward, shouting, "Stop!"
But this time, just as Gates reached the peak of his jump, something changed. His attack failed to execute, and he fell helplessly to the ground.
Gates was confused. "What just happened?"
White Woz, equally perplexed, muttered, "Did time… reverse?"
The audience watching across the three realms was just as stunned.
"Wait, what just happened?! I don't get it!"
"Yeah! A second ago, Gates was defeated! Now everything's different!"
"Did Sougo just rewind time?!"
"That's insane! Is this the power of Oma Zi-O?!"
---
Suddenly, Black Woz appeared, laughing. "Marvelous. Your Majesty the Demon King, this is the true power of Oma Zi-O."
Furious, White Woz grabbed him. "So it was you, Black Woz?! You manipulated time?!"
Sougo stepped forward and calmly replied, "No, this was my own choice."
He raised a new watch—one containing both light and darkness.
Black Woz's eyes widened with excitement. "Zi-O Stage 2!"
Sougo separated the watch into two parts, representing light and dark.
"This watch unites the external and the internal, the past and the future."
Tsukuyomi gasped. "Sougo, where did you get that?"
Even Gates, still on the ground, was shocked. This new watch radiated immense power.
The audience erupted in excitement.
"So Sougo really did use this watch to rewind time!"
"He can control the past and future?! That's unreal!"
"This is amazing! With this power, Sougo must be several times stronger now!"
"Every new watch is stronger than the last! I can't wait to see him use it!"
Sougo, standing firm, looked toward his future. He had taken another step toward becoming the Demon King—not out of fear, but out of his own will.
The battle was far from over. But this time, he would face it not as just Sougo, but as Zi-O Stage 2—the one who unites past and future, light and darkness.
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