The person Isis had spent an eternity waiting for. Someone who possessed no strength to resist her, yet chose to accept her nonetheless... After meeting Kaito Miyama, a profound transformation took hold of her.
Love is a thing one falls into. For a girl who had been relentlessly crushed by loneliness and despair, falling for Kaito—the one who finally embraced her—was perhaps an inevitability.
Since Kaito’s arrival in her life, Isis found herself smiling more than ever before. Every day felt genuinely joyful, as if her entire world had begun to shimmer with newfound light.
When he finally accepted her feelings and asked her to be his lover, she was overwhelmed by a happiness that defied description. Spending her days by his side, she found that every heartfelt smile filled her once-frozen heart with a radiating warmth.
It was in the midst of this blissful peak of her life that Isis dreamt for the first time in an age.
"..."
Staring back at her was the Another Isis she had encountered so many times before.
"It doesn't matter... what you say anymore," Isis said. "Kaito is my destined person. As long as I am with him, I can be happy. No... I will make myself happy."
Her eyes, once clouded with tears and the tremors of isolation, now burned with a fierce, unmistakable light.
"I won't just take what he gives me. I’ll make him happy too. I’ll prove it... I won't let him regret loving me. I’m going to be happy with him. I know I can do it."
In truth, Isis’s heart might have remained weak throughout her long journey. Despite her overwhelming power, her soul had been that of a child shivering in the dark. But now, Kaito Miyama’s presence had given her a sturdy pillar to lean on.
With an unshakable resolve, she faced the shadow that had spent centuries denying her worth.
"Yes," the voice replied. "I think so, too."
Isis blinked. "Wait... what?"
It wasn't a rejection. It was an affirmation.
"Hehe, why the surprised face? I told you before, didn't I? I never wanted to make you miserable. We are both Isis. If you are happy, then I am happy, too."
The Another Isis spoke in a voice as clear and calm as a still pond. She reached up and pulled back the hood of her robe, revealing a face identical to Isis's own—a face wearing a smile of pure, unadulterated joy.
"Look. The clouds have finally cleared."
"Oh... you're right."
Isis looked up. The oppressive, leaden sky that had once dominated her inner world had vanished, replaced by a brilliant, dazzling blue. Warm light spilled across the snowy plains.
"Kaito brought light to us. He reached the deepest, darkest parts of our hearts and left warmth behind."
"Yes... Kaito is truly amazing."
"He is. So, there is no longer any reason for you to push me away... or for us to meet like this ever again."
Isis’s voice softened. "Are you... going to disappear?"
"I won't disappear. I am you, and you are me. We will simply merge. From now on, we will live as Isis Remnant—seeing the same sights and sharing the same heart—beside Kaito."
The Another Isis explained that her role was finished. They were to return to their original, unified state and move forward together.
"Thank you," Isis whispered.
"For what?"
"For playing the villain... all this time."
The other girl chuckled. "Thanking yourself is a bit weird, don't you think?"
"Fufu... I suppose it is."
Isis had finally gained the emotional room to understand. Her inner self had spent centuries mocking her dreams only to lessen the blow if they failed. It had been a pre-emptive strike against heartbreak.
Bathed in the golden sunlight, the two versions of herself shared a final, radiant smile.
Serious-senpai: "Wait, a story about the God Realm Decisive Battle? I get the gap between the Six Kings Festival and the battle, but what happened during the actual fight?"
???: "It’s the story of how we were able to assist with a part of Kaito-san’s Trial. You see, someone out there left behind an Authority Class power in its perfect, complete form."
Serious-senpai: "Oh! So that's what was going on back then!"