Later that evening, Ai is silent. Ruby is worried. Aqua is angry.
And Souta…
He vanishes from his room.
A second later, he stands on the roof of a building downtown, gazing at Kamiki across a mile. Time has been suspended. The world has been frozen.
He takes a step forward.
Kamiki gazes at the halted traffic—but he knows.
"So. You're the one. The weird one. The third one."
Souta's voice isn't childish anymore.
"If you get near Mama again, I'll break my word."
Kamiki smiles.
"Oh? Which word?"
"The one that keeps me from killing people like you."
Souta raises his hand—and for the first time in years, he lets power seep into the air. The buildings creak. The stars whirl abnormally. Kamiki drops to one knee.
"You're not a man," Kamiki breathes. "You're something else."
Souta leans in and speaks softly—
"I'm her son."
He leaves him shaking. Power reverts to silence.
The following day, Souta is smiling once again. He holds on to Ruby's arm, quarrels with Aqua, and laughs as Ai braids his hair.
But Aqua observes him with new insight.
Ruby notices he's subdued at night.
Ai… she knows something occurred.
She kisses his forehead.
"You took care of us again, didn't you?"
Souta nods quietly.
"But I didn't hurt him. Because you'd be sad."
Ai smiles, eyes blurry. "You're too good for this world, baby."
He hugs her breasts. "Then I'll stay in it forever. With you."
Months go by.
The triplets are twelve now. Their names have quietly become familiar all over Japan—three genius kids of a "mysterious, beloved single mother."
Aqua sweeps the small screen, admired for his emotional range.
Ruby constructs B-Komachi from scratch, exuding her mother's beauty.
Souta, although never in the limelight, becomes a mysterious name behind numerous hit child roles, scripts, and ads. Professionals in the field whisper about him:
"He's either the devil or a prodigy."
Above his public smile, Souta starts to unravel.
He dreams of the end of the world.He dreams of being alone again, as before.He dreams of holding Ai's hand—and seeing it burn to dust.
He wakes up crying sometimes, the teddy bear pressed to his chest.
Souta makes his confession to Aqua one evening.
"I want to be normal… but the world won't let me."
They sit among the garden under a cold moon. Ruby sleeps within. Ai's distant humming sounds from her room.
Aqua reclines. "You know I hated my previous life. But I still utilize everything from it to acquire what I require."
Souta gazes downward. "So I should use my power?"
Aqua shakes his head.
"I'm saying… don't pretend it's not part of you. You don't have to fight the world. But if it comes for us—you end it."
Souta nods, his eyes welling with tears.
He wishes to believe in love. In peace. But deep inside, he still cannot shake the fear that all things beautiful will be snatched from him once more.
Kamiki returns again—but this time, not to Ai.
He approaches Ruby at a fashion show, in public, with cameras looking. Calmly. Smiling.
"Ruby-chan, I watched your last performance. You resembled your mother. Glowing."
Ruby scowls but thanks him graciously.
He then states:
"Would you like to be the lead for a movie? One about a girl who comes from nowhere… to become a legend. Like Ai."
That evening, Ruby informs Ai.
Ai is frozen.
She doesn't weep. Doesn't scream.
She simply says, "Stay away from him. That man is. a void."
Ruby is torn. Kamiki never appeared to be evil. Only. lonely. Gentle-spoken.
She doesn't say anything to her brothers.