Paulo Satoshi remained locked inside a high-security cell of the cosmic base, unaware that Izumi Morningstar and Riku Masusa were watching his every move from afar.
"What happened to him?" Riku called out to Izumi, uncertainty clear in his voice as he tried to make sense of Paulo's condition.
Momo Yokoyama arrived and explained, "What this was likely that Shiniro's murderous intent manifested through him, and now he can't turn it off thanks to Izumi."
"A power he never told us about… though Paulo never told us much of anything," Riku said, his voice surprisingly calm despite the situation.
"That might not be the only reason," Izumi said calmly.
"I think he truly hates me. I killed someone he cared about, and his emotional state was never stable to begin with. After being betrayed for two and a half million years… I can't say I blame him." He spoke as if explaining a cause, even though he was simply stating a fact.
"I was there when Riko was killed by that Hypno Scum member, I hated them ever since, I feel bad for Paulo now," Lucy said, scoffing at the name. "That was when Paulo's mental strain truly began to worsen."
"Hypno Scum?" Riku repeated, confused.
"What the hell is that. Do you call hypno scum a race or some kind of group? And who was this Riko? Was she important to all of you?" He asked, frustrated by how much Paulo had kept from him.
"Riko, she was mine and Paulo's mother and the original Monarch of Death," Momo then explained, sadness weighing heavily in her voice. "She died after getting ambushed by Hypno scum after she performed a ritual with the other eleven that transferred power into Paulo, turning him into the vessel for Shinjiro's murderous force."
Izumi then sighed, realizing that Paulo's cosmic soldiers would have to learn about the Hypno Gang incident, an ordeal that had followed their return months ago.
"If you must know," Izumi said, "All of the 12 Monarchs of the Twelve Universes branded a group known as the Hypno Gang as scum for crimes they committed two and a half million years ago."
"What crime did they commit?" Riku asked, curiosity sharpening his voice.
He wanted to understand what Paulo had been facing, so he could stand against it beside him.
"They killed a Monarch. Momo already mentioned it," Paulo said, his eyes flickering open from the shadows of his cell.
With a loud crack, the Vengestone chains holding him snapped apart, and he strode from the cell as if nothing could stop him.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to kill any of you," Paulo said, his gaze locking on Riku. "You are my trusted right-hand man, after all. My fury… it's reserved for a man named Toadle." He spat his name with such venom that, for the first time, Riku felt a flicker of fear.
"Toadle is the one who put a death curse on me," Paulo continued, his voice dripping with hatred, "the one who began my endless suffering by hypnotizing Izumi."
"I felt his presence, but first we need to train," Paulo said, a newfound calm in his voice. "None of the Monarchs in this day and age could face the Hypno Gang in our current state."
With that, he stepped out of the cosmic base and into the night, the wasteland stretching endlessly before him.
Paulo's journey has just taken a turn, one that could lead to his greatest triumph or his ultimate downfall.
The path ahead is uncertain and fraught with danger: he must train harder than ever to confront the Hypno Gang and prepare for a rematch against Oliver.
But even as he pushes forward, the shadows of his past loom over him, threatening to consume him.
Will Paulo find the strength to overcome his own history and emerge victorious, or will his attempt to face these challenges cost him his life?