You bound your own destiny.
The front door of Squad Zeta's Residence was thrown open violently. A moment later, Erika slammed it shut, rage pounding in her chest.
She marched forward with heavy steps, nearly denting the wooden floor, huffing as her vision blurred.
"That trash… Trash. Trash!" she cursed, heading straight for the kitchen.
As soon as she got home, Erika struck the wall with a powerful slap—its textured surface tore her skin open, leaving small holes in her hand. It bled only a little, but burned like hell.
At the sink, she washed her hands. That was when she noticed someone beside her.
"Who are you talking about?" Izumi asked, without looking at her.
Erika stared at him, stunned. She hadn't seen him earlier, blinded by rage—but now she was incredulous.
"You… are you washing dishes?!"
How could they let a blind person wash dishes?!
"Enchantments," he said calmly, rinsing a plate. "I'm practicing item enchantment to perceive their prana. For now, I can only expand the area of my mantra, but it's already progress… So, who were you cursing?"
Understanding Izumi's situation, she picked up a few already-clean plates and began drying them.
At first, Erika stayed quiet, still processing the anger inside her. It felt like a crushing weight in her chest—her honor, her pride… She was shattered.
"That piece-of-shit captain," she said while putting the dishes away.
Izumi remained silent. He knew Takashi's potential—both to be a genius and… to be absolute trash.
"He reminded me of something I didn't need to remember."
"And… if you didn't want to remember it, then you don't want to tell me. Am I right?"
She fell silent again, biting her lip as her chest tightened.
"There's someone I really want to please. But, like… this need for recognition has become so sick that I can't control it anymore."
She placed a stack of plates in the cupboard, then went back for the cutlery.
"You contacted a shikigami, didn't you?" she asked, her back to Izumi.
"Yes…"
"Does it possess you?"
"No."
"Good…" she muttered, closing the cabinet doors. "My shikigami are my chains, and I contacted them five years ago. My mother wanted me to be strong… the strongest in my family, to surpass my cousin's high Rank…"
"Olivia Von Berta," Izumi said, handing her another plate. "I did my homework to understand you."
Erika took the plate, eyes wide, but quickly regained her composure.
"The Rank B Sefira, the Beyonder who wields the First Fragment of the Great Sword Berta…"
Just remembering it made her bristle.
"My mother has a criminal, disgusting envy of my older aunt because of that… The strongest in my family is Otto, but since he's a man, no one expected less. Olivia, on the other hand…"
"Let me guess," Izumi said. "Your mother wants you to be stronger than her just because you're both women?"
"That's basically it…"
At that moment, Izumi picked up something he instantly regretted washing: the cauldron Kinney had used to make the stew the night before. Seeing it would take time, Erika sat on the counter and swung her legs.
"Look, don't tell Erik I said this… but when I was possessed by my shikigami for the first time, it was my mother's fault. If I hadn't been strong enough to endure that power, she would've disowned me right then. So my older brother, Ebert, interfered…"
"The Berta triplets became just the Berta twins. My mother tried to erase that incident, that night… but I never forgot!"
"So that's what Takashi mentioned?" Izumi asked, scrubbing the cauldron with effort.
She nodded with a low grunt.
"That bastard… He can't understand something as simple as personal motivation… Must've had a cozy, easy life to talk nonsense without knowing anything…"
Izumi slammed the cauldron into the sink, making Erika fall silent.
"In reality, it's the complete opposite," Izumi said slowly.
Scrubbing harder, biting his tongue, he continued.
"Takashi was a talent—but beyond that. Our clan is divided into five families, and if you're not from the Michizane family, you don't have much value until… well…"
"Until you show your strength," Erika finished, crossing her legs.
"Exactly. Even though we were both talented… Takashi was the strongest flame, and I was intelligence and skill. But even after we overcame every challenge, exceeded every expectation… he was the one who passed."
Izumi turned on the faucet, letting the water run.
"Raigon… our cousin, son of the patriarch of the main lineage: the Michizane family. He tried hard to be a difficult person. Explosive, neither strong nor weak. But simply because he had the highest percentage of Satoru's DNA, he was chosen for the Frontier…"
Izumi recalled his childhood dream—the Frontier.
The place between the human world and a Demon King's Domain, where humanity could still breathe. People lived there, were born and raised amid the cruelest war. In the Michizane clan, the best and most talented teenagers were sent to fight demons—even if they hadn't awakened yet.
Takashi and Izumi chased the chance to be sent to the Frontier alongside their older cousins—who were eighteen, while they were only thirteen.
But instead of them… Raigon Michizane was chosen by the Patriarch. No one could protest.
"I hadn't given up at that point. But when I saw those images on TV… the Fall of Paris. I realized I'd been surrounded by my father's heroic tales and couldn't see the real Sefiras. They were all just like Raigon…"
Erika swallowed what little saliva she had left, lowering her head.
She was just like the Sefiras Izumi described.
"While Takashi and I struggled to be chosen, the one selected was the least deserving. A man who lives for money, fame, and social status. I realized that Sefiras who use the sword to protect are failures compared to those who wield blades to kill…"
"…So I completely gave up. I realized it wasn't enough—I would never become like those I instantly hated. But Takashi kept going… He believed he could still make it, even as the rejected side of the coin. And look how funny fate is. Today, while I'm going through this, he's a captain."
Looking away, Erika studied the kitchen, thoughtful.
Frowning, she gathered her courage. "You're both very proud of each other…"
Finally, after filling it with water and scrubbing, Izumi felt the last of the stew residue come off, even after a whole night.
"That's exactly why. You know, Erika… I don't know his tone, or exactly what he said… but I think it was because you were seeking others' approval, right?" Izumi asked, pouring the water down the drain.
"Yeah… but it was completely unnecessary!"
"I believe you, I do. But Erika—whose approval will you seek while fighting for your own life?"
She looked at him, caught off guard, then crossed her arms. Puffing her cheeks with air, she quickly looked away.
They're both the same, she thought.
Still, no one was entirely wrong. Looking at her own hands, Erika reflected. Her mother. Olivia… chains that decided her destiny for her.
She imagined two chains breaking.
[Your skill has evolved!]
"Huh?!" she muttered, jumping back.
"What is it?" Izumi asked.
[The have evolved into .]
[Congratulations!]
[You have freed your own destiny.]
"I…" A tear formed at the corner of her eye, about to fall from her irritated face—growing lighter with every second.
Erika's eyes shone in the most intense shade of pink.
[You have reached your Inheritance. Enter Atziluth to access more details.]
"Izumi…" she said, wiping her confused eyes.
"What?" he asked casually.
Before he could turn to perceive her prana, she acted—planting a quick kiss on his cheek on pure impulse, then hopping excitedly across the kitchen.
Erika knew this wasn't the immediate result of a fully matured conclusion to her inner chaos—just another way to ignite the disaster.
Still, aside from the officers and the captain, she was the first to reach her Inheritance.
"We'll leave Atziluth alive and with our Inheritances! You'll see again, partner," she said cheerfully, her arm slung behind his back.
"That's my goal…" he replied, not quite understanding what had just happened. "Now… how about you help me with this, huh?!"
Izumi handed the cauldron to Erika. She immediately relaxed her shoulders in lazy protest—but accepted the task.
"Izumi. Are you really prepared for this?" Erika asked while scrubbing the cauldron. "Going against the ideology you followed all these years."
Finding a nearby chair, Izumi turned his face toward the floor and reflected.
"There are situations in life that prepare you—and others that demand preparation from you. My current situation is the second. So no matter what happens… we'll come out alive, healthy, and different from who we are now. Whether we return changed—that's an answer destiny will give us. Until then… all that's left is to fight for who we are."
"Yes… And we'll win. No matter the cost!"
Victory behind defeat…
The journey to Atziluth, the Domain of Angels, opened its gates to Squad Zeta.