Arc III: “Return of Darkness”
Chapter II: “Lady Soap”
Episode VI: “Fall of Utopia”
As Akira’s consciousness faded, something reached out to him.
Not hands.
Not words.
Memories.
“These are not yours,” the Spirit of Utopia whispered.
“But you need to see them.”
[Almost Four Decades Ago]
As if he had whiplash, a distorted vision flashed before Akira. He saw jumbled scenes and memories, with the voices warped and the colors perverted. Yet, there was one scene that seemed to stand out as it flashed by…
A dull city block, with dark buildings towering over the street, was littered and unkept from the spoils of slum rats.
A man sat in the center of the street, his hand held low as a hard rain poured down. In his tight grasp, there was a woman—her body already colder than the downpour. He lifted her face against his, brushing her smooth skin against his cheek. Without uttering a sound, he lowered her down to the ground, tears along his face being hidden by the rainwater. “It’s your fault…” he muttered, but his voice broke. “IT’S YOUR FAULT THAT SHE'S DEAD!”
Another man, just a few meters away from him, was also standing in the cold shower. His fists were held tight, and he didn’t dare to raise his gaze. His dark brown hair was slick with water.
“YOU KILLED HER!” the first man yelled, his aura going rampant—surging all around him. The grasp of his aether was darker and more frigid than anything along the street.
The second man remained where he stood.
He didn’t raise his head.
He didn’t defend himself.
He grit his teeth in silence, blood dripping down from the lip that was caught between them.
I’m sorry, Kukito…
But the screams didn’t fade.
They echoed.
And when the world reshaped itself, the echo became laughter.
[A few days before that battle]
“This is where it all began,” the Spirit whispered.
Akira and the Spirit watched from the sidelines like vestiges in a foreign realm.
A young woman held a sleeping baby in her arms as another child tugged at her thigh. They were pleasantly relaxed in a small home, located in a residential district of Utopia. Suddenly, a man walked entered from the front door and hung up his coat.
“Oh—what a surprise! Welcome home, dear. You’re back early for once.”
“Yeah,” the man said as he leaned in to give her a kiss, “my patrol ended early tonight.”
“Hey, daddy’s home!” the little boy celebrated.
“Hey there, Rikito. I hope you’ve been taking good care of your mother and sister while I was working.”
“Yeah, of course. You can count on me! One day I’m going to be a top officer in the Utopic Sages just like you, Daddy!”
“Ha-ha-ha, sure. That means you’ll have a lot of training to do as you grow up.”
“Don’t worry, Daddy, I’ve been training every day!” Rikito said proudly as he rubbed his nose with his finger.
“Is that so…” the man smiled, “well, in that case I’ll have to give you some lessons during my next day off.”
“Really?”
“Why not?”
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“Kukito…” the woman started.
“Hmm?” The man turned to face her.
She tried to smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “We still need to talk about that—”
“We can talk about that later. I’m a bit tired from work, so I’m going to go rest.”
“O-okay, but we have to talk about it later. Don’t put me off again. I’ll have dinner ready soon.”
Kukito walked into the next room and closed the door.
“Mommy,” Rikito looked at her with an innocent face, “what’s so important that you guys have to talk about it. Daddy looked pretty sad when you brought it up.”
The warmth faded from the woman’s face, similarly to Kukito’s. “That’s… not something you should have to worry about yet, my dear Rikito.” She brushed her hand through his hair, holding it there just a second longer than usual. At least… not yet.
[A couple of days later]
Akira felt the imbalance immediately.
This wasn’t neglect.
This was by design.
The woman was walking through the slums, carrying groceries. She traveled far, walking for hours from the pristine city to reach the rundown residential district where they lived.
As she returned to their district, countless homeless orphans and drunken men were lining the streets—just outside of the endless rows of abandoned buildings.
They were all Dystopians.
In the city, there were no signs of poverty or anything of the sort. Yet, at the same time, the city was filled only with Pure Utopians, making it rare to spot a Dystopian in the area.
The woman finally reached their home and walked inside. It was a small unit in a grimy complex. But it had power, and warm water, which is more than most can come by in these parts.
“Mommy!” Rikito ran up to hug her as she entered the unit.
“Rikito!” She smiled softly, putting the groceries down so she could reach down and hug him. “Did you watch your sister for me like a good boy?” She nuzzled against his face.
He giggled, “Yup! You can always count on me, mommy!”
Something's not right here, Akira thought, feeling a chill from the other side of the room.
“Hello there, Mizuka.” The voice came from a strange woman standing in the shadows of their home. Once the darkness peeled away, it was clear that she was holding Asuka in her arms.
“Cataline!? What are you doing here? Give me my daughter!” Mizuka swiftly put Rikito down and rushed towards Cataline.
Despite her haste, she was intercepted by three teenagers who were also hidden in the home.
“Now, now, calm down, Mizuka,” Cataline said with a devious sneer on her face, “Little Asuka here is my beloved stepdaughter. I have just as much of a right to hold her in my arms, don’t I?”
Then her gaze drifted to Rikito.
Slowly.
Appraising.
She licked her lips.
Rikito stepped back in hesitation, but then he remembered something his father once told him: “Listen here, Rikito. You’re going to be a great man one day, which means you have to protect your mom and sister for me when I’m not there.”
With a big inhale, he puffed his chest and took a step forward. “Don’t mess with my family!” His voice cracked. “Give us back my sister!” He jumped at Cataline.
“Rikito!?” Mizuka reached out to try and stop him.
“Haaaa!” he shouted as he flew through the room.
“Bowl,” Cataline said.
In that instant, Bowl, Cataline’s eldest son, intercepted Rikito with a strong punch to his gut. That single blow was enough to render him unconscious. Bowl lifted him and threw him over his shoulder.
“Now then, it’s time for business.” Cataline looked back at Mizuka and said, “If you want to save these children,” her eyes flicking briefly to Rikito’s limp body and Asuka, who was fast asleep in her arms, “then you’ll do me a little favor.” Cataline handed Asuka to her daughter, Cette.
“A favor?” Mizuka had sweat running down her face as she deliberated what wickedness Cataline could be up to.
“Yeah, a favor. I need you to take this…” she said as she pulled out a purple crystal fragment, one that began oozing an ominous aura.
“W-what is that?” Sensing something was wrong, Mizuka inched towards the door, ready to call for help. But she paused. With a sigh, she remembered the circumstances of her rundown, Dystopian district. The chances of a Utopic Sage being on patrol were low. Gulping down her fear, she stepped forward—deciding to hear Cataline out.
“This? Oh, nothing special. Just a fragment… of something called The Dark Heart. But you don’t need to know anything more than that.”
“Why… why do you want me to take that? What are you planning?”
“Again, you don’t need to know. Just that if you take this, Kukito will finally do what he needs to.
So that’s it! Mizuka thought. “So, you’re trying to manipulate him again. You… you don’t understand him,” she said, her voice trembling despite herself. “He believes in this world. In order. In protecting people.” Her hands clenched at her sides. “You won’t turn him into something he’s not.”
“Enough with the lecture,” Cataline said flatly. The amusement vanished from her voice. As she rolled her eyes, she gestured toward Bowl—without delay, he lifted Rikito in front of the crystal.
“If you won’t take the shard, then I’ll give it to your son. Though that would be a shame, considering all his potential.
Mizuka closed her eyes. When she opened them, something in her had already broken. “Fine,” she whispered. “I’ll do it. Just… promise me you won’t hurt my kids.”
“Yes, of course. I would never hurt these kids,” she said with a distrustful smile. “Now let’s get started.” She gripped the crystal in her hand and walked in front of Mizuka. “Are you ready?”
“Y-yes.”
“Good,” Cataline said as she licked her lips. Then she lifted the crystal, placing it before Mizuka’s chest. Without hesitation, she drove the crystal into Mizuka’s chest and removed her bloodied hand with no remorse.
Mizuka fell to the ground, crying out in pain, but not from the hand that was just shoved through her, but from the crystal that was now taking root inside her.
Rikito stirred weakly. “M… mom…?”
She tried to answer him.
No sound came out.
“It seems to be working… come, let’s go. Our work here is done,” Cataline said to her three children. I wonder how The Dark Heart will take shape in the body of a Kaelithian…
[Later that night]
Rain slowly began to pour. What started as a drizzle evolved into a heavy downpour, enough to drench anyone regardless of what they covered themselves with.
In the streets of the city, everything was closed for the night. Even the shops that seldom closed, no matter the hour, were boarded up in the wake of this oncoming storm.
On a particular street, there was a woman—wearing nothing but some thin garments and a cloak—who was walking down the block unbothered by the rain. She continued walking for hours until she suddenly came to a stop.
Above, there was a man sitting on the edge of a roof top and he was looking down at her. This was no ordinary man… he was the current God of Utopia, Ryoda!
“Hey.” His voice was calm—practiced. “It’s pretty late for you to be out here, let alone in a storm like this.” He stood up from the building and hopped onto the ground. As he slowly descended through the air, he thought to himself. Something about this person feels… off.
Before he could say anything else, the woman attacked him with a shout. “RAHH!” she burst out.
She’s fast! He was barely able to block her. To be able to move like this… this isn’t an ordinary person! As she continued her assault, he proceeded to block all her following attacks. “Who are you?” This time, his voice carried weight.
With both the darkness of the night and the cloak that hugged her face, it was hard to make out who it was before him.
I don’t recognize this aether… there’s something ominous about it. Before he could ponder, the woman dashed towards him again. “Alright, I’ll have to take this seriously…”
After dodging her repeated attacks, he jumped high into the air and unleashed his aura.
Following a sharp exhale, he said, “Prime Utopian.” As a large golden aura engulfed him, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Then, before even opening his eyes, he vanished. Reappearing behind her, he chopped her neck with the back of his hand.
She dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Now, let’s see who’s under that hood… He reached for the hood of the cloak that blanketed the motionless figure. However, there was a sudden surge of dark energy from their body.
“RAHH!” the person yelled as the energy surged from within them.
“W-what?!” Ryoda was shocked by the sudden outburst and jumped back. This is bad… If that energy keeps surging uncontrollably… the city won’t survive it. Neither will the planet. “I have no choice…” his voice faltered—just once. “Forgive me.” He conjured an energy beam, then fired it straight through the person’s body—killing them instantly. The energy that was gathering dispersed from the body.
After returning to his Natural State, Ryoda slowly walked over to the corpse and reached towards the hood.
Akira felt the memory recoil as the world began to quake. It wasn’t pushing him away—not yet.
Just… preparing him.
“No…” Ryoda whispered with stolen breath—his heart flooding with remorse as he gazed at the assailant’s face. “This person is…”
[Next Time on Lyte of Utopia]: “Fall of Utopia II”
[Yield Levels]:
Ryoda: 50,000
- Prime Utopian: 50 – 2z
Kukito: 21,000
Cataline: 16,500
Mizuka: 200
- Dark Heart Boost: (Semi): 200 – 2z
Rikito: 150
Asuka: 5
Bowl: 2000
Cette: 1700
Tub: 1500