It had taken an effort of many months, almost a year, for Hikari to bring his masterpiece into its final stages. By using his forbidden technique and treating it as though it were the last piece of "art" in the world… the artwork was close to completion.
The Kokuyoku.
It should have been completed.
He put the final strokes of paint on his canvas. He put down his paint brush, about to chant the spell needed to awaken the beast he had created. But then, small footsteps were heard. The moment Hikari was about to breathe life into that last work of art, a smiling figure approached.
At that very moment, the phantom thief made his appearance.
His crimson violet eyes widened as he gazed upon the grandeur work of art before him. The Hikari boy turned around, his eyes bloodshot and insane with the notion that he was about to create the perfect being.
The blue-haired artist knew his half-hidden face immediately, even in the veil of shadows.
The red-haired thief could feel exactly what he was about to do. He couldn't steal that thing. He had to destroy it.
A phantom wind blew as Hikari realized what Emil was there for. He abandoned all else. He had to save his masterpiece.
His body was weak from weeks of malnutrition, but he was running on pure adrenaline. He dashed towards the young thief in fury, his hand outstretched. An orb of light formed at the tips of his fingers.
Magic?! Emil's eyes became wide and alert. He called up his own magic, his fingers pointed towards his target. It was not Hikari, but the Kokuyoku.
Hikari rammed into the phantom thief with all of his might, calling forth all his powers when he was supposed to use them to perform the ritual to bring the art to life.
Emil's eyes widened and his teeth clenched in pain as the air was knocked out of him. Hikari's unstable magic felt as though it were ripping him apart, piece by piece, burning his body alive. His legs felt numbed and on fire at the same time, as if they had been amputated. He could see pieces of his gloves rip from the force and black feathers fly around him as if his wings had molted. Wait, With had already flown back… Oh. Those weren't feathers; they were the shreds of his cloak.
His whole body pulsed. Hikari's was shroud in an evil white light, his form invisible but there. How? Was it… the moonlight?
When the light faded, his pain-filled, blood-colored eyes locked with the menacing, crazed gold ones of his adversary. He managed one last burst of magic to throw him away.
He could see the Kokuyoku radiating magic. His vision was becoming faint and blurred.
"Hi… ka…" Emil's last words came in broken, incomplete stutters, "Wha… t… have you… d…!?"
Hikari growled and crouched in the place he had landed. He saw it, the black cross on the ground, sharp at the edges. He could use it to finish the phantom thief Dark. He grasped at it desperately, his gaze shifting quickly. His teeth gritted in pain, determined to meet his goal before his death. He was just about to complete the ritual. The light from the art piece blinded him so much that he had to cover his eyes.
"Niwa…!!"
The magical energy intended to breathe life into the Kokuyoku lost its destination, going out of control.
Their souls were ripped apart as it took the form of a curse.
The ceremony was only half completed… but it wasn't unsuccessful in its own way.
All was quiet and still in the ruins of the home of the "mirror" that stood before them, tall and strong… and cracked at the edges like a broken heart. Unholy magic leaked around the room.
The red-haired man lay on the ground with his eyes closed, the dark magic that he had wielded dancing around his skin as a single tear shed for his forgotten life. His wings had been torn from his back. He could no longer see his angel.
The blue-haired man slumped against a collapsed pillar, his bangs shadowing his eyes and his hand falling limply to his side. The black cross in his palm sparked the light of magic, the veins on his hand blue and webbing across his arm.
At that place, the curse manifested itself within the unmoving bodies of the artist and the thief. It fell upon both the Hikari and the Niwa.
The young man who started it all… never fully understood the full extent of his powers.
The Kokuyoku had come to life in a way its creator could have never imagined it.
Angel screamed. Suddenly a jolt had run through her chest and her breathing hitched, an unbearable pain overwhelming her. She clutched her heart tightly, her eyes widening as she quickly realized why she was hurting so abruptly.
"Sis?! Hey, sis, what's wrong?" Access asked in concern, running over to her and supporting her. With, who had jumped in surprise by her sudden yelp, kyuu'ed in worry as well.
"Emil… Emil!" She breathed, her mind lost to the dreading feeling she had had all day.
"Ange? What about Emil?" Her fourteen-year-old brother-in-law tried to sound soothing as she began to hyperventilate.
Her other hand came to her stomach, suddenly feeling a little sick. Horror struck her face as she thought about the possibilities of what could have happened to her husband.
"Emil…!"
Kaitou Dark… never made it home.