CALAMITY : Legends Of The Chosen

Scene: "Faster Than Regret"

The group had been laughing—Zans, still brooding, cracked the tiniest smirk while Kuro rolled her eyes. Karl made another dumb joke about shadow clothes and enme's "figure," and even Shojiro chuckled, his scarred, tightly coiled frame relaxing just a bit.

Then, the air shifted.

Shojiro stood up. His eyes stared past the others—haunted.

Shojiro (quietly):

"You know... the first time I died... I was trying to protect Leone."

Everyone went still. Zans froze mid-laugh. Even Karl—usually unfazed—said nothing.

Shojiro (voice tightening):

"I heard her screaming. I heard her begging. I ran. I thought I was fast enough. I wasn't."

He clenched his fists. Steam hissed from his pores. His body tightened like a muscle about to snap.

Shojiro:

"When I came back, my body felt different. It was like my regret... evolved me. I didn't get stronger. I got faster. Too fast to think. Too fast to breathe. But never fast enough to change what happened."

Without warning, he vanished—a sonic boom cracking the air. In an instant, he reappeared twenty meters behind them, standing silently. The floor where he had been was broken. Cratered.

Karl (whistling low):

"Still not used to watching that happen in real time..."

Shojiro (walking back slowly):

"After that, I ran. Non-stop. I searched the Maze. I thought with this speed, I'd find all of you. Leone. Zans. Anyone."

He looked up, eyes hollow.

Shojiro:

"But I couldn't. This place… it's not normal. Every hallway looped. Every landmark shifted. Even my velocity couldn't outrun it."

Karl crossed his arms, his system eye flickering red.

Karl (gravely):

"That's because it's not just a maze—it's a space continuum trap. The geometry's cursed. It folds in on itself. The further you go, the less real it gets. You're chasing mirages."

Zans finally spoke.

Zans:

"So we never had a chance."

Karl looked at them all.

Karl:

"Not unless we rewrite the rules. And for that… we find the last ones. Leone. Morgz. Max. Then we burn this maze to hell."

Shojiro (clenching jaw):

"Then let's stop standing still."

Scene: Right before Karl opens the next portal

Zans (half-serious):

"...Wait. Was she also… you know… naked?"

Shojiro (rubbing his temple):

"Bruh, she was face-down, chest to the floor. Her body was torn to pieces. I wasn't thinking about turning her over for a peek—I was trying to protect what was left of her."

Shojiro (deep sigh, mock-dramatic):

"…So yeah. I failed the boys."

Karl (bursting out):

"UNFORGIVABLE."

Zans (deadpan):

"You dishonor the Brotherhood."

Kuro (crossing her arms in Zans's shadow):

"Honestly? I would've turned her over. Strictly for research."

Shojiro (grinning through his scars):

"You all suck."

They all laugh. Just for a moment—like the weight of this nightmare wasn't still clinging to their backs.

Shojiro (grinning now, like he remembered something):

"…Well. I did get a peek of her backside. Purely by accident. But hey—small victories."

Karl (gasps, pointing):

"You lucky bastard!"

Zans (jealous):

"So you didn't fail the boys after all!"

Kuro (rolling her eyes):

"This is why you're all emotionally stunted."

Laughter erupts again. Scarred bodies, shaken hearts—but at least the brotherhood is still intact.

Scene: The Iron Spectre — Leone's Return

With Zixy still resting back in the chamber and the group slowly healing old wounds with banter, Karl generates another portal — this one pulsing with a strange frequency, almost as if resonating with spectral energy. Shojiro stiffens. He knows who this leads to.

Karl:

"You ready, musclehead?"

Shojiro (his tone quieter):

"…Yeah. I have to be."

As the vortex expands, it reveals a blood-slick corridor lined with shattered statues. Piles of broken stone line the floor like discarded rubble.

There, walking calmly — barefoot, hulking, scarred — is Leone Shizuku in full Ghoul Mode.

Her skin is no longer soft. It's a hardened, patchworked armor of regenerated flesh—darker than before, like volcanic obsidian laced with spiritual veins. Chains float gently around her waist, her Spectral Dominion coiled and alert. Her eyes are tired, hollow… but focused.

She doesn't even flinch when the portal opens behind her.

Karl (whispering):

"That's not the same Leone."

Shojiro (nodding):

"No… That's the Leone I couldn't protect."

He steps forward.

Her head tilts. She recognizes the rhythm of his heartbeat before his face.

Leone (voice raspy, but firm):

"I told you not to cry for me."

Shojiro (freezes, eyes wide):

"L-Leone…"

She turns fully — revealing the extent of her evolution. Her arms are bulkier, layered with thick barrier-hardened skin. Her legs now have support anchors shaped from VYTHRA seals. Her lower body is almost armor-plated. And across her stomach… the deep scars of her first death remain like burn marks — untouchable.

Leone:

"The moment I died… I stopped feeling like myself.

But then I remembered you…

Screaming my name."

She walks forward, chains silently orbiting her like celestial rings.

Leone (smirking slightly):

"And I got pissed.

Because I hate when you blame yourself for everything."

Shojiro steps through the portal and stumbles forward. His breathing staggers. He looks at her body — built like a fortress, perfected through pain.

He slowly raises his hand to her cheek.

Shojiro (softly):

"They couldn't pierce you anymore…"

Leone (nods):

"They tried. I stopped dying after the first time.

I took all fifty near-deaths that same week.

And after that… they couldn't touch me again."

Karl (whistling):

"Damn. That's actually kinda hot."

Zans (snorting):

"Don't say that while she's holding spectral chains."

Kuro (smirking):

"She's stronger than all of you. That's the real turn-on."

Leone chuckles softly.

Leone (to Shojiro):

"I'm not who I was. But if you're still the same dumb musclehead who carried my body through hell…

Then I guess I can live with that."

Shojiro grabs her hand tightly.

Shojiro:

"I'm still him.

But faster."

The others smile, the tension breaking slightly as Leone steps into the circle with them — the team growing whole once again.

Scene: Beneath the Shield — Leone's Shedding

The chains that hovered around Leone slow… then drop like tired halos as she exhales.

Shojiro (watching her hand tremble):

"...Leone?"

Leone (softly):

"I've been in this form so long…

I forgot what it felt like to not be unbreakable."

Her voice carries fatigue. Not weakness — exhaustion from surviving too long on vengeance and instinct.

She closes her eyes.

The thick barrier-formed armor across her body cracks with gentle pulses of light — veins of VYTHRA uncoiling like unraveling silk. Her obsidian hide dulls into matte gray… then peels away into flickering particles of energy.

Her Ghoul Mode melts down next — bones and skin reshaping, her sharp ghoul eyes softening. The horns fade. The scar-tough muscles settle into something slimmer. Human. Wounded.

She now stands barefoot in her human form — frail, pale, yet still standing.

Karl (quietly):

"She really held on all this time... like that?"

Zans (solemn):

"She didn't survive. She endured."

Shojiro walks forward — slowly, cautiously — and opens his arms.

Shojiro (with a shaky voice):

"If you're not unbreakable anymore…

Then let me be the wall this time."

Leone (breaking into tears):

"...Dumbass…"

She falls into his chest. No flames. No chains. Just tears.

Karl and Zans instinctively look away, giving them space — but not without a smirk of pride.

Kuro (grinning):

"One hell of a reunion."

And for the first time since entering the Maze, the group feels less like scattered warriors…

And more like friends again.

Scene: "Never Again" — Shojiro & Leone Reunite

They all stood still as the last flickers of Karl's portal faded behind them.

There, in the dim chamber veined with shattered marble and glowing moss, was Leone.

Her ghoul form receded slowly, skin shedding its armored sheen, the rigid plates softening back into supple flesh. Her hair—wild, tangled, matted with old blood—fell loosely over her shoulders.

She was alive.

Barefoot. Breathing.

Still her.

And Shojiro… couldn't move.

Shojiro (barely audible):

"Leone…?"

She blinked, eyes widening as she saw him again—his frame gaunt from condensed muscle, a long scar across his right eye that still hadn't healed, steam hissing from his back like a cracked pipe.

Leone (soft smile):

"Hey... Musclehead."

That was it.

That single word broke the dam.

Shojiro dropped to his knees like gravity had betrayed him. His fists trembled, teeth clenched so tightly his jaw popped, and tears streamed down his cheeks without restraint.

Shojiro:

"I heard you.

I heard you scream, Leone—

I ran, I tore through walls, I shattered everything, I broke myself trying to reach you—

But I was too late…"

He slammed his fist against the cold floor, shattering stone.

Shojiro (yelling through tears):

"What's the point of all this power if I can't save you?!

What's the point of me?!"

Leone flinched—eyes wide—but didn't hesitate.

She dropped beside him, arms wrapping around his shaking frame, pulling him into her chest like a lost child. He resisted for half a second… then collapsed against her, sobbing into her shoulder.

Leone (whispering, pained):

"Don't say that. Don't ever say that."

Shojiro (choked):

"I swore I'd protect you—

And you died… alone."

Leone (tears forming):

"I wasn't alone.

Not really.

I was scared… and I begged—

And yeah, I hated myself for it.

But the thought of you hearing me, of running to me…

That kept me sane.

I knew you'd come."

She cradled his head gently, brushing sweat-drenched bangs from his face.

Leone (stroking his hair):

"You didn't fail me, Shoji.

I'm alive.

And you're here.

That's all I need."

Shojiro (sobbing into her):

"I'll never… never be that useless again.

I'll move faster. I'll get stronger.

I'll tear the world apart if I have to—

But I won't let you die again."

Leone kissed his forehead—tender, aching.

Leone:

"Then stop crying, dummy.

Because I'm not going anywhere."

The others quietly looked away, giving them space.

Because for all the battles they had fought—

This moment?

This was the real fight.

And together, they'd already won it.

As the echoes of grief faded into stillness, Leone sat with her back against the stone wall, arms still wrapped gently around Shojiro.

His breathing had slowed.

His shoulders no longer trembled.

And before she realized it… he had fallen asleep.

Curled against her like a child clinging to warmth, his head rested in her lap — scarred, tired, and still twitching faintly in his dreams. His usually tensed muscles had finally relaxed, his expression softened into something rarely seen on him:

Peace.

Leone blinked down at him, brushing her fingers gently through his dark hair.

Leone (softly, almost a whisper):

"Idiot… you really wore yourself out."

She smiled faintly, pain flickering behind her eyes.

"Even now, you're still trying to protect everyone.

Even from your own grief."

She leaned back, eyes on the cracked ceiling above — letting the weight of the moment sit with her.

The others kept a quiet distance, sensing the moment's tenderness.

Leone (barely audible):

"Rest, Shoji.

I've got you this time."

As Shojiro sleeps, Leone could quietly brush his lips with her fingers and whispered:

"I'll wait. For when you're whole again... and ready."