Tenma and Alone

Tenma finally stands before Alone — or what remains of him. Hades' consciousness nearly entirely occupies his friend's body, yet Tenma still perceives shards of the man he knew: in a trembling hand, in the particular blue of his eyes, in a fleeting smile. This certainty prevents him from striking.

Sasha confronts the divine dimension of the conflict: to defeat Hades, the vessel — Alone's body — would have to be destroyed. She refuses this logic of sacrifice. The Lost Canvas, immense and terrifying, hums with thousands of captive souls. Hades speaks through Alone in a voice no longer his own, describing humanity as a collection of sufferings that deserves extinction.