While Zaboru was taking a well-earned rest at ZAGE HQ in Japan, Hikaru Kurata sat in his Sonaya office, skimming through a thick report detailing ZAGE's recent activities over the past few months. His brows furrowed deeply. Just a couple of months ago, when ZAGE bought the rights to Marvel, he had laughed smugly to himself, certain that Zaboru had finally overreached—finally made a misstep because at that time—and even now—Marvel's condition was dismal, and the comic book industry as a whole was in a steep decline. Sales were down, audiences were shrinking, and many publishers were either consolidating or going under. From the outside, it looked like ZAGE had just purchased a fading brand in a collapsing industry—like throwing money at a sinking ship. It was the kind of move that screamed desperation or naivety. To Hikaru, it seemed like Zaboru had finally overextended himself, buying a company that no longer held the cultural weight it once did.
He was sure that Sonaya's strategic move, partnering with Warner Bros to acquire the rights to DC Comics and allowing Sonaya to develop games based on iconic DC characters, was a masterstroke. To him, that was the definitive blow—something that would finally chip away at ZAGE's dominance. But now, staring at the recent data, Hikaru realized just how wrong he had been.
Sitting alone in his office, the air heavy with silence, Hikaru mulled over Marvel's situation in the United States. Publicly, nothing major had happened yet—no comics published, no announcements. But that absence of activity is what unnerved him the most. ZAGE had gone completely silent on Marvel since early June.
"Something's off," he muttered aloud, tapping his pen against the desk. "Zaboru is planning something with Marvel… but what is it?" He felt genuinely uneasy about the whole situation, but then he tried to reassure himself—after all, what could comic books really achieve in their current state? The industry was stagnant, readership was dwindling, and print media was becoming harder to monetize. At best, Zaboru might just integrate some Marvel characters into video games. Maybe a few titles here and there, capitalizing on nostalgic appeal—but surely nothing revolutionary. Hikaru reasoned that even if Zaboru had some master plan, the ceiling for success in this space seemed low. It was hard to imagine how Marvel, in its current weakened condition, could fuel anything that would meaningfully shift the market. Still, the unease lingered in the back of his mind, like a shadow he couldn't quite shake.
He leaned back in his chair, frustrated by the vague answers. He decided to set that mystery aside for now. His mind wandered instead to another frustration: the Yu-Gi-Oh card game.
Hikaru lifted his ZGB handheld and inserted a card code in the game Input card menu and the card a physical one he owned: Red-Eyes Black Dragon. With a satisfying beep, the game recognized the code and unlocked the monster in-game. This card is quite rare and it was hard to obtain, both digitally and in the physical trading card pack. That mechanic—the synergy between digital and physical—was genius. It angered him more because of how brilliantly it worked.
"How does he come up with this stuff?" Hikaru muttered, clenching his jaw. "It's unfair. Zaboru… it's really unfair."
He put the ZGB down with a sigh and shook his head in frustration. The success of the card-game model was so overwhelming that Hikaru was beginning to wonder if Sonaya should create a similar product. He scribbled a note to discuss it later with Junpei, the head of his Game Department.
Shifting focus again, Hikaru considered another area that had been nagging at him: PC games. While Sonaya was a titan in electronics, they had always avoided getting involved in PC software, wary of competing with Microsoft. But things had changed. PC software now included video games—and that was a different battlefield altogether.
"The Elder Scrolls: Arena…" The title echoed in his mind. It was a full-fledged RPG developed by ZAGE's American branch. Hikaru was dumbfounded.
"How can they pull this off?" he murmured. "How did Zaboru build such a competent team in the U.S.? The branch barely even existed a couple months back."
He tried to rationalize it. Maybe the Japanese division had lent a hand. That had to be the explanation. Even so, it felt like Zaboru was building an empire without borders. "That must be it... the Japanese ZAGE team definitely created Elder Scrolls: Arena," Hikaru Kurata muttered to himself, clinging to the idea as if it were a life raft in a rising tide of disbelief. He wanted to believe it—needed to believe it—because the alternative was far more disturbing: that Zaboru had somehow managed to assemble a world-class development team in America in mere months. Deep down, Hikaru knew the truth was otherwise, but denial was easier to swallow than admiration.
Hikaru closed his eyes, and Junpei's words from a past meeting surfaced in his mind:
"Boss, don't try to compete with ZAGE to become number one. Let's aim for a solid number two."
At the time, Hikaru had dismissed the advice, too proud to acknowledge its wisdom. But now… now it rang differently. Maybe Junpei had a point. Competing for the top spot could bleed them dry. Maybe Sonaya would be better off holding a steady position—being a strong, respectable number two in the gaming industry.
He exhaled slowly. "Maybe it's time to focus on what we do well and maintain our standing," he whispered.
Yet, even as those words left his mouth, something inside him recoiled. A spark lit up in his chest.
"Settle for number two?" he repeated, louder this time, and then snorted. "Me?"
He rose from his chair, energized by his own resistance slamming his desk.
"If I think like that, I become mediocre—and I don't do mediocre."
Hikaru smiled—a wide, stubborn grin.
"Even if it's impossible, even if we can't match ZAGE step for step… Sonaya will always aim to be number one. That's who we are. If we fall short, so be it—but we'll never stop striving. That's what makes Sonaya a great company. We won't give up."
"Just you wait, Zaboru. You may think Sonaya can't catch up to ZAGE, but nothing is truly impossible. All it takes is one misstep—just one mistake from you—and that's when Sonaya will rise. So what if you've got a great American team? Sonaya will build one too. We already have a strong foundation, a major office set up in the U.S. All I need now is to establish a dedicated game development division stateside. Once that's in place, we'll be ready to challenge you on every front.
With that, Hikaru Kurata laughed—not out of amusement, but as a declaration. He was already thinking of the next move, the next gamble, the next bold strategy. Even if it meant chasing shadows, he would chase them. What mattered was the mindset, the fight, the relentless pursuit. Results would come second.
With renewed fire in his eyes, Hikaru Kurata pushed his chair back and stood up, filled with determination.
To be continued…
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