Melancholy of One (A Grail Works. LTD. Story)

[pureauthor]

ItsaRandomUsername

Kara's form switching combat style made the action in this update an interesting read and kept the momentum of written action flowing.

Glad you liked it. I wanted to emphasize that this is really how Kara is used to fighting as opposed to when she forced herself to fight exclusively with the abilities of a single Saber class.

kuniKaiRoe

Shinryu: *singsong* Guess who has school~
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOO *is put on mute*
Hatsuki: Oh, brother...
Summary: in which the assassination attempt fails, a wild gigantic pird of prey appears, Kotomine is confused, and Taiga has her rice cooker back.

Well, Gatoh is still alive, but that doesn't mean the attack had no effect whatsoever.

gwonbush

Obviously, Taiga's rice cooker was what made that guardian so much nastier.

burningclaw2

Not the cooker, Taiga's cooking mutated the beast.

Taiga: Exactly! It's not some strange dark power or anything, it was just... HEY! What was that about my cooking?!

Kieran

Wow, that was impressive. And as a longtime RPG player/game master, I can certainly sympathise with Kara's difficulty in keeping so many roles straight in her head - playing multiple characters simultaneously is never easy. That she did it in a combat situation . . . Wow.

Well, she's more used to it than most, of course, given her nature. Glad you liked this chapter!

[burningclaw2]

Taiga, your culinary skills are on par with Shamal and Akane Tendo, in other words you are such a bad cook you end up making eldritch horrors every time you cooks.

[MWkillkenny84]

Taiga, your culinary skills are on par with Shamal and Akane Tendo, in other words you are such a bad cook you end up making eldritch horrors every time you cooks.

Like EmiyaClan!Kiritsugu Jr.'s Cooking.
He tried to do Lime Jello, the result was Jello!Cthulhu.

[Megaolix]

Like EmiyaClan

No.

[pureauthor]

I.

Uh.

Did I miss something?

[Vigilantia]

No.

Exactly.

@MWkillkenny84: people on BL are touchy about the EC. Just an FYI.
@PA: Just EC hate. Move along :P

[MWkillkenny84]

No.

Exactly.

@MWkillkenny84: people on BL are touchy about the EC. Just an FYI.
@PA: Just EC hate. Move along :P

Ok ok, it was only to use an example...

[Vigilantia]

Ok ok, it was only to use an example...

Eh, it's fine. We just don't like talking about it. Think of it like someone using Twilight or My Immortal. You can but it gives people a bad taste and makes you seem like a fan.

[burningclaw2]

Unless your comparing it to something terrible.

[pureauthor]

Chapter Forty One: Im/Mortal

*~*

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

*~*

As Shiki stepped onto the third floor of the school, his gaze strayed to the far corner of the corridor. As he had half-expected, he caught sight of a solitary figure in white, gaze firmly affixed on the stars, and he walked over to talk to her.

Stargazer – Rani’s Theme

“Hey, Rani,” at the sound of his voice, she turned to face him and a slight smile came across her face.

“Shiki Tohno. Is there something I can help you with?”

“No… not right now,” Shiki took a deep breath. Come to think of it, the forth week of this war’s been a lot more straightforward than the previous ones. “You’ve already done more than enough for us, Rani. You and Rin.”

“Yes, that’s right,” her smile grew wider. “Saber’s mana flow should have been fully restored by now. I’m glad the mana tap proved useful.”

“Sab –“ quickly, Shiki caught himself. “Yes, she’s fine now.”

Rani nodded once. “Good. Well then, best of luck with the rest of the match.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Shiki drew a deep breath. “Rani? May I ask you a question?”

“What is it?”

“… What do you think of the world?”

Rani didn’t reply for a long moment, before she shook her head once, “I am sorry, Shiki, but I cannot claim that my view of the world is a substantive one. Most of my time since my creation has been spent aiding my master in his research. I did read up on much of the world and its history, but even my brief experience here has taught me that knowledge acquired is vastly different from what you can experience on your own.”

“Well, even so…” Shiki shrugged. “I think I’d like to hear your opinion on it, if that’s okay with you.”

“Very well,” Rani nodded once. “The world is in a bad shape. According to the data made available to me, natural resources are being consumed at a tr%mendous and unsustainable rate. Humanity’s progress – both technological and thaumaturgical – has slowed to a crawl. The Harway family seeks to control everything that is worthwhile to control – and most of the rest of the world is unable or unwilling to mount effective resistance. With the way it is… the world cannot be sustained.”

“Rin said the same thing, you know,” Shiki said as he lifted his gaze to the skies above. By now the sun had set, revealing a sky of glittering stars. “And Leo too. Even if his way of going about it is…”

“Well, they have likely had more direct experiences than me. My Master sent me here… my primary goal is to prevent the Holy Grail from falling into the wrong hands. Any other wish is secondary to that task.”

“The wrong hands?”

“My Master is less concerned with how the world is than with how the world will be should the Harways get their hands on it,” Rani hesitated for a moment. “And for that matter, he believes the insurgents working against Leo to be too unreliable to trust with the Grail as well.”

“Insurgents…” Shiki frowned. “You mean… Rin.”

“I do not believe Ms. Tohsaka is a bad person. Nevertheless I cannot allow her to get her hands on the Grail,” Rani closed her eyes. “I… cannot trust anyone else with it. In the end, that is the heart of the matter.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she turned back to face him, “you should rest, Shiki Tohno. Tomorrow should prove another trying day.”

And with that, she bowed slightly at the waist and walked off.

*~*

“Information on Arcueid’s Servant Skills…?” Shiki murmured as he tabbed through the file that Kotomine had downloaded into his terminal. “Kara, I think you’d be better served reading this than I would.”

Kara dutifully relieved the terminal from Shiki, “All right then, Master.”

“I told you to call me Shiki, didn’t I?”

“Yes you did, Master.”

Shiki let out a sigh. “I felt odd enough when Hisui insisted on calling me Shiki-sama. Now this too?”

“I am your Servant, Master. And as long as I play this role, I will not deviate from it.”

“As long as you play this role, huh…” Shiki’s voice trailed off, “Hey, Kara.”

“What is it, Master?”

“After the Grail War is over… what happens to you?”

“Assuming the Moon Cell functions as it normally does, any remaining programs are sent back into storage for the next time they will be called.”

“I didn’t ask about the programs, Kara. I asked about you.”

His Servant closed her eyes and sighed. “I… my existence is not acknowledged by the Moon Cell in any official capacity. Once I lose my status as a Servant… the Moon Cell will not acknowledge me any longer and I will return to the way I was before this war began.”

“And that is?”

“Waiting,” Kara’s closed her eyes and shrugged, “For nothing, I guess.”

Shiki lowered his gaze to the ground. Something like that is…

“Don’t let your will flag now, Master,” Kara said. “And don’t worry about me. This fight is about you, is it not? You and Arcueid. Before anything else, let’s get her back.”

“Yeah,” Shiki said after a pause. “Let’s do that.”

*~*

The last day of the preparation round passed without much incident, aside from Shiki and Kara making a brief trip to the Arena to collect the second of the Triggers. Attempts to find out what Gatoh had been up to had largely proven fruitless, with Sakura politely but firmly denying all requests for information.

“A knife to the back is usually pretty crippling,” Kara pointed out as they entered their room at the end of the day.

“Ordinarily yes, but I don’t really know how much Gatoh has in the way of hidden abilities,” Shiki’s own smile was bitter. “We’ve had our fair shares of times where we ended up pretty badly off too, didn’t we?”

“I guess…” Kara nodded. “Still, there isn’t much we can do about him now, is there?”

“Yeah… you’re right,” Shiki said after a moment’s hesitation. “Well, in that case, we should probably get an early night.”

Kara nodded and smiled, “Tomorrow’s the big day, Master.”

Later, Shiki sat by the window of his room, his gaze briefly wandering over Kara’s slumbering form, lit by silver moonlight. Closing his eyes, Shiki let out a deep breath.

“Hang on, Arcueid. Tomorrow. I promise I’ll rescue you tomorrow.”

*~*

Day of Reckoning – Elimination Match Begins

“You remember the plan?” Shiki said as he left the room.

“Yes, of course,” Kara said. “I’ll hold Berserker off while you finish off Gatoh.”

“Kara. You sure you’ll be able to handle it?”

“Yes… I’ve some measure of what to expect from her now. I won’t be able to hold out for very long, though.”

“It’s fine. I won’t take very long myself.”

“… Master.”

“Kara?”

“If it comes down to it…” she paused. “I will do everything I must that will buy you the time you need. Even if it means-“

“Kara.”

She blinked, obviously not expecting to be interrupted halfway through her declaration, “M – Master?’

“Let’s get going. After this fight is over, I want you to meet Arcueid. I think you’ll like her.”

She blinked, nodded, and a slow smile spread across her face, “Very well, Master. Let’s go.”

As Shiki stepped out onto the first floor foyer, he found Leo already standing there and waiting. Shiki frowned. Leo had told him that he had always waited for his opponents as a matter of course, so seeing him there wasn’t much of a surprise.

But there was something different about him. Shiki frowned. The self-assured manner, the way he had carried himself that had always been a part of Leo… it was missing.

“Leo?”

“Hm?” Leo turned to face Shiki. “Oh… it’s you, Shiki Tohno.”

Something was definitely wrong. Leo seemed more… subdued. Cagey, even.

“Anything the matter?”

“What? No, no I’ll be fine,” he waved the matter away quickly, and something of his old self-assurance appeared on his face, although it seemed to come with effort. “You should hurry ahead for your own match,” there was a brief moment, and then his smile became more meaningful – genuine. “I understand this week is a particularly important one for you.”

Well, that was true enough, and so Shiki stepped past him, although a part of himself couldn’t help but wonder. For now though, he filed the thought away as he approached Father Kotomine.

“Young Master Tohno,” Kotomine nodded once. “Your opponent is already waiting within. Are you ready? If you are, then I shall open the gates to the Coliseum.”

“I am.”

“Then step forward and present your Triggers.”

Wordlessly, Shiki raised his hand, letting the golden cards float forward until they touched the doorway.

MASTER ACKNOWLEDGED

IDENTIFICATION NUMBER: 1015-1301690-57-U

NAME: SHIKI TOHNO

“I wish you the best of luck and pray for your safe return, young Master. Remember, it’s kill or be killed.”

Taking a deep breath, Shiki stepped forward.

*~*

Once he had entered the elevator, the lights snapped on, and Shiki found himself staring at Gatoh once more.

“So, you come to stand before me again,” the same wild intensity was apparent in the man’s eyes, but his voice didn’t quite reach the same volume as the last time. That he was still in pain was obvious. “Still you have not repented.”

Shiki did not respond.

“What? Silent now? Have you been cowed into utter terror already?”

Well at the very least Gatoh’s confidence – or perhaps delusions – appeared as strong as ever. Surreptitiously, Shiki glanced at Arcueid, who appeared no better – or worse – for the wear.

“Be quiet,” Kara said as he came into visibility, dressed in the crimson gown of her Saber form. Gatoh had been present the last time she’d switched forms, but Shiki had to wonder if he had noticed, and whether he would even realize what it was about. “Neither I nor my Master has the patience for your inane prattling.”

“Fine words! But we have already proven – twice now! – that you as a helpless lamb before the might of my God! And now we approach the altar where you shall be sacrificed!”

Shiki could see Kara’ features tighten as the words sunk in.

“Yes! You may have dealt me a blow, but what of it! Those who have delivered humanity out of their darkest hours have always suffered grievously for their vision! This is yet more proof that I am to be the light of humanity and its future. With my devotion, and with my God’s strength, I cannot fail!”

Forcing his growing rage back down, Shiki closed his eyes, trying to keep some semblance of calm. To distract himself, he instead tried to focus on the upcoming battle. If the Coliseum was anything like the last one, it would be wide open, with plenty of space to move. On the under hand, that would mean that he wouldn’t have much cover to get close to Gatoh with.

Kara… He would have to rely on his Servant. Not to win. Simply to tie Arcueid down for long enough.

With a grinding sound, the elevator came to a halt, and Shiki stepped out into the Coliseum.

The aesthetics had been designed to mimic an ocean floor. As he walked over the sandy mounds, he could see schools of brightly coloured fishes swimming to and fro above him.

And then his attention was drawn once more to Gatoh, who had raised both hands to the sky.

“And now begins the advent of Ragnarok! Come! Let your blood stain the ground, and provide fertile soil for the new seed of humanity!”

And with a feral howl, Arcueid charged.

*~*

Cold Lightning – vs. Berserker

As Berserker lunged forward, Kara raised her sword and moved to the side. The strike was incredibly fast, of course, but she had already opened their two previous clashes with the exact same move. Actual combat tactics was not a strong point of the Berserker class, after all, and it was one of their most glaring weaknesses.

And so, she avoided Berserker’s initial wild strike with room to spare, bringing her sword up around to strike at her unprotected back. Instinct arrested Berserker’s movement, and she whirled, clawed hands reaching up to knock the blade out of the way.

Once again, Kara stepped back, preparing herself to meet the next of her opponent’s wild attacks. Her strategy here was simply to tie Berseker down – either to get her so enraged she couldn’t focus on the wider aspects of the battle, or to keep her physically unable to respond in time – so that her Master could approach Gatoh and deal with him personally.

As Berserker neared her again, Kara struck the ground in front of her with all the force she could muster. The sandy floor shifted, and for a brief instant, Berserker was on unsteady footing. Immediately, Kara charged forward, knocking Berserker back several steps.

Eager to press the advantage, Kara swung her blade forward – only for it to be caught in one of Berserker’s hands. Growling, Berserker tightened her grip on the blade, preventing Kara from yanking it away, and she struck forward with her other arm.

“Nkh!” Kara had twisted to the side to avoid it, but had been a split seconds too slow, and now bore red lines across her arm.

Hastily, she dismissed Old Iron, which meant that she could now back away from Berserker. Of course, Berserker reacted to this, another wild overhead swing aimed at smashing open Kara’s head.

Instinctively, Kara’s form changed, and as she called Old Iron to her hand once more, she raised her weapon – now a shield – over her head, blocking the blow.

I can imitate Masters too. sometimes, remembering that came in handy. Although Berserker was now pressing down on the shield with both arms, apparently intent on simply crushing Kara underneath her. Briefly she recalled that in this current form the shield had a secondary function as a pile bunker… but the angle was all wrong. She couldn’t counterattack like that.

Had her Master reached Gatoh yet? She couldn’t even risk a glance away to check. And despite her best efforts and her aching muscles, Berserker’s strength was forcing the shield slowly downwards.

Swallowing, Kara changed yet again, a little girl clad in an elaborate dress. A… Caster? Regardless, her child size and lack of weapon now meant that Berserker was meeting no resistance, and she stumbled forward, and Kara’s head pressed against Berserker’s stomach. Quickly, Kara changed once more, to a hulking giant of a man, a great hero of legend.

Berserker was incredibly strong, there was no doubt of that. Yet for all her power she did not have the mass needed to be an immovable object – not once Kara had lifted her up, anyway. Hastily she swung her arm around, tossing Berserker to the ground a good distance away – and groaned as pain shot up her arm. Berserker had returned the favour even as she had been hurled, slashing down on her arm and tearing three deep gouges in it.

In ordinary circumstances she could usually count on her Master quickly tossing her an ether crystal to heal the wound, but he would be occupied right now –

And from behind her, she heard a shout of alarm.

*~*

Nearing Gatoh had taken more effort and time than Shiki had anticipated. They had been separated across the Coliseum by the fighting between Arcueid and Kara and they had moved back and forth quickly enough that Shiki hadn’t felt comfortable that Arcueid wouldn’t notice him and forcibly halt any attempts at targeting Gatoh.

At least the enemy Master had not been paying attention to Shiki, his attention focused with laserlike intensity on the duel between the two Servants. That had given him a bit of leeway in his approach.

Now, as Kara managed to direct the battle over to the side, giving him a clearer path to his target, Shiki charged.

He had complete confidence in his ability to outmatch Gatoh even under ordinary circumstances, and the wound that Kara had dealt him earlier would have limited his physical abilities even further. So, it should have been a simple affair.

But even as he moved, Gatoh’s expression switched to him, and an expression of rage suffused his features.

[Seal; Attack; 32]

A blue light formed around Gatoh’s outstretched hand and suddenly Shiki found his right arm rigidly locked into place, “Ah! What -!” His knife fell from nerveless fingers and he broke off his charge, grimacing in anger.

Damn it! I didn’t… Gatoh never showed any signs of being a proper magus before! But his carelessness had cost him now. Try as he might, he couldn’t move his arm at all.

“Oh hoh! Again and again you rely on such underhanded tactics! And it appears you have taught your Servant how to last against God. If she had not reacted so strongly towards you before, then perhaps I would not have hesitated to do what needs to be done. But this charade ends now! Consider yourself honoured to be worthy of my first Command to be given to God!” as he spoke, Gatoh raised his arm to the sky, the Command Seal on his arm beginning to glow a sickly red.

“Now, o God! Kill this boy, this whelp that stands before me!”

*~*

Kara felt the shock of Command Seal’s power reverberating through the Coliseum, and her eyes widened in horror as she heard Gatoh utter the command, loud enough to be heard clearly from where she was.

Her gaze was drawn back to Berserker, already clambering back to her feet. Whatever fragile scraps of sanity she’d still possessed that had prevented her from attacking her Master would no longer hold, not with a Command Seal compelling her on.

Almost Nothing – Kara’s Theme

And if so… there was only one thing to do.

As Berserker took a single step forward, a low growl coming from the back of her throat, Kara changed once more, feeling Old Iron warp in her hands into an ordinary knife.

It’s not like the one Master is using… of course. His current knife was given by Sir Blackmore. This one is… the weapon he’s more used to.

Berserker had come to a complete halt, her breathing raspy and agitated. Slowly, her gaze shifted, from her Master to her, now an identical copy of him.

Can’t decide which of us to focus on? Then let me make the choice easier for you. With a cry, she charged forward, holding the knife up.

Truth be told, she didn’t really understand her Master’s fighting style. But that was okay, wasn’t it? She just needed to hold Berserker off for a while, until…

Abruptly a fist smashed into her abdomen, and Kara stumbled back, trying desperately not to retch. Berserker… had grown stronger. Faster.

This power… granted to her by the Command Seal! The ability to achieve even the impossible. Granting her enough power to strike down Shiki Tohno was a simple affair, by that standards.

Another howl from Berserker as she charged again. Still in pain from the last blow, Kara was unable to react in time –

(Wall; 8_')

A barrier of shining light came up in front of her, directly in the path of Berserker. Her wild attack still smashed through the barrier, but it had arrested the force of the strike and had given those several vital seconds to dodge the blow.

“Master…!” Kara yelped. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him, eyes screwed up in concentration. Codecasting now? Did something happen to him instead?

Again Berserker struck forward. Again the shining wall sprung up, giving Kara just enough time to dodge.

Can’t keep on like this. Berserker will easily outlast me. The next attack…

All or nothing. That was what it would come down to.

Quickly, she skipped backwards, putting a bit of distance between her and Berserker. She knew by know what kind of attack Berserker would move into to cover distance between the two of them. And if she timed it just right.

As Berserker exploded into action, Kara realized that she had misjudged – the Command Seal was making Berserker faster than she would be normally. But – but! As a knife, Old Iron was smaller and easier to shift than a sword or lance, so she could –

The two of them collided with a sickening crunching noise, and for a moment all was still in the Arena.

And then Kara managed a brief smile, even as she felt hot wetness building up in the back of her throat.

First impaled through the back, and now the front… something about the whole situation seemed darkly humourous to her, and she laughed once, weakly. Blood that had been pooling in her mouth spilled down her chin, dripping onto the arm that had stabbed into her heart.

But this time Berserker had not gotten away unscathed. Her own strike, delivered with all the force she could muster, into the base of Berserker’s neck at the same instant that she had been stabbed. A strangled growl came from clenched teeth as Berserker glared at her.

Feeling all strength leave her body, Kara closed her eyes. She knew better than to think that such a wound would stop – or even significantly delay – Berserker, but maybe… just maybe, she had bought her Master enough time.

Master… I’ve… done everything I can. I hope it helped. The rest is up… to you…

*~*

“What is this! Why? WHY?!” Gatoh’s bellows were rising in volume and franticness. “How is your Servant – an unspoiled whelp – holding off God for so long? She should be long dead!”

Gasping for air, his right arm hanging limp, Shiki glared at Gatoh. He wanted to charge the man again, but his knife was on the ground, and moving to pick it up would give Gatoh enough time to cast another sealing spell – presumably on his remaining good arm. And after Shiki had charged him, Gatoh was paying much more attention to him now.

Damn it… If only…. it weren’t for…

“You! That can be the only reason! Even with a power of the Command Seal, you continue to cling on to life so tightly. Your Servant is all but worthless, a colourless wraith in amongst glowing auras! It must be you, somehow!” Gatoh’s eyes were growing wider now. “Yes! Even when we first met, God refused to strike you down! She must-“

“Shut. Up,” Shiki said, feeling his body quiver with rage. “SHUT UP. Arcueid is not a god.”

For some reason, this simple sentence seemed to affect Gatoh more than anything else. “WHAT?” he sputtered. “Heretic! How dare you-!”

“No, shut up,” Shiki continued, the force in his voice overriding Gatoh’s ranting for once. “Arcueid is not a god. Arcueid is a person. She likes burgers and movies and sleeping in late. She’s selfish and lazy and easily jealous and I wouldn’t have it any other way! You worship her? You know nothing about her! You don’t care about what Arcueid wants, what Arcueid thinks. You think she wants to be called a god? You think she wants to be a Berserker and be driven insane? If you had bothered to ask her once, just once, before you got yourself involved in this whole stupid War you would have realized what an idiot you were, but no, you didn’t. Because you didn’t care what the god you supposedly worship thought. You just see her as a means to an end. Now that’s sad. Maybe even sadder than all the religions you dismissed as hypocritical.”

Gatoh stared at Shiki, at a loss of words for once, “What…” he began.

“You want your god to speak? To reveal divine truths to you? Then why didn’t you make her? You have your Command Seals right there, but apparently using one of them to have her tell you your plans never entered your mind. No, winning the War and proving yourself ‘worthy’ was your only goal. You’re-“

“You – be quiet! My God will not stand for such blasphemy-“

The sound of impact distracted both of them, and Siki whirled, to see that that Arcueid and Kara had both struck each other at the same moment.

“Kara!” Shiki cried out, seeing the hole torn in her chest.

“What…” Gatoh’s stunned voice at the same time. “God has been… wounded? How? She is supposed to transcend all… Can it be… that the boy is… no! NO! My God is immortal! Invincible! And I will prove it!”

Shiki turned back to Gatoh as his voice began rising again. What is he-

“God! O God! Show them! Show the world that you cannot be felled – even within this world of rules and restrictions, you stand supreme over all! Prove to them this! Prove it to me, your most devoted servant! Show that you cannot be restrained even as I Command you!” the Command Seal on Gatoh’s began to glow once more.

“KILL YOURSELF!”

*~*

Chapter End

*~*

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.

[Laith]

Rani = Neutral.
Neutral = best route.
Therefore; Rani = Best. Simple.

Anyway, interesting cliffhanger, and nice choice of music for the battle portion.

[ZidanReign]

Dat Cliffhanger

ಠ_ಠ

[Megaolix]

Well... Shiki proved that Arcueid can shrug off fatal hits, even those made with the MEoDP. But her own power on herself? Yikes. We may get Arcueid back, but she may lack the power to completely stop her bloodlust.

[gwonbush]

Technically, Shiki didn't kill Arcueid, just cut her into 17 pieces at a conceptual level.

[Kieran]

I'm noticing a fair number of glitches in the text - is that intentional?


. . . Aside from that, this will certainly be interesting. I suppose, if she's able to direct her power, maybe she can kill the part of herself tied to her bloodlust? Render herself human? That would killing herself, in a way, as her existence as the White Princess of the True Ancestors would end, and she would be, as she always wished to be, just "Arc."

[ZidanReign]

I'm noticing a fair number of glitches in the text - is that intentional?


. . . Aside from that, this will certainly be interesting. I suppose, if she's able to direct her power, maybe she can kill the part of herself tied to her bloodlust? Render herself human? That would killing herself, in a way, as her existence as the White Princess of the True Ancestors would end, and she would be, as she always wished to be, just "Arc."

Is such a existential killing of self possible?

[burningclaw2]

Who wants to bet Gatoh is about to get killed before that order can actually be carried out in true Arcuied no longer be able to regenerate fashion of course.

[Fafnir]

Is such a existential killing of self possible?

No. Besides Arcueid not having control, it would still count as bullshit for anyone but Ryougi.

[Kieran]

Given the kind of reality-bending authority conferred by an activated Command Seal, and the fact that they're in the Moon Cell, which has a fairly malleable definition of "impossible" to begin with . . . I wouldn't rule it out, anyway. But it was just an idle thought, a momentary curiosity.

[Mattias]

Maybe she kills herself by bringing The Crimson Moon into being....