Onigokko (IC Thread)

[Sei]

Ishimaru Sakuya
The Floodflow- Gong's Wake
Time Unknown (Morning)

"A friend, hmm? I suppose you could spin it like that."

It only takes an instant. No... Less than an instant.

You take a moment to blink and, by the time you open your eyes again, you're met with the face of a complete stranger. It takes a moment for you to process it. You could barely see him from a distance, but you come to the conclusion that this person is the same one Keigo was staring down so fiercely. A young man by the name of Nagato.

He casually steps into your space, leaning in with his head lowered to meet yours. His eyes peer directly into yours while a look of genuine curiosity dances across his face. He examines your expression from a multitude of angles and, in turn, you do what you can to examine him. But given the suddenness of it all, there is little you can really come up with that is substantial. All that really sticks out in your mind is the unnerving vibe coming from this guy.

"I don't believe we've met."

The boy's head tilts.

He speaks plainly...

Upon making this statement, his eyes widen- similar to a person in shock. However, you don't get the impression that he has come to some kind of startling realization or anything of the sort. Rather, through this small action, you feel as though he's seeing you more "clearly". Like the entirety of your physical being is being unraveled by this boy's stare and your soul is being laid bare for all to see.

It's a very unpleasant greeting...

But before you can properly react, Nagato's gaze is broken. Without warning, a heavy blur storms in front of you and descends upon the boy's position. The ground erupts with the sound of thunder as Keigo brings his fist down with inhuman strength. His target was clearly Nagato; however, even before the dust clears, you know that Keigo missed.

Katsumata Keigo, with all his strength and ability, just missed...

"Long time no see, Katsu-kun."

Seemingly oblivious to Keigo's intent, Nagato speaks up and draws your attention once more. Having you turn a full one-eighty, you find that he has somehow made his way over to a large pile of rubble almost three meters back. He's unscratched... Unfazed... Only taking a moment to knock some dust from his clothes, he continues to speak with a rather subdued tone.

"I haven't seen you in so long that I was starting to worry that you might have been killed. It's nice to know that my assumptions were wrong."

"Bastard-!" Keigo, on the other hand, is less than pleased to see Nagato. Clenching his fists and teeth alike, the look on his face now is much like a rabid dog who's preparing to maul something to death, "Just what the hell are you doing here!? Are you with the goons that attacked us earlier!?"

Nagato does not address Keigo. Instead, his eyes just drift over towards Yuma. Once again, his head tilts.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

It's a simple question in nature, but one that still sounds odd out loud.

Yuma takes this and offers no response. Not a verbal one anyway... Instead, she remains silent with small beads of sweat forming on her brow. Her eyes remain sharp and her stance stays strong; however, any one can tell that something is troubling her. You can't quite put your finger on what, at the moment. But... You've seen similar expressions on the faces of those who came to this world with you.

"Pardon me, miss."

Once again, your attention snaps towards the blue stranger. When your eyes meet again, you find that he has set himself down atop the rubble- cross-legged... Completely disregarding the overwhelming hostility being pointed at him.

"Are you new to this world? Do you not want to go back to your home?"

[RacingeR]

Aki Fumi
Purgatory- Makoto's Safehouse
Time Unknown (Morning)

Hexes and curses.

Aki knew very little about magecraft. Her clan had always had little to do with the affairs of the magi, and about a thousand years of isolationism hadn’t helped matters, although they had hardly been cut of their sources of outside information. They had given her a general understanding of magecraft, and they had, of course, appraised her of the Tohsaka and what information they had of their magecraft, mostly the Gandr. Which also meant Aki had been lectured about curses.

A type of magecraft which consisted, in very basic terms, of enforcing an effect upon a target; the Gandr, for example, forced an illness on someone, and the Tohsaka had been capable of solidifying the Gandr to make a ‘solid’ bullet out of it. Geass, which she had also been told a little about, also fell in a similar category. It was quite the nasty type of magecraft, and judging from Adam’s comment about his strength, it seemed like he had a knack for using them in battle.

Well, this was just pure conjecture, but hexes and curses had perhaps certain conditions on targets that needed to be fulfilled (maybe the more powerful ones did?). Ryoko seemed to think revealing just this was dangerous enough, which perhaps meant that maybe some of Adam’s spells didn’t work well against inhuman targets, or perhaps just not against demons. Not that Aki would bet on this, but it was a rather interesting detail.

Aki looked at Ryoko appraisingly, and with visible confusion. Probably nobody in there would mistake her confusion as one pertaining Ryoko’s action itself, but it was unmistakable that something about it had confused the redhead. Aki’s eyes had fallen upon the magus with some intensity.

And why not? Of all the people she had met in this deranged world, she was probably the first one that had ever acknowledged Aki as a threat, even if just a potential one. Remembering Makoto, Tsubaki’s blind charge, and Sou’s… Aki wasn’t sure of how to call that. Posturing, bragging? Either way none of them had seemed to take the event of a fight with her all that seriously. But this girl alone did.

“Interesting…” she mumbled, not looking at Adam, but instead at the Japanese girl. Ryoko… she was, probably after Adam, the biggest potential threat in this room. It was certain she had gone up a few positions in Aki’s internal ranking of entertainment.

“It is fine.” She then said out loud, returning to her normal demeanor. “I only told you this much since Ryoko told me so much about her power, on the first place.”

She knew that given how… veteran most of this team looked, talking about her power had been a huge risk, and that they had probably gotten a very good idea of what she could do, exactly. If she were to speculate, they had grasped a good hold of the invisible nature of her power, and what that meant.

Aki smiled slightly, looking around the rest of the room. The rest of the group didn’t seem all that willing to talk about their abilities, so…

“I guess we should get going?” She suggested.

It was a little test, perhaps a meaningless one. It was a risk to go to battle like this, with one of the members of the team not knowing the abilities of half the squad: there was the chance that Aki would interfere, without knowing, on the fighting ‘style’ of the rest, or she would accidentally disrupt their formation. So she wanted to see if Adam would force the rest to share, or would take the risk and let this situation be. Of course, the rest could share out of their own accord, but it didn’t really matter. She just wanted to see the scope of Adam’s leadership, and how the group would solve this little conundrum.

[Frantic Author]

Ishimaru Sakuya
The Floodflow- Gong's Wake
Time Unknown (Morning)

Everything around Ishimaru Sakuya happens in an instant. The only words she hears are from the newcomer - "I don't believe we've met." It's a statement that is true, as his eyes bore through her in their entirety.

Then -

A flash.

Katsumata Keigo has attacked. And missed. And missed.

There's the start of an argument, but Ishimaru Sakuya has heard it before, many times - it's an argument of friends (she thinks), an argument made in love (she hopes). And then... he turns to her.

And he says words she'd believed were unsayable.


"Are you new to this world? Do you not want to go back to your home?"

The girl froze, eyeing him newly; with more trepidation, more nervously then before. "I-I... I'm new."

Did she want to return home?

Who wouldn't?

Who would possibly desire to stay here? In this place that has nothing for anyone but despair and death, as her knees shake and and she forces herself to stay standing in the water.

"I... I would. B-but..."

She can't.

She can't leave all her friends - if they were ever that - behind.

She can't leave Haruka-senpai behind.

She can't leave Slayne-senpai out here.

She can't leave her teacher here.

She can't leave.

"I-I-I... I can't. I-I want to leave, b-but... w-wouldn't everyone else... just be stuck here?" She shakes her head, grabbing her shoulders. "I won't... I wont leave them behind. S-so... I-I'm really sorry, Nagato-san, but I... I can't leave."

She smiles at him, a weak and fragile thing as she bows slightly. "I-I hope we can still be friends!"

[Sei]

Kuboiha Shizuka
Mosscreep Ruins- Necks' Manse
Time Unknown (Morning)

It's a painful eternity all contained within a single split second.

You see. You recognize. You react. And you pray.

With so many things happening at once, it's a wonder you're able to make sense out of it all. Because, faced with such a daunting obstacle, you are no longer battling the enemies before you. You are also facing yourselves. Your fears, your limitations, your doubts, and even your own sanity... Both body and mind alike are slowly being pushed towards the edge, teetering on the abyss. But, even still, you act. Your body draws breath- promoting life for that much longer- and you use it to the fullest.

Ethan has snapped, Sakaki has moved to calm him, and you have instinctively positioned yourself to protect them all. At the same time, you're surrounded on all sides by the ravenous eyes of countless feral beasts who want nothing more than to rip you limb from limb. It's more than enough to make you feel helpless. Knowing that- despite your best efforts- your powers combined are just that small compared to what you set out to face. All of these thoughts and emotions well up inside of you, punctuated by the sound of a single bullet.

...

Another second ticks by.

An eternity has come and gone...

There is no explosion or grand effect that splits apart the group the gun was aimed at. In fact, the enemy before you isn't moved at all. Not by fear or even by effect. Absolutely nothing happens to them, nor does it seem like anything will. The bullet that was fired at them... has no effect whatsoever...

...

Your heart sinks.

Yet another second ticks by... and another... Still, there is no effect to be seen. The hundreds of eyes set on you seem even keener now than they were before. The jaws of the beasts salivate with anticipation as they seemingly start to draw closer. Your mind starts to swim as you try to think of what to do next, but there simply isn't enough time or preparation to deal with this threat. All that separates you from imminent dismemberment is a small barrier limited by your stores of prana. Once that is exhausted, you're finished...

Your final hope has failed you...

Ethan is is no condition to fight. Sakaki is strong, but there's no way he can stand up to this number of enemies. And on top of it all, the three of you are already exhausted...

Realizing that you are out of options, your legs buckle beneath you. You drop to your knees- feebly trying to maintain your last defense- but your mind already knows all too well that it's a waste of energy. At the end of it all, there is one truth that is apparent. One truth that aggressively overpowers all other thoughts and places it at the forefront of your mind...

Right here, right now... You are going to die.

You feel your head slump forward upon this realization. For a second, all you can see is the cold ground. The ruined pavement upon which your body will lay in just a few moments. But, as if through a last act of defiance, you manage to lift your head to face the enemy once more. You reach into your pocket and slowly draw out one more stone, bringing it forward with shaking hand. You comb your mind for one last spell- anything- but your mind goes blank. There is nothing within your power that will make this any easier. Nevertheless, anything is better than nothing. Just one last move to prove that you fought to the end... One last spell that could prolong your lives just a little bit more... Even if by a couple of seconds-!

...

But there is no need...

Because before you can build up the courage to squeeze out that one last spell, you come to a startling realization. ...Time has stopped.

There is no sound. No movement. Not even the slightest sensation of the air brushing against your cheek. There is only complete and utter stillness. If you weren't seeing it with your own eyes, you wouldn't be able to believe it yourself, but there is no doubt that the world as you know it has completely been frozen. Furthermore, you can't imagine what could possibly generate such a grand and powerful phenomenon; however, something at the back of your dazzled mind strikes you with a hint.

Your eyes widen.

Your breath escapes you.

Slowly turning to face the others, you observe the only event which could have possibly led to this. And... what you see perhaps fills you with even more terror than death.

The bullet has been fired, but time is frozen and the following event is laid bare for you to see. What was unleashed was not some manner of projectile or spell, but rather... It appears to be a type of thaumaturgal system that had been contained within the casing. Or at least... that's what you could guess. In appearance, it looks like a hole in space with all kinds of characters, runes, and sprawls spreading from within and anchoring itself upon the image of the world. Watching it grow can only make you think of an infection that effects not a person, but reality itself. Even though everything has come to a stand still, this singular "plague" continues to reach out, expand, and grow...

You gaze on, trying your best to make sense of this... "thing", but it's maddening. Much like a caveman trying to make sense out of a modern computer, this thing is years beyond anything you've witnessed or could hope to understand. It shows no signs of dying out despite no external prana being used to activate it and it seems to be self-actualized. All that was needed was a single pull of a trigger...

There was no longer a gun to speak of. Once the red bullet was fired, the contained phenomenon proved far too great for the mundane weapon an obliterated it before it could even leave the barrel. The same could be said of Ethan's arm... Though its form can still be distinguished now, it's clear that the event activation is too much for him to hand. What was once his arm is now a cloud of blood, muscle, tendon, and bone all trying to fly out only to be held together by this suspended moment. Fortunately, no further damage seems to have been done to either Ethan or Sakaki... but you can't be sure it simply hasn't been resolved yet... Neither of them were even allowed the chance to realize what happened...

The hole in space quivers.

Your heart makes a single, powerful beat within your chest and you suddenly feel as if your body is going fall apart. You're floored by the sensation- falling to your hands and knees- only to immediately tumble onto your side as a piercing wave surges through the entirety of your body. Your vision blurs and you can feel your thoughts creeping to a crawl. But with the last bits of your consciousness, you manage to look at the dreadful event one more time...

It moves once more... At the same time, it ejects a ripple that sweeps through the world and briefly provides a glimpse of another as it passes. Once it's gone, the frozen space itself begins to shake relentlessly as the hole begins to rapidly expand. The world around you... begins to fall apart. But not in the traditional sense of destruction and collapse. Rather, the space surrounding you is aggressively being unraveled and reconstructed. Colors fade and images start to shift. You catch a glimpse of a terrible world being built up around you and the others, but your mind is only able to catch bits and pieces as you slip in and out of consciousness. But, as the world around you is slowly painted over with destruction, one thing remains constant. The black hole at the center of it all never stops expanding...

You claw weakly at the ground, trying to move...

As the hellish void expands to consume everything within your vision, it suddenly collapses- creating a fault within the world. And once this happens... The water, the earth, even the sky, you, and the others... All is drawn into this terrifying tear without objection.

[Sei]

Sakaki Tetsuro
The Boundary

There is nothing.

No clue as to how you got here or even what's in store for you.

There is simply nothing.

The ground beneath your feet has vanished and all traces of the world has crumbled away. Where you were, what you were doing, and where you should be have been reduced to a vague impulse gripping your mind. Even your own identity and sense of self are slipping away.

There is only the void... The dark, terrifying, yet beautiful spiral of reds and blues.




Seconds turn into minutes. Minutes become hours. Hours become days... At some point, you just stopped keeping track. "Time is passing by" is the only intelligible thing you can tell yourself in regards to how much time you've spent here. However, every now and then, as you contemplate yourself- your existence in this space- you can feel as though the idle months that have flowed into you are steadily washing away all that you knew. The only thing keeping you whole being your name...



...How many times have you repeated it now?

How long have you clung to the identity of the man in your mind?

How many times have you convinced yourself that Sakaki Tetsuro is you?






There is no end to the stillness. Even when you try to move your arms and legs, it feels as if you're still floating in place. ...For all you know, you lost your body a long time ago in this sea of spiraling hues. What you perceive as your arms and legs could just be an illusion generated by your 'self' in an attempt to stay complete. But you're starting to wonder if it's even worth it anymore.

Your mind wanders for the first time in an eternity. Instead of trying to recall your memories or life before this limitless expanse, you start to contemplate 'death'. With no escape in sight and no power to bring about change, would it be easier to just let go of yourself and fade away? If you were to just give in to this oppressive stillness and let this space consume you, would it be peaceful? The insurmountable amount of time you've spent lingering in this void has stripped you of all but your base consciousness. All ties to life and the world before have long sense gone. The only thing eating away at you now is a single idea you've held on to for all this time.

"There's something I still have to do..."

Were it not for these select few words, you probably would have given in long ago. But you've agonized over them for so long now, despite slowly forgetting the weight of them over time. And now... You've grown tired. Tired of nothingness. Tired of being nothing and tired of gaining nothing. If this is all you can expect from here on, then perhaps fading away wouldn't be so bad at all? Perhaps you were meant to have died long ago, but some kind of internal burden prevented you from fading then...


You let go.

After an eternity of nothing but questions an sleeplessness, you finally decide upon rest. Upon ease...

You close your eyes and, for once, your mind embraces stillness. There is no conflict, doubt, or questioning. Just peaceful silence. ...And as all sensation starts to melt away, you feel a warm feeling envelop your being.

Your body feels small... And it's almost as if your entirety is being plucked from a dream. But, as you open your eyes once more, you see a brilliant, vibrant blue reaching out in every direction.

You feel breath enter your body for the first time in ages. Sensations race through your mind as you remember what it is to feel, see, taste, touch- What it feels like to have a body.

You move, overwhelmed, but also in awe of the sudden change.

The oppressiveness of the void is gone and, who you are, starts to flood back in bits and pieces. But, that's not all...

Within this unexplained space, a lone woman watches over you. Her eyes are as blue as the all-encompassing sky and her skin shines in the light of the two moons. Even in recovering from all that you've been through, you don't have the capacity to deny this stranger's beauty; however, that alone is not enough to put you at ease.

She says nothing at first. She simply remains silent while you lay there and collect yourself, studying you carefully all the while. But, in time, her lips gently part as she speaks her first words.

"You're an unfortunate one, aren't you?"

[Bloble]

Sakaki
The Boundary

Empty.

Sakaki Tetsuro has never felt more like a fragile shell of a person than now.

The wounds from before were terrifying not because they carved apart his body, but because they tore through his identity, exposing to everyone, himself and the others, the emptiness beneath his skin. Even now, in a moment where all that seems to have fallen away and he can breathe without a dozen knives tearing at his skin, the memory of the sight remains and his strength is gone, retreated into the void, holding onto the things he lost and waiting, content to let him crack apart on his own now that the fatal blow has been struck. He can see into himself and for once he isn't afraid of what stares back at him.

It doesn't bother him any more. Being powerless, that is. Letting go was simultaneously the easiest and most difficult thing he's ever had to do, but it was done.

And yet, he is dragged out from the sweet release of nonexistence. Someone addresses that empty shell as he lies there, at the horizon on the edge of nowhere.

"You're an unfortunate one, aren't you?"

Being too polite to ignore it, Tetsuro has no choice but to wake up and reply.

This person bears her little resemblance, but the words themselves are all too familiar. A question that's been asked of him many times.

Tetsuro clambers to his feet. His body moves. He can exert his will over it, despite having no more strength with which to do so. He chooses to use that authority to look into this woman's eyes. Of course. Since in such a situation only Tetsuro is capable of responding properly, he was allowed to handle it.

This time, his answer is different.

"On the contrary," he says with a smile. "I've been fortunate enough to not be alone."

[Sei]

Sakaki
The Boundary- ???

"I see."

The mysterious woman just looks at you and smiles. Notably, it's a smile unlike any other you've seen since you've ended up in this world. Where others have become burden with the duty of optimism and marred by inner doubt, this woman's smile lacks any of that. It's warm and simple, much like one you'd expect from an average life. It's... a very human smile.

"If you're well enough to say that so calmly, then I need not worry myself."

Her words are steady and straightforward. There isn't the slightest hint of ulterior motives in her words, but it doesn't seem like she is being dishonest either. She simply came to your side to confirm your condition and nothing more. It seems strange to think that such a person exists in this place, but it feels even weirder to think that distrust has become your default notion of people.

Regardless, after seeing you stand, the woman offers a slight, respectful nod before turning around and walking off. Despite there being nothing else in this space but the two of you. Despite there being nothing ahead of her but a boundless horizon... She steps with nothing but purpose in her step and a clear destination pulling her forward.

It's hard for you to think that this is all. Though the exchange was brief, you feel- No... You know there is more that has to be said. About her. About this space and the one before... What happened to you and why she was the first person you saw as opposed to your students... They are all questions you know need to be answered and they're slipping away with each step she takes.

You step forward, but your foot stumbles beneath you. You try to catch yourself by quickly bringing the other foot forward, but strength escapes it as well. Unable to hold yourself up any longer, your body leans forward and tumbles down to the night sky beneath your feet. The space echoes with a splash once you hit the invisible ground- the surface rippling beneath you. You try once more to exert your will over your body, but all further efforts only seem to increase the strain.

A tinge of frustration immediately starts to set in as you curse your sloppy state, knowing the woman is getting further and further away. You think to drag yourself, but quickly decide against it. Then you think to call out across the sky, only to look up before you can get the words out of your mouth. Surprisingly, when you do, you find the woman standing over you once again.

She's silent. Her deep blue eyes looking directly into your own. Perhaps even deeper. It isn't until a few awkward seconds of silence that you begin to understand that she isn't quite looking at you. Rather, it seems as if she's spaced out or lost in thought- reflecting upon something using you as a mirror. It makes you a bit uneasy, naturally, and you can feel your battle hardened instincts starting to flare up. But, just as you think to do something, lips gently part once more to fill the air with her voice.

"It's probably wise that you relax for a bit. Your body was just reconstituted, after all."

She says something rather outrageous, but you can't shrug it off as false. With the things you've experienced and what you're seeing now, it wouldn't surprise you if your body somehow ended up in pieces.

Stepping over to your side, the woman glides and sits next to you. With the slight ruffling of her velvet cloak, she brings a hand out from underneath and slowly moves it through the air. As she does, as soft blue light radiates from her fingertips- etching a number of strange characters in the blue space. As she writes, several lights begin to fill the air around you- seemingly made out of water. And it's within these seven-colored lights that you begin to see various images. Memories of the life you've lived...

"Just give me a moment," The woman speaks much like a nurse tending to a patient, "I've never done anything like this before so you'll have to bear with me. Once I'm done piecing you together, I'll be sending you back."

[Bloble]

Sakaki
The Boundary - ???

"Just give me a moment. I've never done anything like this before so you'll have to bear with me. Once I'm done piecing you together, I'll be sending you back."

Tetsuro would like to nod but he can't quite manage it.

"Sakaki." He gives her his name, or at least the part he knows to be true. Anything else would be risking a lie, and he doesn't want to invoke the usual deceptions here. He knows it's silly, but he feels as if she can see right through him. All of his cracks and broken parts are on full display, inside and out, so to hide would be a sin. It's a strange and nostalgic feeling, being utterly powerless and under the care of someone else. He can't quite remember the last time he was so weak and utterly vulnerable. "I am... in your care. Thank you."

No, that's a lie. He remembers it all too well. Except then his wounds were mundane, nothing more than some bruised bones, a split lip, and a bad case of puffed up pride. And his caretaker had been much more foul-mouthed. It was before he became the mess he was now, before his life split in two. So that's what he's feeling: Gratitude.

In this place, lacking even a trace of humanity, he's being brought to tears by a simple smile.

"Is it fine?" his only question arises. "To put back together someone like myself? Your benevolence is a wonderful thing. It should be given to someone that deserves it, that would never squander it."

"And..."

It isn't Tetsuro that says it. The second one, the innocent and childish question is posed by the other. The one he used to fear, that has not spoken to another human being in years except to convey rage and hatred. It simply asks, calmly, for a reason Tetsuro himself can't fathom.

"Wouldn't that make you the unfortunate one, if you were alone here?"

[Sei]

Sakaki
The Boundary- ???

The woman's work does not stop. As you lay there, humbled, inquisitive... She simply continues to 'piece' you back together while silently taking in your words. She is absorbed in the glyphs, runes, and images- obviously tending to delicate work, but not once do you feel as if you're being ignored. Still, from the time you pose your question, there is a pause before the response. Just like her work, it's clear that she's giving your questions considerable thought. That must is reflected by her unclouded eyes. And once she has arrived at an answer she's content with, her busy fingers slow and she draws in a quick breath.

"Perhaps," She answers calmly and makes no effort to cover her uncertainty, "Depending on how you look at it, I suppose you could say that I'm unfortunate in being here. But in all my time here, not once have I thought of it as such."

The woman's eyes drift down to meet yours. Once again, you can feel her looking beyond your physical being. Into your soul, in a manner of speaking. However, this time, you feel as though you are able to glimpse deeper into her eyes as well. Into something clear and serene, without knowledge of doubt or hesitation.

"It'd be foolish of you to liken your situation to my own. Because, unlike you who are here against your will, I've secluded myself in this space by choice."

There's a dreamy glint in her eye. An innocent smile spreading across her face.

"I'm just a hermit that happened upon a dying man."

Her words flow so naturally that you question your own truth. She doesn't miss a single beat in her delivery and the faint radiance she exudes in doing so communicates that she is truly happy here. And that's all there is to it.

"Sakaki Tetsuro-san... Or is it Shin? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter," She says your name quietly to herself in contemplation before returning to her work, "Truth be told, it was just random luck that I found you. And I suppose it's even better luck that I've been able to restored you to this state. I can't really explain to you how difficult it was, but I suppose you can imagine I assembled you from specs of dust. After fishing those specs out of a vast ocean... It was... unbelievably difficult."

There she goes again. Saying something so outrageous it challenges your world view.

"At first I was just thinking to myself, 'It would be a problem if this person died on my lawn'. Or something like that. Eventually, I was just committed to the challenge of reconstructing you. Seeing just how much progress I could make by putting hypothesis and theory into practice," She pauses, "But I suppose what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't think of me saving you as some act of divine benevolence. After all, I wasn't thinking of you so much as I was thinking of furthering myself."

She laughs softly. Not in spite or to mock your ideas, but rather in a sort of enjoyment of their innocence. She smiles, closes her eyes, and nods to herself, stopping her arcane workings for just a moment. Recalling something from deep within her, she looks back at you.

"Although... I suppose 'It's the right thing to do' is what kept me from giving up halfway."

Lifting the other hand from beneath her cloak, she reaches out and places it atop your head. Her slender fingers gently brush through your messy hair as you feel their gentle warmth penetrate your skin.

"What you choose to do with your life is ultimately up to you. Whether you decide to continue living or wish to quietly fade into obscurity, that is a challenge that you will have to face all your own. I only ask that you not trouble me with a dead body."

Lifting her hand, she slowly stands up and takes a few steps off to the side. She turns her back to you, facing off into the distance, with her head turning towards the moon above.

"But I trust that you'll live strong. After all... A man who questions the value of his own life would squander my 'benevolence'."

[Bloble]

Sakaki
The Boundary- ???

"Ahaha... I understand."

Laughing feels good. Tetsuro hasn't felt in a long time, so he'd forgotten what it was like to be scolded. It's different from her. Is it a disservice to this hermit that he keeps comparing her to her without meaning to, or is he merely honouring them both by doing so? Shin doesn't have an answer to that, either. Regardless, the familiarity of being scolded, of having someone run their hands through his hair, is enjoyable with and without the memories it brings.

"I'd ask for your name, but it would be one request too many." He'd like to carve it into himself. If not, just her face and these moments will do.

"And if there is anything this one could do for you..." He doesn't need to say the rest. She'll understand. Of that he is sure. She needs only ask. Compared to what he sees now, the world he came from is cruel and terrifying, and he isn't surprised that she'd seclude herself here. So he won't voice his thoughts and questions and stain it with the ugliness of outside. Instead he will merely place himself at her service, regardless of whether she decides to use it.

He stands once more, taking care not to stress his fragile body. Her work is practically finished. He feels it too. Soon he will be gone from this peaceful place and she will be alone again.

Tetsuro wants to put his hand on her head and run his fingers through her hair. Instead he turns away and matches his back with hers, feeling the warmth of another human being and silently lending her his own.

They face away from each other, but they are both staring at the same moon.

There are thousands of things he wants to say. Part of Tetsuro wants to spend an eternity here, sitting beside his saviour and enjoying the peace. Part of Shin, too. But he knows it's impossible. A hermit is a hermit because she is alone. He is merely a bird with a broken bone that landed on her doorstep, doomed if not for her whim. The time he spends in this place must be transient. Once his wings are healed he will fly away and likely never return. He might fly for years or perish within minutes, and she would never know, nor would she care.

No, she would care. Didn't she say as much? What happens once he moves beyond the horizon will be unknown to both of them, but the least he can do is show her a man standing tall, a bird flying bravely into the wind, beating its healthy wings for all to see.

He takes a breath. The air fills his lungs completely, and he releases it.

"I swear it," Sakaki promises. "The

man

life

you saved, the

hopes

specks of dust

you worked so hard to put together, the

memories

kindness

you showed me here, your

golden repair

efforts

... they will be treasured."

[Sei]

Solomon West
Hospital Building- First Floor
Time Unknown (Night)

You rush forward, desperately subduing your own survival instinct. You know all too well that this is a losing game. There are just too many of them and only one of you. And even if you are able to take out several with one pull of the trigger, more are just flooding in to take their place. You will run out of ammunition long before they run out of numbers. And that's the best case scenario.

Crawl (4) is dead.
Crawl (9) suffers 23 damage.
Crawl (9) is bleeding (tier 3). Crawl (9) has been wounded (tier 3).

You pull the trigger once more and blow away the next monsters to get in your way. It's a sloppy shot compared to before, but it gets the job done. The head and shoulders of one are scattered into several tiny pieces while the other loses an arm and a good portion of its side.

The two bodies tumble to the floor in front of you while the other creatures tumble and scurry to recover. At the same time, your feet carry you two steps closer to Souhei, but you can feel the impact of the gun creeping through your body. You try to pump the gun to prepare for the next shot, but your motions are dull and slightly labored.

One of the monsters slides across the floor and knocks its head brutally against your left calf. You stumble, trying your best to evade a full trip while maintaining your balance, but it doesn't end there. Before you even have time to take in the first attack, more come at you from the front. The first comes at you head-on, throwing its full weight against you with a leaping lunge. You somehow manage to bring the shotgun between the two of you, offering just enough room to deflect it and toss it to the ground. But the next comes from a lower angel shoots directly up at your chest with enough force to knock you down onto your back.

Solomon suffers 4 damage.
Solomon suffers 3 damage.
Solomon suffers 6 damage.

Once you're floored, the assault is instant. Even with the gun creating a small gap between you and it, the weight of the monster keeps you in place and lets it attack without worry. It thrashes and hits you with irregular movements- screaming and wailing all the while. And as the beat down continues, more creatures quickly join in and start whale on you as well.

Solomon suffers 2 damage.
Solomon suffers 4 damage.
Solomon suffers 3 damage.
Solomon suffers 6 damage.
Solomon suffers 2 damage.
Solomon suffers 6 damage.

Before you know it, you're at the bottom of a dogpile with no hope of getting back up. Each of the individual hits themselves are minor in effect, but they're coming in so fast that the pain is only compounded that much more. Your whole body is going numb and -within seconds- you can tell that you have been beaten into inches of your life. In a last ditch effect to live, you try to fire off one more round, but your finger can't quite find the trigger. You have lost...

"RRAAAAAAA-!!"

But just as things start to look their worst, you can feel a dull impact pierce through the bodies pilled on top of you. Then another. And then another... Then finally, with one powerful swing, the creature directly on top of you is knocked to the side thanks to a metal chair slamming into its side. It takes a moment for your mind to catch up, but your rescuer wastes no time pulling you up. Grabbing onto your arm, Souhei lifts you up off the ground while frantically kicking away the creatures he missed before. With a few more light swings of his improvised weapon, he fends off some of the more insistent attacks before tossing the chair at them entirely and throwing your arm around his shoulder.

"Let's go!"

With two words, he tries to snap you out of your trauma while communicating the plan.

Without even looking back, he puts everything he has into moving forward. There's a limp in his step and it's easy to tell that he's not used to supporting the weight of another. Still, he carries the two of you out through the shattered glass with an astonishing display of speed. Naturally, some of the creatures come in from behind and even more cut you off through the planned exit... But Souhei ungracefully marches through them with an adrenaline fueled roar.

[Mormarth]

Solomon West
Hospital Building- First Floor
Time Unknown (Night)

"Fuck, fuck, fuckfuckfucking fuckers get the fuck out of my wayididn't ask for any of this shit...!"

I chant my profanity laden litany under my breath, slowly rising to a wordless yell of defiance, muffled under the keening sounds of the horrible things that had added to the weight of my problems for today.

My ears cried out in dismay under the weighty girth of the scattergun's roar as it spoke its wrath against the limbed beasts.

One dies, I see it fall to pieces under my (i found it, it didn't have anyone's name on it, makes it mine, see?) shotgun's blast, another falls back, injured, but alive, another's limbs are blown off as it weakly writhes on the ground, keening in agony.

I move forward a few more steps, a dull, ringing ache spreading through the upper part of my chest, thing's got a kick to it, and i've never been one for long-arms like this one.

If I had the time to properly brace myself, get a feel for the weapon, maybe this'd be going a bit better, but life's full of things you want and can't have.

I pump the shotgun, readying another shot, if I can keep up this pace, I'll be able to grab him and then I guess we'll have to make for the outside, sitting in here's not doing me any good.

Of course, this is the moment where things begin (in this long run of Things Going Wrong) to go wrong.

I didn't quite see, but rather felt what happened next, a hit to my leg, knocking me off balance, then another, to my chest, and another.

I fell.

In moments, I was swarmed over, an endless barrage of mewling wrath slamming into me, my body shudders under the impacts, creaking like an old oak table under the abuse.

I flail about with my feet, try and line up a shot to get them off me, I'm panicking now, I realize dimly.

I am about to die.

A crash from above me, a roar of defiance, some of my attackers are beaten off of me and I'm offered a hand, I look at it blearly for a moment, unthinking.

The owner apparently was in quite a rush, as he (Oh right, him), hefted me bodily upwards and onto his shoulder, I sag onto the steady weight limply, shaking my head blearily, trying to make some sense as to what exactly is happening.

"Let's go!"

Oh, oh right. Yes, leaving. Good idea, whatsyourface.

I try to steady my feet under myself as to not be simply carried along, c'mon man, I'm the big hero here, quit stealing my thunder...

He's limping, I notice, and I also sleepily notice some more blocking our path, and some coming from behind.

Well, hm. This is a spot of bother, isn't it?

"Heyy, I'm gonna, y'know tryan get some'm off'us m'kayyy? So, y'know, get, uh, get ready."

I slur out my cunning plan, worthy of the most fiendish minds in history.

I ready my firearm slowly, biting at my cheek to snap some sort of sense into my sluggish brain.

"You're up front, arright? Like a couple of badass dudes."

I chortle drunkenly.

Then I blast away at the group moving in behind us, trying to brace myself as best as I can while not also knocking Souhei off balance.

[Sei]

Kuboiha Shizuka
????
????

Darkness.

As far as the eye can see, there is only darkness.

Lingering alone in this boundless void, you can do nothing more than take it all in. The featureless and nonexistent horizon. The frigid air tickling your skin. The world around you slowly invades your being and fills you with all that it is. As it does, a small madness starts to overwhelm your senses. Things that shouldn't be that you're mind simply is forced to accept as 'fact'. A massive storage of knowledge that should not exist- intrusive and indecipherable.

What happened to you? How did you get here and where are the others?

Why are your ribs poking out of my chest?

You mind tries to answer the most immediate questions, but it is not allowed rest from the influx of knowledge.

A dusty classroom littered with bodies. Children? Young adults... Most of them laying lifeless on the floor while a handful barely show signs of life. Two? Four? ...At least five. The most notable person being a girl with brilliant red hair huddled up under the chalkboard.

"Stop it..."

You can't help but feel as though your voice and the girl's synchronize. The emotions she's feeling seeping into you.

"Please stop it..."

The image quickly stares to fade as if responding to your shared desire. The sight of the classroom leaves your mind and, soon, the image of the girl's face is erased from your memory. But even as the foreign memory fades into nothingness, one thing remains present. The sound... The sound of teeth and spit working in tandem... while something 'soft' and 'warm' works its way through the mouth.

You feel sick.

Before you're even able to fully comprehend what it is you're experiencing, your body 'understands' it. You body recognizes what is happening and digs into the influx of knowledge in order to learn just exactly what that thing is. The guilty satisfaction of having food to eat... The odd sensation of staving off hunger with something that should bring you to tears... The flavor... The aroma... The complete experience fills your mouth as your tongue feels the cooper-flavored 'pork' slide down to the back of your throat.

You lurch forward trying desperately to empty the contents of your stomach. You want to vomit, but you can't get anything to come out. No matter how horrid the thought. No matter how horrid the feeling. You can't seem to escape this sensory roller-coaster.

There's nothing there. Your stomach is gone.

The rampant flashes of sounds and images are punctuated by brief moments of darkness. In these brief moments, you feel as though you're able to catch small glimpses of your own body, but you can't be quite sure... Your mind itself is barely connected to your body. You can feel no sensation in your limbs nor emotion in what can only be described as your corpse... Everything is being overtaken by the myriad of scenes racing through your perception.

A young man returns to the classroom you saw before... only no one is left alive to greet him. Yet he smiles.

Aki stands to confront and unknown enemy, but is shocked when her body slowly starts to turn into ash.

You can see Maiko being led into a ransacked building by an unfamiliar woman. Another unknown quietly trailing them.

A boy with white hair confronts the mysterious girl from the school in what appears to be a basement. The words they speak don't reach your ears...

Masahiro lays beaten and bloodied against a wall as an ominous shadow closes in on him. The life slowly fades from his eyes.

Your mind is about to burn out.

And, at the end of it all... You see a group of four. Advancing together towards a hill... Where they're confronted by a black, shadowy mass clad in armor.


You're exhausted.

Mentally and physically.

The flow of knowledge that should not be there doesn't seem to be stopping and it's hard to tell where you're going when all you can see is these visions. However, if only for a moment, the visions pause once again. But... when they do... Something causes an even greater stir within you than these sights ever could.

There's something ahead... Something that's slowly approaching from across the void... Something... Something that you feel should not contact the living...

[Sei]

Ethan Kane
????
????

What's going on?

Everything feels like it's spinning. Like the whole world is desperately trying to turn around you. You instinctively try to move, but there's an uncanny numbness riddling your body. Actually... No... It'd be more accurate to say that it's almost like you've forgotten how to move in general. Trying to do something as simply as moving your arms and legs merely leads you to the sensation of 'fumbling'. Each little pathetic attempt only causes you to flop around on the cold, hard surface.

"H-y! W--t -re y-- st--ding ---und f--!? Hur-- up --d --nta-t t-- ---ers!"

As your sight and your vision slowly start to return you start to pick up on a dull voice knocking against your ears. Though you can't quite make out what is being said, the sense of urgency comes across as more or less clear. You quickly pick up that you've landed in a bit of a situation as the floor vibrates with several footsteps.

It's dark... And the air is unreasonably heavy. Almost deathly so...

At first you think something might be wrong with your eyes, but further investigation simply reveals that there are no lights in this place. It's a spacious room... With little in the way of decoration... Plain... With a few indistinguishable features sitting at the edge of your vision.

"C-n yo- he-r me?"

You're disoriented.

Trying to think about what happened, how you ended up here, and just what exactly is going on. You try your best to take it all in, but a noisy haze blankets your mind. Radio static... Not unlike the sound you've grown accustomed to, but not nearly as alarming.

Something... Someone approaches you from the darkness- prompting you to shift your weary gaze. The noise in your head hides the features at first, but a bit of focus reveals that it's a woman. A girl dressed in a black suit. Maybe older... Maybe younger... It's hard to tell. But as she draws closer, you can't help but feel as though something is off...

"You can understand me... Can't you?"

The girl kneeling down before you- cautiously keeping a distance- is unnaturally large. So large in fact... That if she were to reach out... She could probably scoop you up in the palm of her hand.

An ominous feeling washes over you.

As more and more light enters your eyes and the darkness grows thinner, more and more features become apparent about the room around you. The familiar tile... The walls you would often stare at in the middle of class... And the desks that were haphazardly pushed to the corners of the room for your club meeting... It takes a bit for it all to sink in, but once it does there is no denying it. This... is Homurahara...

Reeling... Your gaze slowly shifts back to the woman knelt down before you. She's cautious of you- visibly so- but there is a level of ease shining through her eyes. Her sight doesn't leave your form, but you can't shake the unease born from the bewilderment on her face.

Encountered ????



"Is it even conscious...?"

[Sei]

=Intermission
Hospital Grounds, Second Floor
Time Unknown (Night)

The girl's shoulders slump. Her knees buckle beneath her weight. Though her will to continue fighting has yet to fade, her body can no longer support her desires. Her once refined movements become awkward and clumsy. A simple step backwards quickly turns into five as gravity pushes her up against the collapsed wall. She has nothing else to give. Black and bruised, she understands that the gray beast before her will kill her in one more move.

The vile ogre inches forward. Though blind, there's no mistaking it knows where it's prey is. It can hear her ragged breathing. It can smell the blood flowing out of her wounds. And it can feel the intangible fear that resonates from all cornered animals.

For a moment, Oshino Reika thinks she can see it smile in the darkness. Though it's impossible for something without a jaw to make such an expression, there remains an unmistakable- almost human- sense of glee and content in its expression. It taunts her. Opting not to close the gap as soon as possible... Savoring its conquest over a much weaker adversary...

Normally, Reika would be calm and reserved. Pain is nothing new for her. And she understands all too well that it's her own fault she ended up in this situation. She understands that she has no desire to die here, but she also understands that two lives outweigh one. And yet... Having convinced herself before that this was okay... Powerful human emotion wells up inside her. A deep-rooted desire to continue living. An overpowering feeling of dread that immediately makes her regret her sacrifice. With a single tear rolling down her face, the hoodie clad little girl understands all too well that this is the fear of death.

But that's why...

"What the hell..."

That's why...

"There's just no end to you bastards, is there?"

That's why when the strange man appears between her and the ogre, she can't help but express relief from the bottom of her heart.

He's tall figure burns itself into her eyes as he stands undaunted by the beast. His muscular physique tells adequately of his strength while his scars tell of the many hardships he had to endure to get here. And... At the same time, the massive demonic wings protruding from his back communicate that this mysterious stranger is no ordinary person.

He steps forward- his footstep heavy enough to crush the ground beneath him. In the darkness, fire can be seen running through his veins as if it were blood itself. But most importantly... While his form largely resembles that of a human, his right arm is unmistakably that of a demon. Exposed muscle highlighted by bits of metal bonded to the flesh... Several massive eyes take note of his surroundings while his armored claws prepare themselves for battle.

...Though this person has seemingly come to her rescue, his appearance instills within her a slight sense of hesitation. Regardless, she can't help but feel a bit of happiness seeing him before her.

"Sorry... But you've got to go..."

[Sei]

Sakaki
The Boundary- ???

The mysterious woman laughs lightly in response to your words. Continuing to find amusement in the little things you do, her hands continue to weave slender trails of blue through the air. She doesn't oppose you; however, the silence that comes with the dedication to her work relays a simple thought. "Try not to get too attached"- that is the simple message that her small back communicates.

She is, after all, a hermit. Though she has not forsaken basic human warmth, she is at her core a cold person who has no interest in human relations and the emotions that come with them. To her, they're unnecessary. And while your gratitude will no go unheard, you have to remember that's she's doing this almost entirely for her own gain. Any usefulness you could offer her ends there. As she said, once she's done fixing you, 'she will be sending you back'. In order words, once she's done with her little experiment, you have to leave...

"..."

A delicate silence hangs over the two of you. As her motions start to slow, you can feel that her work is almost done.

It's hard to describe, but as time creeps by, you feel more complete. Not merely in the sense of wounds being mended, but as if something inside of very existence is being healed too. Like something broken is coming together. Not quite joined as one... But as the distance between those shattered pieces has been drastically reduced. Memories you had long forgotten playback clearly in your mind and your ability to recall long lost sensations gets a bit of a turbo charge.

You're still not exactly sure what this woman's deal is, but to say she's merely fixing you would be putting it lightly. It'd be more accurate to say she's making you better. Like she's taking everything that is Tetsuro- that is Shin- ...Everything that has led to him being the person he is at this very moment... She's intricately piecing them together to create the most optimal construction of such a human being.

"Gousai."

Just as you start to think she has no interest in furthering your conversation, her voice catches your ear.

"I've been called many things and I've used a wide variety of names over the years. But if there is one I've found myself using more than the others, it's Gousai."

Having answered your name with one of her own, the woman's task comes to a close. Her hands drop down, the trails of light vanish, and her arms vanish beneath the warmth of her cloak. With everything done, she takes a couple of steps forward so as to separate her back from yours.

"Now then... Where is it you would like to return to? If you so wish, I can return you back to those ruins. Though I would imagine a sane person would much rather be sent back home."

Your mind blanks out for a moment upon hearing that last bit. You have to repeat it two times over in your head just to make sure you heard it correctly. But, even then, you still have a hard time considering the possibility to be so readily available.

[Snax]

Hasegawa Tooru
Hospital Grounds, Second Floor
Time Unknown (Night)

The smell of death and decay greeted Tooru as he strode forward, the ground cracking under his massive weight. He took a glance at the wounded girl, nodding slightly as if acknowledging her plight. He took another glance at the monster that had cornered her, as if sizing up his opponent. His head was a bit hazy, but the situation itself was clear as day.

Crunch

The flooring broke under his feet ever so slightly. The monster and girl in turn also took a look at the newcomer - or rather, they both sought to see if he was friend or foe.

Crackle

Tooru flexed his shoulders and neck, as if trying to get rid of an ache somewhere in his right arm socket...which made several cracking noises, somewhat metallic in sound. His right arm, which felt rather odd - but in the same time, stronger than ever - followed in suit, the muscles coiling and flexing as the inner fire flared.

“There’s just no end to you bastards, is there?”

His wings unfurled, spreading to full effect.

"Sorry... But you've got to go..."

With his last step, he positioned himself between the girl and the monster, pointing his armored claws towards the monster.

“......Don’t worry.”

He mumbles, towards the girl.

“This time...things will be different.”

He mumbles, to himself -

A human face turns into that of a demon.
The body bulges, sinewy and inhuman.
A tail uncoils, poised like a whip.
Claws and spikes burst out, sharp and deadly.

An inhuman roar greets his foe - and with that, the wings push - thrusting the demon towards the monster, serrated claws outstretched.

[Bloble]

Sakaki
The Boundary- ???

"Though I hesitate to call it as such, this is fine craftsmanship, Gousai. I haven't felt this complete in years, if ever."

It's certainly strange. Sakaki feels more whole now than he ever has. Even so, that stability and clarity only highlight the ever-present divide in his psyche. After all, his situation isn't something that can simply be repaired. Rare have been the times where both sides of Sakaki are in agreement; this is one of the few. He knows, however, that the moment he leaves this haven, he will find reason to argue with himself once again.

"Where would I wish to go...?"

The question is not something he expected to hear. He had expected the opportunity to go home to be something he would have to earn, and yet here it is being handed to him.

"..."

Instantly, he realizes it.

Sakaki will not be going home today.

At least ten years have passed if her information was to be believed. To begin with he had few attachments to that world, and now that attachment is even weaker. No family, no friends, just the job and the promise. The only things he has held onto are two conflicting ideals that guided his movements. Both are stronger here than there, so he won't be leaving this world.

But then, where would he like to be?

Spoiler:

Will -10 / Sanity +10

The students. They need my help. This world is cruel and we've already lost so many... I have to keep protecting them, if I can. Ethan, Shizuka... they must be near death now. I have to go back to them. These hands are weak, and I've failed, but that is no reason to give up and stop trying.

Will + 10 / Sanity - 10

Ridiculous. Those two are dead, you moron. You were blown to dust. What makes you think they were any luckier? And your other students, well, if she wasn't lying about time dilation, they've been dead for an eternity. There's nothing left here but demons and strangers. It doesn't matter where we go, as long as we can fight without worrying.

Will -10 / Sanity +10

That can't be known. It's just as likely that our times will converge. There was one other group at a park, one at a hospital, I believe... and those that stayed behind with Haruka.

Will + 10 / Sanity - 10

Haruka, huh? Actually, I'm cool with that. We'll have her bring us to Haruka. I've been wanting to "teach her a lesson" ever since she nearly killed me.

Will -10 / Sanity +10

You... she was clearly not in her right mind! Would you truly go that far? She wouldn't have wanted me to be attacking-!

Will + 10 / Sanity - 10

She's probably the cause of this, dumbass. Whose idea was it to draw that summoning circle? Who flipped out when we got here? Who turned into a fucking demon and cut off Odo's legs, huh!? I might spare her, if she begs, but no way in hell am I dumb enough to think she's innocent in all of this.

Will -10 / Sanity +10

...it'll happen again. She'll kill me again, and you won't be able to do anything. Let's leave her. Please. There are other, better options.

Will + 10 / Sanity - 10

Sure. The other girl, then. Inihara Mai. I'd think even you could see why this is a good idea.

Will -10 / Sanity +10

We have no clue what she was thinking! Perhaps this was meant to be a simple exercise, but it went wrong-.

Will + 10 / Sanity - 10

Guess I overestimated you again. Of course you'd side with her. Then again, you're the one that gets all mushy every time a girl is nice to you. Can't go a single minute without getting all nostalgic and feeling sorry for yourself. Maybe you're pathetic enough to convince yourself she didn't just fuck us over, but I'm not. You didn't have the balls to say no to your students when they had a dumb idea, and now Ethan and Shizuka are dead. She was testing you, and you failed to meet the minimum standard of not being a retarded, useless fuck. She's been here fifteen years? Then that face she's wearing is a cute little teenager mask. She's probably killed countless naive morons like you with her kind words, leading them nicely along a trail of bread crumbs and flower petals into some fishy fucker's rotten mouth. And each one of them probably fucking deserved it, just like you did.

Will -10 / Sanity +10

I...

Will + 10 / Sanity - 10

I can force it, you know. I'm the strong one. You're the weak one. That's how it's always been. And you've stayed out way past your bed time. What happened to me getting nights? Remember that agreement? You go out and teach during the day, I snap low-lives and criminals in half when it's dark? Sure broke that deal fast. I'll be taking over now, and you're not getting the wheel back for a long time. The only reason you're talking is because I don't want to make a mess on Gousai's front door. We're guests, so it's only fair to be polite, right? See. Didn't forget all my manners. Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't go kick that bitch's teeth in, or shut the hell up and let me have my turn.

Will -10 / Sanity +10

...would you do that to Gousai? She probably wouldn't care either way, but you do know what you propose?

Will + 10 / Sanity - 10

I don't-.

Will -10 / Sanity +10

"Please drop me off here, so I can murder a young girl." Are you going to drag someone else into your own mess again? Are you that eager to pervert someone's kindness, after all these years? Have you learned nothing, Shin? That's the same mistake that killed-.

Will + 10 / Sanity - 10

Shut up! I get it, so shut up about that! I'll leave Inihara alone! But do you have any better ideas, huh? 'Cus I'm sure as hell not letting you take control again! And don't even think about something stupid, like investigating this place or finding a way out. I wanna be swinging at a monster's face within seconds of coming back.

Will -10 / Sanity +10

It's fine. I have an idea. One that will satisfy us both, without impugning on anyone's dignity. It's simple...

The deliberation is over. Sakaki has made his decision.

"Apparently the flow of time in this place is distorted. I've met others that entered after us, but endured for longer. Were I to be sent home, I'd likely emerge at least a decade after my disappearance. So..."

Only one option remains.

"I came here with my students. They were supposed to be under my protection, but..."

He pauses.

"I don't know if the distorted flow of time in this world allows it, but I have to believe that some of them are still struggling to survive. If so, then there are surely one or two out there whose flames are on the verge of burning out, who are being attacked by a seemingly unstoppable foe, and whose future holds only death."

Something to protect. Something to destroy. It's not a perfect compromise, but it will do. And most importantly, it will allow Sakaki to stand tall and walk towards that future without hesitation, to show her the back of a man that won't bend.

"Please take me there, if you could."

That's the agreement with himself that Sakaki arrived at.

"...and if none are left, if I'm too late..." The other side of the agreement. If all of Tetsuro's students are dead, then his role will end. "There should be a girl, somewhere near the ruins of the place where the red bullet was used. Her eyes are sharp. I'm sure she was watching us."

It's the worst case scenario, and he hopes it would never come to pass. Even then, he's promised to speak first.

"I've heard that this world was created to bridge an impossible gap, and that it failed. Yet you proved it to me, Gousai. That the 'impossible' can be defeated. If so, I'd like to crush that fate of despair with these hands."

[Blackdeath6031]

Kuboiha Shizuka
???
???
HP: ??? / MP: 200 / Will: 6 / SAN: ???


What is this, what is this, what is this what is this!?

Shizuka does all he can to keep his mind going, flickering through all the sensations and images he went through. But as much as he did, his mind spluttered like an engine out of gas. Even if he did try to push through the fatigue, the gagging caused by the metallic aftertaste of raw meat did not help either.

But he had to make sense of it. All the overwhelming information and experience had to be overcome.

But the task felt too daunting.
It was too much for Shizuka.
Too much for him after being battered by so many failures over two days.
Too much after how worthless all his efforts were.
He was losing hope that he could do anything anymore.

Will: 6 -> 5

Fear gripped him as he eyeballed the figure slowly approaching.

No...

Haha! Looks like this has gotten even more fun!

He leans away, and pushes the ground as he tries to inch away from it.

No...

C'mon, greet that thing! It'll be fun!

His feeble arms desperately try to drag his weight across the nothingness, but even then the fear told him to keep going.

SAN: 8 -> 5
Will: 5 -> 6

"....stop it...Please.....stop it...."

Too scared, you little shitcake?

His mind freezes on a certain scene that it did manage to register, as water rolled down his cheeks. He no longer knew why he was crying.

SAN: 5 -> 3
Will 6 -> 8

"Please....stop it....Please stop it...please stop it please stop it please stop it..."

You cowardly good-for-nothing. You've never changed at all have you.

Like a broken record, his mind realises what he experienced next, and falters. Revulsion pushed the organic machine to skip those dreadful scenes, but the weakened computer could only run linear, and it faltered, stuck on a single moment and experience.

"Please stop it... please stop it.... please stop it... please...ah."

Not once did you have it in you to get things done by yourself. Everything has to be dealt with by me.

His arms finally gave way, and he falls flat on his back.

SAN: 5 -> 2

Then his mind went in full reverse.
He no longer knew what he was seeing.

The figure appeared as though it was dripping red, dying the wide emptiness in the colour, as the red world slowly sculpted away into a Japanese mansion's inner courtyard.

It was a familiar nightmare that has haunted him for years, and was the final straw.

"Please, why do you do this to us, to me!?"
He choked through his words, no longer sure if he was bawling his eyes out or trying to initiate a response from the figure.
"Where is everyone else, why did you show that to me!?"
He took a gulp of his spit, finally aware that if he kept it up, he would drown in his own spit before anything else killed him - though he was beginning to think that might be a better way to die.

C'mon man, accept it. Accept every single damn failure you'd made. Every single thing action you pull off, and every single damn one a failure. Just like you.

"Who are you!?"

Why don't you just die.

[Sei]

Mark Walker
School Building- Hallways
Time Unknown (Morning)

You can only imagine how silly you must look right now. Quietly and slowly scooting through the endless halls with your back to the wall as much as possible... To any normal person, there's no doubt that you must look like some lunatic right now. Eyes rapidly darting... Head turning at the slightest noise in the background... To call you paranoid would be completely underselling it. You're slowly starting to lose your mind. Despite being trapped in this world for a little less than a day, you can feel the threat of death burrowing beneath your skin. At any moment, something could jump out at you... From the floor, from the ceiling, around the corner, or even the wall behind you. Nothing about this place is safe. You're only grasping at little things to give yourself a bit of security. In the end, it doesn't change the fact that you're alone. If something were to happen to you now, there'd be no one around to bail you out of a tight situation.

Your heartbeat echoes in your ears.

Your palms start to sweat and your hands begin to shake.

As you continue to carefully move through the school's dark halls, you find yourself becoming more and more unhinged. You try your best to maintain your focus. You do everything within your power to keep a level head and clear thoughts. But, no matter what you may tell yourself, there's something on a subconscious level that simply won't let you have peace.

There is no exit in sight. No sign of anything you can use as a weapon... At first, you even found yourself peering into the numerous classrooms you happened across along your way. 'Surely they would have a desk or some chairs you could break apart' is what you told yourself... However, with each room you checked, you found nothing but a dusty floor and featureless walls. No lights. Only darkness. Twice you even found the doors slamming shut behind you. But when you rushed back into the hallway in a panic, you found that nothing was there. You continued on your way... And noises started to emanate from the rooms around you... Eventually, you found yourself ignoring them altogether.

Time escapes you. When the sound of creatures moving all around you finally starts to die down, you can't help but wonder just how much time has passed since your search began. In your mind, you know that it hasn't been too long, but the stress you've undergone greatly undermines that notion.

Staring down another dark hallway, you think to yourself "I can't take much more of this." As your mind focuses on the sound of something in the distance, you don't even realize that you're moving towards a light just around the corner. It isn't until the light of day pierces your eyes that you come back to your senses. And, when you do...

You find yourself face to face with someone you don't know.

Standing there, with her back against the wall, she stares you down with the same level of bewilderment you offer her. She's perfectly still- disturbingly so- almost as if blissfully unaware of your surroundings. Still, even in your current state, you can tell that she's on guard. Her eyes alone are enough to communicate this. Despite her casual appearance, she has not taken her eyes off you once. She takes note of your clothing as well as the dirt and grime. It'd be foolish to assume she doesn't see that you've been through hell. And as crazed as you must look right now, it's likely you don't come across as friendly.

But... She doesn't seem bothered at all. In fact... After a brief moment of examination...

She simply smiles.

Before you realize it, you've taken a step back.

You hadn't noticed it at first because your eyes hadn't adjusted, but there's something wrong about this woman. Something painfully obvious that you should have seen sooner...

"I didn't think there were others stuck in this place."

She speaks up with a soft, sweet voice. Her words echo in your head as you feel something dark and foreboding reaching out to grasp your heart. But all you can do is stand there... Staring at the blood on her hands and the scarlet color coating her feet.

Encountered ???