Fortissimo EXS // Trigger: Verzweiflung (IC thread)

[Bloble]

Chisana Risu
City Remains - Evening

Watching people arguing, fighting...

It's painful. Not because of the rocks being thrown, but because of the underlying sentiments. Fear. Anger. Desperation. Spirits flare, eclipsing my small words.

My hand rises before I can think, reaching towards them as if to call out and beg for them to stop. I don't know what kind of face I'm making right now, but it's surely one of futile resignation. Chisana Risu the girl can't do anything here.

The Traveler, however, waves her wand and turns the makeshift weapons into flowers with a single flourish.

Well, it's not as if they're really flowers, at first. An illusion is just an illusion unless people believe in it. But as the gentle drizzle from above washes away wounds and weariness, the only possibility is that they were never hurt to begin with, so hopefully it'll become real. That's all the Traveler... that's all I can do.

Or is it?

"Jerry, was it?" The Traveler addresses the panicking camera man. She gives a sad smile. I feel like I'm watching the scene from somewhere far away. Chisana Risu doesn't know what to do, so the Traveler is the one that speaks and acts in my place. "You got that, didn't you?"

Of course he did. It's his job to keep his lens pointed at the truth, just like Linda.

"I can turn weapons into flowers, but I can't do anything to change a person's heart. Even if you stop the fighting, it's pointless when the feelings that make it happen are still there."

A pink rose falls out of the sky and into my hand. I look at it, not sure what to do. Eventually I settle for tucking it into the band on my hat.

"Linda, earlier you were asking me if I would use my magic for your well-being. But there are two different answers to that question. If it's me you're curious about, then..." I hesitate. I dodge the question. "When I was a young girl, I promised to use my magic to make people smile. But I'm just one person. And there are many, many Magi out there, each carrying a different purpose in their hearts."

I pace to the center of the crowd. The Traveler needs to pull a trick out of her sleeve to dissolve these sentiments. To erase the anger, to bring smiles to people's faces, to impress the whole world and show them how amazing Magic can be. She strides with purpose, unable to show a trickle of doubt. Here, she is at her greatest. Here, no matter how difficult it may be, she has an answer for everything. Here, surely, when the eyes of the world are on her-!

...

"Sorry."

Here, the Traveler can say nothing. She can only look down in shame, at the hat in her hands, masking the fact that she's a young girl. She exhales, giving up completely...

And I, Chisana Risu, take her place.

...

"I have a friend!"

I yell the words, without any sort of flair or drama to them. They're spoken with emphasis only on volume, so what comes out is raw and slightly uncomfortable. But they'll definitely hear it. The only question is whether they'll listen.

"Her name is Kurokami Hotaru, she's in my class, she's really tall and pretty and dependable, and right now I don't know where she is!"

My heart continues to yell, to the crowd, to the sky, to Linda, and maybe, if she's listening somewhere, to Hotaru-chan.

"And I'm sorry! Because I can't use my magic to beat the bad guys and save the day like some kind of hero! I'm not that cool, or brave, or strong! And even if I was..."

Is it selfish? I'm supposed to be representing Magi everywhere, but in the end, I'm just talking about myself. Maybe that's my answer. I won't lie to the world now. Even though I could, and maybe even should. I'll speak about the only thing that's certain and true: my own feelings.

"Even if I was, I want to save her more than anything else! So right now, that's the reason for my Magic's existence!"

I don't think it's wrong.

That's the truth. I don't think it's wrong to try and save a single person. Or to save nobody. When I see everyone's faces, I want to make them smile, but when I close my eyes, it's not the audience that Chisana Risu thinks of.

Something hits the side of my head, and I see stars. It hurts. The idea of the impact hurts, even if the rock itself does no damage. It's the world's disapproval, taking form.

"I..." My voice quavers. "I know you want a hero. But I'm not a hero. Magicians... we're not all heroes. Some of us are strong, some of us are weak, some of us are good and some are really bad people. Right now, there are people with Magic that are fighting for all of you, for the whole world, risking their lives for you. And there are others that are fighting to destroy it. And me..."

Then, why is it so important that they know? That the world hears this? What does this mean for Magi around the world? What am I trying to tell them?

Maybe it's that, in the end, if you take away the flashing lights, we're just people. And me, I'm just a girl that's selfishly worried about her friend. That's the selfishness I want the world to see.

"I'm going to do what I can, and help the person I care about."

[Sei]

Fukami Mikoto
Home- Night

I listen to Nanako's words without question. The entire time she's trying to convey her feelings to me, I don't say a single word. Not aloud... or in my head. Maybe I just want to settle down a bit and compose myself, but I feel as though I should hear each and every word she says with the utmost clarity. I want to make sure there's no miscommunication. I want to make sure her words are not misconstrued by my own thoughts and desires.

When she's finally finished, her big blue eyes look directly into mine. Like me, she figures now is the time for her to be silent so that she may take in my response in its entirety. Having come this far, I understand that I should say something- anything- but when I open my mouth, I can't give form to words. My mind is still in a haze and I can't decide how I should even answer her. In fact, I'm not even sure if I know the answer myself. Not anymore...

I turn away from Nanako's gaze for a moment to look at Haru lying in the bed next to mine. I see my friend lying there in so much pain that it seems as if the worst could happen at any moment. The image alone drives a stake in my heart, but the pain it brings me isn't enough to stir me into motion.

"I'm... not sure..."

Wearily, I let loose those three words without a conscious thought.

Shifting my attention from Haru to the television, I watch the news regarding all the worldwide disasters. Even though the coverage provided is only enough to give us an idea of the severity and number of these events, I know in my mind that this is all much worse than they're letting on. Not because they're incapable of conveying how terrible this is, but because I know they can't properly communicate all the pain, suffering, and panic of the people caught up in these events. There's just no way a brief segment can account for the voices of all those people...

"...I don't know what it is I can really do. What I'm supposed to do... Or even who I should be doing it for."

I look away from the TV, but I don't look back at Nanako. Instead, I look straight ahead to the wall in front of me. Or, rather, I just look off into space as I start trying to make sense of all these thoughts spiraling around in my head.

"Before any of this all started, I just wanted to help the people around me. I wanted to do good on the kindness everyone showed me and I wanted to share that good will with others. It wasn't much, but helping out in any way I could made me happy. It was... nice having so many people around who I could care for. People who cared for me..."

Raising my hand from the sheets, I look at the small golden ring wrapped around my finger. I try to think about both what it means to me as well as what it represents. And, honestly, I'm not entirely sure I like what I find.

"At some point, I just convinced myself that I wanted to be a hero. That I could actually become a hero..." I can't help but laugh at myself. Just thinking about how I rationalized my own selfishness and shaped a new reality around it... It's enough to make me angry, "That's when I became a magus... That's when this whole mess started and my life really started to spiral out of control... With all that power, I felt like I could not only help those closest to me, but those far away too. People around the world..."

Finishing up that thought, I glance up at the TV again, then back to Haru.

"But I was just fooling myself... I quickly found out that the 'hero' I believed in was an impossibility. That a world where no one has to suffer just can't be... Because if I was a hero even just one person, it meant I had to be the villain to someone else. No matter how hard I tried or how peacefully I did things, hate was always there and the people I cared about left me one after another. ...Unless I changed my ways, I would never be able to achieve the world I wanted... The world I had envisioned for what few people I could hang on to."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Though I'm not entirely sure how this is a response to Nanako's words, it feels necessary. And though there's a small knot accumulating in my throat, these words are flowing out of me with great ease. My thoughts are surprisingly clear and I feel as though all this reflection has been a long time coming.

"So I committed myself to becoming Izanami- the magus who would break apart this world and rebuild it as she saw fit. I... had to stop being Fukami Mikoto. I simply couldn't manage all the compromises anymore. Trying to talk to each and every person I met... Convincing them not to do harm to others... Just to have it all blow up in my face," I open my eyes and bring my magical ring up towards my face, "It was easier for me to just cut out what I didn't like and rewrite it all."

I curl up and hug my knees, thinking about just how much has happened to me in such a short amount of time. It really does seem like its been much longer, but I've just barely managed to age a year since this all began.

"But in order to do that, I had to distance myself from people. Not for their sake, but for my own... Because, even if I didn't always agree with them, they were still human beings. And for me to just change who they were... Their memories... Their pasts... The person that this world shaped them to be... There was just a part of me who couldn't say what I was doing was right anymore. I'd lost sight of the person I was and contented myself with my own self-righteous greed."

I pause for a moment and think. Thinking about all the things I've said here, I find it funny just how much I hate myself. I find it funny, but I can't pinpoint exactly why.

"And it worked for a while too..."

All the clarity I've maintained up until this point starts to fade. Slowly, my mind starts to drift back into a soft haze. The only difference is that- this time- instead of jumbled words and scattered thoughts, it's a wonderful mesh of warm images and pleasant memories.

Knowing exactly what words were coming next, I finally turn my attention back to Nanako. Staring back into her eyes, the fact that she's looking back with such concern fills my heart and reminds me of the days I spent back in that small town. When I had small dreams of spending time with my friends and the people I called my family. Back when all I needed was the power to hold on to the people closest to me. Fondly recalling that feeling, a small smile forms on my lips... and the tears I've held back all this time come pouring out.

"...Until I came here."

Thinking about all the things that have happened and all the things I've set out to achieve, I can't really bring myself to say that any of it has made me happy. However, when I think about all the time I've spent with the people here... All the little things we've done together that have brought laughs and smiles to my face... I can honestly say that it's moments like those that have made me happy. From the bottom of my heart.

The knot in my throat has swollen and trying to communicate further is making me choke up. But there is still so much more that I have to say. And even more things that I want to say. But as I am now, I just don't have to capacity to properly relay my thoughts. I can only gather up this mess of emotions I have and shape them as best I can.

"I'd really committed myself to playing the loner by the time I got here... But as time went on and I spent more time on this island, I found myself getting comfortable. ...Though I said I'd keep my distance from people and not grow attached, I found myself making friends again and making an honest effort to be a part of their lives. I was still committed to being Izanami, but at the same time... the girl beneath it all was suffering more than anything. She... I had just grown so weary of the process. I just wanted to make the connections that made all of this- any of this- tolerable. And now... Now I'm even more confused that I ever was."

I laugh to myself as I try to regain my composure. Realizing that I probably just showed Nanako something really sorry, I turn away for a moment to wipe all the snot and tears away. Though, honestly, the damage is already done. Still, though I'm not sure if all of this is a satisfactory response, I feel a bit better having gotten all of this off my chest. Just knowing that there is at least one person I can confide in... It makes everything else seem just a little bit smaller.

"Nanako... I don't want to fight anyone. A part of me still wants to believe that there is good in everyone. That if we can all just share this warmth between friends, the world would be a happier place. But... at the same time, there's something ugly inside of me that has grown bitter and resentful. There's a part of me that is prepared to bend anything and everything to my will, even if it means I have to kill... I'm can no longer be the girl known as Mikoto or the magus called Izanami. ... I have all this power- this potential- welled up inside of me... and I have no idea how I should use it. And that... that frustrates me more than anything-!"

I can feel a bit of anger towards myself spark up inside. My own inability has led to countless people being hurt while I somehow always manage to come out relatively fine. It's just so unfair... While I have the power to change the very nature of reality itself, I'm constantly holding myself back because of some damn ideal that the world should be changed slowly, one person at a time. Meanwhile, while I'm playing peacekeeper, people all around the world are suffering. Dying even... But what's worst of all is seeing the people closest to me hurt because I couldn't do the right thing.

With all that said, I calm down a bit. I take one last deep breath and look at my two friends. My mind has been cleared and I feel like I can finally set out on the path I truly need to take. And even though I still don't have the answers I'm looking for, at the very least, I feel as though I understand myself a little bit better now.

Now... There's just one last thing to say.

Facing Nanako, I meet her eyes with the same level of determination she has shown. But, at the same time, I want to communicate just how weak I really am.

"Nanako... I love you,"

Three simple words. In three simple words I explain to Nanako just exactly how I feel in the best way I know how. I want her to hear my words for what they are and not be distracted by anything else. Once I'm sure she understands that much, only then do I continue.

"I love you, Nanako. And not just you... I love Haru, and Akio, even Sawai-san. Every person that I've met on this island is dear to me in some way, shape, or form. Their names, their faces... Their dreams and aspirations... All of them have been ingrained into me and have become a part of what makes my heart whole. That's why... I'm willing to go to the extents I have to ensure that everyone here can be safe. That's why I can't stand to see someone I care about suffer because of me or anyone else."

I reach out and grab Nanako's hand. Holding it firmly in my own, I lean in and look deep into the student president's eyes. Confident that she won't be able to hide anything from me like this, I hold her tight and I don't let go.

"Nanako... You know that I'll do anything within my power to help Haru... And I know that you will do the same... But you must also know that's what worries me so much. Because of the way your powers work..." I briefly recall the promise I made to Nanako back then, "So if we're going to do this together, Nanako, I need you to promise to me... Promise me you won't do anything rash. Because even if it means saving Haru, I'm not sure if I could live with myself if it means losing you in the process..."

[hero]

Nakamura Akio
Forest Clearing -Evening


"..."

Even though your eyes do not meet, Natsume Raku knows you are awake. In a situation where words hold no meaning, you choose to remain still and endure the pain for your friend's sake. It's a decision that goes against the rules of common sense, not because you are determined to accept the outcome no matter what it will be, but because you are willing to do so without any sort of question, without even knowing what it is about. And that reaction would surprise anyone. Anyone but the girl sucking your blood. There is no hesitation in what she's doing, not even for a moment. It is quite the opposite, in fact. The moment she realizes you won't do anything to stop her, the process becomes more intense and painful. For her, it is only natural... It's the only 'logical' response to your own resolve.

"...!"

The pain and the nausea soon become unbearable, reaching levels beyond your expectations. When it comes to endurance, Nakamura Akio stands among the best Magi, his body capable of surviving the destructive force of Mythic-Class Magic. However, when it comes to life-energy, he's nothing that outstanding. Certainly, his unique personality and drive put him above the average human and his affinity with Magic grants him additional aid, but that is all. If pinned down for long enough, the fox could easily leave him in a coma for months or, given his current condition, even kill him. He is already like a dry well after all he's been through.

Your consciousness is quickly beginning to fade.

You consider summoning your Magical Weapon, but a moment of hesitation makes you miss the only opportunity you have. Aesop has become independent, if she saw you in such shape, you are unsure of how she would react. Or rather, you know exactly how she would react. Though you are the one that is in a pinch here, you keep thinking of your friends as you're being drained of the last of your strength. Soon, even the pain disappears. Instead, you start to feel even more light-headed, to the point where you cannot think straight, much less put two and two together. Almost like drugged, you cannot get a grasp on what is going on anymore. You try to remind yourself of the reason why you are here lying on the ground, why there is someone on top of you unwilling to let you go, but the dizziness makes it impossible.

You lose sight of who you are.

You become like a wild beast with the sole desire of being uncaged. Your breathing becomes raged and you feel like you are running at maximum speed without moving too much. The world moves and spins, but you can still see the sky beyond the shadow that hinders your vision. Everything is so hazy that all that is left are raw sensations, and those are so powerful that you cannot comprehend them. Pain? Pleasure? What is it that you feel? You do not know. All you know is that it becomes more intense by the second before...

---It all ends...?

In a moment of clarity, you manage to compose that single thought.

But by the time you do that, it is already too late.

There is nothing after that.

Nothing but a silhouette leaving you behind.

-------

"Akio! What happened?! Please, wake up!"

Someone keeps repeating the same line over and over, even after your eyes have opened. It must be because you look 'dead', or to be more precise, 'empty'. Under any other circumstance, you would have immediately stood and reassured others that you were just fine, however, now you feel a strange sort of indifference that is unnatural to you. You do not feel weak, nor hurt, nor exhausted... But you feel like you've lost something. Come to think of it, you have no idea of what you were doing at the woods at these hours. The sky is already dark enough to say the night has arrived.

"Don't scare me like that... Can you stand...?"

Aomori Mana asks with genuine concern. For her to be worried like this, you must've been out for quite some time, or something bad must have happened. The truth is you cannot remember. Your head hurts whenever you try to recall past events that share one thing in common, no matter how hard you try. Eventually, you give up and decide to follow your friend's lead. You smile to reassure her that everything is alright. Your legs, however, fail to deliver the same message, and you lose your balance as soon as you get back on your feet.

"Woah... Careful there. Well, It's okay if you don't want to tell me what happened, but we can always talk about something else. We'll be staying here for a while from the looks of it."

You figure that is okay. It's not late enough for your family to get worried, and Mana is a good friend. Besides, it's been quite some time since you've had the opportunity to talk openly like this with somebody. It's what you'd normally do, and so you do it. You spend time with Mana, talking about the small things. For a good fifteen minutes, you forget about the war and your identity as Magi and speak a little about things of no importance. Before you know it, there is a smile in your face you cannot deny.

And yet... Something about all this feels ultimately wrong.

There is something wrong.

Remember.

Remember...

"Raku."

You speak her name out of nowhere. The sole mention of it makes you stand up, even if you shouldn't have the strength to. It hits you then. You've forgotten something, someone who's name is Raku.

"Raku?"

Mana tilts her head in confusion, not even sure of what you are getting at. It is likely that she has never heard that name before.

Something is wrong.

Something is definitely wrong.

The realization makes your heart race.

You need to find this person now.

Whoever she is, you have to find her.

You have the feeling that something bad is going to occur if you do not.

[Spinach]

Kajiki Uta
Empty Room - Evening

White.

It took me a while to notice it, I was too focused on Odin-senpai’s fight to pay attention to myself and the world around me. Maybe those magi guarding this place captured me and locked me up somewhere. That’s just stupid. If you can capture somebody, that means they were weak, and there’s no purpose to keeping the weak around. I guess those Magi just don’t know anything. Once I get done watching senpai’s fight I’ll go teach them a thing or two, but for now, where am I?

I guess I’m not alone either. There’s some girl who looks like she’s about to cry in here too. She’s giving off a completely different aura compared to before, but I think it’s that Black Knight. Who would have thought she was actually a girl? It’s not very important though. She’s in here with me, and on top of that she isn’t even Odin-senpai, so she doesn’t matter. For now I should think about where I am.

All I know is that this room certainly is… white. It’s a lot like the white I’ll never forget. The white I spent most of my life staring up at. The white of my hospital room’s ceiling, the same white as the floor, the same white as the sheets. I don’t really like it.

Cough.

Huh? Did I just cough?

Cough cough.

That’s weird, why would I be coughing?

I also… can’t stand up.

Cough.

As soon as I try, I just cough again, and fall down. It’s just like…

I hear the Black Knight take off in laughter, as well as the voice of the princess answering her, but for now I’ll just ignore them. I can tell with just a few words between the two of them that I don’t matter to them, but it’s fair, since they never mattered to me either. Hime-chan was convenient for leading me to Odin-senpai, but that’s all. The Black Knight was never more than a featureless figure existing in the shadow of senpai. Maybe I would have thought more of her if I had never met senpai, but since I did, she was never anything to me.

Those two were never anything, just like the information they’re swiping isn’t anything to me. I’m not impressed or interested in whatever dirt they want to keep secret. None of that matters.

Right now, what matters, is that I’m weak.

Cough… cough.

I can feel my breathing slowing. My heart has already stopped beating. It had probably already stopped before I even became aware of this white room. I can’t feel my own magical energy. I guess that explains why my… heart… isn’t beating. Something has cut me off from my own power, my strength. Is it because of these… cuffs?

I’ve definitely reverted, back to the corpse that would become Cerberus. With my power as a Magus sealed it’s only natural. I’ve been sustained by that power, and without it I can’t survive. But that’s only natural. Those without power are weak, and the weak are devoured, either by the strong, or by fate itself.

The coughing has stopped. I guess I’m so close to becoming a corpse that I can’t even manage that anymore. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that I’m so close to returning to a corpse. I wonder what will take me first, illness, or these sisters looking my way.

I can’t help but smile. Even if I’m not breathing anymore, even if my eyes have probably glossed over like those of a lifeless doll, I can’t help but smile at that girl.

I already knew, Hime. Did you ever really think I was unaware of your real nature hidden under that persona? No amount of bubbly smiling can hide the murderer in those eyes. Even to someone like me, who only has eyes for the strong, it was as though the real you was always in plain sight. Anyone ever fooled by you must have been horribly naïve, full of weak innocence, lacking strength to admit the reality in front of them. Clinging onto that fairy tale princess smile because they didn’t have the strength to handle the truth.

Ah, my vision is darkening. I guess that answers that question then. Sorry, Hime, but the only thing in here for you to play with will soon be a corpse. As cold as the floor it’s laying on. It sucks though, the last thing I get to see as the light goes out is those murderous eyes that can’t even tell the dead from the living.

"I see. You removed your anchor to the physical world at the last instant in order to avoid damage. Is that all you've got, Rena?"

It’s Odin-senpai.

That’s right. I was watching his fight. I got so caught up in dying that I forgot. Now that the rest of my senses are disappearing, the only thing left is the vision senpai gave me, so that I could watch his fight. Not even these bindings that suppress my abilities as a Magus can shut down the sense senpai gave me with his magic. He really is Ultimate.

"That is my line, Odin, no, Rogue."

Dying like this, I can accept it. To die of weakness, it’s simply the natural order of the world at play. I would have accepted it either way, but to have this final relief as I go, being able to watch senpai exercise his Ultimacy as the last thing I witness, it’s a comfort the dead likely never receive.

“When exactly”

I think I might have one regret.

“do you intend”

Just one.

“to go all out...?"

That I died before seeing Odin-senpai’s true strength.

"Hmph.”

Everything goes quiet.

Kajiki Uta Dead End

“Very well then. Farewell, Rena."

Cerberus
Empty Room - Evening

The silence of death is broken. Odin-senpai’s voice smashes the cold, still dark of death to pieces with his voice alone.

My heart still isn’t beating, but I don’t need it. Nothing will stop me from bearing witness to the meaning of Ultimate.

If Odin-senpai is going to finally go all out, I can’t stay dead. My life would have been for nothing to have come this far only to die here. All those meaningless things I crushed on my way here, all those meaningless defeats I endured to pave my way to this moment, the moment where I can witness true Strength.

My eyes, which had never closed even after dying, yet saw only dark all the same, see again. But all they see is Odin-senpai’s face. His stance. His Power.

It’s finally here.

I may already be dead, but I won’t miss this. Even without any life within me, I’ll watch this.

But before that, this noise echoing inside of me needs to stop. It almost sounds like a heartbeat, but I know that isn’t what it is. My heart stopped beating, that hasn’t changed. What I hear sounds like flowing water, but it’s not. It isn’t blood either. It’s only natural that my own blood wouldn’t be pumping through my veins with my heart stopped.

It’s something else. It’s familiar, but what is it?

The darkness of death, which had been destroyed by Odin-senpai’s voice, begins to writhe back into my vision, as if it’s something alive, but not. Through the cracks I can see the white room I died in, or parts of it. Between the broken pieces of death’s abyss I can see something. I’m staring down at myself.

And my fist, which has pierced through my chest, directly into my heart.

Something black and wet is flowing out of it.

Inside of the flow I see stars, as well as hear the voices of the dead. Crying their hatred for the living.

So that’s it.

Styx… the underworld… that place, Mugen…

Is flowing through my veins.

[Airen]

Nakamura Akio
Forest Clearing -Evening

It's the type of feeling that won't leave me alone.

While at first it's possible, even easy, to just talk with my friend alone in the forest, there's a distortion in me that eventually comes to the surface. It's small, at least at first, like seeing something out of the corner of your eye that takes a second to register...

Something, encroaching.

Something, hidden from my thoughts, moved out of my view?

Perhaps by me? Or maybe by someone else?

Mana says something, and I respond, even though my head is swimming in the twilight air. The moment I recognize something is missing, my world, which had been so cheery, even if a bit distorted, color-washed from a lack of life...

Something in it becomes unbearable to my mind.

But only to my consciousness.

My body vehemently disagrees. I can feel it do so, the moment I try to think too hard about it, a wave of nausea, of pain, a punishment for something I don't remember doing, wipes out my senses and I have to start over from scratch, my hands on my knees as I almost collapse, and my friend worriedly looking over me as a result.

But the distortion remains.

The sense of wrong remains.

Am I awake, or am I sleeping?

Should I stay sleeping, or should I wake up?

It's nonsense.

My thoughts don't make sense, it would be much easier for me to just get rid of the distortion once and for all... I have a feeling I could do it if I try, the next time that feeling appears, if I ignore it completely, if I completely cast my mind aside from it...

It will probably disappear, for good.

Like closing a wound, the instant I tell my body I don't want such a wound open, it will erase it for me.

Thinking something like that, the feeling naturally, immediately returns.

It would be easy.

So easy to forget.

Yet...

My breathing catches in my chest, as "Nakamura Akio," ignores his own epiphany and tries to recover what was lost on his own.

The world is wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong...

Let it stay wrong.

A hallucination, one of my own voice, declares something on it's own.

My body is numb, there is no sensation in it. I have a feeling it's because I did something I shouldn't have, whether it was an overestimation on my part, or something else entirely, the things that were wrong with my body were things that my body was trying to keep me from doing again, for that reason, my own thoughts turn against me, and I hear myself say something odd, a thought emerging on it's own, a calm one in comparison to the others, who were starting to speed up, panic, as they searched for what I had been forced to let go.

Just forget it, give up, it's easier.

The body makes it tempting.

If I stop struggling with myself, then I just might stop noticing all of my pain, but...

Letting something stay wrong?

That's not like me, it's uncharacteristic of me.

Why was I thinking of something like that? If there was something I had forgotten, then it was important that I remember it, even if it hurt, Nakamura Akio forgets small things sometimes, but this feeling wasn't small at all...

The thing I had forgotten...

"Raku."

...Felt like something big.

Small things were forgetting to pick up milk, or forgetting to do the homework until Aesop dragged my out of bed in the middle of the night and forced me to finish it.

This was a name.

A person's name.

That wasn't an acceptable thing to just lose sight of, a long time ago, Nakamura Akio had promised himself to remember everyone he had ever met. By doing so, the world would become vibrant, he would have attachments to so many things in it, and the urge to protect would be unanimous and beautiful.

People are precious.

Even enemies have their value.

Why should I just let someone disappear, even if only in my thoughts?

I stand up.

The muscles try to deny me when I do; Mana, hearing me say something out of nowhere, repeats the name back at me, and my heart speeds up again, perhaps to stop me, perhaps to pump enough oxygen to my muscles to let me move.

Either way...

I... Needed to go...

This Raku person...

If my body was trying to convince me to forget, then something bad must have happened, to that person or to me... It was difficult to tell, impossible really, my mind was only working as a shadow of itself, things were moving slowly, so slow that I can't trust myself to carry any chain of thought to it's proper end, so...

Now...

While I have a grip on this name...

My body falls.

It's natural for it to fall, I had abused it far too much, to the point where it could be called a betrayal of the self. Even if my memory was distorted that much was clear, it's true functions probably wouldn't return for at least a day. Now that I'm forcing it to move, there's a feeling like electricity, like the sparks from my mind are going down into my body and just scattering haphazardly, it hurts, even through the numbness, each and every attempt at a motion was accompanied with a shrill pain as every muscle in it starts screaming.

This too, was only natural.

I can... I can do it if I try...!

This body had always been good at this one thing, even if it was screaming at me now, I can only commend it for continuing to endure even after being pushed to the limit.

If it really wanted to stop me, all it had to do was force me to pass out.

It screamed, but he managed to stand back up anyway, it screamed, but it took a step forward when he told it to do so... It might have just been agreeing for the sake of getting it over with, but even if it was equivalent to setting my body on fire to make it run towards water...

At least I was moving...

"Yeah... Raku... I have to find her..."

Her?

Why was I so sure it was a her...?

I could... Always ask Aesop...?

It's something I forgot I could do, but...

No...

For some reason... It feels like I shouldn't, like she wouldn't know, and even if she did, there would be a consequence, an unavoidable fate, not for me but for someone else, if she saw me how I was right now.

So I decide to take care of it on my own. I can't stop her when she inevitably notices the dip in my health and comes running back on her own, but I won't call her back, at least not yet.

It'll be fine, right?

But still... Even with this resolve... I have a problem...

Because I've forgotten, I don't know where I should look. This person must be here on the island, my instincts wouldn't tell me there was still a chance of a "meeting."

Ah...

Forget it... Thinking about it too much won't help me... I have only a tenuous grip on this name at best, even remembering this much was a miracle, in the end, I don't have much else I can go on other than instinct...

So where...?

Putting one foot in front of the other, slowly at first, but then faster...

My feet carry me towards the beach on their own.

Not at the house... Wouldn't go where the others are... Tree too dangerous... Sophie... Also too many people...

"I won't fall again... Don't worry Mana..."

Calling out to my friend as I go, I don't know if I expect her to follow me or not.

Really...

Everything feels so surreal...

Washed out...

[hero]

Fukami Mikoto
Home- Night"


Mikoto... I feel the same."

Hishikawa Nanako finds strength in those words. For a moment, she was left dumbfounded by your confession, but there's no denying that the meaning behind it has ultimately brought back the confidence she thought she had lost. The smile she's wearing now overflows with determination, and it doesn't take long for you to start feeling it as well. Even if you know that, now that you are speaking with absolute sincerity, the response you'll get may not be the words you want to hear, somehow your worries begin to slowly disappear. Because you have simultaneously become each other's confidants, the path that was once filled with obstacles, twists and turns, now looks like an opened way towards what is to come. All that is needed is the courage to take a step forward.

"And... I've already decided I'll save Haru. If it's possible or impossible, it doesn't matter to me... I'll do my best regardless. Naturally, that means I'm likely to do something 'Rash'... Sorry, Mikoto, that's just who I am. But..." Closing her eyes, your friend focuses on the warmth she feels coming from your hand. "The future I envision has us all in it... Though I might be a little bit reckless, I don't plan on calling quits any time soon. Besides... If I am with you, I have nothing to fear. I trust you'll stop me if I take things a step too far."

Out of context, it's just a corny sentence, an excuse, a way to fool oneself everything will be alright. Just like she's not sure she can keep herself alive without losing her identity, you don't know if you are capable of doing what she asks for. And yet, what you see in her eyes is pure faith; certainty. There is not a shallow of a doubt that your friend trusts you like no other person would.

"Likewise... Do not be ashamed of who you are. Fukami Mikoto, that world you believe in... I believe in it too. And I am sure it is not just me and you: Haru, Akio... Even Sawai believes in that possibility. And though the past has not been kind to any of us, my friends have taught me that is no reason to throw the towel. Together, We'll pave the road towards that future, so don't be afraid of your potential. If you do get lost, I'll be right there to put you back on track. And I won't rest until I do so."

There is a pause and, for an instant, your friend wears an apologetic expression. She must have realized she is doing it again... Saying things that would reassure anyone she goes to unhealthy lengths for someone else's sake. Indeed, there is no changing this Hishikawa Nanako.

--------

"..."

Nakayama Haru struggles with fever. Her body temperature is such that it is clear that her immortal body is the only thing that separates her from death. And, at the same time, it's the same immortal body what is killing her. Or rather, the key that opens the door to her magical talents. Her Magical weapon... All this time, you've ignored its true nature. A single glance is enough to determine that it embodies the definition of 'curse', and the mere thought of meddling with it sends a chill down your spine.

But there is no other choice.

This 'Brooch' is the only clue you have. With no Magical Energy or time to spare, the two of you are left with no choice but to experiment with a very volatile artifact.
To find the truth, it is necessary to go where it all started. You travel back as 'observers' to that day, sixteen years ago, when this brooch ended up in the hands of a newborn baby.

And so, once you are ready, you shake your fears, hold your hands together and cast the Magic world.

"---Kamui---!!!"

-------


"What... is This...?"

You are greeted by a blazing flames and destruction. Whatever chaos ensued in the present doesn't hold a candle to what was caused by a single man in the past.

When you raise your head and look up ahead, all you see is black and red, green has been completely eradicated. It truly resembles an inferno.

Standing amidst that hell is a woman that does not belong.

A woman with empty eyes, carrying a baby across the fire as if it were her only and last purpose.

She's too far to see her face clearly, but her figure reminds you of certain swordswoman.

Before you can confirm, though, something which should not be possible occurs.

A voice calls you from behind.








"You girls are not from here, aren't you? Oh dear, did you get lost in time or something?"


Something about this individual feels... Strange.

[hero]

Nakamura Akio
Shore - Night


"Why...?"

Even though the boy should not have the strength left to move, he continues to charge forward at full speed without ever slowing down. To the one chasing after him, this hardly comes as a surprise. Since the beginning, Nakamura Akio has proved to be stubborn to the point where he can make impossible things no longer feel as such. But, to go so far for something he cannot even remember, something he cannot even ascertain exists, to rush towards the beach at full speed hoping to find what he's lost there with no proof other than a vague hunch... It's bewildering, almost irritating.

"..."

There is not a single cell in his body that doesn't tell him to stop, to forget about what his doing and return home. The message is simple and clear 'only suffering awaits ahead'... It's a warning engraved in his memory so strong that it even forces his body to shut down piece by piece. Somehow, he just powers them back on. Where does such will power come from, and for what reason? A man can swim against the current for a goal he can see, but only an idiot would do it for something he cannot. The closer he gets, the faster he runs. Eventually, even the weather says 'no' and unleashes a powerful rain upon the mortals. It does nothing to stop him.

The next wall is even taller.

He meets the one thing he cannot harm. Nakamura Akio meets face to face with powerless humans. They block his path, and together manage to tackle him to the ground. The obligation to 'stop the boy no matter the cost' has been implanted on their memories, and so they put their lives on the line to do so. He isn't afraid to punch them out of the way. He does it solely to move forward. One percent of who he is is telling him not to let go, and for him that one percent is more enough.

He leaves a pile of bodies behind.

None of them are injured, and those who he did hit a bit too hard have been healed.

Proving he cannot be stopped, Nakamura Akio overcomes the final trial and arrives at the beach.

There is nobody there but the two who have just arrived.

Nobody is hiding.

There is nothing of interest here.

But... One would have to not have paid attention to believe that would stop the Fool.

And that is why...

"..."

A hand holds his own, gently asking him to stop.

From behind, the girl looks down, unsure of what to say and unable to meet his gaze.

She can tell the boy is silently and slowly hurting himself, and she simply wishes it wouldn't be so.

Above else, she doesn't want him to suffer.

The boy is frantic, looking for something he thought he has lost.

But it's okay.

There is actually nothing missing.

All he needs, all the love, support and company, everything is standing right next to him.

For some reason, she can't find the courage to say so out loud, even if she's never been the kind of person to hold back a thought.

Even if she could say it, she is certain Nakamura Akio would not be able to grasp the true meaning behind those words.

Therefore...

She wraps her arms around him and pours all her feelings into a single action.

Lips meet under heavy rain.

[hero]

Chisana Risu
City Remains - Evening


A Magus is someone blessed with unimaginable power and burdened by an even greater responsibility. However, above all else, a Magus is what it always has been. Not a hero or a savior... A human being. Selfish, self-centered, ambitious and naive. The Traveler and Chisana Risu, neither of them can escape this rule. The path they have chosen might be cruel to those who need their help, but ultimately nobody can blame them for picking such road for it is only natural for them to do so.

"..."

The entire crowd goes silent after growing tired of pointlessly trying to hurt each other with no success. What you say is true... You should be able to stop their actions with your Magic, but there is nothing that can be done to erase the pain of losing a loved one or witnessing the destruction of one's own hometown. For sure, sooner or later, those feelings will resurface and once more give birth to conflict. And, now aware that Magi are not there to save them, they'll seek to overcome it themselves. In the future, Magi won't be seen as heroes or villains, but as a stepping stone that allowed humanity to progress even further.

Earthquakes, Tsunamis, hurricanes.

The world is being attacked by an endless barrage of inexplicable and simultaneous natural disasters. In the face of such a hopeless scenario, humanity accepted its loss and locked itself inside a lonely room, channeling all their hopes and dreams into a species they thought superior. Proven wrong by the words of a single girl, they turn their T.V.s and radios off and step once more into the fray. Naturally, there is nothing they can do to stop such a divine display of destruction... But they should be able to do what men have done since the dawn of time: Survive. Together or each on their own, it hardly matters. Today, humanity chooses to fight.

With everything said and done, Chisana Risu decides to leave the scene in search of her precious friend.

---At that time.

"---LIKE I'D LET YOU---!"


A football soars through the battlefield, opposing that selfish departure with all its might...!

Ooof-!

By instinct alone, you manage to turn around just in time to clumsily catch it between your arms before it hits you full force. Left dumbfounded by the strange occurrence, you focus your gaze on the projectile's point of origin and find two people standing there, each wearing a smirk that could be called cocky and scary at the same time.

"Don't go wiping us off the map so easily, you moron!" Passionate as ever, Shinozaki Tobei yells at you a little louder than needed. While he does not look too angry, your attitude seems to have offended his pride somewhat. "You're not the only one who wants to find a friend. We're searching for Kurokami-san, 'Kojiki'-san, Fukami-san and the rest as well, and you are coming along!"

Besides the shooter stood a much shorter individual, Koyanagi Ren, another one of your classmates. Though usually bold, Ren chooses to stay silent, or rather, instead mutters something you don't manage to hear.

"Punishment..."

It comes out of nowhere in the blink of an eye.

The full-speed van uses a rubble dune as an improvised ramp and makes a mighty leap-!

It covers you under its shadow for a few moments, before making a forceful landing in the nearby area, followed by an U-turn that can only be called the work of a professional. Far from being a competitive vehicle, however, the van itself seems to be begging for help. For a reasonable driver. Unfortunately, the one who sits behind the wheel is the polar opposite of that. With a love for challenge on par with Nanako's and the talent to make the trip a dozen times more dangerous, Maki Ayase stands as the masterpiece of this epic maneuver.

"Rikuto! Aneko! Now's the time!"

Still unable to grasp the situation, your body pauses for a moment. The instant you do, the van accelerates and its doors open. From inside, four arms reach out and pull you inside, as the vehicle continues to gather speed. Are you being kidnapped by your own classmates...?!

Since neither Aneko and Rikuto have any previous experience with this sort of activity (Both of them also ask themselves 'why am I doing this again?' out loud), they pull you inside with a little too much strength and the three of you nearly end up on top of each other. The inside of the van is surprisingly big, but what draws your attention first is not that, but the sheer amount of people inside. It's almost like you have been pulled into a completely different dimension... Where most of its inhabitants are little kids with red hair.

"Oh sorry, I couldn't leave them at home. Someone has to take care of them, after all."

... You have been told that Maki Ayase comes from a numerous family, but you never expected to see her four sisters and three brothers all gathered in a relatively small space. Ah, now you understand... It wasn't the van who was begging for help before... The call for help came from those caught inside, those unfortunate souls who do not bear a mark of crimson in their heads.

On one corner, you spot your new friend Mari...

It is impossible to tell if it was the reckless driving or an assault from Maki's siblings, but it appears she has been completely knocked out...

You can picture stars dancing atop her head...

[Sei]

Fukami Mikoto
The Past- Rogue's Inferno

I'm speechless at first. Though I've delved into the past of countless people before, neither of those instances have been as lucid as this. Mostly, they're just passing images, sounds, and select clusters. Things I would know- would have experienced- if I was simply 'there'. But this... This is way more involved. I'm not only in the past, but I'm experiencing it in real time. I can't tell if this is because of me, Nanako, or Haru herself... But there's no mistaking just how unusual the flow of time is among these flames.

Everywhere I look, there is only fire. The sky has been painted red with burning ash and the very earth has been charred a deathly black. All there is... is flame. Life itself has been eradicated. Or, rather, life simply cannot exist within this domain because the very idea is being devoured by these flames. An unnatural inferno- even by a mage's standards- that draws unto itself all vitality and leaves only pure, hollowed, destruction. I wasn't sure what to make of it before... Something so vile and wicked that I couldn't bring myself to call it magic. But now I'm sure... that these flames are what we'd call a 'curse'.

We don't belong here.

Not just because we've come here from a different time, but because we're still living beings. Even though the flames have yet to touch use, their heat alone is enough to fill me with fear. I can feel its essence licking at my skin- seeking to consume me. And for this reason, I reach out and grab Nanako's hand. Not just to protect her, but for comfort as well.

"We should hurry."

I speak plainly, urging action. Though we have no proper direction to go in.

Then...

"You girls are not from here, aren't you? Oh dear, did you get lost in time or something?"

A voice calls out to us. A voice that- like us- seems completely out of place.

I turn to see a young woman standing there, just a few paces away. She doesn't look like anyone I've met... Nor does she strike me as someone I should know. However, just by looking at her, I can't help but shake the feeling that there is something familiar about her.

"You could say that," I manage to respond rather quickly, but I can't help but bear some caution in my voice, "We came here to help our friend. Wherever here is..."

[Airen]

Nakamura Akio
Shore - Night

Here, under the rain, the young man is finally faced with something that forces him to pause. Standing under the rain, the rampaging emotions that had brought him this far, forced his body to restart again and again, spike even higher as lips press against his own. It's an unexpected feeling, face wet with rainwater, as well as the tears that had come with striking out at humans, the young man, the one who pursued the path of the hero, had probably never looked so vulnerable in his life.

After all, the moment the goal becomes unclear, the Fool can no longer protect Nakamura Akio, and his human self is left to bear everything alone.

He can barely support his own weight, but even so, his arms move to match hers, supporting her body against his even as his thoughts slowly turn to static, becoming more scrambled even as they paradoxically become more clear. His body, on the verge of complete and utter collapse, had heightened sensation, each and every feeling becoming something important that could lead to life or death, a prolonged near death experience that made him feel like he was floating, subjective time expanding along with his other senses to let him feel everything, from the start of the kiss, until it's end, when she finally pulls away, and he is left breathless.

Contrary to popular belief, the young man was not quite as foolish as he lets on. He is aware of many things that he chooses to ignore, believes that it is best for everyone that he ignores these sorts of things, because the people that get too close are always the ones that pay the price... But now here, on the beach, confronted with an emotion this honest, this pure...

He can't do anything but face it head on, knowing exactly what it is.

"..."

She probably hadn't felt it, but around the boy's neck, hanging from a simple chain, was a certain bird he had been given a long time ago. He had never drawn attention to it after it had been given to him; simply wearing it from that point on as a charm, it had simply become part of his attire, a gift from a friend that he had held onto because of his own nature. It held no purpose other than serving as a reminder of a promise, but because it was a gift, something someone had given to him, he had treated it as what it was a symbol of friendship, a treasure.

His heart is racing, beating just as fast as when he had been in pursuit of the one he had lost. He is not immune to these types of emotions; there had been a spark of something here that he couldn't deny, a feeling that had scattered his thoughts and forced him to focus almost entirely on the girl in his arms.

So sudden had been the attack, that for a moment, the name of the lost one had almost vanished into the grasp of static. He had ripped it from oblivion at the last moment, refusing to let it go, but still...

The look on her face, a silent plead for him to stop his march towards self-destruction.

In an instant, Aomori Mana had become his greatest ally, as well as his greatest enemy.

Because she made him want to give up.

She represented warmth in a world in which everything had gone cold and chaotic, stability in a time where he was struggling to the death with himself over something he couldn't really remember, and yet...

Hand rising up to that same necklace, hidden beneath his clothes, the young man's expression, which had been so lost before, slowly composes itself.

"A symbol of friendship and love... It was a promise, I still have it, I intend to keep it, and I don't regret it."

Honesty.

The young man that had measured his relationships carefully, doing his best not to become so ingrained in peoples lives that his absence would damage their soul, finally gives into his nature as a human, the Fool watching in silence for Nakamura Akio to say what needed to be said, what should have been said a long time ago, the things that he had been foolish to think he could hold back.

He couldn't consider everyone the same.

The instant his sister's life had been on the line, everyone standing between himself and her had become expendable; when his friends lives had been at risk, a similar switch in his head had been flipped without a second thought. A hero was supposed to save everyone, but in those moments he had tossed that idea aside and struck out to protect his own interests. The world had become heavy, as heavy as his father had said it would become, and it had collapsed on him, the weight of promises forcing him to truly sort out what he wanted to protect, what he didn't want to go on living without.

When he saw people get hurt, he wanted to protect them.

But when he closed his eyes, whenever things got dark and he wanted to cling to something, the people he saw were his friends and family.

It's a hammer of reality, one that's both warm and cold but...

Even so, with something like this...

His mind turning the situation into one where he had to pick one or the other, the boy who had come to terms with himself, rejects such mentality without thinking twice about it, and the static is forced to dissipate as he rejects choice and grabs onto everything he refuses to lose.

It was selfish.

Out of all of the acts he had committed this day, it was the one that was the most done for his own sake. He had been willing to give up almost anything to that person, but his memories, his thoughts, those were things that belonged to him, and him alone, and they were irreplaceable.

Just as he held a promise with Mana, he also held quite a few with the girl that had tried her hardest to manipulate his memories. She was throwing a tantrum, throwing wall after wall into his path for the purpose of stopping him, but...

If that t͜r̢̨͝e͟é hadn't stopped him back then, then like hell something like this would work.

Those memories were his, and he would not give them away.

Not even to family.

"...I might be the worst."

Speaking with a sort of ill-fated humor, the young man can only look back on everything with a small smile.

Wanting everything, wanting anything and everything, that is what humans call desire. Fumbling around carelessly to fulfill that will not yield success, but the moment he gives up on someone important, is the same moment that his heart will break, even if his mind could continue on without it, even if he could find a sort of happiness there in oblivion, he refuses it with everything he has left in him.

"The people important to me... No matter what happens, I can't give up on them, just like I wouldn't give up on you. I have a lot of promises to keep, a lot of people I love, and even for the sake of one of them, I can't stop. I won't give any of you up, not to spare myself pain, or even for the rest of the world... It doesn't matter how much it hurts, if its for your sake, for Hitomi, or Aesop, for Fukami, Sensei, Rei, for any of you or all of you... I'll bear what I have to bear gladly, it's not a burden, it never was, if I didn't have these feelings I would have collapsed a long time ago."

It was this exact distortion that someone had told him about.

Taking on this many people, spreading his feelings out this much... In the end, there will definitely be a conflict, a time where his feelings are pulling him in many different directions, and the weight will become too much for his emotions to support without something giving way...

But no...

It wasn't too much...

Even if it was selfish, no, because it was selfish, he could shoulder this much weight. It wasn't about the world, it wasn't about the people that were trying to destroy the world, this was a personal desire, something Nakamura Akio refuses to lose even if it winds up breaking him in the end. Pleading with the world that he at least be able to hold onto this much, the Fool standing behind, watching from beyond the veil of consciousness, can only move to support his other self.

After all, even if "Nakamura Akio," is the pillar for many people.

Those same people support him as well, and as long as they are together, surely any weight is trivial.

"I don't know if I can answer you right now... It's selfish, but I won't abandon any of the people I love. Being forgotten, letting memories of yourself disappear... That's too sad of a story, too sad of an ending... She might have thought I would be happier this way, but having my memories altered... No, that sort of thing hurts the most... So I've gotta keep looking; until I've found her I can't stop, it's hard to make everyone happy... I might not be able to do it... But I can't let go of any of you, and I don't want to, so I've got to try."

Smiling gently, as it to strengthen his resolve, reassure Mana that he is alright, the young man nods to himself and forces his body to stop shaking.

"I'll definitely come back, so you don't have to worry, I won't self destruct from something like this... So smile, if you're sad... That's what will actually hurt me..."

Looking back towards the island, the young man's resolve eclipses steel.

He would find the one he had lost.

Life just wouldn't be the same if everyone wasn't there.

And that... That wasn't something he could accept.

[hero]

Rena & Odin
'Symbol of Hope'











"---GUNGNIR---!!!"

The spear of death is thrust as an absolute declaration of victory.

There is nothing in Rena's arsenal that can oppose this crimson envoy of destruction. Even if the Captain chose to 'copy' it, her own version of the attack would be weaker as, as ridiculous as it sounds, her entire reserve of Magical Energy would still be inferior to what has been spent to fuel this massive mass of death. Furthermore, no shield can block it, and to alter it in any shape or form is impossible, making it the ultimate trump card against most mages. However, even in the face of undeniable defeat, Highwing's eyes remain sharp as ever, as she uses the minuscule amount of time she has available to foresee the future and search for a way out.

"...?!"

Ninety nine options disappear as she becomes aware that the ground has swallowed her feet without her noticing. No, it has to be more than that, otherwise she'd be able to free herself in an instant. No, not only has Odin commanded space to trap her, he also imbued her with an everlasting curse... Truly, there exists no better definition of 'checkmate'. At first, the God may appear arrogant and naive, but he certainly isn't as foolish, and hardly ever holds back when he truly wants to win a fight.

"It's over... Rena."

Yes, the match has already been decided.

The victor is...

"I wonder about that...!"

Where others would tremble in fear and despair, the Captain stands strong and challenges the mightiest attack with all of her fighting spirit. She's smiling... And there is a reason for that. Even if Odin may be the strongest amongst the two, it is Rena the one who's the smartest. Her experience, combined with her keen intellect turn her into a genius capable of turning the tides of fate with a single action. It has been said before, has it not? Rena's power is close to omniscience. Everything within this space is up to her to control, and while she cannot manipulate Odin's Gungnir directly...

She can definitely find another way to do so.

Space is destroyed and reconstructed in an instant, as Ásynja uses her authority to create a new path for the Last Resort said to have no equal. However, that is not all there is to it. Since Odin can manipulate space as well, she has to make sure he won't counter with a similar strategy, and so the Captain uses her Magic to turn Gungnir into a Last Resort that will hit at point-blank range from Rogue's only blind spot-!

"..."

The beam of death lands on its new target, meeting no opposition. The moment it connects, it mercilessly reduces Odin's body and Magical Weapon to nothingness, leaving only dust behind. All attempts to destroy her enemy proved to be ineffective, so Ásynja raised over the bar and used his Absolutes against him. Certainly, not even him can surpass the concept of 'Eternal Death' Gugnir affects its victims with.

"---Das Rheinhold.---"

"Wha-?!"

"Give it up, Rena. However hard you may try, I can never be defeated."

The Magical Pressure in the area becomes too much to bear. As the woman realizes the futility of her actions, her future sight revealing nothing but her death, her instincts begin to scream for her safety. They tell her to disengage, to leave everything and run away, far away from this God. For the first time since the start of the battle, Rena S. Highwing fears for her own life. The sad truth is that the survival her body longs for is no longer possible. She has been fixed into a single point in space by a high level curse she cannot seem to undo, and the next time Odin uses his finisher, he won't be as kind as he was last time.

"... Heh."

She sights, her smile full of irony, as if she has found something funny. She has realized this is as far as she goes, and has come to accept it in the span of a moment. Without saying anymore, the Captain stands strong and defenseless, merely piercing her opponent with a sharp glare. In response, the man gets into stance one more and executes the same mythic-level attack, now imbued with even more conceptual power to overcome any and all obstacles that might appear along the way.

"---GUNGNIR---!!!"

There is no longer a wall or a ceiling. By the time the exchange concludes, the third floor has been reduced to nothing but rubble, and the dozen floors above it have completely ceased to exist, revealing the beautiful starfield shining in the skies above. For a moment, there is silence, the only sound being that of the wind. The fight has reached its end and, like it has been from the very beginning, the victor is defined. Rogue Flame, the evil who lurks inside Yoshino Sosei's body has annihilated his opponent.

"Hmmm...?"

"Hah... Ahh... Guh... Hah..."

"You should just surrender, Rena. Half of your body has already been reduced to Spirit Particles, and the rest is soon to follow. I've given you a painless death, so be polite and accept it."

"Cough... Hah... Ah... I don't... Remember... Having asked for your... Kindness..."

At this point, there is nothing she can do to stop him. Even if she's a top tier Magi capable of manipulating the element of Aether, the most she can keep herself alive is a few minutes at most. But for her, that is enough. Odin knows she's the only one capable of going 'toe to toe' against him. That is why he came here first... If he absorbs her Magical Energy, he will truly be unstoppable... That is why...

"Sealing? Useless. Such a thing will not work on me any longer."

"Who... Said... It was... meant... to be used on you...!"

That is why, she will prevent him from claiming that power. Alongside all the other plans she previously put into motion, this should save humanity from losing their only advantage.

"Foolish woman. I never desired to obtain your power. What you represent, the Symbol of Hope... I've have come here to bury it."

"You will never crush hope... Hope will always live in the hearts of mankind. Even should I fall here, someone will rise to replace me... Becoming the new Symbol of Hope..."


Three random characters have received 'Hope Shard'.

"Everyone... I leave the rest to you..."










"And I will destroy that symbol, as many times as I need to."

Interlude Out

[hero]

Kajiki Uta
Control Room - Evening

A solid pillar of light suddenly surrounds the body of Kajiiki Uta, automatically bringing her back to her feet.

Even though she has already been stripped of three of her senses, she can still 'see' her enemies clearly. Her bindings undone and her weapon in hand, Cerberus needs no orders to attack those who stand between her and what she calls 'strength'. A moment she's standing there, motionless, her eyes empty as if unaware of what's truly happening... And the next she's gone, moving at speeds which should not be within her reach. Slipping past the Black Knight in the blink of an eye, the mad hound goes after the so called princess, swinging her axe down with the strength of a thousand armies.

"Oh~? Isn't it cute? Such overwhelming destructive force~"

Even so.

Aomori Mana catches it with a single, naked hand, her feet not even sinking into the ground. Without a second thought, the murderer swings the trapped beast and throws her at the console, causing it to shortcircuit and shock her victim. For a moment her existence wavers, a surge of static, as if something about her did not truly belong to this world.

"Nee-san-!"

Comes the desperate cry from the Black Knight shrouded in darkness. But it reaches the Princess's ears an instant too late. Breaking the laws of common sense, Kajiki Uta is standing right next to her when she has been thrown less than a split of a second before. Her weapon strikes true this time, and sends her enemy flying through seventeen walls, nearly knocking her out and inflicting an otherwise lethal wound.

"I'll... Never... Forgive you..."

Lowering her gaze in fury, Aomori Hana begins to draw as much power as she can, ready to finish her opponent in a single blow. However, the amount of Energy Cerberus accumulates in her body just by existing vastly eclipses hers. In the end, it is only natural, for Kajiki Uta has not only awakened her 'Mugen', she has also taken every shortcut available to its core and claimed the Ultimate Magic, 'Fortissimo', to herself.

---Fortissimo---
The Ultimate Magic, a deep connection to the root of the universe, which allows complete control over it, its laws and its inhabitants. Similar to creating, deleting or modifying files on a computer system, Fortissimo can alter the 'Present' of any given thing (or all things) to what the wisher seeks at the expense of one's own Magical Weapon. However, since it is possible to create the Magical Weapon anew using Fortissimo as well, the downside is irrelevant. Because Kajiki Uta only reached it thanks to a combination of Spiritual Possession and Odin's gift of infinite Magical Energy, a key component is missing that makes it impossible to willingly activate it, control it or utilize it to its full potential.

Reality itself becomes a blur.

Concepts like distance, muscular strength, vision and other senses, Runes and Last Resorts, it all becomes irrelevant. The moment Fortissimo edits the present, it ensures its wielder emerges victorious, much like a law of Reverse-Causality brought to a greater scale. When it all comes down to it, this is a mere formality. The truth is, Cerberus doesn't even need this kind of power to win; only to stomp, to leave her enemy with her face on the dirt, and have her never again stand up.

---Or so one would be led to believe.

"---ASTERION!!!---"


A spear of darkness pierces the heart of the hellhound, vanishing the light from her eyes.

The body of Kajiki Uta falls pathetically onto the floor, blood pouring from its recently lethal wound. Naturally, lethal wounds are not enough to kill Magi. Unless their bodies are completely obliterated or their Magical Weapon is broken, all an injury like this does is immobilize them for a few minutes. Sadly, this all Aomori Hana need to unleash her Last Resort on the defenseless 'corpse'.

"Thanatos."

Her Magical Weapon, Lilium, rules over the concept of 'Fear'. From 'Fear of the Unknown', to 'Fear of Failure', it is to be expected that it can also manipulate the strongest fear, the 'Fear of one's death'. Following this principle, Thanatos imbues her weapon with 'All forms of Death' and inflicts the one the victims fear the most upon them. It is an effective trump card with minimum Mana consumption that effectively bypasses all rules by grabbing a terror that only exists in fantasy and making it a reality. Alone as she is now, without the aid of anyone or anything, the moment the tip of the spear makes contact with her body a second time, she will perish without a doubt. It goes without saying, it will be a slow, despair-inducing death she won't be able to forget even in the afterlife.

The spear is thrust.

"Hana."

The tip stops a millimeter above Cerberus' clothing.

"Playtime is over, sis. Gotta go."

Coming out of the hole she herself left on the wall, Aomori Mana casually orders Hana to leave it be. Besides her bloody dress, there are no signs of any previous injury, like such a thing has never existed at all.

"..."

The Black Knight silently withdraws her weapon, her gaze still filled with anger.

Before leaving the room with her sibling, she kicks Kajiki Uta with all her strength, throwing her body across a wall.

Despite the bad experience, the sisters leave the scene with a malefic smirk on their faces.

--------

Kajiki Uta
'Rooftop' - Night


"..."

When you come to, you see the figure of an imposing man staring at the distance. Though your senses are still a bit dizzy, you instinctively know it is Odin, for such a strong back cannot belong to anyone else. As your vision begins to focus, you become aware of what is going on in the background. The God has given a new definition to the words 'Meteorite Shower', turning a beautiful spectacle into a massacre. The poor nearby towns, which have nothing to do with this battle at all, have been caught under the rain of fire, and countless lives are lost which every second that goes by. But it is not just the nearby towns, as the Ultimate Magus, his domain extends to the entirety of Earth. A vast number of famous cities across the globe are suffering from similar natural disasters.

"Do you understand now, Kajiki Uta?" The man asks, his eyes closed as if in deep thought. "My objective is destruction... Complete world annihilation. After I am done, nothing of this world will remain. Not you, or even me."

The desperate cries for help barely reach your ears, but something does catch your attention. Even though Odin could probably obliterate entire portions of land in an instant with a single attack, he is doing it slowly and even purposefully leaving some victims alive, while gaining no apparent 'joy' for doing so.

"My flames will burn it all to the ground."

[hero]

Nakamura Akio
Shore - Night


"Idiot... Idiot...! You are such an idiot...!"

Slap.

Tears mix with raindrops.

Yes, from the very beginning, Nakamura Akio has been nothing but an inexperienced fool, someone who can't see what's standing right in front of him. While it is true that he himself has purposely decided to wear such mask, there are things that still manage to escape even his subconscious. To Aomori Mana, this is more than just a simple love confession. If she allows the boy she loves to go after her friend, she fears he might never come back. Her worries are almost entirely selfless and devoted to the Magus. The kiss was probably an act of impulse, an improvised last resort to stop a train that has already lost its brakes.

"Don't you get I am doing this for you...?! The girl you are looking for will not come back! It's already too late, so let's just go back home...!"

It's a desperate plea.

No longer does it even matter if they return as friends or as lovers.

Just that he forgets everything about that woman, who hurt him so much.

However, it is the exact opposite. The more she urges him to forget, the more he thinks about it and the more he begins to remember. Scattered memories, incomplete lines, silhouettes, they come back slowly. In the end, Nakamura Akio is happy just to remember her surname. Natsume. Natsume Raku, that is the name of the girl she's looking for... A friend. A childhood friend.

A promise forever forgotten.

"... I should have seen it coming." Wiping her own tears, Aomori Mana steels her resolve and moves out of the way. "All this time, and you haven't changed. If that is how it is then..."

At that time.

She jumps back as she chants the magic words.

"---GATE OPEN---!"

There is no Magical Weapon in sight. Instead, the girl merely reaches out with her arms, balls of light materializing in her hand and taking flight, one after the other. They dance in the rain and draw a halo above the boy, all in the blink of an eye. Their light grows brighter with every split of a second that goes by, and before anything can be done to stop them... They blow up.

"I'll have to make myself be heard...!"

"Ahhhhhhhh...!!! Guuhhh...! Ahhh!"

Nakamura Akio fiercely clings to his conscience as he collapses on the ground after being engulfed in a pure white light. None of the attacks was a direct hit, however, he is in such a bad shape that any of them could have knocked him out for good. His vision red and his other senses failing as well, he makes an effort to stand. The force behind the attack has momentarily left his mind blank, so he doesn't exactly recall the reason why he has to get back on his feet when he attempts to do so. He just holds on to the premise that he has to, no matter what.

"There is no need to continue... It's alright now..."

The woman is trembling. The fact she missed isn't likely to be a mistake on her part. She's scared of hurting the boy more than it is needed, feels somewhat guilty, and is more weary than she appears to be. It is no good. She knows Akio better than anyone, so she knows that his body will walk through lava if needed to get to where it wants to. So she has to appeal to the mind.

"Natsume Raku... Is dead. Remember, Akio."

For a moment, there is silence. There is no sound besides that of the rain.

Your heart speeds up.

It aches.

You see it. The death of your friend.

You see her face, her expression, and her last moments in your arms.

You revive the feeling of watching her turn into spirit particles and scatter into the air.

Before you know it, you are crying.

"I am sorry. Stand still now... I'll make sure you forget everything."

[Ayakashi]

Kurokami Hotaru
Abandoned Mall - Late Evening


The concrete that Hotaru felt pressing hard against her back was far from being the paragon of comfort. With the recent turn of events, it was definitely obvious to her that her body had been lying lifeless upon that pile of rocks for long enough -- while she could use some more rest, the time had come to rise to her feet.

With a grunt, ignoring the pestering numbness that lingered in her arms and legs, Hotaru stood up. A shaky performance at best for a Magus that typically stood imposing and unflinching in the face of anything, perhaps reminding her that in the end, when stripped of the 'peculiar' powers she had developed, she was at heart no more than a frail woman with a grudge towards the world. A fragile, broken human being... broken till there was nothing left, till all that remained was a void.

That is why such a reminder was inconsequential. There was nothing left to remind her of.

However, not being the embodiment of nihilism had its advantages, notably the one of giving Hotaru a clearer state of mind that would not dismiss everything as 'pointless'. There were things to be gained here in this conversation, and perhaps that her more approachable state would make meshing in easier.

Now was the time for talk, and perhaps, to learn. The words that had been uttered, the subject of the conversation between Mihou and the young man, and the implication of it all...

"Sophie Kaede and Rogue Flame... If both threats aren't taken care of by the end of tomorrow... There might be no more days to see after that."

... and for the name 'Rogue Flame' to be mentioned; certainly things were elevating to a level beyond which Hotaru had forseen this 'Ragnarok' would rise to. Yet, wasn't it most fitting as a name for such an apocalypse? One would have to remember that before being the name of this ritual, it is first and foremost the Norse name for what happens at 'the end of times'.

"I assume that you kept the Mage of Misfortune in custody for more reasons than having an exquisite collection of artefacts..." Hotaru muttered as she walked up to the duo. "No matter, there is no need for any of that here," Hotaru continued, trying to have Mihou let go of Mitsuo. She took no direct physical action other than gently putting her hand on Mihou's. It was strange, perhaps even involuntary of her -- the image of the 'little girl and boy' fighting had maybe sparked a spirit that Hotaru once nurtured, but had now drowned away in a cesspool of nothingness.

Perhaps that it was a whisering outcry that even in 'nothing', there still remained an abstract concept that held value to Hotaru's heart.

'Useless...'

A light breeze blows that mistake off her lips, cleansing her mind of this unwanted memory.

Hotaru was quick to hide it, but for the briefest of glimpses, there was without doubt a genuine trace of gentleness and serenity that befit only he most caring of elder sisters.

"There wouldn't perchance be any contingency devised in case such a thing happened? Wishful thinking I know."

[Airen]

Nakamura Akio
Shore - Night

When Nakamura Akio falls, the Fool remains standing, holding his ground in the world that had just gone brutally cold without warning. As a persona, the only thing he could do was this, serve as a shield, a mask, an unflinching wall that protected his other self, that moved forward no matter what, the subconscious that emerged to protect the integrity of the self.

Even so... It's not like that self has an answer either, a counter, to the harsh truth that has just struck Nakamura Akio. Standing here, even the Fool has nothing to say, while he wants to deny the words of the girl, he has no proof on which to base that denial on, and so he simply stands, the lone force keeping Nakamura Akio from falling to his knees, and waits for the boy to move further along his path.

The Fool will not prevail here, but...

That's fine.

"..."

He doesn't have to... Because...

Pulling himself together, slowly, Nakamura Akio, the boy that had been forced to relive something awful, reaches an unexpected conclusion, and once again takes his place as the true self. While his face is still wet with tears, the sobbing has died down, and while the memory is vivid, painful, so realistic that he felt like it had happened only moments ago, he draws in a breath and, with some effort, casts such dark and chilling thoughts aside, refusing to allow them to take root any further.

"There's no need for that... What kind of knight would I be if I forgot her...?"

His epiphany is accompanied by a single step forward, towards the girl who had declared she would erase his memories. It had been that phrase, amongst many others, that had ultimately saved the boy from the depths of his shock, the depths of his despair, but...

Not quite in the way that the girl had expected...

His body hurts, but that had been treated as irrelevant from the moment he had started on this quest. Each step comes with a flash of red as his body cries out in agony, but still, determined to close the distance between himself and 'Mana,' the young man moves forward, slowly at first, but then faster, steps gaining purpose, strength, as his belief cements, and the truth he had discovered clearly disentangles itself from fantasy.

It's not something he would normally do, but...

Crossing the distance with purpose, the pain slowly falling away to become something more manageable, the boy that had finally seen past everything, decides it's not quite fair that things were only being done to him, and-

"You were always the best at hide-and-seek, but..."

-Pulls the young woman into a second kiss, one that's a bit clumsy, made almost on impulse, but one that he felt was necessary to really get his point across to the girl, after all...

Pulling apart after a moment, the young man smiles, brightly in spite of the rain, as a single hand goes up to gently caress the girl's face.

"I always found you eventually... Looks like I win, Raku."

It had been a pretty convincing performance, but...

Well...

"So come on, let's go home."

A few things had stuck out.

[hero]

Fukami Mikoto
The Past- Rogue's Inferno


"Oh, my name is Sakura. I'm Haru's mother. A part of me still resides within the brooch she carries."

And just like that, the mysterious woman introduces herself, casually handing out personal information with a warm and innocent smile on her face. Though her approach surely saves you a lot of trouble, the scene moves a little too fast for you to react to it appropriately. In the end, you and Hishikawa both are left momentarily dumbfounded by the sudden reveal. Eventually, Sakura decides to take a brief break from smiling so much and raises a finger to her chin, as if in deep thought. She hasn't done much to come off as an airhead, but for some reason, you get the feeling that, deep down, that's just the kind of person she is.

"Although, come to think of it, if we can talk, you must be in the same situation as I. Ah, but nevermind that, right? If you are here to help Haru, I have to give it my all...!"

There is a moment of silence. Holding her hands together, as if in prayer, the woman takes a deep breath and steels herself, her expression becoming serious. You are unsure of what she's going to say next, but you can already tell it won't be the easy solution your subconscious might have been hoping for.

"What you see is the day the Fimbulwinter War came to an end, and the day Haru inherited my brooch. The reason for that is, well, I died. As you can see, It was my friend Sawai who not only rescued my baby from the flames, but made sure to gave her my brooch as well."

As the tale goes on, the figure of Sawai Mihou struggles to keep herself and the baby Haru alive in the background. Unable to stand there and do nothing, Hishikawa rushes to their aid, but ends up walking right past them, as if she were a ghost. A quick attempt proves that your magic is unusable here either. Though you can see the events progress in real time, you are nothing more than observers.

"Unfortunately, by that time, a potent curse had taken over my brooch... And that heavy burden was passed down to my daughter. There... Is nothing that can be done about that. What happened that day has already been set in stone as 'fate', one of the few events in history that cannot be changed no matter what. I am afraid that is not the answer you are looking for... But maybe if I tell you the whole story, your trip will not be entirely in vain. I want Haru to live a long and happy life as well, and I'll do everything in my power to help you girls if it means she'll be saved."

The whole story...

It all started with the rivalry between two men. Caught in a war where Magic was the norm, neither of them possessed powers that could ever compare to it. Nakayama Ieyasu was a famous mercenary working for a rogue branch of Voluspa. He was paid very well and offered access to a grand amount of next-gen technology in order to retrieve as many Magical Stones from the main branch HQ as possible. Yoshino Sousei was a normal boy said to be Voluspa's last hope, a so-called Messiah. Having the unique potential to awaken any Magical Stone in existence, yet never being able to actually do so, he relied on his own rough but unpredictable fighting style and keen intellect to win his fights.

The two of them met on the battlefield one day, fought until their muscles would no longer respond, and became friends by the time it was all over. Though they were supposed to be 'enemies', they decided to trust on each other several times throughout the war, and became close. Amongst the darkness that was the Fimbulwinter War, Sousei found Sakura and fell in love with her. Likewise, Ieyasu found her love in another woman. Their family and friends became their motivation to fight, and that determination never wavered, not even at the thought of fighting each other to the death.

But... Before the time for that arrived, Ieyasu's family found itself in the crossfire between two independent parties, and he lost her pregnant wife and a kid. This event drove the man to edge of despair, and he eventually disappeared. The day he came back was the day when the Fimbulwinter War would come to an end. Bearing the Forbidden Magic that is the 'Flame of Rogue', he destroyed the device meant to keep the war from the eyes of the normal population, and consumed the entire island in flames. Yoshino, recalling their friendship, decided he had to stop them, and told everyone else to leave, but everyone, Sakura included, decided to stay. Haru, who wasn't more than a few weeks old, was entrusted to a friend of the family.

However, Ieyasu's heart had already been corrupted by the curse, and jealous of Yoshino, who still had everyone by his side, became obsessed with taking it all away from him. He claimed Sakura as his, and defeated Sousei, effectively ending his life. Soon after, he killed Sakura too, and went on a rampage that only four of the last remaining Magi, all brought to the same place by different reasons, managed to stop. Sealing Rogue in a prison utilizing a mysterious, recently awakened power known as 'Mugen', they were the true heroes of the war.

At the end of it all, Sawai Mihou found Yoshino's daughter, Haru, amongst the flames and brought her to safety. Feeling guilt for the death of her friends, she left her in an orphanage where hopefully someone better would adopt her. Before leaving, she entrusted the baby with her mother's brooch.

"The curse cannot be cured or dispelled, not even by the strongest Magic. But, maybe... Using my powers, I might be able to transfer some of it to you."

The story having reached its end, Haru's mother makes an ominous suggestion. It is nothing but a temporary solution... And accepting it means destroying your futures. But, if she is saying this out loud...

There might not be any options left.

[hero]

Kurokami Hotaru
Abandoned Mall - Late Evening


"Well, I don't know about a contingency plan, but I am sure we can begin by discussing what we know."

The three of you have found shelter from the rain inside a partially-destroyed beverage shop. While Mihou sits on a corner drinking with a sipping straw, Mitsuo remains standing and draws all attention towards him. Though it is nothing but a hunch, you feel like this is not the first time the two of them participate in a scene like this one... Likely, they've shared one or two in the past. However, unlike then, there is as key part of it that is missing, that being something not really hard to guess. Yeah, back then, there were more than three people gathered inside this room.

"'The Flame of Rogue' is a curse that will not disappear. It is connected to the existence of the world itself, so the only way to get rid of it would be to destroy the world, and that is not an option for us. Even if the world were to be 'destroyed' and then 'created anew', 'The Flame of Rogue' would still persist. If we think of this world as a 'dream', then this forbidden magic would be comparable to something like 'The possibility to wake up'. So the obvious solution would be to seal it again, but..."

The one to finish that sentence is Sawai, who speaks from experience:

"Reinforcing the seal already needed the lives of several powerful Magi. In other words, creating a new one would need the lives of at least a hundred others."

The Ragnarok War. Originally a ritual to gather enough Magical Energy to keep Rogue Flame imprisoned and save the world for at least another sixteen years, it turned into a race for the 'Ultimate Magic' as a result of Mihou's hesitation to kill innocent Magi and the hidden motivations of a few other individuals, who were never interested in the fate of Earth to begin with.

"Right." The green haired man continues, making a facial expression that reveals that has never been exactly his main concern. "Thing is, 'The Flame of Rogue' has acquired a powerful host and has grown even stronger. It's hard to estimate just how much a gap exists between the Rogue Flame of the Fimbulwinter War and the Rogue Flame of now, but I think it is safe to say that he won't fall for the same trick twice. The chances of sealing him as he is now... Are null. It would be a pointless endeavor."

In the corner, the swordswoman grits her teeth.

It's only natural that she feels frustrated. She's facing the exact same scenario she has been trying to prevent for more than a decade. And today... Today, she's out of time. Defeating a God within a day without a solid plan, it is, as you've put it, wishful thinking. She, who has fought said deity in the past knows it all to well.

"If our only option is to seal it, then I guess there is one way we could pull it off." Having thought about it for a minute, Mitsuo presents a simple, yet ridiculous solution to the problem: "If killing it is impossible, and so is sealing him as he is now, then the answer might be to seal the curse while it is possessing a weaker host or no host at all, although I doubt it will allow us that luxury."

Despite it's odds of success being abysmal, it is a sound strategy which both promises success and reduces sacrifices to a bare minimum. It's not hard to read between the lines either. At least one Magi will lose the right to live by being sealed alongside the curse, and a few other might be needed to create a seal powerful enough to hold it back for at least a decade.

"..."

Sawai's silence tells you that she doesn't like the implications behind it all. Although... Does she have a better plan? Probably not. Her thoughts and actions have always been reckless and straightforward. She likely doesn't have the mindset needed to come up with a successful plan of this magnitude.

But what about you? Is there anything you can propose, in order to solve this impossible puzzle?

Or is it that humanity as a whole has been left with nothing but a single option?

[Sei]

Fukami Mikoto
The Past- Rogue's Inferno

I'm not really sure what to say.

In fact, I'm not really sure if there is anything I should say...

This woman, Sakura... Haru's mother... She tells us quite a few things. About Haru. About the previous war. She even manages to give us a little bit of insight as to how things all came to this. There are still some bits and pieces missing, but at the end of it all, I feel as though I have a better understanding of the whole situation. Granted I still don't see the reasoning behind this war or the last, I at least know now how certain people are involved in this mess.

I'm not sure what I should say now, but...

"I see... So Haru isn't Rogue's daughter after all..."

I can't help but smile at this one thought.

For the longest time, I've struggled with how exactly I was going to help Haru. Aside from showing her a peaceful life and aside from giving her the relationships she never had... All of those seemed like small problems when it occurred to me just how much of a threat some viewed her as. Because she harbors the same power as this Rogue Flame... It may not be much to hold on to, but just knowing that she's not directly related... Just knowing that her powers are an unfortunate result gives me just that much more hope that people will be able to see Haru for who she is.

However, putting that aside, there's something else that we have to do here.

I close my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath before looking back at Sakura. There are a number of things that come to my mind when I see her. Impressions, idle thoughts, and even more questions. Naturally, I want to know exactly what was done to stop this the first time around. Things like "what exactly are we up against" and what do we need to do to stop it?" But... The longer I sit there and think about just who she is... How she introduced herself to us... A part of me- the part that calls herself Haru's friend- just wants to tell her mother just what kind of person she is. I'd like to talk to this person more because someone else can't... And likely will never be able to. Unfortunately, now isn't the time for that...

"It's funny..." I can't help but laugh, "For the longest time, I just figured that I'd take on whatever burden Haru has been carrying this whole time. You know, in the event that I couldn't think of anything else. I think it's just in my nature to do selfish things like that. Or rather, it was..."

Looking straight into Sakura's eyes, I meet her with my inner most determination. At the same time, I reach out and grasp Nanako's hand- holding her small hand firmly in my own.

"But I'm not going to give up. I refuse to take the easy way out. You say that this curse or whatever can't be undone. That it's set in stone as 'fate' or something. But I refuse to believe that. In this world we live in, nothing is impossible. The fact that you would say that just means that someone hasn't found the answer yet."

I smile at Sakura and try my best to convey my conviction. Even though I'm well aware of how small and weak I may seem to the forces at work here, I know deep down in my heart that there is truth in what I say.

I nod- both to myself and Haru's mother- and reach out to grasp her hand as well. Through this simple touch, I wish to pass along to her the feelings that both Nanako and I have accumulated. I wish to communicate the depth of our friendship with Haru, the time we've spent with her, as well as the lengths we're willing to go to for each other.

"That's why, for now, we'll split the curse. Even if it only eases Haru's suffering a little... Until we find the answer we're looking for, we'll share whatever burden she has been bearing alone for all this time."

[hero]

Sakura smiles back, approving of your determination. Though she doesn't put it in words, the way she looks at you after you share your resolve... It is almost as if she saw some pieces of someone else, perhaps herself, in you.

"Then I pray you find that answer. Please, take care of my daughter."

A bright light emerges from the unity of three souls. At the end of it, a single woman is left alone there to watch the raging inferno for eons to come.

"Haru has made good friends... I'm glad."

-------

Fukami Mikoto
Home- Night


"Gah... Ahh!"

You groan in pain as you try to collect your thoughts, but it is no use. Past, present and future are thrown and scattered in every direction, escaping your grasp and erasing your identity bit by bit. Your world becomes a high-speed race towards insanity and all you can do is hold on to the leftovers that define 'Fukami Mikoto' and stand against, in futility, a force that vastly surpasses your own. As a Magus, you are prepared to experience ridiculous amounts of pain and endure it for long periods of time if needed. However, the source of the pain you feel does not come from the curse itself, but from your own resistance. The Flame of Rogue's strength is such that if you don't oppose it by straining your body to the limit, your mind will be overriden in an instant. You squirm on the floor, unable to find the willpower or the balance to stand. Your vision is hazy enough that you can't even see what stands in front of you, and your remaining senses have dulled to the point that you might as well lost all sensorial connection you previously had to the world around you.

'Mikoto."

You desperately search for a memory that may remind you of a reason to fight against an unbeatable enemy. Friends, dreams, promises. Instead, your mind is tossed into a warped universe where only sorrow, defeat and weakness can be found. The visions of your past failures and your accumulated loss, in addition to the self-inflicted pain, empower the raging flame that sleeps within your heart, and with it the desire to destroy everything around you. It's a feeling you are not exactly unfamiliar with... At some point in your life, you harvested these kind of thoughts towards humanity. And now, more than ever, you want to brandish that knife at the world. Before you know it, the curse manages to slip past your defenses and dominate the weakened self that you have become.

"Mikoto."

In the middle of the darkness, you hear a voice calling out your name. You can't recognize the owner of that voice... And you barely even react to the mention of your name. Your mind is in such disarray that it might have even been your voice and you wouldn't have been able to tell. But, there is something in that voice that feels warm, something that makes you want to reach out for it, even if you have no idea where it is coming from.

It repeats again.

The static that fills your vision clears for only an instant.

What you see during that brief window of time is something impossible to understand out of context.

It's a beautiful spectacle of fireworks.

Did this image even mean something to you? You cannot tell.

---However.

Its light eventually envelops all you see, and grants you the tools you need to fight.

That's right, from the beginning all the way to this point, your life has been plagued with suffering and loss.

You've fallen, you've stood up and you've fallen a second time.

You've changed your point of view, your methods and your approach, only to reach the same miserable conclusion.

The world will not change.

That's the irrefutable answer reality brings along with it.

... But so what?

You cast the magic words.

To give up here would be to take the easy way out, and you just said a minute ago that's the one thing you refuse to do. You've walked too far to stop now, and you've gained plenty of things along the way. Being able to think a little more clearly now, you recall your friends and the people you've met. The urge to look for a reason to continue disappears, as such quest was never needed in the first place.

Fukami Mikoto, Izanami and the girl trapped in between, it is all the same. If you can live life your way, then nobody will be able to control you. Not the words of others, and not even the most powerful curse. With one last push, you shatter the chains binding you and force yourself awake from the depths of a crumbling nightmare-!

"Oh geez... You two are going to give me a heart attack one of these days..."

With your head resting gently on Hishikawa's bust, you are able to feel her racing heartbeat. At first, the position you find yourself in is a little bit puzzling, but with everything your mind has gone through for god knows how long, you don't make a pause to figure exactly what happened. Somehow, being close like this feels reassuring, knowing that you've both overcome the trial.

"That thing wanted you all for its own and completely ignored me... But I guess I showed it who's the boss, in the end..."

Looking up to the ceiling above, the Student Council President draws a weary smile, black rune-marks decorating her left arm all the way up to her left eye.

[Bloble]

Chisana Risu
City Remains - Evening

Telling the truth isn't easy.

I know, because I used to run away from it. To imagine something better. I made a career, a lifestyle out of avoiding reality and letting people believe in the bright future that might be. I don't think it was wrong, but perhaps it was easier.

This wasn't easy. This didn't give me that same satisfaction. I didn't watch a smile blossom on anyone's face, least of all my own. Nobody was reassured. Nobody was comforted. The magic didn't happen.

I'm... a pretty terrible Magician, aren't I?

Just as I think that-!

"Ow!?"

An impact. Full of feelings, if not strength. And with it-!

Words.

Encouragement.

I'm being chastised. I, Chisana Risu, did a bad thing, and now I'm being called out on it.

Oh no.

"Tobei-san, I... that is... um..."

What saves me from having to answer is something that can only be described as a kidnapping.

Arms. Voices. A moving vehicle. It's so absurd that I can't do anything to stop it, partially from shock and partly because I want to see what'll happen next.

I do. I'm pulled into the back of a van by two familiar faces, and greeted by a sea of young, red-haired children. Oh, are these Maki-chan's-?

"Waaaaa! Catch it, catch it!"

As I'm pulled in, my hat bumps against the top of the van and is nudged off. In the next instant, as it spins through the air, a pair of chubby bunnies dart out of it and launch themselves into the fray, squeaking and jumping from bright red head to bright red head, occasionally even chewing on some strands of hair as if they've been mistaken for carrots.

That should take care of them. In the mean time...

"Aneko-san! Rikuto-san!"

They're okay! They're alive! The've been kidnapped too!

"M-mari-san!?"

Oh noooooooooooo.

"Mari-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

In a panic, I reach for my hat, then realize it fell and is lost in the mess. Along with the water balloons I'd been keeping inside it.

"Somebody, fetch me my hat, please! It's a matter of life and death."

Hopefully they'll take my request. In the mean time I back up against the wall, next to Aneko-san and Rikuto-san.

"Um... you guys are okay, aren't you? You're really... alive... and Tobei-san, and Koyanagi-san, and..."

Oh no. Don't cry! Please don't cry, Risu. You're supposed to be strong now. Who's going to save Hotaru-chan if you start crying?

"And... everyone..."

I can't deal with this...