Ga Rei: Exodus Nine (IC)

[Airen]

One-Eyed Man
Aoyama, Soba Shop -Gen-
Guest Room
Late Evening, just before sunset
Prior to The Fall

"..."

Honesty, and a surprising amount of it at that.

While the age of the dragon is great, it is still these sorts of scenarios in which it's inexperience with dealing with these sorts of human emotions begins to show itself in her hesitation; in the moments it takes her to come up with a fitting response for the heart that has opened it's gates, even if only a little bit.

No one downstairs is talking, even though you're sure they heard all of the commotion; it's only natural to avoid getting involved in these sorts of fights if you can, but at the same time...

Their lack of presence isn't important.

The ancient mind whirring in front of you just seems far more so-

"...Resigning yourself to death is the coward's way out."

-Even if this entity is not one known for sparing the feelings of others.

"Whether the fire was accident or intentional, the blame for that incident should not lie with you... The actions beyond that certainly must, but if you believe it to be a crime than simply dying is running away at the end. It's cowardice."

Going on your rampage, spreading your blame and hate until the world overcomes you, and then taking the easy way out by throwing your life away.

Never having to deal with any consequence other than "Death," and fearing that so little that it cannot truly be called a "consequence" by any real stretch of the word.

"Simply lying down and dying has no point. The value of a life is in what they leave behind after they go, if you want your life to have a point, then turn around and do something with it that you can be proud of; it may not be a happy ending, but there's no reason to go for a complete tragedy either."

Strangely, the more she speaks, the more humanity returns to her actions. She pauses less and less between each word, and as a result it sounds more and more natural, like a human being was trying to counsel you, but...

"...No. He's right. This won't end until he's dead."

A quiet voice sounds from outside the second-floor balcony.

There's a shadow -something made of a swirling black miasma- perched on it, leaning against the railing; arms crossed against his chest and one leg crossed over the other. The attire is similar to your own, albeit made of darker colors, greys and blacks instead of your reds and whites, and while he has a hood drawn up over his hair, it does little to hide the blue eye simply peering at you from within the darkness.

It's familiar, too familiar.

The officer had described it as blatantly hostile earlier, but this...

This felt like a tired but relentless calm.

While it is dressed like a shadow, while it's existence is darkness itself, the feeling it gives off is a sort of ultimate hypo-criticism, while by all means it should absolutely be some sort of vengeful spirit...

It feels more like a benevolent one instead, a light slumbering in a shadow that had thus become a 'shadow' itself in spite of it's luminous nature.

Encountered: Medrod Neirs

"But if you understand that yourself... Then I guess this will go easy."

[Airen]

Suzume Oshino
Uraku Aoyama ~ Penthouse
Morning

"Fine I suppose," cheerful as always, at least visually, the mostly-forgotten Sensei has a much more obvious kindness than the host that seemed to have forgotten her manners, "Although this is a bit awkward for me... Still, seems like you haven't been keeping up with your studies either, so I suppose we can call it awkward for the both of us-!"

It's a clear joke, but-

Awkward was putting it lightly.

His existence here is suspicious in a number of ways, and opens the possibility of a number of 'spies' existing within the world working for the reporter herself -after all, Saki talked about Nakahara quite a bit- but he doesn't draw any further attention to any of this, nor does he seem to make a point at trying to divert you from thinking about it either.

Rather-

"Well, either way, perhaps we can talk about it later on."

-He seems more intent on speaking with a certain deity, or rather a sudden urgent desire to get him out of the room has appeared within the teacher's mind; stepping forward and pointing at the balcony while looking the divine one dead in the eyes, the God laughs and stands up as if humoring an old friend, the two of them starting off as quickly as they had appeared and-

"Well, I suppose I did," noting the change in your tone, and actually seeming slightly apologetic for her words, the reporter ultimately draws your attention back to her, "It is a sort of game I play you see, to try to guess what people will do in any instance... You are prone to getting attached to others, so I made a guess of my own... Forgive me, it all becomes a blur after awhile; difficult to separate you from 'you,' you see?"

A sincere apology.

While she had seemingly made an effort to divert the use of your ESP as much as possible up till now, that sincere apology, and a tinge of light embarrassment, finally leaks out from that otherwise stoic container.

"Really, I suppose my social skills leave much to be desired now," sitting down, she sighs, "Rusty. I'm used to being the bad guy of sorts."

Is she just making excuses? Or simply trying to cover up a naturally antagonistic disposition?

"...Regardless, I meant it in a good way. So let's start over."

A smile.

"Welcome to my home. How can I help you today?"

...What?

[Verg Avesta]

One-Eyed Man
Aoyama, Soba Shop -Gen-
Guest Room
Late Evening, just before sunset
Prior to The Fall

"................................................. .................................................. .......................... ah."

He feels as if he should be more surprised... but now that it has happened, now that the shadow has shown its true face, it all makes a sense. A horrible, horrible, twisted sense, but sense nonetheless. A red eye stares at a blue one and blinks once in understanding. This reflection veiled in black, yet far more luminous than he ever could be... its appearance is met with an odd sense of acceptance. The hands that flew to the handles of his swords relax and fall limply against his body. Yes. He understands. The One-Eyed Man understands. If someone were to hunt him, if someone were to target him, if someone were to seek revenge against him... it had to be it.

There was no one in this world who hated him more than he himself did.

The benevolent, blue-eyed

light

shadow

standing outside, framed by the warm rays of the setting sun.

The malevolent, red-eyed

shadow

light

standing inside, veiled by the harsh darkness of the unlit room.

It is not a confrontation that happens between the two. It is simply an exchange of looks, assessing the situation and then coming to a conclusion. In the mind of the man in white, he realizes that the shadow's words, harsh as they might be, are just the unfortunate truth. The farther he runs, the more he kills, the stronger he hates... it leaves nothing of worth behind. Only corpses and sorrow. In his zealous rampage for revenge, in his search for the monster that killed his parents and took his right eye, he became so lost in the action that he forgot the reason. If not for this conversation with Red he would not have even spoken it aloud, let alone accept it himself.

Therefore...

"... Yeah."

Gently but firmly, he extends his hand and pushes Red back, towards the staircase. Now there's nothing between the two men. The way is clear. And as the One-Eyed Man raises his head, light fades from his usually brilliant glare. Instead of hate, there's a simple acceptance of what will happen. His face has grown impassive, dulled and muted. His remaining eye is just as blank as the destroyed one, but in a different way. As last of the fighting spirits leaves the One-Eyed Man, he simply gives up before the words of the shadow.

"The others... leave them alone. They're unrelated," he says with almost monotone voice, directing his words to the reflection. "This is just about me."

As his speech-pattern falls back to the rough, almost primitive rhythm that it shed for a moment, the One-Eyed Man shrugs and lets a slight sigh leave his lips.

"Get it over with."

In other words... he surrenders.

"This daydream cannot last."

[Airen]

One-Eyed Man
Aoyama, Soba Shop -Gen-
Guest Room
Late Evening, just before sunset
Prior to The Fall

"..."

When faced with one-self, it often seems like the only course of action available is to deny or to submit, to drown out one's sins with further darkness, or embrace whatever lies beyond them.

Had it expected the first?

Had it expected the second?

Something beyond all of that?

It does not say, therefore there is no way for you to know. Even so...

It is a simple choice.

The reaper has come for you, much like you came for many others. It does not hold a weapon of it's own, to say it another way, the shadow did not possess a weapon because it had never picked one up in the first place, and yet...

There is only one thing that can happen here, and thus you do not struggle when the shade simply nods and takes one of your weapons for it's own.

It disregards Big Iron entirely.

As if distancing itself from that aspect of itself, the blade it takes is that of a no-less bloody legacy; a holy-cursed sword, the thing that your mind had set as 'Requiem' but that it...

Picked up, and beheld as 'Xanadu.'

A seemingly golden long-sword with a carved hilt resembling wings and covered in silver inscriptions; the change is subtle and unexplosive, and yet you see it all with a certain clarity that only makes your resignation more absolute. A sword of dual nature that had been 'indecisive' about you had come to a conclusion about your other self in but a heartbeat, and the conclusion that it comes to is that the counterpart is 'righteous.'

Thus these actions -this upcoming execution- cannot -at least in your own mind- be called wrong; and even when he pauses to examine the sword, to the you that has given up, there is no reason to take action against yourself, even though it almost seems like means to give you time to do so. The blade means little to it, even so, as a long-forgotten dream itself it finds it vaguely fitting if a bit ironically ridiculous, and-

"Yes... Time to wake up."

-Ultimately, it is fitting enough for a final blow.

A monster should be killed with a holy sword after all, yet when it finally swings down with your own crashing force-

"..."

The hand that grips it, stops it from completing it's arc, is that of the demon that you had attempted to shove from the room, and who was now glaring at the 'shadow' with eyes that it did not counter.

Momentum stops completely, and there is no real attempt to put further strength into it's arms; in other words, it has no intention of forcing it's way past the dragon to get at you, but also has no intention of backing down from the attempt itself either.

The only one it's willing to hurt is "you."

At least, that seems to be the case, and since the dragon shows no real signs of trying to harm him either the stalemate seems like it will last eternally, yet...

The sound of a detonation outside, a detonation sounding as if from a great distance -one that you can only observe as a burst of crimson light flaring through the city before detonating as flame- is one that brings the stalemate to a close.

Yes.

The moment the sun sets, the orange light that had been the city aglow is replaced by the crimson light of flames.

There's no warning for it.

Not a single person in this city had been able to see it coming, but all the same, there was also not a single person in the city who could brand the sight as 'unfamiliar' to them...

Because it is an "echo."

A trauma from eight years prior reopening itself due to the machinations of a certain God of Darkness.

"..."

And seeing this, the youth that could have pushed back the dragon in her surprise and moved to behead you in one stroke...

Finds one last thing it must do.

Something that even surpassed it's desire to stop your path of destruction in whatever way it must; turning it's back to you both, it-

"...Not this time. I'll be back for you later."

Speaking to both you and the world, he leaps past the balcony, onto the neighboring roof, and then from rooftop to rooftop towards the distant flames, carrying the holy sword with him as he goes, and Red, lowering her hand slowly now that the threat has seemingly passed-

"What was that sound...?"

"Some kind of car crash?"

"You two alright up there?"

-Says nothing even as the others start to approach from downstairs.

[Verg Avesta]

One-Eyed Man
Aoyama, Soba Shop -Gen-
Guest Room
Late Evening, just before sunset
Prior to The Fall

Thud.

It all sounds so distant, so very distant. The flaring red, the detonation, the explosion of flames that rattles the city once again... to him, it's almost as if its happening in the adjacent room, yet far, far away. He can hear nothing but dull echoes that barely register in his ear. The One-Eyed Man, even when his trauma is repeated in the world outside the soba shop, cannot react to it. Instead he falls to his knees, his body going limp. Light has faded from his eye, being now nothing more than a dirty, unwashed mirror that cannot even reflect the world that it sees.

The sword, if nothing else, had shown him the truth.

The one that wanted to kill him, the reflection that deemed his death to be just... was deemed to be righteous.

There was no doubt anymore. If even an inanimate object could see that he was nothing more but a monster, a demon, that should be slain for the sake of humanity... then how could he even attempt to argue the truth? What little hope that had been in his mind, what little light that had been in the shriveled piece of coal that was his heart... was mercilessly snuffed out by the truth.

He was in the wrong.

His path of destruction was meant to end in his own death.

He was worse than the blight he had deemed the supernatural to be, pretending he was doing humanity a service by killing it. He had fooled himself into thinking that this was the right thing to do, that he was protecting those that could not protect themselves. He had believed that by killing every esper, every demon, every deity he came across, he could prevent someone else from experiencing the same sort of tragedy he had. And at the same time, he had hoped, he had wished, that one day he would come across the one who had taken his parents, his right eye and his future for him.

But now the shadow and the sword had shown him it was nothing more than a daydream.

He had no right to protect anything. He had no right to seek vengeance.

He was nothing more than a demon lashing out at anything that it could get its hand on.

"... No."

Yet why...?

Why had the dragon, despite all that, despite the truth that had been shoved into their faces... protected him? Why had she safeguarded his life? Why had she stopped the blade that could have put end to all this misery, all this misguided fury? Why had she not left the path of carnage be sealed now that there was a chance? He could not understand. The One-Eyed Man could not understand it. The shadow had been right. He had been shown to be just, shown to be righteous. Yet the dragon had denied what should have happened.

And that was what the man, no, the child, with one red eye without a light... could not understand.

Not once in his life had he been protected.

Not once in his life had his life been saved.

Not once had someone offered a helping hand.

He had walked his path alone for so long that this action of saving his life... it felt utterly alien to him. It felt wrong. It felt delusional and misguided. She had no reason to save his life. Had he died, no doubt the chain would have shattered as well, freeing her. She would have been free from him, the one she had called a coward. Wouldn't that have been a much better option? Indeed, wouldn't that have been a much better option for everyone? Even the ones climbing the stairs, worried about their, his, safety?

He felt like he was about to choke.

They did not know how pathetic he was. He couldn't let them see what sort of pathetic creature he was. The ones who had given their friendship, given their helping hand, given their camaraderie... he didn't want them to see how he truly was. Because if they did... they would have surely seen their mistake. They would have seen how wrong their faith in him was. Even those last fragments of good memories he had unfairly acquired would be taken from him.

And that was why he screamed.

"No!" His voice was hoarse. "Don't... don't look at me!"

It was a shout as much to the people approaching the room as it was for the dragon who was already there.

The dragon who had protected him.

Even though she had called him a coward.

Why?

His brain, muted and swirling and falling into what felt like an endless abyss, could not understand the reason. No matter how much he tried to make sense of it, he couldn't understand the motivation for her action. She had no reason to protect him. What in the world could she gain from protecting him? The action itself was absurd, surreal, to a man who had never had his life saved by another person so that he could realize it.

It made him feel weak. No. It made him feel unworthy.

To protect a monster... how foolish indeed was the dragon he had nicknamed as Red?

"Why...?" His words were quiet, rough and wavering.

Like he had been afraid to ask.

And as he turned his lifeless, dulled eye towards Red...

"Why?"

... He begged to know the reason.

[Airen]

One-Eyed Man
Aoyama, Soba Shop -Gen-
Guest Room
Late Evening, just before sunset
Prior to The Fall

Behind a desperate scream lies a certain sort silence.

Footsteps that halt on the stairs, worried voices falling silent in what must be confusion... It's only the distant sound of sirens, of distant flames and roaring winds pouring through an open balcony door, that energizes the world that -for you- had gone so dark in but the span of a few moments.

It is oddly fitting, for this to happen right at this moment.

It's the time of judgement, the apocalypse that had missed this city the first time had come back to finish the job, and just as quickly as the last time, just as decisively as the last time, everything that had you had become had come crashing down around you.

Almost poetic.

On your knees, beaten down by the world as a city catches fire in the distance.

A time of eight years, and yet nothing seems to change...

Even so...

"..."

Framed on that balcony, hands returning to the pockets of a long-coat that had belonged to one of her summoners long long ago, the dragon-in-human form does not answer your inquiry, at least not at first.

It's an agonizing pause.

And yet...

Coat gliding in the wind, eyes locked on a tragedy in progress, when she turns...

"...There are some enemies that certainly must be felled with a blade."

She's not smiling, but at the same time...

The look is not judgemental either.

"You are not one of them. Not yet."

She turns away again.

"Dying here... What good does that do?"

She shakes her head.

"Nothing but despair. Misguided intentions, finding little only to be slain -even righteously- at the end... It doesn't undo anything even if you accept it. Nothing changes. It's too sad..."

The crimson eyes glance back.

"It's too easy. If their are crimes to repent for, and a willingness to repent for them, then there are better ways than death."

She had already told you once.

It sounds bad, it sounds almost cruel, but...

"The past is gone. Another tragedy is brewing on the horizon, and 'he' went to face it along with everyone else. That too is a part of you. The part that protects before it hurts. So what will you do? Even if it is your last night... Even if it comes back for you at the end..."

Her gaze locks on the distant flames.

"...There should still be a stainless wish left in your heart. You don't want it to happen again, but it is happening again, so..."

And then, turning around completely, framed by the fire as a great shade...

"...What will you do?"

[Verg Avesta]

One-Eyed Man
Aoyama, Soba Shop -Gen-
Guest Room
Late Evening, just before sunset
Prior to The Fall

"...What will you do?"

"..."

It would have been a deafening silence had the chaos outside not reached his ears, even if only a little. He heard the sirens. He heard the flames. He heard the wails. In other words, he heard the destruction. That same cacophony that still plagued his memories, that ran deep like a terrible wound, a gash on his mind. It was an echo, a reflection, a repetition of what happened back then. But now, instead being caught in the middle of it, being too weak to help anyone, even himself... he was on the outside. He was stronger than he had been back then.

In other words: this time, he could make a difference.

Or could he?

Could someone like him, whose hands were stained with red so deeply that they were just liked the flames scorching the city really make a difference? Even if he went he wasn't as righteous as that shadow. Even if he went he wasn't as sure as that shadow. Even if he went he wasn't without hesitation... like that shadow. He didn't even know if he could help anyone. He was only good at one thing: destroying. So could that same power really be reigned into save people? Could it be used for something as good, as noble, as pure as that?

Red had said he wasn't an enemy meant to die by a blade. Then what was he?

Red had said that dying here wouldn't undo anything he had done. Could anything?

Red had said there was a better way to repent by dying. What was it?

--- Red had said that a part of him already went to protect the people caught in the tragedy. So what remained?

"... Am I good enough to help them?"

His voice was stretched thin like a frayed string of an old violin. It lacked all the power, all the determination and will that he had been so proud of. It hadn't taken much to bring him down, just a word or two. Now he was nothing more than a tired, hopeless figure kneeling in the dark room seeking answers from what he should have hated... yet did not.

"... Am I good enough to protect them?"

Another question. The red eye rose once again, still dull and lifeless. But beyond it, almost begging to break free, was a small sparkle of light. It was different from the unending ember of hatred that had burrowed into his chest. This was something much more fragile, much weaker, much older. Something that had been born in the child he had been so long ago, yet was buried beneath his vengeance and his fury.

And then the final question.

One he seemed to ask not only from the dragon, but from the room, the city, and the world around him.

"... Am I good enough to save them?"

Thus did the One-Eyed Man reveal his tiny, fragile wish, and the hesitation that blanketed it like dark night sky.

For the first time in his life after that day eight years ago... he was afraid.

Afraid to take the first step.

Because he knew not if anybody would even want him to help, to protect, to save them. He knew not if, after everything he had done... he was even allowed to think about it.

--- To wish to save others.

[Airen]

One-Eyed Man
Aoyama, Soba Shop -Gen-
Guest Room
Late Evening, just before sunset
Prior to The Fall

"..."

How had it turned out like this?

While she was certainly an entity that could be thought of as 'wise,' it was a wisdom that had been acquired slowly over dozens of millennia; the sheer length of her time that her existence has 'persisted' in one form or another escapes her in spite of that, and in that sense she is 'ageless' in whatever form she takes, be it dragon or human, or once, just once, a forgotten Deity of sorts for a world that had long passed into oblivion, but...

Even if she is not a human, and all of this is simply something picked up over the course of "Time's River," she...

"...Didn't you wish to be saved yourself?"

Answers with an absolute conviction.

"Worthy or not, good enough or not... That doesn't matter."

Taking a step closer, she holds out one hand as if to help you stand, or rather-

"I just don't think wishes of that sort should be denied, be they your own, or that of someone else. One does not have to be 'worthy' to help others... For humans... It is only natural..."

-To demand that you stand back up.

"So, once more..."

Without a hint of a smile, no mercy, only truth...

"What will you do?"

Those on the stairs have discovered the calamity, but their mutterings and swears and calls for a quick plan down below...

Seem far off, distant...

From the gaze of the dragon -no, for a moment it looked divine- that you could no longer look away from; one who demanded the truth, no matter what that truth may be...

What will you do?

What do you want to do?

[Verg Avesta]

One-Eyed Man
Aoyama, Soba Shop -Gen-
Guest Room
Late Evening, just before sunset
Prior to The Fall

"What will you do?"

For a moment, he felt his body shaken to the very core. It was, in essence, such a simple question. Gone were the pretenses of the past, present and the future. What he had been, how he saw his story to end, how he felt that he should act... What his path had been, what his path now was, and how his path would end. None of that mattered. What mattered was, as the dragon said, as Red said... what he himself wished for. What he desired to do. And past everything that had guided him for so long lied that wish, fragile and tiny, yet nurtured to be strong through years and years of hardship.

Born from a tragedy.

Born from a desire to avert a tragedy.

More than his hatred for those who had hurt him, more than his desire for revenge against that which had taken everything from him... was the wish to protect anyone else from such a fate.

--- The world ill needs more monsters like him.

So this time... this place... this moment... he wanted to turn it all around. He wanted to be more than he had been. He wanted to let that tiny wish blossom into a golden flame that engulfed everything, not to destroy... but to protect.

"... What will I do...?"

The words he spoke were quiet, yet firm. They were soft yet determined. They were just as powerful, nay, perhaps even more powerful than the words he usually roared with fury. For those words were not born from selfish hatred, but from a simple, almost altruistic, hope. Something he had not had in a long time. It still felt alien, almost frightening, to have that hope grow inside of him... but he knew that now, as the tragedy repeated itself in the city outside, that hope was needed more than ever.

And it was because of that...

"... Isn't it obvious?"

... he grasped Red's hand firmly and lifted himself up.

"I know, better than anyone, the despair of that red light," the One-Eyed Man spoke, clear and loud. His raspy voice woke with conviction. "And I won't let it hurt anyone ever again."

Like a blazing star, his eye came to life once more. It shone with sudden emotion and purpose. No longer was it like a glaring piece of ember stuck to his face. No... now it was clear and unclouded by hatred and fury. For perhaps the first time in eight years, he could truly see the world around him. And what he saw was a world in dire need of help.

Help he could, no, wanted to, give.

"Don't worry!"

The One-Eyed Man spoke those words loud enough to silence the curses and the panicking in the stairs. He rolled his shoulders, checked to see that his old partner, Big Iron, remained at his side, and wiped the odd, cold dew that had formed in the corner of his eye. His back straight and his expression with no more hint of somberness or bitterness... it was like a new man had appeared where he stood.

"Don't worry, everyone," he continued, now that he had their attention. "I'll protect them all. This time... I won't allow anyone to die."

Then, first hesitating, then proceeding to do what felt right, he extended his right hand and put it on top of Red's head. It wasn't exactly a pat, nor did he tousle her hair... if it was closer to anything, it was seeking the last bit of emotional strength he needed from the dragon. Then, so quietly that no one else heard, he mouthed the words 'thank you' to her. For the first time in eight years... he thanked someone. Because today, for the first time in eight years... people had been there for him. This dragon more than anyone.

"In other words... Yuka!" The One-Eyed Man continued, removing his hand from Red's head. "I'll need my jacket."

A confident smile rose to his face.

"I'm heading out."

[I3uster]

Suzume Oshino
Uraku Aoyama ~ Penthouse
Morning

I can't let my guard down around this woman. Give me a break! As if her plan ends in anything but disaster. I have no interest in the world she is about to create...but I do need to throw it just slightly off-balance if I want to make a change. Now that...I simply can not tell her. Not yet, anyway.

I need to see where this is going. That's all. That's the reason I am here now.

"It is a sort of game I play you see, to try to guess what people will do in any instance... You are prone to getting attached to others, so I made a guess of my own... Forgive me, it all becomes a blur after awhile; difficult to separate you from 'you,' you see?"

"No offense taken then." I try my best to relax my posture, but this entire setting was still incredibly uncomfortable. In the back of my mind I imagine what Liane would think, but I push it back into the deep recesses where it belongs. It's time to grow up and not just think of teach whenever things get too hot for me.

"Welcome to my home. How can I help you today?"

I can't say I expected that one.

"Uh...well..."

I contemplate for a second. I can't just keep lying to that woman, she is no idiot either. So I guess it's time to reply to her in a way that is just truthful enough.

"I don't want to see them all die again. You seemed to have a good enough idea of how to make that happen, did you not?"

[Airen]

Suzume Oshino
Uraku Aoyama ~ Penthouse
Morning

"Naturally. I do have a good grasp on the situation."

You didn't think she was the sort of person to offer you tea, and yet, the moment she had forcibly checked her own manners, the natural aura of antagonism had been replaced with someone that you could call "mostly friendly."

Since Liane was mainly about coffee in it's various forms, a change of pace would almost be welcome...

If not for the fact that it seemed to be "Zest Tea" and thus, was also loaded with an absurd amount of caffeine...

Not to mention the nature of the situation made you slightly paranoid, even if it all seemed legitimate...

"To simplify it all, I suppose you could say that there are three different 'apocalypses' that the world must overcome to remain in some form of existence. The first is the natural one, the Conception, where the world will be destroyed and then recreated anew via whoever wins the Creator's trial; that one is simple, it's a war between everyone left alive in essence, so all Chronos and I have to do is win it, which is trivial at this point. Those of insignificant power will be destroyed temporarily during it, but I will be able to bring them back afterwards; they likely won't even realize that anything happened to them. If this was the only problem, the situation wouldn't be nearly as bad..."

Remarkably casual, for someone who was so casually talking about reviving an entire planet.

"The second apocalypse, which showed itself for you eight years ago or so, is Humanity's Curse. You call it the Kyuubi, but it has quite a number of forms that lie beyond that; I'm sure Cross explained it to you as something like "Humanity's Youkai," and that's not incorrect. Dissatisfaction with your own life, hopelessness in your own life, malice against other people, jealousy, anger... Thoughts like "If this is life, then bring on death,"... those sorts of subconscious wishes are what gives it it's power."

A sigh.

"Every human contributes to it, you and I included, it's always been there, but the worlds resentments have grown so powerful over the years that it is capable of destroying the world and challenging the gods whenever it emerges. Because it is tied to humanity, so long as they remain as they are it will survive even if the world itself is destroyed and reborn again, and thus, even if the Conception is successful, the curse will destroy the new world soon after that... That is why they have to be altered to remove those feelings, of course they have the strength to resist that alteration if they wish, but if we amplify your ESP it should be possible to stop them from resisting until it's over. Once negativity is gone, the happy ending is acquired, the curse will dissipate on it's own."

It's at this point that she stops the monologue to sip at the tea and to let it sink in for a bit, then...

"And finally, the third apocalypse... The Great Devourer."

A grimace.

"I suppose you could say it was caused by us failing to stop the curse initially. The world lost all of it's energy and humanity died, without them there was no hope of it continuing onward, but there were a few of us still wandering around in the void and so Chronos, or rather the Great Devourer came to consume everything left behind, that is his role. We tried to fight him off and it didn't work, but the resistance awoke his human side, and he offered me a deal to turn back the clock. I took it, but it came with a few problems."

Another sigh.

"The Great Devourer and Chronos are technically one in the same, but they're like... Separate aspects of the entity. Chronos is it's form after being influenced by humans and is sympathetic towards us, the Devourer on the other hand is like a machine that simply carries out it's task of destroying what shouldn't exist. This world was already destroyed 'permanently' once, thus it's labeled in the Akashic Record as destroyed. Because it remains in spite of this it is a contradiction, an error in the system, and thus the Devourer is obligated to destroy it even if the original end no longer comes true. To avoid this, Chronos sealed that aspect of himself inside of himself, and we've been using the essence of other Demons and Gods to reinforce our power along with that seal; but even then, putting it under that seal was only possible because of the unique nature of their relationship... Killing it might be a more permanent solution, but..."

A sad smile.

"It was designed to be able to wipe out existence. Human or divine, demonic or monstrous, it doesn't care, all fall before it. So our chances of being able to find a way to successfully do so... Are down somewhere at a comfortable zero percent."

[Airen]

One-Eyed Man
Magatsu Aoyama
Night, The Fall

While you had planned to head on out all alone, or at most with Red for company, the reality of the situation was that only the doctor himself had chosen to remain behind during the calamity, watching over the youngest occupant of the house. For the other two, for the Yuka and Kazuya that had already admitted towards having survived the Kyuubi incident the first time around, failing to head back into that hell was something they simply could not bring themselves to do; after all, by their own admission...

People should help each other.

That was a lesson many had learned on that day eight years ago.

Yes.

The Kyuubi Incident, known to the general populace as "The Great Fire," was the one thing that bound not just the ESPers of the city together with each other, but most of the populace as well; it was a shared trauma, a descent into hell that none of them would ever be able to forget, a scar on the soul that lingered no matter how much time had passed, but that also birthed strong feelings of a special sort towards the emergence of a similar hell...

---To not let it happen again.

While not everyone that had survived had become an ESPer, and not everyone that had become an ESPer had become a hero, you would be hard-pressed to find someone even amongst the more 'evil' of the ESPers born that day who were simply 'okay' with the calamity that had suddenly manifested again right before their eyes. To say that such people don't exist is also a lie, but...

If there was a truth, it was that most of those who had survived that day, who had survived up until now...

Had taken up arms against the darkness.

No matter how big your dreams are, it is impossible for one person to protect an entire city, and thus grudges are momentarily set aside, and even those that would not normally work together have come together to do just that for a myriad of different reasons. Keeping people from going through the same pain they had gone through themselves, out of a belief that those with the power to protect should do so, a simple desire to protect their home and daily life, even the desire to simply avenge oneself upon the darkness, or test one's strength upon it.

Regardless of the reason, it is because so many people rise up against it that the city has a chance of survival, and-

Having watched the two drive off together towards the destruction in what seemed to be a large delivery truck -intent on bringing anyone they could find back here where it seemed to be safe- and closely followed by the police girl on her motorcycle...

-You yourself, head straight back into hell in spite of the assurance of flames and despair.

While a part of you worries for the others, the sense you get from them is that of people who just didn't know how to die, and who would have left as soon as you left anyway, even if you had tried to stop them, thus...

Leaving behind an unspoken promise to meet back here again at the end of all of this, you sharpen your mind and press forward into hell without regret on foot, able to run fast enough that anything less than a specialized vehicle would have simply been a detriment to your speed. Red had, strangely enough, seemed to disappear into your body shortly after leaving the shop; it was something she had yet to do up until now, and the sensation of someone watching you from 'inside' was strange to adjust to at first, but...

Having been moving relatively slowly, as if she was simply out of energy for one reason or another, the dragon that had become a girl, and had then had become a presence inside of your thoughts, chooses to withdraw for the sake of recovering some part of her dwindling reserves -at least for now- but continues to watch over you even without a physical presence.

Thus, while it looks like you charge forth alone, the reality is something very different.

A boon in many ways.

When you arrive, the streets are relatively empty of living people, but rife with signs of the supernatural; crimson and black flames, craters from fighters that have long since retreated from here, and wraiths numbering in the thousands, shades so weak in comparison to an ESPer that only literal armies of them would suffice to take one down, and even then only after a long-fought battle in which escape was, for one reason or another, not an option.

In other words...

For an ESPer that simply wished to move through this city, than even if the roads were literally built of shades the shades would have little to no chance of doing them in; they were simply shadows, manifest singular grudges rather than amalgamations of souls, and thus, infinite as they seem to be, they stand no chance at defeating an ESPer unless that ESPer simply stood there and tried to fight them off until they literally could not stand up any longer.

A single blow from you sends dozens of them scattering into a black mist.

But you do not seem to be their target, and while you are still attacked inevitably when some notice you, their rush into the distance is something that you pursue as a lead towards life; after all, it is easy to tell with a glance that these shades are grudges summoned up for the express purpose of "killing humans."

---In the distance, a single ESPer guards the entrance to a skyscraper that she had completely frozen over with her own powers.

"..."






A skyscraper that the wolf-like shades are throwing themselves at with all of their might, even though they are continually being destroyed as a result.

It's not hard to see why, if the shades are radiating 'malice' the feeling the ice gives off is that of 'benevolence' and acting as a barrier of sorts, the tell-tale signs of human life can be felt coming from inside of it.

To get at the humans, they must get inside, and as the ice is too spiritually strong for them to break, their simple minds are left with but a single path.

The one the ESPer herself has left.

Indeed.

There is a single entrance; ultimately, to enable others to continue to escape inside of the building when her fellow ESPers reappear with whoever they manage to find, that strange ESPer had failed to freeze the 'space' in front of the entryway, and had simply placed herself in front of it as the final barrier of hope.

Around that doorway is thirty yards of completely clear space, in a half-circle.

Any wraith that enters that space is almost immediately buried by her fists. While most of her spiritual power is going towards maintaining that makeshift barrier protecting the civilians in this sector, her physical strength is still more than enough to end seemingly anything that comes near.

She's practically glowing, glowing with a silver darkness that you've never seen before, and indeed, between outright freezing 'space itself' and with the shock-waves of her countless strikes destroying wraiths all on their own it's hard to say that she is simply your average ESPer but...

...She's getting tired.

To you who are used to fighting ESPers, the tell-tale signs of fatigue are slowly becoming apparent even though her expression fails to betray the change. The counters, while still super-sonic, are slowing bit by bit, and the thirty-yards of clearance slowly sinks to twenty nine yards, and then twenty-eight as her aura slowly begins to fizzle out, but...

She keeps fighting regardless.

Holding her ground until the end, and you-

[Verg Avesta]

One-Eyed Man
Magatsu Aoyama
Night, The Fall

Big Iron draws an arc across the night, bringing destruction of numerous wraiths with it.

"It's alright."

The One-Eyed Man lets his aura sweep across the city, sweep across the block he's in, his presence taking hold of everyone and anyone still present. But unlike before, it is not a miasma of dread and fear; no. Now, now that his mind has been made up, his aura was that of peace, that of protection, that of safety. He no longer wished his enemies to dread him. Now he wished for the humans, the espers, the desperate masses caught in this tragedy to realize one thing:

It would be alright.

He would protect them all.

Thus, withouth another word, he let his trusty partner, his sword repaired, sing. The target were the wraiths who threathened the population. At the same time, he directs his physical presence towards the Esper protecting the entrance. He instills hope, strength and feeling of safety to her, to ease the clear fatique that threatens to overtake her. At the same time his sweeping attack empties the clearing momentarily, his boots skidding on the pavement.

He will become a beacon of hope for these people. He will give them hope as much as he can.

The presence of Red within him instills him with his strength, and he passes that feeling of safety onwards.

For some reason the idea that the dragon is within him makes him feel that nothing can hurt him.

And its that very same feeling he wants to instill to the girl guarding the entrance to the buildinc.

Therefore...

"Don't worry. I'm here."

His movement stops before the woman and he raises his sword. Withouth any hesitation he sets himself between the monsters and building that the woman guards. For the first time in his life... he feels like the knights he so admired. Like this its almost as if he could be clad in the silvery, shining armor he always wished to wear.

"Rest. I'll handle this," he spoke, quiet but sure. No longer would his voice waver. "Not one more being will be hurt under my watch."

[Airen]

One-Eyed Man
Magatsu Aoyama
Night, The Fall

"...No need. I can continue."

The fists continue to accompany the song of the sword.

While her movements had been losing their edge due to a loss in her stamina, she was not the type who was okay or even truly capable of just sitting back and letting someone else stand on the front lines. She was a defender at heart, a young exorcist who specialized in being the wall that could not be broken, and in that sense her blunt determination to remain as a guardian is such that it cannot be denied.

...At the same time however, she does not send you away.

It is something she would normally do, however, understanding the sheer depths of the situation instinctively, as well as having been forced to fight alongside others rather than in front of them over the past couple of months, the young woman simply accepts your help with a nod, because...

If you handle half of infinity, she is fine with handling the other half, that is the only sort of rest she will allow herself, but it is also the only form of rest she will really require. In reality it does nothing to steep the flow of darkness, infinity remains infinity, and the shadow-like corpses that exist all around are so thick in number that to those humans inside it is more akin to a black fog full of screaming crimson eyes.

Even so, the line does not fall, because it will not allow itself to fall.

There's a sense of distant camaraderie, neither of you know the name of the other one, but such things are not necessary to fight for the sake of the same goal; that goal, existing on the horizon, itself becomes a bond that links strangers at the spirit.

Humans were special in that regard.

They are capable of bonds of all sorts, forged in all sorts of ways.

"But you are right. Since fighting is inevitable, losing is not an option."

It's the friendliest you've ever been with an ESPer.

The spirit power of humans is fueled by their emotions, an overflowing spirit affects those around itself; for those that mean to do harm it becomes malice, for those that mean to protect it becomes an aura of hope and resolve. To those humans who even now can see similar 'calamities' being reported all around the world, the hope that the two ESPers down below is something that serves as a beacon of hope to a humanity whose last and final weapon and shield is that same hope.

One beacon of many that have erupted within the confines of this city tainted by the world's darkness.

"...."

However, soon enough...

The flow of darkness stops along with the roar of the Kyuubi on the wind...

The final sign of this event's nature as a 'repeat' of that day eight years ago.

Like a retreating black wind, those wolf-like wraiths that have attacked with a primal, single-minded sort of blood thirst and drive all fall back as if blown away by a heavy wind. It is an unnatural retreat, one that promises only that it is the first wave, a restructuring of the assault on humanity now that the 'core' of the curse has descended somewhere within the confines of Tokyo.

The wave of killing intent is intense in spite of the sudden lack of flailing black limbs, and as a result, the two of you do little but take the moment to catch your breath, because...

It's not over.

A curse wouldn't simply send the weak dead to finish it's targets. Aware that resistance would inevitably manifest itself due to the nature of this town's citizens, the darkness has simply sent out the corpses to find the places where 'life' continues to gather and-

--The

Twilight

Ninth

Apostle--

-sends out much more 'powerful' avatars of the curse to snuff them out.

All around the city multiple enemies descend; one ESPer faces the Reaper made manifest, a grinning shadow of dual pistols and absolute despair, another finds a twin-faced manifestation of Despair looming above his place of awakening as a beast determined to end the pain of living, some face a Kyuubi of renewed resolve, the ultimate manifestation that has nevertheless been sealed within a cage of "Will" and...

For you, a special sort of darkness appears in the sunset sky.

It's massive.

Not quite as big as the fox from eight years ago, but massive enough that it's frame almost seems to paint the sky with it's image.

Vaguely humanoid in nature, albeit with twisted, disconnected limbs of burning black flames and mud, it is a relatively new 'avatar' of the curse...

A darkness that could be called separate from the main sea of shadows, something enslaved by the God of Darkness rather than the Kyuubi itself, driven mad and forced to attack the city it normally would not have touched.

Yes.

It is a strange darkness.

One that was created in this city, over these past eight years, but no less powerful for it...

It doesn't have eyes, but you're sure it can see, sure that it is looking at you and the people around you.

It's aura is familiar in a twisted way, black and crimson, flaring with countless spiritual signatures, many of which prompt a feeling of 'dark nostalgia' from your body, yes...

While it is almost a mile away, those auras will never not be something your body remembers.

It's approaching steps shake the city itself, as a monster, it is just as powerful as all the others in spite of it's youth as an 'amalgamation.'

A beast made from all those ESPers -the Children of the Kyuubi- that have been slain over the past eight years and also given into their rage...

"...It's coming. We can't let it get close."

She's not sure her power will protect those inside if it is able to reach them.

So saying...

The girl is forced to seal off the area behind her completely as she charges forth to meet it.

[Verg Avesta]

One-Eyed Man
Magatsu Aoyama
Night, The Fall

"Then protect me. I will stop it."

It is unlike anything he has felt before. For so long, for eight long years, he has survived on his own. But tonight, on this day that he has deigned to become something more than himself, something more important than himself, he puts it all to chance. This woman, this protector, has been defending these innocent people so far. Her powers have been sapped by the constant barrage of wolf-life wraiths that have assaulted the building. Though she acts like no rest is needed, it must have taxed her. Therefore, he intends to buy her a moment of respite. If her powers are that of protection, then she needs to only cast one more spell of protection.

Protect him.

Protect the man that appeared, out of nowhere, asking for nothing, demanding nothing.

Take a chance on him, and he will take a chance on her.

"---!"

Never before would he have left his life in the hands of another ESPer... but tonight, right now, he does so without hesitation. The giant appears in the horizon, ready to crush the group of humans she had been working so hard to protect. He cannot let it be in vain. He cannot let her desperate attempt fall for nothing. He must make sure that everyone, every single person protected by her, will survive. Were he to let a single one of them die, he would have broken his promise to Red.

And now that he's there, in his heart... he cannot let her down.

He made a promise to her.

And he will not break that promise, even if it kills him.

Thus he drives the red power within his body to his legs, sending like a comet towards the black giant. He uses that unfamiliar power within himself to reduce the distance between himself and the giant to zero. If it is an amalgamation of the dead, amalgamation of those ESPers that have died... then he is also to blame. For these eight years he has done nothing but to kill those who have been branded by the red light of Kyuubi. Therefore, his sins are also the sin of that shadowy giant, that rage incarnate. The power it wields is the power he has given it.

Therefore it his responsibility to bring it down.

"Hyyaaaaaaaarrrrrgghhhh!" his yell is like a sound of a comet crashing to earth.

He forgets all manners of defense. The One-Eyed Man puts his life on the line and sets it in the hands of the female ESPer that had been protecting the building. If she meant to save the lives of the people inside... then he knew he could trust her. He gave her his trust... and hoped she would give him her trust. He promised that that if she would protect him, then he would protect everything and anything. Forgetting defense, forgetting self-preservation, forgetting anything else but the simple desire to see the people inside the building to live to see another day.... The One-Eyed Man shoots himself like a blazing red star towards the giant, powering himself up with the god-given power coursing within him. This time not to take over him, but to aid his wish.

To aid the shining light within him.

"-----------------!"

It is a shout of power wielded for the sake of other, something unheard from his lips.

Once he reaches the giant, if a form of protection is granted by the woman, he drives that same red power that rocketed him so far into his sword. And then... he slashes. He slashes unlike he has never slashed before, with same sort of power that was once driven by rage. A strike that he used against a deity in form of a police officer, a strike used against a deity trapped, a strike used against a dragon confronting him... same sort of fury is reserved for this black giant. But, unlike before, this attack does not come from overwhelming need for revenge.

No.

This time.

It comes from his desire to save these people; the ones inside the building, the ones in the city behind him, and even the ESPer that fought so hard to spare their lives.

And it makes him feel more powerful than ever before.

"GET LOST YOU MONSTER!"


His roar is undefeated.

For he has never fought for the sake of someone else before... and this new feeling makes him feel like he's shining with unconquerable light.

[Airen]

One-Eyed Man
Magatsu Aoyama
Night, The Fall

There is certainly a light protecting you.

One that comes from inside, from the heart, from the desire to protect rather than destroy; rather than simple poetic determination, the 'light' born from these things is a real tangible barrier that serves as the only thing protecting you from becoming yet another 'avatar' of the curse.

Yes, while you might not be aware of it, the 'event' that you went through shortly before reentering this hell is the one thing protecting 'you' from it now. Infecting your spiritual power as well as coating your mind, that light exists in ways that are both metaphorical and literal; if the One-Eyed-Man had descended on this hell as his normal self, the 'crimson voice' that would have appeared alongside his thoughts would have taken him over in a but a heartbeat.

A nexus of negativity, that is what this ward has become with the presence of it's latest opponent.

Dark grudges are amplified, those whose hearts drown in despair become unable to really think about anything else, and as a result they lash out at all of those around themselves; it was the true cause of the "Berserker Syndrome," a curse that tempts the reverse side of the heart and coerces the owner into putting away their light of their own volition, but...

It does not touch you, at least not yet.

There's a growing warmth inside that you can't quite place.

It is different from the red power, if you had to describe it, it would be a 'warm darkness' or perhaps a 'gentle one'? It is not malice, it is a darkness more pure and encouraging than that, a darkness of slowly awakening voices that serve as a 'light' all their own, a black flame of empathy that the 'dark god' could not touch, because it is what the darkness was truly meant to be from the start.

It is not awake yet, the feeling is fleeting and dim, like a fire that has not quite managed to get itself going and thus, while it feels like you're burning up inside-

-Those feelings remain inside of yourself, fading away just as quickly as it had arrived, as if the dream of the dreamers was not quite finished yet.

A coat of ice accompanies your charge. While your sudden acceleration from zero to supersonic catches the girl off guard in her own movement, she is still able to put up a makeshift barrier of 'temperature' around you due to her mentality. It is impossible to say if it will hold in the face of this monster; after all, it is an amalgamation of many specific souls, but to you that does not matter...!

Cloaked in this light, a blade seeks to rend the sky.

It's the heaviest blow you've ever made, and in the face of it, 'rending the sky' seems like something that could absolutely come to pass. It is a line of crimson and blue force that cuts it straight down the center; indeed, while it had let out an incomprehensible scream the moment you had gotten close, the scream dies down to a sort of silence as it's body pulls itself apart in two different directions.

For a moment, you think that you have defeated it in one strike.

Indeed, the light born from protecting others certainly seems like it would be that form of invincible, and carrying the hopes of those 'watching' you, it does feel something immaterial but powerful is driving you on, but-

The scream only intensifies with rage, not the despair of the fallen.

The black monster becomes an explosion of black mud, a void-like wind that seems to grab at your clothes and pull you towards it; as some of those that make it up 'recognize' your form and shake the world with feelings of rage and... betrayal...?

Hate.

A sinner who struck down it's own 'brothers and sinners.'

How had they wound up like this?

They can't quite say themselves, having merely been overtaken by their own darkness, this could be thought of as a certain sort of 'practical joke' of a divine being; nevertheless...

Normally it would be a mud so corrosive that merely a few seconds of contact would begin reducing your flesh to bones from the sheer 'malice' that makes up it's physical form, however, thanks to the 'armor' granted to you by your newfound ally, the forces that exert itself on your body are more momentum based in nature, as a black wind 'kicks up' out of nowhere, pushing on your back as bolts of lightning start up from their own accord, all pushing on your back, forcing you towards it's own 'self' as the monster becomes a cocoon of darkness.

Yes.

In spite of it's size, it is actually quite fast.

---And it is used to your movements.

Having experienced all of this before in a fatal sense, not just once but countless times, the giant that has accepted the blow for the sake of getting you to come to it, has absolutely every intention of...

---Devouring you alive.

You are fighting for a good cause in this moment but...

They cannot understand that; forged in anger, trapped by their own hatred, it's debatable if they even understand what this 'form' of theirs is doing to the world at all; it's an incoherent screaming mass, something that can't be suppressed or awoken by a single 'will' and in that regard, it shouldn't be surprising...

...That it failed to fall to pieces after your attack, indeed...

It throws itself upon you, and some aspect of yourself, a 'guilt' of sorts...

Almost beckons you into it.

For a moment your body stops resisting, as if this was something you 'deserved' from the start, but...

You shake it off.

You couldn't take back your sins, but at the same time, you couldn't just let this 'monster' do whatever it wanted either. It's a confliction of light and darkness that is summoned for you by the curse, one of many cracks in the heart that all humans possess, but even so, you do not let it stop you for long...

But that doesn't change the outcome.

Ultimately what falls upon you is a wave of black mud that cannot be avoided; in a sense it is your sin, a form of karma, and thus...

It's oddly fitting yes...

That you simply cannot avoid something like this; they won't let you, especially not you, their 'will' grabs you and holds you still even when you wish to move, and everything slowly becomes darkness.

And a heartbeat too slow to save you, but reaching out for you all the same -as her nature as a 'guardian' indicates she must, the last thing you see is that of the girl darting forth to take your hand, diving into the sea of darkness without a single second of hesitation in her movements. Even though, to her own self...

She quietly wonders how many times she is going to be eaten by these sorts of monsters.

--
---
----

The armor is melting away.

When you come to, that is the first thing you find yourself thinking as you float aimlessly down a black river. The armor that is protecting not just your body but your soul is melting away in a river of malice; you are not dead, far from it in fact thanks to a number of factors, but at the same time...

You can't see where you are.

You are certainly 'inside' of that monster, but this place has no definition other than the pain that comes with floating in black waters. There is nothing to see; while something like shadows do seem to 'twitch' or writhe in the darkness, you cannot touch them where you are, indeed, your body feels strangely heavy, and the most you can do is reach out in an attempt for someone to take your hand...

Out for the girl that was too slow perhaps? Who was likely still trying to teach you even now?

Even so it's strange.

For you to reach out to someone else for help, and truly believe that someone will appear, even knowing you will be 'eaten completely' in but a few moments if they don't, but feeling like something inside of you was telling you to hang in their and just believe, and...

Even stranger still...

"Hey..."

The sight of a hand actually appearing amidst the black waters of the void, reaching out to you...

"Come on old man..."

Belonging to a kid that looked decisively out of place, someone you don't recognize, but who...

"Geez... You're such a problem sometimes..."

Certainly seems to recognize you.

[Verg Avesta]

One-Eyed Man
Magatsu Aoyama
Night, The Fall

Who...?

In the void, in this jet-black darkness that surrounded him like a River Styx seeking to drown him... a single voice and a single hand caught his attention. Even then he could scarcely believe what he was seeing. A child? How had this kid gotten into a place like this? Had the monster of grudges, of hatred and of defeat, devoured her too? If so, why? Surely it had nothing to gain by devouring a child, even if it was on an instinctual rampage. Or did it simply not care what happened to the world around it?

That was the most likely answer.

And that made him furious.

Not in the same sort of sense as before, but furious because... he was fine being attacked, wounded and devoured by such a monster. It was made out of ESPers defeated and slain, some by his hands. To them, fighting him was revenge for what he did to them, and the One-Eyed Man was the last person on earth who could deny anyone their revenge. Thus he didn't blame the monster of black for attacking him. But if it destroyed others, if it devoured innocents, just because 'it didn't care', and they were collateral damage on its path of destruction... then it most certainly was worse than he.

He knew what he had to do.

He would have to wake these people, these souls, these grudges up from their slumber.

They were caught in a cycle of their own suffering and hatred, spreading to the world around them like a wounded beast rampaging through Aoyama.

Thus, for the sake of those still alive... and for the souls trapped within the black ooze of this monster... he would have to lay them to rest.

And to do that...

"Who are you calling old, you brat...?"

The One-Eyed Man grunted and reached out to grab the hand of the kid.

"Now help me a little, would you? There's still much I need to do."

Though all this did make him wonder... why was the kid speaking to him in such a familiar way?

[Mooncake]

Jacques Dussault
Warehouse

"...Will you?"

I frowned.

"New phone, who's this?"

"Getting out of here together sounds good doesn't it? You'll find a way if you just work together~ But what are you really doing? Hiding behind the backs of these heroes and letting them die for you? What power do you really have? Can you really do anything if these heroes of yours die...? Will you survive that scenario? I think you already know that answer..."

The monster outside roars, Gisela jumping out of the window with a warning left behind. I'll follow in a minute.

"I'm not a hero. I was some random teenager running away from the Kyuubi when I got this power. Pretty much like these guys, really," And my hand gesture encompasses all of them, all of the people with their myriad expression of fear and hope and disdain and reverence and everything in between.

"I was just running away. Didn't matter where, didn't matter how, but I just wanted to get away from that monster. Turns out, I kind of ended up as one myself. Funny, isn't it?"

I tap my chest where the Kyuubi's spear pierced me.

"I mean, come on. All of us have been dealing with this shit for years. I can't even buy my fucking groceries without some ghoul poking its head out a window - and yeah, I know, that's not exactly like what everyone goes through, but it's still weird as fuck. And everybody's been dealing with their own weird things, so I can't say I'm too unique either."

I swing my arms around, checking for damage. I feel pretty good to go, all things considered, and the fact that I got a breather at all was crazy enough as is.

"Only thing unique about me is that I'm gonna kick that monster's ass, then your ass, then everyone's ass. Hell, I'll kick my own ass. And the only thing that sets me apart from everyone here is that when I ran away eight years ago I got punked by a bit of the Kyuubi and got some powers. That's pretty much all that sets us apart, which should spook you if it doesn't already. So leave us alone, or we won't leave you alone, you slobbering dipshit."

Hell yeah.

"Now I'm gonna kick some ass. Back in five, lads."

I jump out the window after Gisela.

[Airen]

Jacques Dussault
Magatsu Aoyama
The Fall

There is something romantic about the classical image of a human facing off with a titan.

The sheer size of the task is something that guarantees it's appearance in legends, blade in hand, moving forward against a colossal shadow that seeks to run down everything in it's path, the sheer difference in size between Gisela and her opponent would make it seem like she is doomed to simply lose right from the start.

But not once had you been worried, indeed, your seeming belief in the woman is so absolute, that stopping to talk with the humans gathered here, as well as deny the power of that crimson voice, is something that does not eight upon your mind as a bad thing, after all...

If anyone here knew how strong that person, no, that walking fortress masquerading as a human woman was...

It was Jacques Dussault.

"Activating Eclipse-!"

Indeed.

Just as usual, the moment that woman had decided upon her opponent, the sheer force of her spirit power becomes a rushing crimson wave that goes off with all the tell-tale rumbles of a chain of sonic booms, outpacing her own power in order to meet the enemy head on, blade smashing against it's titanic body with a force that should have, quite simply, been reserved for the likes of Gods alone; but the enemy is an envoy of death, one of many avatars of the "curse" that had built up within the Soul Sea, and thus it's ability to be damaged by a human should be called into question, but-!

For the strongest ESPer, one who had honed her body specifically for the purpose of drawing out as much 'power' as possible, and then adding on the wills of the dead that clung to her-!

Things like durability do not matter.

Those that are struck by her blade simply will not be able to match her for long, and avatar of darkness or not, it seems the massive titan is no exception to this rule. While it had struck against power with power, the sheer relentless strength of the human being in front of it seems to have been underestimated, as the clash ends not in it being bisected in half, but simply-

Launched back across the empty city limits.

It's the supernatural equivalent of an ant smashing into a semi-truck and sending it flying away from it, the humans are surprised, even for the things they had seen it was almost a display of power that was "too much to believe," but you're not that surprised yourself.

This was just how she was; you two weren't quite friends, but you had been around her enough to realize she was a lot more simple than most people would think; defeat the enemy in front of her, that simplicity in resolve is one reason for why she is so powerful, and indeed, having no doubts that she would win her clash with the curse, the woman is already stepping forth to launch herself after it's launched body, ready to tear it apart with a rain of sword strikes while her power was at it's highest, but-!

"...?!"

---Instinct kicks in to cover for this light form of overconfidence.

A crimson 'arrow,' fired from over four kilometers away, smashes into the knight from her side.

Catching on at the last possible moment, feet digging into the ground and sending her into a spin; the frantic strike at the bullet to deflect it, reveals the absurdity behind the strength of the archer's shots.

The physical body of the titan had not been able to budge a prepared Gisela, but this shot, a shot that detonates with all the crimson lightning of a bane stone, sends her reeling in spite of her successful deflection, and a whip-like limb of black miasma from the beast sends her crashing through a nearby skyscraper to complete the guard break; you're not sure if it's because she was caught off guard, or simply because the shot was that strong, but...

Gisela did not seem like the type who was unable to recover from mistakes within a split of a second, so-!

Eyes naturally zoom in on the shooter. You don't have to focus much to do it, simply thinking about pouring strength into your eyes is enough; you're not sure why someone would support the monster trying to wipe out humanity, but-!

There-!

Four kilometers away.

A strange compound bow, arrows made of Tungsten.

ESPer.

The creature roars in victory as it pursues a momentarily stunned Gisela, and in that same moment...

The distant man draws back his bow for another shot.

[Mooncake]

Jacques Dussault
Magatsu Aoyama
The Fall

I have to admit-

"Activating Eclipse-!"

-Watching Gisela punch something across the city will never get old.

I'm glad she's on our side.

I call back to the people inside; it won't hurt to give them some confidence.

"She's pretty cool when she's on a roll, huh?"

Gisela immediately getting shot, managing to deflect the arrow but getting pushed back all the way into a building, kind of ruins the effect.

"I stand corrected. That's my cue."

Somehow... there.

Four kilometers away, I see a man in a black coat putting another arrow to his bow. I see the expression in his eyes, the cording of his muscles, the strangeness of the arrow - how I can see like this, I don't know, but it's not important right now - and make my decision.

"Stay sharp, Gisela, he's mine!"

That's not too far away, right?

Focus.

Oh.

I guess not.

My body is there almost before I know what's happened, kick coming towards the man's face like a bat out of hell.