Ga Rei: Exodus Nine (IC)

[Mooncake]

Jacques Dussault
Magatsu Aoyama

As soon as he opens his eyes, the world disappears.

Typical.

He floats.

Jacques Dussault has still not truly come back to himself, not yet. He sees himself in the center of the darkness, but not part of it. Not anymore.

Still, he participates only as an observer.

There isn't a 'proper' Jacques yet, just pieces reforming himself - but they are pieces of himself, and not the darkness.

That's how he can tell he isn't dead, even though he can't experience anything outside of himself.

He can't tell anything beyond the darkness, so he isn't the darkness anymore, but the fact that he is, at least, aware of that means he still has his consciousness. And he can do something with that.

And then...

Something begins to burn, at the edges of his mind.

Something casts a faint glow in the darkness, casting a small circle of light.

Huh.

He moves towards it, this sensation inside of his mind, but he can't explain how. He's not moving physically; it feels almost spiritual, like he's out of his own body, and yet he isn't.

He arrives before he knows it, and looks down.

It's not a fire, but the idea of one.

That's not so weird, he thinks to himself, and crouches down. The light doesn't hurt his eyes, or whatever is standing in for them, and so he finds himself able to see what lies at its heart.

It's a crystal, he says.

Yes.

It looks like a Bane stone, but purified.

It shines out with light, dazzling, but not sharp.

The longer he looks at it, the more he begins to feel. Memories are patched into the gaps of his mind, the pieces of himself scattered into the darkness gently moved into place.

And Jacques Dussault-

And I-

I reach out to it.

And I wake up.

---

I feel good.

I feel better than good.

I barely even have to think about getting up, and all of a sudden I'm staggering to my feet. My mind still feels a little foggy, and maybe that's why I accept the giant of light standing behind me at face value.

Gotta shuffle it away and deal with it later, not while that monster is still standing.

"Wow."

I look back at the audience, and on every face I see the same determination I saw in Arya's face.

"I'm proud of you guys. Looks you really did a number on it."

I crack my neck, back on forth. For some reason, the beast doesn't looks nearly as threatening anymore. Maybe because it realizes how outnumbered it is, maybe because it's about to get fucked up.

Maybe because I'm just not scared of it anymore.

"Let's do it together."

The giant of light swings its sword - somehow I know it comes from the mind of every person behind me - and where am I?

Hey, I'm Jacques Dussault-

Holding onto its fist after a hasty teleport.

-and this is Jackass.

The monster begins to dodge, and I'm so close that I can see the burning in its eyes, and I hold on for dear life as the giant's sword moves at ungodly speed, and I'm only gonna get once chance.

I teleport again, behind the monster.

Before I can fall, I'm going to have to move again, and I do, thrusting a hand out to tag its surface. Just the tip of my finger touches it, but that's enough to-

Got it!

-And I teleport it right into the path of the sword.

[Airen]

Hitoshira Nagi
A Future Void

An impassioned declaration that threatened to tear apart the image inside of his mind; not just his own sense of self as a person and as a villain, but also this world of lost wishes, a place that had been burned into the surface of his soul throughout his many visits to it.

Challenging his "truth" with one of her own, the soul of Hitoshira Nagi attacks everything that Ryota Yagami has created in this space. It's a power born from the curse and tempered with a nevertheless light will, a truth that declared that life must go on, and that sacrificing anyone at all was a price that was far too heavy for her to bear with an intact heart.

Yes, there's certainly a powerful "Will" here, in these moments.

If it had been their previous altercation, perhaps it would have been enough to turn the tables on him in such a manner that he wouldn't have been able to respond to it in time. Ultimately, the power of Eclipse Users and Curse Users came down to the number and the strength of the souls that they were channeling; no matter what form a power took, if the enemy possessed a power that had "stronger wills" behind it, it was possible for the wills of the stronger side to simply overwrite that of the weaker ones in a direct clash of strength.

That is why this world will not break no matter how much it is attacked by the girl's will, or that of the curse she has forced through herself as a vessel; his ability as a curse user far out-weighed her own simply because of his attainment of Amatsu's power, and...

This image.

The world right before the end, was an illusion so engraved within his soul that it bears little difference to the actual world itself; it's too strong of an image, a reminder that only brought him pain, that served as a grim reminder of the reality that awaited at the end of the pursuit of a non-existent happy ending.

That image is too strong to be broken by anything, weighing heavily on his heart, he is not even sure if he himself could undo the creation of this "memory" at this point.

So your charge is across that of a star-streaked battlefield; for Lilith, attempting to recover her own identity is not something she can simply do on the spur of the moment. Locked back in the Vortex with countless others, the power that separates the two of you is something that seemingly cannot be broken, a wall of "many wills" that defied the existence of demons, and only allowed your "spiritual connection" to bind the two of you together.

And even that was weakening.

Her answers aren't intelligible anymore, like bad static the image you hold of her in your mind starts to distort, but there's nothing you can do now other than carry on regardless.

The black flames are something even he must defend against.

A sword of similar fire appearing to counter the axe, a look of genuine surprise crosses his face at the sheer weight behind the weapon; the ground beneath him explodes from the detonation, and while his knees do not bend, the follow-up strike forces him to fall back a pace or two, understanding that simply being infected with the same curse would not guarantee he wouldn't be devoured by it's use under the will of another; this power is, after all...

...Ultimately self destructive.

Even so, he has no intention on losing to you, and now that the first moment of shock has passed; the sword of despair is levied with all the strength his body could muster; your attempted guard rocking you back through the cosmic sky as he leaps after you to chase, sword and axe meeting with a maelstrom of strikes as a sudden aggression burns vividly red inside of your thoughts.

-Resist.

-Resist.

-Resist.

The impulses come and are shaken off, but their repetition brings with it an increased strength in the intensity. While you cannot break this illusion of his, the sense of futility that comes with knowingly facing an opponent you have no hope of defeating brings you both speed and strength in equal measure; the sense of desperation giving birth to the sense that you could perhaps manifest some sort of miracle.

...You could not bear that many souls on your back.

The sacrifices were too much for someone like you; ultimately, that same feeling is why you are unsuited to being the vessel for this sort of curse.

---But that's fine.

That was how he wanted you to be; from the moment he had slipped from his already dusk-filled path towards night, he had been prepared to take all of the blame onto himself. He would make the sacrifices that couldn't otherwise be made, make the decisions that no one wanted to touch; become the villain that would do what was necessary for some form of "life" to remain, and accept all the hatred that comes his way as a result of it.

This way, no one has to bear his sins other than himself.

He was an invincible villain that could not be defeated, in that sense, losing to him was "something that couldn't be helped."

No one would blame themselves for something like that, it would be like losing to a natural disaster, not something you could blame yourself for logically. By taking on all the burden, those that would be left behind would have something to hate, and a reason to not hate themselves, because even if they had tried to stop him, it was something that was never possible to stop from the start.

---In this regard you are no different.

Humoring your strikes with a physical response of his own now, the reality of this situation is that even with the curse...

This was only a fight because he was allowing it be a fight.

"Stop."

-Which is proved by a whispered command, not to this lost world, but to you.

Your body freezes in place.

Or rather, it feels like millions of hands are all working together to keep you completely still; for a few moments you manage to struggle in spite of that, and indeed, bursting forth with the black flames and mud after a brief moment of pause-

"Stop using the curse."

-Only this command makes your loss absolute.

That's right, while he had been humoring you up until now, the reality was that it was playing around with you in it's purest form. The amount of "wills" he had on his side were so numerous and strong, that he could simply command your side to stand down and they would be forced to do so on hands and knees, struggling against a feeling that was like the world itself crushing down on your body, a weight so massive that it could never be moved by anyone.

---No that's wrong.

Human will excels in doing the impossible, perhaps, through some miracle, the will of the few could overcome the will of the many by embracing the desperation that comes with being hundreds of times weaker, or perhaps by reaching out to the living and trying to borrow their strength, or perhaps some other method that is destined to appear only before the end, but-

-There's no time to do so.

With Amatsu on his side... He would always come out on top against other curse users.

The blade that enters your stomach declares this as fact. It's a blade of malice and despair, and the sudden explosion of black fire, an unholy conflagration, inflicts you with an assimilating flame.

It is eating you.

From the inside out, it is eating you.

Far more than what Lilith could suppress, the body that had seemed so strong mere moments before comes to a crashing rest next to the body of Nakamura Auron, who bears similar wounds. The hands still hold you still, violently still, as if seeking to drown you in mud and flame, and indeed...

---It feels like you're dying.

But this is the power he had wanted; strong enough to not only do what needed to be done, but strong enough that no one would blame themselves for being unable to stop his actions.

Chains wrap around your motionless self.

They emerge from the floor, illusions made real as Yagami again brandishes the power of creation without a single note of hesitation; in reality, he had never wanted to use this power and would have preferred to beat you the normal way, but subconsciously...

---That will had struck a nerve.

A nerve called uncertainty, or perhaps fear?

He likely doesn't even realize it himself, but forcing his gathered wills upon you in order to ensure he wins, the youth has a moment where his own strength doesn't seem quite so overwhelming after all...

Even so, he suppresses your curse silently.

Without it, you have no chance at all; cut off from your demons, from the curse and thus your last link to humanity, right now it is simply Hitoshira Nagi versus a Dark Messiah and his billions of enslaved souls.

---It need not be elaborated on how outmatched you are here.

No, the reality is that you had never had a chance to defeat him to begin with, and this was just a return to the status quo.

And thanks to those black flames, it was perfectly possible for you to simply bleed out and die, as your body returns to nothing far faster than it can repair itself back into 'something.'

Up above, the starlit sky remains shining over a despair filled world.

You can't win.

It wasn't possible from the start.

Already turning away as if to ignore your existence completely, your wraiths burn away to nothing along with his clones.

But still the stars shone.

...It was a fine last sight.

For that reason, he continues to maintain it, at least that's his excuse.

And-

"...You never figured it out, did you?"

Quietly...

Quietly...

The dying voice of Nakamura Auron calls out to you from the side.

Like yourself he has wounds that will not heal, that have been inflicted upon him by a "great curse," but still he struggles to maintain his own self; if not for a whim of mercy from his old friend he would absolutely have broken down into spirit particles already, but...

He was still here, so...

"...With all of those souls, and that curse of yours... Those rules of his are absolute. With Demons on your side perhaps it would be possible, but..."

The collective will is too great to be defied; Amatsu's power tied all of the world's darkness's together, and with that, the light was something that could no longer compete with the darkness on an equal playing field...

He had tried to stop Yagami himself, had even tried to undo those rules for your sake, however, it was impossible for him now, so...

"But... Your power... It's not the sun, kid."

One last ditch effort-

"The lights out here... The ones he remembers, those leftover feelings... Come from many more worlds than just this one. Light is funny, even if the star itself is gone, we'll still see the record of it's life for millions of years after the fact."

-Made possible only because of this sky.

"It's a bad ending. A record of failure... But those feelings still persist even now. Those stars contain the almost limitless emotions of life in it's last moments ... Those pure feelings... That is the light you absorb."

Feeling empty, and seeking to fill that void.

Constantly trying to figure out what happiness is from other people, trying to save other people to save the self, gathering information as a child, endlessly searching for the answer to a question you yourself were not sure of...

Absorbing the powerful emotions you witness, that was your power.

There is no grand theme behind it, unlike the other ESPers the ego of the vessel was weak and thus the power held little coherence of it's own, it wouldn't take any particular shape, nor would it become anything beyond a mass of "will," something you can't dictate, only gather in your hands and observe like broken shards of a mirror.

It's a jumble of emotions, both positive and negative.

Hope and despair, sadness and anger, joy and sorrow; what they had felt at the end of it all, their last screams into an unforgiving world, held only a single thing binding them all together, a subtle wish beneath other unsubtle feelings.

---The will to carry on.

---Even if there is no hope, I still want to carry on.

---To defy even the absolute.

...A silver fire catches alight in your hand; it is not a holy flame, nor is it a cursed one. The stars simply blinking out one by one as their 'last testament' moves to your side at a subconscious call, as if to say "it's up to you now," what you hold in your unmoving body at the end...

Is just a human fire.

Gathered Starlight.

What meaning it has isn't clear, what can be done with it isn't clear; it's a mass of chaos, feelings in their purest state, a fluke of this world that you would have never been able to reach otherwise, that will only last for but a few moments before scattering like the last burst of a dying star, but...

It has a "Will."

A "Will" that burns away bindings...

And lets a body that shouldn't be able to move, that has been bound by conceptual magic, a thing the people of this world should not be able to resist...

Move.

[Frantic Author]

Hitoshira Nagi
A Future Void

I can feel myself falling, breaking apart as Yagami seals away the last bits of Lilith, as Yagami wrenches away my curse, as Yagami pierces my gut with his sword of endless despair.

Get up.

I can't, not even for a moment. I stare at the sky, and a small smile brushes across my face. I've lost again, haven't I? It was, in the end... an impossible fight. I'm just one person after all, not a hundred, and there's no real way for a single human soul to stand up to all the world's evils.

"...You never figured it out, did you?"

The choked gasp of Nakamura Auron echoes near me, and I turn my head, staring at him -- he's looking at me, and it's the face of a man about to die, talking to a girl about to die.

"...With all of those souls, and that curse of yours... Those rules of his are absolute. With Demons on your side perhaps it would be possible, but..."

It's true. Even in the end, I was trying to fight Yagami on his own footing, using my curse against his. And I'm the worst of the vessels.

"But... Your power... It's not the sun, kid."

One last ditch effort-

"The lights out here... The ones he remembers, those leftover feelings... Come from many more worlds than just this one. Light is funny, even if the star itself is gone, we'll still see the record of it's life for millions of years after the fact."


I look up at the sky once more, and this time -- I see it. He's right! It's true! All the lights in the sky --

"It's a bad ending. A record of failure... But those feelings still persist even now. Those stars contain the almost limitless emotions of life in it's last moments ... Those pure feelings... That is the light you absorb."

Are stars.

It's humanity, staring down at me.

It's humankind, telling me to overcome, even when I can barely move.

It's a storm of Gathered Starlight, of humanity's soulfire, burning everything into cinders.

Get up.

It hurts, almost too much to bear --

Get up.

I don't even know if it's okay --

Stand up.

It's with a stagger that I rise to my feet, against the might of all the world's evils, against the power of a god, against everything that Yagami stands for. And on my back, the light of a hundred thousand emotions roar.

"Hey."

He's not looking at me. There's no way he wants to see me any longer, not when all the broken, shattered fragments of this reality... This place that has so much purpose to him... Remain around him.

"Hey!"

He won't turn around, because if he does --

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!!!!!!!!!"

-- then this place - this manifestation of his very soul that he's created can definitely be erased!

A grin blossoms onto my face as I look at Nakamura Auron, as I stare at the lights surrounding me. Is it... is it really okay? Tell me, Hitoshira Kae, Elizabeth, Mark --

Is it really okay?

"One hundred souls."

There's a phrase that touches the tip of my tongue, as I hold the combined weight of the final emotions of too many people within me.

"That's... That's how many it takes to make an Eclipse Diver! That's how many it takes to ascend beyond an Esper, to go even further beyond what it means to be a human!"

Is it... is it really okay...?

"How many souls, Yagami, do you think were inside of the Great Devourer!? How many spirits, how many wills, how many lights in this empty, broken sky -- do you think were waiting for someone to call upon them!?"

Is it really okay to get fired up!?!

I rip the light into my hands, and feel it course through my body. Feel the emotion, the heat, the rhythm of a hundred thousand spirits, a hundred thousand deaths, coursing into my veins.

"ONE HUNDRED TIMES THAT!"

[ESP Named: All of the Heavens' Light]

I'm burning up. I'm definitely burning up. I can feel it, as silver pours into my veins, as all the lights in the sky come to my aid -- in this time, in this place -- !!!

"You... you... You think that just because there's a god on your side... you think that just because it's hopeless... you think that just because there's no way I can win.... That just because I can't bear the weight of the Kyuubi's curse... That I won't stand up?! DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON THE POWER OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT!!"

I tear a hole in the fabric of reality, and wrench an ax into my hands. I don't need to look that hard, I don't even need to glance at it -- I can hear it, hissing in my mind, whispering in my ears, teasing at my soul. This is...

My weapon.

A part of me.

"Look around you Yagami! My reputation is terrible! I'm not the bravest person in the world! I run when I'm scared, I avoid conflict, I can barely stand the thought of hurting someone, I'm weak, useless, and in general, the last person to claim the title of hero!"

Silver burns through my system as I wrench aside his reality, rip apart the static he's infested in my mind, and laugh.

"But do you know who they're going to talk about?! Me! Because even though I was weak, even though I was useless, there's a fundamental truth of this reality and it's something that you've always forgotten! I won't let you become a martyr for this sorry cause! I won't let you throw away creation out of fear, or despair, because there's something you can't EVER FORGET!"

And this time, unlike the last time, when I say my decree, the world burns as I declare a new state of reality, a new law, a new point of purpose for this broken place-!!

"Tomorrow will be brighter then today!"

It's true. Every light in my body says its true, even as they whisper their fears, their anger, their sadness at the world that has betrayed them. But that doesn't matter, because in this moment, in this time, in this place... We can move with one heart, one body, one mind - one soul!

I delve into my sea of souls, and look at a hundred thousand faces, all huddled together inside of a soul that's caked and mired with mud, red, and grime...

It's too dreary, isn't it?

I erase it.

My soul isn't a dreary, lonely place anymore! It's not a place where people go to die, where fears are hidden and tucked away in every corner -- there's an island in it! An island with a hundred thousand people, and a sea of endless possibilities! That's what it means to be human! That's what it means to gather all the lights in this endless sky, because... because....

There's no reason to be afraid anymore!

There's no reason to be hopeless anymore!

"Don't worry," I tell them, with a smile on my face as my soul restructures itself, "I'll definitely carry your wishes to tomorrow!"

And in reality, I stare at all the world's evils, with all of humanity's hope on my back.

The weight... it's different then the curse. It's a totally different feeling, as ridiculous as it sounds. With all the evil in the world on my back it was so hard to stand. But with this...

With the weight of the world's dreams on my shoulders...

I stand taller then ever before!

"Will! That's all it takes to become a Demon Summoner! For every evil in the world, there's a force of good to reject it! And guess what, Yagami!?"

I clench my axe.

"Against all the world's evils, there's only one thing to put against it! Only one thing that can possibly stand up against it! It's all the world's hopes! This... This is all of our hopes and everyone's dreams!"

I twirl my weapon in a circle, then point towards a sky that was once, just not long ago, filled with hundreds of thousands of stars.

"We'll definitely carry on! We'll definitely go further! There's no way that we'll fall down, when we can keep on getting back up, do you hear me!?"

I grin, a mad, bright, wide thing with a smile that could split the sky itself asunder. This is Hitoshira Nagi's declaration into a void, into a broken empty place that has nothing left in it but misery.

"You can't take the sky from us! There's no illusion to hide behind any longer, Ryota Yagami! Because... This is humanity speaking!"

My grin turns feral as I snarl my next words, a phrase so utterly, absolutely cheesy I can't even believe it comes from my own lips, from the lips of a girl who was so shy, so innocuous, and was always the worst vessel for any souls, be they the Kyuubi's or those to ascend to an Eclipse Diver -- !!!

"AND I'M COLLECTING SOME RENT!!"

I reach inwards, and carve out a star in the sky.

It's heavy.

It's too heavy for me to hold up alone -- !!

There's...

"There's no way in HELL that's just me! There's no way in HELL THAT I COULD HOLD THIS UP ALOOOOOOONE!"

This star, this strength in my veins... It's not just me! I can feel it, that's... that's everyone! This... this is everyone! Even as I hear their Will whisper into my ears, I can tell! Every atom, every fiber that makes up this nebula is a precious strand, a dream, a wish, a memory that someone once had!

There -- a man's child is born, and he holds it in his arms!

There -- a girl quietly whispers to a boy, holding a letter out in her hands!

There -- a woman cries tears of happiness as she stands at the alter!

There -- a boy screams in joy as he's accepted into Tokyo U!

And...

And there...

There's a girl on an island.

She's alone.

She's holding a book in her hands, and gently closes it. And when she looks up, a girl walks up to her, with green hair and wide eyes, dragging a boy alongside her. She forces his head down, and he laughs; sheepishly, carelessly, and says a phrase that she has never heard from his lips. And the girl on the island waves it off, and hugs him, holding him close.

That's...

That's my dream! That's my wish! There's no way that I'll allow an ending where everyone can be perfectly unhappy, because...

"There's always a way, Yagami! There's always a chance, Ryota! And right here, right now... I'll definitely find our happy ending!"

I feel it building up, the energy that I'm holding back is almost too much to bear--!! There's so much power, so much Will in the air, that it's impossible to hold back any longer! Every part of me, every part of my soul, every voice in my sea they all cry--

"GET READY!"

I throw a star at Ryota Yagami. No, I throw humanity at Ryota Yagami. Or do I throw both, or neither, or everything in between? It's impossible to tell, in this place he's engraved into every part of him, every crevice of his sea of souls, because it's... It's simply true.

Ryota Yagami and Hitoshira Nagi are

two different coins entirely

two sides of the same coin

. We're alike, and yet we're so different. We're the best of friends, and yet we're the worst of enemies.

"You're just so stupid, Ryota! What did you think I would do!? What did you think I would say, huh?! 'okay'!? 'Please seal yourself away'?! In what world would I react like that!? How could I ever let that happen to you, to anyone?! Nobody deserves that! Nobody wants that for you! But..."

He's an idiot.

He's definitely the most stupid person I know. But a smile still comes onto my face, a despairing, lighthearted one, as I stare at the person who was definitely my best friend in the entire world. But just because he was my best friend...

"Get ready, Yagami!"

Just because he was closer to me then anyone I've ever known...

"This is humanity coming!"

Just because I don't want him to die...

"And you better GRIT!"

It definitely doesn't mean anything. It definitely doesn't matter to me!

"THOSE!"

Because when he inevitably tries to rise up to argue once more --

"TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETH!!!!!!!!!!"

My fist will be there to drag him crashing back down to earth!

[Airen]

Medrod
Magatsu Aoyama, ???
The Fall

An ocean of black mud had begun to form around it's feet.

Or rather, the black ocean that had already been formed by another had moved to overtake the convulsing figure of the

Specter of Twilight

Ninth Apostle.

One of merely many entities that have been dragged out from the darkest portions of the Sea of Souls to render judgement upon mankind, it is not alone in it's attempts to crush the city beneath it's pitch-black sea of rage.

It is the flip-side of the power of "bonds," a dark chain between souls that continued to draw other maddened souls to it over time. Those shadows that do not have enough ego of their own are broken down and consumed by the mass as it attempts to instinctively suppress a rebellion from within; the black sea of corrosion is that of both black fire and mud, spreading out, stopping only when it reaches the still-standing barriers of "frozen space" that Koga Ran has left behind in her departure.

It is a simple barrier, but as the mud has a focus on consuming humanity in it's entirety rather than focusing on any specific group, it's ability to focus it's power on any one target, or even to seek out specific targets rather than simply endlessly attempt to spread... Is limited in spite of how corrosive a curse it is...

It will hold.

Even if only for a few minutes, it will hold as a barrier protecting the civilians.

Even so, despite the newfound support of this Sea, the Apostle is having trouble digesting the mass of souls that has risen up in rebellion inside of it. It's a tiny spark that has quickly becoming a roaring flame of light, and incomprehensible screeches accompany the writhing and shaking of it's body; those inside of it are forcing their way out...

Lights that refuse to be swallowed up by the dark?

Or perhaps a more pure darkness? One that was not tinged with a bloodthirsty crimson?

Whatever it is, those feelings, resolve clashing against resignation, hope against despair...

It's enough to give a curse a stomachache; a stubborn resistance put up by fools that nevertheless resonated with some inside of the beast.

The curse shudders and shakes and screams and...

A roar splits the night.

It is not the roar of something that cannot be understood, no, it is not the screams of the massive Shadow that elicit a scream of surprise from distant observers...

It is the sight of a burning crimson dragon, bursting forth from shadows with two humans -glowing with a silver aura of light and darkness- that surprise all those that have watched up until this point.

For Red, it is simple to emerge now. That form of the curse not as effective against her kind as it is against humans, and while the boy lacked enough spiritual power to truly fuel her activities as a Demon, the support of many other souls have swiftly begun to fill in the gaps that he had left behind, and the result...

---Wings spread afar, casting a shadow on a giant that surpasses it not in size, but rather in resolve.

---She will fly.

It is not something the two of you have ever done together; indeed, even in the vortex, there had been little if any time for the dragon to show off it's natural abilities as that sort of entity, but...

She'll fight.

Supporting you, just the same as those souls, the presence that had settled quietly into your thoughts shakes their surface again with what could only pass for a dragon's laughter. It interrupts the whispers of the souls, but...

She will follow your directions for now.

Your relationship as Summoner and Summon was odd, the least traditional one she had ever been a part of, but this...

She could listen to a boy with a name.

Skyscrapers are broken down to their molecular level and slowly sink into the thick black muck below; roads are cut off, and other than the palace of ice everything within a dozen blocks is swiftly becoming the same sort of supernatural wasteland.

---Again, the enemy focuses it's gaze on you.

It holds no extra power anymore, but the deep feeling of blind rage and loathing cannot be mistaken for anything else.

Above, the crackling of lightning begins to grow in intensity.

[Verg Avesta]

Medrod
Magatsu Aoyama, ???
The Fall

Light or darkness.

In the end, it didn't matter what his power was or how it appeared around him.

It's form was just a manifestation of a desire, a wish, to save those in need. He would not shy away from the light, nor would he refute darkness. They held no more concepts of good and evil in his mind. In a way, he had become above such black and white notions of the world. One did not have to be evil to want the world fall into despair, nor did one have to be good in order to have world where everyone was happy. Just as light could be an oppressor, so could darkness be a liberator. It really did not matter. What mattered was that he was now equipped, no, granted with something that could make him realize his wish... and for that, he whispered sincere words of gratitude to the souls that now accompanied him.

He would not let their expectations down.

"Are you alright?" His question was meant for the young woman who had been scooped up from the black mud alongside him. "Focus on the barrier. We need to keep the civilians safe. But if you feel exhaustion, let me now."

He would not disgrace her by doubting her powers, no. Just as she had shown almost absurd trust in him by coming to save him, Medrod would now show same sort of trust in her. Her power was that of protection, far more suited for this sort of situation that his destructive powers were. If they wanted to beat this black giant, they would have to work together. Therefore, he would trust her. At the same time, he also trusted her to inform her if her powers waned.

After saying those words, Medrod put his hand against the red scales of the dragon he was now straddling. He switched his position so that he was now nestled against her neck, almost like a knight riding a top a fearsome red wyvern. It was... surreal to say the least. When had he earned the right to cast such a mythical image of a protector of men? The honor granted to him by Red humbled him to his very core. In truth, although some part of him realized that this was a version of the bond between a summoner and the summon, he felt no such clear master-slave connection between them.

No. He would have never subjected Red for his orders.

If he were to ask something from her, it would be requests from someone who stood at the same height as her. A plea from one being to another, from one side of the coin to the other. He owed to the dragon more than he could even think of. He was the man he was now thanks to her. If anything, he was he one knight taking orders from the Crimson Queen - a form of gratitude for a debt he could never pay back in full. So, if she deemed it right to follow his orders, he would show that gesture right back.

He would not order.

He would ask.

From friend to a friend.

"Thank you," he whispered to the dragon, letting his fingers caress her castle-strong scales. Then, with a stronger voice, he continued. "We need to cut of this thing's legs from underneath it. Weave a pattern of flight below it, and let me cut it down. If we take away its mobility, we can encircle it with a line of defense. It will no longer move from that spot. We stop its movement, we stop its destruction."

His red eye, blinking with unknown blue light, stared down the colossus that overtook the red sky.

"Then, we can destroy it before it hurts anyone else again," Medrod spoke through gritted teeth. "I don't care if I have to pull out every soul inhabiting it, one by one, and let them realize their worth. Those souls, those people, deserve a better fate than the despair of that monster."

Within his mind, Medrod could feel the song of the souls within him. Concentrating his now-familiar trump card, he let the red energy within him soar, transforming it into strings of vermilion that coated his body. He weaved those strings into a rich tapestry that supported his muscles, spreading the power evenly to support the endeavor that would follow. In his right hand, he prepared his sword - the trusty Big Iron. While he felt a pang of shame that he could no longer prove himself to the sword in stone, it was but a moment. Such thoughts of what ifs would not help the people in the building encased in ice. Thus, not with instinct and rage, but with technique and precision, he prepared both his red power and his sword for the complex maneuver he asked for Red to perform.

Then, with a swing of his sword, a once dull iron now shining bright, he addressed the dark titan - Shadow of Everybody's Grudges.

"Listen well! I will not leave you suffering!" He roared, his voice proud and sure instead of the gravely anxiety that it once had been. "Mark my words, souls. I will save you from that hell. You, the people of Aoyama who still struggle to survive, and any protector in need of a helping hand... I'll be there. Because that's what I am."

His red eye was as bright as the scales of the majestic dragon he now rode.

"Thus, I abandon the name of my mother. The name of the woman from whom I learned to let myself succumb to my emotions. Dear but dead, one that I followed in my foolishness!" Medrod shouted as they swooped in for the attack. "Instead, I take the name of my father! The man who tried to teach me what it means to protect! What it means to carry the burden heavier than anything, other people!"

With red power, now bridled to work for his will and not his instinct, he confronted the jet-black colossus.

"I am Medrod Pendragon! And I will save anyone who wishes it! Even you!"

[Spinach]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Ryuumonbuchi Estate

“It can’t be helped then, Belial.”

She wasn’t sure why, but Saki felt a strange heat in her cheeks. A warmth that she didn’t quite recognize. A tiny invasion of fire, that wasn’t her own. She couldn’t count the number of times she had been called ojou-sama, but for some reason the way it sounded leaving the Demon Prince’s lips, like lighthearted ribbing of a more familiar variety, a prickling warmth that wasn’t entirely unpleasant, yet deserved, warranted resistance.

The young girl flicked her hair, turning her head away from the red-haired silhouette of a man, the veil of the Demon.

“If it’s for the sake of defeating the Devourer, that Outsider, you’ll find some human assistance in this Saki.”

The girl’s eyes slid hesitantly back toward the Prince, arms crossed in something like defiance.

“And, well, you see…”

The girl hesitantly looked out over the dinner table. Once, her eyes tried to turn away, as if to avert from the reality before them. Taking that heat, the warmth staining her light cheeks a modest pink, Saki, the Revenant Flame, the Black Princess, Lady Fire, Demon Queen of the Seventh Heaven, gathered courage.

“With everyone else, that chance of victory will become even greater."

And asked the gathering, every soul seated at the tables, and those that were serving it, for help.

[Airen]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Ryuumonbuchi Estate

It's a question with an obvious answer, or rather, the answer to those sorts of inquires should never really be in doubt.

Everyone has a vested interest in the world; unless one is able to escape from it somehow and avert their own fate in that way, then the world is something that is required for people to live. Defending it is an obligation that comes along with living, those that are not willing to defend life in some form will more often than not find their own slipping through their fingers, and...

In that regard it's not surprising that everyone immediately agrees with the proposal, if the enemy is what it is, then it is an enemy that surpasses even the 'Great Darkness' that exists beneath the earth, and thus must be stopped if the future will ever hope to come to pass.

"Of course. If humans have one thing going for them, it's that there are a lot of you."

It's an agreement that the Demon Prince accepts gracefully, in his own roundabout method of delivering a compliment not just to the people around the table, but all those around the world.

"But it is interesting that you mention yourself separately from the others."

That calm voice hides a hint of an amused smile.

He does not elaborate.

It could mean many things, and indeed, a number of interpretations flick across the surface of your thoughts, but-

"Still, I will be relying on your support the most, so perhaps it is fitting."

Eh?

Eh?

Eh?

What was that?

Once more, no real elaboration, indeed, this time...

He seems completely unwilling to say anything more.

---

"But Aliens, huh? Who would've thought?"

The laugh that accompanies your teacher's words is sincere, but that doesn't mean it's honest.

In the end, when everything is over and done with, the one accompanying your guests to the door is you rather than your mother. A general agreement to work together to defeat "Chronos" or rather "The Devourer" had been reached by everyone at the table, and thus, the purpose of the dinner from the start seems to have been fulfilled in your mother's eyes.

The sun is down, a full moon hiding behind a curtain of storm clouds.

Nakahara and his daughter are the last to head out amongst the crowd; his demeanor hadn't changed in any real way even after all of the silent accusations that had been lightly run beneath his gaze, and indeed...

The teacher seems quite innocent in nature, a natural actor perhaps, or...

Someone who has simply held a lot of practice.

Regardless, he does not look like someone that is plotting to do anything extraordinary but...

You know better...

"Ryuumonbuchi."

A light rain falling from the sky, the man pauses at the door to undo the straps on his umbrella.

"You are coming to class tomorrow, correct?"

His tone is still light and friendly, and indeed, the smile is the same as always, but it still feels strange.

"If so, I'd like to talk to you a bit before class. Do you think it's possible for you to arrive early tomorrow morning?"

[Spinach]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Ryuumonbuchi Estate

“My long confinement is now at an end, sensei.” A step away from the doorway, Saki answers in a way that once more excuses her long tardiness. “Of course, after so long isolated, even a Heretic’s Soul such as mine would seek company from its siblings.”

Saying so the girl tilts her head.

“It is, however, unusual for this Saki’s early arrival to be requested, sensei.”

Ever mixing English into her sentences when talking to the teacher, the girl smiles. Even in the face of such a strange request from the teacher, with an odd tone lingering behind his voice, a mere hint of something that isn’t quite right yet seems as normal as always, it’s only natural to return Nakahara’s friendliness with an equal sort.

His kindness was of the breed she yearned for, not patronizing, but acknowledging.

“Very well!” Leaning forward playfully, a few locks of her black hair that weren’t properly tied up slip out from the girl’s ribbon, falling over her eyes. Brushing them aside, the yakuza princess stares up at the older man. “To celebrate sensei’s first time accepting a Ryuumonbuchi dinner invitation, this Saki will cast a spell upon time itself, and, miraculously, arrive before any other of her kin tomorrow.”

Such a gesture would normally be whole-hearted, and not outside of the norm for the eccentric girl. Always energetic and aware of her position, in more ways than one, as both student and heir to something great. Her life itself always a balancing act. Treading a thin line between being a girl and a lady, between a child of Ryuumonbuchi and also a teenager, between human and ESPer. Between student and friend.

Between ally and enemy.

As always, it’s only natural for one to return Nakahara’s friendliness. To return his teasing. To return his sternness, and in this case, the strange feeling in his tone crept into Saki’s own.

[Airen]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Aoyama Gakuen

Phenex was stalking you.

It normally wasn't the sort of thing you would notice, after all, the butler-maid was one who had long ago mastered the art of stealth; the art of appearing with lunch in hand microseconds after your body chose to alert you to failing nutrition, and indeed, if he was doing that it would have been a sort of return to the normal, a way of forgetting, perhaps, about the many events waiting for you in the future, but...

Today...

Today the demon was just walking along after you in it's schoolgirl form. It hadn't said anything about accompanying you, and no one had tried to stop you from going to school today even after learning about your agreement to meet with the prime suspect early on -your mother's spartan nature shining through perhaps- but the moment you had left the front gates, she had taken up vigil in a far more blatant way than the usual, following along behind your path amongst a thick cloud of morning fog.

Was it an order?

A personal reason?

It was difficult to tell, but it was what it was...

The demon knew which lines you would not wish for it to cross, and thus there's no danger of it violating privacy to any great extent.

It just seemed to want you to know it was there, and that feeling fades the moment you enter the school building; leaving you with only an internalized Belial for company.

The air inside here is... Off now.

Like everyone is on edge, the usual chatter and cheer is not present amongst the student body. It's almost a sense of paranoia; televisions in the cafeteria continue to report on some "Berserker Syndrome" phenomenon that was causing aggressive crimes amongst civilians in Tokyo, and people seem to absorb it all without blinking, as if desperately trying to understand some facet of the world that they weren't quite able to place.

Nervousness.

That was what it was, an innate nervousness that seemed to lack a good, concise cause; of course, not everyone is here this early in the morning -just after sunrise- but...

Still, it doesn't feel like it'd be any better even if it was... Even so...

"Ah, Saki-chan, right on time."

The classroom is the same as always... At least in the sense that the oppressive atmosphere melts away the moment you enter it.

The English Teacher is sitting at his desk, fiddling with a pocket-watch of some sort. Both base and chain are seemingly made of gold, and while it's not quite as striking as the blue-stone around his neck, you are also newly aware of the fact...

That this man does not do purposeless things.

"Come in, come in, and close the door if you would."

He doesn't seem to care if you do or not, but he takes a moment to get going again anyway.

"So... I'm a suspect right?"

And just like that... With the usual cheerful tone...

He gets straight to the heart of the matter.

[Katie]

Mikagura Mika
Time: Meaningless
Location: Dark Embrace -Great Seal-

“...Did you also tell Genbu Raigeki was a three-of instead of banned?” My tone is mocking, a light rib towards Nami’s pride, but I don’t really know if it will hit home. While she has always enjoyed being a competitive player and probably knows the rules just as thoroughly as I do, she probably enjoyed screwing around much more than I ever did. Encouraging people to play whatever format they felt like, as long as it was fun, that was something she would do.

But in the end, I’m still unsure how I’m supposed to draw Nami out. Talk about the blissful memories of the past as we fight for the future? I can’t… There are so many transgressions I want to fix. Even if… even if this ruins everything, they have to be confronted. No doubt that her previous existence as a knight has suffered immensely, but even heroes like Nami do not come out unscathed. After all, wasn’t I responsible for a scar of hers in the past?

“Remember when you borrowed my bike and broke it the next day?” That was a real mess. I told Nami to be careful, but in the end she broke it trying to help someone else do deliveries. At the time, I was pretty mad, but, thinking back on it, it wasn’t that big of a deal. It’s just a bike, and it’s nothing in comparison to the fact she was unharmed…

“Remember when we both got accused of cheating at locals?” Well, it wasn’t that we cheated. We always had talent, even from the start. Just, as is apparent with most things in life, adults hate losing to children. Especially if said children outclass them like nothing else. But even when adults were busy throwing all sorts of derogatory words at us, we still had each other. And we thought it would be like that, forever.

At least… I’m sure Nami did. That’s why I don’t want to reach Nami by ignoring the unpleasant things that have happened to the both of us. If we forget about those, then the Kyuubi’s grip on those memories will only be stronger. Even if it’s painful, the both of us have to accept those things happened. Even if it’s absolutely risky, something I would never do.

So…

“Remember when I left?” There’s no need to add anything. I left without a trace, without explanation. Even if it draws out an angry Nami or a Nami in despair or anything just as awful, it’ll still be Nami. It’ll still be the friend I made all those years ago, and if she’s hurting then I will do my best to fix it. I don’t care if things briefly get worse. I don’t care if she’s mad at me or hates me or anything else.

The most important thing right now is that I reach her, and no one else.

Because if I can’t do that, how do I make up for my mistakes?

[Spinach]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Aoyama Gakuen

Nothing felt routine. From the actions of Phenex, the butler-maid, shapeshifting Demon that held a constant vigilance over the girl, who now blatantly trailed her. As if to deliver a statement, that today would be different, the Ryuumonbuchi faithful dropped all pretense of its normal subtle protection. The being without gender followed the girl in silence, showing no desire to give halt to her, nor offering words of any sort. It was a silent, yet pronounced protection. One that made Saki, for once in her life, almost uncomfortable around the Demon.

Then there was the atmosphere in the school itself.

First came the scent of despair. Then came isolation.

The servant that had made its presence so notable before seemed all but gone and only the Demon within remained. The behemoth Prince tethered to the girl’s soul lurked in silence within her as she entered the school. That silence did not comfort her.

Saki felt it on the air. Perhaps, it was merely the body trying to rationalize an impulse from the soul itself. It seemed as though the entire student body felt it as well.

Berserker Syndrome.

The yakuza princess knew nothing about it, other than what had been in the news. It hadn’t caught her attention in a meaningful way. She simply rationalized it as one of the many symptoms of the world’s collapse. The order of reality reaching the end of its cycle.

Was the feeling in the air another of those symptoms? Even if the clock is turned back endlessly, could the soul itself forget the sensation of the end? Of total destruction, of everything being destroyed at the end of the spiraling voyage this doomed world spun downward into? Even if the mind cannot recall, the soul could never forget the fear struck upon it by the passing of all it has ever known and all that could have been.

Just how much negative energy had been amassed in these recursive cycles of destruction, hanging over humanity like a dark cloud…

The thought was something the girl shared to Belial, almost like an open question, just as she reached her own classroom.

"Ah, Saki-chan, right on time."

As if to give some sort of consolation, the voice of her teacher, the fresh air of the familiar classroom seems to sweep over the mood lingering throughout the rest of the school. Casting it off like parting the curtains the older man greets her. With a bow and a ‘good morning’ in English, Saki found her way to her seat.

"So... I'm a suspect right?"

And cast her ruby colored eyes upon the teacher. First to the stone at his neck, then to the watch in his hands. Then back to meet his eyes. Eyes that had cut straight to the point, ignoring everything else.

“Perhaps.”

There was no point denying it. As if the man would have failed to notice the suspicions leveled upon him. The Ryuumonbuchi matriarch was a woman capable of subtlety, hiding her intent behind her all-knowing, stoic smiles and curt replies that neither lied nor told the whole truth, but her daughter was one who preferred to be open.

“It’s impossible to cast a blind eye to you, sensei.” For once Saki spoke normal Japanese with the man. “Not even I could do such a thing. I cannot fail to see that you know something, that you’re involved in a fundamental manner.”

She wouldn’t deny it. The man, for all that she trusted him, did his part to try and make her distrust him. That in itself almost… made her doubt.

“But nothing you do is without meaning, right, sensei?” The girl was abnormally stoic, none of her usual smiles that could convey any other emotion. Her eyes were hard, but not hostile. Sharp and focused. “Were you trying to make yourself suspicious, hoping one of your students would notice and become involved? Trying to nudge an outsider toward entering the equation without doing so overtly, so as to not draw too much attention?”

These were her doubts.

Was he truly suspicious?

Or merely trying to be suspicious.

[Airen]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Aoyama Gakuen

'How much? Impossible to say; but it is safe to assume that those experiences would be retained somewhere, humanity keeps their own records of such things.'

---

"Haha, I wonder...?"

The invincible cheer had always seemed a bit too invincible. While his words imply he won't explain anything, the fact that he had asked to meet you here declared the exact opposite intent, and indeed, while he seems to find this amusing, it's not truly an attempt at deflection:

"Taking lessons to heart is always a good thing; the words themselves are not the only important part of comprehension, the surrounding context is everything if you want to truly understand the situation... Life is much like literature in that way. To speak too much is forbidden, but if the truth happens to be glimpsed from other things I say... Then that is just how it happened to turn out, right?"

It's as good as a confirmation, even if he won't (can't?) say it directly to you.

"We can consider that a passing grade I suppose, or maybe it would be better to refer to it as extra credit? An optional assignment?"

Setting the pocket-watch down on the table, he rests his chin on locked fingers.

"Regardless, since I seem to have been caught, I suppose it's only inevitable that I'd be forced to say a bit more, hmm? Can't be helped."

Still cheerful, admitting to being 'guilty' in a sense but...

[Spinach]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Aoyama Gakuen

“Too much is forbidden, is it?” To be elated that her thoughts were at least seemingly correct would be hasty.

This was a man who could become enigmatic to a level comparable to Phenex, when he needed to be. As approachable and human as he was, that was exactly why it could be hard to read him. Saki would refrain from feeling any relief until she knew all there was to know, and then she would seek to know even more, just to be certain.

“Then you are being monitored, and cannot directly call for assistance?” The only way to know would be to ask, and since the man claimed he would explain. Even if he would likely stick to the vague, minimal truth. It would, at least, be the truth. That much she believed. “By coming here myself, to this place… I sensed it, when I came to the school. Even though Phenex was following me its presence vanished after I arrived at the school.”

The girl leaned forward. Planting her elbow into the desk Saki rested her head in her palm. Relaxing, if only the tiniest amount, yet still staring sharply at the teacher, the yakuza heiress continued.

“Are you free to speak now, sensei? That is why you called me here, is it not? To this place where even Phenex cannot pry. The eyes and ears cast upon you must also be blind and deaf to your actions now. If so, I will listen.”

[I3uster]

Suzume Oshino
Uraku Aoyama ~ Penthouse
Morning

I stay quiet for most of her explanations. I already am aware of most of it anyway, it is just to bring us on the same page. Now that she has assembled her other accomplices I felt I could trust her just a bit more. Maybe I can't sense her own lying, but unease of sensei over there would still flare up.

The main problem with going along with this plan remains. Her winning the conception already puts us towards her plan. If I want to change anything significant, changing that outcome would be an option...but even if I could somehow make someone else win there, I would still be back where I started before entering this alliance.

Second, my role in this scenario can not be altered all that much if I want to keep the Kyuubi's rampage to a minimum...

All that seemed to be left was to turn that zero into a one...

"...so sealing remains our only option?"

[Airen]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Aoyama Gakuen

"I am a paranoid man I'm afraid," the smile faltering ever so slightly, the youthful (?) teacher laughs quietly to himself, "I am sure the barriers on your Residence were commendable in their own way, but I can only trust the ones I myself manifest to be safe from outside interference. It took twenty years to construct... But I can trust that sort of self-effort. This school will remain standing up until the world itself ends. Perhaps even afterwards, for a time; wandering eyes won't find much to see here either."

In other words...

Yes.

He was absolutely being monitored, and...

It might not end with him either...

"Regardless, I am not saying this is a call for assistance, rather... There are simply a few things I decided to confirm for you."

One finger raises.

"The Great Devourer is a present threat. It's form as Chronos was indeed influenced by humanity, but the original did not disappear, it was something more akin to sealing that part of himself away with the power he gained from devouring other demons. That seal seems to be breaking apart over the course of this cycle. In other words, it is becoming more of the Devourer and less of Chronos over time. I do not think he even realizes it himself; the Devourer is seemingly akin to a machine, it should not move to act unless it receives a command to do so, but it seems to be actively infecting it's container regardless... So it's possible that we are simply out of time, or do not truly understand it's motives. The clock may not turn back this time around, that safety net is now unreliable."

Another finger.

"Secondly, they are both at their weakest inside of this world. Regardless of their strength, if there is a time to beat them, it would be before the world comes to it's end via the Conception. Both my daughter and Yoko-sensei can be considered trumps of a sort against it's form as a "God," if all else fails."

Another-

"And finally... Most of Demon-kind has been fed to it as of this point. Unless they can be freed somehow, it is likely that humanity will have to finish this largely alone."

The smile fades slightly.

"That circumstance... I'm also rather responsible for, all things considered."

[Spinach]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Aoyama Gakuen

“Yoko-sensei as well... Yet, those are weapons that are only effective against Chronos the ‘god,’ sensei.” There’s no longer anything to be surprised by. The world has been turned upside down, sideways, and then thrown into new dimensions recently. As it is, the man is implying complicity in the repeating cycles. Yet he does not act as an enemy. Rather, “you speak of Chronos as though you have a degree of closeness to it. You claim responsibility for the Demons it has consumed.”

Saki paused and let out a deep breath. The more she learned, the more bleak the future became. The girl saw little color waiting for humanity. Beyond a world of only grey, a world of only red, what lay in store couldn’t even be called colorless. Transparency, a state of near nothingness. That is the future the Devourer promised.

“Then you are, or were, an accomplice.” An accusation stated as though she knew it to be fact. A hint of sadness leaks into the girl’s tone. There is nothing happy in learning what she has learned. At some point, the endless revelations disillusioned her on the circumstances.

What started as prowling the streets at night, hunting for rumors dug up from the internet has turned into a race to prevent the end of everything that has ever been.

It isn’t a game anymore, fun is no longer at stake. It hasn’t been for a long time.

“What is to be done? Can the consumed Demons be freed? Can reality follow the path of legend, can Chronos’ quarry be freed unto this world to do battle with him? Yet,” the girl paused for a moment, contemplating. “What comes after defeating ‘Chronos?’ Is there even a guarantee that defeating it as a ‘God’ will prevent the emergence of the Great Devourer?”

[Airen]

Suzume Oshino
Uraku Aoyama ~ Penthouse
Morning

"It is a being that exists for the sake of destroying the world. If it could not overcome those things that exist within the world, it would be a pretty lousy Destroyer. To put it another way, if this world was a computer program, than the Devourer would be something comparable to the person on the computer hitting the delete key... So long as we are within the hypothetical computer there is little we can do to stop it."

In other words, the only way to defend against it is to convince it not to attack in the first place. It might technically be killable, but if it so much stronger than everyone else that attacking it results only in the deaths of it's opponents, it might as well be outright immortal.

At least, that's what she seems to believe.

"...Admittedly, attacking Chronos as he is now might have the side-effect of destroying the Devourer as well, but the act of attempting to do so would wake it up. In that event, we are again fighting an entity that's beyond our means. We were quite strong the first time around and it still crushed us decisively the moment it appeared... It went to sleep through a miracle, and so we have to keep it in that sleep no matter the cost."

Her eyes closed in thought...

"Sounds like just giving up to me!"

"Eh?"

The sudden appearance of a new voice catches her just as off guard as it had caught you.

There's a girl next to you on the couch; you don't know how she got there, nor how long she has been there, the only thing that can be confirmed is that she does in fact exist right next to you.

Hadn't made any noise at all, had just kind of appeared, and...

The moment you look at her, she waves at you.

There's a familiar chain wrapped around her right wrist.

[Airen]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Aoyama Gakuen

"I cannot say for certain."

He does not deny it.

Accepting the label of accomplice without resisting it, the teacher stands up.

"I believe that killing Chronos will disable the Devourer as well, but that is merely my intuition at work. Even if it's true, the act of it's 'other self' being put near death may convince the Devourer side to act of it's own accord in self-preservation... That is why it hasn't been attacked by those who understand what it is up till now, the side of caution would indicate that we shouldn't risk it."

A pause.

"No, not just that... I didn't stop Chronos earlier because I agreed with him, that was probably the real reason... The God is benevolent enough, his summoner wants an endless happy ending for humanity, one forced upon them whether they like it or not... I thought, perhaps that was for the best. This world was so boxed in by despair but it seemed like there was no other way out, that any world was preferable to none at all. Now... I'm not so sure anymore."

An enemy to the world of many colors.

That was what this man had been, yet...

He still doesn't feel like an enemy.

[Spinach]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Aoyama Gakuen

The young girl lifted her head.

“Endless, forced happiness? Those are contradictions, sensei. There is no such thing as endless happiness, and happiness cannot be forced.”

Without any hesitation. Without the need for thought. Without averting her eyes. Saki refutes the promised ‘best end.’

“What that summoner will create might be a paradise, but those living in it will not be ‘human.’ They will be something else. Without sadness and happiness in equal parts, humans fundamentally cannot exist.”

There’s firmness in her eyes that she had never looked upon the older man with. Seated opposite of him, herself at the desk of a student, and he in front of the chalkboard, the image of teacher and student is at odds with the strength holding her head up. The strength behind her gaze.

“It’s no different than trying to create a paradise without death. There will be nothing to strive for. If there is no despair, there cannot be hope. If there is not sadness, there cannot be happiness. Without that which they move toward humans are naught but husks, hollowed beings without purpose. Perhaps such a world would truly be paradise for those that inhabit it, but make no mistake, they would cease being human.”

She still remembered. Someone else had taught Saki the same lesson. It had taken time for the meaning of those words to ever set in, but in recent days she had begun to understand.

‘A world that is completely red is no different from a world that is completely gray’

Repeating those words she heard once before softly, muttering them to herself, the girl stood up.

“Trying to create such a world means giving up on this humanity, sacrificing it for another. Something that this Saki, I, will never do.”

Her fists are clenched.

“You asked me before, didn’t you? If I had a dream to realize? I told you that I saw a future for myself, but even to me that answer was vague. Murky and hard to see. Not anymore.”

There’s a softness underneath her resolution. A sense of peace, of certainty. Somewhere along the line the girl plagued by self-doubt, who ran away from the future with petty games, who reveled in escapism, had disappeared. For once a girl with a sense of purpose, who yearned for the future, was standing in place of Ryuumonbuchi.

After finally finding what she had been searching for, that future she wanted was now being threatened.

“I said it before. I will win the Conception. I will stop the Great Devourer. Then I will create a world of endless color that welcomes all. Everyone will have their unique hue. Humans, Gods, and Demons alike. That is my future.”

My dream.

[Airen]

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Aoyama Gakuen

"That's right."

The smile returns.

The bond between teacher and student is one that goes both ways, just as the young learn from their elders, the sparks of truth that one can see in the young often reveal things that were forgotten a long time ago, lost with the cynicism that comes with that same age and experience.

The humanity he had decided to try to preserve was not the one he should have been fighting for, a perfect world is not the world he was attached to, it was not a place that could truly bring happiness to anyone, because it's existence defied what it meant to be alive in the first place.

If everything is perfect and stainless, than everything becomes the same; puppets on strings that are pretending to be alive, thinking that they knew what it meant to be happy, when really they would never be able to understand the meaning of joy again; it was an obvious lesson, one that had been scratching at the surface of his thoughts throughout this entire cycle, one that resembled the first in many, many ways, and...

"I'm sure the future will be something like that."

...That feeling of reborn hope.

Eyes close.

"It was surprising, asking you kids what you wanted to do, and finding such vivid answers. It made me very proud, not just you, everyone else too."

He laughs, one hand resting on the chalkboard.

"I was never much for dreams myself; even when offered the chance to win the Conception, I didn't have anything substantial enough to fight for... In comparison that woman's wish had seemed particularly vibrant... And that monster impossibly strong. So I gave up. What point is there in dying for something I wasn't sure of myself?"

He laughs again, but while his words might hint that there should be... There's no real self-reproach in it.

"But now... Now I think have my own Reason."

Ultimately, this was all part of his selfishness.

He had wanted to explain to someone before the end, why he did what he did, and why he was going to do what he was going to do.

"I will go on ahead and defeat Chronos. What happens after that... Well, that's up to all of you."

It's a remarkably casual way of saying goodbye, so much so that you don't realize that's what it is until after it's already over.

"Cya later, Saki-chan. Surviving all of this and living happily in the future is everyone's last assignment, please let them know for me."

There are a number of reasons why he had wanted to have the meeting here, and this was one of them. Not just because they wouldn't be overheard here, but also because-

Time stops.

Even for Belial, time comes to a sudden and absolute halt.

-He had set this place up as a sort of last barrier for his students. Those who were coming should be here by now, somewhere inside of the building, and thus, he simply cuts off the building from the rest of the world, space and time coming to a sudden halt at his request.

There was no reason to endanger them in his battle.

From the start, this was his sin to make up for; thus, he can't allow anyone to pursue him and be killed as a result of it.

Knowing that he cared more about his charges than his own self, it was quite possible the God would target them in order to damage him; so he will remove that as an option before it even appears.

At least, that's what seems to be the motive.

Perhaps, instead, he's simply leaving this behind as his legacy? A group that would be able to continue the fight if he went down, or merely ensuring that someone would remember that "Nakahara Katsuro" existed at one point in the past.

In the end, it's difficult for anyone to know the motivation.

He had always been vague and difficult, even to himself... But...

Leaving a certain Golden Pocket-Watch wrapped around the wrist of Saki Ryuumonbuchi, the youthful teacher steps outside into the a world growing thick with storm clouds and upcoming rain; physical signs of the supernatural storm that he knew would come to a head soon, now that the God of Darkness too had been set loose in the world.

"Alright..."

Talking to himself, taking one last look back...

"Time to put an end to this."

He walks away from the school for the last time.

---

Saki Ryuumonbuchi
Aoyama Gakuen (Magatsu Aoyama)

The sensation is that of the world changing irrevocably in the course of but a single frame.

A well-lit room inhabited by your teacher becomes that of a darker school without fluorescent or natural lights, outside the windows the grey fog has become a more smog-like black, and the skies themselves have turned to a noxious shade of crimson.

Wrapped around your arm, is the shape of the pocket watch the older man had been messing around with when you had first walked into the classroom.

"Atonement through self-sacrifice?"

Belial is unamused.

"Humans are moronic entities."

The rest of the school is dead silent.