O the cunning wiles that creep
In thy little heart asleep
When thy little heart doth wake,
Then the dreadful night shall break.
Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama, Brighter Days Orphanage
11/16/2026
Monday - Early Morning
Behind ruby eyes lay an endless expanse. A galaxy of bright crimson fell upon the pages, an eternity weighing down upon the print. A page that was once blank spoke into the void, and the void listened. There is no sound of pen against parchment. The ink glides across the page with a ghostly silence, as though one lost to the past is writing from beyond the grave.
The girl holding the journal falls silent as she, and all of her, read what is written.
To those Living in the Future
We pray that you find the Freedom you Deserve
Words on paper resonated in a toneless, blank voice. They reverberated and bounced through her inner self, searching for meaning. What freedom did she deserve? She had already so much freedom. The freedom to smile, to laugh, to learn, to be happy and to be sad, to cry and to fight, to be victorious and be defeated. So many doors were closed to her now, but she had within her the will to shatter those locks.
If such a thing is not freedom, then what is? Was this truly for her?
Yet as she sought an answer, the invisible hand did not stop to wait.
The Truth you Seek
A Successful Journey
And A Self You Can Love
Crimson eyes widened, and the girl’s grip on the book tightened. The doubt that the writing was meant for her washed away.
The man in the crystal garden?
The Man of Light, whose voice and presence eased her anxiety, pushed away her fears with just a few light words of encouragement. Who she felt compelled to open her heart to, that she who knew only trust could trust above all else.
It was a dream far detached from the others. There was no terror, no end of all things. No premonition of despair.
As she clutched at the edges of the pages, fingers turning white at the tips…
Best Wishes
Zerah, Yamuna, Preciel, Dawn, Hyperion, Aurora, Honoka, Genbu, Kayda, Matsuda
The writing continued. The world felt like it crawled to a standstill as the names of the ones who presumably sent this message were spelled out before Hyakka. The blank galaxy that was her mind searched and searched, but those names… they didn’t return anything.
Their letter had blown her soul with a gust of frozen wind, rattled her being. Yet their names… they were just writing before her.
May Ten and Ten Never Meet Ten
The last words were written, and her eyes fell. She didn’t understand. What was the meaning of this message? Who is the Man of Light, and who is Zerah? How are they related… and how is she related to them?
The frustration of not knowing herself bubbled up. Little droplets of tears began to appear at the edges of her eyes, and when she looked up and adjusted to wipe them away…
Hello!
One final word appeared.
“H-huh?”
The girl looked around, shaking away the tears in the process. Little droplets of frustration disappeared into her already wet hair, lost in the bathroom forever. Hopefully unseen by Alice.
"Huh... Self writing book... Haven't seen one of those in awhile, sort of a gimmick item... Or is it just possessed...? I don't think he'd give me something possessed..."
“Umm! S-self writing? It said hello to me… I… I…”
Lost and confused, Hyakka bounced her eyes from Alice to the book, to the wall where the other Alice was, then back to the book, then to Alice, and the book again.
“H-hello?” With hesitation, she spoke back to it. Uncertainty that such an object could be spoken to was written clear as day on her, yet she persevered. “I am Hyakka. What’s your name?”