The wind howled through the cavern. Mio Amakura's slender frame entered. She paused for a breath and nearly fell over, so exhausted from the battle with the Kusabi. But she had to keep going. Mayu was waiting...She couldn't abandon her!
A panicked yell went up from across the room. "The Repentance!" Several priests came rushing through, past Mio. Her heart filled with dread. Was she already too late? She pushed onward.
Mayu sat in the Abyss' chamber, to Mio's relief. But she paid her sister little heed. Instead, Mayu began to speak: "So, this time you couldn't escape alone." "Mayu..." whispered Mio. Mayu went on. "But it is already too late." The cave rumbled gravely. Darkness rose from the Abyss, like the tendrils of some horrible monster. "The Abyss has awoken. The time of the Repentance is here." Mayu paused briefly.
"If only you had fled from here, you at least would have been saved."
Mio's heart filled with a bitter sweetness at that remark. Even now, her twin still wanted her to flee, to live! But she couldn't do that... Collapsing near Mayu, she asked, "How could I stand being alone, with all that pain and sadness? I'm here with you, Mayu. Even if it's just for this short time..." The cave shook violently, as tendrils of darkness wafted out of the Abyss. Mio rested her head on Mayu's shoulder. "This is the end...and I want us to be together."
The darkness broiled, rumbled, and growled like a fearsome beast, but even as it erupted to engulf them, Mio felt calm, only whispering:
"This time, we fall together."
X X X
…
…
…
Light. Noises. People talking...
Huh?!
Mio stopped herself suddenly, as she regarded her surroundings.
This is that festival, isn't it? That festival...when we were children...And...
As if on cue, Mayu's voice rose up from behind her: "Mio! Wait for me!" Mio turned to see her desperately pushing through the crowd. When Mayu reached Mio, they joined hands, and went through the Festival together. The decorations, the games, and all the other sights were as beautiful as they had always been. But the best was yet to come.
Amidst a mass of chattering, Mio and Mayu stopped, looking to the stars. Thousands of papier-mache lanterns rose to the heavens, like a flock of crimson butterflies. The twins stared, awe-struck. "It's beautiful!" said Mayu happily, with a little bounce.
That's what I thought, too... remarked Mio, inside. Maybe we aren't so different after all...
Fireworks lit the night. Amidst all the joy, and celebration, a thought flitted through Mio's mind:
If only this day could last forever.
X X X
None of this was occurring in the real world, of course. The darkness roared through the village, and beyond, engulfing even the twins' memory-filled clearing.
At the heart of darkness, in the Abyss' chamber, lay Mio and Mayu. They felt no pain, no sadness, no fear. Nothing. Just happiness, and a sense of final, eternal togetherness. As they dreamed of the Festival, and other happy memories and events, the Reaper quietly pulled them together, into his eternal embrace...
X X X
"Death is the beginning of immortality."
~Maximilien Robespierre
FIN