A/N: Obviously neither Shin Megami Tensei or Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san are mine
Summary: In one timeline, they married, their daughter was born, and they lived happily ever after . . . in all other broken timelines, they vied for power over the universe, she lost her sanity from a vicious attack, and he killed her in cold blood.
Your heart wishes for a kingdom that rejoices in conflict. Very well . . . The time of creation is upon you.
The light rays blasted across the world and the light of the fire God self-immolated to beacon a new world . . . Yosuga.
He stared up at the bright glow of the newly minted moon as silence pervaded the lifeless area. What was once bright, flashing light with a cacophony of noise was now nothing more than solitude in an empty world.
I suppose this must mean that I did it . . . He thought to himself, I've killed them all; Hikawa, Isamu, Thor, Kagutsuchi . . . and . . .
He felt a stabbing sensation in his chest. He held back the tears that threatened to spill. I'm finally back to being human again, it's been so long and this journey so vast that I had forgotten what it was like to feel this overflow of emotion . . .
He reflected on his journey and his parting when he had murdered Baal Avatar to prove which one of them was the stronger to carry on the Reason of Yosuga. Ah, no . . . it wasn't the demonic form of my body that did this to me . . . it was closing off any sensitivity and being forced to treat every new encounter as a threat. I became so use to it that I normalized it as my chosen world . . . Her chosen world . . . I . . .
The howling of the wind picked-up and swept across his bare body as he looked ahead of him. The screams of the wind were foreboding, but he felt calmed by the noise. No more demons, nothing to worry about so far . . . Now, it'll just be me fighting to keep atop an empire of corpses . . .
He looked away from the blue skies and brown dearth to properly examine his body. Inwardly, he felt himself relax and surprised himself with the relief that wafted through to his very core. No longer a monster like all those demons . . . finally . . .
He began to look around as he felt a presence near him. It can't be . . . I murdered her with my own hands . . .
Suddenly, the presence grew in prominence from the back of his head and he swiftly turned his head to see . . .
Her majestic ghost. His breath caught to his throat as he stared at the woman that he had murdered. The woman that he had . . .
His heart shattered as he knew what would come next and realized that he wouldn't be able to stop it. She had chosen her path, he had accepted it and wielded it for the both of them, and that decision would forever haunt his remaining lifetime.
To anybody else, you would look like a typical ghost, thought the erstwhile Demifiend, But to me, you were always drop-dead gorgeous . . . it's my fault just as much as yours for this to be our chosen path. I wish . . .
She brushed her hair, a habit of hers from when she was human, and drank in the details of his return to his human form in silence. He stared at her ghostly human form just the same. So much to be conveyed in so little time . . . She remained silent for a moment and just seemed to accept the results that he brought forth.
I wish . . .
"Congratulations, Nishikata," spoke her melodic voice, her face radiated pure joy. "You've created the world of Yosuga."
His heart thumped as he tried to imprint every word that she spoke; he knew it would be the last time that they ever met. He felt pride overwhelm him at finally making her happy without any of the sarcastic methods that she usually employed . . . and felt his heart shatter abruptly after the prideful feelings dissolved.
Why did it take your death for me to finally make you happy? Why were we never able to embrace each other when we had the chance?
"It's a strong and beautiful kingdom, for those who attain the height of power."
Ah . . . there it is, thought Nishikata, One thing that took me far too long to understand about her . . . she always had unyielding faith in me. Even when I couldn't believe in myself, she always had my back. Even as madness overtook her and I, her faith in my abilities remained as a pillar.
She blinked and then closed her eyes; she turned her face to the side and appeared downcast. His lips curled to a frown at her sullen visage. "I always thought that I'd be the one to bring about the new world."
If only we hadn't loved each other, then maybe . . . maybe . . . I wish . . . !
Her ghostly chest rose and fell as she remained paused. She needed a moment to herself to keep her thoughts from going haywire. It was as if she was actually alive and breathing, but Nishikata knew better. He had felt the blood oozing from Baal Avatar as he had finished her off with his own bare hands.
He felt his heart thump faster and wished that he could feel her heart do the same next to him. I WISH . . . !
". . . But, I guess my duty was to choose you." She said.
Color seemed to return a bit to colorless apparition, but again . . . he knew better. He knew this was her last farewell. He knew they would never see each other again.
She moved her head up, forward, and kept it tilted as she looked at him with that painfully happy visage by smiling at him. Her eyes conveying the deep longing that she too felt for him. They stared at each other in quiet passion, both of them knowing that it would never be . . . Neither of them wanting to ruin what they felt with mere words. They were too immature as children and felt it too awkward in high school. Now, every opportunity left was gone . . .
Some would have said that it was just a crush . . . but Nishikata scoffed at that notion. He knew what was in his heart. He never tried to lie about his feelings before being turned into a monster and he felt it again for her after the threats were gone. Her ghostly apparition felt the same passion for him . . .
She continued to smile at him, her face tilted, and her eyes beaming with a mixture of pride, regret, and lust.
"I've completed my duty, so . . ." She continued, a twinge of her former sarcasm reemerging, "I deserve a nice long rest, don't you think?"
You mean you have no choice but to . . . thought Nishikata, as his heart continued to shatter. I WISH!
They did nothing but stare at each other in dead silence for a complete minute. Both attempting to hold onto the moment for as lengthy a time as possible. But, finally, she broke the silence.
She straightened her left ether-hand and pointed directly to his right from across him. She continued where she left off. "You're supposed to go that way."
He looked yonder out of instinct and instantly regretted it, but she seemed to insist. He listened to her words carefully. He would live to fulfill her ideal, after all.
"There you'll find eternal bliss . . ." She paused before choosing her next words. "And it's rightfully yours."
There's no bliss in this world, if you're not part of it! raged the first thought in his mind. He quickly looked back at her.
He could make out the bittersweet smile on her beautiful, colorless face; her confident smile, her full lips, her strong cheekbones, and . . . - He hungrily drank in every detail of her visage and tried to force his mind to imprint it into his memory forever.
"Thanks for everything, Nishikata," said the founder of Yosuga and keeper of his heart, "Say hi to the world I dreamed of for me."
This'll be my one and only chance . . .
"TAKAGI-SAN . . .!" cried Nishikata quickly, panic crept in his voice and he felt it croak. He continued unimpeded. He tried to ignore the fact that her body was brightening and swallowed down any remaining pride. "I LOVE YOU!"
In an instantaneous flash, she vanished from head to toe. Her ghostly remains disintegrating into the wind. Her brightness receded into nothingness and he turned to the burgeoning light from yonder.
A flash of light and dark formations of pitch-blackness began to take shape from afar; it grew and moved rapidly in tandem to slowly overtake the remnants of the broken world and reshaping it to how Nishikata saw fit.
His ideal and his new self-chosen purpose, bestowed upon him by her, emerged in front of him and set the course for the remainder of his life.
His bittersweet admission of his feelings for her were forever lost in the chilling cacophony of wind . . .