Every time, it was all the same.
He would always find himself in a dream, reliving the day when everything changed. That day, when Saya was taken away from him…
And when he'd wake up, he'd always find himself on the outskirts of Kagutsuchi… hell bent on getting to the Cauldron.
He'd travel through the lower sections of the city, as that way, he wouldn't run into any bounty hunters. But he'd run into that abomination of a former man. He'd best the Azure-obsessed monster in a fight, but wouldn't kill it. It wasn't in his business to kill him anyways- he knew someone else who would.
When he'd make it out of the sewers, he'd run into her. Her, a bouncy mess of blond hair that was always smiling. She always had energy, and she'd come along for a bit, whether he wanted to or not.
She'd make him buy food for her, but he didn't care. With an SS-level bounty on his head and the menacing title of "Grim Reaper", she was a good reminder he wasn't entirely what the NOL made him out to be.
Speaking of the NOL, he'd eventually part ways with her and make his way into Kagutsuchi's NOL branch. And whenever he got there, it was empty. Not a single soldier or librarian to be found- just empty, ornate halls.
But it was never as simple as him waltzing in, oh no. There was always a resistance- in the form of Jin Kisaragi- his brother.
He'd stand there, waiting for his arrival like always. He clutched Yukinaesa in a sick glee, screaming Ragna's name at the top of his lungs. Ragna could only clutch onto Blood-Scythe and fight back. He would best him, but would spare his brother's life. Because whether or not he believed it, he made a promise to her. And Jin was somehow involved in it.
He'd take the elevator leading down to the Cauldron, and be assaulted by that possessed suit of featureless, white armor. Whatever that thing was, its power was far beyond his own- his only saving grace against it would be someone teleporting it away.
And it was only when he reached the Cauldron did things start going wrong- because she appeared.
She took her face… she took her voice… and she warped it into such a monstrous thing, it scared him to the very core.
"Ragna!" Even the way she called his name reminded him of her. "It's been so long since I've seen you!" His grip tightened on his sword, but something stopped him. Normally, he'd be more than willing to fight Nu, but… something felt different.
Was it… apathy? Or simply accepting the defeat that would come should he fight?
…Was it wrong for him to want to go quietly, should the option present itself?
He dug his sword into the ground, letting his grip on the hilt go as he walked away from Nu- towards the Cauldron.
"Ragna?" She asked. "What are you doing?" He kneeled down to look into the depths of the maw, mismatched eyes examining the pit. "Why aren't you attacking Nu?" Ragna the Bloodedge had shown nothing but hostility to the robot girl before, so it was quite the eye-opener when he was friendly and warm.
"…Nu." He began, standing up. "Come here." Wordlessly, the Murakumo unit moved along the ground to Ragna's position. "…You want to be with me, is that right?"
"Yes! Nu would love to be with Ragna! Forever and ever and ever!" She giggled and Ragna, for some reason, wore a smile on his face. Had he cracked?
"When we're together… you know what happens, yeah?" While it clear to him, and everyone else who was watching the scene, Nu nodded like a little girl and smiled widely.
"When Ragna and Nu fall together into the Cauldron, we become one and destroy everything!" He smiled again, closing the distance between her and him with a few steps. He cupped her chin and kissed her, softly.
Nu was caught off guard, but knew what was going on. Her Murakumo armor disengaged, Nu deepened her kiss with Ragna as the two began to walk forward, teetering on the edge.
"Saya… I'm sorry." Ragna thought. "I really, really am. And Jin… I guess I'm sorry too. I made a promise to you… both of you… and I've failed you. Please, the both you, forgive me." He sighed.
"Hey, Terumi!" He called out into what normal people would assume was darkness, but Ragna knew hid figures. "I'm coming for you, Terumi!" Taking Nu's hand in his, the two fell into the Cauldron, embracing each other warmly.
"Ragna!" She cried out as she fell. "I love you, Ragna!" In his last moments, he noticed just how similar to Saya's voice that was.
"Come now, Ragna. I expected better from you. I didn't think that all it took was a few repeated loops for you to succumb to such despair." Rachel mused with a disapproving frown as she watched the events unfold before her in her cup of tea. "But I suppose it was in my nature to expect too much from a beast like you." From the tea, however, she could see a man dressed in a black suit and tie appear, his head tilted back in maniacal laughter.
"You've assumed you've won, Terumi…" Rachel mused again before noticing something different, even from the loops itself. One of the heads of the Black Beast rose from the cauldron. The right eye was a shade of emerald green, and its left was an engorged, blood-red one. With a harrowing cry, the vampire watched as the Beast's head devoured Yuuki Terumi whole.
She giggled. Even though the effects would not last, it was rather cathartic to watch that man be devoured by the beast he had once fought.
"Something wrong, milady?" Her stalwart butler, Valkenhayn asked. Rachel sipped her tea and sighed softly.
"Valkenhayn, it appears the impossible has happened. I must thank Ragna the Bloodedge."
A/N: Well, shit. Bet nobody saw this one coming.