"Help me! Someone please, help me!" The young, frightened schoolgirl cried desperately, but the only thing that called back to her was her own pleas that echoed around her in the empty hallways of the school. Screaming for help as she ran and gasped for breath she dared to look over her shoulder, only to have her shrill cries increase in amount and volume as she came to find her assailant was closing in no matter how fast she ran.
"Somebody! Anybody!" She cried out, her voice cracking as warm tears ran down her face. How could this happen to her? Why was this happening to her? "Hel-!" Her cries were cut short by a loud pop that stung her ears and overpowered her waning voice. Shortly after, a sharp pain bloomed in her calf that slowly began to travel up her leg the more she ran. With the pain quickly becoming too much for her to bear, she was only able to make a few more hasty steps before falling to the ground in a sobbing heap. Cringing and crying out in pain, she grasped her leg, her fingers quickly becoming covered by the warm, sticky feeling of blood that had begun to dye her leg a brilliant crimson.
"No!" She sobbed, pressing her face against the cold hallway floor as the ominous footsteps grew closer. "No…"
"Are you done running yet?" A shiver ran through her body that was burning from the pain. Hearing the voice she'd come to know- the voice that she'd come to love, even- saying such cold words hurt her more than the wound from the bullet that had driven itself clean through her leg. "If I keep you alive any longer, my teacher will be angry with me."
"Mugi!" She gasped, looking up with tear-filled eyes at the girl who now stood over her. Her blue eyes were empty and her lips were drawn into a straight, blank line. It was almost impossible to believe those eyes had looked at her lovingly only the day before and those lips were smiling only for her. And that hand that now clutched a gun and pointed the barrel at her used to be the one she warmly held in hers. Even though it was all in front of her, as clear as the pain that was burning from her leg, she didn't want to believe it. "Mugi…you…you can't!"
"I can't?" Mugi asked monotonously, cocking her head to the side. "Why is that?"
"Because…" The girl started to sob even more heavily. The words that used to be so easy to say now seemed to escape her and burn her throat and tongue. "Because I lo-" Her words were cut short by a second loud pop, followed by a sickening splattering noise as a second bullet pieced through her skull, burying itself deep into her brain. Her body shuddered only a moment before going absolutely still, her sobs and heavy breathing ceasing. Unsatisfied, Mugi pulled the trigger again, yet another bullet lodging itself into the dead girls body. She repeated the same action over and over, not even sparing the girl a hint of mercy, even in death. Blood began to spray up from the corpse as it was pelted again and again with bullets. The warm spray flew up, dying Mugi's skin and uniform in speckles of red, but she paid them no mind as the emptied the gun of every last bullet. By the time she was finished, still continuing to pull the trigger a few more times despite the empty sounding click that followed, the girl's body was unrecognizable. Her face was demolished, now nothing but a red and pink mess of blood, torn up muscle and brain that slowly oozed outward onto the floor and around Mugi's feet. Her body, too, was riddled with holes, her own uniform bathed in her own blood. There was no inch of the girl now that wasn't a crimson hue.
Mugi looked down at her for a short moment, her eyes just barely giving the bloody mess that used to be a girl one final look that bordered some sort of sympathy. But as quick as the girl's life was ended, the look was erased from her features as she turned around and walked away from the bloody mass. Walking down the hall, she didn't look back once. The girl was just as dead to her as she was dead to the world. There wasn't any point on looking back to something that no longer mattered anymore.
But as Mugi walked away a girl peered around the corner, having witnessed the whole thing. But instead of looking at the horrific scene with fear, she looked on with disgust, her eyes narrowing angrily.
"And what, might I ask, is a student doing here so late at night?" An icy voice asked her from behind. The girl heaved a sigh, throwing the same angry look she'd given Mugi over her shoulder to whoever was behind her. It was an older man, dressed from head to toe like a good-to-do teacher. A smile was on his lips, but it was twisted and sick, and he looked at her with eyes that looked like he wanted to do to her what Mugi had just done to the other girl. "You know it's against the rules."
"You're on to talk about rules, Kevin," she hissed, turning all the way around as she folded her arms in disapproval. "That girl was supposed to die in a car accident months ago. Why is it that her death was postponed so long and was a result of a gunshot wound? You certainly aren't in any position to be lenient with orders."
"All that matters is the result," Kevin told her, his sick smile curling into a frown. "As long as the girl dies it shouldn't matter how or when. And you shouldn't even be digging that filthy little nose of yours in other peoples business." His twisted grin returned, his eyes taking on an even heavier killing intent. "Or do you want me to destroy that pretty little face of yours? I'd gladly give up my position as a shinigami if I was promised the opportunity to slaughter you for all eternity."
"You're treading a line with the higher-ups, you sick psycho." She spat back at him. "And I know for a fact you're not just doing your job; you're much too slimy and conniving for that." Her hand quickly reached for her own weapon as soon as she saw Kevin reach for something of his. The both of them stopped short, hands hovering over where the two of them had hidden their own personal weapons. "The fact you're willing to go through the trouble of trying to kill me again is all the proof I need to know you're up to something."
"Don't be so stupid, Alexis," Kevin sneered. "You're speaking as if you think I believe you're some sort of threat to me. Believe me when I say that nothing you can do would do any good, and the only reason I'd want to kill you is because I enjoy the satisfaction I feel watching you bleed." He straightened up, allowing his arm to loosely hang at his side again. "It's a look that actually works for you." A quick blink later, Kevin had disappeared, leaving Alexis all alone in the hall as the whining sound of sirens began to fill the air and red and blue lights bathed the hallway. She looked back around the corner, giving the demolished body of the girl one last look before turning away, once again, in disgust and vanishing just as the other two had done.
Mugi walked along the long, white corridor, keeping her gaze focused on the ground to shield them from the harsh, fluorescent light that shown down on her. It seemed forever ago when she questioned what string of events would continue to bring her back to this one, seemingly-endless, narrow hallway with doors that led to nowhere. But now she'd come to blindly accept how her senses would abandon her and return the moment she found herself walking zombie-like down the hall. Blood still clung to her uniform and the stench wafted into her nose. It was such a familiar scent, like the one that usually clung to her, she'd come to almost enjoy the stench.
"Why?" Mugi couldn't help but jump as an unfamiliar voice suddenly filled the quiet hallway. She whirled around, coming face to face with a girl about her age, looking at her bitterly. Something about her seemed familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was the uniform she was wearing, or maybe it was the headband that held back her bangs. Maybe it was the look in her eyes.
"Who are you?" Mugi asked, sharply, "No one is supposed to be-" Before Mugi could continue her questioning, the girl seemed to vanish before her eyes, giving Mugi one last sad look before she disappeared. Mugi's mouth hung open, her unspoken words being choked off by the girl's vanishing act. Rubbing her head in confusion she heard footsteps echo through the hallway. Shaking off the lost look of confusion on her face she turned around to meet who was behind her- to meet him.
"Well done, my student." Mugi looked upward to see the face of the man she had come to know as her teacher. He was the only familiar face she knew, the only voice and form that didn't fade from her memories. He was always there to welcome her back and congratulate her on a job well done with a manic smile. But today, under his usual grin was a strange, alien look. His smile was layered on top of disappointment and his eyes looked at her in an almost tired way.
"Is something the matter, teacher?" She asked him. "Did I not do exactly as you said?" His gaze softened at her question, though not enough to totally hide the underlying look of deep madness.
"You did fine, you obeyed every order to the letter," He told her, reaching out to wipe a smear of blood away from her cheek. "Top marks, as always." Again, there was a sound of bitterness in his voice. But she decided against questioning it and gave him an obedient smile.
"Thank you, my teacher." She paused to bow to him briefly before looking back up to meet his eyes. "What is it that you'd have me do next?" She knew exactly what words to tell him by now and she knew words that mimicked eagerness to spill even more blood was what satisfied him the most. She could tell by his eyes that she'd chosen the right words again, but he shook his head.
"For now, you should rest. You have another long task ahead of you, I'd hate for something so perfect to become dull from overuse." He told her with a strange-sounding fondness. With those words he began to turn away before turning back to her one last time.
"That girl-"
"The one you told me to kill?" Mugi asked blankly.
"Yes her…" He muttered. "Did you… love her?"
"I only loved her because you told me to, teacher," Mugi told him. "But I'm sure she believed that I truly did. Why?" The strange look of disappointment came again before he shook his head and turned his back on her.
"It's nothing." He said, not sparing another word as he walked away. Mugi watched him go, biting the inside of her cheek nervously. Why had he looked at her that way, as if she had somehow slipped up despite having followed his commands to the letter as she always did? If this continued, would he have any trouble with throwing her away? She drew her hand up slightly, her fingers tracing around the outline of the gun in her pocket. Along with the feeling of her hand coiled around its frame, he was the only thing that was familiar to her. Without him, there was no doubt in her mind she'd dissolve into nothingness.
"At this rate, maybe he'll throw you away," another unfamiliar voice spoke behind her whimsically. Gasping, Mugi went through the same familiar motions, the gun appearing in her hand almost automatically as she whipped around. Her finger was braced on the trigger as she pointed it at whoever had sneaked up behind her again. It wasn't the girl with the headband from before- instead it was a brown haired girl who looked directly at the gun that was pointed at her head like the threat of having her brains blown out seemed humorous. The sick grin on her face and the look in her eyes almost mimicked her teacher's.
"Who are you?" Mugi hissed, half expecting this girl to also vanish before her eyes and give even more proof to the fact that maybe she was starting to go insane. However, the girl remained, but remained silent as she continued to look at her amusedly. "I said who are you!?"
"You've changed," She answered almost immediately. "Or maybe it's him who changed you…"
"Answer my question!" Mugi barked.
"He's using you, you know?" The girl asked. "It's only a matter of time before he gets what he wants and throws you away. You blindly obeying his every whim will only drive you closer to that point."
"What are you-"
"You're master -or shall I say your teacher- doesn't plan on keeping you." The girl continued with a smirk. " Once his plans come to fruition, he won't need you anymore. You can perform every trick he asks of you with perfect precision and in the end he'll still dispose of you." Mugi looked at her angrily, refusing to lower her weapon. In fact, with each passing word about her teacher simply tossing her to the side, her finger pressed down on the trigger more and more. It was all a matter of time before this new girl would be bathed in blood.
"You're wrong!" Mugi shouted. "He'd never do that do me! I've served him all my life I-"
"You've forgotten about so much already." The girl sighed, shaking her head, daring to take a step closer to Mugi and her gun. "Don't you remember your friends: the ones he made you brutally kill? Don't you remember me?" The girl reached out, fearless of the barrel of the gun that was now pressed right up against her head as she gently ran a hand along Mugi's cheek.
"Shut up!" Mugi growled angrily, finally finding it in herself to pull the trigger, but her bullet only rang through empty air. She began to suspect she'd imagined it all and she felt hands snake their way up her sides from behind.
"Your teacher is a sinner," the girl hissed in her ear. "He made you kill your friends to create new, distorted worlds. Killed with such strong feelings for you and for others, their souls refused to pass on and created distorted realities that fed off their sadness that slowly mutated into madness." Mugi tried to turn around, but as soon as she moved, she felt the girl grip her sides tightly, nails somehow piercing through her blood-splattered uniform and finding skin. "He saw it happen before, and he was successful enough to manufacture them again. And now he's sending you after more innocent people, trying to create a bond between you and them that will drive them to create more distorted worlds in death."
"Why would he do that?" Mugi questioned sharply, trying to writhe out of the girls grip.
"The new worlds your friends created when they died are slowly starting to expand, just as he had hoped, and if left unchecked they'll merge with actual reality and throw the world into a chaos that me and others like me won't be able to control."
"If you think he's doing something like that, then fix it yourself!"
"I can't- no one in those distorted worlds have any attachment to me or my cohorts, so we can't enter them. You, on the other hand, can. You may not remember them, but believe me when I say you knew them once and you'll be able to slip into those worlds and stop them from expanding any further."
"I don't care what happens to reality," Mugi snapped, finally finding the strength to pull away, but feeling the nails that had ripped through her clothes drawing blood as she did. She bit back a gasp of pain as she whirled around, ready to fire a second shot. "What makes you think I would work against my teacher? He taught me- he cared for me!"
"And when those worlds collide with reality, he won't!" The girl shouted. "I told you, he's only using you to manufacture new distorted worlds, and once they merge with reality he won't need to make them anymore. He won't need you anymore, Mugi!"
"You're lying!" Mugi screamed, pressing the trigger angrily. This time the girl didn't move out of the way and chose to calmly stand her ground as the bullet just barely grazed her cheek, leaving a wound that quickly began to bleed out. "He would never… My teacher wouldn't just…"
"You're desperate need to be wanted is what binds you to him, but all he wants is what you can create for him. Once he has what he wanted, he'll no longer want you, don't you understand?" The girl glared at her, not bothering to wipe away the blood that was trickling down her face. "If you truly want to be wanted, you'll stop him. There are people you've forgotten about who want you more than you know."
"Get out!" Mugi snapped. "Get out or I'll shoot again, and this time I won't miss!" The girl sighed in frustration, shrugging.
"If you don't want to believe me, fine, but if you decide to change you're mind you'll know what to do." Mugi watched the girl carefully as she turned her back, vanishing before her eyes moments later.
"He'll never throw me away!" Mugi muttered. "He'd never do that to me!" Angrily she spun around, pocketing her gun. There was no way he would ever do such a thing, not after she had been his loyal student for so long! She repeated the same thought to herself over and over again for hours, angrily pacing along the endless, white corridor. Eventually, she found herself on the ground, leaning against the wall and looking up at one of the glaring lights that illuminated the hallway that was spastically blinking unlike the ones around it. She'd taken out her gun once again, trying to keep herself from driving herself into madness with its familiar shape.
He'll never throw me away! He'll never throw me away!
"Help…" Mugi shot up, whipping her head from side to side, weapon at the ready. At first there was nothing there, just the remains of the small whisper that echoed off the walls. But there, in the glaring lights stood the girl with the headband, clutching at her chest like it hurt. "Please…you have to help them."
"Help who!?" Mugi yelled. The girl looked back at her sadly, her figure blurring and fading out for a few seconds, like an image on a TV screen. "Who am I supposed to help!?"
"Your friends." The girl said, her voice sounding like she had been crying. "They need you. We need you."
"Shut up! Shut UP!" Mugi screamed. "Whoever you are… Whoever all of you are, I won't help you! I don't need to help you!" She pointed her gun at the girl, who frowned.
"Please… you're the only one who can help them!" She begged. "If you do, you'll recover your memories you've lost up until now! You'll be happy again!"
"SHUT UP! I AM HAPPY!"
"Then why are you crying, Mugi?" Mugi gasped, reaching up to touch her cheek just as a warm tear rolled down, flowing around her finger. Why was she crying? She didn't even realize she had been. Only then did she realize her eyes were brimmed and burning with them and an ache was suddenly welling in her chest. Something in the back of her mind started to play, a distant melody she could have sworn she heard once before, smiles on faces she couldn't make out fully, words that were just on the tip of her tongue- she couldn't pin point any of them, everything was blurred and distant. But, something about them seemed familiar and along with the tears something new bloomed in her chest for a short moment before fading away with the faded memory. When she came back around, the girl was holding out her hand, giving her a soft smile.
"Don't you want to feel that way again?" She asked. "Don't you want to feel happy?"
"Who…who are you?" Mugi asked, reaching out her hand but pulling back, waiting for the girl to answer.
"When you save our friends and truly find that happiness you lost, you'll know." Mugi looked at her, unsure about her own decision. She had no idea what she was getting into, no idea what would happen it she took that outstretched hand. She thought of her teacher, the man she assumed had given her everything. The thought of how unhappy he would be with her decision was enough to make her resolve waver. But looking back at the girl who still held out her hand brought it right back.
"But… just so you know…" The girl added just as Mugi's hand hovered over hers. "You may not like what you see."
A blinding light encircled them the moment their hands met. Mugi covered her eyes, stumbling backward in surprise. She gasped as she felt herself loose her sense of balance, as she continued to shield her eyes from the blinding light. But, as she fell the light vanished, leaving her to fall to the ground in a newfound darkness that was just as surprising as the sudden, bright light. Where had the corridor gone, and where was she now? The ground below her was soft and wet and the air around her was cool and filled with the sound of chirping crickets. Clumsily, Mugi tried to stand only to loose balance again as her knees met the strange feeling earth beneath her. She groped around, trying to find the girl in the headband.
"Hello?" she called, hands finding nothing but air in the darkness. "Where are you?" She paused before she became consumed by panic, taking in a long breath as she allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness. As she did, a familiar smell wafted into her nose as shadows and shapes began to become clear. The darkness was soon parted by moonbeams shining through thick trees that surrounded her. From where she sat, she could see a shrine hidden within the wood. Now all that remained was the strange, squishy earth she had toppled onto.
The moment she looked down the familiar smell made much more sense. Underneath her were the bodies of two priestesses and an older priest who she assumed to have been guarding the shrine. Their bodies had been gouged and chopped up, stab wounds riddling their bodies and faces, but not enough that she couldn't make out their faces with their mouths still wide as if still continuing to scream. Even some body parts had been hacked clean off and littered the dyed-red ground around her. She could now feel their warm, pungent blood soaking into her clothes as their eyes looked up at her, still wide with fright.
"Ah!" She sharply gasped, quickly leaping off of them and stumbling into dry grass. The last words the girl had told her echoed in her mind about how she wouldn't like what she saw. So far, her assumption was pretty accurate.
Then, above the noise of her own panicked breathing she heard a softer noise echoing from somewhere in the wood. Someone, somewhere, was crying; maybe a priestess who had been spared from the bloody massacre. Uneasily getting to her feet, Mugi looked around, trying her best to search out where the sound was coming from. A short while later, her search led her to the shrine, it's doors opened just a crack enough to let the sound of crying filter out. Quietly, Mugi approached the shrine, but just as her own shadow blocked the sliver of moonlight that was shining into the shrine, the sobbing abruptly stopped. For a moment, it was just the sound of crickets again and Mugi's suppressed breathing as she slowly reached out towards the doors.
However, before she could open them herself, they flew open, something swiping at her less than a second later. Gasping she leaped back, feeling something rush just passed her throat. She hardly had any time to find her balance again before she was attacked again, this time feeling something scrape at her uniform. Now fully in the moonlight she could see her attacker: A girl, about her age, with short, messy brown hair. Her navy blue uniform was caked in blood and she held a knife in a white-knuckle grip in her hand. She didn't have much time to observe further as she girl lunged at her again, furiously grunting as she tried to slice her open.
"Wait! Stop! I'm not going to hurt you!" Mugi gasped, feeling herself finally fall backward. "Stop! I want to help!" She watched in horror as the girl thrust her weapon at her, stopping the assault inches away from her throat as she said she was there to help. The two of them breathed heavily, looking back at each other. The girl's eyes were wide, possibly with madness, her body shaking just as much as Mugi's. And her gaze only grew wider as she dropped her knife, allowing it to fall to the grass as her mouth hung open.
"M…Mugi?" The girl dryly gasped, her shaking hands covering her mouth as she spoke. "Why… you… you're supposed to be-" She stumbled away, her own clumsy feet eventually tripping her and sending her falling to the ground. All Mugi could do was look at the girl, confusion in her eyes.
"You… I…" The girl's expression slowly began to soften as she began to accept Mugi's presence bit by bit. "I've really gone mad, haven't I?" She hid her face in her hands, shaking her head as her shoulders, too, began to quiver. Mugi continued to look on, still lost on how the girl knew her name and why it was so shocking she was there, but something inside her forced her forward, bringing the girl into a warm hug. Immediately she felt the girls arms wrap around her, pulling herself close enough that Mugi could feel the tremors of each sob.
"Mugi…" She cried heavily, her grip tightening as she spoke her name. "You're alive… you're alive…" She buried her face into Mugi's chest, continuing to cry. "Thank you! Thank you…" The two of them remained that way for what seemed like hours before the girl's sobbing finally subsided.
"Everyone's gone." The girl finally said.
"Who?"
"Everyone! After I lost everyone… after I lost you, I couldn't stand it. I felt as if I'd lost everything and I hated the world for continuing on without all of you! So I…" She pulled away, looking down at her quivering hands. "So… I…" Teardrops began to fall again, splashing against her palms.
"You what?" Mugi asked, though she felt she didn't want to know the answer.
"I decided that the only way to sooth my own pain… would be to cause others the same pain I was feeling! I've killed so many people, Mugi… and I can't stop! Ui… my parents… Sawa-chan…" She went dead silent for a moment before looking up at Mugi with tear filled eyes. "Why… Why did you do this to me?"
"What?" The girl reached up before Mugi could stop her, clutching at Mugi's throat. She gasped in surprise, unable to swallow hardly any air to form it.
"Why did you do this to me, Mugi!? Why did you decide to make me suffer!? Why me!?" The madness that had been in the girl's eyes beforehand returned as she tightened her grip, shaking Mugi vigorously as she did so. Mugi tried to gasp for breath, but she couldn't seem to draw in a single ounce of air into her lungs.
"St-Stop!" She cried hoarsely. "Pl… please-"
"Tell me why I'm suffering, Mugi! Tell me why you did this to me!" Everything began to feel like some sort of crazy dream. Mugi's head began to feel light as she barely perceived herself being pushed backward onto the grass. Everything was slowly beginning to become fuzzy and blurred, and she could hardly lift her limbs to try and pry the girl off. Why was she so mad at her. What had she done to her?
"Why couldn't you have just killed me!?" Her words rang in Mugi's head, echoing as blurry images in her mind became clearer.
Kill her? That's right, I killed them, didn't I? ...Wait, who is them? Who did I…?
Expressionless faces suddenly gained smiles and kind eyes in her head quickly, followed by a scene bathed in blood and filled with screams. She couldn't recognize anyone- girls she had beat to death, one she had strangled, just as she was being strangled now… but one girl… the last girl… a name became paired with the tear streaked face in her mind as he eyes opened wide.
"Yu…" She rasped, using scraps of energy she had left to reach upward, her fingertips that had begun to grow numb gently running down the girl's face. "Yui… I… I'm sorry…" Each word felt like it was drawing the very life out of her as everything began to fade to black.
I'm going to die. I finally remembered one of my dear friends, one of those smiling faces…and she's going to kill me…
The pressure around her neck suddenly loosened and she reflexively filled her lungs graciously with air before she began to cough madly. Her vision began to become clear again, her lightheaded feeling quickly being replaced with a headache as she coughed.
"Do you really mean that?" She heard Yui ask softly. Mugi lifted her head from the grass, looking up to see her, her eyes filled with tears. But below them a smile was on her face. "You're…sorry?" Likewise, Mugi also began to cry, a flood of emotions reaching her now that she could breath.
"I am! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have gone so far as to do something so cruel to our friends and…" Mugi struggled up, sniffling as she fell forward into Yui. "I shouldn't have been so cruel as to leave you alone to suffer!"
"Ah…" Yui mumbled before her sobbing grew heavily as the two girls embraced one another, filling the air with their sobs.
"Yui! I'm so sorry I did this to you!" Mugi cried. "Please… please forgive me!"
"Mugi…" Yui sobbed lightly. "I'll forgive you if you do…one last thing for me."
"Anything!" Mugi told her. "Anything, just name it!"
"I want you to finish what you started." Yui told her. "I want you to kill me." Mugi leaned backward in surprise, but a warm smile still remained on Yui's face as tears continued to flow.
"What?"
"I've done so many horrible things since you left," Yui told her. "I not only murdered my family, but I've killed so many innocent people. I can't continue on living with what I've done. Now all I want to do is finally rest and see all our friends again." Mugi hesitated. This wasn't like the other girls her teacher had sent her out to befriend and slaughter all those times. This was Yui: Clumsy, happy-go-lucky Yui!
"Yui, I-"
"Please… If you don't, I'll end up killing again! I want all of this to just stop!" Yui looked at her hopefully as Mugi turned around, looking to the knife she had dropped a short distance away.
"Is this really what you want?" She asked, to which Yui responded with a nod and a smile.
"Everyone is waiting for me." Mugi looked to the ground, contemplating her decision before giving in to Yui's demands. Reaching out she grasped the knife, holding it aloft so that it was positioned right above Yui's heart.
"I'm sorry…again," Mugi told her guiltily as she felt Yui's hands wrap around her own, ready to guide the blade towards her chest.
"It's alright," Yui said softly. "I forgive you." Mugi shut her eyes tight as she plunged the knife deep into Yui's chest. A gasp exited her lips, which filled Mugi with worry, but as she pried her eyes open she was met with a smile as blood bubble fourth from her mouth. The knife was buried all the way to the hilt inside of her, but there wasn't a scrap of pain in her expression. In fact, she looked more peaceful than ever before.
"I'll… see you soon… Mugi…" Yui uttered before exhaling softly one last time.
"I hope so… Yui…" Mugi said, choking back sobs as she held her friend's now-limp body close to her.
While Mugi held her motionless friend close to her, the scenery around them began to dissolve, the blinding bright light from before beginning to shine through the cracks that had begun to form. Mugi closed her eyes tightly, feeling Yui slowly dissolve along with the woods that surrounded them.
"We'll see each other soon. Just wait a little while longer."
"You're behind this, aren't you?" An angry voice boomed. Alexis turned around, looking away from the darkness that shrouded her own domain. Behind her stood Kevin, looking furious, which caused her to grin all the wider.
"Whatever could you mean?" She asked with a smirk.
"You know exactly what you mean, you slimy little bitch!" He snapped, just motions away from tearing her smile off of her face. "You sent Mugi into the distorted worlds of her friends! You knew she was the only one who could dismantle them!"
"I didn't do anything," she laughed. "I did tell her about your stupid little plot, but it seems she decided to go because of her own decision." She continued to laugh lightly, the chuckle slowly growing. "Isn't that something: your loyal little tool is going to be the end of you!"
"Why you…" Kevin began to snarl, but he stopped, gaining composure. "Heh, no matter. Your plan is the plan that isn't going to work. Mugi, in the end, will see that what she's trying to do is futile. And, in the end, I'll lose a valuable student, but I'll have gained an entire world just for me to control." It was his turn to laugh as Alexis gave him an ugly look. "My dear Mugi is the only person who can enter the words those sad souls have created for themselves, and I know for a fact she isn't going to survive. You'll lose your final playing piece in this game soon enough, I assure you!"
"All this gloating is getting me excited for watching you fall," Alexis snapped.
"We'll see who watches who fall, my dear," Kevin smirked. "But I know for a fact that, from where I've positioned myself, it will be immensely breathtaking watching you suffer when I take control."