H Chapter – One Last Point

From Beyond the Looking Glass
Serika

It was only a few moments after my life had seemingly expired that I found myself in a place I was all too familiar with –

It only happened once in awhile. Primarily after I experienced another rendition of the Hinamizawa Disaster, but most prominently in that dream I had. While my memory of the particular details was a bit hazy, I at least recognized this strange white void that seemed to stretch on forever. This was some place removed from everywhere I'd ever been, even during my brief venture through the Sea of Fragments. This was a place even removed from that – it only made sense that I'd be brought here on my path to the end of time.

I was once again in my enhanced body, that much I could tell from how much more accustomed I was to moving around. Dreamer was still nowhere to be seen, but I at least had to hope that he wasn't too far off.

The Crucible was near, that much I knew for certain. But while I was here I had to wonder – what happened to that man? The man with the red hair who had always been here?

His name – Battler, was it? That's what Mion had called him at least. In any event he was nowhere to be seen – neither was anything else either, at that. There was nothing but endless white in all directions –

Eventually I decide to just take my chances – I head off in a random direction with no real idea of what to look for. Instinct told me to try to find some sort of exit, but there was definitely more to this place than that. There was something here I had to find – at least that's what I'd come to assume after enough hunting for the truth.

The way things are now I likely don't have much time left. Saya was waiting for me, and if I couldn't get to her in time she would create her world of Null. And that was something I couldn't let happen under any circumstances.

My aimless wandering starts to get to me, although I prove to be far more resilient to my lack of progression thanks to my trek through that pitch black room. Although to some extent this entire area was no different. The only real difference was that I had no way of marking my progress.

I start running in random directions, making sure to keep going in a general 'forward' direction. My impatience was mostly fueled by the presence of my time limit, although for all I knew Saya wouldn't do a thing until I faced her head-on. Regardless, if I made no progress all would be for naught anyhow. I couldn't let an endless path deter me, although already it had done so for longer than I would have liked.

Eventually it gets to the point where I'm not sure if there was any intention in my arrival here at all – it had been apparent for quite some time, but in all reality the things I had sworn to destroy were things that were quite honestly beyond my imagination. While I've sworn to take down fate itself I had no way of really knowing if such a thing was possible to begin with – I had only sworn to do so.

The human part of me assumed that I'd just have to hit Saya until she stopped moving. But who was to say that the impending battle would be anything like that? Who was to say that we weren't already fighting? What if I had already lost and was dead? I was being toyed with by powers beyond my imagination – but all that coming to that realization did was make my desire to do something about all of this that much more intense.

I'd fight her on my own terms. I'd kill her on my own terms. I'd rewrite reality on my own terms. I won't be subject to someone else's sick and twisted game anymore. I'm going to take control of my life on a celestial level – there was no way anyone would be able to stop me at that point. And so I keep running –

For the bulk of my life, all twenty thousand years of it, I'd been subject to someone else's desires. Desires that were always misplaced or wrongfully put into action or in some instances misguided on a fundamental level. Claiming that the strong preside over the weak isn't entirely accurate, at least not from my perspective. For the people presiding over me lack the spirit and the will to even wake themselves up in the morning, let alone become a force that dictates the way people should live their lives.

Miyo Takano wanted to become a god. Misguided by the words of her equally as ignorant grandfather, she came to believe that there was merit in trying to take humanity to the next level on the evolutionary chain. Her mind was hardened at a very young age for such idiocy and no matter how bleak things got for her she never let go of that desire to transcend that human barrier.

It was because she had nothing and needed to escape. It was because she had lost everything and wanted to get back at the world. She's a killer for no other reason. Because her heart wasn't trained to give up and move on that she clung to her desperate, yet impossible dream with everything that she was.

She hated being human. She wanted to throw all of that away and evolve to the 'next level'.

For man there is no next level. There doesn't have to be. There shouldn't be. But she was too ignorant to understand that.

But back then, when her hopes and dreams had come crashing down – with that dead look in her eyes I looked at her and it was as though I'm looking at myself in a mirror. And for that I truly despise her.

But I'm different now. I'm going to take my future for myself, Sea of Fragments be damned. I'm going to reshape this world the way I want to. I'm going to use my strength to rebuild.

To a great extent, Riku Furude was weak. He'd given in to so many of his human desires and in the end he began our cycle of pain. Onigafuchi fell because he simply lacked – He lacked the determination. He lacked the will. He lacked the strength. It was because of his human weakness – a weakness that all humans share equally in, but at the same time a weakness that by no means governs our very lives.

Our human weakness leads to nothing but conflict and death. No matter the context war and peace are both inherently influenced by the whims of human nature. Yesterday's ally may become today's enemy – such is how our world functions. Such is how the weak pretend to be strong.

Money, wealth, power – none of those things make you strong. Only in the context of our society do such things translate into strength. Physical brawn doesn't necessarily attribute to strength either – will and reason are the only two measures of true strength.

Mion was strong. But her love for her family and her desire to protect them all led to her exploitation. Her family was weak and inferior. She had no place in loving them – but she did, and she would do anything to protect them. Her determination led to the loss of many lives, but even then her family took advantage of her at every turn. Why was Mion unable to make her truly just decision? Because the weak ruled every aspect of her life. The weakness of her family governed every aspect of her. And her inner reason told her that there was nothing she could ever bring herself to do about it.

Rena was just as strong. And she made a truly just decision. She would sacrifice the few for the sake of the many, even though in the end it didn't make a difference what path she chose. She didn't let the weak overturn her will – she was manipulated into doing their bidding but in the process she never let her spirit die.

Null isn't Rena's dream. Rena wants a world where she can be happy. She wants a world where human weakness can no longer control us the way it does.

Riku Furude was always wrong – the solution was never self sacrifice by itself. For by human nature 'sacrifice' would never have the same meaning or the same gravity for too long – 'sacrifice' would be nothing more than a way for a ruler to justify their weakness as something superior to true strength. Rena had given up her happiness for the sake of another's happiness in an expression of true strength. There is simply no comparison, and without a doubt I know that after Riku's sacrifice the Furude clan did just this and with each generation to such extremes that my liar of a mother would eventually commit her unforgivable sin.

My clan is shameful. Not once did we deserve to rule Hinamizawa.

But now I fully intend to put an end to all of it.

Only the strong can rebuild. The weak will always leave holes for the mistakes of the past to leak through. The weak will always live first and foremost for themselves and could never live for the sake of others.

The strong will act justly. The strong will act for the sake of common interest. The strong will live, learn, but never regret. The strong will take responsibility for their actions. The strong will be able to love without fail.

But Rena was always right – for us this is impossible. For us overcoming weakness with strength is impossible. The fact that Nero came to exist is proof of this.

For humanity, a world where the strong truly rule is the only hope we have for a future. For humanity, Yosuga is the only way. I would make the world of Yosuga for Rena, Mion, and everyone else. And I was prepared to give up every part of me in the process.

For some reason, the moment I'd decided on that –

The space before me suddenly changes – I'm blinded by a white light that e en obscures the marble surface beneath me.

I don't stop moving – I keep moving forward –

And when the light finally clears I find myself in front of what appeared to be the wreckage of a building.

There were huge chunks of what had seemingly been an old, European building scattered about everywhere. Situated behind it all was a massive throne that despite being toppled to the side to a serious degree still stood several feet in the air –

By the time I see him I feel that it's already too late –

Sprawled out on the ground near the massive pile of rubble at the center was Dreamer, terribly wounded but still somewhat conscious.

I run to his side immediately – his hand has been cut off, his chest is punctured – he was in terrible shape.

The moment he realizes I'm there he starts gagging. Coughing up a variable amount of blood he tries to focus on me – his eyes are far too shaky for that. Just how much blood has he lost?

"You sure took your sweet time." He grins, although it seems mostly out of place given how ghastly his appearance is.

"What happened?"

"Mion." He replies rather bluntly. "She wouldn't go down. I had to pull out all the stops. Fucked myself over in the process but eh, I was getting sick of this body anyway."

"What's the plan?"

"The Crucible is just up ahead. Past that big throne. You keep going straight and you'll get there without any problems."

"I'm talking about how we're going to deal with you, idiot."

"You really think this is fixable? I got hit with some pretty nasty red truth – this wound won't heal no matter what you do to me."

"I'm not just going to leave you, here –"

"You don't have a choice."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because everything I've told you up to this point has been –"

"A lie? Because you want to do your own thing once we kill Nebiros?"

"…"

In truth, I already had an idea of why he'd gone so far out of his way to help me. Why he'd done the things he'd done for me –

I knew more of his history now than I'd ever before. I knew that he had gone to great lengths to overcome his weakness. He'd spent a lifetime trying to resolve all the problems his weakness created. He was like me – he was weak, but had gradually become strong. We were too similar for me to care about anything else –

I knew the world he wanted to build would be different from mine. We were two different people, after all, but even if his world was the one that ended up being made – could I have ever said that I'd hate him for it?

No, that wouldn't be right. I couldn't do something like that.

I rest one of my hands on his right shoulder. His body tenses at my touch, but it didn't seem to cause him any pain.

"You've said it yourself before… You're weak. You've been trapped between a rock and a hard place. You've been put in a position where you've given into your weakness. But I understand – I know that facing that weakness can seem impossible. You spent a lifetime trying to stand up to it, but even though you failed you never stopped fighting. I don't care what path you want the world to take after we've finished all of this – it wouldn't change anything… I wouldn't love you any less for it, Keiichi."

He's somewhat speechless for a moment – he sighs, shaking his head.

"Who's supposed to be the idiot here?" He sighs again. "…Or perhaps this is what strength really is?"

In that moment with strength I doubted he still had he shoves me away with his hand – I'm sent backward a good distance but –

In the instant I do there's a sudden explosions coming from the large pile of rubble. I'm sent rolling off even further but eventually manage to stop my self – I try to stand, only to be hit squarely in the head with a flying chunk of rubble. Resisting the urge to pass out I shield myself for further impact, managing to protect myself from another large chunk –

Very quickly the dust clears – no, it's more as though a sudden shift in air pressure forced it to scatter.

Dreamer is crumpled up like a sheet of paper off to the side, while at the center of the blast zone –

"Come now… You have to kill me a little harder than that, Kei-chaaaan…!"

Mion is standing there, her body quite literally in shambles – her left arm is completely blown away. Her stomach was seemingly burned away leaving a gaping see-through hole in her torso. Her head was lopsided, being held up by nothing more than a choice selection of clearly visible bones that could only do half of the job on their own. Her face was mostly charred – about a third of her skin was left relatively untouched, while the bulk of her hair had been burned away –

And in her right hand was a katana, tarnished and dulled, but still as defiant as the rebellious snarl on her face and the burning passion in her eyes. That was how I knew for certain this was Mion – because the fire in her eyes, her will to overcome her weakness, was still clearly there. Even though she'd been reduced to something barely recognizable, she was still who she was – and no one else.

This was what Mion's ambition had reduced her to. And I could barely bring myself to look at her.

"Rika…!" Dreamer cries out in pain. "This is all she has left…! All she has is her killing intent…! You have to stop her before she loses herself completely…!"

I suddenly feel the need to move into action – I run forward towards her, but before I'm able to even take on my newly gained bird form I was jabbed with the hilt of the katana. In the moment that I stagger Mion backhands me with astounding force, sending me flying off to the side. I rise to my feet and run towards her again, this time managing to materialize Nero's old sword, Totsuka – but my swing is parried all too easily. Despite how my weapon was the stronger of the two the katana has no difficulty managing my attack – Mion once again strikes me, this time in the stomach before slashing at me diagonally. I manage to back away just in time but Mion very quickly closes the distance and manages to land a solid blow on me – my left side is cut open as I try to move away, not accounting for the speed of Mion's katana and how versatile her uses with it could be – half of these movements and slashes were barely even possible for a healthy sword expert to pull off, yet here she was, half dead and probably even more efficient.

I manage to recover my balance from that hit, but not without consequence – as I back off and attempt to reposition myself for another charge I trip on a large piece of rubble. Mion sees this as instantly as it happens and makes a move towards me, but I luckily enough anticipate the move as soon as she had thought to make use of it and I roll out of the way, timing my swing with Totsuka to land a solid blow on her sword arm –

But it doesn't do me much good. Before I know it I'm back on my feet and she's already moving towards me again –

This time I needed a plan. How exactly was I going to get around her seemingly perfect stance? Without Dreamer it seemed that I was unable to go into my winged form, and without that I'd likely have no chance in hell of winning here. But Mion was only human – she had to have a weakness, somewhere…!

After dodging her next attack I see it – I manage to see a brief moment where her physical condition takes its toll on her – right after she swings, there's a delay in her recovery. The katana clearly feels heavier to her than it should.

Of course – her back. I hadn't seen her back – but it was very likely that her back had taken serious damage based on the size of the hole where her stomach had been. Her spine was possibly out of alignment and her right shoulder blade might have been damaged as well –

I move in – I manage to anticipate her next move – her swing radius was actually fairly confined despite how strange her swings seemed to be before. She can only swing diagonally and horizontally – she likely couldn't lift her arm all the way up for a vertical strike. Knowing this, there were two ways of being able to guarantee a favorable outcome despite how fast her reflexes were – one, know the difference between a diagonal strike and a horizontal one and memorize her body language for both. Two, memorize her timing and seek a moment where the direction of her attack is apparent and parry –

I manage to correctly anticipate a diagonal strike aimed at my right side – I then can see her follow up swing rather perfectly. Her shoulder shifts in such a way that suggests a horizontal blow – I move Totsuka to parry and –

Her attack is successfully repelled.

I ram Totsuka into her chest and whatever blood she had left sprays –

But she never lets go of the blade and with all of her might she runs her blade through me – the sheer force of her thrust sends me flying backwards, my blood spraying everywhere.

I was so close – I missed her heart. That was all that kept me from my victory.

I'm sent flying – but despite how my vision becomes a blur I can still see him –

I'm flying in Dreamer's direction…!

I crash no more than three feet away from him – and almost immediately Mion breaks out into a sprint – she was going to retrieve her blade and probably take my life with it…!

"Any last minute ideas?" I grunt, trying to get Dreamer's attention.

"…Just one." He speaks, barely above a whisper. But despite his words he doesn't seem to make any obvious sign of movement.

She's only a few feet away now – but before I can even steel myself for the impact she leaps into the air, determined to put an end to this as swiftly as possible.

Mion hurtles towards me –

And only when she was no more than two feet away from me, Dreamer finally moves –

He vanishes in a flash of light and becomes the Velvet Death on my arm –

I instinctively aim and prepare for the recoil of a shot –

Mion tries to slow herself down but only succeeds to a certain degree –

The cannon glows, but –

The cannon suddenly bursts into sparks and in a blink of my eye it had dashed across the empty space between the two of us and reforms itself on Mion's sword arm. The added weight stunts her trajectory, dragging her to the ground in all of an instant. I manage to move away fast enough to avoid her, sliding her katana out of me in the process. I manage to rise to my feet as the wound begins to seal itself – I'm still left completely exhausted, but at least I'm alive for the moment.

I look straight ahead –

The Velvet Death begins to glow once again – but instead of the same shimmering color, this was a dark, glaring red.

Mion struggles to pull Velvet Death off of her arm, but it's no use –

This is the only way… I'm sorry.

The moment I hear his voice, I already know what's about to happen.

"…No, no, there has to be another way."

You could break her arm a million times – it won't stop her from fixing it. It'll never stop her. She'll never give in. She'll never stop – she'll fight for all eternity.

…Please. I have to be the one to put her to sleep. I have to make up for everything I've done.

"Doing this is hardly a way to make up for –"

This is the only way. That I can say with certainty. This is the only way to make amends with her… I need to stop her, not for my sake – hell, not even for your sake. This is for her… This is what I have to do for her…

"So this is what your ambition is going to amount to? I thought you had a dream, just like I do!"

I've been dreaming for a long time – longer than anyone ever should. I've been sleeping for so long, dreaming of a world where I'd never have to dream ever again. But that was always impossible.

"If you really believe that, then everything up to now means nothing!"

I knew from the start… Musubi was impossible. I could never build that perfect world because I wasn't perfect… But more importantly, if becoming a true individual meant losing you, I'd never have been able to do it.

I was beyond words at that point – but I couldn't let him do this.

I wasn't going to lose Keiichi anymore – I wasn't going to let him die anymore. He hasn't lived yet – he's been alive for so many years but he still hasn't lived. He's been trapped in 1983, in a hell on loop for thousands of years.

I wouldn't let him go.

I wouldn't let him throw himself away.

I start moving forward – I wasn't going to let him do this. He didn't deserve this –

You come any closer and I'll shoot you where you stand!

The coldness in his voice – it sounded so foreign to me, but at the same time –

"…It was all for nothing… If you die, this is all for nothing!"

That's not true… You made it here. That's all that matters.

"But even so –"

Rika… I'm tired. This is as far as I want to go. I want that dreamless sleep – death is my only escape. And this is the only way I can die. I don't want to live anymore – I've done enough of that. This is what I have to do. I refuse to die without purpose – this is the only way I can die. The only way I can ever rest in peace.

At first I couldn't believe what I was hearing – but…

I've been alive longer than any other Keiichi – any Keiichi besides him. After I'm gone he's all that's left – you have to put an end to us – you have to kill 'Keiichi Maebara,' even if it's the last thing you do.

"I won't…! No, I can't… Can't you see that if I hurt you any more that it'll be too much for me to bear?!"

I couldn't resist it.

Not anymore.

My words, despite their strength –

They failed to acknowledge my reality.

I was once weak and had become strong, that much was certain.

But –

In the end –

Without Keiichi, I'd never have come this far. I'd probably never have escaped Takano's cycle the first time without him.

Without Keiichi, I couldn't be strong.

Without Keiichi, Yosuga was impossible.

Without him –

Without him it was all useless.

But…

There's more to being than just being dead or alive. Who you are… Who you are to you and you alone is what makes you alive… But who you are, not in the eyes of someone else, but who you are to someone else… I've never cared what people saw me as. My struggle was a result of that – but when I came to Hinamizawa, I was something special to all of you, even if it was founded in ignorance. I'd rather relive Hinamizawa a million times than lose that feeling…!

I couldn't come up with the words to reply to that –

But Astaroth – he doesn't see it that way. His struggle never ended – he never found what I saw in you. He kept fighting and fighting and now all he wants is for everything to burn. He doesn't care what happens to anything, not even to himself. All he wants now is closure… You're the only one who can stop him.

I can say I'd do something 'no matter what', but my words are nothing but hollow and empty. But you're different. Dream or reality – none of that can hold you down. You have the strength to do whatever the fuck you want.

For me, this is the truth. And since you're strong –

"I'm not strong. Not without you. Not without being able to stand beside you… Even back then, you were the one who convinced me to keep fighting. Without you this will never –"

You were never the one who caused me pain. I was the one who caused you pain. And for that, all of this is nothing more than our fate on loop.

Kill fate, Rika. Put Saya to rest. Let all of this end. This is a spectacle that should never repeat ever again.

No matter what world you make –

Please… Don't let mankind fall into these depths ever again.

With that the Velvet Death glows an even more magnificent red –

It was only a matter of moments –

But I couldn't. I wouldn't.

If I had to go on and leave him behind –

I sprint forward. As I'd suspected he had no intention of shooting me down –

I drop to my knees and embrace the Velvet Death –

And all I can see is white.

All I can here is – simply nothing.

…

…

…

But then –

So for your own sake you would even let my last request die?

…Heh.

How cruel you are.

It's no wonder that it's come to this.

But this has to end.

'Rika Furude in terms of Keiichi'

'Mion Sonozaki in terms of Keiichi'

'Everyone who loves Keiichi in terms of Keiichi'

You have to end it.

Now you've finally reached the end of the road.

You've stopped being Rika Furude once again.

You're able to stand on your own now.

The fate of our world is in your hands.

You're strong.

So I believe in you.

Goodbye, you idiot.

Even if it's not going to be the same for you –

I'm probably not going to stop loving you.

And I can see again –

Mion lies motionless against a chunk of rubble. Her sword arm is now completely gone and her blood has pooled around us. Her eyes are empty – she's still clearly breathing, but for all intents and purposes she is dead. Her body is of no use to her anymore – and without Keiichi, she has no definition.

She's gone. She's left this world, even though her body has yet to expire.

I look downward –

And in Mion's blood I can see myself –

And I am just the same –

Dead, but even then still living.

My eyes are hollow, streaked with tears, obscured by the hawk mask – on my back are the flaming wings, now spewing purple fire instead of blue. Draped over my shoulders is a dingy black coat and my jumpsuit has been scorched black. My fingernails have become claws, my palms coarse and rough –

This gaze – this look in my eyes.

It's been so long since I've seen it –

But deep down –

I knew. I knew how Keiichi had felt –

I knew his pain –

Or at least, a part of me that once did –

Slowly…

Came back to me…

My heart was black as sin. My soul was tarnished beyond recognition. In the one instant I'd ran towards Keiichi everything I had ever strived to do and everything that had made me Rika Furude all went up in smoke. I'd denied myself down to the very core.

At my side lies Totsuka, now pitch black and so much so that the metal didn't even shine, the hilt now long and thin, and the blade itself long and curved –

This was a scythe –

This is who I am – the hand that goes with this blade. This blade that would become an instrument of darkness, a darkness so black that it would even obscure the darkness that lied in wait before it.

The one true solution –

I'd never truly accepted it before.

Man has no right to rebuild the world of man –

But I am no man. And now my last shred of humanity has been taken away.

I never abandoned my humanity. I had only stopped being human. There is more difference between the two than there are stars in the sky.

But now that humanity is gone.

Now all that's left is the true embodiment of Yosuga. Pure, raw power, incapable of expressing the most basic of human flaws. Unstoppable strength with no parallel.

But even I don't care. Even then Yosuga isn't what's even driving me. In truth, it never was the point driving me. I need to build a new world for the sake of building a new world. Because this one has simply gone to shit and must be rectified for the sake of rectifying it.

That's all there was to it now –

Because I wanted a future, be it as a human, demon, witch, or whatever the hell I was. And damn anyone who would rob me of even that –

It didn't matter who they were. I'd burn them all away.

It would seem that, after all this time –

After all these years of pretending I was something I was not –

Pretending that my humanity was what truly drove me –

I've finally come back –

Back to where I started –

I've finally become the witch, Bernkastel, once more.

I rise – I do as Keiichi had told me. I simply keep going straight ahead. And no matter what awaited me I knew for certain that this was the end – the end of the road, and the final act of this endless play.

…This would be interesting.

Akarana, the Road into Darkness
Bernkastel the Second (Bernkastel II)

The world around me grew dark, as dark as the night sky. Countless fragments acting as stars in the sky begin to glisten as their shimmering forms descend, some like shooting stars and others like snow. Above them were dark purple clouds swirling rapidly at a central point, as though being sucked into the center of a storm – from beyond them came the sound of roaring thunder and flashes of blue lightning. This place was oddly similar to the Akarana Corridor – no, it was more accurate to say that this was the Akarana Corridor, only far more vast and perhaps more menacing. The flow of time was about as distorted here as it had been within that corridor.

Ahead of me was what appeared to be a massive glass staircase ascending into the dark purple clouds above – I waste no time. The Crucible was likely just up ahead. I proceed without caution, although I take care to fly as little as possible – I wasn't entirely sure what the restrictions on the wings were, if there were any at all, but I'd be damned if I'd do something as unintelligent as waste my only shot at victory this early on.

The path is winding – as I proceed onward the staircase seems to extend while the steps behind me vanish. It wasn't as though I was going to turn back anyhow, although in the event that something attacked me having some extra room on the ground to maneuver would have been nice.

I continue to climb – as I do, gusts of wind begin to roll past me. I was gradually getting closer to that storm and it was gradually getting harder to scale these stairs – I end up using my wings to skip several steps at a time until it gets to the point where the wind is strong enough so I have to start relying on the wings.

The clouds are only a few hundred feet above me now – but suddenly from above come several shimmering figures – they're wolves, made purely of ice, yet their breath igniting and creating flames.

"Now someone's just showing off." I grunt as I ready Totsuka – there are seven of them, too many for me to take out at once. Fortunately enough two of them start to pick up speed and eventually get close enough to lunge at me – their roaring creates two massive pillars of flame that I barely manage to avoid as Totsuka beheads one and punctures the other in the back of the neck. Totsuka was lodged in the second's neck and so I reverse my grip on the hilt and swing the blade in the direction of the others, the body flying from the blade and slamming into one of them, shattering both itself and its unfortunate target on impact and tripping another, causing it to fall off the staircase and down into the depths below. The remaining three all attempt to charge me at once, but I manage to leap into the air and avoid two of them – the third anticipates my move and leaps as I do, hurtling straight towards me. I bash my head against his and, as my head wasn't made of rather fragile ice and my target's head was, the wolf's head shatters into a thousand pieces and I continue up the staircase.

I eventually hear the other two chasing me - I leap again and turn midair. I throw Totsuka in an arcing motion. The blade cleaves both of them in half and the wind carries it back towards me. Once securing a firm grip on Totsuka I turn again –

A massive bird, most likely a crow if old habits do indeed die hard, is already a few inches away from my face. It slams into me with enough force to knock me off of the staircase – I take flight as to not plummet to my death and fly after it – it didn't chase me down after it had knocked me off course, so it was likely only there to prevent me from getting to the top.

I manage to close in on it as it makes a sharp turn – I ready Totsuka and manage to rip a hole in one of its wings – unfortunately there wasn't much other progress made than that – the crow seemed perfectly fine despite the wound and I'm forced to make another trip around –

Three more strikes later and it's rather apparent that I'm not going to do any real damage with all of these glancing blows – I had to attacking head on and hope that it didn't ram into me first.

I readjust my pattern – I fly high up enough for it to start chasing me – it begins to fly straight upward towards me. I begin my divebomb –

Totsuka rips through the bird's skull as I'm grazed by the underside of the beast. I manage to back away fast enough with Totsuka in hand and so narrowly avoid being dragged down into the depths with the carcass.

I continue my ascent, this time simply flying the rest of the way – eventually I enter the clouds, the thunder being blotted out by the immense roar of the wind.

The moment I enter the clouds I'm assaulted from all sides by sharp bursts of wind, each as sharp as a blade. I push straight upward using all the power my wings gave me – I can't see a thing, but I know that I'm still going up –

The pain becomes intense. Perhaps a little too much for my body to handle. But I keep flying regardless, the lashes of wind tearing into my skin all the more ferociously as I climb.

But eventually I see a light from beyond the clouds –

And I cross that threshold –

All is quiet. The clouds still swirl below me. I can clearly see the blue lightning in the distance, but none of it strikes anywhere close to me.

Off in the distance is a massive tower, white as snow, stretching high into the sky and far below the clouds –

The Crucible. I'd finally made it.

I take off towards it – as I move the lightning begins to strike closer and closer towards me, but I avoid it all with ease. My eyes were glue to the tower before me –

I see an entrance fairly far up, although I couldn't even see the top of the tower from here so I had no real idea of how tall it actually was. I manage to work my way across the sky and towards the entrance with relative ease.

The moment I step onto the cold, stone surface that made up the tower the howling wind falls silent. The lightning no longer flashes and the thunder no longer shouts.

Now the world truly stood still.

I head into the darkness of the hallway before me, knowing that now was the time.

Crucible, the Tower of Babel
Bernkastel II

The interior of the Crucible was entirely composed of white marble. The floor, the walls, even some of the stairs were all marble to the point where the pattern began to hurt my eyes. The entirety of the tower was about as hollow as could be, with the bulk of the tower being comprised by a staircase seven times the size of the glass staircase I'd gone up on my way here with massive support beams after every ten feet or so up the height of the tower. The stairs were stained with blood and the pillars were rather old and decrepit to the point where some of them seemed like they were going to crumble away at a moment's notice.

The climb up the tower didn't take that long considering how I made use of my wings every few feet or so. But all the while I couldn't help but feel the adrenaline rush – I was almost there. I was almost at the finale to all of this.

Eventually I reach the top of the staircase. I could only hope that this was the top of the tower although I doubted that I'd have gotten straight to Astaroth in such a short period of time. Before me is a set of massive double doors – they open on their own and leaving all hesitation at the door I enter the room.

The room is massive and circular, although more like a platform suspended in the air than anything else. The walls are all just as circular, but the floor doesn't quite reach them – a massive ring of nothing circles the room and likely acts like a pitfall leading to the depths below.

She's standing there, as I had expected, quite literally wrapped in a world of her own chaos. She stands there at the very center, surrounded by what seemed to be a small portion of a forest ripped out of reality, slowly crumbling away to ashes around her as an invisible fire rages. She stands there, unfazed by the burning, even as the vines wrapped around her body seem to burn away as well.

She is wearing a ceremonial white robe, covered in black vines that seemed to stretch across and wrap around most of her body. Seemingly sewn into her gargantuan arm by those blackened vines is the Onigari no Ryuou, stained with blood and appearing to be more of a tarnished silver in color than the golden radiance it usually exerts. The very foundation of the Crucible seems to sway with her every breath as she seems to slowly animate.

I can see her face – her human half is as deathly pale as it was before, now stricken with tear streaks. The other half of her face was still obscured by the void of the deer skull, the only remaining red eye as blazing red as it always had been. Her expression is extremely pained – she certainly was suffering, and if I was to believe the fragment she'd shown me she was suffering eternally at that.

"This has gone on long enough." I speak, breaking the silence. "I know your story now – I'm sorry, but this is the end of all of this."

"…" She wordlessly replies, raising the Onigari no Ryuou.

"I won't disagree with you. A world without pain would truly be a wonderful world… But you already tried making a world like that. You tried making a world without pain and you created love. But humanity can't exist without pain – humanity can't evolve without suffering. Denying everything that makes humanity what it is while being fundamentally human yourself – of course that kind of existence would be painful. But you can't dictate our world – humans make their own mistakes. But the strong, like Rena, will live with them. I'm willing to die to ensure that a world where Rena will be happy can come to fruition."

She lets out a loud howl.

"Despite everything I don't hate you. You gave us all the capacity to care for each other. There's no greater gift than that. I don't know where you came from, or who gave birth to you. But you gave dimension to who we are – that's what you're supposed to be. Someone who spreads the gift of feeling. Intellect. All the things that make us who we're supposed to be."

"You're not supposed to be something as cynical as 'fate'. You're the will for a future. For a tomorrow greater than today… But if you won't stop this, then I have no choice."

She lets out another howl. I ready Totsuka -

"I have to stop you… You see, you're not the only one anymore. I have a will for the future too."

The ground beneath me shakes violently as Nebiros – the Frozen Flame – kicks off the ground and spirals towards me, the Onigari no Ryuou poised to pierce through me.

I kick off the ground myself and take flight, arcing my flight path around her. But she changes her own direction, kicking off of the wall behind me and spiraling in my direction. I had the advantage of flight, but ultimately that was not enough – that wasn't enough to overcome the product of countless millennia of pain. The Onigari and Totsuka lock at last, my own inhuman force of sheer will colliding with Saya's own. The sheer emotion of her strike is almost enough to overpower me all on its own – I slide Totsuka out of the lock and move past her.

Saya touches the ground – and without turning around she points the Onigari in my direction. A huge concentrated burst of dark fire spews from the tip – it's large enough that I can only avoid it if I dive to the ground right now, but if I did Saya would be able to counterattack effortlessly.

I decide to go for it anyhow – I dive as fast as I can and try to rise up fast enough so I can make a sharp turn around her – but she catches me with her free hand, grabbing me by the head and slamming me into the marble floor headfirst.

"This isn't the answer." I mutter, my voice muffled by the shattered floor. "…You know better than this. I know you do… Stop rejecting yourself. If you don't things aren't going to be any different when you end the world."

Still holding me by the back of my head, she thrashes me about effortlessly, lifting my entire body as though I were some sort of a ragdoll. I take the pain – I didn't come all this way and break so many rules so I could die like some normal person.

Eventually she hurls me across the room and into the far off wall – luckily enough the force of my impact bounces me back far enough so I don't fall into the pit. I find myself having trouble standing afterward, but in a few moments my wings come online again and I move back into the air.

Totsuka can't seem to put a dent into her, but at any rate I was at least managing to wear her down. After several quick strikes I manage to manage to get a feel for how her attacks seemed to flow. She mainly focuses on her ranged shots, but at the same time she didn't use them in a position where she knew where to hit me. That position was roughly at mid range – at that point she would mostly got into a frenzy of slashes, taking advantage of the extended range the Onigari provided and would generally hit me as though I were a fly she was aiming to swat. If I got any closer than that she would result to melee – she would grab a hold of me.

Knowing that I could formulate some plan of attack. But at the same time I had to wonder – would any of this matter? Was it really this simple to defeat her?

… It had to be. After all, she'd awoken to her human weakness. She was killable. I just had to figure out how. She'd survived every fatal bout we've had so far – ultimately the only way of eliminating her entirely was to destroy her 'heart', the Frozen Flame itself. That was likely her only real weakness. She'd managed to recover it and despite being nearly blown away she recovered all the same. Without her heart, she was likely about as vulnerable as could be.

I couldn't kill her with the Velvet Death, that much was certain. Perhaps destroying the Frozen Flame was enough, but perhaps it wasn't.

Although at the moment it didn't matter.

Before I could allow her to die, I needed answers. Hanyuu's been trying her hardest to hide the truth. But I would force it out of her, and Saya was my guarantee that she'd talk.

So for now this is all I can do. I'll just beat her into submission. I'll beat her down until she stops moving, even.

I anticipate another barrage of dark fire and I'm correct in my assumption – she manages to avoid my follow up attack completely and as expected she goes into her beat down frenzy. Knowing this ahead of time I manage to properly gauge her range and with as much accuracy as I could manage I manage to hook Totsuka around her more human arm –

With a yank her blood sprays. Her arm is severed completely. But even then I'm in her mid range, and so she slashes at me with the Onigari.

She manages to open a segmented gash from the top of my left shoulder down to my abdomen. I took the pain from that gash a lot worse than she took the pain from losing her arm. In fact, she seemed completely undeterred.

"You're going to make me take your head off, aren't you?" I sigh. "There's no point in this. Stop. You'll just end up feeling more pain." I move to strike her again, successfully anticipating her mid range attack and open a wound along her left side – she was mostly defenseless, but even then she still manages to trade a hit, this time thrusting the entirety of the blade towards my right arm – each branch of the Onigari punctures my arm – but for the most part completely intentionally.

Shifting what strength I had into my left arm I swing Totsuka, successfully arcing the blade and hooking it around Saya's back – my next move was essentially an all or nothing move. At this distance she'd make use of her inhuman strength to repel me – and she does despite her lack of a free arm, ramming her knee into my stomach. I manage to withstand the force of the blow and pulling on Totsuka's hilt I pull her as close to me as possible.

Saya sees this move only momentarily. She tries to yank Onigari out of my arm but finds it rather difficult as several of the branches get caught on my bones –

"You're in a bit of a bind, huh? Let me help you with that…!" I pull my right arm backward, freeing the Onigari of my arm – and with sheer, brute force my newly formed fist crashes into Saya's skull.

She staggers backward, but as Totsuka is still wrapped around her she can't back far enough away from me – I slam my fist into her skull again – at last it cracks under the pressure.

The force of my next strike sends me off balance and my hold on Totsuka is shaken. Saya takes the opportunity to swing at me with the Onigari but she misses outright – at that very moment I was much faster than she had been. Her inhuman speed finally failing her she misses outright.

Releasing Totsuka entirely I grab a hold of her sword arm – with a loud snap I bend it backwards, shattering the very human bones beneath the black vines. She howls in pain, but not before I make another dent in her deer skull.

Her movement is about as sluggish as mine at this point – she decides to bash my head with hers, causing my vision to swim for all but a moment. She manages to do so once more, but when she moves in for her third bash my hands stop her –

I pull her down by the back of her head and my knee collides with her face –

She falls backward – and as she does I once again land a solid blow to her deer skull –

It shatters completely. The force of my blow scatters the bone to the wind –

Beneath the mask is all of Saya – her human face.

Indeed, she was the spitting image of Rena. But her eyes – they spoke nothing to me in the slightest. They were indeed Yatagarasu's eyes – Astaroth's eyes.

Her expression is vacant –

But I can clearly see her wince when I ram my fist into her right eye. At this point it's a losing battle for her – we were both as slow as could be, but she had nothing else to fight me with –

I reach for Totsuka – the scythe comes to me on its own.

I swiftly kick Saya in the stomach – she staggers backward but does not fall entirely –

This would do it –

I raise Totsuka and –

With one swift strike, the blade cleaves Saya's torso in two –

She falls forward, against me, the sheer force of the swing having yet to fully split her apart –

"This was your fate…" I whisper into her ear. "…For standing against Bernkastel, Witch of Miracles, death is your only consequence."

She falls backward and her lower abdomen separates from her upper half. Blood sprays everywhere.

There is silence. Nothing but silence.

And then –

"The Frozen Flame…" She finally speaks. "Is not that which determines the fate of the world… The Frozen Flame takes possibility and gives it shape… This world that you love so much was given shape because it was possible…!"

"So the world will end no matter what I do to you… And who made it possible?"

"…Would you like to know… Who built this tower? Man… Man built this tower to stand up to that which looked down upon it… And because of that this world is the way it is… Man was denied the stars, and so man was forever cut off from that which gave it shape… And I… I came here, because… Because it was possible…"

"Then what created the possibility for all of this?"

"Man… Man gave birth to this possibility. This world is doomed because of man… And only because of man… If you rewrite the world, as long as there is man… This 'fate' will be eternal. Fate… fate is nothing but your own creation… You reap… What you sow… and now, not only will you face the wrath of one you love, but the wrath of the universe itself… Your heart is tainted the darkest of black… You are… beyond redemption."

"If that's the case then so be it. There's no going back from here anyhow."

"…Why? Why didn't…you listen?"

"Because Rena doesn't want this world."

"But… But the world of Null-"

"Enough… All you did was act on your own impulse. You wanted to create a world of Null for yourself and yourself alone… Rena would never have wanted such a world. In fact, she would hate you for throwing away everything she loved."

"…Was it so impossible? Was making her happy that… Impossible?"

"You were too human. That was why it was impossible."

"And you… You've abandoned your humanity altogether."

"That is the case."

She smiles. It's a soft smile, but a smile none the less. "Very well… Frederica Bernkastel the Second… Climb the tower to the end of the world and then… Then we shall see if your will can overcome the will of the world."

"You still have something of mine –"

I take a step forward, but in that moment I'm repelled by something seemingly invisible –

"Enough."

Before I know it Hanyuu is there, at Saya's side, cradling the girl's head in her arms.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"It's over. She can't hurt you anymore. So let it end." She speaks, not even looking in my general direction. "What you're looking for isn't even here – the Frozen Flame lies with him now."

"So then, all of this –"

"All of this was my fault. Is that what you wanted to hear? It's my fault that all of this started, and it's my fault she went insane… That's all there is to it."

"And you can live with that guilt?"

"I don't plan to live for much longer."

"You think I'm going to lose." I turn away from her.

"You can't stop him. His hate is far more powerful than yours will ever be. He'll see everything burn no matter what. And-"

"And that isn't going to change a damn thing. I made your daughter stop moving. I'll do the same to him."

"It's not as simple as that… He's like you. He's not human anymore. He rejected his humanity a long time ago. Long before you were even born."

"He's always been like me. That's why I'm the only one who can stop him."

"If that's what you believe go ahead… I won't stop you."

I walk off towards the doors, leaving Hanyuu behind.

Her sin was creating the possibility for Nebiros to take form. She was willing to live with that – or rather she was willing to live with her guilty for what time she thought she had left. She'd betrayed Riku for Astaroth, even if only in her heart. But that was already more than enough –

"…Mark my words. For you, hell will be nothing short of eternal damnation. You'll pay for everything you've done."

"For betraying you?"

"For casting our world into chaos. For having no strength of heart. For deceiving me, making me believe that there was such a thing as hope. And most importantly for leaving your daughter to a fate worse than death… For all of your sins I will make you burn eternally."

"…Indeed, you shall…" She trails off before whispering sweet nothings into the not quite dead but not quite alive Saya's ears.

That was the last I ever saw of her – that was all I ever needed to see of her.

She'd suffer in her own way soon enough.

But for now –

For now I had one final obstacle in my path –

I continue to scale the tower. I climb the stairs as far as they would take me and, after what felt like hours and hours the staircase finally leads to another set of double doors –

I could feel the killing intent from the other side. But I couldn't back away now. I push the doors open and I find myself on the roof of the tower.

Before me is a massive, black throne, stretching at least twelve feet into the sky.

And atop that throne – is Astaroth, the Demon King, the Frozen Flame firmly fastened to his chest, the hat he usually wore replaced with a golden crown, sitting lopsided atop his head. He looks down on me with what seems to be a mix of glee and contempt. And as it always has been his eyes are a mystery –

But perhaps –

Perhaps I can see it –

Perhaps I can see the truth glistening in them.

"So you've finally made it to the top, have you?" He speaks rather nonchalantly.

"You've got something that belongs to me."

"Belongs to you eh?" He laughs. "You're a real dipshit, aren't you? You turned out more nicely than I'd ever could've imagined… Bernkastel the Second… Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

I point the edge of Totsuka in his direction defiantly. "I've got a fancy name for you too… Keiichi Maebara the First. How does that one sound?"

His gaze shifts. "Ah, so you've thought it through that much, have you…?"

"Rena told me you had something to tell me. Something important. Something only you could tell me."

"…So she's dead for real this time, huh…?"

"Funny. You almost sound like you care."

"…Well, you haven't been lied to. There's something I do have to tell you."

"Then tell me… Tell me everything."

"…Very well, then… I'll tell you everything – Everything about this sad story of ours."

And so –

And so he told me.

He told me everything.

He told me the truth.

The pure and unadulterated truth.

And –

And the truth –

For the longest time I felt as though this was some unavoidable calamity. This bout between the two of us –

But –

The truth –

The truth set me free.

Author's Note

And so ends the question arcs.

So here we are. This is the point of no return. The next update will happen within the next five days and will start the final arc, the answer arc. At that point, the culprit's identity will be revealed. Get hype.

So yeah. Definitely look forward to it. Because I'm going to, once and for all, explain everything. Everything.

So until then, keep on reading.