Chapter 26: Divergent

'When the keys turn, the locks open. With the spell cast, the end of worlds is nigh.'

The world is dark. That fact is indisputable. My partner's normally cheery mood does nothing to dispel the aura of dark. Even I feel it.

The world is strange. Our gates should not have brought us here. Strange beasts roam the land, flesh of pink, eyes of daggers. I recognize the species from my old team leader's stories, but how can this be? They shouldn't exist.

Everything is backwards here. The friendly world in which I grew is gone, and the cards which brought us here have vanished. Only this dark world remains. There is no joy here, only despair.

Its inhabitants are devoid of emotions. They act on logic. They follow the course their god dictates.

We have been changed, my partner and I. My rings glow red no longer; they now exude an aura of blue. The effect on my partner is worse. Her previously pink fur coat no longer gleams the tint it once did. No, her fur is now black. We match, yes, but that does nothing for our moods.

My fur, once black, is now an even deeper hue of the night. I never thought it possible.

Our attitudes have changed as well. Asuna no longer radiates hope, only despair. Her intuition tells her there is no escape from this world. This is cause enough to make anyone lose faith.

I can no longer see the best in everything. I see the "sun" and see not hope, but death; a futile struggle against the bonds of fate. I look at the trees and see not life, but wickedness. The trees have faces; they are not pleasant.

This world is not lacking in beauty; far from it, in fact. The trees that scream are not frightening. No, instead, they seem... serene.

Skeletons rise from the ground nightly. They do no harm to any of the inhabitants of this world. They teach the natives useful skills such as trapping or fighting. Their bones chime when they rise, the marrow shakes when they fall.

…This world has a voice. I know not if my partner hears it, but it is there. The wind whispers secrets to me, the river roars the world's story. It is one of adventure, of logic, of death.

…Do you hear it?

'The worlds spell breaks with the keys. Where once they were joined...'

"Master, it continues."

"It does."

"Why do you strive for it, master?"

'...now they shall diverge, just as the keys do.'

The winds roar, but it is not a terrorizing sound. No, it is a gleeful roar. Ironic... The world has emotions, but the inhabitants do not.

"Asuna... We need to leave this place."

I nod in response. This world doesn't sit well with me. It isn't terror, just logic. I can tell that this world is wrong. Why else would my emotions leave me?

"I agree, Nocturn. But how can we? The entrycards are lost!"

"We need to create new ones. We managed the first time, we can do it again."

'Without the cards, never will the locks open...'