The tower's shadow darkened the staff entrance, and there were only a few guards since people seldom came through. Two people were standing in front of a gate for letting in vehicles.
"…I think I can take them if it's only them two."
"There seem to be only two of them, but you should still be cautious."
"Gotcha."
I pulled out the stun gun from my bag. It's the one that Haga-san gave me right before I left the Old Resident District.
There's a tall flower bed across from the gate. If I go from that side, I could probably make it work. I run over to the shadow of the flower bed, my body bent over, and hold my breath as I go up to one of the guards.
I try for the perfect timing, and…
"What!? …Guh!"
"Hey! …!"
I throw one of them down with a roundhouse kick, and then zap the other's neck with the stun gun.
…Well, I gave him a light shock. Is he okay? He's not dead, right?
I think he'll be fine since this is a handmade stun gun from Haga-san, but…
"This is unreal…"
"You surprised me as well."
"Me?"
While quickly feeling the chest of the downed guard, I look at Ren, whose head is out of the bag.
"I didn't think you'd jump out like that."
"Things like this depend on timing and force. You'll lose if you don't have those… Oh, there it is." I pull out the guard's ID card that was hanging around his neck. "We can get in with this, guy, right? Let's go."
"…Fists over words, is it?"
"Depends on the time and place." I smile. I took the card in my hand and rushed over to the door. I held it up to the confirmation monitor, and the door unlocked. I go through the door and a long hallway opens up before me.
So this is the inside of Oval Tower.
"…" I've heard that there were areas of the tower that normal people could enter, but nobody's here, probably because we're around the back entrance. But a little ways off, I can hear the sound of footsteps, most likely some patrolling guards.
I walk around, staying very wary of the unfamiliar environment, and come across an elevator. There are two security guards standing in front of it. I immediately turn into another hall, analyzing the situation from a corner. It doesn't look like there's anything to hide behind by the elevator.
I guess I can't do a surprise attack like I could earlier by the gate.
What do I do…
"Hey, what are you doing over there?"
"!"
I turn around to find a guard standing there in the hallway.
Fuck…!
He must've come out from one of the rooms in the hallway.
One of the guards by the elevator must've heard the other's voice, and the hallways fill with noise.
"Fuck…!"
"Don't move!"
At that moment', an elegant looking man and woman come out from the open elevator doors. Guests? When the man notices the guard, he comes to a stop looking a little puzzled.
…Now!
"…!"
"Hey, wait!"
I dashed out from the hallway corner, aiming for the elevator. The flustered guards ran right at me while the frightened couple ran away.
Without slowing down, I just barely…
…Slid through the gap between the closing elevator doors.
"Wait!"
"Get away, damn it!"
"Guh!"
I kicked away the guard that tried to slide in with me and pulled back my leg before it almost got stuck in the door. "Whew… Barely made it." Before the doors can completely close, one guard sticks his hand in, trying to pry them apart.
Oh shit…!
I take out the stun gun in my bag and stick it on his hand.
Zzzt
"Uwah!" The guard's hand snaps back.
"Ren!"
Ren jumps out of my bag and then pushes a button on the panel with a paw. Before the guards can do anything, the door quietly shuts.
"…That was close." I heaved out a sigh.
"Please press the button to your selected floor."
"Oh, I get it." Calmed down by the sound of the elevator announcer, I stood up and pressed the button to the floor I wanted to go to. The elevator lightly shook and started to ascend.
"Ha… ouch." I must've hurt my shoulder when I slid on the floor to get in here. Patting where it hurt, I leaned over to Ren. "Nice one, Ren, as usual."
"Don't act like I'm heartless, even though I don't exactly have a heart."
"But that just did the trick. It's all thanks to you."
"Don't be reckless." Ren said.
"I wonder if we can stick to the ceiling like in the movies."
"We'd have to come up with a plan to make that a possibility."
"True… Hm?" I pick up Ren to put him back into my bag, but stop midway. "Ren. What is this?" something glistened in front of Ren's eye. Like drops of water. "There's something stuck around your eye."
"…" When my hand reaches his eye, he turns his head. He doesn't look this way.
"Ren?"
"…"
"Look at me, what's wrong?" The memory of when Ren once stopped me from touching his forehead suddenly returned to me. He never seemed to get any worse after that. Plus other things happened, so I must've forgotten about it… "Hey, Ren."
"…"
"Look me in the eye."
"You don't have time to waste on trivial matters right now do you?"
"Trivial matters…?"
"Yes. It's a trivial matter. From now on, you can't make something like this a priority."
"What are you saying?" I asked. Without caring that he wouldn't look at me, I moved my face closer to his. "I've told you this over and over. If you're not working, I'm screwed."
"I will put in as much effort as I can to not be a burden to you."
"That's not what I meant!"
"If I cannot function as an Allmate, I'll just be garbage. And so I don't, I…"
"Hey, stop that. What the hell? What are you saying?" I cried out in anger. I can't believe what I'm hearing…!
"If I become inefficient, I will just be trouble for you, Aoba." Ren said.
"That's not true. I'm not saying that, I'm genuinely concerned about you."
"It's fine. I don't want to cause you any trouble."
"I never said anything like that. Ren, listen to me."
"Please don't mind me."
"You… enough with that!" Ren's words were too much for me, and I raised my voice. "What's happened to you? Do you have any idea what you're saying?" With a light shake, the elevator came to a stop. Right as the doors open, Ren violently scrambles his way out of my arms. "Hey, Ren!"
Ren disappeared through the gap only seconds after the doors had opened.
What…!?
What's going on with him…!?
When I get out of the elevator to go after Ren, I run right into a woman and quickly apologize to her. I realize that she's dressed up quite nicely and come to the conclusion that a party must be taking place. The blue silhouettes by the door were of people quickly making their way into a hall.
"Ren…!" I knew I looked terribly out of place, but I bolted into the hall to go after Ren.
Inside are many fancy-looking people, holding glasses and plates while making a small talk. Everyone around took a quick glance at me, but went right back to talking to one another. I bet they just don't want to get into any trouble. And just pretend they never saw anything.
But the noise in the hall grows even louder.
If they call security, I'm screwed.
I just keep looking for Ren without stopping for a second.
Where the hell did he go? If I don't find him soon…
…Huh?
Just now, that…
My eyes follow the back of a person in the crowd.
Is that…
…Me?
BA-DUMP
"-!" A violent headache suddenly comes over me, and my world starts to shake. My vision blurs with the numerous after-images that flash under my eyelids. Noises repeat over and over like a broken record inside of my ears, and soon all sound fades out.
BA-DUMP
BA-DUMP
My head pounded along to my heart.
What…?
My legs are strangely heavy. They won't move.
What's… happening…?
"Is he that precious?"
"!"
Suddenly, a voice reaches my ears.
"He is, isn't he? I would know, of course. Then, have you ever thought about why he is so precious to you?"
"…"
Who is she…
I don't seen her, but I can hear her.
BA-DUMP
BA-DUMP
The pounding in my head… It keeps getting worse.
"You really do know, don't you? After all, you…"
"…Shut up."
"But you've already decided. You should just keep pressing on like that. As much as you desire, until you're satisfied. No one can stop you. No one can stop the real you."
"Shut up!" I scream to try to erase the voice, and the guests in the hall look at me.
…She's smiling.
Her warped face, looking at me…
It's smiling.
"…!" And then, the stalled sounds begin to gush in. The slow motion world and the heaviness in my legs went away.
Right now, that…
What just happened…?
"Hey, that's her!" The security guards come into the hall, yelling out when they had found me.
That's right, I need to get away. I can't let myself get caught before I find Ren. I push my way through the confused crowd, watching my footsteps.
I pull away from the guests to avoid contact, and the further in I went, the more the crowd opened up. There, I see a lump of fur pass by.
"Ren!"
…There he is!
But before I can get any closer to him, a wall of police wait for me on the other side.
"That damn dog is quick!"
"!"
The guard kicks at Ren as he was trying to escape, and his body of fur tumbles to the ground.
"REN!" I immediately rush up to him and hold him.
The guards surround me and point their guns.
"Wait. The order is to capture her alive. Don't use guns." When the one guard says that, the others move to restrain me instead.
"…! Let go of me!"
"Stay down!"
I try to protect Ren by holding him to my chest, trying to keep myself on the floor. "Don't touch me!"
Let go…!
Ren…!
BA-DUMP
And then, suddenly, a ripping pain ran through my brain.
BA-DUMP
Ouch…!
Shit, my head…!
It's tearing apart…
Ren…
Ren…!
- Heh. I'll deal with them -
.
.
"…Don't touch me." Aoba ordered.
"What?"
"Don't touch me, let go." She repeated.
"…! …Yes… m-…"
"Hey…!" One of the guards look at in his comrade in confusion, as Aoba look at him in a bored manner.
"You, you're in the way too." She said.
"…Yes…"
"Listen." She began to speak out loud. "Everyone here will forget about me."
"Yes…"
"Ye… s."
"Yes…"
THUMP
CRASH
"Hehe…Now then…"
…
…
…
….I know this by now.
It's this dream again.
The one where I can't move.
Where my body is eaten.
Even now… It's still being eaten. There's nothing below right elbow. There's nothing below my left knee.
And now the lower part of my left elbow…
And what's left below my right knee is being eaten.
In this complete and utter darkness…
But there's no pain. Just shock.
In the sound of crunching, the blackness completely devours my arms and legs.
Gone forever.
And then next…
Is my…
…My chest began to swell up as the darkness eats away at my torso.
With an impulse.
…I want to destroy.
Like how this darkness eats away at me.
Anything, everything.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
That is my true wish.
BA-THUMP
My true wish?
BA-THUMP
My… true…
I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
I want to destroy. I want to destroy. I want to destroy.
BA-TUMP
- I want to destroy -
"-! …. …Ah…?"
What? I just…
Was out…
Did I fall asleep?
Here?
But, that really was a bad dream…
My hear is still pounding. And I'm completely drenched in sweat.
- I want to destroy -
…Those words suddenly surface in my mind. I want to destroy something?
But what?
BA-DUMP
"…!" My head hurts. I need to take my meds… "…!?"
…I finally register what is going on.
All of the extravagant guests in the hall… They've all collapsed onto the ground. There's not a single one left standing.
"…Why… What…?" I can't find any words to describe this bizarre display.
What happened here…?
I know I went in here looking for Ren, and then…
BA-DUMP
"…!" My memories flicker along with my pounding headache. But I can only remember it vaguely, like it was only a dream. Why was I lying around here? What in the world happened…?
I look around the hall, and see a fallen bundle of fur a little farther off.
That's…!
"Ren!" I get up, forgetting about my headache, and run over to Ren. I hold his limp body. "Hey! Ren! Are you okay!? Ren!"
I try to start Ren up.
But it doesn't work.
No matter how many times I try, his eyes won't open.
"…This can't be real." My face turns pale. I thought that maybe it was because of his weird condition. But, all of a sudden, he… "…!" I push away my emotions and put Ren into my bag.
Now I have an even more urgent reason to find a way to fix Ren, but staying around here is dangerous. Looking for a safe place to go, I head towards a door inside the hall. Behind it is a staircase. I began to trek up, wary for any guards going after me.
BA-DUMP
My headache… feels even worse while going up the stairs. But somehow I keep my feet moving.
BA-DUMP
"…Ugh…"
…Not good.
It's terrible. I feel faint.
When I made it to the stair landing, I leaned against a wall and sat down. "Haah, ha…"
BA-DUMP
Vehemently going through my bag, I take out my headache medicine. I just wanted to soften the pain, so I popped a few pills into my mouth.
BA-DUMP
"Urgh…" The streams of sweat run down my temple to my chin. I had to wait for the medicine to kick in. I start to breathe hard, and take Ren out from my bag and put him on my thigh. I try to start him up again, but his small body still won't move. My chest hurts as I look at him.
What happened to him…?
I open up the control panel on my Coil to see his status. The entire panel was covered in error messages.
In short, he couldn't operate at all.
"Ren…" I mess around on the panel to possibly fix the issue with a tap.
But it's no good.
"…" Too exhausted for words, I closed the control panel and held Ren. He was just like a toy with his eyes closed like that. The regret and sadness rushed in as I looked at his husk of a body.
What if I can't return him to normal?
I'll do as much as I can, but Ren is an old type and his parts are long out of production.
My Allmate… no. Ren, my partner, is irreplaceable.
I'm losing what I've always taken for granted.
The reality of it all leaves me hopeless.
It's not that I've never thought of what it'd be like without Ren, but reality and my imagination are different things. It beats down on me how long I've been relying on Ren.
"What should I do now…!?" When I close my eyes, a face I miss appears.
Granny…
What should I do at a time like this?
"And never stop, no matter what happens. Just believe in your own choices along the way and keep pushing forward."
Believe in your own choices along the way, and keep pushing forward.
…That's right.
I can't let myself stop here.
There are things I have to do.
Stop Toue.
And then save everyone in the Old Resident District.
So… No matter how much it hurts, I can't stay at a standstill.
"…!" I put Ren back into my bag, and then somehow get myself up by pushing my back up against the wall. My headache still hasn't gone down, but I begin to go back up the staircase once more.
I need to get higher.
Higher…
Up to Toue.
I have no other choice but to go.
It's something…only I can do.
Stumbling, with my hands against the wall, I went up, step by step.
.
.
…While going up the stairs, I find my journey upwards interrupted by a door. Did I make it to the highest floor…? When I get closer to the door, I put up the ID card that I stole from the guard by the entrance to the confirmation monitor.
This floor had a completely different atmosphere than the party hall. The gaudiness was gone, and in its place was a cold, lightly blue colored hallway.
BA-DUMP
"…Haah, haa…" I have to keep moving, some guards may still be coming after me. I want to keep moving but my headache keeps pounding harder and harder.
I can't think straight.
I took my meds earlier, why aren't they working…? I shove my hands into my bag in search of my pills, and when I find them, I immediately hold up the case and pour its contents inside my mouth. A number of them spill out of my mouth onto the floor, and the case in my hand becomes empty.
It's a really bad idea to take all of them at once, but… All I want now is to make the pain stop.
I dropped the empty case into my bag and slowly made my way down the white hallway. Wild breaths escaped from my lips as I pulled myself along with my hand on the wall.
It doesn't feel like the headache is calming down. My vision goes blurry and my throat goes dry.
If anyone were to find me right now, I'd be in trouble. But… I need to keep pushing forward with all I have.
I dragged myself along, and then heard the sound of a door opening. It was a type of door that cuts into the passageway, and two men in white robes came out of it.
…Oh shit.
I have to hide, or get away somewhere…
"Hey, over there."
"Who's she?"
"A trespasser…?"
"Call security. Quickly…"
"…!" Shit… I can't let myself get caught now…! I'm already this far… All of my efforts would be wasted…!
BA-DUMP
BA-DUMP
BA-DUMP
BA-THUMP
"…" I huffed out a low sigh walking to the two men.
"H-Hey, what the…"
"Don't move! I'm calling security!"
"You there, don't move."
"…!? My body won't move…!"
"Don't get in my way."
"What the hell are you!?"
"It's you unlucky day." I smirked.
"U-Uwahhh!"
A chuckled escaped from my mouth. "I'll free you from your 'life' now. I'll break it apart… I'll smash your memories, sense, everything to bits."
"Ah, ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Uwahhhhhhhhhh!"
...
…
"…Ah…"
…The white robed men are on the ground. Their eyes are wide open, and they're foaming from the mouth…
"…!" They didn't just collapse for no reason.
…They've been broken.
I broke them.
I lost consciousness just like before, but this time, I'd seen the whole thing. Although I was awake, I had no control over my body, and… I watched her… I watched 'myself' break them apart.
I destroyed their minds.
And the guests at that party…
'I' did it.
BA-DUMP
"Ngh…" My head hurts.
…It hurts.
Ithurtsithurtsithurts.
"It's all your fault."
"!?"
Suddenly, I heard a voice.
I thought I was hallucinating for a moment.
There's a voice in my head. Someone speaking to me… in my voice.
"It's because you wouldn't accept it. That's why all of this is happening."
BA-DUMP
"…!" Feeling faint, my vision begins to stain black. I can't see a thing. The 'me' speaking is overpowering me through my eardrums.
"It's your fault. Your fault. It's all your fault."
…Shut up.
"It's your fault."
Shut up.
"It's your fault."
Shut up, shut up.
"It's your fault."
"-Shut up!"
"…Haha!"
"You… Who are you?"
"I'm you."
"…"
"Haven't I helped you countless times? I'm the only reason why you've even gotten this far, and it's till the same now. So I guess around now would be an okay time for me to become you."
"…Don't fuck with me. I'm me."
"Hah. But you don't even know what you really are. Can you even explain what's happening to you?"
"…"
"You think you don't know who you are, right? Wrong. The truth is that you do know. But you won't accept it. Failing to accept it, you stay there, not knowing a thing. Unable to do anything. Ending everything halfway. But… I know. I know more than anyone. Because I'm you."
"…"
"So we'll switch. I'll switch with you. I will live in your place, knowing everything. So switch with me."
"…Shut up."
"Switch."
"Shut up."
"Switch with me."
"Shut up… Shut up!"
"Switch. Switch with me."
"Shut up, be quite! Disappear! Disappear! …Disappear! …!" Suddenly, my vision clears and I fall to the ground, gasping for breath.
What happened just now…
What was that…?
A dream…?
…No. It wasn't a dream.
The two men lie face-down on the floor in front of me.
"…" I'm the one that did this. My body had been hijacked, but… That's no excuse. The one who broke these men was me. She said that she'd 'helped me countless times'.
The power that she mentioned… did she mean Scrap?
So, that power is her…?
Lately, whenever I use Scrap, I always get a headache afterward. And she must be the cause of that. Her movements may have been what influenced my headaches.
This is… two personalities in one body, isn't it?
She said to 'switch' with me. What would've happened if I did? Of course, I'd become something that wasn't me. My consciousness would turn into her, and she'd take over my body.
…I can't let that happen.
If Scrap is a power of her, then it must mean that she can use it as she wishes. Everyone would be broken apart.
But…
Her words pierce my chest like thorns.
"You think you don't know who you are, don't you? Wrong. The truth is that you do know. But you won't accept it. Failing to accept it, you stay there, not knowing a thing. Unable to do anything. Ending everything halfway."
Won't accept it? Me, accept what?
I don't know what, but it makes me very anxious. She knows, and the reality is that I do too…
But I can't let myself use Scrap anymore. She may hijack my body again.
"…!" My headache passes, and I walk through the door that the white-robed men had exited from. behind the door was another hallway eventually leading to another door.
Before I went in, I checked on the two men. Their backs were barely moving. Looks like they didn't die… A bit relieved, I walked towards the door.
I do down the hallway and stand in front of the door. There's another confirmation monitor next to it, and the guard's ID won't open it.
So the card is useless for this door…
I go back to the white robed men and borrow a card from around one of their necks. With the men's card, the door opens.
"…" Before placing my foot through the door, before sealing my fate, I hesitate.
The room is dim, lit up by the flickering lights of various machines. It feels eerie, as if eyes are watching me from afar. There are large water tanks standing all around the room, all with strange things inside them. Several living things twitch in the tanks, and one has a massive clump of hair growing inside of it.
They remain inside whatever liquid the tanks holds, pulsing, alive. One of them holds something… Something strangely like a human, with a face, arms, and legs similar to what any person would have.
But it clearly isn't one.
What in the world? What is that?
I enter the room with caution, checking to see if anyone else is inside. All of this seems to be research equipment. Why would Toue have all of this? What are these suspicious-looking specimens?
And where are all the people…?
No other words except curses come to mind.
I look into the tanks, bewildered, and I soon feel a gaze coming from somewhere inside of the room.
…Something that looks like a mermaid, with their lower half like a fish's with a tail and fins, is looking at me.
THUMP
"-!"
The pure white mermaid widens its eyes and knocks on the glass. If flaps its mouth open and closed, as if trying to speak to me.
"Wha-What…"
The other things in the water tanks…It's either my imagination, or they're staring at me.
"…You… really-came…"
"I was- wait ing… always…"
"Hurry, to- me…"
"Destroy- me…"
"With your po –wer…"
"…!" When I tried to leave the room, something hit against me. "!?" Due to the distraction of the water tanks, a black figure had crept its way behind me.
And now there are more of them!
"-! Hey, what-! …Let go…!" I try to escape, but they catch me and hold me down to the floor.
Who are these guys…!?
When I turn my head to see their faces, I see a certain design on their jacket.
That's…
Morphine…!
Amidst my astonishment, my ears pick up on the sound of casually approaching footsteps. Someone's walking down the middle of the pathway.
A security guard?
It's dim so I can't see that well.
As the footsteps came closer, I was finally able to see the faces of their owners. When I realized who they were, I…
I couldn't stop my eyes from widening.
"Yo, so you made it all the way in here by yourself. Well, of course you would, Aoba-san."
"We'd expect nothing less."
"You two…"
Virus and Trip.
Why are they…
Virus tilts his head to the side and flashes me a strange smile. "You're asking yourself why we're here, aren't you? That's what your face says. Shall I tell you? It's quite simple. The reason is… because we're part of Morphine."
"Right?"
"Morphine…?"
…This is a lie, right?
These two are part of Morphine?
"Well, we are part of it, but we don't do the dirty work like the rest do. We're more like the leaders." Virus jerks his chin to the member in the black parka that's restraining me.
"…You were deceiving me."
"We never had any intention of doing so. Although, if that's what you believe, it still doesn't change anything."
"In truth, we truly are your fans, Aoba."
"Well, we're indifferent. It's useless to talk this over. More importantly, you've gotten into something big. Even if I say that, that person… We used to be part of Sei-san's group."
"A part of Sei's group?" The image of the boy standing behind Toue cross my mind "By Sei, you mean the person that was with Toue at the event…"
"…Aoba-san. You don't have any knowledge of what happened once you were born, do you?"
"…"
Virus grins at my silence. "You don't. Well, you did make it all the way here, so let's talk a little. I said it earlier, Aoba-san. You are a fragment of Sei-san's twin. At the end of Toue's long research initiative, he had finally gotten his hands on the ultimate power… He gets his power from Sei-san. You're the same as Sei-san, something born out of Toue Inc.'s research, their property. A child with specific genetic engineering. And Sei-san is your older brother. You two are fraternal twins."
"!" I'm a child with manipulated genes…? And Sei is.. my brother…? And my twin…?
"The founder of the theory on what your special abilities were based on was a product of your grandmother's research. It seemed like she had not the slightest idea that her research was for engineering a certain child. It was a neural research on the outside. You two twins were designed to have the power to control peoples' wills by nature."
"But life is a miracle, and the amount of minute detail and calculations that went into your births were limitless. You two were entrusted with unique powers, and both of you also had no pigment when you were born. Furthermore, both your and Sei-san's hair was connected. They also had nerves in them."
"The sense in your hair must be the remnants of that. It was a hereditary abnormality, and you were products that were cultivated. And by bad luck, you two had died just as you were born. When Sei-san's hair was severed, his breathing returned, but yours hadn't."
"Your grandmother was absolutely horrified that a child that had just been born had died because of her research. And so, she took your corpse away from the research facility. She may have thought of giving you a funeral like a normal human being. And despite it all, you came back to life on the way. You had revived. Your grandmother…She must've been both astonished and overjoyed."
"Probably because she had been the one who had killed you. She took you to her hometown on this island and left you to the church. Why did she do that? To end it all? This is my guess, but… she was a researcher, somehow or another. No matter how much she loved you, no matter how she raised you, she still couldn't help to see you as a research subject. She would have not been able to forgive herself."
"And after that, as your skin gained pigment and was the exact same as a human's, you grew up quickly, shut up in your little world. But amazingly, you two siblings kept your powers. You with your voice, and Sei-san's with his eyes, you can hold peoples' hearts captive. You hold a power that a mediocre human could never dream of obtaining. Surely, gifts from God."
"…!"
"Now that you know, is there anything you'd like to ask?"
"…You're lying."
"Do you think so? It was all pertaining to you, and I don't care much if you don't think so. All I spoke of was of what I know as truth."
"…"
It's likely… that Virus's story is true. He wouldn't gain anything from making up a story like that.
But…my mind hasn't processed it all yet. Not knowing how to take it all in, my heart beats rigorously.
