War. Destruction. Carnage.
Loss.
These concepts were not foreign to her— rather, it would be more accurate to say they were simply a way of life. Like scars that flaked her skin or hot soot lacquering her throat, swelling every time she gasped for air. She could not tell whether it was fortune her sanity remained intact after all she had gone through. She certainly hoped so; her smile shone the same as ever.
Dying was easy; living without a soul was not. Or perhaps, she had never been alive in the first place.
"Mmhh…"
She stirred, expecting a reply.
"...What time is it...?"
Her phone flickered to life in the darkness. The sunlight never entered her room; she boarded the windows the moment she arrived.
"7'oclock. Rise and shine, Lumine!"
The cheery voice chirped incessantly. As ever, Lumine feigned her gratitude, pawing her eyes awake. "Thank you, Paimon."
Seven in the morning— still too early. Every neuron in her body protested as she forced herself up. Greasy strands of hair clung to her face, causing her to grimace. Her breath smelled unbearable, too. Collapsing in bed as soon as she got home, she only had herself to blame.
At least her eyes didn't sting anymore. They felt numb. This wasn't the first time she cried herself to sleep.
"Lumi!" Paimon exclaimed. The AI had been using the nickname for a while now. Lumine never programmed Paimon to do that. It just did. "Incoming call for you! It's from— "
Don't answer. You destroyed them. You don't need them anymore.
"Block it."
"But Lumi, it's your parents— "
"I don't want to talk to them," she spat, laying back down and covering her ears with a pillow.
"Roger..."
From the corner of her eye, Lumine saw the little fairy avatar pop up on the screen. Paimon stared in silence, hands behind her back— a behavior, Lumine noted, as disturbingly human-like. "What?"
"Well…" Paimon said. "It's just…"
"Spit it out."
"P-Paimon is worried about you, that's all."
"..."
Paimon repeated her answer, driven by the directive that the user did not hear the first time. "P-Paimon is worried about you, that's— "
"Shut up."
Lumine powered off her phone before she could throw it at the wall.
Worried? Paimon? The idea baffled her. Irritated her. It was just a bundle of code miraculously strung together in a device. When did an emotionless entity learn how to feel? When did Paimon know more about human emotions better than her?
'...Leave.'
"Tch…"
No, everyone knew better than her. Even that stuck-up purple-haired bitch attached to her brother. Claiming to know him, acting like she's his best friend— ignorant of everything the two of them had gone through.
Aether was her twin brother. The person she's been with since they were in their mother's womb. He was everything to her, as she was to him. Lumine trusted him more than anyone and loved him more than anyone. She would give anything— destroy everything— to get him back.
A strand of hair draped over Lumine's eyes. She brushed it away.
Loss. Carnage. Destruction. War. These concepts were not foreign to her— rather, it would be more accurate to say they were simply a way of life.
...There were other ways to win a war.
And the second arc's starting, titled "Melancholic", this is more of a prelude to that. Next chapter's coming up later-ish.
Yes, these are inspired by Vocaloid songs.