Mayu fell back, the cold ground connecting with her bottom as she crashed. Mio had done the same, and was now rubbing the small of her back as she began to get up.
"Mio, I told you to leave the village." Mayu scolded, getting up and gazing into the eyes of her younger sister with a cold, hard stare.
"Im sorry, Mayu. But Im not going to leave without you."
"You have to! Theres no chance Im making it out of the village alive. Itsuki is already dead, and no doubt Sae will try to come after you, too. Besides, right now youre absolutely defenseless. Please, Mio. Leave the village."
"What do you mean…you have no chance of making it out alive?"
"Mio…in order to eliminate the village and carry the ghosts into the afterlife, I have to set the Crimson Mirror in place. It will purge the village of all evil, but in the process, will kill the person who activates the mirror."
"No! Mayu, you cant!"
"I have to! I dont want anyone to suffer the same fate that we had. Do you?"
"No…"
"Then please! Please leave the village…for me."
"Mayu, I…"
"I know. But you have to. For the sake of your own life. Its too late for me."
Mio did not respond. Instead, she captured her sister in a hug, crying into her shoulder. Her older sister stroked her hair softly, not objecting to her sister's behavior. Moving away from Mayu, she ran, ran to the exit of the village.
Mayu smiled. Despite the fate she was destined to, she smiled. She had always wanted to protect her sister and now she was getting the chance.
Mayu calmly walked forward. There was not a single thought in her mind, not the thought that she was never going to see her sister again, not the thought that she was going to die, not the fact that her sister might not leave in time and die with her, not the face that Itsuki was dead and he would never be back. Not the thought that Sae had caused her so much pain. Not the thought that she was going this to hurt Sae, or for her own freedom, or to protect the other people foolish enough to be able to stumble upon the village. Only one thought was in her mind as she continued on her walk.
"I left the camera back at the Osaka house."
It was too late for that now, though. By now she was in the long, narrow cavern leading to where she would assemble the mirror. No one dared entered, except the priests who gave their lives in order to protect the mirror, so she wouldnt be bothered until then.
The cavern was dark, lit only by a small amount of moonlight that managed to make its way into the room, causing the room to be colored a strange shade of blue. A white orb was clearly visible a small distance away from Mayu. She did not have much time to notice the orb, however, because once her seeing distance was able to see even a small amount of the light, she hit the ground hard.
Yes, Im aware, its not much, but for some reason Im finding it hard to update, the story is reaching a close, though. Just what will bring this story to its dramatic conclusion? Review and find out!