AlphaOmega

by Shinova

[Tsukihime] A stranger is stalking the streets. He can see lines of death. Tohno Shiki intends to find out who he is, where he came from, and why he's here.

4. Chapter 4

Alpha/Omega

A Tsukihime fanfiction by Shinova

Tsukihime and Kara no Kyoukai are creations of Kinoko Nasu and Typemoon

All other works belong to their respective owners

Chapter 4: The Castle at the End of the World

Shiki was floating. At least it seemed that way, with this seemingly milky haze shrouding his conscious mind. Then suddenly he was moving. Down a white tunnel---soundlessly, ever so smoothly.

"Shiki!" a young girl's voice called out.

What? Was someone calling for him? Who was that? Hello?

Shiki's thoughts went unanswered. There was, however, a sudden 'whoosh' and Shiki found himself looking over a vast grassy field. He mentally gasped at the sheer serene beauty of the landscape. The grassland stretched on, far into the distance beyond what the eye could see; the uniform expanse pierced only by the presence of a small city, far, far up ahead in the valley below. He looked back at the grassy field and noticed a small boy sitting on the grass. Shiki found himself somehow floating closer---close enough to make out the boy's face. It surprised him to find that boy was him when he had been younger---about seven or eight years old by a rough estimate.

"Shiki!" that girl's voice called out again, more real and tangible now.

Wait, the voice was calling out 'Shiki.' Could the boy be...

"Hey, Arcueid!" the boy called back. Shiki gazed out in the direction the boy was looking and spotted a young, blonde girl in a white spring dress making her way towards the boy, running across the grassy field with lithe steps.

Arima Shiki? Could this be Arima's world, and glimpses of his life? Why was he seeing this?

The young girl, Arcueid it seemed, finally reached boy. Shiki took a good look at her features. The hair was shoulder-length, but the eyes and the face were all more or less the same---truly a younger version of Arcueid. Shiki also noted that this child Arcueid was immensely cute.

"Shiki, how are you?" Arcueid asked cheerfully.

The young Arima stretched out onto the grass. "Ah, this is life, Arcueid. It feels so great..." Arima's stomach suddenly grumbled, inciting a giggle out of the young Arcueid and a mental chuckle from Shiki. "...but I forgot to bring lunch," Arima finished, sitting up and sighing.

Arcueid smiled warmly and sat down next to Arima.

"Here," Arcueid said, putting her hands together in front of her, her face locked in concentration. A few seconds later, "Tada!" She opened her palms and there was a piece of chocolate in her hands

"Wow! Thanks a lot, Arcueid, you're a real lifesaver!" Arima enthused, gratefully taking the chocolate from Arcueid and taking a big bite out of it. "Mmmm! It's great!"

"It is? Thank you," Arcueid said, looking a little bashful.

"No, thank you! These chocolates are awesome!" Arima took ever increasing bites out of the chocolate, savoring the rich taste.

So this was what Arima had been talking about, Shiki thought. Watching the two enjoy the day reminded him of his own childhood, when he used to play with Akiha and Hisui with reckless abandon, as if every day were their last. They had put their whole hearts into having fun, and the pair in front of Shiki now looked no different. To be honest, Arima's past looked like the ideal childhood, Shiki thought with a mental smile.

"Your school's going to be starting again in a month, right?" Arcueid asked, twiddling her fingers together.

"Yep. Why do you ask?" Arima said.

"Actually, I'll be going to your school too, this year."

Arima's mouth dropped open, the chocolate in his hand almost falling off before Arcueid caught it first.

"That's so cool! That's so great!" Arima seemingly exploded. "I't be great to have you at school!"

"Really? You think I'll fit in?" Arcueid asked nervously.

"If anyone tries to bully you, don't worry, I'll protect you!" Arima declared, standing up and raising a fist into the air.

Arcueid giggled at the sight. "Thank you," she replied, standing up. "Hey, Shiki."

"Hmm?"

"We'll be friends forever, right?"

"Right!"

"And we'll always be together, right?"

"Right!" Arima declared confidently.

"Promise?" Arcueid said, extending her pinky finger.

Arima spared no iota of hesitation in locking his pinky finger around hers. "It's a promise!" he said with a confident smile.

Arcueid nodded, then broke off running. "Miss Henry's making muffins---winner gets first!"

"Wha? But you always win!" Arima yelled as he ran after Arcueid. The two disappeared over the horizon, their laughter and joy echoing through the air behind them.

Shiki floated where he was, his gaze fixed on the spot he had last seen the children as they ran off into the distance and out of view. Why was he seeing this? Was there some meaning to all of this? Just what was going on?

There was another sudden pull, and Shiki was once again inside that white tunnel, speeding soundlessly off to somewhere. While in transit, Shiki tried going over all the things he remembered last. He could recall watching Arima strike the universe's death dot, slowly sending it back into the Source. Shiki had, to prevent himself from being disassembled along with the universe, pierced the dot that represented his connection to that universe, the result of which made him independent of it and consequently saved his life. Was this how Arima intended to return everything to the Source, one entire universe at a time?

There was a sudden jerk and Shiki found himself floating again, this time in a more familiar place: the porch of the detached house of the Tohno manor. The place was alive with activity. Kohaku was cutting and serving watermelon while Akiha enjoyed a cup of tea, while at the same time fending off the teasing of Arihiko. Hisui was chatting with Kohaku, and Ciel and Arcueid were fighting over a piece of watermelon, each taunting the other with some sort of negative quality the other possessed. Even Satsuki was there, trying to perform damage control in regards to Arihiko. And in the meanwhile, Ren sat nearby in her cat form, enjoying a warm ray of sunlight.

The scene filled Shiki with warmth, contentment, happiness. There was no malice, no sadness, no fear, or anything like that. It was simply exactly what it looked like: a group of friends (or semi-friends) enjoying watermelon on a beautiful summer day. It was a perfection that seemed to last forever. It made him feel whole.

...wait, whole?

The group suddenly turned toward Shiki and looked straight at him. They waved, emmitting a chorus of 'Tohno-kuns', 'Shiki-samas', a 'Shiki', a 'Nii-san', and a '...'

Shiki started to wave back, but the world was bathed in white once more. Those visions of perfection, complete contentment, and wholeness were gone, but Shiki finally knew. He finally knew the truth and the answer. No words or concepts could describe it. It was a perfection that surpassed description and label. What he had felt...his being...everything... Those scenes were the answer to it all. The absolute truth.

Shiki now knew what he had to do. He had to find Arima. Find him and stop him, and show him the truth before he wiped it all away.

The whiteness grew in intensity and a high-pitched scream of some sort filled his ears. There was a bright flash, and Shiki lost consciousness once more.

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Shiki finally woke up, after who knew how long. He found himself looking up at a dark-blue sky, which somehow seemed bright, not dark at all. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, noting in the progress of doing so that he was no longer a free-floating observer, and was in normal possession of his body once more. He looked around to find himself in the middle of a seemingly endless field of white flowers---flowers so white they almost seemed to glow.

He heard something soft behind him and turned around to see what it was. Behind him stood a young girl with long blonde hair and pale skin, wearing a white, almost regal, dress with a black ribbon on the front and white stockings and shoes. She looked no older than ten or so. The two stared at each other for a long time, neither saying or doing anything.

"Hello," the girl suddenly said.

Her voice snapped Shiki into action. "Ah, eh... Hi," he managed to get out as he got up to his feet. "I'm ah...Shiki. Tohno Shiki," he introduced himself.

"I'm Arcueid Brunestud. Hello," the girl replied.

Arcueid? Shiki wondered. Could this be the Arcueid of his universe, when she were young? Or at least a vision of her? "Well, hi. So, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I don't know," Arcueid answered cryptically. "What are you doing here?"

"Me?" Shiki thought about what to say, then answered, "I'm looking for someone."

"Why do you want to look for that someone?"

"I have to stop him. Show him the truth before any more of it disappears."

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Yes. Is it necessary?"

"Necessary? Well, I can't really say if it's necessary. But I do know that it's the right thing to do. At least I think so."

"The right thing to do?"

"Yeah. When it all comes down to it, that's all we can do. We just live our lives, trying to do what we believe is right, and do them the best we can."

Arcueid seemed to gaze quizzicly at him, as if considering his words. "But how do we know what's right and what's not, unlike necessity which we can calculate?"

"That's true. To be honest, sometimes you don't know. Everything seems false and nothing seems right sometimes. I guess it sounds kinda weird but, 'follow your heart' seems the best thing to do."

"Would it be necessary?"

"No matter how hard you try, you just can't calculate or predict people. Everyone's different, everyone's special in their own way, and they all affect the world in their own unique ways.

"I guess what I"m trying to say is: the world's a complicated and incalculable place, but at least you can trust yourself and your friends."

"Friends? Are friends necessary? Are they a 'the right thing to do' sort of thing?"

Shiki smiled. "Friends are wonderful people to have. They're there when you're lonely or need help, and they'll be there to save you when you've hit real rock bottom and just need to find some faith in the world again." His thoughts drifted to the visions he had seen earlier, the recollection bringing a smile to his face.

"Friends are good?" the young Arcueid said, looking up at him.

"Yep," Shiki replied.

"Can you be my friend?"

"I'm not perfect, but I'll do the best I can," Shiki said with a smile.

Arcueid reached up with a hand and grasped Shiki's. Shiki grasped her's in return.

"So, uh..." Shiki gazed out at the field of white flowers. "What should we do?"

"How about we go find the person you're looking for?" Arcueid suggested.

Shiki thought about it for a moment, then said, "If that's alright with you."

Arcueid nodded.

"Okay then, let's go!... But where to start, hmmm..." Shiki scanned the area around them, looking for any kind of landmark.

"How about that over there?" Arcueid said, pointing to a rather ominous black mountain that rose out of the horizon like a tower.

Shiki looked around once more. The mountain was the only landmark he could see in this endless field of white flowers. "Well, what are friends for? Alright, let's go."

Thus, the two began their trek across the field of white flowers toward the black mountain in the distance. As they walked, Shiki began to randomly talk about himself. His home, his family, his school life and some of Arihiko's craziest antics, the town he lived in and the best places to have fun, the beautiful sunset, his favorite foods, his worst foods, his hobbies, what he liked to read and watch, and many more. Basically, whatever came to his mind, he talked about it.

Arcueid suddenly spoke up. "You are telling me about yourself: your life, the place you live in. Correct?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm doing," Shiki replied.

"Do friends do that a lot?"

"Oh yeah, they do that all the time."

"Why?"

"...As in?..."

"Is it necessary? Do you tell each other these kinds of things for future benefit?"

"Oh that, well...some things are, of course, like your name, what school you go to, where you live. Stuff like that's so that you can contact each other more easily and frequently---to keep in touch more. But stuff like what you like, your favorite food, your hobbies... That's just to...you know, get to know each other more."

"Know each other?"

"Yeah. Because we're friends. This is another one of those things I can't really explain well. We just want to know more about each other...cause we're friends. Well, how 'bout you?"

"Me?" Arcueid pointed at herself.

"Yeah. Could you tell me a bit about yourself?"

The girl spent a long moment in thought, as if deciding how to formulate her answer. She then said, "I'm a princess of the Shinso. They said my body was made as pure as possible, and that I shouldn't taint it with unnecessary things. I said that I don't understand many things and Zelretch told me understanding's like tripping over a rock and that it comes to you at those points." She then looked up at Shiki. "Is understanding like tripping over a rock?"

Shiki rubbed his chin with his free hand, thinking the question over. "I suppose you can think of it that way. Other times I think understanding is more like you turning a rock over with your hand to see whats underneath it, but yeah some understanding comes from something like tripping over a rock, I suppose."

"But what if you never trip over a rock? What if you walk over or around all of them and never trip, or just walk and walk and never see a single rock?"

"Well, I think there's just as much chance of you tripping over rocks all the time as there is of you never finding a rock. Don't you think so?"

Arcueid pursed her lips in thought. She then looked around at the ground in front of them. "Are there any rocks here?" she wondered out loud.

"I think we'll start finding lots when we get to that mountain, but maybe there'll be some here along the wa-aaaaggh!"

Shiki tripped over something and fell to the ground. He pushed himself back up, wondering what it was he had apparently tripped over. He and Arcueid looked at where his foot had been and saw a rock.

"A rock," Arcueid stated, pointing at it.

"Yep, it's a rock, alright," Shiki said.

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The two walked on towards the mountain. It felt to Shiki as if time had frozen or had no meaning here, and that he and Arcueid had been walking across a painting rather than a field of flowers.

Arcueid suddenly spotted something up ahead and quickened her pace towards it.

"What? Did you find something?" Shiki called out. He watched as Arcueid walked briskly towards whatever it was that she saw, then suddenly trip and fall forward to the ground.

"Arcueid! Arcueid, you alright?" Shiki dashed over to where Arcueid was. He saw the girl stand up and brush off her dress then look behind herself. Shiki followed her gaze and saw a rock.

Arcueid looked up at him. "I don't feel any smarter."

Shiki shrugged. "I think the whole point was to trip over one accidentally, or maybe you need a bigger rock. Nice try though," he said.

Arcueid tilted her head to one side, pondering the thought. Shiki glanced towards the mountain. "At least we're closer to our destination," he said, pointing out that the mountain was now bigger in their view than before.

"Then should we continue?" Arcueid asked.

"I think we should take a break first. Rest our legs a bit," Shiki suggested, sitting down on the soft field of flowers, stretching out his legs and massaging them. Arcueid sat down beside him, gazing around at the field of flowers. Shiki felt the flower bed underneath him with his hands, then lay back on the field with a soft plop. The flowers made a really nice bed, he noticed.

Arcueid followed his example and lay down next to him, gazing up at the dark-blue sky.

"You know, I've been wondering," Shiki spoke up as he gazed up at the sky. "Why's the sky so dark when it's so bright down here."

"I don't know," Arcueid said.

"Me neither. I'm pretty sure there's a reason why, but I don't know, maybe it could just be all a mystery."

The wind picked up speed, blowing chilly air across the pair, causing Shiki to shiver slightly. He turned to Arcueid.

"Hey, are you cold?" he asked.

"I am fine," Arcueid replied.

"Well, here we go..." Shiki took off his jacket and spread it across over himself like a blanket while leaving some space for Arcueid. "Here, get closer."

"But it's not necessary for me to---"

"Don't worry about it. Here, come'on," Shiki insisted. "It'd be a shame on me if I left you out in the cold while keeping myself cozy."

Arcueid scooted closer until she was under the makeshift blanket as well.

"There. How is it?" Shiki asked.

"...Thank you," Arcueid replied.

"You're welcome---any time." And the two ended up sleeping instead of just resting, under the dark-blue sky, in the field of flowers.

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"Face the truth, Shiki. It's out there, looking right at you!" Arima mocked Shiki with cold, white eyes.

"Wha---what's going on?" Shiki stammered as he stumbled aimlessly through a dark, endless void.

"Shiki!"

Shiki turned to the voice and saw Arcueid---the older one---run toward him, waving at him. He smiled and raised an arm to wave when his finger accidentally grazed her cheek. Red lines appeared all over Arcueid's body as she transformed into her younger self then started falling apart. Shiki screamed in terror as the young girl's body collapsed into a bloody heap at his feet. The head looked up at him and spoke with an accusing voice.

"I hate you! You're not my friend anymore!"

"Waaaaahhh!" Shiki screamed as he woke up, darting upright, pulling the makeshift blanket up with him. He struggled to catch his breath, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He looked to his side to see the young Arcueid sleeping peacefully as if without a care for the world. Shiki immediately calmed down and smiled. Somehow, even in this strange dimension located who knows where, Arcueid's heart-warming presence could be felt, here in the sleeping face of this child.

Said child suddenly stirred, the eyes opening slowly. Arcueid sat up, rubbing her eyes. She blinked and looked at Shiki.

"Were you dreaming?" she asked.

Shiki looked at her in surprise. "Yes, I was. How'd you know?"

"Sometimes we know. Dreams are like echoes of thought, like sound making ripples through watter. And we can hear them...sometimes."

Shiki nodded his head in interest, taking mental note of that fact.

"So, what did you dream about?" Arcueid asked.

"It was actually a nightmare," Shiki replied.

"I see. That must be why I felt cold."

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The pair were on their way to the black mountain once again, this time talking about Shiki's school classes, of all the things to talk about.

"What's home economics?" Arcueid asked as the pair walked.

"It's basically learning how to housekeep. Not that fascinating," Shiki replied.

"What about English?"

"English? It's alright. It's kinda hard if you don't keep up. I suppose it comes in handy when you start doing work that's international, like business or diplomaacy."

Arcueid thought for a while. "Why gym class?"

"What about gym class?"

"Why do they have gym class?"

"To basically keep us physically fit, I suppose."

"Are students incapable of self-training?"

Shiki laughed. "Nah, we can easily stay fit---it's just that some of us are really lazy...maybe most of us, to be honest. Also some guys take the class as an excuse to try to peep into the girls' locker rooms." Shiki said, the last bit with some exasperation (even though he could relate to them in some level)

"Peep?"

"You know, when men spy on women in underwear, that sort of thing."

Arcueid stopped in mid-walk and pondered the thought, tilting her head to the side. She then lifted her own skirt and took a look. Shiki balked at this, trying without success to form a coherent thought. Arcueid looked at her own underwear for a few more seconds before putting her skirt back in place.

"White," she said.

"Wha? Oh, uh, white...I see, um," Shiki rambled incoherently.

"I don't see what's fascinating about underwear," Arcueid said. "I doubt it's difficult for men to simply ask women instead and get a simple answer."

The 'simple answer' will most likely hurt a lot in reality, Arcueid, Shiki thought, amused at the child's naivette.

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The pair finally reached the base of the mountain. There were no flowers here, and the ground was either hard dirt or black rock. Lightning flashed near the top of the mountain, and Shiki could see a rough path snaking its way up the mountain's side.

"Well, we're finally at the mountain---now all we have to do is climb it," Shiki said, inspecting the path running up the mountain. His stomach suddenly grumbled. Unfortunately he had not had anything to eat since yesterday---judging by the number of passed hours on his watch. He started to look around for anything he could eat, whether it'd some sort of fruit or plant or...

Shiki stopped when he noticed what looked like a rabbit hop into view nearby and look curiously at Shiki with its black eyes, nose quivering. Shiki slowly pulled his knife out and approached the animal cautiously, the latter suddenly seeming to realize what was happening as it froze in its place.

"Now, now, don't you go anywhere, just be a good bunny and---waaahh!" Shiki dived, trying to tackle the animal. He kept missing and ended up chasing the animal up and down the front of the mountain. Arcueid watched all this transpire with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Shiki..."

"Not now, Arcueid! Have to catch this...thing... Ah! Damn, almost had you, ack, there we go!" Shiki had finally managed to tackle the creature and was about to knife it when he finally looked in Arcueid's direction and saw her holding up another rabbit creature...only bigger. He looked down at the squirming creature in his arms. He lifted his arms and let the rabbit creature scamper away. He walked up to Arcueid and looked at the creature more closely. "This isn't like any rabbit I've ever seen. Do you know what it is?

"Nope. I think we will see other strange creatures on this mountain," Arcueid replied.

"Probably," Shiki figured out loud, looking up at their destination.

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In time the pair had a nice fire going, the wood and fire provided courtesy of Arcueid, while Shiki roasted the bunny over a stick. Once it was suitably roasted, he pulled a nice-sized chunk and gave it to Arcueid, who accepted it. He took his own piece.

"Itadakimasu," he announced, out of habit, before taking his first bite. "Hey, this isn't bad. What do you think?"

"Mmm," was the only reply Arcueid gave as she ate through her piece. Shiki took this as an affirmative and leaned back against a rock, looking up at the sky, then at the mountain.

"I wonder what we'll find up there...if there even is anything up there at all," Shiki said, wondering out loud. "I wonder if I'll even actually find Arima or not. Speaking of that, do you have any relatives of any kind, Arcueid?"

Arcueid looked up for a moment before shaking her head.

"I see. I wonder if vampires even have relatives or families as we know it."

"Do you have relatives?" Arcueid asked.

"Yeah, I do. There's the Arimas I used to live with. They're about it, but I know that I used to be with a different family before I came to first live with the Tohnos. I can't remember anything from back then: relatives, family, friends... I don't know. Maybe I'll remember some day."

Shiki looked at Arcueid and chuckled when he saw the young vampire try to tear out an especially hard to tear out chunk from her piece, getting one of her fangs stuck in the process. Shiki helped untangle that and also wiped her mouth a bit with a tissue he had.

"Shiki," Arcueid suddenly spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we could stay friends even after we reach the mountain top?"

Shiki smiled. "I sure do hope so," he finally said.

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After a bit of rest, the pair was now trudging their way up the mountain path towards the top. The path wasn't that long, and Shiki estimated they could reach the top in less than an hour. It was strange how the mountain that looked so huge in the distance, now didn't seem so big after all from up-close. Strange indeed.

"...and then there's the holidays, when sometimes school gets out and sometimes it doesn't," Shiki had been saying.

"Holidays? What are holidays?" Arcueid asked.

"Oh, those are special days people set aside to celebrate something," Shiki answered. "Like Christmas. It's supposed to be the birthdate of Christ, or some pagan something, I don't remember. But people get together, have parties and give each other presents. There's a bunch of others, like Valetine's Day, White Day, stuff like that."

"Valentine's Day? What's that?"

"That? Oh that day. That's when girls give chocolates to guys they like."

"It's not necessary that girls give chocolates to guys, right?"

"No, it's not necessary. Thanks to that, some guys don't get any chocolate at all for years and years." Shiki laughed at that thought for a moment. The pair approached a small clearing and stopped for a moment.

"But about Valentine's Day..." Shiki knelt down in front of Arcueid. "The girls who do give chocolates to the guys they like don't do it because they think it's necessary. They do it cause they want to. No one's telling them who to give their chocolate to or not to. Likewise, someone might want you to do something, saying that it's necessary, or they might keep you from doing something, saying that it's unnecessary, but in the end it's still your choice. Whether you feel it's the right thing to do and whether you want to or don't want to---that's what's going to matter in the end. Keep that in mind, okay?"

Arcueid's mouth hung open in surprise. She then nodded strongly and smiled. Shiki smiled in return and stood up, patting her head.

Their moment was interrupted when a beastial roar erupted from above them. The two glanced up to see a pack of wolf-like creatures bearing down on them from above. Shiki immediately pulled out his knife and pushed Arcueid behind himself. He reached up to his face with a hand out of sheer habit...and was surprised to feel his glasses. He took them off and was surprised even further when he still didn't see any lines or dots.

Shit. My trump card's gone, Shiki thought as he took his glasses off anyway and put them inside his jacket pocket, then flipped open his knife.

"Shiki," Arcueid spoke up from behind him.

"Stay back, okay?" Shiki cautioned her, just as the first creature scaled down the wall and rushed at him. Shiki pushed Arcueid out of harm's way then dodged slightly to the side, raking his knife downwards against the beast's side. The knife only made a minor cut against the monster's side. The monster roared in response and lashed out with a kick from its hindlegs, sending Shiki sprawling.

Shiki struggled to his feet just as one of the wolf beasts lunged at him. He could only barely dive out of the way as the creature flew past, one of its claws nicking him in the shoulder. Another rammed him from the side, sending him to the ground again. He had no time to react as the same beast leaped into the air and made a lunge for his throat.

A small, white shape suddenly came between Shiki and the beast and lashed out at the monster. There was a loud impact and the crunching of bones as the monster was propelled into the air and off the edge. It was Arcueid.

The wolf creatures, sensing a new opponent, began slowly circling Arcueid, who in turn tensed. One of the beasts rushed her. Arcueid spun and raked a clawed hand across its underbelly, splitting it in half. The others dove in at once. One spontaneously exploded into several pieces while another leapt straight at Arcueid. She stopped it, pushing against it with one hand and slashed it in half with the other. She stumbled when one knocked her off balance from behind. Another dashed in from the front and clamped its jawsto her midsection.

Arcueid's eyes widened and she cried out from the pain. The beast started to drag her around when Arcueid drove a fist down into its skull smashing it. And then another beast raked huge, bloody scratches into her back, sending her to her knees. She stayed there, breathing heavily, too pained to get up quickly. The remaining monsters, sensing their opportunity, readied their haunches for the final kill.

Shiki watched all this transpired with wide eyes. What was he doing? Why was he just sitting there? He saw the monsters prepare for the final attack, and snapped.

"Noo! Never!" Shiki screamed in rage as his eyes turned a light shade of blue and he dashed forward at an incredible speed. Images of Arcueid's smile and her clothes lying ownerless on the ground flashed through his mind. He was not going to let anyone die like that again. Ever.

His knife flashed and ran its way through one of the beast's. He then braked quickly and spun in place to carve giant, fatal cuts into another that had lunged at him in response. He then dashed once more, his body so low to the ground as to be almost touching it. He ran straight up the side of the cliff wall, stopped, then with a scream of rage sprang off of the cliff wall like a bullet, streaking toward the last beast.

"Never!"

The knife cleaved the monster's skull cleanly in half as Shiki spun and landed on his hands and feet. The best collapse onto the ground a moment later. Shiki breathed heavily as the rush died down. He put his glasses back on as his eye color returned to normal, and he turned to check on Arcueid. She was lying on her side, visibly breathing but obviously very injured.

He rushed over to her side and cradled her head.

"Arcueid, can you hear me?" he shouted.

"Not so loud..." Arcueid replied in a quiet voice.

Shiki looked down at the girl's body. Her white dress was stained with blood, both hers and the beasts'. The worst wound was in her midsection, with huge bite marks and massive damage. "You won't be moving, I presume," he said.

"I will heal, but it will take time," Arcueid answered. "You should go on to the top. I would be an unnecessary burden if you tried to take me with you."

Shiki shook his head furiously. He reached down, braced himself, and picked Arcueid up with both arms. He then resumed climbing up the mountain path.

"Shiki! I'll be fine, you don't need to take me with you, I'll only slow you down!" Arcueid insisted weakly.

"You do not leave friends behind. Ever! That's the truth, and I'm sticking to it. Leaving you behind there alone and unprotected might as well be the same as saying that I wouldn't care if you died. Well I'm sorry but I do care, so you'll have to put up with me carrying you up the rest of the way up this thing," Shiki said firmly.

Arcueid gazed up at him in wonder, then nodded, smiling. "Thank you."

"No problem," Shiki replied as he hiked up the path at a steady but quick pace.

A cool but soft breeze started to blow as Shiki made his way higher up the mountain with Arcueid in his arms. The breeze reminded him of that first fateful day he had met Arima and this whole mess began, which in turn reminded him of the day he had met Sensei.

"Shiki, those glasses," Arcueid spoke up, gazing up at them perched on Shiki's nose. "Are those important to you?"

"These? Yes they are," Shiki said, smiling. "You could say they were given to me as a gift of sorts. I call her Sensei. It was a bright day with a breeze just like this one." The breeze. Arcueid could feel it gently billowing against her face.

"She walked up to me, sat down next to me and talked to me like friend as if it were the most natural thing to do," Shiki went on. "She taught me everything. How to not try to grow up into a saint, but just become a man who is willing to do what he believes is right and is willing to apologize when he does something wrong. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be the person I am right now. And I'm thankful I met her."

"She sounds nice," Arcueid remarked.

"She is."

Shiki rounded another corner, and before he knew it, he was at the top. It was flat, like a plateau. Across from him, some fifty or so meters ahead was what looked like a giant gate.

"Can you put me down, I think I can stand," Arcueid said.

Shiki gently put her down and held her steady as she stood. He then gazed at the gate. "This looks like it," he said.

"It does. But I cannot go with you," Arcueid said.

Shiki spun around in shock. "What are you..."

"This is where we must part, but it will not be the last time we meet, I'm sure. I believe it so." Arcueid smiled warmly, gazing up at Shiki. "I wish you good luck in what's to follow, and I hope that you prevail. Stay to yourself, and like you said, do what you believe is right."

Shiki, though still a bit confused, nodded.

Arcueid reached up with her hands. Shiki kneeled down and Arcueid leaned forward, smiling warmly. She then kissed Shiki on the forehead softly. A bright light shined forth from Arcueid and seemed to illuminate everything. The wounds and blood on her body disappeared as did Shiki's. She stepped backwards away from Shiki. "Oh, and one more thing..."

Arcueid concentrated. A moment later an ornate piece of chocolate appeared in her hands. This she gave to Shiki, who accepted it.

"Accept it for the thought, if nothing else," she said, as she began to float away into the light. "Tohno Shiki..."

"Yes?" Shiki shouted as the wind and noise around the mountain top began to escalate.

"I'm happy to have gotten to know you and I'm proud to call you a friend. I wish you the best of everything." Arcueid then disappeared totally into the light. In almost an instant, the light, the noise, and wind died out to nothing and Shiki was on the mountain top, alone, the cool breeze blowing through. He looked down at the piece of chocolate in his hand and stuffed it in his mouth, smiling and enjoying the rich flavor. He then turned around and approached the gate, which spontaneously opened and spewed out an intense wave of light that swallowed Shiki up.

-----------------------------------------------------

Shiki traveled through the history and fabric of the universe, watching it unravel and disassemble. Then with a jerk, he was pulled into a chaos of light and sound. When it all ceased, Shiki opened his eyes to find himself standing on a marble platform floating in the middle of space.

It was actually not so much space as it was a border. Shiki could now see the lines and dots again, and they were all flowing and converging toward a single point far away. Closest to that point of convergence was a white castle, floating in the boundary between reality and being, and the end.

A castle at the end of the world.

Shiki knew it was where he had to go. He walked across the floating platforms and quickly reached the castle entrance, an enormous white gate that looked as if it were made of ivory. He moved towards it and raised a hand to knock when the gates unlocked automatically with a loud click, swinging open with a loud creak.

A blast of cool air buffeted Shiki from inside, forcing him to cover his face. The gale quickly died down to a gentle breeze. Shiki stepped inside the well-lit marble hall, noting that the breeze was the very same one he had been enjoying quite a few times often these past few days.

Shiki walked on down the hallway toward where he felt was the right way to go. In fact, he didn't have to go very far before he opened a door and was faced with an unbelievable sight.

It was a vast hall, but the far half of it had disappeared and was exposed to space, or whatever that nothingness filled with stars and colors was. A stone throne hung suspended from chains near the edge of what remained of the hall. And out there, beyond, was a mass of infinite colors and light. The Source. All the lines and dots were converging upon it. It was exactly as Shiki had seen in that dream.

The wind howled, fluttering Shiki's clothes and ruffling his hair. He stepped into the hall, glancing around the room.

"Welcome to Millennium Castle Brunestud! The number one tourist attraction here at the end of the world! Open twenty-four seven to all visitors, admission free!" a familiar voice called out above the howling wind.

The black-clad figure stepped out from behind a pillar. The howling wind suddenly died down to a soft breeze once more as the figure approached Shiki.

"Arima," Shiki said.

"Tohno," the other replied. "You took your sweet time getting here, even though we still have plenty of time to watch the universe dismantle. Here, in this castle, you can get a front seat view to the whole spectacle. Wonderous, isn't it? All those innumerable lines and dots converging into one, rejoining the whole."

Shiki smiled. He said, "I assume you haven't given up on returning everything to the Source?"

"Of course I haven't," Arima replied, spreading his hands out towards the Source. "The absolute truth has just taken one step closer to completion. It's a thrilling moment for me."

"Good for you. Not to rain on your parade, but I've already found the truth."

"Oh?" Arima turned to look at Shiki with mocking eyes. "And what did it tell you?"

"It can't be told or described. It can only be experienced. Your obsession with the Source is what blinds you to it."

"The Source is the truth! Where else can the truth be?" Arima exclaimed, his eyes the same globes of white filled with amusement.

Shiki gazed straight at Arima. "Do you remember that grassy hill near Miss Henry's place? Overlooking a valley with a small city in the middle? You used to sit on that hill, feeling that breeze. Arcueid would run up to you and sit next to you, materialize a piece of chocolate because you were hungry and you forgot to bring lunch. And then she would tell you that she'll be going to your school. And then she raced you to Miss Henry's and she would win all the time. You remember that, right?"

Arima stared at Shiki as if the latter had grown a second head.

"Ha...Haha...Hahahahahahahahahaha!" Arima burst out laughing, clutching his sides. A mocking, tainted laughter that filled and echoed through the hall. "Hilarious! Ridiculous! Ludicrous! Oh, please do tell me those things again, won't you?" Arima lost control and laughed again.

"I guess you don't see it," Shiki said, lowering and shaking his head.

"It is laughable. It's a notion of infinite moronitude to think that people and scenery are what compose the truth! Miss Henry's muffins? Are they suddenly divine? Feh! Let me tell you a truth Tohno---one that you should remember well!"

Arima extended a hand as if to reach out for something. "People do not last," he stated, closing his hand into a fist as if to crush something. "They do not last. In a hundred years, they might be mentioned. In a thousand years, they are not even a scribble on a random sheet of paper. When a person is remembered throughout the ages it is because of the work he has done, the legacy he has left behind! Work and legacy---these things last! The hero himself is gone forever, cast out of all meaningfulness!

"That is truth, Tohno Shiki. When you die, you as a person will live on inside your loved ones for however long they live, or until they die, after which the only thing you will be remembered for will be that most special ability of yours: the connection. Even Arcueid, who is an immortal, died out as well, and with her goes the memory of you as a person.

"Now objects, materials of great value and legacy, they are truly valuable and irreplaceble! Anyone could easily sacrifice a billion people for a single ancient stone tablet. Eventually people will fuck and breed like rabbits enough for that 1 billion to be replaced. The worth of an individual? Ha! What is the worth of an individual without the work or kinds of contributions he can make? Anyone with sufficient training and intellect can replace that first easily!"

Arima stopped. "Ehem, my point is," he continued, "that it is laughable to think that such inconsequential and transient things as people could be immediate key components of the absolute truth."

"Is that what you think?" Shiki spoke up. "In contrast, people are more valuable because of the fact that they do not last. Their short lives and existences make their unique presences all the more valuable for that short time they are around. At least, that is another way of looking at it."

"It appears we are at ends," Arima declared.

"Looks like the Source's blinded you too much. Literally, in fact. Looks like I'll have to carry out what I came here to do," Shiki said, taking out his knife and opening it.

"In that case, let us find out which of us will have the honor of returning to the glory that is the Source first, shall we?" Arima replied, his own knife popping out of its holster. He grasped it and flipped open the blade. He dropped into his stance, waiting for the other to do the same.

"First though," Shiki said. He grabbed his knife and aimed it at his own head. He found the dot he was looking for and pierced it. A blinding pain filled his senses for a brief moment before disappearing. "Now I'm ready." His eyes turned blue and he dropped into a very low stance, almost touching the ground.

"Alright. Let's have at each other," Arima said.

The two burst into action. Shiki dashed across the floor like a spider, calling on his reawakened Nanaya memories, scaled up the wall then bounced back, aiming for Arima's death dot. The other spun like a top and knocked aside the blade, returning with a stab of his own, which Shiki shifted away from.

The two backed away from each other, then rushed again, blades clashing, sending sparks into the air. Arima slashed at the air and teleported behind Shiki, who had anticipated that move and leaped into the air out of reach. Arima aimed at Shiki's death dot and slashed out at it. Shiki countered by hitting the death dot of that slash. Apparently Arima could slice the dots and lines of things from far away. If that was so...

Shiki hit the ceiling, dashed across it and down the wall and finally toward Arima, who turned a half-circle, and lashed out, catching Shiki's arm with a light slash, barely missing the line. Shiki dashed past, tripping the other at the same time. He then stabbed at the floor.

The part of the floor that Arima was on collapsed into empty space outside. In response, Arima slashed at the air. Suddenly Shiki felt himself weightless. Arima had killed the gravity in the room. While Shiki momentarily flailed in disorientation, Arima smirked and slashed, teleporting to the nearest wall. He pushed off with his legs with all his strength, slashing at Shiki as he flashed past.

Shiki barely blocked that slash, and barely dodged the second dash that came a split-second later. He wasn't going to last if he stayed weightless in the center of the room like this. As Arima sped towards him on a third dash, Shiki lashed out with a kick, catching Arima in the shoulder. The force sent Arima crashing into a wall and Shiki into the throne hanging aimlessly near the edge of the room. The chains holding it to the ceiling creaked. One of them broke as Shiki hung onto the stone throne.

Arima sensed the opportunity and teleported to the ceiling and then stabbed. The ceiling began crumbling. Shiki braced against the throne and pushed off with all his strength, sending him rocketing away from the throne and into the hall while the throne, chains, and parts of the ceiling fell into the Source.

As Shiki rocketed back into the room, Arima appeared out of thin air in his path. Shiki knew the other intended to kick him back out, so he concentrated his eyes and stabbed just Arima lashed out with a kick that hit Shiki in the chest and would've sent him back out, had the air in a spherical volume behind Arima not just been killed by Shiki. The vacuum force sent them smashing through the throne room door and into the hall outside where there was gravity.

The two leapt back onto their feet just as the castle trembled and more of the throne room separated and fell into the Source. Arima and Shiki rushed each other in the relatively narrow hallway, bouncing off of walls and the floor and ceiling, their knives sending sparks into the air. This pattern went on until it abruptly ended when Arima scored a kick to Shiki's jaw and then killed Shiki's knife, shattering it. Shiki flew back into the wall behind him, coughing.

"Well then, looks like this is more or less over, don't you think?" Arima commented mockingly.

Shiki merely coughed and slowly stood up.

"Your weapon's been destroyed. You have no chance. Will you not change your mind and join me? This is your last chance," Arima said.

Shiki stayed silent, breathing heavily.

Arima pointed at the open throne room door and the Source visible beyond it. "Look at it, Tohno! Just look at it! The beginning and end of all things, the homeplace of the absolute truth! The answer to all questions! Don't you want to see it? Aren't you even the slightest bit curious?" Arima shouted.

Shiki glared at Arima. "I already told you before," Shiki said. "I've already seen the real truth, and I won't join you to destroy more of it. And I won't just stand by and watch you do your thing either."

"Oh? And what will you do? Scratch me? Foolish! I see everything. You are helpless against me."

"No...you're wrong," Shiki replied, a slight smirk on his face. "You see nothing."

Arima watched Shiki stab a dot within himself with his fingernail. Suddenly, Shiki vanished. His lines and dots...his everything...simply disappeared into thin air.

"What the? How..." Arima could not finish that sentence before Shiki grabbed Arima's knife arm and, with a grunt of effort, tore it out of its socket. Arima screamed in pain. Shiki's dots and lines reappeared just as Shiki snatched Arima's knife out of his now dead fingers and stabbed Arima's death dot.

Arima gasped. His death dot was not fully pierced but he could feel his essence---his being tottering on the edge between existence and end.

"I used my fingernail to cut my own connection to the Source. Completely," Shiki spoke. "You claim you can see everything because everything that originates and ends at the Source is visible to you, in other words anything that has a connection to the Source. That is your fatal weakness You see nothing but the Source, therefore when I disconnected myself briefly from it, I, for all intents and purposes, ceased to exist in your eyes.

"But I can still see. Colors, shapes, the faces of people...everything that a normal human being would see. That's why even with my connection to the Source severed I could still see you. And now, here we are."

Arima could barely breathe. "I must admit," he managed to gasp, "that was very brilliant. You receive my admiration---aaargh!"

"Do you see it yet, Arima? Do you see it?" Shiki shouted.

Arima saw it. His life flashing before his eyes. His early childhood, the day he first met a shy Shinso girl named Arcueid, their time at school together, and more. And just for a brief moment, an endless grassy hill. A cool, gentle breeze under a blue, blue sky. Himself sitting on the grass, Arcueid next to him---the two of them chatting about meaningless but fun things.

Now he knew.

"Perfection..." Arima gasped.

"That's it. The 'absolute truth' as you call it is actually 'absolute perfection.'" Shiki explained. "A moment of total contentment and peace---where nothing else matters but you, your friends and loved ones, and the beautiful world. So perfect that even the Source pales to its sheer impact. You said before that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. What you missed was that to appreciate the whole, you need all of its parts in the big picture as well. Only by appreciating everything can you truly grasp the big picture, and the 'truth.' Without the parts, you have nothing. Everything minus everything is zero. If you had succeeded in your mission, you would have found not the answer, but simple nothing.

"Think of it as me saving you a few more centuries of pointless work," Shiki said, smiling a bit.

"What a way of putting it," Arima replied. "I understand now."

Shiki nodded and pushed the knife all the way in. The life left Arima's eyes as his essence and being disappeared and returned to the Source.

It was over.

Shiki looked out and gazed at the Source. Suddenly the entire castle trembled once more, far more strongly than before. Shiki stumbled as the walls, ceiling and floor disintegrated and fell toward the Source. The entire universe continued its death throes.

Shiki was no doubt in a bit of a pinch. What was he going to do? He frantically searched his mind for possible answers as he fell closer toward the Source. If he did the wrong thing, everything could go completely to hell.

Do what you believe is the right thing to do.

Shiki suddenly remembered. It was a gamble, but it was the right thing to do, or so he believed. He pushed against a nearby piece of the floor and propelled himself through the weightless space between the remains of the castle and the Source.

As Shiki neared the Source, the light and colors grew more varied and more intense as he floated closer. The lines and dots were now so tightly clustered that they might as well be just a red mass. He swallowed down the rest of his doubt and dove into the light.

Everything. Everyone. All, none. Shiki was one with the Source. He could see everything that was the Source. The past, present, and the future all revealed themselves to him. The flood of light and the influence of the Source was tearing Shiki's mind apart, tearing at his essence, the weight of it all crushing him.

This was it. He summoned every bit of will he had and raised the knife to his chest. He aimed it toward his death dot and with a final burst of effort, drove it into the dot with all his might.

The world exploded.

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Ending

Arima Shiki awoke to the sight of his own hand. He stared at it for a few seconds before realizing with shock that he could actually see his own hand again. The lines and dots were gone. He could see his own hand, his own body, and, if he had a mirror, his own face.

He looked around at where he was. A floor like a mirror, stretching on in all directions for what seemed like eternity. The last thing he remembered was Tohno ending his existence. How did he come here?

"Oh, look who I find!" a grizzly, voice called from behind him.

Arima turned around to face the stranger. No lines, no dots. He could actually see the man's face now. He could see faces for the first time in centuries. The fact seemed almost unreal and alien to him.

Red eyes, grey hair, a strong but gentle face. Arima had seen that face before.

"Wizard Marshall Zelretch," Arima thought out loud.

"Correct, Arima Shiki.," Zelretch replied. "Quite a job Tohno Shiki has done to existence."

"What? He did what?"

"I will explain everything to you along the way."

"Along the way? To where?"

"Anywhere you'd like," Zelretch said, spreading his hands.

Arima thought for a few seconds, but there was really only one place in the entire cosmos he wanted to go to right now.

Arima smiled warmly for the time in a long time. "I'd like to go home now," he said.

Zelretch nodded and together they left.

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Tohno Shiki woke up to the warm sensation of sunlight basking down on him and the sound of cicadas. He sat up and looked around. He was on the porch of the detached house in the Tohno premises. He was home, but how had he come back here? The last thing he remembered was the world seeming to explode.

There was a sound of footstep to his right. Shiki turned to his right to see a Japanese woman with short black hair wearing a blue kimono and a red jacket. She gazed down at him with a calm expression.

Shiki scratched his head. "Excuse me...you are..."

"Ryougi Shiki," the stranger replied. "An honor to meet you, Tohno Shiki."

"You're also a Shiki," Shiki noticed.

Ryougi nodded and sat down next to the other. "It's usually rare that the world feels this beautiful," she said, "but nowdays it's been becoming a regularity. All thanks to you."

"All thanks to me?"

Ryougi nodded and pointed at his glasses. "Try taking those off."

Shiki did so and immediately noticed that he could see no lines or dots anywhere. "They... They're gone... How..."

"Nothing's wrong with your glasses. What's change is existence itself."

Shiki looked at the other questioningly.

"What do you last remember," Ryougi asked.

Shiki poured through his memory. "I remember diving into the Source, and then piercing my death dot."

"The Source is the beginning and end of all things," Ryougi said. "All things come to being from it and return to it when their existence fails to have meaning. But your pierced your death dot when you were one with the Source---in a sense, you pierced the Source's death dot."

"So you're saying that I basically killed the Source," Shiki noted.

"That is more or less what happened. Now, what do you think happens to everything if the Source ceases to exist?"

"There's no beginning or end so it's..."

"Yes. A line of infinite length, with no perceivable beginning or end. Everything is, and will be forever. In this condition, no one truly dies when they are killed. No one is truly forgotten and nothing is really lost.

"You discovered that perfect moment...that 'absolute truth,' did you not?"

"I did."

"Everything lasts forever, to some degree or form. The world as we knew it before this change was one riddled with starts and stops. Moments of truth---perfection---as you experienced during the end of this universe, were all too brief---to quick to end. But now..." Ryougi looked around at the perfect atmosphere all around. "You have taken the closest thing to pure paradise and realized it for the whole of existence. Congratulations."

"Whoa... This is all so much, I..." Shiki tried to say.

"Shiki!" a familiar voice called from afar. Shiki's head spun toward that direction.

"Tohno! What the hell are you doing out there? The party's about to start!"

"Yes, Shiki-sama, please join us."

"Tohno-kun!"

Shiki almost couldn't believe it. Everyone he knew and cared about was here. Arcueid, Ciel, Akiha, Hisui, Kohaku, Arihiko, Ren, and even Satsuki, were all well and beckoning him to come from where they were near the main house.

"Th---this is..." Shiki turned toward Ryougi but she was not there.

"Nii-san! Don't you dare keep the rest of us waiting any longer!"

"Shiki, hurry up!"

Shiki turned to the approaching group and called out, "I'm coming, hang on!"

Shiki picked his glasses up from where he had taken them off. The lines and dots were gone so he technically didn't need the glasses.

After a moment's thought he put them back on. They reminded him of Sensei, and all the good things in the world. Plus, he probably looked better in them anyway. Shiki thought about what to tell them---sooner or later he would have to break the news that he couldn't see the lines anymore to Ciel and Arcueid.

The group called out to him again. Without sparing another moment's thought he got up and made his way toward his friends and family.

The news could wait. Right now Shiki had a party to join in.

So he ran, off to embrace the beautiful world.

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ad Infinatum