Chp. 3 Lycoris

(I do not own 'The Garden of Everything or Steve Conte or Maaya Sakamoto)

Next day--

"GOOD MORNING SHUGO RENA!" A voice bumped into Shugo and Rena's eardrum right after they logged into "The World".

"Ughh! My ear…"Shugo covered his ear, feeling a bit dizzy.

"M-Mireille…what's up?" Rena recovered from the "Ear shock" and asked.

"There's a rare-item searching campaign!! You guys' in?" Mireille screamed with the word "rare" shining in her eyes.

"Eh…no thanks…we have place to go…" Shugo sweated and answered.

"Heh? You guys' no fun! Maybe I should ask Ouka to go with me…" Mireille sighed and mumbled to herself.

"Sorry, Mireille…" Rena apologized.

"Oh, it's nothing…"Mireille waved her hand to the siblings and rushed off the field.

"She surely is interested in those kinds of things…"Shugo sweated.

"Well, she's a rare hunter after all. Now let's go." Rena said. The siblings then went to the Chaos Gate.

After they reached the Chaos Gate, Shugo took out Helba Key and roared,

"Use item: Helba Key!"

A transporting tunnel appeared, and the two to them fell into the tunnel.

Soon after 3 seconds, they reached the Net Slum.

Just when Shugo started to walk, a young girl's voice rang inside his mind.

'The Heir to the twilight bracelet…are you willing to grant the goddess's wish?'

"What? Who's that?" Shugo looked around, puzzled by the voice that just bumped into his mind.

Rena looked at Shugo with a puzzled face.

"Shugo, what are you talking about?" She asked her brother.

"I just…heard a voice. She asked me whether I'm willing to grant the goddess's wish or not." Shugo told Rena about the voice.

"But I didn't hear anything…are you sure you heard the voice?" Rena said.

"You know…your brother isn't an old man." Shugo answered with a bit irritation in his voice.

"Oh well…never mind. Let's go." Rena decided to put a stop on this topic before they start shouting to each other.

As they were walking to the portal that transports them to the place where Aura exists, they saw many corroded wandering AIs.

There were ones that have wings on their back, ones that wear ropes, and ones that have strange signs on their clothes…like the sign of infinity, sign of omega…but all of them were corroded.

"Remember when the first time we reach here? Zefie was deleting those corroded AIs." Shugo remarked.

"Yeah, but there are so many of them. Maybe this cycle won't be stopped." Rena nodded and replied.

"Right. But who made those AIs?" Shugo asked curiously, "if the makers know that those AIs will be deleted by Zefie, why are they keep making them?"

"Dunno…hey, we are arrived." Rena replied. The siblings reached the portal.

Just then, the young girl's voice rang up again.

"Heir of the twilight bracelet…are you willing to grant the goddess's wish…?"

"Again?" Shugo exclaimed.

"Who's that?" This time Rena also heard that voice.

"You hear the voice too?" Shugo turned to his sister and asked.

"This is the first time I hear it…Shugo look!" Just when Rena was giving her reply to her brother, a girl dress in red appeared in front of the portal.

"Who are you? What do you want from us?" Shugo asked suspiciously and readied himself for a fight.

"Wait, brother. This is a wandering AI!" Rena noticed that the young girl that stood in front of her was corroded.

"An AI?" Shugo stared at the girl for a moment, and then lowed down his weapons. The AI girl then started to talk.

"My name is Lycoris—the unwanted child of 'The World'."

"My name is Lycoris—the unwanted child of 'The World."

"Ly…Lycoris?" Shugo was puzzled, "wait…aren't you a fragment that was deleted by Zefie?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Rena was puzzled.

I remember this girl, Shugo thought. The girl that looked like Zefie, and dress like Aura with red outfit. After she was deleted, some flower petals were left on the place she disappeared.

"Never mind. You don't know about this." Shugo replied to Rena, then turned to Lycoris.

"So Lycoris, what is it you want from me?" Shugo asked Lycoris.

Lycoris closed her eyes for a bit moment, then reopened them.

"I wanted an answer from you, the Heir to the twilight bracelet."

"An answer from Shugo/me?" Rena and Shugo asked at the same time.

"Yes." Lycoris nodded, then grabbed one of Shugo's hands and held it to her chest.

"Wha…" Just when Rena started to go on a rampage, Lycoris opened her mouth and asked,

"Shugo, the Heir of the twilight bracelet…will you grant the goddess's wish?"

After Shugo and Rena heard the question, the siblings were frozen in their track for two seconds.

"The goddess's wish?" Rena was confused by Lycoris's question.

"The goddess…wait, do you mean Aura?" Shugo thought for a moment, then suddenly understood what Lycoris was saying.

Lycoris nodded silently, her hands reached the twilight bracelet.

"The goddess of 'The World' now has one wish—a wish that can only be granted by you--the Heir to the twilight bracelet." She continued.

"Me?" Shugo and Rena stared at each other, both confused.

"Here is the hint of the goddess's wish," Lycoris said, then sang a few lines.

'The mirror melts somewhere else, inside eternity.'

'Where you on, outstretched wings, sing within the garden of everything.'

'Where memories call to me, backward dreams of phantom reality…call to me…call to me…'

"Phantom…reality?" Shugo wondered what the lyrics were saying.

"Is it all the hints you can give to Shugo?" Rena asked Lycoris, but Lycoris didn't reply her.

"Will you grant the goddess her wish, the Heir to the twilight bracelet?" She asked Shugo once again.

Shugo blinked his eyes once and no twice.

"Yes, I will do my best to grant Aura her wish. But why is that only I can grant her wish?" Shugo replied.

Lycoris smiled gently.

"Because no one knows the goddess better than you."

"Huh?" Rena stared at Shugo suspiciously," why, Shugo?"

A bead of sweat ran down on Shugo's blank face. "It's nothing…" Shugo smiled a half-heart smile, fearing her sister's temper.

"Well then, our conversation ends here. May you success your mission safely." Lycoris let go of Shugo's hand, then left the siblings in silence.

"…so, shall we go?" Shugo asked her sister.

"Yup." Rena nodded. Then Shugo held up his right hand with the twilight bracelet and the virus cores that Aura sent to them.

"Area name: Twilight"

After Shugo entered the word, the portal in front of them opened and transported them to the place where Aura exists.

Chapter 3 ends here. So how is it? Plz R&R!

Chapter 4 preview: Shugo and Rena finally reached the forest where Aura and Zefie exist. So what did they encounter in the forest? What would Shugo say once he knew about Aura's wish? Chapter 4's up!