Ib went silent, listening, then beamed. "You forgive me? Yay!" Ib abruptly stood up and hugged someone invisible. … Ib smiled down at the doll. "Hmm? Gary's speaking to me? But there's no one here... well except for Mary and you..." She looked straight through Gary. "Where is Gary?"
I taste….Rust. Salt. Red… I'm covered in red… It's blood… my blood…. My head's throbbing… and there's dolls… dolls…. Dolls…! "GARY HELP ME! THEY WANT TO HANG ME NEXT!" She cried out, but her strength was draining quickly. She felt Gary prying dolls off her small limbs, and was about to murmur a small "Thank you…" ,when she lost consciousness.
Ib opened her eyes to darkness. She was nowhere, just floating in a starless space… no, this wasn't space, this was an abyss. She couldn't feel anything except the sound of her heart beating faster than she had ever felt it. Am I… dead? I hope Gary's alright… Ib paused and grimaced soberly. Gary…. She covered her eyes to stop hot tears from welling up in her eyes. What happened to him? Why did he become…. that… monster? Is the real Gary still in there? She tried to sigh, but a lump of guilt caught in her throat. I was so mean to him… maybe he really didn't mean to do any harm to me…
A man walked up to the hovering Ib. He was tall, nearly two feet taller than Ib. He wore a dark cloak, with dark hair swept near his left eye, but despite his grim appearance, his face seemed downright amiable. He smiled down at Ib. "Hey Ib." he said in a silky deep voice. Ib stared up at the man, gazing into his deep, swirling purple eyes.
"Who are you? And where am I?" Ib asked roughly. She was surprised at how much it hurt to talk, and she felt like acid was flowing through her veins instead of blood. The man laughed a great, loose laugh that seemed out of place in such a dismal void. "My apologies. You are in the World of Kyōki. My name is Wraith. I do believe you've met my er, late siblings." Ib looked at Wraith. "Your late siblings? You don't mean…" Ib trailed off, distracted by the pounding in her head.
She held in a scream of pain. Wraith noticed her injured look, and calmly held up his left arm. Why doesn't he have a left hand? thought Ib. A shadowy left hand appeared, and Wraith pressed it to Ib's cheek gently. It felt like fire, hot, burning fire, and Ib cried out in pain, her back arching. Wraith chuckled a low, grim laugh. "Ib… you're so cold…" Ib gasped out "No…! You're just… blazing…!"
Wraith closed his eyes lightly. "Ib, do you know what the word Kyōki means?" he said quietly. Ib managed to nod. "It means madness, insanity." He looked Ib straight in her eyes, then muttered "This is your sanity. Somewhere out there, your body is wandering around, going insane." Ib couldn't process his words. Wraith turned around, his back facing Ib. "You're dying Ib. Just look at yourself." Ib looked down and gasped through a mouthful of blood. She was covered in scratches and blood, and she was paler than snow. Her white uniform was soaked in blood, her ribbon had been torn to shreds. Her eyes shifted to her left leg. Oh God. Her leg had been eaten away by… a strange darkness. Ib forced herself to look away. Wraith continued, "The darkness will eat you away until you disappear. Meanwhile in the real world, you will be slowly going insane." He started to walk away. Ib cried out "You monster! Can't you help me?" Wraith looked back at Ib, a faint smile on his face. "But Ib… I'm in the same situation as you are…" He pulled off his cloak to reveal the same strange darkness eating away at his arm. "For some reason, for you it's spreading at a ridiculously fast pace…" Wraith paused then sighed. "But I may be able to do something about it." He reached out his right hand to Ib. "Trust me, Ib."
Gary backed away slowly. Ib touched her leg softly. "Ow." she winced. Gary rushed over. "Are you hurt?" Ib clutched the doll to her chest murmuring "Not enough… not enough…" Gary heard the doll say She just wants a hug. Gary leaned over and hugged Ib tight, burying her face in his chest. Ib hugged him back. She was colder than ice. "Gary… you're warm…" she said into his chest. Gary kissed the top of her head. "It'll be okay, Ib." "…! Too…warm…!" Ib slumped down in Gary's arms. Gary looked down at her, and gasped at what he saw.
Her left leg was gone.