As you read, imagine the "ocean," "waves," and "abyss" as a sort of Resonance/unconsciousness type of thing.

Enjoy~

Kinaia awoke from her sleep, feeling her body moving on its own. She gazed drowsily at her surroundings, wondering why she was outside of the den.

Her mind was muddled, her limbs didn't obey her mental commands, and for some reason she felt like she wasn't alone. Something else . . . was in her mind with her.

I did not expect you to awaken so early, child.

The voice, feral and female, jogged Kinaia's memory. Slowly, memories of a church, Lindow, the Vashimu, and a shattered armlet rose through the fog of her mind . . .

"Where . . . are we? Who . . . are you?" Kinaia struggled to think clearly, feeling like her head was numbed and stuffed with cotton as she mentally formed the questions.

Patience. All will be revealed when you are ready to respond.

Kinaia, feeling her mind being dragged under again, almost accepted the drowsiness until she belatedly remembered something.

A mission - an order, perhaps - to . . . kill a scorpion? She had others with her, too, she thought. Others she thinks were important to her, and the names were on the tip of her tongue . . .

Kama. Kama Kotaku, and . . . Arashi? Yes, Arashi . . . Muran? Ramen? . . . No, Muramasa. There weren't faces to match the names, but Kinaia felt they were important to her.

She struggled against the current pulling her back into unconsciousness, needing to know why these names were important to her.

"Who . . . are these people?" she finally asked, holding herself above the black waves that lapped against her mind, dragging her into the abyss.

She heard a surprise grunt from the other voice, as well as feeling her body stop walking. The voice from before made a sound similar to a purr before speaking.

It appears your mind is stronger than I anticipated. Very well, I shall tell you what you wish to know. Those two names belong to friends of yours in your past life. They are alive and well, though you cannot be in their lives any longer.

Kinaia felt her control slipping; felt herself slip under the waves in her mind. Her thoughts faded into the dark ocean of her mind.

Some time later, Kinaia felt two, perhaps three beings near her.

She mentally opened her eyes, seeing the abyss she was trapped in all around her. Looking up, she found speckles of light, as if it were reflections of light on water.

Despite the current dragging her down, she forced her weary arms to move upward, powered by determination and curiosity. She knew these presences; she knew them from some place deep in her soul.

The current got stronger somehow, trying to keep her under the waves of unconsciousness, but she pushed onward relentlessly. She surfaced, gaining control of her body and looking at her surroundings.

She was in a destroyed town; burned corpses and charred buildings surrounded her, as well as the corpse of some odd creature mixed with a vehicle . . . A tank, I think.

How dare you force me out of your consciousness?! The voice bellowed, furious at her. The current pushed her back down, but she forced the current away from her mind.

"There is someone close. Someone I remember, though I don't know who." Kinaia told her, gazing at the source of the strange feeling: a mountain range close by, several miles away.

The current suddenly became a whirlpool, dragging her down despite all of her resistance. The voice echoed with anger: If these creatures you call your friends give you so much strength, then I shall cut them away from this planet myself.

Kinaia couldn't fight any longer; she was dragged under the waves and lost control of her body. She felt the other presence take control again and felt it run toward the mountain range.

Even as she felt herself slipping away, she inwardly declared "If I took control once, I can do it again. As long as I have strength, you won't harm these people."

The last thing she heard was the voice chuckling, saying we shall see, human. We shall see.

After a short pause, Kinaia felt the presences from before very close by, mixed with another presence similar to the Aragami inside her mind.

She forced her way upward, powered by sheer willpower, and only surfaced slightly; enough to regain her senses, but not enough to gain control of her body.

It was enough to see through her sight, however; the other being inside her had killed a tiger-like creature with Kinaia's hand – now a dark furred claw of some kind – thrust deep into its neck.

She also had a vague taste of blood and meat, and was disturbed to find that it tasted delicious as well as disgusting. Is the Aragami . . . eating the tiger? Am I tasting what she's tasting?

Kinaia noticed that she started calling the other thing inside her a 'she' instead of 'it', something that confused her. She stopped her musings as the beast turned to the right, gazing upon three humans that Kinaia recognized.

She knew the beast was going to try and kill them, and Kinaia put as forceful of a command as she could into her words as she told the beast "You will not touch these humans!"

She felt the other presence recoil – knew that she hadn't noticed Kinaia until then – and it backed away while gripping its head. The whirlpool forced Kinaia down again, but she managed to put even more emphasis in her command.

The beast grunted in barely-controlled pain, telling Kinaia Very well, I shall not harm these humans. Cease your struggles, and I swear by the blood of Nova that I will leave them alone!

Kinaia sensed her honesty, as well as the concealed irritation and pain, and let herself slip under the waves once more. As long as she was able to, she would fight the other being with tooth and nail.

One of the humans she had just saved, the one in a red and black jacket, felt far more important than the others. Important enough to fight the presence controlling Kinaia.

For now, she fell into the darkness without any further struggles.

Much time had passed from then until the next time Kinaia awoke again. She felt stronger, her senses sharper - more reliant on instincts.

She rose above the black waves, surfacing without the currents attempting to pull her down.

She mentally asked "Why am I still aware? How am I still alive?" Everything she was experiencing went against what she remembered being taught. Now that she had rested her mind, she could easily remember pieces of her old life.

Faces and names were unrecognizable, but words were legible; she recalled an elderly man who wore glasses giving her a lesson of some sort, about how Aragami infection causes a human to become mindless and bloodthirsty.

Nothing was told about a secondary presence sharing her mind or being able to take control of her body again.

I see you have rested. You are confused about where you stand, and wondering what is going on. Allow me to ease your mind and set you free from Fenrir's control.

Aragami are nothing like the mindless entities of which you have been taught. We are fabricated beings, yes, but we each have conscious control. You could call us animals, if you were ignorant of our caste system.

Kinaia was confused, and asked "If the Aragami could think, why would they devour humans whenever possible? Why fight, instead of reason?"

Another throaty laugh followed her question, as well as the female voice sarcastically asking her You expect to communicate and reason with another species that cannot speak? One based on survival of the fittest, no less?

You have much to learn, of both our ways and the deception forced upon you. First and foremost: the only way to live our life is to fight for the right. Nothing is free, nothing is certain. It is a harsh life, but it is a fulfilling one.

Second, everything you've known is a lie. Humans have experimented since the dawn of their existence, and deceiving is second nature to them. You are a byproduct of their 'finest success', but at the same time you are the inheritor of the savior of Aragami.

Kinaia questioned "What do you mean, 'inheritor of the savior of Aragami?' Why would I be the savior of the species that I've fought since I became a God Eater?" If this monster expected her to betray everyone she used to know, she was in for a long and grueling fight!

However, Kinaia's mind quickly became crowded with doubt as the creature told her You are not human, child. Fenrir created you to be exactly what they wanted you to be: a key – one of three – to open the gate of divine providence. You and two others were to be transformed into Aragami and manipulated to create the Core of Nova.

The creature's voice softened in sympathy as it delivered the crushing blow: Everything you thought you once were . . . everything you fought to protect . . . all of it was a lie. Everything fabricated by those you held in such high esteem, all because they lusted for power. I'm sorry, Kinaia.

You are not human. You were never human. You, as well as the other two fragments, are completely Aragami, from the skin that covers you to the bottom-most depths of your soul.

A/N: Ouch. Doesn't that suck? *tear falls from eye*

So the final piece is revealed: The fragments of Nova are Aragami like Shio!

This is not the end of the mini-story, and more shockers to come!

Cheers~