A/N: And so this is the second part of the fight! Shorter than what I thought it would be, but nevermind. As for why the fight in the previous chapter seemed familiar? I mean the earplugs thingy... it's because it was actually in the anime. Yuri used the same tactic against one of Kanade's Harmonics clone when the clone used howling. I've been wanting to throw in that part again for some time.

As I stated in the previous chapter, this one is going to be painful to read... both physically and mentally painful. Be prepared. A lot of hate in this one... caps lock rage all the way.

Angel Beats!

What We Live For

Operation 53

Yuki vs Yuri

Angels. A type of celestial being that are said to be messengers and warriors of the high Heavens. They represent Order, perfection and tranquillity. They are the virtues of what men strive to be and are pure in all forms. They represent all that is good in the World and are an existence closest to God. However there is one Angel who believes himself to be equal to the God he is suppose to serve. The Angel of Light, the one who is said to be beautiful and all powerful however had gotten drunk of pride and defied the will of the Heavens, resulting in him being cast down to the deepest pits of Hell where he reigns as one of the seven most prominent beings in Hell.

There are multiple reasons as to why such a powerful Angel wanted to challenge God, but it is often said that he felt himself to be higher than others and therefore openly rebelled in order to get what he believed to be rightfully his. He was an Angel who did not see man in the same way as God, believing himself to be more worthy of God's love than man. When God commanded the Angels to respect man, Lucifer refused, believing man to be imperfect and not worthy of God's attention. Lucifer, the 'Morning Star', a fallen Angel sent down from the heavens as punishment for defying the will of God. The very symbol of Pride, the being who believed himself to be greater than what he truly is. The 'Morning Star', the 'Light Bringer', the most beautiful of all Angels. Lucifer.

"... Well, she certainly does look the part."

Nakamura Yuri muttered to no one in particular as she now faced against Taeno Yuki, the Queen of Fort after she had activated her true powers. Taeno Yuki was no longer the same as before. Where once she wore the SSS2 uniform, she now wore a full set of golden medieval Armour. Grand and covered with detailed designs, it was beautiful to look at and it certainly gave the feeling of immense power. From her back were six large white feathered wings, each flapping slowly yet still able to keep her off the ground. Adorned upon her head was a golden Crown covered with beautiful gems and valuable stones. Yuki's entire being was grand and imposing to the point where Yuri could not take her eyes off her.

"That is one nice armour."

Yuri could not help but point out.

"I'm guessing that your SSS weapon was not your cane, but rather your beret, which has now been transformed into that crown."

"... The symbols of the right to rule has long been a crown. To rest the importance of the King upon one's head, where the mind, the intelligence is the true meaning behind the power of the rulers."

Yuki answered back. An Angel in full armour. That was certainly what Yuki seemed to be. But an Angel to pronounce himself to be King, that was more than pride. That was pure arrogance. The corrupted power of the Crown. Taeno Yuki's crown. Sovereignty. The mark of the ruler.

"You stand before the grand Crown of the high heavens, and yet you still defy its presence?"

Yuki glared down at Yuri, who forced a smirk. She wasn't feeling all that confident in fighting Yuki, but it was something she had to do. She had to end this fight now, before everything Yuki did would bring about the destruction of the living World. The Apocalypse program was something that both Yuzurus feared would destroy both this Afterlife and the World of the Living, but Katsuragi Rei warned Yuri about Yuki's 'other' power. It is through Yuki's unintended wish for everyone to know her suffering that she had inadvertently caused the World of the Living to go out of balance.

People in the living World were meeting untimely deaths all just so that Yuki could have her way. Although each and every one of these SSS2 suffered different pains in life, and it would be a far stretch to say Yuki directly caused their deaths, it is not by any far margin to say that Yuki's wish had shifted the 'fate' of the many. In more ways than one, Yuki's 'wish' was too dangerous to be left alone.

"I do not see a need to bow before you."

Yuri answered defiantly.

"You face absolute power but do not fear. Do you have a death wish?"

"I have no reason to fear a false ruler."

That hit a nerve in Yuki.

"... 'False'?"

"You heard me the first time. You are a false leader. A false 'Angel'. The crown that you wear upon your head may shine brightly but can never carry the weight of the true crown for the King. A false imitation that will dull with time."

Yuki would hear not more of it. Her anger peaked, her eyes saw nothing but hatred.

"You... will not... DENY ME MY RIGHT!"

She clapped her hands together and when she pulled her hands apart a light appeared in-between her palms, growing larger and fiercer the further she pulled her hands apart. The light became so large that it dwarfed the Temple structure on the platform.

"MY DIVINE RIGHT!"

[Taeno Yuki uses Sacrament]

Yuki 'threw' the light at Yuri and the giant ball of energy hurdled straight for the SSS leader. Yuri had no place to hide from this attack and she was sure her own attacks would do nothing against it. There was but one thing she could do. Run.

"I hate this!"

Yuri screamed as she turned and ran as far as she could from the ball of light, which crashed into the ground and erupted in a giant explosion. Yuri managed to escape the main blast but the sheer pressure from the explosion knocked her flat onto the ground.

"Ow ow ow... that really hurt."

Yuri muttered, scrambling back to her feet. The blast from that attack created a crater right in the middle of the platform, incinerating anything within its attack radius.

"This isn't funny... Not one bit."

Yuri looked up at the powerful flying 'Queen'. She was too powerful in this state. Just how could Yuri ever hope to bring her down?

"You see my power first hand!"

Yuki shouted at Yuri.

"Now you shall taste it!"

Clapping her hands together once more, Yuki pulled her hands apart, but unlike before, she used her right hand to grab the light that formed and when she pulled, a long golden sword adorned with jewels emerged from her left palm.

[Taeno Yuki equips Dominion (Rank SS) ]

Dominion. The reign of an empire. A power to rule over land and people. From the Crown of the King, outstretching his reach to claim another. It is a symbol of the Crown and all that stands beneath its glory. Upon the sword that is wielded by the Crown, it will unleash untold power to those who oppose the right of rule. As a symbol of the Crown and its power, it is by extension the Crown itself. Without waiting, Taeno Yuki flew straight down at Yuri. Yuri could not dodge in time and brought out her combat knife, blocking the attack just in time. But a mere knife could not compare with the might of a holy sword and was starting to crack.

Yuri could not push Yuki back but she brought out her pistol and aimed it straight at Yuki's head. Firing a shot, Yuri managed to force Yuki back. Yuki flew high up and dove straight back down at Yuri. Instead of a head-on clash, Yuki flew in at an angle, hitting Yuri's blade clean out of her hands. With Yuki's next dive, Yuri had no choice but to dodge, jumping to one side to avoid the attack. Yuki flew up once more and dove straight for Yuri. The leader of SSS was without a weapon to stop the incoming attack but her foot felt something on the floor. Without waiting, she picked it up and used it to defend herself. What she then realised was that she was holding onto the top half of Yuki's broken cane.

[Nakamura Yuri equips Mark of the Emperor (half) ]

The two held their ground as sparks flew from the clash of the two weapons. The power held within each and the mark of rule for the two of them. The leader of the SSS and the leader of the SSS2.

"For the right to rule, absolute power to crush all is needed. My World is my dominion! My word is law!"

Yuki shouted as she pressed harder

"Your word is a mere complaint of a dissatisfied child!"

Yuri shouted back, not giving up any ground in defiance to Yuki.

"I AM NOT A CHILD!"

"You sure act like one!"

"YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHAT I WENT THROUGH!"

"WHO WANTS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE WHINING ABOUT! NO ONE KNOWS WHAT YOU'RE SUFFERING FROM AND NO ONE WANTS TO!"

"THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT DARKNESS HAS DEFILED IT! THEY NEED TO KNOW WHAT I HAVE SUFFERED! KNOW WHAT DARKNESS THEY HAVE CREATED!"

Yuki screamed, releasing a large amount of energy, a large amount of madness. What madness was this? It was not the normal type madness that Yuri had felt before. This was... pain. True despair. True suffering. It was true madness. And from that darkness Yuri could hear the faint cry.

The faint words a mere whisper.

Whispers that were soft yet clearly audible from the depths of Yuki's screams.

A cry of pain.

A cry of suffering.

A cry of despair.

Of desperation.

Two words.

Two words that opened the doors to the darkest pits of despair.

.

.

.

"Ma ma."

It was merely an accident. That was what the media portrayed. A disaster that could have been averted if not for the mistakes of man. It would be enough it that were the case. It should have ended there. But why did it not? Where did it all go wrong? Perhaps in the beginning. Perhaps it was never an accident in the first place. Perhaps it was all planned. An accident. That was what they wanted everyone know it as. Her village was a small one in the rural areas of the mountains.

She was happy, content with the life she had. Perhaps she may have liked moving to the city one day, become a boring OL (Office Lady) and go out for drinks with colleagues. She had seen some drama of the television of life in the city. While it was not all roses and honey, it was different from her life in the small village. She wanted some different, not that she hated her life, but wanted something with more excitement from her mundane life. But she did not want this. Not this pain. Not this darkness.

It was branded as an accident. After all, how else could a large tanker containing a dangerous experimental gas have skidded off the road and crashed into the valley below where her village was? No one knows what the gas was or where it was suppose to go, but what it did was wipe out the entire population of the village, causing agonising pain and internal bleeding to all those who inhaled it. A chemical weapon, one that would cause the victims to have their internal organs breakdown and bleed. Their skins would crack and flake off like ashes. It was a pain worse than death.

But there was one who was not affected. A lone girl who was seemingly immune. A lone girl who was forced to witness the slow death of her family, her friends, of everyone she knew. The pain and despair as she held onto the frail hand of her mother, frantically wiping the blood from the different wounds that never cease to stop until there was nothing left. The crying pains of her young brother, who could not stop choking on his body fluids, would suddenly stop by the next afternoon. Her father who simply gave up and slipped away in the middle of the night. No one survived but her. She was the only one who was affected. It was an accident.

The government surrounded the village and quarantined it. Seeing the people moving around in large white suits, their dark intentions hidden behind those opaque face masks. She could only see her own face, weathered down by the despair that she had to suffer through. That should have been the end of it. That it was a tragic accident and life would return to normal. But it did not end. Not for her. Her nightmare had not ended. For a chemical that could kill hundreds in a matter of days, how was it that she could live? Those responsible wanted to know. Wanted to know no matter the cost. The result of such hunger to know was that she was imprisoned by those responsible and subjected to horrible torture and experiments.

She wasn't human to them. She was a mere test subject. A mere living piece of organism that would not succumb to their deadly gas. No matter how much she cried, no matter how much she begged, it would not end. The test, the pain, the suffering, it would never end. But why? Why did she have to go through all of this? Were the police blind to the truth? Why didn't anyone help her? The answer was simple. No one knew about it. The report to the media was that there was a terrible disease that killed everyone in the village.

Of course they failed to say that it was a chemical attack, or there was a lone survivor, because to them, there was no disease and there was no survivor. She did not exist. Whoever was responsible could change the news as they wished, could turn and bend the truth of what actually happened. Why? Because they had power. Because they had money. She would never be free. She was never free. She came realise that it wasn't only the ones responsible for the gas attack that was wrong.

It wasn't only the government that was bought with dirtied money to turn a blind eye to such atrocities. It wasn't only the police who were ordered by those government officials to close the case. It was the entire state of society. The darkness that lies within the hearts of all human beings. Those that chose to close their eyes and turn away from the horrible truth, just so merely they can be ignorant about it and not get mixed up in its affairs. What terrible sequence of events that happen so far from their peaceful lives that they cannot feel it for themselves. They merely turn on the television and see such horrible things on the news. They can only say 'what a horrible things to occur', or 'what a tragedy'. But they do not know such things.

Their words do not carry that sincerity. They do not care for the pain of others so long as they are not involved. What they do not know cannot harm their peaceful way of life. And so they turn away, say things they do not mean or understand and simply walk away. She was powerless to do anything. She was a mere child. No one would help her. In true despair, she faced pain like no other. The horror of dark face of humans. But she still lived. She still struggled as hard as she could to live. She did not know why she did so but her body pushed herself. To endure the pain, the suffering, the darkness. Endure it all.

But for what? The darkness was too great. The darkness within the hearts of humans would never be clean. She would forever be trapped in pain. She hated it. She hated it all. She hated this World, she hated its people, she hated God. The fire that helped her survive through those pains had turned black with hatred and madness. If she could not change it, she will destroy it. The fire within her, the hatred for the World grew. She will have her revenge on everything, be it in the World of the living. Or after.

The darkness within her heart was strong. Too strong that Nakamura Yuri was unsure what she could do. With that one burst of emotion, Taeno Yuki had released a large amount of darkness that was within her heart and Yuri had managed to catch a glimpse of sort of madness Yuki held within her. But what Yuri saw was beyond her ability to grasp. The madness, the darkness within Yuki was too much to handle. It was intense and too much for one person to hold within themselves, so just what did Yuki do in order to hold all of that in?

It wasn't only the darkness of her own pain and death that Yuki held, but a deeply rooted hatred for humans and the World. Her hatred was not unfounded as she had suffered first hand at the hands of the dark side of human society. But what was she doing was taking out her anger on everyone, even those who weren't involved. Yuri knew Yuki was angry at society for harbouring such darkness and she had every right to be. But there are so many things wrong with it.

"THE PEOPLE WHO TURNED THEIR BACKS ON ME ARE WRONG!"

Yuki screamed as the two clashed again.

"THOSE PEOPLE DID NOTHING TO YOU!"

Yuri snapped back, feeling her power lose out. In a bid of desperation, she swung her leg at Yuki, connecting the hit and sending the Queen flying. But Yuki quickly recovered and charged straight at Yuri once more.

"THEY WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING! EVEN IF IT WERE TO HAPPEN RIGHT BEFORE THEM!"

"IS IT SO WRONG FOR THEM TO FEAR FOR THEIR LIVES? !"

"YES! THEY HAD TO POWER TO STOP THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS YET THEY STOOD BY AND LET IT HAPPEN!"

"NOT EVERYONE CAN HAVE THE COURAGE TO STEP FORWARD! PEOPLE ARE POWERLESS BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID OF DANGER! THAT THEIR LIVES WILL CHANGE FOR A WORSE!"

"AND SO THEY LIVE ONLY FOR THEMSELVES!"

"WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH THAT? !"

Yuri literally butted heads with Yuki as they clashed. Neither would give up ground to the other.

"EVERYTHING IS WRONG! EVERYTHING IS WRONG AND MUST BE DESTROYED!"

"PEOPLE CAN CHANGE!"

"THEY WILL NOT! HUMANS ARE DISGUSTING CREATURES WHO CARE ONLY OF THEMSELVES! THEY WILL NEVER CHANGE! THEY ONLY DO THINGS TO THEIR OWN BENEFIT! TO PLEASE THEIR EGO! TO EASE THEIR OWN GUILT! THOSE FALSE SMILES! THOSE LIES THAT THEY SPEW IN ORDER TO MAKE THEMSELVES LOOK BETTER BEFORE OTHERS! TO MAKE THEMSELVES FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES! TO BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! THEY CANNOT CHANGE ANYTHING! THEY CANNOT EVEN CHANGE THEMSELVES!"

Such hatred in her words, such sadness in her actions. Yuki was a child who was consumed by her pain and will not let it go. That hatred and pain was far greater than all of the previous division leaders combined! And they said that the leader of the sixth Division, Kurogane Kou, is the strongest? If that were true, Yuri can only fear for the worst. But she had to deal with Yuki at present. The fiercer Yuki became, the darker her madness. The darker her madness, the more corruption she would send into the Angel Program, thus accelerating the Apocalypse program.

Her darkness would also cause far greater consequences in the living World. More people would meet horrible fates and end up in this World. That was something Yuri must prevent at all costs. But how? Yuri had faced a painful past herself, but what she faced was nothing compared to Yuki. It was painful, being the cause of the deaths of your own siblings. Your own failures had cost the lives of those you hold dear. But Yuri had found strength in her comrades. She had found meaning to her life and peace to her pain. Yuki was someone who stuck stubbornly to her own pride.

"You... HARD HEADED FOOL!"

Rearing back, Yuri quickly bent forward, slamming her head hard against Yuki's.

"Gah!"

[Taeno Yuki receives 10 damage]

Yuki staggered back from the sudden attack. While Yuri was not in a completely unscathed form, she was better focused than the Queen of Fort. Who is suppose to be the hard headed one? Without waiting, Yuri ran towards Yuki and grabbed her face, using her momentum and slam Yuki into the ground.

[Taeno Yuki receives 1000 damage]

Yuki slammed her fists into the ground, causing the ground to crack and made Yuri unbalanced. Using this opportunity, Yuki pulled in her legs before kicking them out into Yuri's abdomen, forcing the SSS leader back.

"If you think that you can stop me, then come and try!"

Yuki snapped, drawing her sword once more and charging straight at Yuri.

"I will do more than try!"

Yuri shouted back, bringing up her half of Yuki's cane and colliding once more with Yuki.

"I will show you that there is still hope for humanity! That there are good people still willing to make a change!"

"Their change will be futile! Even if they manage to change, the impact will not be strong! It will never last! Human nature will always revert back to the darkness!"

"That does not mean they cannot try!"

Yuri pushed Yuki back and cocked her arm back before throwing one strong punch into Yuki's face, knocking the Queen back.

"Humans will never learn! The mistakes they make will always repeat themselves!"

Yuki shout, throwing a punch at Yuri as well.

"And that is why people must be reminded of what not to do!"

"I will remind them by wiping them all out!"

"That will never solve the problem!"

"That will erase the problem!"

"Humans bicker and quarrel over small things! They cannot agree to anything! They will fight, kill and destroy one another! Humans will bring themselves to destruction either way!"

"That does not give you the right to make it so! Humans can change! They can learn! Even if they cannot, it will be up to those of us who are willing to make a change to make them remember!"

"They will never listen to you! They will never follow your example! Society will stay rotten even after you have tried to clean it!"

"Then we shall do it again! We will keep trying to change the dark fate of humanity until we die! And when we do, it will be up to the new generation to make the World see that change!"

"That is merely a waste of time and effort! It all amounts to nothing!"

"The value of your actions are not determined by its immediate results! You make the value of your own actions! Whether it is meaningful or not depends on yourself! Whether you will change the future, whether your change will last for a thousand years does not matter! What matters is that you took the chance to make that change!"

"I HAD NO CHOICE IN MY LIFE FOR THAT HOPE!"

Yuki released a large wave of madness.

"I WAS TORTURED! ABUSED! USED AND THROWN AWAY LIKE A DOLL! HUMANS WILL NEVER CHANGE! THEY CLING ONTO THE PAST LIKE IT IS SOME TREASURE TO BE GLORIFIED! THEY REMAIN FOREVER VENGEFUL AGAINST THOSE WHO WRONGED THEIR ANCESTORS! NEVER BELIEVING THAT THEY CAN FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER! HUMANS CAN NEVER FORGIVE NOR FORGET ANY WRONG DONE TO THEM! AND THEY WILL RESENT THAT IN THEIR MINDS, IN THEIR SOULS, IN THEIR VERY BLOOD! THEY WILL TEACH THEIR CHILDREN, AND THEIR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN TO HATE! THE CYCLE WILL CONTINUE FOR AS LONG AS HUMANS EXISTS! HUMANS ARE BORN TO HATE ONE ANOTHER!"

"But as long as one person is willing to change that, things will end! To end the cycle of hate-"

"NO ONE WILL END IT! HUMANS WILL CONTINUE THE CHAIN OF HATRED FOR ALL TIME! THEY WILL WAGE WAR OVER PETTY SQUABBLES! THEY WILL KILL ONE ANOTHER OVER PIECES OF ROCK! THEY WILL FORCE THEMSELVES ONTO OTHERS WHO DO NOT AGREE! HUMANITY IS A RACE THAT IS DOOMED TO DIE! THAT IS BORN FROM DARKNESS AND MADNESS! THAT FEED UPON HATRED AND SPITE! HUMANS WILL FOREVER BE A PLAGUE UPON THE LAND!"

At this point, Yuri has had just about enough of this. To deal with this spoilt child, not matter her past, is something she could not stand. And so a nerve had to snap in her head.

"What... makes you... think THAT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO JUDGE OTHERS!"

Yuri used the broken cane and parried Yuki's sword away, twisting her body one round before bringing the cane in one arc from the bottom upwards, hitting Yuki's wrists. Through sheer power Yuri forced Yuki's sword out of her hands and into the air, destroying the entire cane in the process. Yuri jumped back and raised her hand into the air just as the sword fell back down from the air and landed in Yuri's hands.

"Just because you have suffered some great pain, some great despair in your life does not make you capable of judging the whole human race! Don't drag everyone down to your level you damn spoilt brat!"

"SHINGI: HAOU NO SHUKEN (Sovereignty of the Conqueror)"

Swinging the sword, Yuri slammed the broad side of the blade into Yuki, sending the Queen of the SSS2 into the air.

[Taeno Yuki receives 100000 damage]

"I-impossible! H-how can someone use Dominion? !"

Yuki demanded as she recovered in mid-air.

"Dominion was the mark of the King, the symbol of rule! How can someone other than the King have the right to-"

Yuki stopped as she saw Yuri once more. Light from the false Sun above shone brightly, making a strange shape appear Yuri's head. A faint, yet strong, that mirage made from the light was undeniable. The shape of a crown.

"The... the mark of rule."

Yuki understood it now. Dominion could be used by Nakamura Yuri because Yuri was someone who had the right of Rule. Nakamura Yuri wasn't just some rebel, wasn't some revolutionary who defied the wills of fate. She was the leader of the SSS. She was its founder. She was the King. The first King upon these lands. It was at this point in time that Yuki realised it. Her flaw. Pride is to believe oneself to be more than others. To be special, to be the only one in the World. That was not true. Even Kings had their equals. No one was special. There would always be others like yourself. You are but one in the thousands. This is the flaw of Pride. But it was too late now.

"Don't look away from your opponent!"

Yuri's voice snapped Yuki out of her thoughts. Looking upwards, she saw Yuri in the air, having jumped off the pillars and bringing the large golden sword down on Yuki.

[Taeno Yuki receives 10000000 damage]

Crashing into the crater she had made herself with her 'Sacrament' skill, Yuki was pinned down by Yuri, who raised the sword high above her head. Was this the end? Was this how Yuki would meet her end? To lose once more to the fates of her sad life? In the end, she was still powerless. When she wanted more power, she went all out for it. But no matter what, that power was not enough. It was never enough. The more power she wanted, the worse the situation became. The more people she recruited and trained, the more the enemy forces their hand. The more she tried to push the organisation forward, the more resistance she meets from within. Was she wrong? Was she going down the wrong path all this time?

"You aren't wrong."

Yuri said, stabbing the sword into the ground next to Yuki. Yuki turned and saw her own reflection on the blade's surface. Since when did she become so haggard? So tired? Was this the result of all of her hard work? All of her efforts to change fate? Was it all for naught?

"Your intentions were right... but placed in the wrong direction."

Yuri muttered, staring straight into Yuki's eyes.

"... Wrong... direction?"

"It is true that humans are vile creatures. They fight one another for petty things, for things long past and have no bearing for the present or future. They are creatures who would care for no one but themselves. These are all true and to deny it would be denying yourself."

"My... self?"

"Because you are one of those humans yourself."

"! ! !"

"Earlier, you refused to believe that there are people willing to make a change, that even if they tried to change the World humans will only revert back to their dark state. Even if wars should end, new ones will only arise later on, fuelled by the bitterness and hatred of the past... But... aren't you one of those humans who tried to make a change yourself?"

The moment Yuki heard that, something in her seemed to click. A heart beat. A strange resonance within her.

"You are one of those who tried to correct the wrongs of the World. The method of which you have chosen to do so is wrong, but your intentions were clear. What you have done.. is only making more people suffer. Making more people go through what you had gone through. You have created an infinite cycle of hate yourself."

Then Yuri did an unexpected thing. She reached down... and hugged Yuki. Of all the things that Yuki did, fighting constantly, having to place her life at the front, trying to wage a war against the unknown, wanting to change the fate... willing to destroy the World. Of all these things that she did... she was never held like this before. This feeling... was... familiar. This scent, this warmth, this embrace.

"You are a sad child... a child who has been blinded by grief and hate. A child who had given up on love. Who had given up on hope. A child who lived for revenge. But... you are still a child inside... a child who wants to be loved."

Yuki thought she had everything. She had the power, she had the resources, she had the will to change everything. But nothing did. Why was it? Why was it that nothing went her way? Beneath the cold armour, she felt alone, afraid of everything around her. A mere child, lost in the darkness, swept up by the madness of the World. Bred and raised in hate... but yearning for the warmth of the one who could comfort her. She could remember it now... the small house she stayed in. The smell of breakfast wafting through the kitchen. The soft smile of the person who always stood by her side, encouraging her to go on. It was a scene so familiar, so nostalgic and warm... just how did she forget it?

Where did it all go wrong? Why did she have to forsake these happy memories? There were good things in her life. There were good people. People who cared, who showed love... people who loved her for who she was. No prejudice, no sarcasm... her family. Tears... warm tears that flowed from her eyes. The pain subsiding. It was all over. The darkness. The madness. The despair. None of those mattered. None of that would ever reach her again. It was all... over.

"... Ma... ma..."

.

.

.

Yuri stood back up, looking up at the bright light in the 'sky'. Standing alone in the giant crater, she had to wonder if this was how it was meant to be. She looked down at the sword that she stabbed in the ground. The last memento of that girl.

"... Dominion..."

The moment Yuri touched it, the sword started to disintegrate away, becoming dust that were swept away by an unfelt wind.

"... The pride of man... will never fade... but it is what we take pride in that matters... if we blind ourselves and fight over it... humans are destined to destroy ourselves. Destined to fail to progress any further... everyone must forgive... forget... and move on, no matter how hard it is to do so, lest we be consumed by grief and hate and lose sight of everything."

Yuri muttered, clenching her fist. But then she sighed.

"But that will probably never change... Humans will be humans after all. But still... 'Ma ma', huh? Don't recall having such a big child...Still... Has a strange feeling to that... doesn't sound that bad."