i'm still alive lol

Natsumi opened her eyes. She wasn't welcomed by Kenichi attempting to put a hole on her stomach with his elbow, or by her mother waking her up after she fell asleep on her desk. She wasn't in her room, with posters adorning the walls, a bunch of figurines of silver-haired heroines and handsome princes lined next to each other in shelves, and a bunch of books and papers neatly organized in her desk; but rather in a street she couldn't recognize.

She slowly raised her trembling hands and observed them. The edges of her vision grew dimmer until all she could see was a blurry mess of shapes and colors, as if she had spent the whole night crying.

Then, it hit her.

A sharp, piercing pain spread all over her body and then it was gone. Her legs crumbled like a twig being snapped on two, throwing her to the ground, making her sit on her knees. She desperately touched her throat, gasping for air.

The memories came all at once. That beast, looming over the city, freezing her to death. Her ankle falling apart, unable to move her arms, her mouth full of snow and flurry, that feeling of solitude, regret, losing her senses, blacking out, the sweet yet cold embrace of death, shattering into many pieces, with no one to identify her corpse, far away from everyone who knew her, Naoko and Kenichi unable to mourn their daughter.

She had died.

She let go of her throat, having recovered a tiny bit of breath. Tears dampened her eyes, to the point she couldn't make out if she was looking at the ground or at the sky. She wiped them off and stared at her hand in silence before it became blurry after some seconds.

The sounds of the city could still be heard, but she paid them no heed. Shutting her mind to any external event, she dove deeper and deeper into the hell that were her own thoughts.

She had been transported to a different world. It had been fun at first, when she was just wandering around in peace. At least she had made a friend, if he could be called that. Maybe it was too early for him to be anything other than an acquaintance.

And then, of course, it all had to crash down, because she could never have anything too nice. She had been snatched off her world and plunged into a medieval setting, just to have the small degree of normality she had found taken off her hands as well.

The voiced got louder. Perhaps it was for the best. Maybe she'd be terrible at any job she could find and would get fired, or no one would hire her. Or Reinhard was just acting like a proper knight, and had forgotten about her as soon as she left his sight.

At least this way her parents wouldn't get to see how much of a failure she was. Always aiming for the stars yet ignoring the ground below.

Would they-

A booming voice rang next to her ears, bringing her back to reality. She wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve and blinked in quick succession to adjust to the sunlight. A green-haired merchant with a rough face and scar on his forehead was looking behind her with clear concern in his eyes.

Turning her head around, she couldn't find whoever he was talking to. A handful of people were looking where she stood. Raising her left hand, she squeezed her cheek, but nothing changed. He was still staring behind her. But at who?

"Thank the Dragon." The merchant extended a hand towards her. "Are you fine, miss?"

Was he talking to her? Natsumi looked at his hand with a vacant stare, her eyes slightly swollen from the crying, then back at his face. He seemed genuinely worried about something, but what? It couldn't be her. She was dead, he shouldn't be able to see her.

Despite that, she slowly rose her hand, recoiling once they met. Why could she touch him? She was dead. Nothing more than a ghost wandering this place. Not even able to see her parents in the afterlife. Unless…

The shopkeeper tightly grasped her hand before she pulled it away, then yanked it backwards. Natsumi was forced to stand up, fumbling as she did so and tripping into the merchant's chest. He pulled her away before she could react to his help.

Her ankle was injured just a moment ago, but she couldn't feel anything anymore. She clacked her foot against the ground; the injury was gone, without doubt. This change from a breeze at sunset, to being frozen alive, to being dead but also not fully dead… It was giving her a headache.

His hand and body felt warmth. He… He had died as well, didn't he? That was the only explanation. The dead can't interact with the living, that's natural. All those stories about ghosts and ouija boards were just made to scare you. But she had to confirm it.

"Excuse me…" she whispered, fighting the urge to cough. Nothing was stuck in her throat. "Are we dead?"

"Huh? Whatcha talking about?" He raised his eyebrows, silently questioning what was going on with her. He grabbed Natsumi's hand, leading her to a wooden chair behind the stand. "Look, just sit down for a while. I don't know what got into ya head but you need to rest."

Natsumi didn't resist when he dragged her to his stand nor when he handed an apple and told to eat it. She had more important things to think about.

"Just sit here, eat an appa and calm down. Can't let someone collapse in front of my stall, ya know," he had explained before handing the apple over and standing next to her, scaring away anyone interested in gossipping about what had happened.

She rose the apple up to her mouth, taking a good bite. Cold, juicy and fresh. Wasn't the afterlife supposed to be different? Becoming a ghost and looking over your family, not eating apples like nothing had happened. It was all so… jarring.

After a long minute of deliberation, she garnered the courage to speak. "That beast… Didn't he freeze you?"

The shopkeeper brushed his hand through his hair and sighed. "Look miss, I don't know what got into ya, but ya need to rest."

He ignored her. He had no idea of what she was talking about. She raised her head, observing the street while taking another bite. Everyone was proceeding with their lives, selling wares, buying them or just walking somewhere else.

None seemed aware of that beast, much less that they had died. She couldn't be the only one who knew, she wasn't anyone special. Surely someone realized it too, and was just pretend-

A chill ran up her body.

No one could fake not having felt that. Having your limbs fall off and crumble as your mind froze to a halt. That agony of sensing it all, trying to escape, unable to do anything as you're turned into a statue, just for all of it to be gone the next second.

No one could possibly understand such a thing. It had to be fake. False. A dream, or a nightmare.

But then, why did it feel so real? She never had a dream so vivid she could recall every detail of it. And the pain… You're supposed to wake up when you're hurt in a dream, right?

Nothing made sense. It couldn't have been a dream, but it also couldn't have been real.

She went to take another bite just to find out that only the core was left. The merchant was standing in front of her, handing a bag full of apples to a new customer. She stood up and he turned back, his eyes denoting worry.

"Are ya feeling better?" Natsumi nodded. She threw the apple's core into her plastic bag and, before she could say anything, he spoke again. "Ah, ya don't need to pay. It's on the house."

"Thank you," she said, leaving the stall behind.

Natsumi started walking down the street, bumping shoulders with a few statues while deep in thought. Just what should she do? She couldn't read, she couldn't write, she had no place to sleep in and she didn't even know what country she had been transported to.

Reinhard was her only hope, but how would she find him? And would he even help him this time? Not without meeting him in that… Her legs trembled, and not because of the cold of the storm. She couldn't go back there. No stepping in any more alleys.

A cold breeze distracted her from her thoughts. Raising her head from the ground, she found herself in the middle of a storm. The sun peeked through the clouds, revealing a bunch of walking ice statues. She held her breath.

Their faces, contorted in agony. The sounds of the city, replaced by screams of pain and begging for help. A marriage with their arms half-frozen dragging a little child, completely encompassed in ice, giving no sign of life.

The breeze ran by once more. Her vision was reduced to barely a few meters ahead, snow and flush flying around, and she could feel her hands growing number and number. A quick look at them revealed how a fine layer of frost was taking over them.

She held her right wrist as her hand twitched uncontrollably. She found it hard to breathe. Soon, her arms were fully frozen, and the edge of her vision was pitch black. She had to run, run, run, run, run away from this place.

Something hit her, and then she cracked.

Natsumi came back to reality while still holding her wrist. A quick look at her surroundings revealed that everything was as it had before: The sun was still high, the street was full of people and more importantly, she was alive.

She started walking again, biting her lip. She found the answer she was looking for, she learned what to do.

Get away from this city as fast as she could. Whether she had died or it all had been a dream, whether that beast was real or not, it didn't matter anymore. Nothing good would come from staying in this place. She'd find one of those lizards and ride it, or just sprint outside, anything that would get her out of here.

With that in mind, she stretched her legs with a glint of determination in her eyes. This was a fantasy world, there should be a wall on the outskirts, protecting the city from invaders. If she managed to get there, surely, someone would offer her a ride to another town.

With that in mind, she started running.

A sprint that soon came to a stop. After a few minutes, while passing in front of yet another darkened back-street, she was tackled down to the ground.

She opened her eyes with a groan, and her vision was covered by a tuft of golden hair. It moved upwards, revealing a petite girl with crimson eyes. She wore a brown vest with a black top, a sheath behind her hips that also acted as a belt. Taking notice of Natsumi, she smiled, revealing a fang on the left side of her mouth.

"Sorry, but I need to go! Bye!" She attempted to dash past her, but Natsumi extended her arm and grabbed her vest, the golden-haired girl almost tripping in the process. She recovered her balance, planting her feet on the ground, then glared back at Natsumi.

"What? Do ya know who I am? I'm busy so—" she shook her arm vigorously. "Just, let, me, go!"

Slipping out of Natsumi's grasp, she stole a glance towards the alley she had come from. Her eyes widened for an instant, before her already annoyed expression grew more frustrated. Pivoting on her feet, she started running towards the main street.

"If ya want to do some business, come to th' loothouse!" was all Natsumi could hear as the girl disappeared into the crowd as fast she came.

Natsumi looked at her still extended arm before putting it back down. Her body just acted on its own upon seeing someone she knew. Standing up, she wiped off her shorts and then looked left and right. No thugs in sight.

"I should have asked if she knew how to leave this city," she murmured. As she was going to start running again, a voice like a silver bell called out to her.

"You there!" Turning back, Natsumi held a hand close to her chest. The buildings projected a shadow onto the street, and an unfamiliar figure soon stepped out of them.

Her silver hair, sparkling in the light, reached her hips and was adorned by a small white flower and hairpin resting atop her head. Two pointy ears could barely be seen in between strands of hair. Clad in a pristine white and purple dress, her legs were covered by matching leggings and a green jewel rested on her chest.

"Give me my insignia back!" she demanded, holding her right hand in front of her, her amethyst eyes glaring at her.

Natsumi blinked twice before answering. "An insignia?" She shook her head. "Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about…"

"I saw you with her, are you the one who paid for my insignia to be stolen?" She inquired, making a gesture with her open hand, telling Natsumi to hand her item over.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" She repeated her words, seemingly convincing the woman as she retracted her hand and held it over her necklace.

"Why were you talking with that thief?"

"A thief? I said, I don't know-" She stopped midway through. The girl she had bumped into had looked behind before running away. Was she the thief this princess was talking about?

"I wasn't talking with her. She just bumped into me, that's it!" The silver-haired woman didn't trust her words, as she stepped forward until she was directly in front of Natsumi, staring up at her.

"But you grabbed her hand, didn't you? This is reaaaaally important, so I need you to be honest."

"That…" Natsumi moved her head to the left and rubbed her arms before whispering: "It was nothing…"

The elf stared at her for a few seconds before backing down with a smile, resting her right hand on her necklace. It emitted a pale green light, hidden by the hand covering it, yet some rays shone through the cracks between her fingers.

The girl's clothes looked expensive, and with that precious silver hair of hers, she could easily pass as a noble or something. And she even had expensive jewelry. The gems she knew didn't shine when touched.

She herself was nothing special, yet she had been confused for one by those… Her legs wobbled, and she shook the memory out of her mind. The girl in front of her had to be extremely rich, at the very least. Perhaps…

"Puck says you're telling the truth, so I'll believe you," she said.

"Puck?" Before Natsumi could say anything in response to the unfamiliar name, the girl removed her hand from her necklace. A second later, a high-pitched androgynous voice rang out from beside the elf.

"Yo!" The voice belonged to a small cat with some humanoid features. Floating next to the woman's shoulder, he was small enough to fit in her palm. His fur was gray and his right eye was closed as he struck a pose: holding both of his paws close to his chest while his long tail curved, looking like a closed fist.

Natsumi stared down at him for a few seconds. Where had he come from? Why was he doing a pose a high schooler in an anime would do? Why was he floating? And, more importantly…

"IT CAN TALK!?" she shouted, a look of surprise plastered all over her face. The girl covered her mouth, hiding her laugh, while Puck flew and sat on top of her head.

Natsumi panicked a bit after her sudden outburst, pulling some strands of hair to the side. Looking at the ground, she murmured an apology.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't expect a flying, talking cat to appear… You're Puck, right?"

"Yes!" He nodded. "I'm Li-" Before he could formally introduce himself, the elf shook her head and caught Puck with her two hands, muffling his words.

"Puck, we still need to find that thief." Puck peeked his head over her closed fists, giving a quick nod. He then escaped her grasp and flew up to her neck, hiding behind her hair.

"Sorry," she continued. "She stole something reaaaaally important, so I need to find her."

Having closed her eyes, she let a small smile form on her face and wove her hand, before turning back and leaving the way she came. Natsumi extended her arm towards her, and a shout died in her throat.

If she couldn't find Reinhard, perhaps she should simply help this girl. With how rich she looked, she had to have a mansion somewhere, or maybe just enough money for a carriage. Just… anything to get out of that hell.

She gulped, and with some renewed courage, she shouted again. "Wait!" The elf heard her and she turned back with a puzzled expression.

"I know where you can find that thief."

"Eh? But you said you didn't know her…" The elf asked, while the feline flew in front of Natsumi's face, glaring and with his arms crossed.

"Explain yourself," he said, his tone intimidating and demanding. It made Natsumi tremble for a split second.

"W-With one condition," she muttered, making Puck's glare more fierce.

The elf caught up to Puck, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and pulling him away with a pout.

"Puck, don't scare her," she said, and then turned back to face Natsumi with a glare of her own. Less intimidating than the one from her magical talking cat, for sure. She was trying to look intimidating but didn't work at all.

"What is it?" Natsumi gulped before answering. She wouldn't lose anything from trying.

"Can you pay for a carriage out of this city?" Seeing the elf's frozen expression, she rushed to continue, waving her arms. "You don't need to give me a job, or even let me stay at your mansion or anything! I just need to leave this city before sunset, that's all!"

Having finished her explanation, she waited for an answer, her heart thrumming against her chest. However, all the elf did was tilt her head to the right. Natsumi could swear there was an interrogation sign floating next to her head.

"I mean, aren't you a noble, or something?" She blubbered out. "Someone important at a church, maybe? I'm new in this city so please forgive me if-"

"Eh? But I'm not."

"Hah?" The elf's deadpan knocked Natsumi out of her rant, her eyes widening in fear. "You're not? B-B-But then…"

"But maybe Roswaal can help you."

Hearing her words, Natsumi rushed in front of the elf, grabbing both of her hands and holding them together in front of her chest.

"Really!?" she asked, a wide smile on her face and with her eyes glittering. She gazed into her amethyst eyes for a second, before gasping and letting go of her hands. "Sorry, I got a bit too excited…" she whispered, a faint blush in her cheeks.

"If you help me, I must help you back. You want to leave this city, right? I can convince Roswaal to let you stay at his mansion for a night."

Puck, who had been peeking through the silver hair, left the elf's side and hovered above her right shoulder.

"You're welcome if you help my daughter! And if Roswaal doesn't want to help you…" He shut his mouth and started to punch the air as if he was beating someone down.

Seeing his cute gesture, going as far as using his tail as target practice, Natsumi relaxed her stance, letting her shoulders drop low as a smile formed on her face.

"Thank you…" Her eyebrows dropped as her tone lowered, gaining the attention of the duo. "Sorry, but we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Natsuki Subaru," she said, slipping into a more formal tone before returning to normal. "But you can call me Natsumi. And you?"

"I'm Emilia. Just Emilia."

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. With the only information they had being 'a loothouse' and the girl's appearance, Natsumi and Emilia strolled up and down the city looking for it to no avail.

From the alleyway they met to the main street, and from there up to the city center. The various stalls soon gave way to restaurants and inns, and as they stepped into a big square with a fountain in the middle, lamps lit up and illuminated the dim street.

However, they found no trace of any loothouse, pawn shop, or anything remotely similar. Natsumi raised the idea of asking for help, but Emilia was weirdly reluctant to do so.

Right after her proposal, Emilia grabbed Natsumi's hand and dragged her to an empty street between two inns. No lamps were hung in between the buildings and with the buildings blocking off the sunlight, the only light was what was coming from the lamps in the other street.

After letting go of her hand, Emilia closed her eyes and held her hands over her necklace. Seeing as she was talking to his cute magical talking cat, Natsumi took out her phone to check the time: 11am.

She put her phone back in her pocket with a sigh and, after a few seconds, Emilia stopped talking with her spirit. She smiled at Natsumi, and then closed her eyes again.

A pale light surrounded the duo as dozens of fireflies manifested out of thin air. Blue, red, green, orange as well as a few white and black lights illuminated the dark street. They danced around Emilia, running in between strands of her hair or childishly rubbing themselves against her cheeks.

Around five lights, however, focused on Natsumi, rushing to her side. Her mouth was wide open and she raised her hand, stopping for a brief instant before touching one of the green orbs surrounding her.

It felt pure happiness. It had been floating around, unaware of the world. It had no thoughts. It couldn't think. It could only feel. And then it was called. Many of its friends preferred the other human, but it liked this human.

Natsumi retracted her hand in panic. It was disappointed. Sweat ran down her face, what had happened? She touched the orb of light and then… her mind was invaded by the thoughts of whatever that thing was.

She rose her head and looked at Emilia, who was now glaring at her. Not a single light was remaining.

"What was that?" Natsumi asked, holding her forehead. Whatever had happened left her with a slight headache. The kind you get after focusing on something for far too long.

"Why did you do that!?" Natsumi's eyes widened at Emilia shouting at her. "You could have been hurt! If I wasn't an experienced spirit user, the spirits would have gone wild you'd go… BAM!" She finished her explanation by opening her arms as much as she could.

"Sorry… Some approached me, so…"

"If you understand your mistake it's all right. Don't interrupt a spirit arts user again, okay? Or you'll end up hurt. Though it's weird they approached you… Maybe you have a high affinity." She approached the short bricked wall on the balcony, put her hands on it, and gazed below, looking for something.

"I asked the spirits if they had seen the thief." Her gaze fixated on a particular building. "Minor spirits are too young to pay attention to the physical world, but some quasi spirits said they had seen her go past here." She stood up and patted the hem of her dress, then headed back to where they had come from.

Natsumi stood up and followed behind her. She thought about what Emilia had said. Those little orbs were spirits? She'd prefer if all spirits were cute animals like Puck. "Is Puck different? He wasn't an orb of light before."

Emilia straightened up, starting to recite an explanation as if she was reading it straight from a book. "Spirits are classified in four categories: Minor, quasi, full, and great. Every spirit starts as a minor spirit and gets stronger as time passes, eventually becoming a quasi spirit, then a full spirit, and finally a great spirit."

Natsumi mentally followed her explanation, imagining a bunch of spirits blending together and evolving into a greater orb of light, then doing the same to become a fluffy cat. At what level would they evolve?

"Puck is one of the Four Great Spirits," Emilia continued, this time in a more familiar tone after reciting her explanation. "The minor spirits were scared of him so I couldn't call for them before."

"So they helped you find the loothouse?" Emilia nodded in answer. They had left the street and were now heading south. The spirits 'supposedly' knew where that loothouse was. And they also 'supposedly' knew a shortcut to it.

She glanced at the sun barely visible on the horizon, wanting nothing but to leave the city this very instant. Despite despising the thought of stepping into any dark, suspicious alley while looking like two defenseless lost girls, she followed Emilia without doubting what the spirits had told her.

After a few minutes, they arrived at a small square. The road had changed from worn-out cobblestone to dirt. The houses were made out of wood and seemed to be falling apart: Boards were either missing or gnawed away, door frames stood empty, and men sat on the ground, glaring at the duo that had just appeared.

One didn't take long to take out a knife from the back pocket of his pants and start playing with it, keeping an eye on the two strangers in case they planned something. A demihuman trio that was playing some kind of game with dice started whispering and smiling like a lion finding a half-dead deer.

Emilia's expression softened a bit, yet she kept walking towards a shack standing at the back of the plaza.

"Is this the place?" Natsumi said, caressing her arm. The sun had almost set, sending chills over her body. She dug her nails into her arm, attempting to distract herself from all of her instincts telling her to get away from here.

"That's what the spirits said…"

"Shouldn't we hurry up, Emilia? It's already getting dark, and we won't make it back home at this rate." She nodded in response.

Natsumi took a deep breath before following her. The air smelled a little weird, but she paid it no mind. All that was left was to go inside, ask for the insignia back or pay the little thief, then leave.

It should go smoothly. Getting a stolen good back shouldn't pose any problem. Everything should be fine. Catching up to the elf, she entered the room after her.

As soon as she did, a metallic, rotten stench assaulted her senses. She gagged and covered her nose from the intoxicating stench, then took a look around the room. Setting her gaze on the right upmost corner, her eyes widened.

A man was lying with his back to a wall beyond a wooden bar, a long trail of blood originating from his neck and covering most of his torso. His head hung low, and he was holding a massive wooden mace.

"Emilia!" she shouted, a chill running down her body, making her skin tense up. Her eyes darted across the room, glancing over a golden-haired girl lying on the floor and setting on Emilia, who was lying face to the ground with a small pool of blood forming below her.

"Emi…lia…" she muttered out, taking a step towards her. A shadow crept on the edge of her vision and, along with a loud crackle, distracted her. She turned her head towards the source of the sound but found nothing.

A second later, her stomach started burning.

"A…h?" She passed her hand along her gut, staining it with blood. She observed the red liquid dripping off her hand and onto the floor, her vision shaking, unable to focus.

"Ara… You saw that?" An unknown voice rang out as Natsumi's legs gave out.

What was going on? What was happening? Who had killed Emilia? Why did it hurt so much? Who did this? Why did it burn so much? Why? Why? Why?

She coughed, a trail of blood leaving her lips. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't find the strength for it. Her arms collapsed and she fell with her back to the ground. From there, she could make out a tall figure sporting a cape.

A second later, an icy wind covered the room, freezing her injury. From a burning heat to a freezing cold.

"A spirit? I always wanted to see the guts of a spirit…" the mysterious figure said, having clung to a wall to avoid the wind. "What can a spirit without a contractor do?"

"You make the mistake of assuming our contract is still not active, child." Upon hearing the androgynous voice, Natsumi forced herself to move and look toward where Emilia was.

She was now covered in a coffin of ice, with Puck hovering above it. He vanished after meeting her, hiding in Emilia's necklace, and now he came back? After she… After she was dead!?

She should have just ran away. Lie to the elf, head towards the city gates, try to leave unnoticed, climb the gates, beg someone, just anything!

Now, the one who had trusted her was dead. And it was all her fault for leading her here.

"Pu…ck?" she muttered.

"Shut up, Subaru." He glared down at her, his golden-eyes glowing in the dark room. A dozen ice spears formed behind him, before being shot at the assassin. A dark blade was launched towards the spirit, but an icy shield with a snowflake shape deflected it.

Puck moved his attention away from the assassin, taking another glance at Natsumi. Then, he was covered by hail. Ice and snow filled the room, the temperature steadily dropping below zero. The ceiling broke, and Natsumi's moans died in her throat.

He… He couldn't be-

The same giant monster from her dreams appeared, squashing the assassin under his paw. He sat down and put his face in front of Natsumi, his breath freezing what was left of her bloodstains.

"You…" was all Natsumi could mutter before a sharp pain shut her mouth. The blood in her stomach kept freezing and freezing, little spears of ice forming from thin air, adopting the reddish tint of blood.

Her injury had been healed, the cut in her stomach sewn shut by ice. It clawed at her skin, piercing it. Better than having her guts spilled all over the ground, but not by much. It was as if her stomach was covered in splinters.

"This is all your fault, Subaru," he continued. "No, Natsumi. To think she would make such a mistake…" He clicked his tongue, the tone of his voice being nothing but pure hatred.

A snowstorm covered the loothouse, wind and ice ruthlessly raining down on her. Her clothes were torn apart and with the little modesty she had, she covered her private parts with her hands. It only made her injuries worse, making her feel like she was lying in a bed of rusty nails.

She closed her mouth, gritting her teeth in response to the hundreds of small cuts the storm was making on her skin. Puck's yellow eyes bore down on her, not giving the slightest reaction to either her body or her suffering.

"You brought Lia here," Puck spoke, his tone terrifying Natsumi down to the core. He rose his head above the ceiling, staring towards the castle. "If only you had caught that thief when you two met… I would have protected Lia. It's all your fault."

A piercing pain expanded all over her body and she let out a horrid scream, bending over and facing the ground. She dragged her nails across the ground, a screeching sound rumbling in her ears and followed by a crack. She could no longer feel her hands.

The hundreds of small cuts in her body froze at once. She gasped from the sudden, sharp pain, and the air she tried to exhale froze in her throat. It didn't stop there, for the blood in her body started to freeze as well. Her veins ruptured, unable to contain her now solid blood.

A few tears ran down her eyes, soon freezing and stabbing her own two eyes, rendering her blind. She couldn't move her hands to do anything. She couldn't stand up and run. She couldn't scream about how much it hurt having your body freeze from the inside out, having every single drop of blood turned into ice. She couldn't see the terrible state of her body. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't-

"I want to go back. I want to go home. Please, let me go home. Mommy, daddy, please, can I come home? I don't want to be here. I should have stayed home. One meal without mayo, then back to studying."

I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die."

"I don't want to die again."

Her freezing blood finally reached her heart, rupturing it. A gush of blood left Natsumi's mouth as she collapsed on the floor. Her blueish skin crumbled, and her corpse was broken into many pieces.

A second later, the impact caused by a red-haired swordsman arriving from the sky sent them flying everywhere.