The sound of our feet stomping against the ground echoes throughout this vast, bleak space devoid of anything besides me and that thing. Each step gets heavier the closer I get, sinking my body further into the ground. Once in range, I swing my sword, aiming for its neck. A second before contact, he vanishes .

A sudden weight presses on my shoulders. "So predictable. Are you even trying?" He's standing on my shoulders!? I spin around to throw him off. The fake lands with its hind legs, barely making a sound. Its back faces me. "Is that all you are capable of?" Answering is a waste of time. I just gotta beat him! "...Do you truly think you can overpower me? If you think you are capable, then…"

Same as before, he disappears, only to reappear in my face. It covered meters in a second. A disgusting look of delight with pleasure mixed in l it gives me before it burrows a fist into my stomach. Dull pain howls around my stomach, and a horrible sensation builds in my throat, rushing to come out of me all at once. A foot whips my head, juggling my brain inside my skull.

"...Boring." Its heel swiftly hammers into me, slamming me to the ground. The fake stomps my head. A distasteful sound rings in my ears, the kind that sounds similar to a skull cracking open. "Such a boring conclusion."

I need to summon!

"Janus!"

My voice resounds in this void. Janus, the being that I use, does not answer my call.

"He won't come. This is your psyche, after all. Why would he?"

"What does that mean!?"

"I don't feel like answering. Crushing your skull is all I'm going to do."

An absurd amount of pressure pushes onto my head, crushing my head, crunching my head deeper into the ground. Crap, I can't do anything. I'm gonna die…! Miraculously, the floor shatters into tiny glass pieces that fade into the sky. Wait, sky!? I'm airborne!? The wind dances past my body. There are buildings in the distance and below me. This place…there's no way it can be!?

The synapses in my brain respond too late for me to guard myself from this fall. I demolished the concrete roof of an apartment building when my body crashed into it. Wood tears apart, sawdust blinds my field of vision, and every part of my body screams in pain. But none of my bones broke. That fall should've killed me the moment I made impact, so…?

"Are you this dull?" The shadow stands next to me, curling up the ends of his mouth in a joyful smile. "...Death in your soul is impossible, but…"

A kick shatters my perception, ramming me through several walls. I'm airborne again. This time, the shadow follows me out. It punches me. Several cracks follow the punch. With its raw strength, it smacks me into a house… Something is stabbing at my back, piercing through my skin, a burning pain flares up. Stumbling to my feet, unable to get a stable footing thanks to this wound on my back, I plant a foot on the ground to keep myself stable.

Why am I not dead yet? That thing said something about death being impossible in my soul, does that mean I can't die? Okay, that's good, at least I don't have to worry about dying, but how the hell do I defeat that thing? Can I even match that thing in strength?

Something comes crashing from where I entered this house. Blocking at this range is useless. I'm grabbed and then thrown outside. Glass shatters, forcing me to curl into a ball mid-flight. Another hit dazes me, leaving me vulnerable for a moment. A moment is all it needed to blitz me with punches that could shatter bones. No matter how hard I try I can't get a bead on his hands. A crushing blow caves in my stomach. It lifts me off the ground, slamming me to the floor.

The sound of flesh crushed against concrete mixed with the pain of having your body torn by the seams destroys all my senses. My ribs stab into my lungs, pierce my organs, nearly skewering my heart. Screaming, crying in pain is painful itself; slight movement awakens a new brand of hell!

"...Tell me, what do you think of this world?" What!? "...Do you wonder why we descended into a place like this? Do you even know what this place is?"

I know these buildings, the buildings that give a cold, lifeless impression, buildings that reject my presence even now! This place, it's Mikage-cho! But, that house…

"House… My…old house!"

"A sentimental piece of garbage. Such a thing…"

That's right, that's where mom and I used to live. A normal-sized house, a house you wouldn't spare a glance for, but it was enough for a normal family. The image is burrowed into the deepest part of my mind… Ah, that's where… W-w-wh-what? What happened to it!? The small house, a house where she lived…it's… WHY!?

"It had a nice sound when I tore it apart. Yet, the sound, the pleasure of its destruction, all of it is fleeting. Is this what you would call emptiness?"

Our house, my mother, my life…! All of it, you…you took it away from me! I'll kill you, I'll destroy you, I'll crush you, I'll pulverize you!

Blood-curling rage empowers me, granting me the strength to throw him off.

All this pain, every last bit of it is this thing's fault. People called me a monster because of this thing!

The ribs continue to rip into my organs, but don't care about it anymore.

"Good, you're finally getting into the mood."

"Be quiet!"

My bones shred my insides, little by little, turning me into nothing but a body drowning in blood.

"So, now you reveal your true colors?"

"Shut up!"

"...Your conviction to fight me, the reason you came. All of it is fake! For the safety of others, that's all meaningless drivel! The lofty ideals you cling to are nothing but convenient lies! All you really want to do is…"

I want to, I really want to…

"I'm gonna kill you!"

"Fine by me! Let's see who's left standing!"

It was not garbage! That house, my mother, all of it is not garbage!

Shooting off with a sonic boom, I crash into the shadow.

"Don't disappoint me!"

It managed to stop my full-powered attack!? No, keep fighting! I twist my body mid-air, kicking the side of its head. One of my blows finally got through. The fake went careening through a house, totaling it. A normal person would die from a strike like that, but it better not be dead, cause I wanna beat it to death myself!

Debris suddenly goes soaring meters in the air. A figure stands in the dust from the wreckage.

"Tell me something. Can you ever acknowledge my existence?"

Acknowledge it? That's…

"Never!"

Lightning runs through my spine, giving me the reaction necessary to respond to the fake's movements. A thunderous clap booms when I jumped forward. Everything mixes together, losing shape and individuality in this slipstream of mine, except that thing in front of me. A second later, we bash our forearms at the others. Our actions are similar, this isn't about guarding, this is to break the other's arm first.

"Me too. I'd rather die than acknowledge you; the very idea is disgusting."

Crack, the bone in my forearm cracks from the pressure of its power. Pain spreads across my arm.

"So weak! This is why I–"

I crush my head against it. Mind-numbing pain screams inside my head, begging me to not do that again. Before he can collect his bearings, I kick his ass into a building, a couple of kilometers in the air. The sound of glass tells me he went inside…

"MORE!"

Knew he wouldn't die so easily… Fine, then I'll make him beg for it…!

Our battle rages on, building after building, we destroyed scores of them, taking wounds that would kill a normal person, but I can't stop, not when I'm fighting a monster like this! Its blows are heavy, brutal, an effective means to kill a person, to break a person. None of it is focused on technique, but pure, unbridled power to destroy whatever is in its way.

Although unpredictable and faster than I can perceive, I'm beginning to adapt, evading more of its attacks, seeing through the speed of its hits, and becoming more aware of the flow of battle. All of his attempts to destroy me are retroactively making me stronger.

He swings his arm upward, slicing up a skyscraper with nothing but raw strength. But this raw strength means shit if you give me an opening!

Right then, it responds to my attack by going for one of its own. It'll skewer me with the tip of its fingernails. By instinct, I use my forearm to catch it. Its hand rips through my arm. I got it now! All or nothing, I'm going to kill this bastard!

Base instinct takes control one last time. I drive my fist through its chest, ripping through it like it was made of tissue paper… Got him!

"Huh…"

I won! I did it! Now, I'll– What…?

Black steel impales my chest, sliding through my body with little trouble. Blood gushes out, coating the ground and my sword in a crimson that could drown an anthill. Its faces…a sly grin that's cocky to the last. Not like this… I… Fuu-chan is waiting for me. One last push, push past this! Do it!

Mustering all the strength in my arm, I rip my arm through the side of his torso, effectively dismembering him.

"I win!"

Its body begins to disintegrate, chipping off like worn-out paint. Soon, this thing will go away and I'll be free. Thank you, God. I can put all this behind me, finish the remaining Full-moon shadows, then I can live with her in peace.

"...No… I can't…"

This monster that touted itself as a better being squirms on the floor, coming to grips with death. Seeing my own face facing the ground like that… Creepy.

"...I won't die…" Whatever, even if it struggles, I'm not gonna help it. Try to kill me, then I'll– "...Not until...I understand...why!"

This thing latches onto my leg, gripping with everything its got. Darkness clouds my vision, envelops my body, then… Nothing…

Tartarus - lobby - Dark Hour - Kazuki

A groggy feeling shifts around my head, it doesn't hurt but it's a bit numbing for me to feel comfortable with. The good thing is that my body is still intact… I didn't die, did I? If I did, then I don't want to open my eyes.

"Kazuki-kun…"

That small voice, delicate in nature… Guess I'm not dead.

"Kazuki, are you awake!?"

Glad to hear Shizuka's voice as well. But she sounds concerned, never expected her to sound concerned over me. My eyelids reel back. The girls stare down at me, their expressions wrapped in concern. Fuu-chan I get, but Shizuka… I don't know what to think.

"How long was I out?"

"4 minutes at most," Shizuka answers, ridding herself of her concern for her usual distant expression. "...What happened?" Where do I start? Before that, what happened at the end of all that? It just grabbed me and that was it. Is it dead? Can't say for certain, but I guess it doesn't matter. "Do you feel...okay?" Shizuka sounds less concerned and more curious on my state of being. A second ago, she looked like she really was concerned for me, now she's back to stone-walling me

Fuu-chan, balancing out Shizuka's lack of empathy, lunges at me. She wraps me in her embrace, practically squeezing my neck. While I'm happy to see her, I wish she wouldn't crush my neck like this. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I am. You don't need to crush my neck." My words fall on deft ears. She continues to grip me as hard as she can. "...Fuu-chan, you…"

Should I have said I was going to come back? What if I didn't? Would she have been as worried, or maybe she would've been even more worried?

"After you went in, I couldn't see what was happening, so I…I!"

I pat her on the head. "I'm here now, so you don't need to be worried."

In the end, I'm alive, so does it really matter what I should've or shouldn't have told her? As long as I can come back to her, I'm fine with keeping things to myself.

"Kazuki, can you stand?" Shizuka asks.

Even though my legs are a bit wobbly, I stand. "Yeah, I can, for the most part."

Shizuka's staring at me as if she's waiting for something to happen. I can see a tinge of disappointment surface on her face. "Yamagishi, can you leave us for a moment? We'll meet you outside."

"Why can't I stay?"

"I need to have a private conversation with Kazuki. It'll be brief." Fuu-chan gives me a worried look before she lets go of me. She makes her way outside of Tartarus. "So, do you feel any different, anything at all?"

"Not that I noticed."

"Is that so…"

Actually, there is something, but I can't describe it. Is this a feeling, or is it a sense of something? How do I describe this? Can I even explain this feeling? Whatever it is, I want this thing to come out of me; I want it to come to surface so I can describe it. The urge to put it into words is killing me. I need to know what this is!

A flash of black speeds past my eyes. Power, unlike anything I've ever felt, courses through my body, empowering me beyond my limit. Every part of my body feels significantly lighter. I can't even tell if I'm standing on the ground anymore. And all this power... I feel good, real good!

"This is going to hurt."

"Huh?"

Shizuka's hand flashes forward. A punch that I barely caught with my eye is about to hit my stomach. Even if I can barely see her fist, it's still traveling faster than I can react. Rock-hard, her fist hammers into my stomach while she held onto my arm. Bile rises from my stomach, threatening to spew from my mouth. Somehow, I choke it down. I sink to my knees, coughing out whatever I can.

"What was that for!?"

"I was testing something."

"What, seeing if you could kill me!?" Her silence sends a chill down my spine. "Y-you actually…?"

"In any case, you aren't dead. I punched you quite hard, yet here you are…" I've seen how hard Shizuka can hit, and if she wanted to, one of her punches could kill me without any resistance. Does that mean I'm stronger than her? "I'm glad I held myself back, though. If I had hit you with everything I had, I could've killed you."

Of course not.

"But why is this happening?" Shizuka keeps silent, looking at me with the same neutral expression that I've grown accustomed to. Does she refuse to answer because she doesn't know, or because she does? "...Um, you know what, it doesn't matter."

Any questions I have will just go unanswered, so what's the point of asking? Even then, this power is amazing!

Shizuka shows her back as she leads to the exit. "We're leaving. Try to turn that off."

Understanding her instructions, I close my eyes, trying to find a way to turn this off. It's like I've unburied something I shouldn't have; like it's a corpse being hidden by a murderer. I have to bury this feeling, this indescribable feeling, a sensation that wraps my body in disgusting mud that could fill my lungs and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. But in all this lies the urge to uncover it, to look at what's under the dirt. Why am I fascinated by it? Why does something so disgusting, so revolting, interest me? Am I…going insane? Gah, that's stupid! I just need to bury all this as deep as I can!

"Kazuki, are you coming!?"

Words brimming with impatience jolted me out of my thoughts. The power that was running through me is gone. Everything has gone back to normal, even my sense of footing has recovered.

"Y-yeah! I'm coming."

Better get running; don't wanna piss her off even more than I already have. However, my thoughts inevitably shift to that power. That fake must have given it to me, no doubt about it. Though, I can't wrap my head around it. We were trying to kill the other, now it's giving me power… All of this makes no sense. None, none of it! Whatever, it's fine. I'm just gonna go back to my room, brush my teeth, then hit the hay. And honestly, thinking about this stuff is tiring me out…

…

In the darkest corners of the cities various dark alleyways, a man who seems to make these corners, reserved for delinquents, thugs, and other outcasts alike, his natural environment. His eye observes the three teens walking home in the hour reserved for those who have been chosen. His eyes trace Kazuki's movements, stance, and posture. He found what has happened to the boy to be an interesting development, however, he could care less for a boy like him. Bringing his attention to Shizuka again, he studies her, comparing and contrasting what he knows about her. So far, nothing deviates from his already established observations about her.

This man is careful to not stare for too long, or else she'll notice him. Deciding to end his stakeout, he retreats to the shadows.

"Nasty habit you have there. Spying on school kids is a bad thing, ya know?"

A man standing on top of a street light looks down at the person stalking Shizuka and Kazuki from the shadows. His face, going from a neutral, observative look turns bitter, soured by this new appearance.

"Why have you come here, M?"

The same hooded man from Yakushima shows himself, sporting the same hood that obscured his face.

Even from the darkness of the hood, his mouth formed into an impish smile. "Whoa, man! Take it easy. If looks could kill."

M's presence always disturbed the man, especially since he was the one who usurped Shizuka's previous spot in their organization. This feeling was not of unease, rather of annoyance. From the very moment they met, he knew that this man's existence was an annoyance; something about it told him he should end it, if he could. Unfortunately, he would not be able to finish him.

"...Anywho, how's it hanging?"

"I was still studying her."

"Barely hanging? Damn, that, like, totally sucks! Wanna go get some candy? Cheers me right up."

"Your vexatious rambling does not amuse me. Put on the act of a jester with someone else."

"Aw, come on, Hifumi. You can't just throw away your friend! What about those times in the sports club, huh!?"

"I never attended school."

"Then what about that time when you and I were kids?"

"We share no memories of one another."

"Okay, okay, you got me. Thought it was funny, that's all."

The man named Hifumi sighs, frustrated by M's ramblings. He strolls down the dim sidewalk, devoid of anything save for coffins that leave their mark in this world.

"Tell me, which one of them were you eyeing up? You can tell me, buddy."

Hifumi returns a forbidding glare at M, who theatrically flinches to mock his attempts at intimidation.

"Heavens, please don't smite me for my insolence. I was only asking who you have an eye on, that's all."

A devilish smirk creeps onto his face like a snake slithering across the ground. "Well, either way, with this, things are going to get a whole lot more interesting. I, for one, want to see what happens from here on out." M swings his hand from his chest. "...Will happiness be awaiting the boy from here on out…?" He struts his other arm in the same fashion. "...Or will he be met with a fate that is most unexpected."

M spins around from the slim neck of the street light as its light flickers on, signaling that the world has gone back to normal. Yet, M spins on, caught in his own world, a world that does not allow others he has no interest in to inhabit. "This is what I live for! Seeing what happens, is a person dealt the best cards in the game of life, or is he met with something interesting? Seriously, what can be better than this, huh!?"

On and on, the man continues to dance on, aware of the cogs that are beginning to turn. What this means for Kazuki Kei, who has no idea he has become a target of interest, is unknown. However, M promises it to be interesting…