『 Setsuna! 』 「⭘◔◑◕⬤⬤--! 」 From her black beak rips a deafening scream. Eldritch Serendipity[LV.97] 25 Marie immediately kicks her tower shield at her, then blitzes towards me, blade splitting the air. Her face is blank. My body's weight suddenly shifts, rolling me onto my stomach. The immediate crack and splintering of dry wood explodes from where I once sat. Gawking forward, my palms slam into the forest's burning turf whilst my legs kick up ember-laced leaves. Before I could even begin to think, my phantom gripped spine had twisted my body into a sprint, suffusing a deep, thorny, warm, icy, soothing, and sinister terror that I could not mentally grasp. Eldritch Serendipity[LV.84] 30 「◑◑...◕⬤⬤⬤⬤! 」 Setsuna, recuperated not far behind me, restarts her wail with ear-piercing pitch. Her explosive fluttering voice rattles away what remaining clarity I had. I clamp my palms over my ears too late. My eardrums are struck with thunder. A numb ringing floods out all other sounds. For a moment, I feel even my eyes whiting out. Still, my body lurches forward, burning out my breaths. I stumble over roots. My shoulders scrape on branches. Suddenly, I feel myself falling into a burning shrub. Many tiny thorns across its stems run across my skin before individually breaking away, drained by the fires. I fall through it, rolling onto and down a smooth hill of sparsely blazing moss. Its slope gently evens out, slowing and ending my descent face down in ferns. Fresh stinging cuts, sores, and scrapes cover me. Still, not even a heartbeat passes before my body is pushing dirt again. My arms wobble, squeezing strength from nothing. Drops of blood soak into Agehatate's worn and torn silks. Fiery ferns collapse into ash as my body heaves itself over them. As my weight shifts back to my legs, my shoulder catches a smouldering tree. Embers erupt from that light touch -- my heart skips a beat. Just as quickly, my arms shove the charred trunk away. I can't hear the flames... there's only ringing. ...Still, my body trudges on. ...Until -- that puppeteering phantom hand suddenly locks my limbs in place. My eyes glaze over the ground just ahead, faint crackling returning to my ears. I find myself staring blankly at my Eldritch Serendipity level, flickering to random values multiple times a second. 『 ... 』 「 ...! 」 My eyes widen. I look up, and around, erratically scanning for that faint shout. 「 ...◕◕◕◕◑◑◑! 」 The voice calls again, coarse and strained. On my left, atop a dark stone overhang, I find Setsuna -- wounded. Glowing purple embers speckle parts of her body, others are bloodied blue. Several of her tendrils have been severed short, and one of her eyes is shut to keep blood out. I feel my heart twist. A moment after our eyes make contact -- she reels back... before whipping one of her tentacles over her head, launching an object through the air with a harsh cry. A small, thin object with a gentle curve... ...A piece of bark. 『 The magic circle...! 』 The magic circle I was drawing for her to dump her mana into... If that's the same piece of bark... I can finish it as something else...! I extend my arms- A red spaulder appears. In a blur, its spinning mass strikes the bark directly, sending both sailing into the depths of the forest's inferno. My blood freezes. My eyes are pulled to its origin... ...but I can't find the thrower. Veiled by bright, tall flames, foliage, and twisting wood, along with sparse darkness in what areas have been completely stripped of their mana, I can't find so much as a hint as to how far away they could be... I feel a pull on my spine. My body takes a step back. I glance at Setsuna. Her attention is on the bark that was lost, but it suddenly switches to me, a one-eyed stare. Eye black as ink, with an orange ring as her pupil. I... I look again for the thrower. Instead, I find Sing. There, atop a blazing mossy hill with her back to the bottom -- stands Sing. She falls... backwards, but remains upright with her digits grazing the hill. Embers fly from those two points of contact as she picks up speed, her hair quickly obscuring her face. Promptly, from atop the hill leaps Marie, missing a red and gold-trimmed spaulder. Her heavy blade is wound behind her back in one hand, legs tucked in. In just moments, she descends upon Sing heaving a slanted strike. Sing patiently bends her knees, then kicks off the hill. The heavy blade whiffs, striking the stone and setting off sparks. Marie quickly catches her footing, then springs up in immediate pursuit. Sing twists her body through the air, her silks flaring out. Marie flies up, one gauntlet on her weapon's handle, and one gripping the blade. Pushing with the latter, she shoves upwards another diagonal strike. Sing's hair is severed short, spraying blood from every tip. The blade otherwise misses its mark, just barely passing her arched back and bent legs. Marie's much stronger jump thus sends her soaring into the thicket whilst Sing falls closer, amongst the ferns. I quickly turn to Setsuna, her name in my mouth but- ...she -- isn't there. She's gone. My thoughts empty... for a brief moment. As I catch my eyes drifting downward, I turn them back to Sing. I see her slowly getting up -- as I did, not too long ago... I then spot Marie marching quickly toward her, blade raised up on her shoulder. 『 I...«Identify»! 』 〖 Identification was obstructed. 〗 Marie's eyes find me. The voice in my throat fizzles. I suddenly feel my neck tightening... a dense black fog... closing in around me... the world's colour draining... leaving red and black... and my heart stopping cold... Eldritch Serendipity[LV.97] 86 A thousand strings pull my body away as all my strength leaves me. That abyssal, stinging, refreshing, burning, tranquil, and eldritch terror that I felt at the start felt new again, and as unintelligible as before. In the face of that overwhelming terror -- I could only run. I could only scratch, flail, and stumble away inelegantly, leaving my body to react reflexively to the phantom hand's manipulation. Running further and further away, filling my lungs with hot dry air... climbing, falling, and scrambling in the fire and dirt... until... ...I couldn't. I slam my forehead against a still burning tree and dig my nails into it, knocking purple particles into the air. 『 Why... did I run...? 』 My nails scrape the bark, causing weakened chips to fall away. 『 I was ready... I know I... was ready... so why...? 』 Why is Marie so terrifying?! Why can I only imagine myself dying when she looks at me?! Those twisted eyes that murdered me for the first time... I... I couldn't breathe... Any other adventurer would have been fine... why is she... why did it have to be her...? This death sense... if I didn't have it... I could just pass her off as a look-alike but... I feel my hands trembling. ...With my death sense reacting like this, the only explanation I can face... is... that she has Eldritch Fear... and our death senses are trying to calculate each other... Knowing that... how could she be anyone but the Marie I knew... back to kill me...? But why... why does she look exactly the same as back then...? Why wasn't she brought back as her character too?! Is this some kind of sick cosmic joke?! I... I don't get it...! I bring my hands down, and my nails snap against the wood. My fingers tingle. Blood drips to the ground. 『 Setsuna... Sing... 』 How could I... leave them like that? How... how was I supposed to know it would turn out like this...? I knew our enemies' general levels and capabilities from the cave fight... Why didn't my death sense malfunction then? Why now? Is... is it because she saw me? Is that what Agehatate meant when she said to not be seen? Did Agehatate know? Is that why she...?! I clamp my head between my palms. 『 W...Why... didn't it malfunction with that elf boy we saved...? 『 If it went haywire then, we would have known sooner tha-! 』 My spine twists -- and my body turns. I find myself faced with a maw opened in four directions and lined with teeth. All of it is immolated in purple and pink flames lit bright enough to see down its throat. But before I can react to dodge, it suddenly moves strangely... downward. The maw folds and collapses to the ground, revealing the wingless, and now headless drake body behind it which follows suit, becoming a kicking corpse. Before I can look anywhere else, the phantom hand pulls my body down to its knees. The immediate crack and splintering of wood explodes just above my head, throwing out a cloud of loosened embers. My hands scrape the ground, and on all fours, my body scrambles away and back upright before jerking me around to once again face Marie, bloodier than before. More of her armour has been stripped away, and parts of her skin crack with purple cinders. After pulling her embedded sword from the tree, she raises her eyes to meet mine, wide and focused. My body reflexively steps back. She takes a step forward. My breath heaves and shudders as I continue taking steps back. Marie follows, raising her heavy blade over her shoulder in both hands. After a second, she brings it down diagonally. My body instantly jerks to the side, leaping over the lower end of her strike. I stumble with my landing. The blade throws out sparks as it hits the ground. My breath quickens as I continue staring into Marie's wide icy eyes. I continue walking backwards and she follows, perfectly matching my pace. She raises her blade again, now directly overhead. I grasp my heart, as my knees bend and head lowers. Marie quickly brings her blade down and back, into a thrusting position. At the same time, the phantom hand yanks my body back up. As she thrusts her blade forward, her arms twist. My body leaps up and back, as high as it can go. The strike misses, having been twisted into a low horizontal slice. Marie immediately transitions this to an upward diagonal but... Before I can even think about reacting, the phantom hand puppeteering my body fashions it into the correct position to avoid it. Jolting, twisting, pulling, carving, freezing, warming, relieving, caressing... all manner of conflicting pains and reliefs cycle in an impossible to describe manner and scale. I can't focus on any of it. Every second that goes by, staring into Marie's eyes, I see herself killing me, over and over... it's relived in my head. I can only see myself dying but my body finds more and more precious seconds... Over and over, Marie strikes, throws fakes, transforms her blows, but my body reacts perfectly to avoid it with what limited stamina I have. It goes on... and on... until finally, with a free arm, Marie reaches forward. This, my body doesn't dodge. She grabs my head, the palm of her gauntlet over my face. At the same time, one of my legs fail to find contact with the ground. I feel the dryness of my strained breaths as they drift off the gauntlet's bloody metal. A brief moment where I see Marie's expression... turn to anger. She pulls me by my head, turns, and throws me with a shove. My back crashes against a tree. I cry out silently in pain. When I realize my eyes are squeezed shut, I shoot them open and look up. Marie is walking towards me, taking off her gauntlets roughly. Her brow is furrowed and lips turned in slightly in a grimace. Most of the armour she's lost is from her upper body, giving off the impression of having done it intentionally. We make eye contact once more. I feel my throat immediately tighten. I lean my upper back against the tree to ease my breaths. Having removed her gauntlets, her now black-gloved hands take up her blade proper. She promptly plants one foot between mine, and another forward and to the side, pointing the tip of her blade to my chest. I feel... a black fog clouding the edges of my vision. The phantom hand... isn't pulling my body anywhere... It's just... hurting me... reminding me how much it hurts to die... as if I could somehow forget... ...Marie stares at me with her expression of light anger for a moment. I take the chance to open my mouth to speak. 『 ...a... 』 A quivering chirp is all I can get out, I feel like my throat is being crushed. I just end up gasping breaths through it. I feel... a resolve in Marie's expression, as she tightens her lips. Hands squeezed around her blade's handle... she moves to drive the sword into my chest. My healed nails dig into the forest leaves. She thrusts the heavy blade. It stops short... ...then quivers. I see her body tense, seeming to be trying to drive the blade in, but the weapon just shakes in place as if blocked by some invisible shield. Her face twists, her brows furrow more, her teeth grit... more anger. She continues to push the blade in without it going anywhere. It shakes more, the tip dancing over the skin of my chest, threatening to cut designs. I lean my head back, to ease my panicked breaths just a little more. ...I hear a noise. A noise from Marie... a breath...? She pulls the blade back an inch. I see her eyes flare, a deeper expression, a more complex hatred... An expression I can easily say... is more fitting of bloodlust... One that makes my heart both burn and freeze... She... truly wishes I were dead... The blade drives forward. I feel a prick. A slowly growing wetness... ...then a tiny drop of blood down my skin. 「 Kh...! 」 I begin to hear more such noises... concealed grunts, brief strained breaths... What is... she fighting...? Is there really something... invisible there-? 「 Haaah! 」 I feel a noise leave my throat. The blade pushes in just a bit deeper. My eyes widen, and colour seems to drain from the world. I feel my spine being crushed to pieces. Marie lets out another cry. The blade jumps forward. I feel more blood pour. Then, I hear a low growl... The blade slowly pierces more of my skin, until... all at once, I experience what it's like to have a blade driven through you. 『 ... 』 I scream, but no sound comes out. I scream but my face doesn't even make the motion to. Even still, some blood sputters out of my mouth, as my hands crush whatever they can grasp. The imminence of death is repeatedly carved into me. Terror and horror crushing my ability to move and yet... and yet... like before, there is an equal feeling of... calmness that I feel hesitant to describe as eldritch. Something I can't mentally grasp or understand. A mixed extremeness that has been here since Marie first found us. ...I refocus my eyes on Marie, and see that hers are bleeding. 「 ... 」 What am I supposed to make of this scene? I look down at the blade impaled through my body. ...I'm not really going to die again... am I? This is... Something will happen, right? Something will change this... and save us... right? I... I was happy this time... Meeting Agehatate... Setsuna... even that weird Hero... I... really want to stay alive this time... I don't just want to not die... I want to experience this life more... I want to see what Agehatate left for us... To finally talk with Setsuna... To grow our new power... To learn more... Talk to Polimion... I... I really... I don't want to die again... ...More blood passes my lips, as I try to make noise. ...Why is this happening? Is it really my fault again? Was I too greedy? I'm... I'm sorry I... I just really wanted... those things... I'm sorry... I didn't mean for... things to end up like this... really... I... what's going to... happen to me...? Am I... going to experience death again? Am I going to wake up a long time from now...? How far away...? Will Setsuna... still be alive when I wake up...? ... I grit my teeth and pull my arms. It feels like they're a hundred times heavier... but I keep pulling and pulling to get them up. ... I can't... raise them on their own... So I pull them up... using my body as support. Up onto my legs, then my abdomen, then a little higher to the blade. There, extending my thumbs, I start to scratch at the blade. The metal is... incredibly tough but... with true damage, then eventually... eventually, it will break... and then... I'll... I'll be able to get out... Sing will find me... and when she does... I'll have made it a little easier for her... to get me out of this mess... This is... all I can do... Even now I'm... still trying my best so... FATE... please... can you do something...? Make a monster move some way or... make a tree fall or whatever... to eventually wake Sing up so she can save us? Please? I... I really want... to live... here and now... not somewhere else at... some other time... Right here... with everyone I know... That's not too much... right? ... Eldritch Serendipity[LV.72] 98 It'll... be okay... That's right... This is the one... I know it...

SING CRIER CH.34 - The One Who Commands I scream, but my mouth is muffled. My upper body wants to keel over but it's being restrained in place. An intense pain is spreading from my stomach and I don't know why. I mindlessly thrash in place until a hand grasps my head, my face in its palm. I see calm azure blue eyes. It's Marie, but with one finger over her mouth as if to tell me to shush. I completely freeze in place, and so does she, keeping her hand gripped on my head. I dart my eyes around, and find we're still in the forest... but all the fires have died out. Instead, there are... little green particles drifting in the air... Hundreds of them glowing and gently swaying... I wince as a wave of pain shoots through me, but Marie's sustained eye contact keeps my voice muted. 『 ... 』 「 ...You're lucky, Streya -- did you know that? 」 Her slow, methodical, yet melodic voice stings me with fear. With that alone, my breaths become uneven, and I start to feel cold. There's a lasting trace of a death wish in her voice. 「 ...A thousand backs were the cost of your little final act in Myriad Worlds... 「 and you're getting a thousand more just for being a special-little-snowflake. 」 『 ... 』 She squeezes my head a bit harder, just enough to hurt. 「 ...Congratulations... the game is over, you win. One of those backs... is mine. 」 My eyes slowly widen, as I start to catch on. 「 ...I can't kill you, which means, you can't kill me... 「 and you know there's only one thing... that could make that true. 」 Eldritch Fear, and Serendipity... If Marie... hell-bent on killing me... can't, because of her Eldritch Fear... that means... it's because it's self-aware that I can't kill her, and vice versa. Our guaranteed inability to kill each other... then also makes us useful to each other... So... in a self-fulfilling cycle... the only possible result is... 「 ...Glad am I -- to finally be working with you two... Devil Twins. 」 She slowly releases her grip on my head... and backs away. I immediately look down at my stomach... and find the hole in my silks... but notice my skin completely intact, with not a trace of injury or pain. I look up to find the heavy blade, wet and dripping with blood... She... just recently removed it and healed me. 「 ...Ah, yes, and... for the record... 「 Although I look like Marie... sound like Marie... and am named -- Marie... 」 She elegantly raises her arms behind her neck and pulls something apart. There's an almost melancholic resolve emanating from her. 「 I am not the Marie that killed you. 「 My real name was Paris, and I was The Demon King. 」 [END]