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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 : 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐍
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The onyx sky lay overhead as primeval chaos unfurls its plan within the stars. A million lights, a million souls, and a million wishes all looking down with its scornful eye.
And while many of the humans have left during this somber time, content with shutting their eyes and letting the slow skein of time bring them to the next dawn, I've chosen to look up and follow my fate to the end of my time.
I've ventured out of the town square, through shady alleyways, and decrepit corners to what looks like the fields of asphodel. A burnt red, similar to rusted blood, cover the ground with no shred of green but patches of grey foliage. If I had to guess, this is the part of the demon realm they don't show on the travel pamphlets.
This leaden landscape has no wood, no stream, nor mark of life. It's been maddening silence to the point I contemplate shouting into the sky to see if anything would respond back. Despite this, I still feel an eerie shadow clinging to my back, and pardon the temporary insanity, but I swear I hear two sets of footsteps out here.
Though it seems I've landed myself in the middle of Hell, the area must be an arctic dearth as my fingers tremble while the cold night cuts its razor edge into me. I shove the riddle underneath my sleeve as I try to preserve as much of my body heat as possible.
The Archer will lead you most of the way
Stay on your path, do not stray
And, trust me, on this path I have stayed. Even though the ache in my bones, the hunger in my stomach, and the heavyweights on my eyelids begging my brain to let them shut. Thankfully, the constant shivering has kept me awake, but with no obvious landmarks, I can't tell how much time has passed from when I started.
Do you think the Sakamaki's have noticed that I'm not coming back? Have they accepted it already?
My jaw clenches as my thoughts drift to Yui. God, she must be in pieces because of this. She told me that she wanted to protect me, and then I lied to her telling her everything was going to be fine when it obviously was not. We were supposed to be partners in crime, two humans with all odds stacked against them, but still, we have each other. And that would be enough. No vampire, or demon, not even Karlheinz himself was supposed to bring us apart.
But I had to look into her eyes, and rip us apart myself.
Nothing could soften the sheer brilliance of her eyes. How can one girl's eyes reflect the aurora of a million stars? How could it capture my gaze and never let go? How can she look at me as if I'm something worthwhile?
I haven't given much thought to where I go once I'm dead but, I think, once I'm gone... it wouldn't be so bad to join the stars in the sky. Finally gaze down from where I always looked up to. But I know I'm always going to try and watch over her, guide her, and shine down the brightest on her. She deserves it, more than anyone.
I squint my eyes up at the dark abyss and refocus my steps toward the tip of the arrow. I took Yuuri's words and followed the constellation that was going to get me to the gun: Saggitarius.
It wasn't that hard to find, in fact, the sky in the demon world reflects the same constellations as the human realm, which was a bit surprising. All I had to do was look for the teapot shape next to Scorpio and follow it to the bright star of the arrowhead.
It's been a straight walk so far, a bit too devoid of the usual monsters I would expect, but Sagittarius is just supposed to lead me to the real monster.
Go to where the moon meets the cove
The keeper will be waiting there alone
The Keeper figure is what I expect will give me the real fight. I've racked the lore trying to decipher what ancient deity, eldritch beast, or remnant of chaos could possibly be awaiting my golden heart.
Yuuri suggested Cerberus, the watchdog of Hades. Cerberus, as stated, is meant to guard the gates of the underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He's said to be kind to the dead-souls entering, but absolutely vicious to the souls trying to leave as well as the living entering. While I'm definitely not looking forward to a gigantic three-headed dog, there have been ways to get past or trick Cerberus. Heracles grabbed Cerberus by the neck and wrestled him down, which is all fine and good, but I am, unfortunately, not built like Heracles so I'll have to forego that option at the moment.
Then, there are mentions of temporarily placating him by leaving something for him to eat or playing a lullaby that could put him to sleep. To that I, Sayaka Ichigo, have come prepared with a stale mint I left in my back pocket and the best rendition of twinkle twinkle little star I could vocalize.
But with the addition of an interesting conversation with a stranger named Mertz who knew everything about me, but I knew very little of him, I also have the vial with the supposed venom of the Medusa snake. Even though it could prove an easy way out, I'll have to only use it as a last option, once I've exhausted all others because there's no way I can test to see if it's real without actually using it. A frothing at the mouth dog would certainly not appreciate a pint-size girl throwing some shady green juice at him for nothing to happen.
I abruptly pause in my footsteps, all hairs rising on my harms, once a screeching eagle cry comes from above. I swallow the bundle of nerves and look up, expecting a harpy with razor teeth ready to sink its teeth into my skull with nothing more than a dull crunch and a red splatter.
But I saw nothing. And that's somehow worse.
This is the first time I've heard any sign of life since I started following Sagittarius to the keeper. And while the silence was hard to handle, almost slipping into catatonia a few times, at least I knew I was alone, and therefore safe.
Now that's changed.
And I don't have anything to fight with besides a vial of venom from a stranger I met at a bar. I'm coming to regret that situation now, but you wouldn't think to bring your own ax to your execution.
Time slowed as I paced slowly, senses heightened to anything that was out of the ordinary. How fitting was it that I couldn't even go meet my end in quietude? There always has to be an obstacle ahead, there always has to be another test. Under the breadth of the moon and the stars, I now had to make sure death doesn't come too quickly.
Another caterwaul rang out, but this one was closer.
This one was right behind me.
It was quick, like when I had accidentally cut my hand when making sweets, but instead of a couple of centimeters of a cut, three long talon scratches wrapped around my back, ripping through my cloak and exposing my skin until nothing but thick globules of blood filled in the edges. I winced and tried to bite back the harsh coppery sting of the cuts, but in my panic to quickly turn around and confront the attacker, I underestimated the electric firing of the nerves imploding through their circuit and fell face down on the rusted ground.
For a split second all I could see was red, all I could taste was bitter soot and sand, and even though I was looking down, I could still see stars.
I choked on my breath, my ribcage being pushed down as something pressed down on the base of my spine, the squelch of raw meat eliciting out something between a cry for war and a cry of agony.
"So, you've wandered into our land, hm?"
I must have hit my head at some point because the only thought that ran through my mind was—The bird can speak?
My lungs screamed out from underneath when I realized I wasn't breathing. It was when I forced myself to suck in a breath, ignore the buzzing, hot, sickening pain that I rolled out from underneath the creature, and went for a very calculated kick to the shins that managed to put some distance between us.
I scrambled to my feet, grabbing my obliques as blood trickled over the sides. I had no choice but to stumble and grab the vial of venom and grip it in my hand as if it could act as a dagger.
The creature in front of me was some disjointed humanoid eagle. It had all the features of a human, but talons for its hands and feet, and weathered down wings peeking out from his back. It was barely clothed, scraps of fabric put together in the most clumsy of fashions, and if I hadn't been actively bleeding out, I could've snickered at the piece of hello kitty fabric covering its bicep.
I could almost taste my own demise as I felt the flesh and viscera on my back open outwards with every movement. It was hard to think, it was hard to fight, and it was hard to run.
I guess I'll have to talk my way out of this one.
"Who-" I squeezed my eyes shut as even speaking contracted the muscles in the back that were now just reduced to spindles. "Who are you?"
He smiled, terrifying sharpened teeth coming into view. "Is that important?"
He took one step closer while I stumbled one step back. To have me react that way must've filled him with some sort of pride as his grin only grew wider. "Now how about you stay still and I can take you back to my nest and get you patched up. Doesn't that sound good?"
"No!" I cried out, moving backward as he slowly stalked forward. I wasn't sure why I'd resorted to yelling, but my voice seemed to try and make up for the little movement my body could make before static coated my vision.
"Oh," he cocked his head to the side. "Is that a challenge?"
"Yes," I seethed, anger now filling the hollow places the pain resides. "But not from me. Ever heard of Karlheinz?"
There was something very, very wrong about threatening this enemy with another stronger enemy. It filled my stomach with such dread that I had to resort to this, but the survival of the fittest had to exist in the demon world as well, and Karlheinz's name had to bring even an ounce of fear into him.
He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You're bluffing, right?"
"Do I look like I'm lying?" I grinned, some insanity creeping into my psyche by either the imminent promise of death or the rapid blood loss. "Do you know who I am?"
He shook his head, growing increasingly more disturbed as the girl in front of him began maniacally laughing.
"I'm Sayaka Ichigo, and if you want to take my name at the top of Karlheinz's list, you better finish me off now." I narrowed my eyes at him and held it there until he snarled then unfurled his ash-gray wings and took off into the sky, disappearing without another word.
I stood there, shock flooding into my system, head growing heavier by the second with only my last amygdalan impulses keeping me upright. I lurched onto the ground, stomach acid coming out of my mouth until I could taste it in my teeth and gums.
This... this is it...
I looked back up at Sagittarius, eyes constantly flitting back and forth unable to focus on the tip of the arrow. I began to trudge one foot after another aimlessly in whatever direction fleeing from whatever threat my mind still had me locked up in until my legs seized up: movement was now impossible.
I fell to my knees and heard the most bloodcurdling scream ring out into the night sky. Saliva dripped from my lips as I dry heaved on the ground only to realize that it was I that could have much such a noise.
I realized then that I was going to bleed out before I could even get the gun. I was going to die a painful death in the middle of nowhere before I could even fulfill the actual sacrifice. How sad was that? I can't even die at the right time.
I peeled the cloak off of my sweaty skin and bit my lip once it tugged over the serrated edges of the skin. The cool air did little to comfort the wound but it brought slight ease to the throbbing with every rapid pulse of my heart.
I could try and wrap the wound in the cloak but...
I looked down at the already soaked material and felt the sting of liquid still oozing down my back leaving a syrupy puddle underneath me.
I'm going to die soon.
Was it worth it? Leaving the Sakamaki mansion to try and play the hero?
Grief and anger twisted inside my stomach until it all boiled into catastrophic regret. It was a bit presumptuous of me to leave a separate letter for Kino and the Tsukinamis with instructions to collect the gun after my sacrifice even though all they'll probably find is just my rotting corpse on the path probably picked apart by more eagle people.
In hindsight, I may have overshot the complexity of the journey.
As my eyelids grew more leaden, a bulwark of sensory deprivation faded the world around me to even the twitching of my fingers growing still and cold. An icy torrent of nausea gripped my limbs and I desperately fought the urge to grow quiet and small.
Pinpricks of black-spotted my vision and the dark landscape grew even darker. A glint of silver lit up in my periphery and in the most wretched of moments, my hand moved faster than my brain could comprehend the consequences...
The venom was poured over the cuts on my back.
And I wailed.
Guttural and animalistic, marble began filling in the sinew on torn flesh, blood ceasing, fat stretching, and tendons twisting to incorporate the growing rock. My strangling throat soon fell silent as I couldn't make any sound to match the amount of overbearing pain. Every nerve went off in a synchronized perihelion until the crunch of petrified stone made up for the slimy butchered meat. Every muscle was constricting and pulling, and pushing, until it all ossified together.
The three gorges going from the shoulder to hip grew stiff as the stone acted as a makeshift bandage for the time being. The perimeters were confined to my back for now but in due time, as Mertz said, they will grow to envelop my entire body.
but I don't plan on living long— just living.
Slowly, like a toddler learning how to balance herself on two feet, I find it in me to walk again. Every movement is agony as the cut streaks were not healed: just filled. I wince with every step, quiver with every movement, and grit my teeth when I have to strain my neck up to find the constellation again.
I've come too far to give up now. I still have two arms, two legs, and a fire of determination singing through my veins.
I'll crawl if I have to.
━━━ ₊˚. ☾ ˎˊ- ━━━
I've learned to push the pain into a far-back place of my mind. I've learned to swallow the fear and keep it far away from prying eyes to see. And most importantly I've learned to treat this race of time, as it was, simply a race.
Either I get to the keeper in time, or I petrify into stone on my way there.
Both options sound bad, yes, but after what just happened... they sound bearable now.
The reason keeps my feet moving faster and my brain developing tunnel vision for this one sole purpose. The way I have to walk now is a bit weird, almost like a robot. My arms don't move as easily as they did, and my joints feel like they've been stuffed with mothballs. If I were to find any morsel of good in this, at least my posture is straight now.
And that Mertz was truthful in what he said.
I don't think the venom has spread anywhere else—yet. And I can't calculate the rate of it spreading as there's no way to measure the passing of time here. The blood on my hands had dried into flaky brown pieces, but they'd blown off in the wind ages ago. The only thing that has changed is that it's a bit lighter, even though the stars are still out, and...
I looked back up and realized I had been closer to the full moon than I have this whole time. That means that if we're following the riddle then....
Go to where the moon meets the cove
The keeper will be waiting there alone
I squinted my eyes to make out the horizon ahead of me, seeing it faintly move back and forth. I blink and try again thinking it's my blood loss causing it to sway when I realize it's still moving.
If that's the ocean, that must mean that the cove must be even closer!
I can't help the glee that breaks out at the sight even though it's strange when I realize how happy I am to walk into my slaughterhouse. I'm just going to think of it as the final 'happy' ending. Kino and the founders will get the gun, and everybody can move on and forget about me in time.
All in due time.
━━━ ₊˚. ☾ ˎˊ- ━━━
When I entered the cove, stealthily creeping under the rocky, arched entrance, I expected to be confronted by a row of flaming arrows, Cerberus, and then maybe a minotaur for good measure.
What I didn't expect was a man soaking in the cave pool, eyes closed listening to the steady crash of waves in the distance. He had the same purple hair as Kanato, yet none of the childishness as his skin seemed to be covered with far more scars than intact flesh.
He most definitely heard me come in, for god's sake, I'm practically ¼ rock at this point so it was hard to come in noiseless. I did manage to drape the cloak around myself again to hide the stony back. It made no difference, I was going to die anyway, but I'd rather have this weakness covered than exploited.
Minutes pass before I decide to break the silence. He's the keeper, and we're just going to make an exchange before it'll all be over. This is what I've been struggling towards. There's no use in dragging this out any longer than it has to be. Turns out, there are no right words to introduce yourself to your executioner.
"What's uh- under there?" I peer closer into the crystal blue water inquisitive about why he hasn't attacked or talked you into a battle of wit as every other demon you've known. "Is the gun down there?"
"Oh, that's- " he opened his eyes and motioned around him, arms skidding over ripples in the water "I'm all tail down here."
I step back quickly and shake my head trying to clear the newly forming image in my head. I wished I could take back the last ten seconds of your life. "Uh, okay..."
"Yeah, no I get it. Mixed reaction with the ladies. Could change into legs but I-"
"No, it's my fault. Shouldn't have asked."
He shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly laid his head back against the rock. And that was it. No spells, no sharp blades, or sharper words. He's just sitting there, listening to the faint sound of flowing water and gazing out at the moon. It's like I'm not even here.
I want to think this is a trap. This has to be a trap. But some part of me aches for this small moment of peace before what happens next. I don't know this man's name, I don't know when he's going to kill me, but I do know he's content living this solitary, quiet life.
I couldn't be more envious.
I take a seat by the water, bringing my knees up to my chest as comfortably as I can without igniting a fire in my spine. How long has it been since I haven't been chased or sought to chase after something? This past year has been nothing but toughening my iron defenses so that no one could ever bring them down.
But here I am, sitting in silence with the man who will soon kill me, feeling the most vulnerable and raw. Now that I'm sitting here, thinking it through, this seems like the final mercy I've always wanted. I want to be brave, I want to say that I'm not scared, but my shaking fingers and inability to say anything without choking up tell a completely different story.
The story of a seventeen-year-old girl who will die, alone, in this cramped cave.
"S-So..." God, I sound so pathetic right now. I bury my head in my knees, muffled words coming out. "Are you going to kill me now?"
Moments pass before he says anything and I pry my head up finally getting some nerve to meet his eyes. I had always thought I wouldn't go down without a fight. And yet here I am are asking for my demise.
His amber eyes were softer now, almost like honey, as his brow lifts up. "Now why would I do that?"
"You-" I took the folded-up piece of paper out of my pocket and handed it to him. "You're the keeper, I think. And if you aren't then I'm seriously lost because I just followed a constellation for hours and nearly escaped an attack from a deadly bird man"
The corners of his lips turned up letting out a half chuckle. "One of the Adler followed you?" He scanned the riddle, narrowing his eyes at the last lines before handing it back to me. "Sounds like them. Always ready to tip the scales, just a bit more secretly though."
The Tsukinamis told me about the Adler the first time I arrived at Banmaden. They were descended from the founders and part of the big four demon races. While I've heard the most about the Vampires, some about the Vibora, and a little about the wolf clan, the Adler clan always remained an enigma to me. Now that I know they consist of deadly bird people, I'm glad that will be our first, and last, meeting.
"So you're not going to kill me?"
"Shouldn't we introduce ourselves?"
I straightened my back at his reply. Part of me was on edge by how composed he was going about this. It's like we were normal people meeting each other, but nothing about the people, stories, or setting could ever be normal. How common is it for a predator to learn its prey's name? If I learn his name, would it make it easier? If he learns mine, would it be easier for him?
"My name is Sayaka Ichigo." I mustered up the backbone to have any sense of any normal, mundane conversation. But neon lights were blaring off in the back of my head as I couldn't ignore the frantic whispers of fear. I covered my ears with my hands as I curled into myself, the cacophony increasing in crescendo. Shut up, shut up, shut up-
Is he going to toss you into the ocean after you die?
Are you going to hurt more?
Do you have any last words?
"Sayaka?" My name snapped me out of my daze, his voice cutting through the blaring noise. "Are you alright?"
No.
I slowly nodded as he silently studied me under his gaze. He picked me apart, every lie, every scar, every bitter memory that I fought to repress. "I'm fine."
"Ahh," he recalled as if looking back on a fond memory. "I know that one. Does it get a little old after a while? Doesn't it? "
My knuckles grew white as I gripped my legs tighter. What could he possibly mean that he knows this? He doesn't know anything! I couldn't help the irrational part of me growing angrier by the second. He doesn't know what I just went through. He doesn't know what it feels like to ignore every nerve in your body telling you to run, but choose to stay for the outcome in the long run. He doesn't know that I'd much rather die a death as a sword getting snapped in half, than a candle being blown out.
"If you would allow me to explain myself." His attempt to diffuse the growing volatile situation doesn't go unnoticed. He clears his throat. "Should I start from the beginning?"
The silence fills the air again as I realize he actually wanted to hear my thoughts on this. The way he speaks... It's so different from Mertz. Mertz was constantly weaving webs for me to get caught in, testing me to see if I truly have what it takes. Letting out honeyed words and infusing his ideals with mine once I've fallen for the bait. But I can't quite pinpoint the foreign feeling this man's words bring me. Nobody's ever asked me if I've wanted to listen to their story, or even where to start. Nobody has given me the decency to choose if I would rather listen, talk, or stay quiet. It was always according to their rules based on the apparent fact that I'm human which therefore meant I was weak. Now now the man who is written to have to kill me is treating me with more kindness than anybody had me with on a first meeting.
Is he even a demon?
"Please just start wherever you think is best."
He smiles. "Thank you, spared us both some quite boring details." He paused for a second, gathering his bearings before continuing. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Burai. I am- I was the leader of the Vibora."
My jaw fell as my lips parted. "You're what, how, when-?"
There's no way that the man in front of me was once the leader of the Vibora. The Vibora... They were the ones that sent their chief to declare war on the founders and, in turn, lead to Shin losing his eye. Wait- if he was the leader then...
He sent the order for that.
"Yes, my sincerest apologies for once being the leader, but no apology could turn back time, unfortunately."
My heart and my brain were at a tug of war with each other. He just admitted to once being a ruthless leader, but then why does his demeanor indicate being everything but that. And he sent the orders which hurt Shin but then why can't I bring myself to get angry? He's not the man he once was, that's for sure. Maybe I owe it to him, and myself, to see if second chances are worth giving.
"You've... changed." My words were more for myself than for him just like they were more of a statement than a question. But he responded anyway.
"Thank you. Those words mean a lot to me, Sayaka." He bows his head slightly and I can tell by the way he hangs his head that he's being genuine. "I guess the most important part of past me is that I thought I knew everything." He chuckled, "turns out I didn't even know where to start. Since day one I was surrounded by people who didn't respect me; they just admired me," he pauses, interrupting the story. "Do you know the difference?"
I wordlessly shake my head.
"A person who respects you can tell you when you're doing something wrong, a person who admires you sees no faults in you. To them, you are perfect. You're the strongest of them all... But that's the problem with being the strong one. No one offers you a hand." He turns to look at me, face twisting with something between nostalgia and grief. "But you understand that, don't you?"
My face grows hot as the familiar pinching feeling erupts in my chest. I grit my teeth trying to hold back the tears. I feel like my whole life I had to be the strong one. Whether it was making sure Mother was safe, being there for her when Father couldn't be, trying to keep a tough exterior for the bullies at school... Or pretending that it was easy for me to come here and do this alone. How many times have I cried silently so that I wouldn't wake Yui up? How many times have I pretended that my pain hasn't bothered me? How many times did I just want to dive into a selfish desire to scream and run just as a child would do?
"They said I was more powerful than Karlheinz. That I could beat Karlheinz, and I deluded myself into thinking that's what I was meant to do. I even teamed up with him, once, before he double-crossed me. That bastard..." He smiled then shook his head like he should have seen it coming. "Karl was a distorted version of myself. If I gazed into a mirror for too long I would see a man who could value nothing, and no one, besides himself. But I would also see power, the possibility to rule over the entire demon realm and turn it into something truly great. I think it was when I was inches from the throne that I realized that everyone and I mean everyone that has been killed for that position all thinks the same thing. They think they are helping, but instead, they just cover this godforsaken land with another layer of bloodshed. And was that what I truly wanted? To sit on a throne built off of lies and bones, looking down on all those who choose to fear me?"
My vision swims, not daring to look him in the eyes. This is...
He sounds like me.
"Or would I have rather enjoyed a quiet life with my wife and daughter? One where maybe we all lived in one of those villages where everybody knows everybody and we could all be happy together. And once I'd realized that I didn't have to be perfect, I could start being good. But... I didn't choose that," He stared off crestfallen into the water. "I made the biggest mistake in my life when I valued power over my family. And when I finally realized that...it was too late. My wife was getting sicklier by the day, and my daughter fell right into Karlheinz's hands."
I suck in a deep breath and try to ignore the burning, fluttery feeling in my heart that I haven't felt in quite a while. "Your wife?"
"Yes, my wife. Menae."
If the stone didn't give me an impeccable posture, and weigh me down several extra kilos, I would've toppled over into the pool in astonishment.
Menae, Burai, married? Then his daughter...
Cordelia.
Burai is the one Karlheinz set Menae up with for the sole instance of producing Cordelia so that he could pursue her and have his twisted Adam and Eve project fulfilled.
Burai... even he was another pawn.
But still, he's not blameless. And Menae didn't deserve her ending. "Dude. Not cool. You should've treated her better."
"Yes, it was very not cool of me," he confessed, letting out a sigh. "But I'm thankful that she still lives on, at least a part of her, in you."
This is when I gulp, realizing the true circumstances of our meeting. This is not just friendly conservation between friends. But, in a way, I'm glad he'll be the one to take my heart. I can tell that he's been reflecting in this cave all these years and has grown to see the way immense power can turn somebody into a person they can't recognize. I also think it's fitting that he can be reunited with his wife, and I owe it to Menae after all she's helped me with, to pay her back one last time. Maybe he'll implant the heart in somebody else, and finally get to have a second chance at romance. One that's far away from the puppeteering hands of Karlheinz.
"No! You're not going to kill her!" Yui brandishes the silver dagger from underneath her cloak as she runs in. "If you want to kill her you go through me! Take me!"
My stomach twisted in a Mobius strip as I contemplated what I was seeing was actually real.
Yui... was here?
Yui was here...
Yui was here.
I ignored the cracking of my back and I immediately bolted for her.
"Sayaka!" Her face twists into joy, dropping her tough facade at the sight of me. "I'm so glad to see you, I thought-"
"You shouldn't be here," I seethed, words fighting through clenched teeth. "Why are you here?" White-hot fury nestles into my bones at the sight of her. All of this! The danger, the journey, the risk—I took it so that she wouldn't have to. She doesn't get to just show up and decide it'll be okay after I made the toughest decision of my life to come here
In an instant, her smile fell before her eyes widened. "What do you mean? I'm saving you!"
"I don't need to be saved!" I regret it as soon as I say it, seeing her eyes fill up with tears. I turn my head away from her, hating to be the cause of her tears.
But as quickly as they come down, she harshly wipes them off and walks up to Burai. "You don't get to decide that! Have you ever thought about how I felt? You lied to me, Sayaka. You lied to my face and said you were coming back."
"I only lied because-"
"Doesn't matter," she concluded, chest heaving after every labored breath. "You obviously did it to protect everyone, but it's my turn now."
She turns to Burai as she holds the dagger just centimeters over her heart.
My mouth goes dry and I can feel barbed wire twisting up my throat. There was nothing I could do but stare, the agonizing shriek of broken pixels pounding in my ears, being consumed by a titanic weight. She's going to die, she's going to die, she's going to die, shesgoingtodie.
I reach my hand out in a feeble way to stop her.
"Stop," she threatens, not sparing a glance in my direction. "One step closer and I'll do it."
She stares at the silver of the blade before her shaking fingers reposition the weapon. She takes in a deep breath and steels herself. "I've done this before. After the blade goes in, don't take it out until you've drained the rest of the blood. It'll be less messy that way."
Time seems to stop and all the colors fade out of focus.
She's done this before?
I don't know much about what Yui had to face before I arrived at the mansion, but she wouldn't have tried to commit suicide, right? Right?! When- Why didn't anybody help her in those dark times?!
I don't have the time to contemplate the details. All I knew is that this was not going to happen again.
Never again.
I sprint towards her, trying to knock the blade out of her hands, or grab it out from her grip, or, anything... Anything to keep her with me.
"Sayaka!" she warns, extending the dagger in my direction. "I'm serious. Stand down."
"Excuse me, ladies, I hate to break this up, but could you please touch the area you stabbed into?"
We paused, directing our attention at Burai, a heavy silence filling the room. "What the hell, man!" I yelled out, "She just said she tried to kill herself, and you want to know where it happened!?"
He put up both hands defensively, backing away. "I mean it in the most respectful of manners." He cleared his throat, shifting his eyes back and forth between us. "I would just like to see the point of impact."
I gripped the sides of my temples, pushing down at the throbbing nerves. "I can't believe this is happening. Not here, not now- I just found out that the girl I love tried to unalive herself before I got there, followed me into the demon realm to try and unalive herself a second time, and now Menae's husband, who I thought was kinda cool, is going all school shooter now!?"
Burai's tail did a little wag in the water. "You think I'm cool?"
"Shut it, Voldemort!" I turn to Yui, my finger shaking as it points at her. "Don't think we're not going to talk about this- actually no you're going back home, this place isn't for you." I hook her arm around mine and start to walk towards the opening through the rubble. "Bye Burai, this was fun I guess, I'll be back soon-"
"Sayaka, stop!" Yui wiggled out of my grip, tension, and adrenaline written all over her face as well. "We're in the middle of nowhere, and you want to go home now without the gun? How is that going to work?"
She's right. She's right and I hate that she's right.
I throw my hands up in frustration not having any idea about the journey back home. I very well planned for this to be a one-way trip. "I don't know, I'll just expose a shoulder and see how fast Laito comes running!"
She let out a sigh and closed her eyes, steadying her breath. She looked back at Burai and gently touched the center of her chest. "H-Here," she stammered out, gritting her teeth. "It was here."
"Now, if you could, please trail your fingers up."
Her fingers delicately went up before they touched the pendant on her necklace.
My eyes widened at the sight.
A golden heart.
Yui felt it too as a few sobs racked throughout her body.
The golden heart was not a founder's heart.
It was simply her golden heart necklace.