image [https://i.imgur.com/p69Ek59.jpeg]

***

Year 2015

Kyoko

"*Huff Huff puff!"

I run as fast as I can, but the hall only gets longer. I can feel my breath shortening, my head lightening and the taste of metal in my throat gets stronger and stronger.

Finally, I see the light.

“YOUR MAJESTYY!!!”

I don’t know why I yelled that, but it just seemed right.

“Your majesty, I come with terrible news!”

Before I know it, my forehead is touching the glass-like floor.

I was okay with following orders from my parents, but this was different. This didn’t feel like any mother or father. This presence felt more divine like. Like a god.

I hated that feeling.

“They’re attacking our station!”

(Attacking? Who’s attacking? And what station?)

“...W-What should we do?!”

The hairs on my body sharpened like needles as I bowed there terrified. But it wasn’t any “enemies” that terrified me. What had me so anxious was the very person before me. The person at whom I hadn’t so much as glanced.

I felt dizzy just being in their presence.

And though my head was already touching the floor, I felt that I had to lower it even further.

I really do hate this feeling.

“*Hmph. Oh, but that is excellent news. I’ve been feeling quite bored as of late."

In every dream, that voice... It's mine. It’s like I was bowing before myself. Scared of myself. Serving myself.

I didn’t argue with them or even raise my head. Their words were law, and I was just a humble servant to it.

It was at that moment I mustered the courage to raise my head.

At a glance, she looked nothing like me.

She had long snow hair and eyes of blood.

We had the same white uniform on, but hers had far fewer metal pieces. Like she was a battle hearted maiden with no fear of death.

Yet despite all of that, I knew this was me. And I knew I was her.

She is my queen; she is who I serve and no other.

My God. My self. Kyoko.

***

Year 2015

It was a busy street. So busy in fact, that unless you were some alien from planet X1NA you’d have trouble just hearing the guy next to you. Yet, somehow, she managed to glide through the crowd without colliding with a single soul, despite her carefree demeanor. With a skip in her step and a song on her lips, she seemed to float above the chaos around her.

“London bridge is falling down, falling down, my faaair lady,” she sang, her voice bright and cheerful. Her hair and eyes shimmered in a lovely lavender hue, but it was the small mole beneath her lip and her playful, innocent grin that truly captured attention.

“London bridge is faaallingg!” she continued; her joy infectious. Coming from a nearby park where she played with friends -her only chance to see them since she didn’t attend school- she felt a special thrill in her heart. Upon reaching home, she spotted her father deep in conversation with a stranger, but that hardly registered in her mind; her focus was solely on finding her mother.

“Hey papa!” she greeted as she dashed inside her home.

“…”

“I never knew you had a daughter,” the stranger remarked, clearly surprised.

“Ooh-ahh yeah… she doesn’t go out much. Hahaha,” her father replied, a hint of nervousness in his laughter.

“But I could’ve sworn I’ve seen that girl skipping down the street quite a lot recently.”

“Oh-Haha. She’s recently started to go out with her friends, you know how it goes.” The father thought to himself, grappling with the flood of questions from the stranger. This was his fault for allowing her to venture out at all; he would have to be more cautious moving forward.

***

“Welcome home baby!”

“Mami!”

With pure joy, the little girl jumped into her mother’s embrace, their laughter filling the air as she twirled around in delight.

“Mama, I played tag today, and I was so fast that no one could catch me!”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. It sounds like you really had fun today.”

“Yep-”

Barely managing to finish her thought, the door burst open. It was Charles. He stood there momentarily, muttering under his breath:

“Damn it. At this rate, someone will catch on. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.”

The two of them exchanged puzzled glances, but the mother sensed something was amiss. The mumbling ceased, and Charles advanced toward them.

A chill ran down Izanami’s spine, and they nearly gasped in unison.

“Charles?” the mother asked, but he didn’t respond. His focus was solely on one thing.

“OW! PAPA!!” He seized the little girl’s arm, yanking her away from her mother and pulling her through a strange metal door. The girl fought against his grip, screaming and struggling, but it was futile. Just a glance from him was enough to paralyze her with fear.

The fury in his eyes left her stunned. Overwhelmed by terror, she ceased her resistance and resigned herself to the situation.

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It was freezing. Where could this man be taking her? As that thought crossed her mind, she glanced up to find yet another door looming ahead. Just like the previous one, he forced it open with little effort. The chill that had felt biting before was nothing compared to the icy blast that greeted her now, akin to stepping into a deep freezer unprepared for its frigid embrace. “From this moment on, this is where you will remain!” Charles announced with a commanding tone.

“B-but it’s so c-o-”

“NEVER LEAVE THIS ROOM!!! Do you hear me?!”

Kyoko could only stare at him, her silence betraying her confusion. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and soon she was sobbing uncontrollably, unable to grasp the reason behind her father’s fury. This only seemed to intensify Charles’ rage. He reached out, his hand poised to grip her delicate neck, but just as he was about to strike, Izanami intervened, seizing his arm.

“P-Please stop…” she pleaded, her voice quivering. “…She understands. I’ll ensure she does. So please, just stop-” But before she could finish, his hand lashed out, striking her cheek and leaving her reeling in pain. Clutching her face, she implored:

“Please, Charles. I’ll talk to her. I promise she’ll understand.”

He shot her a fierce glare before retreating back to the room he had emerged from.

“MO-MOM…” Kyoko whimpered, her voice breaking. “…Wha-what did I do?”

“I am so sorry my baby, you didn’t do anything wrong but from now on you just can’t go outside again or you’ll make papa very angry. Please stay in that room over there for a while, okay?”

“*Sniffle. Okay.”

***

(I must have done something terrible, but what? Am I not allowed to go outside because of what I did?)

The answer was shrouded in mystery with no clues in sight.

The room was cold, almost desolate and truly uninviting, with only a solitary cage occupying the space, and well as dim light flickering weakly against the cold walls. Inside the cage lay three peculiar items: a thick white book, a sleek black pen, and a small, worn-out pillow.

(That’s supposed to be where I’ll stay from now on…?)

Shivering slightly, she wrapped her arms around herself and stepped into the cage, settling down within its confines.

(It's not so bad once you get used to it.)

She attempted to convince herself, yet the weight of her despair only intensified. With no one to confide in, she turned to the thick, white book resting beside her, pouring her heart onto its pages.

As she wrote endlessly, something extraordinary happened -the book began to respond.

Yes, you read that right; the book wrote back to her.

Their exchange began with lighthearted questions, the kind that friends might share.

“What’s your name?” “How old are you?” “Where do you come from?” You know, the common stuff.

However, the book’s replies were anything but ordinary. They felt otherworldly, as if the answers transcended the limits of reality.

Could anyone truly be millions of years old or hail from HEAVEN? Who can say for certain? The universe is vast, and its secrets may remain forever hidden from us.

The name of the book -or perhaps the name of the celestial being within it- was Nana.

Apparently, she was some ancient war general in her past life. She was something like an elite commander who served directly under Lucifer (the former leader of the angels).

During those two long years she stayed trapped in this basement, Nana would tell her stories of heaven.

She didn’t explain the complicated stuff like the order and structure of the military. Just stuff like the smiles on the spirit of the dead, and the celestial flora.

And she wasn’t the only one sharing stories.

Izanami would regularly drop off some dinner for the girl to eat and sometimes even spend some time with her.

She would tell Kyoko about a whole new world. Not heaven, but a separate world from earth. The kind where you’d find mythical creatures of all statures.

It was during one of her many visits that Kyoko showed her the book and how it would talk back.

While this may have spooked any other adult, she was quite open to it. Like she’d seen things like this many times in her life.

They enjoyed the little times they could spend together. But as we all know, all good things must come to an end.

Today -on Kyoko’s 9th birthday- her and Nana had a special talk. The kind of talk that would change their destiny.

Kyoko was writing in her book like usual, not because there was nothing else to do but because she had developed a bond with Nana during this time.

She spent all her day writing and sometimes words would just appear underneath. Those sudden words were from Nana.

“How come you never tell me happy birthday Nana?” she wrote.

“Hmm… where I’m from we don't celebrate a year's pass of life. That's like… nothing.”

“Well for us it’s a big deal.”

“Then what do you want to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“I'm saying I’ll take you anywhere, child. Now where?”

The girl stared at those words for a second. She had already given up on any hope of escape or freedom for anything. But here she was once again, being given a light -from a book of all things.

It was enough to make her tear up.

“Don’t just say things like that…” she wrote through her tears, a single drop landing on the paper, blurring the ink. “...you’ll only get people's hopes.”

“Hurry before I change my mind.”

She had managed to stay strong for two long years, but Nana’s insistence finally broke her resolve, unleashing a torrent of emotions -sadness, frustration, anger, and even a hint of gratitude. In that moment, she forgot about writing her feelings down and instead let her voice rise in desperation. “Then please. Please! PLEASE TAKE ME TO GOD! IF THE HEAVEN YOU SAY EXISTS, PLEASE TAKE ME THERE!”

The few tears that had fallen transformed into a downpour on the page, and it was then that Nana responded:

“Then let's start by leaving this cage.”

(Huh?)

Suddenly, the bars that had confined her were no longer visible. In truth, it wasn’t the bars that had shifted; it was she who had slipped away from the confines of that cage, along with the book.

Looking around in bewilderment, she asked:

“Did you do that?”

“Of course. Now get moving.”

“Moving? To where?”

“To heaven duhh… Wait, how do you get there from here?”

“I SHOULD BE ASKING YOU THAT!”

“...Just start by leaving this house I guess.”

(Leaving huh. When was the last time I thought about seriously doing that)

“But won’t daddy be mad and hurt us if he sees me?”

“... Don’t worry, I won’t let him…”

(What does that mean?)

Though still doubtful, she placed her trust in Nana and took a step forward.

“Hey Nana… do angels normally take any human to god?”

“…”

A tense silence enveloped them, the kind that makes you swallow hard, wondering if you’ve overstepped your boundaries.

“...Not normally... Most of us haven't even seen a human before. That was supposed to be Lucifer’s job...”

(Lucifer?)

“...Well, I did meet one once.”

“Oh, did you like th-”

“I hate them.”

"…"

"..."

“...Wow. Well, that. Ahh. Pretty forward huh?”

“Yeah, they're disgusting. I'd annihilate them all if I had the chance.”

“Wow. Umm… if you hate humans so much why are you friends with me?”

“Ew no. Who told you we were friends?”

(Ouch!)

“I could care less about you, the one I care about is Lucifer.”

“Luci-fer? Is that your boyfriend?”

“Ew no…”

(Ouch!)

“I despise that man. He’s the reason I’m in this pitiful situation. Strapped to a damn mortal.”

Even through just words, you could feel her anger in each letter as these words appeared:

“I hate him.”

Another heavy silence settled in the air, but this time, it remained unbroken. Kyoko continued on her path; the book clutched tightly in her hand. As she stepped through the door into the hall, a wave of warmth washed over her for the first time in two long years.

For a moment, she basked in the feeling, even closing her eyes to fully take it in. But the moment was abruptly shattered by a thunderous shout. “Wha- H-HOW THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN ALIVE?!?”

The voice jolted her, and she recognized it as Charles. It had been two years since he last laid eyes on his daughter, but in truth, he could have gone a lifetime without seeing her again. In his mind, it would have been better if she had perished during their time apart.

Izanami was conspicuously absent, and Kyoko quickly pieced together the connection between her mother’s absence and her own disappearance. “Papa. Where is mama?” she demanded, her voice laced with an intensity that made Charles break into a sweat.

“I- I don't have to answer you, get back in the ca-” he stammered, but her commanding tone cut through his words. “Answer!” she insisted, her voice reverberating through the room, transforming her into something almost otherworldly. “Where is that woman? I have questions for her.”

Charles sat frozen, gripped by fear -not just of the girl he had confined, but of his own daughter. “I-I don’t kn-” he began, but before he could finish, she was suddenly before him.

“Do NOT lie to me, boy.” The terror coursing through him was so intense that he lost control of himself.

“She-uhm- s-sheez goun,” he stuttered, his words tumbling out in a pathetic rush. Kyoko, or whatever entity she had become, let out a soft chuckle, finding amusement in the ease with which she toyed with him, like a child plucking a chip from a line of ants.

“Never mind. Your face is kinda pissing me off. I’d kill you where you stand for existing but out of respect for the girl I’ll spare you.”

*Swoosh!!

She vanished leaving nothing but a slight breeze where she stood. And with her, the fear and tension in Charles also left. He inhaled a breath of air and finally relaxed.