[https://i.imgur.com/X9kOoGQ.png]
SING CRIER
CH.35 - The One Who Obeys
「 Go on... «Identify» me.
「 Ask me questions only he could answer.
「 Leave no hint of doubt... that I am telling the truth. 」
Her slow, prolonged pronunciation does little to help my mind grasp
the sheer absurdity of the claims being made, and what it would mean if they were true.
"Lies," it would be so much more convenient to think... so much easier a pill to swallow.
Even ignorance is more tempting to me than having deal with this... mess.
But -- even now...
as I feel the conflicting euphoria of my death sense relaxing down to level one,
I see visions of my own death playing in her eyes. A muffled trace of animosity...
a deep and suppressed loathing, a latent desire to wholly kill me -- even if she can't.
It's difficult to look away from that kind of complex expression.
Maybe even impossible.
『 ...I- 』
「 ... 」
My voice gets caught in my throat.
I notice her eyes twitch to the sound of my voice
...as if it were unpleasant.
『 ...«I-Identify». 』
I mutter, under my uneven breath.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
LV.41 ▬ IlIIlIllIlIllIlI Fae'larias
LV.41 ▬ Lagunn'kai "Marie" Paris
Black-Lamb Human
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HP ▐ 4066/4100
MP ▐ 14/510
SP ▐ 592/592
P.ATK ▐ 1180
P.DEF ▐ 14390
M.ATK ▐ 1244
M.DEF ▐ 1223
Effects ▐ ◈ Ⓢ∞
▐ Eldritch Fear[LV.2]
▐ Dragon Vein
▐ Regeneration[LV.5]
Titles ▐ 「 Engine of Death 」「 Demon Hater 」「 Merrymaker 」
▐ 「 Ally of Artifice 」「 Ally of Elves 」
▐ 「 Ally of Beasts 」「 Ultimate Raider 」
▐ 「 Legion Commander 」
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Her first name is... a barcode.
If her naming convention in this world is the same as mine,
that means this barcode was her character's first name in Myriad Worlds...
just as my first name here was assigned to be "Crier."
The... Demon King... also had a barcode name.
That is -- 16 characters of uppercase Is and lowercase Ls,
randomly typed so as to remain anonymous when variant «Identify» skills were used.
This is... also why we called him "Demon King" back in the day.
He never ended up telling us his real-life name either.
This isn't enough to say for sure she and he are one and the same,
but I imagine... that's why she also instructed me to
"...ask questions only he could answer."
『 ... 』
「 ... 」
Moments pass with nothing but eye contact between us.
Even idly, she gives off the presence of standing near a sheer cliff,
certain unmovable death if only the wind blew in the other direction for a moment.
To look away, or turn your back to such threat... almost feels like a cosmic invitation.
Eventually, she gently closes her eyes and raises her head.
A deep audible sigh follows.
「 Take one last good look. 」
One last... look...?
I assume she means her identified information,
so I focus on committing as much of it as I can to memory.
A dozen or so seconds pass before my «Identify» suddenly ends.
Click.
The motion of her gloved hands dropping from behind her neck to her sides
hints to me she's reequipped something, perhaps a necklace.
「 I've changed my mind. I don't have the patience.
「 Entire countries compete for my attention, Streya. 」
Her eyes scan me.
My breath stalls.
「 Is there... anything urgent you need attending to? 」
...
『 Setsuna. 』
I gasp her name.
Her eyes narrow.
「 ...A friend? 」
『 She's poisoned. And my sister... where is she? 』
...She closes her eyes and slowly crosses her arms in response.
Another moment of silence passes before she reaches behind herself,
pulling forth a thin, faint glowstick-like tube, coloured a notably rich blue.
She bites hard on one end, and it crunches, spewing out glittery particles.
「 Your sister's behind you. Other side. 」
『 Behind... 』
...I carefully reach behind myself, placing my hand against a now charred trunk.
I use it as leverage to slowly lift myself onto my feet, maintaining eye contact.
She watches me, waving that glowstick tube lazily over her chest
as it spews out hundreds of tiny blue flecks that slowly spread like a mist.
They bear striking resemblance to the green particles I saw whilst waking up.
「 And Setsuna is... that kraken kid? 」
...I carefully nod, my hand against the tree trunk,
taking light steps back and around it to not trip on its roots.
「 I see. 」
『 ... 』
After stepping back far enough, I notice her in my peripheral vision.
Sing, sitting opposite to where I was with her back against the black wood.
I instantly crouch down in front of her.
『 «Identify» 』
Sing
LV.8 | Prophet of Joy
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HP 85 / 85
She's... still monster triggered...
but otherwise alive and well; just sleeping it looks like...
I breathe a sigh of relief and quickly rub at my eyes.
「 Here's... what we're going to do about your friend. 」
I rub some of the grime off of Sing's face,
as... Paris speaks aloud, slow and pronounced.
「 I will give you a «Broadcast» for you to call her with.
「 Then -- we're going to wait for ten minutes. 」
My hands stop.
「 If she does not show up in ten minutes, we move on. Sound fair? 」
『 I- 』
I grip my chest as my Eldritch Serendipity suddenly spikes.
"I want to go look for her," was what got interrupted.
The deep cold grip sews my mouth shut.
『 ... 』
...I hear the crunch of brittle foliage underfoot from the other side of the tree.
It gets closer and closer, before turning into the shuffling of leaves and metal.
Sounds... as if she sat down in the spot where I used to be.
「 ...Here. 」
I look up.
Just barely, I notice a hand reaching around the tree,
holding a red slip of paper gently wedged between two fingers.
「 One use. 」
...I press my lips together and take it.
A paper talisman, roughly textured, and marked by a busy pattern of lines
weaving through each other in two colours, both systematic and chaotic.
Effectively a limited-use magic circle. Material components and mana are required
to make it, but not to use it, making them suitable as commodities.
Not my area of expertise.
...
『 «Broadcast» 』
The talisman illuminates brightly -- silently, as I focus into it.
Shouting into it now will extend the distance my voice travels,
and carry its original volume further without amplifying it.
...I take a deep breath.
『 Setsunaa! 』
On cue, the talisman quickly begins crumbling away.
Watching it run out... I feel like... I... should say more.
『 I'm... I'm sorry! 』
I blink as the paper falls apart into nothingness.
Why did I... say... that?
『 ... 』
I look down at my hands,
and gently furl them closed.
I feel... a bit cold suddenly.
She's capable enough right?
She's smart, strong, fast... all that...
She's definitely okay... she's proved she can take care of herself...
「 The... barcode I have... takes after my in-game character name,
「 and my last name takes after my old real-life name, like you. 」
I squeeze my eyes shut briefly, as she suddenly begins talking.
There's a.... sudden deeper exhaustion I can hear in her tone.
「 Fae'larias Lagunn'kai... is my birth name in this world.
「 Marie is the nickname I made everyone call me.
「 I do not care what you call me. 」
...I shift in place, to sit whilst hugging my knees.
「 As far as I know... "Black-Lamb" and "Ⓢ∞" are just brandings we bear.
「 I know no one else besides us who can use «Identify»... so it matters not.
「 You should be familiar with everything else, except -- my Engine of Death title.
「 I believed all it did... was give me Eldritch Fear, overwriting vanilla Fear, at first.
「 However, your old Prophet of Death title, and its change to "Joy..."
「 leads me to believe... there might be more to it. 」
A blurry purple and gold image flashes in my head.
[https://i.imgur.com/YhcHy0t.png]
I blink hard, trying to focus on Paris's words.
「 Of course, I won't make you tell me what you know...
「 because we're allies now... aren't we? 」
『 ... 』
「 We wouldn't be allies if you didn't tell me everything I needed to know. 」
The venom in her voice is audible.
She pronounces it like a threat.
「 So ask me -- what only The Demon King would know.
「 You will need that proof to trust me. 」
...I rest my forehead on my knees.
This reminds me of... back then.
The circumstances are different, but it's playing out the same way.
I don't have any control over this conversation, it's all going the way she wants.
This same overwhelming pressure The Demon King had... I hate it.
『 ... 』
I feel a phantom jolt in my spine.
『 W-Why-』
It twists air out of my lungs.
『 -did... you make me record... myself beating Nine-Tails's... twin foxes? 』※¹
「 To multiply applications to our guild whilst fulfilling my end of our deal,
「 showing you expressions you've never seen before. 」
I squeeze my legs tighter to my body,
my nails digging into my skin.
「 Did your Eldritch Serendipity force you to ask me that? 」
『 ...Yes. 』
...An unnaturally long pause passes,
before I hear a loud thump from the other side of the tree.
My head snaps up to the sudden sound -- as if something struck the burnt bark.
「 After -- you died, I told people that I made you record that video, and why.
「 I told many people many things; media, law enforcement, guildmates.
「 I told some because I had to... I told some because I wanted to.
「 The truth is, I can't truly prove I'm The Demon King.
「 Anyone could pretend to be him, and you have no means now to know for sure. 」
『 Wh... why... why are... you telling me this?
「 Why did you make me ask if-』
「 Because my Eldritch Fear forced me to say it,
「 and my Eldritch Fear forces me to say this too! 」
CRACK!
I flinch, as the boom of an impact strikes the other side of the tree.
The entire trunk creaks and shakes, charred leaves fall inelegantly from its top.
I find my hands raised themselves part way to protect my head...
I slowly drop them back down to hang over my knees.
I can hear... desperate ragged breath...
coming from the other side...
「 I always knew you were going to backstab me, I just didn't know when. 」
『 ... 』
『 ... 』
I look Sing in her glowing eyes.
She woke up.
「 ... 」
I hear quick footsteps.
Paris immediately appears from the other side of the tree, one hand on the trunk.
She looks down at us. Both Sing and I meet her gaze.
...She leans against the tree, tilting her head to rest on it.
There's... a different expression on her face.
For once, I don't know how to describe it.
「 And I still don't. I only know one day -- you will again.
「 No matter how many campaigns we do... no matter how many friends we make...
「 Through the laughs, the smiles, the tears, and cries... when that day comes again... 」
Paris raises a hand -- then tilts her wrist down to point at us.
「 ...all of it will mean nothing to you.」
...She slowly lowers her arm,
then pushes herself off the tree, standing upright,
before turning away, returning to the other side.
Despite her actions implying mindless vented anger,
there was not a hint of breaking in her voice as she spoke.
The control and refinement of her words gave off the impression
that she carefully selected every word and how she wanted it delivered.
...I look down at my hands,
and notice them shivering.
I clamp one down over the other.
...She's wrong.
I told Agehatate all of that... and she still took care of us.
We can leave "Streya" behind us... we can be better than she was.
Everything... will turn out fine if we just take our time...
She said that... and we believe her.
「 ...It's been over ten minutes. 」
「 Wake up. 」
I sit up, shooting my eyes open.
Paris is crouched down in front of me.
I feel warmth behind me.
It's Sing, I fell asleep on her.
She's still sitting with her eyes glowing red.
I rub my eyes... fighting to keep them open.
...Setsuna.
I immediately scan the area around me.
It's dark, it still feels like night; moonlight aptly pierces the canopy.
Nearly everything is mana charred, the few things that aren't have visibly black veins.
I don't... see anything remotely orange... here.
「 It's time we move on. 」
『 ... 』
"I have to look for her," I want to say,
but the pain mutes me again.
「 ...We will need to reintroduce you to my raid alliance.
「 They came with me on the premise that you are an apocalyptic catalyst
「 that The Goddess of this world has marked for death. 」
『 ... 』
Paris's glare is unrelenting.
Even being partially assured she's not the same Marie that killed me,
her appearance and voice are still shared... why remains unanswered.
Knowing that her Eldritch Fear restrains her is the only thing
keeping my body from locking up.
...She slowly starts to raise her hand.
It gently turns to face its palm towards my face, fingers outstretched.
She pushes it uncomfortably closer and closer to me until it covers my face,
my eyes just able to peer between her fingers.
...I feel the lightest chilling graze upon my spine.
In that same instant, she pulls her hand away.
「 ...While that is important, we're allies, first and foremost.
「 If needed -- I will abandon all the political power and prestige I've accumulated.
「 So don't feel timid if you must say or ask something. We're in this together. 」
The complete emptiness in her words
causes an aching tightness in my chest.
Perhaps it's exhaustion, but I feel lightheaded as well.
I wish Setsuna were here, or my sister fully awake...
『 Um... 』
I whisper, then blink.
『 Why do you... have Marie's body and voice? 』
「 ...Many reasons -- but here are two.
「 That charade between you and Marie stole all the fame and legend I'd worked for.
「 After your death, you two became known not only in the Myriad Worlds community,
「 but mainstream media as well. At the time... taking one of your faces felt like justice. 」
...
「 One reason I narrowed it down to Marie... is that I guessed The Immortal Soul
「 was a criterion for being reincarnated here. The Hero told me that you absorbed
「 the real one, so I picked Marie explicitly to corner you on a psychological level. 」
She says all this without a change in expression.
There's no shame, embarrassment, or pride.
『 ...How...did you pick Marie? 』
Paris's lips part just slightly,
she seems visibly perplexed or astonished.
「 ...Were you not given the option to create a new character? 」
My eyes widen.
『 I... I woke up like this...
『 What do mean... option...? 』
...She reaches behind her head,
and runs her fingers down the length of her hair like a comb.
She does this a few times in silence and continues even as she speaks.
「 After I died, I was presented with Myriad Worlds's character creator.
「 Some things couldn't be changed, such as name, birthday, and starting location.
「 Otherwise, it was the same. I could change my appearance, race, so on and so forth. 」
She stops combing.
「 Although I spent an extremely long time loitering in there...
「 I eventually made a character and left. Not because I wanted to...
「 but because I felt Eldritch Fear there, and it became unbearable as time passed.
「 ...Then I was born; a year or so passed, and I recognized myself again. 」
...I almost laugh, almost.
I'm too tired to make any kind of real reaction.
『 ...Okay. 』
「 ... 」
I take a deep breath.
「 What happened to Sing? She has the same «Identify» display as a boss. 」
『 ...Sing? 』
I take a moment to process her words.
『 ...I set off her monster trigger. Need to... toss her in the river. 』
Paris's gaze passes over Sing briefly.
「 A "monster trigger;" do you have one as well? 」
...I nod quietly.
「 Are there... any other ways you can be glitched out of it? 」
I open my mouth to reply -- but stop myself.
Paris should be familiar with the concept of monster triggers and restoring autonomy,
their raid group flip-flopped between them when fighting Agehatate in that cave. ※²
As well, I never explicitly said why we need to toss Sing in the river.
She automatically connected it to autonomy-restoration, and called it "glitching."
...It might help to keep this in the back of my mind.
『 Not... that I know of. 』
「 ...I see. We'll stop by a river on the way back then.
「 I would also like to ask where your hair pin is. 」
...I slowly, and carefully reach up to touch the hair pin I'm wearing.
「 That's Sing's -- it's red. Where is yours? 」
『 I... I dropped it... 』
「 In this forest? 」
I lower my head a bit.
「 I'll see what we can do about that later.
「 Is there anything else I should know? 」
『 ... 』
Setsuna...
『 ...Something will appear...in the cave...Nine-Tails was in.
「 I don't... know what or when but... before sunrise. 』
「 ...We'll take a look on the way back. 」
『 ... 』
「 How are you feeling? 」
『 ...Eh? 』
「 How are you? Are you in a condition to act? 」
『 Ah...I'm...I can do it, I think. I'm just a bit sleepy... 』
「 ...I see. 」
Paris... then turns around, exposing her back to me.
「 ...Climb on. Tell me what you're best able to act like... and I'll adjust to you.
「 To be clear... the world at large knows you as a harbinger of apocalypse. 」
『 ... 』
I... hesitantly reach out
and wrap my arms around her neck,
turning my head off to the side.
『 Can I... just stay quiet? 』
「 If all you are is a timid child... 」
She slowly stands up,
lifting Sing's limp body by the scruff of her silk dress.
「 ...I will be accused of lying about the immediate threat you posed. 」
『 I'm not -- I won't be... I was tutored on how to properly act. 』
「 By whom? 」
『 ...Nine-Tails. 』
「 ... 」
Paris carries us back around the tree,
where she effortlessly pulls her heavy blade from the ground with her free hand.
I can still see some of my blood lingering on it.
「 Tell me more as we walk.
「 These aren't just players, they're world-class internationals.
「 No matter how goofy or trustworthy they might seem or act,
「 they're all accredited professionals each with their own agendas.
「 This should go without saying -- but this isn't a game, Streya. 」
My grip tightens, as we begin our steady trek through the forest thicket.
『 ...I understand. 』
A brief moment passes.
The rustling of trees and distant ever-raging monsters
fills the air, distracting me from my unpleasant thoughts.
「 ...Relax -- no matter what happens, we'll live.
「 I've worked for the power... to ensure that. 」
『 ... 』
Sing gasps for air as she's yanked out of the river,
whilst Crier flinches, holding her head in mild discomfort.
「 ...How much silk are you wearing? You're twice as heavy soaked. 」
Sing is too busy coughing water out of her lungs to reply.
『 ...Three layers. Nine-Tails's gift. 』
Paris drops Sing on the singed ground.
Sing beats her chest as the coughing continues.
Browsing her desynchronized memories, it seems all she remembers are hazy moments
of contact with Crier, and the moment her enrage triggered to insta-kill that monster.
We share memories quickly to get rid of its accompanying disorienting feeling.
「 «Anhydrous» 」
Crier watches as Paris lifts her hand, pointing it at Sing with fingers splayed.
A magic circle instantly forms in front of her palm, giving off glassy crinkling sounds.
Immediately, her splayed hand attempts a crushing motion as if squeezing a sponge.
As her hand slowly closes, water droplets lift from Sing's clothes and hair,
suspending in the air even as Paris's hand fully closes.
It's when Paris's hand shoots back open does all the water collapse to the ground,
bouncing or sliding off of Sing as if both she and her clothes were hydrophobic.
『 Why did... you say the skill name during casting? 』
「 The majority of people in this world are under level ten,
「 so fear spawned myths... such as, "Monsters never say the names of their magicks."
「 So we who are level ten and higher make a habit of doing so to skirt the taboo.
「 It's serious enough that it's required by law in some places. 」
Sing takes a few deep breaths as the coughing stops,
after which, Paris picks her up once more from the scruff of her dress.
『 ...Myth? 』
「 Monsters that glitch and regain their autonomy can... say their skill names,
「 because monsters that glitch are no longer technically considered monsters.
「 Any skill used against them that specifically targets monsters will fail.
「 Your kraken friend is one such example... as are you. 」
That... means...
while we have our monster triggers tripped...
we're fully monsters... one hundred percent...
and we return to zero percent if we ever regain autonomy.
That explains why Setsuna could use our magic circles...
「 Dawn will break not too long from now. The cave site is next. 」
...We look up.
A golden hue has pushed across the sky, driving back the deep blue.
Has that much time passed already? What time would it be now on a clock...?
Rather than follow the river upstream,
Paris delves back into the forest with us in tow,
we imagine, to keep away from prying eyes.
Eventually, we reach the falls where we first exited the caves.
Paris stops there, gazing up at them for a while.
『『 ... 』』
「 ...Step down for a moment. 」
Paris sets Sing down on her feet as Crier releases her grip.
Then, taking her heavy blade in both hands and centring it in front of her, she whispers:
「 «Soulto» 」
Magic circles form on the back of her hands, slowly spinning for some seconds,
before the blade shimmers a ghostly red, its surface perpetually warping like water.
At the same time, a red translucent ribbon-like smoke connects its centre of mass
with hers.
Immediately, she gets into a stance,
holding the blade in one hand and winding that arm behind her,
before whipping it skyward, the audible whoosh of wind splitting as she does so.
「 Climb on. 」
Crier immediately wraps her arms around her neck,
whilst Sing is picked up in her free arm.
Eight seconds pass from the ribbon forming.
The glassy crashing noise of magic ascends to a peak,
after which, our bodies dissipate into a red cloud, our senses uninterrupted.
Our red cloud is pulled along the length of the ribbon,
up the falls, chasing the blade which had been thrown to its top.
We accelerate, faster and faster until the moment we graze the blade.
A flare of ghastly red light bursts from the submerged steel on contact,
our bodies reforming there in that same instant.
Paris immediately plants her legs through the rushing water
before reclaiming her weapon from its clutches.
Only the pitch-black of the damp caverns lies ahead.
She whispers to us before marching on.
「 From here, your persona stays on until I say.
「 This is your last chance to speak freely. 」
...We take a deep breath -- and stare ahead.
Taking the silence for an answer, Paris pushes on against the current.
「 «Night-Vision» 」
We return to the large lit opening hidden deep within the cave complex,
enough light seeps through it to illuminate the subterranean river;
the river's refractions shimmer across the ceiling.
The small clearing is still as littered with stalagmites as before,
our old magic circles etched into the ground at one particular corner.
The wall opposite remains marked by an X-shaped crack from our earlier combat.
It's all a bit melancholic to look at.
Paris first turns her back to the dry ground, allowing Crier to lightly drop herself off.
Then, she carefully places Sing next to Crier, letting go only once she's standing.
After us, she gracefully steps up out of the river and peers down, meeting our eyes.
The lingering trace of animosity we could feel in her expression at any time,
wasn't... masked, but instead transformed into an air of apathy and uncaring.
Her demeanour as a whole is noticeably more elegant and princess-like.
「 Follow behind me... children. 」
We feel our hearts twist hearing that.
It almost feels like a mockery of Agehatate.
We focus on maintaining our composure,
and don't give her any sort of response other than eye contact.
Wordlessly, she turns to the illuminated opening and strolls through it.
We make sure to stay behind her as she walks, but next to each other.
Heads facing forward, eyes focused and not wandering,
we cross through the passageway, our eyes slowly adjusting to the sudden light.
We expect a cool breeze... but... feel warmth instead, heat blowing at us.
It takes several moments for our eyes to fully adjust...
And when Paris stops, we do.
Every stone surface of the room Agehatate inhabited... was destroyed.
Jagged, rough, coarse, and blackened with soot, every rock face was desecrated,
save for a single thin path leading to where we last saw Agehatate sitting.
This singular path was smooth, but not spared from the black coating.
Our minds race.
Paris, however, begins walking forward once again.
We follow behind her as we were, resisting the urge to investigate,
and keep our eyes facing only forward.
As we slowly approach the centre of the room,
the echoing roar of monsters through the room's far natural window grows,
our feet become more and more dusted with black soot,
and worse and worse ideas replace themselves.
Only once we reach the centre, does Paris whisper to us again.
「 How unpleasant... 」
『『 ... 』』
She stands silently for a time,
before kneeling, crouching over something.
「 Look. 」
We finally glance down.
The small area around us is smooth, perhaps perfectly so,
but in the epicentre there lies a deep and clean engraving in the rock.
An abstract depiction of what we can only conclude to be the canyon,
except with a crooked city lying at the bottom, and a black four-pointed star placed deep within.
「 This entire canyon has become Black Star Brook...
「 It answers why I've yet to receive a location discovered message. 」
Black Star Brook is... a level thirty dungeon from Myriad Worlds.
Old... but one of the most popular and well-remembered, both as the final dungeon
that capped off the Supernova storyline, and as a dungeon with some of the flashiest
set-pieces in the entire game.
That monster we fought and insta-killed earlier...
That Witch Tongue -- was a monster exclusive to Black Star Brook.
It wasn't a long way from home... this was its home.
「 ... 」
...We glance at Paris.
Although her face is straight and unbroken,
her fists are tightened, muscles just slightly tenser.
The mere sight of this map seems to disturb her in some way.
「 ...Content? 」
...We take the moment to scan the rest of the area around us,
slowly, patiently, and with no wasted movements.
Agehatate said she would leave two treasures, but...
generously assuming this map was one... where is the second?
There's nothing in sight but jagged black rocks...
So... it must be possible then that...
Setsuna was already here... right?
...Right?
...
Ah... probably not...
The soot on the path was undisturbed after all,
and flying is a bit much to expect, even for her...
『 Someone... 』『 ...was here. 』
『『 Gift...stolen. 』』
「 ... 」
Paris closes her eyes as she stands back up.
「 I made this place off-limits... 」
After she opens them,
she stares off into the distance,
off to the far end of the room, through the opening and into the canyon.
An unnaturally warm breeze blows through the room.
「 A kraken, a hair pin, a lie, a dungeon, and a thief then. 」
She lifts her heavy blade in one hand,
extends her arm forward, and holds it horizontally.
「 Fine -- if I must.
「 But I will ask something of you in return. 」
She turns the blade,
we meet her eyes in its mirror.
There, we catch a glimpse of a familiar expression.
A long lost shadow.
「 We lost a friend here. That was you... wasn't it? 」
『『 ... 』』
「 ...Don't bring them back. 」
We... look away.
It's... too late for that... ※³
[END]