I strode forward, and the door sealed itself behind me.
I was standing on fresh, spring-scented, green grass, as if plucked from a childhood memory. A small clearing, encircled by a blurry, ghostly forest, lay before me - it was as if I had stepped into a child's drawing. In the middle of this unlikely clearing, a low but sprawling and lush weeping willow stood, its broad branches laden with fresh leaves bent almost to touch the ground. The clearing bustled with various animals, both domestic and utterly wild creatures. A young moose calf rubbed against a lion right before my eyes, and the lion, instead of biting its neck, merely licked its nose.
There was no violence or fear here.
How did I know this?
I knelt down and brushed my hand over the grass, surprisingly soft and fresh.
I had been here before. In this field. Frolicking in this grass. Chasing after this lion, nipping at its tail. This place felt incredibly familiar to me. And a little girl, about eight or nine, sitting under the weeping willow, seemed more than just familiar. I knew her, but I couldn't recall her at all.
It was this girl, wearing a lovely light blue summer dress, who sang the song that guided me here. She sang while petting a small fox lying on her lap.
A young deer approached me and nudged my side with its nose, inviting me to play. Its unusually intelligent eyes were filled with recognition. As I stroked it between its still-small horns, I shook my head.
"Playtime isn't now," I said, as if the deer could comprehend my words.
And it did understand me, lowering its head and stepping aside.
The closer I got to the willow, the more apparent it became that the little fox lying on the girl's lap was gravely ill. Its eyes were full of pus, its fur fell out in patches, and bloody ulcers that refused to heal marred its side. The girl with curly hair as blonde as the purest clouds looked up at me.
"You've returned, Old Fox. I've been waiting."
Fox?
Yes. As she spoke the memories and images crashed over me. Memories of running around this clearing, playing with other animals, and being petted by this girl. In these memories, I wasn't human, but a fox.
I needed to greet her, say something to this local mistress, but instead, I yielded to an impulse. I drew "Purity." Very carefully, trying not to harm anything, I placed the wakizashi between the small fox's sick paws. The dark brown animal sighed heavily, pressing the blade to its chest, and the snow-white sword, up until now indestructible, melted and dissolved, being absorbed into the fox's body. The less of "Purity" remained, the healthier the fox appeared. When the blade completely dissolved, the fox was entirely healthy. Its ulcers healed, the pus vanished, and its fur no longer falling in clumps. After a satisfying stretch, the fox yawned, closed its eyes, and drifted into sleep.
The two fragments of a once divided soul had reunited, and I felt that this was the natural order of things.
"Do you not remember me at all?" With a gentle motion, the girl relocated the slumbering fox at her feet and studied me intently.
"No. It's hazy. Almost nothing," I responded awkwardly.
"Don't worry, that's normal." Her smile bloomed like flowers, and I felt a warmth in my soul. "You have returned, and that's what matters most."
"Returned?" I sought clarification.
"You can't remember that either..." The local hostess sighed, shaking her curls in a mature manner.
"What kind of place is this?" I inquired.
"My hideout. My self-imposed prison. A place between the Layers of Existence. A place that shouldn't exist." She shrugged. "And also a glade in the midst of Nothing, where lost souls convene."
"Lost? Souls?"
"Yes, those who got lost in the afterlife," the child answered me calmly. "Like they are," Her hand gestured towards the animals frolicking in the glade. "Those like you. Those like Izao." Having finished, she caressed the black-brown fox at her feet.
"Did I die and get lost?"
"No!" The girl chuckled, and with her laughter, all worries evaporated. "Not now, I'm talking about your last time."
"Are you lost too?" I asked.
"Me?!" She expressed surprise.
Her surprise gave way to understanding, and looking into my eyes, she let me see.
The same little girl was still sitting before me, only now I saw the magnitude of the energies she commanded. Ethereal wings sprouted from her back. Wings that blanketed the entire glade, wings that the whole glade essentially was!
"You're an angel?" I exhaled, shutting my eyes because I couldn't endure the dazzling radiance for too long.
"Just an ordinary girl," she clarified. "A girl born with an angel's soul. Born in the wrong place. In the wrong world. A mistake of a girl." Her somber sigh summoned clouds, and the glade darkened. "A girl named Seraphina, because of whom it all began..."
"It all began?"
"I possess the soul of an Angel of Colors," she stated as if that explained everything.
"Colors?" Confused, I asked again.
"Whose mission is to bring colors to the world!" She raised her voice slightly, then, with puckered lips, she continued. "To color the gray, drab worlds! To breathe a second life into fading worlds." She sat up proudly. "That's my destiny!"
"Really?"
"Really!" Then her shoulders sagged. "Only I was born in the wrong place by mistake..."
"In the wrong place?"
"Izao's world, it's..." She seemed to be searching for the right words within her limited vocabulary. "It's so full of colors! So much so that..."
The angel girl looked around in bewilderment and extended her hand toward my forehead.
"May I?" She asked.
"Yes."
Her touch induced a slight dizziness, but it quickly subsided. Seraphina sat motionless for nearly a minute as if absorbing something new, after which she began to speak:
"The worlds vary, but most maintain their energy equilibrium; they generate as much as they consume. There are gray worlds, ones with scant energy; these worlds fade, slowly perishing. My mission is to infuse such worlds with Colors. But occasionally, extremely rare 'generator-worlds' emerge. Those overflowing with energy. Such worlds are scarce; they are the universe's pearls. Izao's world is one of them. And the Phenomena that sometimes occur in it, like the emergence of sensums, shapeshifters, or the surfacing of an entire continent from the ocean floor that shouldn't have existed... All these are manifestations of the surplus energy. The world is attempting to shed this excess to avoid detonating like the largest bomb."
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Her eyes dulled.
"And I was born into this world. Initially, I didn't understand that something was off with me. Sure, anything I held could spontaneously ignite. And at my aunt's house, where I resided, lightning frequently struck without causing any damage. My aunt was under the impression that a potent sensum was maturing within me and even planned to have me educated when I came of age. So I thought too until three elders visited my house a few months ago. And these elders' souls were practically ablaze with restrained power. They came to pay their respects to me, the incarnated angel. But upon seeing them, I realized... I realized that I was causing this world's demise. My mere presence is lethal because I add Colors where an abundance already exists. I had a vision of the whole world burning in spiritual fire. Burning because my birth was a mistake. And when I saw this, I got scared. I was so scared that I fled... Away from this world. As far away as possible - to prevent the End of the World!"
She gestured around.
"That's how this place came into being. I'm still too young, and my strength wasn't sufficient for more. I didn't flee but lingered between the Layers of Existence. I can return." Her hand indicated the door I entered through. "But the moment my foot touches the world's surface, it will instantly be set aflame. However, I can't remain here indefinitely because..." She haled, and her gaze fixes on my sword.
"Breakthroughs..." I let out a heavy sigh. "So, it's because of you that the Breakthroughs started!"
"Not exactly," Seraphina brushed off my guess. "The world was already teetering on the edge of a new Phenomenon. My birth, my attempt to escape and the formation of this place only accelerated events by a bit." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe by a year or two. Breakthroughs are actually a good thing!" She declared with a childlike confidence. "They're a solution to the problem of excess energy, allowing the world to discharge this surplus into other Planes of Existence!"
"Monsters, evil creatures pouring out of Breakthroughs — is this a solution?!"
"But I provided protection!" The angel girl retorted, full of indignation.
"Protection?" I was baffled.
"Who is best equipped to fight off monsters and evil creatures?" She threw back my question.
Who, according to an eight-year-old girl, was best suited to battle monsters? As soon as I asked myself, it dawned on me:
"Knights... Break Knights..."
"Exactly!" The little angel triumphantly raised a finger. "Those whose soul can morph into a spirit sword. Those who put their principles and beliefs above their lives!"
"Those who die while saving others." I shook my head.
"Everyone dies eventually." The girl shrugged. "And often, how a person dies is more important for their soul than how they lived."
I realized then that this entity perceived things in a different light, where human life was but a speck of dust, nothing more. Convincing her otherwise would be futile; she simply wouldn't understand.
"So, the Creators were mistaken and there won't be an End of the World?" I probed further.
"Regrettably..." Her shoulders slumped again. "This place is a part of me. It needlessly blurs the boundaries between the Layers of Existence, creating an open gateway where there should only be a narrow crack."
The blond girl looked up at me.
"We had a plan, you and I, Old Fox."
"Plan?"
"Izao gives you his body and a piece of his soul as a sword, and you help the Knights. Aid them until I figure out how to leave this place."
"I don't recall."
"You wouldn't." Seraphina nodded in agreement.
"But did I help?"
"Of course! Who else could have tackled the Ghost Ship? Among other things! I directed the most challenging and hazardous Breakthroughs towards you. And you, along with your allies, persevered and prevailed!"
"Did you manage? Did you find a way?" I hoped it wasn't all for naught.
"I didn't have the chance." The angel girl shook her head sadly. "Those three elders I met before my escape thought they could seal the Breakthroughs. Seal by 'making a deal' with the other side! With the Fantasy Plane!" She chuckled at the absurdity. "They even accomplished the first part of the plan, which was to locate the gods in the Fantasy Plane."
"Locate the gods?!" I exclaimed in disbelief.
"There are plenty of them in there," my interlocutor nonchalantly shrugged. "Those who have been fantasized about over millennia across countless worlds! Only the elders have been heard by those who not only have no desire to seal the Breakthroughs but, contrarily, yearn to incarnate in the material world!"
A chilling wave of dread rippled down my spine.
"I'm holding them back," the girl shrugged again. "But as long as this place exists, the danger persists. And my strength is fading." She looked up at me, confessing, "In truth, I'm nearly spent. A day, two, perhaps a week at most, and the imaginary and nightmarish deities will burst into the material world, obliterating everything."
"Is there no way out?" I managed to voice.
"I wouldn't have called upon you if there wasn't. I wouldn't have sung this song."
"And what must we do to prevent the End of the World?"
"Oh!" She grinned. Her smile was open, childlike, and infectiously joyful. "It's simple. We just need to kill an angel!.. Kill me."
"What?!" For some reason, even the mere thought filled my soul with a primal terror.
Seraphina sighed profoundly, addressing me as though she were speaking to a child younger than herself.
"If I disappear, this place will disappear. This place will disappear, the half-open gate to the Fantasy Plane will close. If the gate closes, the gods will not be able to break through, and the world will no longer be in jeopardy. It's simple, Old Fox. It's simple!"
"Will the Breakthroughs cease?"
"Why? Of course not. Breakthroughs are already a manifested phenomenon, like sensums, like shapeshifters, like Lemuria rising from the ocean. They just won't be as perilous. They'll revert to local, temporary events, as they were intended to be. They could never destroy the world. A settlement, a city under certain circumstances, perhaps, but no more. The Break Knights, after I'm gone, will indeed become weaker and won't be able to kill from the Break until they reach at least the third level. But that's a trifle."
"Is it possible to permanently seal the Breakthroughs?"
"Why would you want to? They serve a valuable purpose. This world needs them, just like the robots you invented need cooling systems, without which the machine will overheat and explode. Breakthroughs are necessary to prevent this world from exploding."
"And how do we kill an angel?" I asked, the question numbing my tongue.
"Your sword." Seraphina nodded at "Word". "It has the capacity."
"But I don't want to kill a child, I don't want to! And I can't force myself to!"
"You are a Knight, and I understand you," the girl bowed her head. "But an angel cannot be permanently killed. Years will pass, or perhaps centuries, and somewhere a child will be reborn who is meant to Color the world. And next time, I hope there won't be any mistakes. You see, I'm not scared of dying. If I could end my own life, I would have done so long ago... But I can't. In fact, I'm pleading for a great sacrifice from you."
"Sacrifice?"
"The one who killed an angel would meet a final death: their soul would shatter into fragments, never to be reborn." There were tears in her eyes; she felt genuine pity for me. "The choice is simple. Either you kill me, committing the greatest sacrifice in the universe, your soul... Or the entire world perishes. A world filled with colors and billions of people. I'm destined to die either way. The imaginary gods won't forgive me for obstructing their path. Yes, in such a scenario, you'll save your soul and the chance of rebirth. But are you ready to pay such a price, Old Fox?"
I felt terrible.
So terrible that words failed to express it.
I managed to get to my feet; my knees trembled, but I unsheathed "Word." Thousands of visible threads from the Fan of Probabilities spread out in all directions from my sword. These threads didn't warn of danger; instead, they pull me somewhere away from the willow. I succumbed to this illusion and took a step sideways, then another.
"Is there no other way out?" I asked the angel in a hoarse voice.
"There is - I can walk through the Door and return to the world. But it will immediately be consumed by flames," the girl replied with outward indifference.
"But what if there's another Door?" I asked a new question, guided by the threads of the Fan.
"If only..." Seraphina sighed. "Why ponder something that doesn't exist?"
"But... It... Does exist..."
I was telling the truth - my palm was now resting on a doorknob, and I was opening a new Door! This Door, which didn't exist a minute ago. This Door, which my soul, filled with memories from my previous life, wove and brought to life from the Spark within the threads of the Fan of Probabilities. The Door I had to find to save the World!
Cool air struck my face from the open Door, along with a drizzling, painfully familiar rain. I stood on the threshold, and if I were to take a step, my foot would brush against the yellow-red leaves that thickly carpet the central alley of the Summer Garden. Autumn in St. Petersburg was typically gloomy but also incredibly beautiful. I was about to step forward when an angel's wing landed on my shoulder, stopping me.
"You can't go there." A voice of incredible might resonated from behind. "You are dead in that world!"
The Seraphina behind me no longer resembled a little girl - her eyes were filled with Light, and her wings blazed like solar flares.
"Here it is!" the young lips whispered. "My Destiny!"
The angel turned her radiant face towards me.
"Thank you, Old Fox. Thank you for opening the right Door! But you can't come with me!"
The mighty wing struck my chest, throwing me back from the Door.
I was flung into the void.
I was flying and watching as the angel folded her wings and the glade in the middle of Nothingness vanished. The creatures that played there rushed into the Door I opened, transforming into spectral stars. The last soul to be reborn in the new world had a black-brown hue. It seemed to deliberately linger at the Door... as if bidding farewell.
The little girl's bare feet touched the fallen leaves, each of her footprints becoming a new Source of Life, reviving the once gray and silently withering world.
The angel smiled.