The Soul’s Radar And the forgotten past

(Sssssshhhhh—KRA-KOOM—rrrummmmmm!!)

Following Shija's words, the cosmos seemed to be collapsing upon the small epicenter of the ruins.

(Vvvvv-huuuuu—plash-tk-tk-shhhhhh!!)

It was no longer just a storm; it was a violent birth of wounded nature, where every element fought to devour the remains of what was once order.

(VUUUUUUUUUU—VROOOOOM!)

The wind, now an invisible titan, did not just drag ash; it began to rip marble slabs from the floor, making them spin in the air like dry leaves.

(Zzzt—KRAKK—RRRRRR—fffff-uuuuu!!)

The atmospheric pressure was so high that the sound of the lightning did not arrive as thunder, but as a physical explosion that made the heavens vibrate.

(PLAF... PLAF... CHUUUUU...!!!)

And even the black rain, dense as mercury, had stopped being absorbed by the earth.

<<{"IGNORE THE SOUND... YOU ARE ALONE... ONLY YOU EXIST..."}>>

The charred crater, saturated to its limit, began to flood slowly.

"Don't give up... Not yet...!"

The dark water rose centimeter by centimeter, covering the debris and transforming the crater into a mirror of tar that reflected the white flashes from the sky.

"Keep moving forward... even if you don't know what you're looking for... DO NOT GIVE UP!!"

The cold was a tactile presence, a hand of ice squeezing Shija's small torso as he crawled, struggling to keep his head above the level of the rising water.

(CRACK... CRACK... RR-RUUUUM!!!)

As the lightning intensified, the ground itself began to give way.

"One, two... the sky broke. Look at how it bleeds light, Juana! Or was it María... who was I? Heh! The water tastes like static. If I stay very still, maybe the drops will mistake me for a stone and stop hitting me... or maybe I’ll turn into a puddle. Yes! A puddle doesn't have to think, it just reflects the gray... twinkle, twinkle, little chaos!"

They weren't simple fissures; they were deep cracks emerging from the earth with a dry, cavernous crunch.

<<{"WHY CARRY THE WEIGHT OF A NAME? OF A TOMORROW? The void is so... warm..."}>>

From those terrestrial maws emanated a fetid, bioluminescent vapor, as if the world were bleeding...

(BOOOOOOOOOM!!!)

With every electric discharge that tore through the firmament, a new crack carved its way through the debris, dangerously approaching the girl's figure and the mist entity.

"Don't listen to her! Look at me! I know it hurts, I know the ground is gone, but take a step! Just one!"

Shija, reduced to the minimal expression of his physical form but with his eyes burning with iron determination, moved through the water, crawling desperately.

<<{"It is not giving up, it is simply letting go of what is already broken.... The world is a joke without a punchline, and you have already laughed enough... Empty your mind, let the cold of the rain extinguish the fire of your fears..."}>>

In front of him, the girl remained suspended in the limbo of her own memory, while the twisted mist behind her expanded, feeding on the environmental chaos as it whispered into her ear with greater clarity.

(Sssssss-shhhh... Plic... Plic...)

In turn, the dripping of black water upon the flood created a funereal melody that blended with the hissing of the mist.

"Bet on yourself one more time! If you stay there, there will be nothing, but if you move forward... even if it's toward pain, at least it will be your own path."

Nevertheless, despite all that, Shija refused to back down, digging his fingers into one of the new cracks to propel himself, feeling the volcanic heat emanating from the depths clashing with the cold of the flood...

"Get up, damn it!"

... He moved forward.

<<{"There is nothing after the fall, only rest... Only... silence..."}>>

On the contrary, the entity's "smile" seemed to vibrate with the rhythm of the thunder, taking delight in how the physical setting crumbled along with the sanity of its prey.

(BOOOOOOOOOM!!!)

The setting had turned into a nightmare trap.

"The noise... the noise has colors... If I close my eyes, the blue bites me. If I open them... who is looking? I... I was... a song..."

And in the midst of that nightmare, the small figure, not knowing what to do or understanding who she was, could only open her eyes with a blurred gaze, beginning to play with a strand of her soaked hair, twirling it mechanically...

(Scritch... scritch... scratch!)

While her other hand, unconsciously, still tried to dig.

"But I forgot the lyrics. Shhh... the pieces are falling... thud! thud! into the mud..."

Watching that movement, Shija understood that something could still be done...

(¡CRACK!)

However, as he tried to force his will to reach the girl, the space around his limbs began to fracture.

"¡¡¿?!!"

Then he noticed how his physical form was collapsing, disintegrating into light particles that shone in all sorts of colors.

(SHHH-ZAP!!!)

With every step he took, as he got closer...

(... No... not yet... just a bit more...)

Shija felt with ever-increasing clarity how his being was fading away.

<<{"That's it... stay just that still. Do you see how easy it is? Words are just trash that fills the head. Get rid of them. You don't need a name, you don't need an 'I'."}>>

For its part, in the fragmented and shattered mind of the girl, a duel of wills broke out, resonating with intensity.

<<{"Just be this moment of absolute despair. It's beautiful, isn't it? A blank canvas soaked in rain. Do not fight the void, kiss it. Let the cold teach you that there was never anything to fight for from the beginning. Stay... empty... AND SLEEP"}>>

A few meters away, the girl was prey to a silent agony.

"... Sle... ep...?"

Her body suffered violent spasms; her bony limbs jerked against the mud while her words, previously incoherent, died in her throat.

"...."

Finally, she remained in a deathly silence, her eyes fixed on the void, trapped between Shija's cry for life and the lethal sweetness of the mist enveloping her.

"Don't stay silent! Damn it, look at me even if you don't know who I am! The void is not rest; it's a lie! Even if you have no words, scream! Even if you have no direction, kick the ground! Don't let that whisper convince you that you are nothing!"

But even so, Shija continued screaming words even in the midst of the desolation.

<<{"SOMETHING IS WRONG... WHY HAS SHE NOT FALLEN YET...?"}>>

However, seeing the unexpected, almost unconscious resistance of its prey, the mist began to suspect...

"You are the pain you feel right now, and that is real! Bet on that pain! Move forward!"

Even as Shija screamed, the girl no longer spoke as the light faded from her gaze.

<<{"SOMETHING OR SOMEONE... IS HERE... OR RATHER... SHOULD NOT BE HERE...?"}>>

But even though the girl did not react, a part of her was still searching...

(Think, how to stop this, come on, think!!)

... Very slightly, a part of her resisted.

"¡¡!!"

That was when Shija noticed it.

(... Ba-dump)

Where was that heartbeat coming from?

(... She is looking for something... Maybe?!)

It was not Shija's heartbeat, nor the girl's erratic pulse.

(You aren't looking for an object... you aren't looking for a contract...)

It was a deep resonance coming from the very depths of the flooded ground, beneath the layers of tar and debris.

(You are...!!)

In that state of dissolution, where the boundary between his being and the environment grew blurred, Shija understood the truth behind the small figure's mania.

(YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE!!)

With an effort that made his stardust form shine with a blinding intensity, he expanded his energy like a radar wave.

(SHHH-OOM!!!)

Thus, the emerald vibration swept through the mud, penetrating through the cracks and the black water, mapping every cavity of the destroyed mansion.

<<{"IT IS NOT AN EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE... THEN... IT COMES FROM THE SOUL... AH, I SEE... DAMNED SCIENTIST... SO THAT IS WHAT YOU DID..."}>>

At the same time, the mist entity reacted.

<<{"EVEN IN DEATH YOU OPPOSE ME... FINE... IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE DONE..."}>>

Its "sweetness" transformed into a gelid and analytical fury.

<<{"WHERE ARE YOU, LITTLE SPARK...?"}>>

In that moment, the mist stopped looking for external answers to scan the girl's soul...

(Sssssss-hhrrr...)

The entity wanted to find the source of that resistance to smother it once and for all, like someone squeezing an ember with their fingers until only cold ash remains.

"LOOK FOR IT!!"

The air filled with an unbearable static sound as the mist and Shija's radar crossed in the spiritual space until, finally...

"FEEL IT! YOU ARE NOT ALONE BENEATH THE EARTH!"

He found what he was looking for.

"¡¡!!"

In response, the girl unconsciously, in the midst of her spasms, dug her bloody fingers into the mud with renewed strength, guided by Shija's radar wave.

<<{"I FOUND YOU"}>>

However...

"¡¿?!"

In turn, he had also revealed himself.

<<{"A FRAGMENT OF A SOUL THAT DOES NOT BELONG DARED TO INTERFERE"}>>

In that instant, Shija was observed by "something" that returned his gaze with a condescending smile.

<<{"WELL, WELL... YOU DO NOT BELONG TO THIS TIME OR SPACE, AND YET... YOU CREATE NO PARADOXES... HOW FASCINATING..."}>>

Shija could not move, he could not speak, and he could not escape...

<<{"I RECOGNIZE THAT SHINE... KYŌGETSU STYLE... IS IT NOT...?"}>>

He had exhausted all his strength, left depleted as he faded away upon hearing the joy in the "thing's" voice.

<<{"SO YOU ARE STILL ALIVE... NO MATTER... THAT ONLY MAKES IT MORE AMUSING..."}>>

However, as the mist drew closer and closer to Shija to "extinguish" his essence...

{GET OUT OF THERE NOW!!}

It was then, in the final second, that threads of energy sprouted around him, accompanied by the doll's panicked voice calling out to him.

(FLASH!!)

Leaving behind...

<<{"... AHAHA... KUKUKU... KUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAGAHAHA!!"}>>

The joyful laughter of the darkness.