Foundations of the Conflict (Extra)

(VUUUUUUUUUU—VROOOOOM!!)

The vacuum left by Shija's disappearance was not filled by air, but by a sudden collapse of reality.

(FLASH!!)

The space where the small warrior disintegrated into light particles remained vibrating—an invisible scar in a time that did not belong to him.

(Scritch... scritch... Scratch!)

The "doll," acting as a forced anchor, had managed to snatch Shija's soul fragment just before the mist closed its maws around him.

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

As a result, without the resistance of an external will, the drops—heavy as lead—struck the tar-like mud with renewed violence, burying the traces of the small fingers that were still resisting.

<<{"... AHAH... KUKUKU... KUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"}>>

The entity's laughter did not dissipate with the wind; it expanded.

<<{"SO... THEY ARE STILL OUT THERE."}>>

The mist contracted and expanded rhythmically, like a giant lung inhaling the bitterness of the surroundings.

<<{"THE COCKROACHES THAT FLED TO THE VOID... THOSE WHO HID IN THE CRACKS OF THE WORLDS TO AVOID EXTINCTION..."}>>

The entity projected a shadow that seemed to cover what remained of the mansion.

<<{"KYŌGETSU... THE EDGE OF THE MOON THAT DARED TO CUT MY DARKNESS..."}>>

To her, Shija's brilliance was nothing new.

<<{"INTERESTING"}>>

The mist then remembered, with nostalgia and amusement, the era in which the Scientist managed to ruin its plans.

(Scritch, scritch... Scratch!!)

While the girl dug into the ground with intensity, the mist loomed over her, caressing her neck with a coldness that burned.

<<{"THE THEY BELIEVED THAT BY HIDING IN DIFFERENT ERAS AND SPACES, THEY WOULD BE SAFE."}>>

The scientist had discovered the truth, had understood how the "game" worked, and had allowed some, like the users of the Kyōgetsu style, to escape.

<<{"THEY BELIEVED THE RULES HE DISCOVERED WOULD HIDE THEM FOREVER..."}>>

The entity sank a part of its being into the mud, right where the girl's soul continued to vibrate and resonate due to Shija's interference.

<<{"BUT THE GAME IS NOT OVER... DESPAIR DOES NOT FORGET A PIECE THAT SLIPS OFF THE BOARD... THANK YOU FOR THE TRAIL, LITTLE REMNANT... NOW I KNOW IN WHICH TIME TO SEARCH FOR THE END OF YOUR LINEAGE..."}>>

For the entity, Shija's existence no longer had immediate importance; he was a pawn who had fulfilled his involuntary purpose by revealing the frequency of his era.

<<{"BUT SUCH A THING... DOES NOT MATTER FOR NOW... RUN, LITTLE REMNANT... FOR NOW I FINALLY HAVE THE PIECES I WAS LOOKING FOR."}>>

With a fluid and sickeningly sweet movement, the mist drew closer, fixing its gaze with obscene joy upon the small, kneeling figure.

"....."

But the girl, oblivious to the magnitude of the paradox that had just occurred, had not stopped.

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

Her fingers, now torn and blackened by the mixture of blood and tar, struck the bottom of the hole with a maniacal rhythm.

<<{"OH, THAT IS... WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY..."}>>

Her sunken eyes, devoid of any trace of clarity, were fixed on the mud.

"... Where are you... Where are you... Where..."

Every handful of mud she threw back was accompanied by a violent spasm.

<<{"HOW UNFORTUNATE... IT SEEMS THAT... YOU CANNOT HEAR ME..."}>>

The amalgam of millions of souls within her that made up her being seemed to boil, crashing against one another while she dug as if her very existence depended on that extra centimeter of depth.

<<{"... IN THE END... IT SEEMS I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE HER YET..."}>>

In contrast, the entity observed the scene with an almost artistic fascination...

<<{"THIS FRAGMENT IS GROWING INCREASINGLY POWERLESS..."}>>

The girl's despair was a bottomless pit, the perfect fuel for what was to come.

<<{"I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO INFLUENCE HER MUCH MORE... BUT IT HAS ALREADY INTEGRATED INTO HER BEING..."}>>

Beneath the torrential rain, the broken "girl" ignored the mist that caressed her and the sky that was collapsing.

<<{"ONCE YOU DIE... YOUR ESSENCE WILL REINCARNATE... AND THAT MELODY ALONG WITH IT..."}>>

There was only the mud, the pain of her torn fingernails, and that incessant search for something that, in that universe, no longer had a name.

(BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!)

That night, a bolt of white and gelid lightning tore through the colorless sky, freezing the scene for an eternal instant.

<<{"THAT TIME... THE STAGE WAS MINE, BUT THE KEYS SLIPPED THROUGH MY FINGERS..."}>>

Under that discharge, the entity's shadow began to ripple and fade, losing its physical solidity but not its oppressive presence.

<<{"I STILL HAD MUCH TO LEARN... AND I DID NOT ACCOUNT FOR THE RESISTANCE OF EXISTENCE..."}>>

As it dissolved into the black rain, a flash of memory crossed its consciousness...

<<{"A CALCULATION ERROR THAT WILL NOT BE REPEATED."}>>

The image of the Keys that it could not control, the exact moment when the Scientist manipulated the rules and snatched away total dominance of the board.

<<{"WE WILL MEET AGAIN... NO MATTER WHAT FORM YOU TAKE."}>>

The entity fixed its attention on the girl and that which she sought.

"¡¿?!"

In turn, the rhythm of the scratching changed.

<<{"... AFTER ALL... YOU CANNOT AVOID WHAT YOU NOW ARE..."}>>

The little girl's fingers struck something that was neither stone nor charred wood; it was a hollow, metallic sound that resonated from the depths of the crater.

"!!"

The girl stopped for a millisecond; her sunken eyes opened with a terrifying clarity, and immediately after, she began to dig with an inhuman intensity.

(... Ba-dump... Ba-dump...)

To the rhythm of a heartbeat, mud flew in all directions as large, heavy, dirty tears began to roll down her burned face, leaving clean trails in the midst of the crust of ash.

"... We promised... to play... right...?"

Seeing its prey's reaction, the mist's invisible "smile" widened, vibrating with a predatory satisfaction that made the very air become unbreathable.

<<{"YES... REACT. WEEP FOR WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO UNEARTH."}>>

The entity's silhouette became almost translucent, merging with the gelid wind as it uttered its final promise.

<<{"THE LAST HUNT FAILED BECAUSE I ALLOWED THE RESISTANCE TO HAVE HOPE... BUT I DID NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT EXTERNAL FACTORS... OR THE WILL OF THE KEYS..."}>>

Its voice was no longer a whisper, but a decree that vibrated in the marrow of the billions of souls that formed the girl.

<<{"HOWEVER, THIS TIME, I WILL SET THE STAGE FOR THE GRAND CLIMAX."}>>

The black rain intensified until it became a solid deluge, hiding the mansion beneath a shroud of tar.

<<{"THIS TIME, EVERY PIECE WILL BE IN ITS PLACE... THIS TIME I WILL LEAVE NO FACTOR UNCONSIDERED... AND I WILL HUNT THEM DOWN ONE BY ONE..."}>>

With one final cackle that blended with the thunder, the entity vanished completely, leaving the girl alone in the darkness, weeping and digging toward a fate that had already been sealed by Despair...

<<{"... UNTIL THEN... WE SHALL MEET AGAIN..."}>>

...leaving behind the foundations of the conflict.