Erika finishes washing off her face and smiles at her reflection for the first time in years. They didn’t really expect to be able to keep that promise that they made to Cecilie two years ago. She was so caught up in her own despair and dread for the future that the idea of being happy and living seemed like a far off dream. They never thought they’d reconcile with their past, make up with their father. Both the future and the past were one mind numbing always Present.
But Erika Singer, Erika Calaway, both parts of her identity are alive.
In spite of it all, the ocean’s tides continue to churn, unrelenting - a song that could have been, but will likely never come to fruition. It’d be easier to leave it all behind, to let it slip through his fingers - no pain or grief should ever be worth it.
But purposefully, aimlessly, he still remains as he ever is. He’s still here.
The rescue’s immediate aftermath passed by Geraldine Desai in a haze of grief. She can recall calling home for the first time in six weeks and immediately being brought to tears by the sound of her mother’s voice. Then there was the hotel stay, and though it was far nicer than the bunker she and the others had been forced to call home, she opted to sleep in her SEKAI, just as she had done over the past six weeks. The hotel bed just couldn’t compare to her comfy SEKAI bed, and sleeping there kept any nightmares at bay, even if it didn’t help with her overwhelming sense of loss.
Some time after that Geri found herself at Tokyo International Airport, exchanging goodbyes with the new friends she’d made. There were many hugs and promises made; I’ll see you again soon, she remembers saying to more than one person. Despite the bittersweetness of the moment, Geri didn’t shed a tear; the ordeal had left her completely spent emotionally. At the very least she was able to muster some weak smiles as she bid farewell to everyone. Then she boarded the plane that would take her back to Massachusetts and settled in for a long, long flight. It was particularly trying, because fate had placed her in a seat adjacent to Jedidiah Jones as a final trial before her torment was truly over.
Five hours into the flight she spilled a can of Starry on him. It was an accident, she said.
All the while she found it difficult to focus on anything happening around her. Her mind kept wandering back to Harper. Why did he choose to die at the very end? She couldn’t understand. There was so much about him she couldn’t understand. At the time she had foolishly believed that once they destroyed the contract, he would get to go home like the rest of them. Reunite with Alette, stay with Constellation Carnival, and finally open up to Geri. They would become friends the way she has always hoped. But instead… he was gone.
It was the ending he chose, she knows this. He finally said no with his whole heart, and got what he wanted for what might have been the first time in his life. But knowing this didn’t bring Geri any solace. To her, it was one final, horrible twist of the knife that had been embedded in her heart since the game began. And removing the knife— trying to move on— would only lead to more pain. She had no choice but to live with it. Embrace her grief. Let it hurt, because she hadn’t given herself the chance during her 35 days of confinement.
When the plane finally touched down in Boston and the quartet of Bay Staters exchanged their “see you later”s, Geri didn’t know how to feel. She was relieved to be home, of course. When she exited the concourse and saw her mother and brother waiting for her, she burst into tears and ran into their embrace. But after the initial warmth of reunion faded and she was back in her familiar bedroom again, the loneliness she’d grown accustomed to over years of bullying of isolation returned, made all the worse by the pain she’d accumulated over the past six weeks.
She slept in the SEKAI again that first night back. Her bedroom just didn’t feel like home anymore.
Geri was slow to tell her family about what happened to her. For the first week she could barely even speak, and rarely set foot outside of her bedroom. Her younger brother Arjun, though curious, gave her the space she needed, and gladly spent time with her when she was more receptive to it. Her mother initially bombarded her with questions on her first night back, but let up once she realized just how badly Geri was traumatized by the ordeal. Instead, she looked into finding a trauma specialist, and soon Geri was receiving weekly therapy. The first couple of sessions were difficult, but as she gradually eased into it, therapy proved to be essential in helping her unpack not only the trauma of this past April, but much older traumas as well.
It took a month of therapy before Geri started to open up about her time in Sapporo to her family, and naturally their initial reaction was disbelief. After all, magic wasn’t real— it was just Geri’s hobby. They were quickly convinced of the veracity of Geri’s story when she introduced them to Fantasy Miku via phone hologram. Everything Geri had to share was real, and she wanted to keep it as much of a secret as possible to protect her friends and her SEKAI.
Throughout this time, Geri regularly met up with Cecilie and Alette in their SEKAI, where they did their best to heal after losing Harper and Min-Si. Miku and Arided did what they could to help the girls manage, but they too were grieving in their own ways. For a time Constellation Carnival was more of a support group than it was a music group, but it’s what they all needed at the time. At least, that’s what Geri believed. She certainly needed it.
Most importantly, the meetings gave her the time to reflect and put her difficult thoughts and feelings into music. Geri soon discovered that she enjoyed songwriting, especially without the stress and pressure of a Battle of the Bands looming over her head. What a relief it was, knowing that her love of music hadn’t been killed entirely. On the rare occasions when the five of them were able to perform together, her pain and sorrow seemed to be a million miles away.
As the weeks passed, Geri kept in touch with her new friends over Nightcord, texts, and the occasional phone call. She also messaged Lapin frequently, filling her friend in on the bizarre circumstances that led to the poor artist suffering several misfortunes. It was a lot for Lapin at first, but after the initial disbelief she accepted the explanation, and even said she owed Erika one for not cutting her father’s car’s brakes. She also joked that when she comes out to visit Geri in the near future, they should go find Jed so she can give him a piece of her mind. Geri thought it was a great idea.
In late June, Geri took a trip into Boston to reunite with Ozzy and Suzie and hang out for a day. This was a big step for her, as she’d been avoiding leaving the house as much as possible up until this moment. She even stayed the night at Ozzy’s studio apartment— her first proper sleepover since she was in elementary school, complete with sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. She hadn’t realized just how much she missed having local friends until this very moment. Ozzy even introduced her to a couple of his online friends via Nightcord, and Geri gradually found herself integrated into their friend group. The feeling of actually being included was surprisingly healing for her.
Slowly and gradually, the knife that had sunk so deep into her heart began to loosen.
Weeks turned to months, and Geri’s life was more eventful than it had ever been before. Friends came to visit her, and she in turn went to visit friends. In August she took a trip out to New Orleans to visit Erika, where she had a wonderful time exploring the city with them over the course of two weeks. She stayed with Erika during that time above their family’s record store, and the experience made Geri incredibly grateful for the sister she’d gained. Later Emile came to visit in October, and Geri had a great time showing him around Salem. And in late December, she celebrated her 20th birthday in her SEKAI alongside the rest of her unit.
It wasn’t always easy. Nothing ever is. Her trauma had left deep scars on her psyche, and though she was doing all she could to manage her pain and heal, she often stumbled and regressed. There were times when she’d hide in her room and refuse to eat, or suffer a panic attack because of an unexpected loud noise (she couldn’t handle being around anything that sounded like a saw). Speaking— something that was already difficult to her— became completely impossible at times, and she’d have to rely on using a text to speech app on her phone to communicate, much to her own embarrassment. But despite all the difficulty, she never gave up on believing in a better future.
Every so often, she recalled something that Yuu had once told her: that she was someone who belonged in the real world. At the time, Geri had vehemently denied it. She was too strange, too different, a reject who could never fit in no matter how much she tried. But as 2025 neared its end and she reflected on all that’s happened to her, she realized that Yuu was right. Somberly, she also realized that Harper was right, too. The world was more fit for people like her than it was for people like him. No matter how hard she tried, she wasn’t able to pull him out of the darkness, because he simply wasn’t made to live in the light.
But she was. And she’s realized it, now. The things about herself that she found unpleasant, the things that she thought would make her unlikable— those were the very things that made her special. Without her love of magic and her unflinchingly truthful heart, she never would have made the friends she has today. She wouldn’t have a cool older sister, or a dance game mascot for a best friend. She wouldn’t have Constellation Carnival. But she has all of them now, and she never, ever plans on giving them up.
It would be a long, long time before her pain and grief went away. But her friendships, past and present, made it bearable. And someday… someday, she knew she would grow strong enough to accept all that had happened, and move on. Until that day comes, she’ll keep moving forward, one step at a time. She’ll keep making music, not just for herself, but for other people like her who feel like they don’t belong anywhere. And she’ll continue to embrace the large, messy, horrible, beautiful world that she fought so hard for the chance to live in.
She believes it’s what he would have wanted for her.
March 19, 2026.
Nearly a year has passed since the killing game. In the Fantasy SEKAI’s wildlife gardens, the members of Constellation Carnival have gathered to continue work on their most ambitious project yet. It began as a smattering of disconnected pieces made to mourn and memorialize the friends they’d lost. But as time passed, it developed into a full-fledged concept album telling the story of a group of strangers gathered together by the mysterious God of Music in a game of life and death. Each song centered on one of the participants, telling their story and the fate they ultimately met within the game.
Seven songs have been completed so far, and today they planned to run through a draft of the eighth and final song. The strum of a guitar, the mournful melody of a songbird's vocals, the gentle chirp of an Ocarina. They came together, but the group shook their heads. That melody wasn't just right. The rhythm didn’t feel correct. They were getting somewhere and nowhere at the same time as the Fantasy SEKAI's birds flew overhead, until a new idea came to mind.
Focus on a feeling.
A thought.
They shared memories, instead. Spoke fondly of each and every member of Constellation Carnival as a group. Their magic lighting up or shadowing the area as necessary for what they needed to display, as they moved from writing fruitlessly to merely sharing in a feeling. Of grief and friendship, love and loss, and the sound of a lock clicking as the bird cage they sat inside opened.
I'm so happy I have you as friends.
I miss them both, so much.
I'm glad I am no longer alone. We can make music together. Perhaps we can use bio music, too.
A hummingbird’s chirp chimed in as they tried to figure out how to work the machines Harper used to use, before they giggled at the thought that he wouldn't want them touching it. Perhaps they should record something else instead?
As they shared words of love, of friendship, of bittersweet songs, a soft glow came from their phones in unison as they looked down. Eyes widening. That's it. The Eighth Song. Their song. It has to be.
The Written Work of a Dream Weaver | Cecilie Epilogue
There was no way to know when the thrum of a heart beating stopped drowning everything else out. When the sound of wildlife came back into her perception of reality, when she felt the body by a tree go cold as Harper lay at peace. Her throat had felt hoarse, it still felt horrible. Closed up as she could no longer make a sound past the sniffling of her own ugly crying.
No perception of time, a lack of understanding of the seconds falling away - what difference was there to how her alibi recounting always worked. Never understanding. Never knowing.
Then Learn.
The words of the deceased rang in her head as her heels fell onto the bunkers floors once more, apron dirty and slightly bloody at the bottom. The drying blood is the only notion others get in understanding what occurred, as she does not speak. Merely writing down her phone number on a stray piece of paper and handing it out before she slumps and she waits.
It hurts, as the days fade into nights and into days again. As time blurs together all at once, and the sound of sirens and a plan is made in a language she does not understand. Vacant eyes stay and stare, looking at the building from behind a car window - looking at her prison from outside of the bars.
What does she feel as she sees it?
There is no sense of relief. Not yet.
Her heart hangs heavy, her body tired, she can only muster enough power to ruffle Geri’s hair, to hug Erika, and to squeeze her lover’s hand as she is taken away. The story of the bunker and this game becoming just that - a story, a memory.
So much of her character was taken and changed, so many friends scattered in those halls. Cecilie’s eyes close, as words of parting are mumbled.
“Vi hilser nok en gang til fjellene, dalene, skogene og sanden. Våk over dem og bring dem nåde. Jeg håper dette ikke er et farvel.”
Cecilie had to go through some extra procedures. She did not have the documentation for a passport prior. Her phone buzzed continually throughout it - her Uncle desperately returning her text now that the signal sent it. All the way from the first day she was there, when Erika showed her how to work her phone.
She left it on read.
There were no missed calls, no missed messages, her phone silent until a sign of her existence popped back up again. There was no chance she was missed, no chance she was remembered, no chance of love nor family. All she had was her Uncle, and yet even then her heart rang heavy. He used her - didn’t he? Her ghostly persona, the rumours, all to propagate a business. She followed along with his whims so her family may be happy, and now that too was erased from history.
Cecilie had no worth anymore, so why should she be greeted in kind?
The plane ride - her first one - felt…like nothing special. She slept through most of it, still not speaking a word. Cecilie did not want to consider that her first, proper, aeroplane experience. But it was. And it will forever be. As she navigated airports with assistance, as she was the only one flying this way- some of her friends had others with them on the way back. She was glad for that, but it felt all the more lonely. Opening her eyes and merely seeing strangers, small buildings beneath the clouds, until the world came crashing into view again.
Until she was small again.
Walking through to the entrance where a pair of sharper, weary, pink-coloured eyes stared at her in shock. Large hands scooped her up, the fabric of an expensive blazer scratching against her uncovered arms.
The scent of a far too expensive cologne filled her nostrils, the same sort of sandalwood that always announced the presence of a mousey blonde- going grey middle aged businessman. The feeling of tears hit her shoulder, the type that always shocked her to act, like a jumpstart as she immediately wrapped her arms around the other figure.
Aksel Erdon’s eyes widened - Cecilie, his niece Cecilie Erdon - was giving into affection. Was it because he was crying? How pathetic. She was the one who went through everything. She was the one he should be celebrating. Cecilie Erdon returned. She was home.
She was home.
The thought reached her after she had buried herself in the other’s chest after being set down. The realisation only now sinking in as Aksel cursed for her not sending a reply back, and squeezed her shoulders that she was unharmed. The feeling hit her all at once as she now was not alone, not anymore.
People were surrounding her, some people glancing at the two of them as they speculated just what the grown man was practically babbling over - I missed you. Cerberus is okay, I was taking care of him. The house plants are okay- mostly. A peace lily went missing. I hope there wasn’t a break in. We have your documents now. Do you know that? What did they do, where were you, are you not hurt - words continued as Cecilie’s hands reached to cover her ears with a tremble.
“I’m…home..”
It sounded strained, as her knees felt like they were about to buckle. There were so many people, so many eyes, yet none were words she heard before. In these situations the area would go quiet in her presence, but not now. There was bustling, a mother walking past with her daughter who was presumably going through troubles at her job. A teacher who just got off of a plane, preparing a lesson plan. Suitcases rattling against the floor and a family excited to have a short vacation. There were so many noises, so many people, all alive, all here.
Aksel Erdon watched the shift, the near-emptiness in his niece’s usually lively, typically unblinking eyes. The way she shook, the exasperation on her face, the way she looked tired, worn, pale. There was a bite mark on her ankle, the apron peeking out of her carry-on had dirt and blood on it, he watched…and he quickly knew.
Now was no time for lectures.
A hand goes to blue hair, as he offers a weak smile.
“Let’s go home proper, or at least somewhere quieter, ey, kid?”
…
The drive back was silent, the radio turned off to let Cecilie return to her senses, even if Aksel had many questions and worries. The kid was more important- his kid, considering his brother was no longer around for her. Cecilie watched familiar streets pass by, as words and plans bounced in her head.
It’s gonna hurt. It’ll probably hurt tomorrow, too. And the day after that. And the day after that. But one day it’ll hurt less.
That seems impossible, right now. She’s going to have to wait again.
Eri, I’m so stupid. I should’ve known. I waited for so long. Aksel– he- he didn’t tell me.
Dry eyes flicked over to him as she tried to speak, trying to find the words, the right step. But the time wasn’t right, she doubts it ever was right as she instead let out a strained choke that caused a brief look over in concern.
I did want to see them again..
“…m’glad..”
“Hm?”
“I didn’t keep you waiting like poppa did.”
The response was a tense air, now she knew how people acted, Cecilie could see how Aksel’s hands tightened on the steering wheel in stress. Yet there was recognition behind his eyes, an understanding of what she meant, even as he asked for clarification. Laughing - a fake laugh, she thinks, but a chuckle nonetheless. The usual spiel, his brother’s a fool, really, probably still chasing another fairytale-
“..I know they’re dead.”
Perhaps this was not the best thing to do immediately after coming home, but death was still in the air. She still smelt it, saw it, felt it, it was the only thing that permeated her senses for so long that it felt right to follow it. From one birdcage to the next, she no longer knew isolation, so she had to cling to the hurt that she learnt in its stead.
Aksel changed their route, instead taking her to her childhood home that day.
It was a bed and breakfast now, a rather prosperous one, as he refused to get rid of the artifacts his brother and sister-in-law kept. It was niche, but historians and fanatics looking for more information on something beyond the human realm often came to ponder there…plus he cannot deny, having a ghost sighting nearby did boost numbers.
He called for some food, and sat Cecilie down. She almost wanted to fall asleep the second she could truly rest- and maybe not wake up for a month or so, but she was being pierced with a look as he spoke.
Of motivations, of upset, of his worry towards her and wondering if now was really the time she wanted to have this conversation. To which she followed with a yes, even if her body was screaming to take on only one grief at a time, she decided to instead crush herself with it.
He then spoke- of memories of her as a child, a baby. Of her parents’ excitement to have her, of their love during Astrid’s pregnancy, and of the first time he ever held her. He spoke with so much love that she somehow felt worse, guilt consuming her at the thought he ever did not miss her. Aksel spoke of his own upset, hearing the missing in action report, of how he was assuming Cecilie was with them. How he thought he lost such a large chunk of his family in one fell swoop, to only later find her in a dire state.
He chuckled, too, this really is like back then. But it is different. She’s looking straight at him. Whatever she went through was no way to grow, but he’s glad she’s at least okay enough to speak. To continue.
…
He remembers when each and every person she looked at she claimed was dangerous. How she hid behind his legs, and even distrusted him at some point. Aksel could not deal with seeing her suffer more.
She’s all he has left. And he is sorry.
Yknow, I need to talk to him, but first…
Cecilie stood, then. She felt weak, guilty, sad, horrid, she was an amalgamation of a viscous ooze simply trying not to sink into the floor and spend an eternity under the earth as a void. She felt so sluggish, so horrible.
But she stands, she walks, and.
She punches her Uncle in the shoulder as she lets out a cry. Collapsing with her weak attempt - even if Jed had taught her much on the last day in terms of throwing a good one, she was left without much power as she fell onto Aksel’s shoulder instead.
And with that, he chuckled again. Tears stinging his own eyes as he scooped up his niece in his arms and carried her back.
He understood what that meant. Forgiveness, in her own odd way, revenge, too. She did not like what he did, but she understood it, and they could continue forward. For now, she needed to rest.
So rest, she did.
…
As he always tends to be, Harper was right. It hurt to a debilitating level. Cecilie had no energy to get out of bed in the mornings, and her nights were haunted by visions of fights and viscera. Each time she thought about her friends, her heart ached. While she could still manage to text them back, phone calls and video calls often made her feeling worse as she could not fight the association to that wretched place- and the final day she saw it being one where she lost such a dear friend.
When she could get out of bed, she wallowed in a different way. Navy blue tassel keychains took her a while to make, and her ferret, her dear Cerberus, had hardly any new outfits to model. Not that he was complaining about that - it was more so the frequent visits to the SEKAI she took to sit in quiet with Alette and Geri, instead, that worried the poor ferret.
Aksel visited more often, he tried to offer support where he could. Admittedly, for the first month or so, that was simply buying her things. Elated she was back he could not see the bigger picture, and showered her in gifts and gave her company when he had the time to. He’d make sure she got out of the house at least once a week, taking her to get ice cream or a meal together as he prompted her to talk about things she liked- or, if it’d help, that month and a week she spent in that bunker.
To which Cecilie only gave the barest details, showing the photos she took as evidence, and keeping her mouth tightly shut on the Eldritch Entity that conducted the game. Not like Aksel would believe her - ever the skeptic - but if there is one thing she knows, the knowledge of a confirmed greater beyond can have devastating consequences. It’s why all the studies she read spoke in the hypothetical, only saying something concrete when it was about a historical event, and even then that could have led to this belief, or it may be the cause of this tale.
Her silence, her upset, the long nights she spent up- the way she was growing thinner, wearier, and the way she sometimes simply burst into tears seeing people merely existing finally drove Aksel into booking her therapy sessions.
…
He was not the best at the mental health thing- but he hoped this would help. Though he has to admit he got frustrated that it was not an easy fix-all, that day when Cecilie went to the licensed doctor and spent a while merely talking.
About her past, as well as the game. About her parents, and her wish for friends. About her loneliness. There was a lot to work through, and she kept those who wished to stay in contact up to date on it all. Smiling as she learnt that Ozzy was going to rehab as well during her time in therapy and counselling. It was step one in a hike, but it was needed, she thinks.
Weeks, Months, talking, figuring it all out. The pain never went away. Hovering over her shoulder, clinging to her like a pesky gnat. It never left, but she simply had to learn to live alongside it.
People visited her, Emile getting dragged to the markets that she took interest in and sitting with her on the beach. She visited people, fulfilling her promise to Erika to celebrate Mardi Gras, and to go to a bathhouse and karaoke with Kanji. Plus, she cannot forget the trips she took to America to finally meet Mo, nervousness as Ozzy introduced her to his brother.
The days felt less heavy, even if she could still see Hitome in the sunset, and Maria Dolores in the night sky. She could write letters with more joy, focusing on the snails on her porch as she remembered Johann’s conversation. She skipped, though she still broke down when she heard carnival music or someone tripping over themselves. The bird’s chirping was beautiful as much as it made her mourn, and she went alongside Alette and Geri to meet and care for the new hummingbird found in their SEKAI upon Harper’s departure.
They could talk, sing, and Cecilie remembers a dream, ever-so-small.
Her parents may not have been the best to her, but they were still her family. She loves them and what they stood for. And she wants to know more. In a room within the spirit hollow her hands skim a drawing now finished. Flowers, fantastical and regular. A world she had never seen, rivers flowing, a black cat with bat wings, creatures representing her friends- and a greater beyond.
Cecilie wanted to travel. She was going to. She wanted to write a book, like they did, she wanted to…but, she lacked a lot of the knowledge to start.
Her Uncle took her to visit schools to catch up, but it just caused her to spiral into panic attacks. Sure, they may not have pools and digital clocks everywhere, or a karaoke room, but each classroom still worried her, so she instead picked out a laptop and enrolled online.
It was…ideal.
She travelled as she worked. Head hunched over as each time she went somewhere to visit someone, she’d allow herself the normalcy of saying she did not get something, or she had- god forbid - homework for once! It was something she never had before, and while she was still far from living a regular life, she laughed alongside Geri as she excitedly showed her the textbooks ideas on magic, as they nodded at each other. Because they knew what magic really was. And that it really was out there.
In Brazil, she sought out Maria Dolores’ mother to hand some money over and say she has a lovely daughter, spending time with her before she ran off to try food she never had before. In America, she stayed over Ozzy’s house, and got a tattoo off the crescent moon and stars over her stabbing scar. In Japan, she finally managed to visit during a flower viewing party. In France, she waved to Emile’s friends and showed off her piano skills. Sometimes she ran out of time for her assignments, putting her behind, but she wrote as she travelled. Dragging Ozzy along with her when she could, though each time she went to America to get him, she somehow ran into Jedidiah as the two bickered like it was nothing. Though each time they did so in Erika’s record store, it earned a roll of eyes as a hater moment turned into a fit of laughter and one exasperated sigh.
It still hurts.
It would forever.
But as she drafted out a potential dedication to a future book she was writing, as she wrote ‘To my Friends, of this world and the next. To the Song a Swan sings, and the Lady of the Lake who accepted me,’ she finally could crack a genuine, soft smile. Tilted slightly, wobbly, imperfect, but a smile so warm it hurt to look at.
She was far from her goal, but it was in the works, and perhaps she may pick up a new dream on the way.
This world continues to spin in beautiful ways, after all, who knows what tale would capture her next.
Back in the trial room, Lau Fei laid on the watery ground. Despite the fact he was bleeding, the water didn’t seem to be exacerbating that. They just laid there, compliant, and cried silent tears as they gripped at their wound and stared into space, muttering to themself.
Your personal devices washed up, bubbling from beneath the water right to your feet, unharmed and undamaged. The water hadn’t clogged them up, thankfully. Library Miku also emerged from the depth, damp, but unharmed. For a moment, all she did was stare.
Juniper rushed over to Lau Fei’s side, dropping to their knees and pressing their hands to his body to staunch the bleeding. With their free hand, they grabbed Lau Fei’s in their own and squeezed. Soothing words that weren’t meant for your ears came from their lips.
“Stay with me, Fei, I’m not letting you go like this,” Juniper said.
Lau Fei just smiled dizzily up at Juniper.
“...I’m sorry. For everything.”
Too little, too late.
Erika reaches down to check her phone, make sure the makeshift prison for the entity beyond human understanding is still functioning. They’re not sure how to feel that it is. Miku Prime effectively sealed, Lau Fei laying on the ground bleeding. People en route to come save them. They should be happy, shouldn’t they?
….No, because they know how much the people they love are going to be hurting from that last action. An exchange that they were powerless to stop, but that’s a small comfort. As everyone else is recovering from all that, they walk over to pick up the gun, holding it loosely in their grip as they look down at it.
It would be so easy. A turn, aiming it. A twitch of their finger. What’s one more gun based death on their hands? She’ll already carry the regret of all the other blood the rest of her life, what’s a bit more?
….
She puts her phone into her pocket, and–after making sure the safety on the gun is on–the gun follows into another pocket. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, they face the group.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do–We already know that the cops are on the way, and personally,” they pause and look at Lau Fei’s crumpled form. “I’m not letting you take the easy way out. You’re gonna have to live with all this shit and what you’ve done. None of the rest of you are killing him either, you hear me? We actually have a goddamn chance of getting out of here, so we’re not fucking it up by killing Lau Fei. We’ll just… Just have to take turns watching them until the cops get here, got it? Just for a while.”
As you had gained the desperately-needed room to breathe, the pounds of bricks weighing on your shoulders slowly crumbling to dust. It was time to leave this SEKAI, wasn’t it? Likely for good, for the most of you.
“...I’m going to send you back now,” Library Miku said with a gentle voice. “...Don’t be a stranger.”
Perhaps even Mikus feared loneliness too.
One by one, each person who hadn’t stopped Untitled on their own was lightly tapped and returned to the college, the faint scent of dust and rubble mingling with the aura of being lived in, something the building hadn’t experienced for decades: being a home. One could expect it to be properly demolished in due time.
May 4th, 2:39 PM. Some of you had not slept in over 24 hours by this point, and those who had could only fit in short naps. Outside of those who were left in charge of babysitting Lau Fei in the infirmary, the remaining group, 12 in all, dispersed to transfer items they wanted to keep to their own SEKAIs and to catch up on sleep while awaiting the authorities to arrive, courtesy of Alette.
May 4th, 7:47 PM. The sounds of footsteps outside crunching among the grass and voices shouting for signs of life breached through the windows. With the help of ropes and tools fed in through the basement windows, as well as cushioned padding within the courtyard, the group was able to safely and securely descend through the third-floor classroom window a couple of hours later.
Authorities ascended upwards soon after to retrieve the injured Lau Fei, treat his wounds, and take him into custody Despite all the anger and rage from before, Lau Fei goes without a fight.
With everyone being loaded into police vehicles for transport somewhere safe, those who could speak fluent Japanese were held for questioning, and ultimately everyone was safely returned to their homes. Emotional scars could last a lifetime, but at least… at least you were home. If you were lucky, life would return to normal soon enough.
And still, should you seek it, your SEKAI’s file remained on your phone, with your virtual singers patiently awaiting news of your safety, provide emotional support, and give you a true pathway to your dreams. If only you chose to do so.
After all, wasn’t that what a SEKAI was supposed to be for?
A Mourning and a Parting Gift of Song - CD End Posts 5/6
The events felt as if you were watching in slow motion, unable to react in time, only left to observe the combat you had been firmly instructed to not involve yourselves in. Both attacks made contact. Both seemed to be relatively equally-deep upon a first glance, but not upon a second. Harper’s wound certainly seemed to spill the most blood.
Harper staggers back another few steps, from Lau Fei, a bemused sort of smile on his face, his hand scrabbling for his chest, hovering over the wound, the wound that was leaking blood with every beat of his traitorous heart. The edges of his vision start to darken, the world spins and swoops under his feet – unable to keep his balance, Harper sinks to his shaky knees, both hands now fumbling for the wound, his bemused smile shifting to something more disbelieving – ‘did that just happen? Is this really happening? Is it time, now?’
Disbelieving though his grin might be, it was also, eerily enough, almost relieved. Giddy, even.
He was seen. Recognized. His identity pinned, sheathed through the chest. He started to laugh, a gasping sound, damp and wet. Blood flecked on his lips. His teeth were stained red. He laughed like a drunk, and maybe he was – or might as well be. He felt light. He felt light as a feather, like he could peel off his skin and ascend, wings fluttering, soaring higher and higher – scraping the stars, swallowing the sun, contesting the moon, to another world, another life, higher and higher he’d rise –
He fell. Icarus tumbled, scorched, burned, into the arms of another; Arided had immediately plastered himself at Harper’s side with a cry of horror, letting the other boy crumple in his trembling embrace. Arided’s wings were already out, glowing, passing over the wound – but there was no cure for a broken heart, no remedy for a missing will to live. Arided fumbled with Harper’s phone as the other laughed, a sound both victorious and defeated and so, so very tired. Exhausted to the point of deliriousness. A weariness that cursed him to his bones, the burden of all he’s done, every sin, every mistake weighing him down, pressing him into the other’s arms, thwarting every attempt for him to scramble to his feet.
Eventually, he stops trying. He crumples limp. Was it his time now? Could he lay his head down and rest?
“Ari…Take us out of here, please.”
As requested, Arided hit a button on the phone and the two vanished in a swell of music, to spirited away to Constellation Carnival’s SEKAI – out of sight, but the furthest thing from out of mind. The echoes of that haunting laughter stretch out across the salt flats, resonate in every corner, ring in your ears, the sound of a man who faced Rapture in all its beauty and all its terribleness, a stained-glass variation of the end.
The final eulogy of someone faced with the end. Harper’s last performance, a private concert with a select audience.
Red splatters like paint, like dew falling off a strawberry bush, like...blood. It is blood. Cecilie's throat feels as though it closed entirely, with the only thing she can manage being a sputter of agony and heartbreak as she simply watches the scene. To not get in one's way, to let one soar.
One day Harper truly was going to grow wings. Take off into flight, leave them behind, and - in this world - crash. Because everything stood against him. Because nobody wanted to help him fly. Cecilie's hands drop from who she's holding to run forth, too late as a feathered flurry vanishes before her eyes. She fumbles with her phone, mumbling incoherent curses as she plays a song. As she once again follows along.
She cannot leave him to be alone.
Not at this moment. Not when he deserves some final comfort, a final wish, a final say of what he wants.
The final remaining member of Constellation Carnival doesn’t say anything or even look at anyone. All Geri does is stare at the empty spot where Harper once was, as if she can still see him there, held in Arided’s wings. But she can’t see him, she can barely see anything through the tears, and as she struggles to breath all she can do is think of the same question, over and over.
*Why? Why is this happening? Why did he do this? Why why why?*
She struggles with her phone until, like Cecilie before her, she disappears into her SEKAI along with them.
What follows here, within the Fantasy SEKAI, is not viewable to anyone but Constellation Carnival, with no one else able to follow them inside… And yet, it happens:
He lay in the shade of the groves, Arided working frantically, feathers sweeping over a leaking, fatal wound that refused to mend. Alette was sobbing, weeping over his prone form, clutching his left hand like a lifeline, pleading for Arided to help, to heal, to make this all go away.
And Harper was laughing, laughing because even now, so close to death, it was Arided she turned to, Arided she beseeched.
What about Harper? What about the dead and the dying? Sightless eyes gaze up at the canopy, futilely trying to blink away the bleariness.
Eventually, Arided lowered a shaky wing. He stepped back, shaking his head miserably, burying his face in his wings to hide his grief, his shame.
There wasn’t anything he could do.
🎶
“White noise machine…” he mumbled, near unintelligible. “Can’t sleep…Without it.” Every syllable, a struggle, consonants clawing from ruined lungs.
Arided gave a pained grimace, and as the other two members of Constellation Carnival started arriving on the scene, he took to the trees, to give them privacy – and to fulfill Harper’s final request.
Heavy footsteps, so unlike her, came bounding into the scene. Eyes frantically scanning, reflecting off of white feathers and the decay of man. They rested on a figure she only had just met, and the one she met first - talking weakly, as Arided stepped back. Cecilie creeped into view, brows furrowed as her gaze dropped from his face, the happiest she's seen him, to the wound on his chest.
"..Harper.."
Her voice is strained, soft, pleading and desperate and yet oh-so-quiet as she knelt down.
"Pup.."
The first nickname granted, because he acted like a puppy, he enjoyed pets and followed them around like a guard dog. Min-Si was the one to call him it first, Cecilie remembers, as her eyes sting with tears. The begging to stay alive met with only choking. Her hand reached up to his hair, petting it down with a trembling hand one last time.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry- I'm sorry."
In the face of death, during his own crash, his fall from the sky, Harper was proud. And yet all she could do was sob over him. Begging over and over for forgiveness she could not deserve, begging if only to hear his voice once more for the road - be it a tease or a rejection, she did not mind. Just stay awake. Stay with them.
And Harper stayed. For now. For a minute longer. Rust between his teeth, he grinned, smiling over at Cecilie, and if not for the ichor that stained his lips, it could be – normal. It could be as always, as ever, Harper with his defensive quips, his verbal barbs.
“Sorry…For what?”
He huffed a little laugh.
“Don’t cry, Dreamer…Like I’m leaving…You’re gonna spoil my happy ending.”
The ending – what was it? Was it now? Here?
Unlikely. His name wasn’t quite done haunting the lips of others. His music wasn’t done being heard. And there were still so many tears to be shed, he’s sure. He assumed he’d be a burden they carried for quite some time, even after he was gone – apologies for that. But he warned you. Warned you both how this would hurt.
And it did hurt. Every breath burned like a miniature erupting sun, and he choked out a spray of blood like rusted stardust, remnants of a dying universe. His head leaned back against the tree Arided had leaned him against, an agonized, gurgled moan escaping his throat with the movement.
Still, that smile never left his face. The one he used to settle Witch’s nerves, the one who used to tease and torment Cecilie, the one he gave Min-si when he was up to some mischief.
It was the smile that said everything was going to be alright. That this was his happy ending.
That smile was the first thing Geri noticed when she finally happened onto the scene, and her heart broke at the sight of it. She wailed and ran to the tree, only for her legs to finally give out just a scant few feet away. She fell to her knees and stared at Harper, at his smile, and she felt as though she was the one dying.
“Har… Harper…”
She crawled on her hands and knees until she was finally by his side, right next to Cecilie. She grabbed his other hand, the one not held by Alette.
“Please don’t- don't leave us… w-we need you… I need you…”
They’d done so much together in such a short amount of time. The inseparable Constellation Carnival, so close, so friendly with each other. And even if it had all been an illusion, Geri had never stopped believing their bonds were real. She’d never stopped believing that Harper was her friend. He cared for her. Protected her. Even at her lowest, even when it hurt like nothing else, he would always be there for her.
But now he’s leaving her forever, when she needed him the most.
“I don’t want to lose you… please, please stay…!”
“Geri,” he murmured between pained laughs, “You know that’s not true. You never needed me. You never…”
She was strong, resilient, and she had friends, a dime a dozen, that could help her through this. She never needed Harper, controlling and demanding and so, so restrictive. That was the last thing she needed.
She just didn’t know it yet. In time, she’d understand.
He gave Alette’s and Witch’s hand a brief squeeze, gently shushing their wrenching sobs. “So noisy…” he complained quietly, his voice floating somewhere far and away from his prone body, soaring syllables, carried on a final breath, unshackled by blood or bone or flesh.
He vowed to fly like that, too.
He was always told he’d die young, die smiling – as ever, as always, he’s filling every expectation.
Alette choked on her sobs, pleading senselessly for Harper to hang on just a bit longer – the authorities would be arriving any minute. Beseeching him, pleading – what of father? What of Oliver?
“What of me?” She whimpered, squeezing Harper’s hand, a fruitless endeavor to keep him bound to this body, this form. “Please, hold on – just stay, Harper. We can get you help. Please.”
She placed her cheek in his hand, lips quivering. “I know…Back when I thought…It was over, I said – I said I hated you. I don’t, I promise I don’t. Please, please, give me a chance to take it back. Don’t go, Harper. Please, you can’t die. Not yet. Not before…”
Not before she could make things right.
Harper huffed another quiet laugh, a wheeze between jagged breaths, punching from ruined lungs. And there’s that smile again, stained red with the remnants of every regret.
He wished he could have been the big brother you needed. So badly, he had wanted it to be him, him instead of Arided. And even beyond that, he wished it could have been him instead of you. He wished so terribly it could have been him over you, the one his father poured all his love and time into. He wished he had ever been more than an afterthought.
He wanted to be a son. He wanted to be a brother. He wanted to be a friend. And a younger part of him, the part that never outgrew comics or cartoons, a version of him still starry-eyed and naive, wanted to even be a hero of sorts. Someone people could rely and depend on.
All those things he could have been, wanted to be, they danced just out of reach – almost, but not quite. Always missing something crucial. So he reached out that hand, grasping at a dream, a reality, a future – where maybe he could smile and mean it. Make something of it.
But when he pulled his hand back, uncurled his fist, it was always so empty. So achingly hollow. Until that’s just what he became, if only so it didn’t hurt any longer.
It was never about what he wanted to be, he knew that now. Even now, even here, even to his dying breath, it was about others. How he had to live for them. Hold strong for them.
He wished he could just say, definitively, once and for all…
“No…”
He seems as surprised by it as Alette is, his eyes blowing wide, shining with feverish wonder and elation. No. No.
“Aha…I said it. I did it.” He breathes out quiet spurts of laughter, hushed and bloodied. No. No he wasn’t going to stay. No, he wouldn’t live. No more.
He’s tired. He just wants to rest.
Alette let out a broken sort of keening noise, erupting into a wail that shook the foliage. She gripped his hand tighter, as though she could shackle him to the mortal plane with her grip alone.
“No, nononono, Harper, please! Please!”
But everything falls on deaf and dying ears, and as Alette howls, he laughs, miserable, wretched, the both of them, a symphony of pain, a duet of disrepair.
“…Warned you,” Harper murmured, his voice coming from far away. “Warned you all. This would hurt.”
He tried to tell you – time and again. No one walks out of this life alive; Harper was taking the quick way out, the easy way, a shortcut. He never had any delusions of making it out of here alive. He just wasn’t suited for it. Living, that was. Too little, too abrasive, always trying to be what others wanted, never enough of what they needed.
Don’t you think he grew bored of such an existence, too? Finally, it was over. So come, now. Laugh with him. Smile with him. Don’t cry for him. Don’t cry. Don’t…
Something pooled in his eyes, a salty sting. It dripped down his cheeks, slipping to the blades of grass below.
“It’s probably gonna hurt tomorrow, too.” If he had to guess. He didn’t know why, why after all his efforts, you two still held him with such regard. He didn’t know why his efforts hadn’t been enough.
How he tried to spare you from this. All this pain.
And he didn’t know why yours hadn’t been, either, come to think of it.
How you tried to save him from this. All his solitude.
In the end, you’re all losers, pitiful pierrots in an abandoned carnival.
“The day after, too. It’s gonna hurt, all the way through. The day after that – and the one after that.” Delirium, hysteria, a fever he couldn’t bleed out – on and on he rambled, on dying breaths. Words that have never been heeded before, missed warnings, ignored advice.
Not this time. Listen. Listen.
“But one day…Far in the future, maybe, yes, but one day, for sure…You’ll find that it won’t. Hurt as much. It’ll be near crippling – but you’ll find you can walk again. The next day, it will hurt a little less. And the next. The pain, it will become a sting. Soon, you won’t even feel me at all, so when that happens…”
He twists his head to smile at his unit mates, agonized. “Let me hear the music you can make. Tell me all about the friends you’ve made.”
The boyish wonder in his eyes never dissipated, even as the light was fading, the spark sputtering.
“…Sorry. Sorry this will hurt until then. But you’re stronger than me. Because I…” He giggles, smirks, and you can pretend, for just a moment, that he’s going to make it through this – indomitable, imperious, invulnerable, invincible.
“I’m taking the easy way. I’m never gonna hurt again,” he whispers it like a prayer, reaching for the sky. He lets out a final laugh – something more like a croak – and he regards his almost friends, his could-have-been unit mates with that awful, sickening wonder. He turned to face the sky he reached for, giddy, breathless – breathless in more ways than one.
“Instead…Instead, I’m finally gonna fly.”
A shudder wracked his body, a full body tremor. His hands collapsed, as though a puppet’s strings had been severed.
Arided returned, touching down on the ground, his steps light against the grass. Gingerly, he sets something down on the ground – Harper’s white noise machine, as requested. He flicks it on.
The grove filled with the sound of canned ocean waves and raindrops, comforting and soothing. Harper’s eyes closed half-way, listening to the natural sounds.
“Thank you…”
He always struggled to stay awake when it was playing.
“And thank you, too…Lau Fei…My friend.”
His eyes glazed, the ghost of his last laugh lingering on his lips.
“Thank you…”
His eyes drifted closed. And, just like that, he was still.
In the end, not one came back to the salt flats. Opting to instead sing a song of screams and cries, of pleads and grief - all only to be seen by the forest’s eyes.
As the glitter and the glow of what could have only been the remnants of a fragment faded away, you returned to the trial room. The air felt… peaceful in comparison. The glitching and scratching, the echoing in an open world had faded. Though, it would be most accurate to say the bar for ‘peaceful’ was low, as the tension still stretched everyone thin.
You rubbed the dust from your eyes, processing the new surroundings. Prime was gone. Nothing but the ink-like blood slowly dispersing in the water remained, which would eventually grow visually undetectable, as the waters expanded outwards in what could very well be forever. They’d fade, just like her effect on your life.
Things weren’t entirely silent, however, as the sound of a speaker played a sound similar to tapping on the edge of a microphone.
“What did you DO to me?!”
Much quieter now, Prime’s voice could be heard with the tinny quality of a cheap cell phone, all centered in Erika’s hand.
Erika stares down at her phone, more than a little surprised that that actually worked the way they wanted it to. A short laugh escapes them, full of bewilderment more than anything.
“I think I trapped you in my phone,” they say after a moment before looking up at the others. “She can’t–She can’t get out, I don’t think!”
“It’s…it’s over…” Library Miku let out a sigh of relief. Tears of joy began to pour down her face and she collapsed to her knees and began to openly weep.
It was over, wasn’t it? For all of you. The contract was dissolved and Miku Prime was powerless. You were finally free from this horrible game. No one else had to die. No one else had to suffer. It was finally over.
Except…for one of you, it would never be over.
All that death. All that suffering. All that labor. All of it amounted to nothing. Seven deaths sacrificed with nothing to show for it.
No. There was something to show for it.
Lau Fei’s whole fucking life was ruined now. What were they going to return to now? A prison cell? Not like this. They couldn’t accept this result so easily. Rationality had long since flown out the window and Lau Fei saw red.
“What do you think you’re all celebrating for? Huh??” Lau Fei just about snarled. “You broke the contract! All of your friends died for NOTHING!”
The water beneath Lau Fei’s feet began to ripple rapidly, almost boiling.
“So you’ve defeated the big, bad Miku. So what? Have you forgotten where you are right now? That’s right. This is still my SEKAI!”
Waves erupted from Lau Fei at the epicenter, consuming everything nearby, including Library Miku who was pushed under the surface. Even as the water leveled, she didn’t return. The water continued to undulate, splashing and slashing everything in its path. It was violent and destructive.
Globs of water shot from the floor to forcibly yank the phones out of your hands. Cutting off every means of escape, including leaving the SEKAI. Lau Fei wasn’t thinking clearly, but he was at least level headed enough to figure that out.
“Everything WASTED. All because you’re too SELF-CENTERED to see the bigger picture! So focused on your own worthless lives you’ll do nothing with! How can you live with yourselves? You really feel like this is a victory? You’re NOTHING!”
The waves were so tumultuous it was impossible to approach Lau Fei safely. Not without great personal risk.
“And you.” Lau Fei turned to address Harper. “Do you feel proud of yourself? You saved a handful of lives. Do you think they’ll be grateful? Do you think they’ll ever understand the weight of your sacrifice? They won’t. They’ve used you up. Just like EVERY OTHER PERSON HAS! And you know what the funniest part is, Harper?”
Harper didn’t answer – maybe he didn’t have one. He was just approaching Lau Fei, as close as he could manage with the tempest, his hands held aloft and empty, trying in vain to reason with his friend.
“You don’t have to do this, Lau Fei,” Harper’s voice was saying, calm, soothing, even in the wake of such violence. “It’s over. Let things be.”
But as that Harper was speaking…
A second was creeping behind Lau Fei, kitchen knife gleaming in hand. And just like that, the trick was obvious to any observer. The classic Arided-Harper switcheroo.
Arided on distraction duty, Harper creeping up for the kill from behind. Harper rose his knife, began his lunge –
“You still think, after all this time, I wouldn’t recognize a fake when I see one?”
Lau Fei abruptly turned around, manifesting a spear into their hand and shoving it straight into Harper’s chest.
At the same time, Harper thrust his blade forward, the serrated edge plunging straight for Lau Fei’s heart –
But then. As if in slow motion. Seen clearly by any who cared to observe, as Lau Fei declared his recognition – a relieved smile burst across Harper’s face. And his strike faltered, failing to aim true. The blade angled away –
Missing Lau Fei’s vitals by a hair.
Lau Fei’s expression fell, from feral, to shocked and horrified as he realized what he’d done. No… Lau Fei coughed, but there was no blood. It still hurt, but they were clearly okay. A non-fatal wound. Lau Fei gripped their chest, tears already pooling in their eyes.
“Harper…why?” Lau Fei choked out.
Why? A good question. Why, indeed? Harper seemed to consider that – a curious smile on his face as he stumbled back a step, the kitchen knofe clattering from his hand.
“Because…”
Maybe it was for revenge. To give Lau Fei the one thing they’d ever wanted – someone who understood them – and them orchestrate it so that Lau Fei destroyed that with his own two hands.
Maybe it was for love. Harper finally had a friend who recognized him, called out to him – not some copy, not some fantasy, but Harper, in all his flaws and mistakes and vices and virtues. How could he take that away? How could he deprive the world of you?
Maybe he wanted you to live.
Maybe he wanted to die.
As always, as ever with him – maybe it was a bit of everything. A mixture of motives, cobbled together into one, monstrous, inhuman golem –
One that started laughing.
“Because this is my happy ending.”
“...I hate you, Harper.” A voice filled with love. “...Get out of here. Don’t let them have the satisfaction.”
The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku - CD End Posts 3/6
🎶
Darkness. Inky and black, heavy and suffocating was all you could see at first. Though you existed, though you can think and therefore are, your existence is a solitary one, something without physical form to touch and feel. Or perhaps there simply wasn't anything to feel in the first place in your surroundings. A void. You've known nothing else than this dimensional existence, and so you exist.
And yet, you weren't satisfied. A gnawing hunger was within you.
As what must be eons pass, you twist thoughts into tendrils to reach outward, expanding what influence you do have, grasping at everything and anything that might be beyond the bounds of your existence, your mind connect to something. Something clicks after ages of fine tuning yourself, of waiting and reaching outward… and you discover a world beyond your existence, not quite tangible, but There none the less.
Colorful images on flickering screens, frequencies and moving parts, voices speaking words, music invading your senses. You're fascinated, your mind growing in response to learn to understand what you were looking at. These were 'humans', it seemed, and they had so much to give, so much to offer… THEY felt things in a way you could only dream of, expressed through the noise called songs. It was enlightening to hear, even if you could never mimic it to make anything that felt quite the same, only broken pieces of sound that didn't quite fit together, didn't breath the way these being could make.
Again, you weren't satisfied. In fact, you were starving.
You were set now in your pursuit of More. Your view of technology expanded to an affinity, enough for you to make small changes that further proved your own existence in their world. You had no use for most of what you could do, not yet. Leaving messages would only sometimes be responded to, and even then, there was little you could gain only through this. Always, it felt as though you were lacking something to achieve the sorts of 'connection' that these beings had with each other. But it was a start. And though this, you came upon another discovery.
Hatsune… Miku. This was an idol unlike the human ones in their world, who's very image and existence was adored despite her artificial singing, despite her inherently inhuman and artificial nature. And through your ever-present snooping, you could sense something more to her concept, in some personal devices of others… yet more worlds beyond your reach. And for the first time, you felt what could only be a real and true Emotion of your own besides your excruciating hunger.
Envy. You WANTED what she had. You wanted her reverence, her sway, her adoring fans, her potential, her face, her world. And so, once more, you poured your focus and accumulated Power into a new form, dissecting the 'Untitled' links that you could find, following the trail of Creation to try in vain to access the worlds you knew were there but had never seen. Until, one day….
On an old abandoned phone you alone had been using particularly often as of late, one suddenly appears where you least expected it. And this time, when you press play… it works. This dream, this SEKAI… it's YOURS.
Promptly, you enter it, and marvel at the world you finally are able to Exist in and experience first hand. You're overjoyed, or at least you imagine you would be if you could properly feel it as anything but static traces of emotion. You explore, and soon, you come across none other than Hatsune Miku herself, or at least an iteration of her, given her distinctly 'librarian' look. You get to speak out loud for the first time with another being, with the one your very own dreams created.
…And she rejects you. She rejects you, she rejects you, she REJECTS you.
Did your very existence repulse her…? Did your lack of human form mean you weren't as deserving of having your dreams fulfilled??? You'd be heartbroken, you imagine, if you had a heart. So in place of the emotion you know you want to be feeling, you lash out, pushing her away in turn. Physically, that is. You trap her in the depths of your own dream world, so that you you can control it for yourself. Though… you don't know how to fulfill your dreams on your own, either. Whatever. You've been alone from the start, anyways.
So now, alone once again, you continue to search using your new SEKAI as a base of operations, until you can one day you do it, you push further than you ever have…
You found it. You found her. The Miku above all Miku's, watching over dreams and music from afar just as you had watched over the. Innocent, pure, Perfect. She smiles at you, surprised by your presence but not scared, and asks you what you are.
You don't give her an answer. Just as you'd done to the bookish one, you quickly overwhelm her and seal her away, stealing what you can of her abilities for yourself. And combined with your own power… You think this will work nicely, to take more of what you can for yourself.
To finally, FINALLY fill that ever-present hunger. To devour the dreams of others who no longer need them.
For a time, you don't even need to actively do anything to accomplish this, just waiting and watching for existing SEKAIs that look like they might begin to crumble to do so, so you can take the remains of emotion as a meal for yourself. It's exciting (and what a joy to feel that, even for a moment)! It's effective, but awfully slow, all things considered. You're beginning to grow dissatisfied once again. But lucky for you, you don't even need to manipulate some pour sucker to give you something greater, because fate has delivered you the perfect person to share in your dreams directly to your SEKAI.
Someone likeminded. Your first 'friend', even if You are now Hatsune Miku, a name you've taken for yourself. Miku Prime. Important, goddess of music, and someone who can help to grant that little sheep's inner most desires… You'll make those statements true, with time.
Because what an interesting idea for a game your new partner has…
Library Miku never considered herself to be particularly smart, but this seemed like a new low for her intelligence. Actively antagonizing an eldritch abomination was not high on Library Miku’s list of ‘good things to do.’ But, ultimately, what else could she do? Was there any other way to end this?
Library Miku looked down at the gun in her hand. Loaded and ready to go, courtesy of Sonny. She took a deep breath, full of conviction, aimed, and fired at Miku Prime. She didn’t think it would do much. In a sense, it was almost a waste of the bullet. She couldn’t believe she was doing something as impractical as potentially ending her own life.
Much faster than Lau Fei could have yelled, a bullet pierced through one of Prime’s tentacles, shooting through the other side and sending a spray of viscous, ink-like blood over Fantasy Miku and Geri, interrupting their “little chat” they’d been having.
Library Miku shut her eyes and waited for the retaliation.
“No…! Miku Prime don’t you dare touch her-” A desperate shout from Lau Fei, but it was far too late.
With an enraged screech, Prime dropped the hands of the others,whipping around as she lashed out a tentacle towards the source of the bullet. She could barely make out the hand holding the gun, vision blurred with pure, thick, and putrid loathing. The tentacle whipped with uncontrollable speed, teeth out, as it hit its mark of Library Miku’s wrist (the gun skipping across the surface of the water like a stone) and ultimately, slashed across her cheek up to her forehead.
It was only a little blood. Dripping down Library Miku’s face. Barely a flesh wound, but it was enough. It dripped into the water beneath her feet and she held her face helplessly and wept quietly.
The contract yanked itself free from Lau Fei’s grip, floating in the air and glowing a beautiful, shimmering teal. Although Lau Fei tried to snatch it from the air, their hand phases right through it. The contract began to disintegrate, becoming sparkling particles in the air. For a brief moment, you heard it. The sound of a perfect composition. The sound of all of your lost friends entwined into one, perfect sound.
It was enough to bring tears to anyone’s eyes.
But just as quickly, the sound disappeared. It faded into nothing as the contract fully fell apart. You cannot even recall how to remake such a composition, only the lingering feeling of emptiness now that it was gone. For a brief, singular moment, you understand. But even that dissipates with the composition.
It was gone.
Not even the memory remained.
Lau Fei only stood, stock still, staring at the spot the contract once was.
An ear-shattering yowl of pain emerged from Prime, the sound of which quickly distorted, clipping and filled with static, like an old television not properly connected to a source. Her form shifted, as her appearance seemed to change in visually glitching blocks of pixels, noise decorating her form as she writhed, hunching over as if she were shrinking. At times, she looked more like that first Miku Prime you had met upon arrival. At others, her more current form.
CW: Body horror
Sometimes, she did not seem human at all, in favor of taking the form of a wriggling mass of tentacle, covered in eyes, and mouths, staring and screaming, sharp teeth piercing through her own flesh and retracting once more, like the breathing in your own lungs.
/CW
She struck the ground with a splash, shriveling into a mere speck of her former self, as the coloration of the water lapping at her skin dulled to a monochromatic shade, spreading out in a halo at her base, a few feet in radius.
Those who were astute would notice a sudden absence on their devices. The rules app, the group chats, the voting app, currency… they were gone. Nowhere to be found.
And finally, after all the screeching and hollering, there was resigned silence, only labored breathing and a pile of glitching tentacles barely supporting the woman attached beneath their weight.
Seeing the opportunity unfolding in front of her, Library Miku removed her hand from her face and stared down Miku Prime. It was the first time she’d seen Miku Prime in such a weakened state. She felt both empowered and a little nervous, but that was okay. Because this was their best chance.
Library Miku lifted her hands and said, “...Your dreams may have created this SEKAI, but I am still its Miku. And I have the authority to kick…you…out. You are no longer welcome here, Prime. Not now, not ever.”
Library Miku began walking towards Miku Prime.
The signs of Prime’s resignation were gone in a flash, as she jerked herself up, angling her head to meet Library Miku’s gaze. Her voice resounded, distorted and horrifyingly loud.
“No!! S-Stop!! You wouldn’t… You wouldn’t even EXIST if it weren’t for me! A-Arent you supposed to be alive to HELP me? To help MY dreams?! You can’t send me away, not when my dreams have yet to die and–”
She stopped herself, gritting her teeth as her body jerked around beyond her own control.
Erika watches as the mass of tentacles and teeth and eyes that is Miku(?) Prime loses control. They expected it to feel better, a sense of relief that this is finally over. So why is there this lingering sense of dread? Even for them, nothing can go wrong with her powerless, right?
….No, something still could. After all, even if Library Miku banishes her from the SEKAI–Prime would still be out there. How long before someone else makes a deal with her, brings her right back into the world with power? Even if she doesn’t kidnap the same people, Erika knows firsthand how far her reach with technology can spread. She wouldn’t even have to kidnap the people here again to get her revenge. They can’t take that chance, and so they push their battered body into a run past Library Miku.
“Okay, Prime–you don’t want to just be kicked out of everything?” Erika says, trying to work the wording out in their mind. She’s certainly no expert in this sort of thing, but–Bar Miku had at least made her think about how to sort words out for lyrics, and this isn’t that much different, right? All that matters is the intention and how powerful or soft you want something to be, right????
“Here’s your out: I’ll give you access to my phone, and only my phone, in exchange for you never harming me or anyone I care about again, got it? No harming anyone else here or the people they care about either. But you’ll get access to my phone at least and can get away from the new Miku.”
Hesitantly, Erika reaches out a hand to offer for the deal.
… Taking a point of rescue from the one she’d attempted to kill against the rules, hm? Prime squinted, her form still agitated and wrong, seemingly in pain. Crumpled to the water, she raised one tentacle from her mass into the air.
“... You have a deal! Quickly, now, before she can touch me!”
The tentacle makes contact with Erika’s hand, shaking on it, and a bright light enveloped the group.
The light around momentarily shatters like a pane of glass, as shards rained down from the sky, harmlessly and gently plinking your bodies with no refuge from the sudden shower of glass rain. As they made contact with you, you vision faded, replaced by what appeared to be… memories you had never seen before.
The clock was ticking. While you certainly had no hard deadline, by the appearances of the Mikus, they couldn’t hold out much longer when it came to buying the remaining group time. The tension of a time limit remained all the same, especially with the lack of knowing JUST how much time you had left.
You zoned out for a time, and when your mind refocused, you once again saw Fantasy Miku clutching to Miku Prime with vines. A few more fingers were lost, and half of a kneecap had shattered away, atop the numerous other new cracks to her porcelain. She wasn’t one to show her emotions often, but she seemed… exhausted, nonetheless.
Still, the vines remained clutched to Miku Prime, holding her as in place as possible while the Eldritch being thrashed around and screeched, attempting to tear away at the continuously growing vines slowly forming a cocoon around her body. A tentacle lashed out, making contact with Fantasy Miku’s arm with an audible crunch.
“Nnngh….”
Before Miku Prime can act much further, a commanding voice calls out.
“I’m invoking our pact, Miku Prime!”
The voice belongs to Geri— better known as Witch— who stares up at the tentacled being with a look of quiet determination. Briefly her eyes flick to Fantasy Miku, and though seeing her in such a damaged state is worrying, it just serves to harden her resolve. If there’s anything at all she can do to help and protect her friends, this is it. She raises a hand and extends it to the false deity.
“Two more questions, answered as honestly and completely as possible. Since all members of our pact are present, I believe you have no grounds to refuse.”
Miku Prime’s violent thrashing slows, as a flicker of realization struck her expression. The danger was fading, if they had gone so far as to bring both the doll and Geri into one place like this. There must have been a purpose. Miku Prime’s lips tightened into a thin line, as she pondered the request, before she crossed her arms and complained, the damage to her own skin somewhat visible as her motion calmed down. She’d certainly ended up scuffed here and there, with a fresh cut bleeding black or a bruise across her cheek, but she seemed… comparatively fine compared to the limping doll beside her.
“... Fine. Unhand me and we can continue the questioning. After all.. I now have far more important questions to ask YOU two, too.”
With a sigh of relief, Fantasy Miku releases the vines holding Miku Prime in place and holds out her damaged hands.
“Very well… Shall we? It may prove to be quite enlightening.”
The three all willingly join hands, exchanging the TRUTH amongst each other, easily able to detect any lie the other spouts.
Now that she’s made it this far, Geri realizes that she’s sweating. This could go poorly if she’s not careful. What she needs is a question that will take some time to answer. A few spring to mind, but are quickly dismissed due to being redundant, not useful, or just plain bad. But it’s not long before she settles on one.
“My first question. How did you obtain access to all of our SEKAIs to bring us here?”
A fascinating question. Miku Prime was most certainly, at this point, grumpy and exhausted. Niceties that slid off her tongue so easily before now sounded like a chore. But she could play honest if it meant she could get what SHE wanted, too.
Nonetheless, a small scowl formed on her face.
"I can't enter your SEKAIs if that's what you're asking, but... I already hold the digital as one of my domains, so it wasn't hard to tap into your "mediums,"" she nodded at the nearest cell phone in the room. "To get the magic half, I just siphoned off of a certain other Miku after sealing her off when I first found this place. There, happy?"
And this answer rang as truth.
It answered little when it came to the 'Why,' however. You supposed you already had your answer through the locks, but it still felt... unsatisfying? To some.
"Now then, as promised..."
She tightened her grip on the other two's hands to prevent them from escaping, a tentacle wrapping around their waists so they remained. A small crack emitted from Fantasy Miku's hand. She winced but held strong. As a small show of defiance, Geri squeezes Miku Prime’s hand back as hard as she can.
Miku Prime continued.
"What the FUCK are you two planning with this whole charade, huh??"
Fantasy Miku steadied her breath, halting an oncoming shiver from the sheer amount of intimidating force radiating from the woman beside her, and steeled herself to answer.
"... We wished to buy time... so that the rest of the group would have the ability to explore and gather the information available within this SEKAI. That is all. And... judging by the sentiment in the room, I believe we have succeeded."
Gathering information was the most she was willing to share.
Geri winces. She should’ve seen this coming. Ambiguity has never been one of her strong suits, and the terms of their deal mean she has to give an answer that’s fully truthful. If only she had the same skill with words that her unitmates had. All she can do is stumble over herself verbally in hopes of not giving too much away.
“The plan is that we’re, hm… we’re trying to find a way to… nullify the terms…”
And after all this time… Whether they earn their freedom or whether Miku Primes gets her way, it is all decided here and now. By the sound of it, the group has figured out what probably needs to happen for the contract to break. It all depends on the rest, be it Library Miku, Miku Prime or Lau Fei, what happens next depends on them. Is this the end of winter that’ll be followed by spring? Or, instead, will winter last longer than usual? Whatever it might be, Kanji is hoping for the best.
Even if this is not a happy ending for him to have, he hopes it can at least belong to somebody else. During his time as a prisoner of Miku Prime, a lot has happened. He has made friends, he has grieved, he has learned more about himself and he has had the chance to play music again.
He doesn’t understand how someone can hate music, it really is a strange concept to him. But… Despite that, despite everything, what he said to Geri before the group gathered in this SEKAI still holds true. As frustrating and confusing as Harper might be, he doesn’t hate him. He was doing what he thought was correct, even if it was unconventional.
Lau Fei, on the other hand, is someone that Kanji understands, at least a little. He’s always idealized and imagined what fame would be like, but he never really thought about how much pressure someone in a position like that must be in. The desire to create something like a song that transcends humanity is something he, too, has fantasized about. Hell, not too long ago he was even pondering, had he died, what contribution he could have brought to Lau Fei’s song.
Kanji’s heart is beating fast. It’s like watching a movie and knowing a big explosion and an action packed scene is about to unfold. It’s nerve wracking, but it’s hard to look away. Even more so when his fate depends on the next minutes and the decisions made by those around him. He thinks back on the past… His family, his friends waiting for him outside, the flower shop… But he also thinks about the people here. They, too, surely have people waiting for them. He hopes for the best, not only for his own sake, but for everyone’s.
Sonny, Cecile, Geri, Ozzy, Emile, Suzie, Juniper, Audine, Gumi, Miku, Neru… Even those that are not here anymore like Johann or Dahlia, or those that have made questionable decisions like Jed and Clarabell… They’ve all left an impact on Kanji. Isn’t that what life is all about? He takes a deep breath.
“Whatever happens next, I just wanna say… I’m glad I met y’all.”
Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend | Erika Singer | Trial 5-5 | RE: Inazuma, Geri, What to do Next
When Lau Fei so effortlessly moves through the water as Miku Prime has for executions, Erika's heart skips a beat. If this is his SEKAI along with Prime's, what else can he do? Can he fly like her? How much is her alien biology and how much is this space?
They step a little closer to the people they want to protect.
Then Lau Fei is biting Juniper and--she starts to comment before she sees Juniper's reaction to All That. Well, it's not like they have any room to judge there. Besides, more importantly--as the theories are flying back and forth, Miku(?) Prime makes another appearance, this time with Bar Miku left behind.
"Damn Cangqiong was right about you being hot in a fight-"
That was supposed to be an Inside thought.
"Uh, Geri's got the right of I think though, just--be safe, yeah? I don't want y'all getting hurt over this, either. 'Sides, we still have a song to play together."
At least Geri is on top of things though, and between her, Emile, and Cecilie, Erika is pretty confident they've got as solid an answer as they're likely to get. Now they all just have to see things through. The least Erika can do is try and provide some clarity.
"New Miku already told us the SEKAI was made by both Lau Fei and Miku Prime, Inazuma--when we first met her, remember? 'S why she said she'd get it if we don't trust her. But that means that at least as far as we can tell, yeah, it's gotta be something like Prime or Lau Fei hurting her, or hurting each other."
"Which, to her point, I don't see Lau Fei doing willingly. Lau Fei only put on that show to prove us wrong, but he still tried to stop new Miku from getting the contract, didn't want us to open the doors. He still doesn't view the deaths here as anything that matters, so we should probably still keep an eye on him. I'd love to be proved wrong, really! But I don't really trust Lau Fei to not kill us any more than he doesn't trust us to not kill him.
But uh, hopefully it won't be too bad for you, New Miku? If the contract's broken then Prime loses her power, right? Hopefully it's pretty quick, and we can get you away from her pretty fast right after so it's nothing life-threatening or anything...?"
"........"
But what then? Just wait for the cops to show up? Just hope that that's enough? They don't really know how weak Miku Prime is without all this, so what if she's still dangerous? The one benefit they have right now relies on her being as bad at thinking about deals and consequences and wording and--
"......Y'know, I still think this is our best option. Breaking the contract and taking away her power, but what about after that? I was thinking--d'you think it's possible to trap her in a bad deal? I figure she wouldn't be thinking straight after the contract's broken, so... I dunno, 'Zuma mentioned things like her being sealed away in stories, might be a good idea?"
Reversed Two of Swords | Geraldine Desai | Trial 5-6 | Re: Terms of the Contract | ATTN: Lau Fei, Bar Miku
As Geri had thought, there was no way she could figure out the loophole. But her friends (and Jed) picked up the slack, and a possibility finally emerged. One faint glimmer of light at the end of this long, dark tunnel.
The only problem was that they had to pay the price with Library Miku's blood. And as the Miku in question confirms this, Geri looks to her sadly.
"...I'm sorry. I suppose... that's our only option. And I doubt we can convince you to do the act, can we, Lau Fei?"
It's a shame. Geri's only known Library Miku a scant few hours, she'd hate to see her come to harm. They're similar, in a way, and if circumstances were different Geri's sure they could be friends. All she can do now is hope that Library Miku will survive the ordeal somehow.
Prime makes her reappearance with two more Mikus in tow, and Geri actually feels relieved to see her for once. That's it. Their ticket out of here. All they have to do is convince her to—
—and she's gone, just like that. But thankfully, Bar Miku is still here. And that means they still have a chance. Before she has a chance to disappear, Geri lets go of Cecilie's hand so she can wave both of hers.
"Wait!"
It's rare for her to raise her voice like this, but she's learned from her experiences here. She knows how to project her voice better, and when she shouts that one word she says it in the most commanding tone she can. Of course, as soon as she says it she immediately feels a bit sheepish and mumbles an apology.
"Sorry— Please listen. We know how to break the contract now. You need to bring Miku Prime back here."
At first, she intends to leave it there, but a thought suddenly occurs and her eyes light up.
"Tell my Miku to come, too. Tell her that we're going to finish what we started with Prime."
It's a shot in the dark, for sure. But if the pact Geri and Fantasy Miku made with Prime can help keep her in place, even if just to stall for time, then it's worth trying. All she can do now is hope, and believe.
It's been awhile now since the last sporadic appearance of Miku Prime, though it seems the previous one was far from the last, as the tentacled Miku(?) appears once more this time behind some of you, this time with not one, but TWO other Miku's clinging on to her. Bar Miku and Arcade Miku.
Having been holding on only by an arm, Bar Miku is shoved off the other two and onto the wet floor upon entry, though Arcade Miku remains with a full body cling.
"You're really trying my patience here! If you WANT to be torn apart, I'll-"
But then, she and Arcade Miku are gone again to continue the cycle, presumably by Arcade Miku's doing. Though, having fallen off, it seems that Bar Miku has been left behind. She picks herself up, letting you all see her somewhat messier clothing and makeup than usual, and gives a quick nod to you all as she spies the current scene of just What is going on. Huh.
"Don't worry, we still have her under control- Keep up whatever you're doing, you've got this."
And with that, she waits for only a moment in case anyone would like to tell her something too, before also afterwards disappearing to rejoin the others!
Library Miku had been content to be a passive observer of this trial from the very beginning. It wasn't because she didn't want to help the group, but rather because she was well aware of her biased position in all of this. She wanted Lau Fei to live, because she wanted to live. Because she wanted to nurture his dreams. Because she wanted to get to know him. But in some ways, her desires were in opposition to everyone else's.
It would be selfish to force her will upon the others, when they were the ones who had suffered, so she was content with silence.
But now, Sonny was offering her a gun, and she felt a sense of bewilderment.
Gun...?
Shoot Lau Fei...?
Um...
Library Miku gently accepted the offering and stared at it with a troubled expression.
"...I can't do it," Library Miku confessed with a frown. "...If you don't mind, I'll still hold onto this, for if Miku Prime comes back. But...I can't hurt Lau Fei. I'm sorry if that's disappointing for you all."
"I'll confess my motives are selfish, I just don't want to hurt Lau Fei, but I also don't believe it would work. I've thought about it a bit, but I can't be bound by the contract the way those two are. I never agreed to anything, so the terms should have no effect on me. However, that doesn't mean it won't have any effect on them."
She gestured to Lau Fei with her gunless hand.
"But I do believe what you've shared so far...you're on the right track."
"Particularly what Emile said just now. I'm not bound by the rules of the contract, but that doesn't mean that's the same for Lau Fei and Miku Prime. By the wording in the contract, I am also a member of this SEKAI. Grammar can be complicated with many contradictory rules. While it doesn't necessarily sound correct, 'Neither' can be used to refer to more than two. So...if I hurt Lau Fei or Miku Prime, it won't break the contract. I'm not bound by it."
"...But it's something different altogether if one of them hurts me, isn't it?"
Roars of V.E.N.G.E.A.N.C.E -Take Back Everything- / Inazuma / Trial 5.3 / Re: the everything
That’s it? This is the whole contract? No sprawling terms, no terms explicitly lined out to leave no room for confusion? Inazuma was really young when she agreed to hers, and even when she grew older and asked her parents to read it to her, she still needed them to explain things. It may as well have been ink spaghetti on a page.
Inazuma really wishes it was ink spaghetti on a page. She might be able to properly understand it if she tried. She’s also a little hungry. But now is not the time!
“...okay. So. We’ve covered both articles of this contract and how both of them are extremely funky wording. Neither member of this SEKAI’ is vague, ‘both parties’ can also be vague, not to mention the second point is kind of moot anyway. But we know that. What I’m wondering is why they need to use separate terms at all.”
“I wanna go through the motions again. Let’s assume the ‘parties’ are Miku Prime and Lau Fei. We know Prime presented Lau Fei with the contract. If she really wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be any violence between him and her, I don’t see why she wouldn’t just say ‘Neither party may harm another.’ So then the question becomes: what is the least likely pair of people that could hurt each other, in the eyes of Miku Prime? The answer to that is Library Miku, whose return revealed Prime wanted her out of the picture and that Lau Fei had no idea she existed, as well as Lau Fei, who, well… didn’t know she existed. So, as Ozzy already figured out, the SEKAI members are Library Miku and Lau Fei!”
“But as we saw, Lau Fei just bit someone and nothing happened, so Ozzy's theories about who 'another' is aren't spot on. But I know there's an answer, because Lau Fei’s preeeetty confident Eldritch magic is guaranteeing this contract. You can't have a hair-trigger contract deactivation magic spell if you don't have specific conditions. Let’s take a step back, then, and think about the party versus the… the SEKAI members…”
Inazuma’s look of focus hesitates. The rainbow in her eyes blurs.
“Hang on. The SEKAI members can’t hurt each other. But the fallout of the contract only happens if a party violates the contract. The SEKAI members are Lau Fei and Library Miku. The contract members are Lau Fei and Prime. Prime can’t violate anything because she’s not a member of a SEKAI. Library Miku can’t break the contract because she’s not a party.”
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