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The Killer - 1

And so, you all continue to wander through life, knowing that your peers, the people that you had grown to know and to trust and to love throughout your shared traumas had to be out there. Someday, maybe you’ll know, but unfortunately for now, you are lost in a sea of monotony, of normalcy, smothered by those that were worried and are just now so happy to have their loved ones safe, and seeing the unfortunate faces of those that had lost looking to you all with such sadness, such hope that maybe they will see their own person safe and sound again.

All of this could hold true if you just continue to hope and to seek the truth.

You feel a tight feeling in your chest every time you pass some video game shop, wondering if one day you’re going to see that same title that you see flashes of every once in a while in the back of your mind.

You hold out with hope for the day your friends might return, and maybe you can play Scrolls of Eternity itself with a fun, good natured outlook, knowing that you would all be safe and sound once you left the game.

And perhaps you return to your everyday life, or perhaps you dedicate yourself to the cause of finding those who were lost in the game. Perhaps, years in the future, you find a room filled with strange machinery and sleeping bodies. Perhaps you do, and perhaps you don’t. For now, all you can do is live.

Life goes on, and so it seems does the aching feeling in your hearts, yearning for the simple collegiate life once more.

SCROLLS OF ETERNITY

THE END

THANK YOU ALL FOR PLAYING

When you are jolted awake, it is not together with your friends as you apparently had been for months during the game. It is not in a lab, lying comfortably on a bed. Some of you smell the soothing scent of the waves, wind blowing gently across you as murmurs resound, leaving you only to claw at your head desperately and face the confused citizens head on, staring at you, surrounding you. Some of you feel the dirt beneath you, damp as you are jolted awake in the middle of what you can only assume is some forest. Some wake up near campus, in some random building that you had only seen from the outside. All that you knew was that you were alone, and you had to make the long journey back to your homes, to families who believed you dead.

The whispers surrounding your sudden reappearances say a wide variety of things, but when they ask you what had happened to your friends you truthfully can answer that you don’t know. You don’t know where they were at the moment, you don’t know what plans the scientists or Hisato Kaneshiro’s colleagues had for the future of the ELYSIUM PROJECT, but you could say with absolute certainty that they were alive, although you weren’t sure if anyone would believe you if you were to tell them the full extent of what you had experienced.

The school issued statements of hope, statements of condolences as they swear to continue their search into the disappearance of the others, trying to bring them home because if even a few of you are alive there is a chance that all of you are out there somewhere. You aren’t sure how much weight these words hold, but all of the students that found themselves part of the explosions were offered their degrees immediately. You almost feel like it was to shut you up, to continue to sweep the true mystery of the explosion, of all of your disappearances under the rug. Of course, it is up to you whether you accept it or not, and of course the remaining faculty member is given paid leave for any distress as well.

None of this could truly make up for the experiences you’d suffered through, nor the loss of your friends. That, you’d have to figure out how to overcome on your own. Like a hero would.

And so, this is it. It seems like it’s quiet for an eternity, the silence weighing heavily on the atmosphere. You’ve all made your decisions, one way or the other, and it’s hard to think that this is an end, that there are those of you who, unfortunately, will not be given the option to leave, to be whole again. Those who were lost with the potential of never being found… And those that have chosen to go will be leaving it all behind. It’s a solemn moment, and no one dares to disrupt the ephemeral moment of tranquility, to even make too audible a breath until you are pulled cruelly back into the reality of the situation you have found yourselves in.

 It’s weird to see Calantha, your tormenter throughout this whole game, look at you all with a tender expression, so perfectly contrasting her demeanor that you had grown to know so well. Upon further reflection, however, you realize that you never really knew a “Calantha.” Hell, the one in front of you is simply one of many. A hand is extended, smiling twisting into a weary expression as you all know what’s about to come.

“Well, heroes… It’s time to take your leave.”

Slowly but surely you step through the portal, your world being overtaken by a wonderful, vibrant array of color and light and warmth, and you’d almost be able to ignore the final words you hear as Yamaguchi calls out to you. 

“By the way… Be sure to take the bag off when you wake up!”

 Bag? You can’t even truly fathom the statement as the swirling colors become unbearable and the breathtaking view fades into the darkness…

[♫♫♫]

We are the stories we tell ourselves

The brave hero, the tortured soul

The Tyrant King, Hisato Kaneshiro, has died. This game, the world of Elysium that had kept them captive for so, so, so long – it was over. They were finally free to leave this place and continue on with their lives, whatever was left of it.

…

… At least, for some of them.

Hanari Hokusai was a stubborn woman. Volatile, angry, stupidly, stupidly stubborn but not alive without some merit. Despite her anger, she could be patient. Despite her volatility, she could be gentle, sometimes. Despite her stubbornness, she always tried to keep her heart in the right place, aiming up high. She was raised with a golden spoon in her mouth, with a crown on her head, and chains on her arms as she lived in a cage, destined to be a bird caged and fly on a path she didn’t want to live.

… Was it right for her to be alive, able to live and have the option of leaving this place? She talked big words about being able to save the people here but…

The Altruist, the Pragmatist

They will tell you what they see

But you and you alone know who you are

An heiress. A survivor. A ‘Warrior’. A Person.

It feels like a familiar story – heroes simply trying to survive and find a way to pave the road ahead. Saving friends. Hanari always loved those kinds of stories, stories about heroes saving the day and it would always get her heart racing as she listened to her Uncle’s words.

But, being a hero was scary. Being strong and having strength alone wasn’t enough. Learning that you can’t always save everyone but you continue living to save those still out there. Living with your mistakes and regrets. Learning to open your heart because it’s emotions and love that make someone strong. Courage is born from fear and Hanari was a phoenix who would always rise up the flames, heart ready to burst.

Like a flame flickering ever so slightly, Hanari’s eyes look over at Kamiya and oh how her heart swells. She smiles at him, truly and honestly, smiling with eyes filled with warmth. She steps towards him and the fire in her chest parts like the sea and she reaches for his hand to hold.

Fire isn’t just destruction – but also energy and light and love.

Now comes your part,

To cloak yourself in the fiction

“There’s a lot shit we gotta do once we get outta ‘ere, huh?” She says as she squeezes his hand. “But you’re damn right I plan on helpin’ everyone ‘ere. Everyone’s got their path they plan on goin’ – an’ I wanna do everythin’ in my power to help.”

“I’ll study an’ study an’ study like hell until I know everythin’ there is to know about VR an’ all this shit! I’ll study medicine an’ become a doctor who will be here to wack the shit outta everyone once you open your eyes. I’ll utilize every bit of my fuckin’ families connections to help everyone ‘ere wake up with their memories. I’ll make sure it won’t take forever, so… this ain’t goodbye! Not yet!” She says with a smile.

To breathe life into the dead,

To give a voice to the voiceless…

Quieter now, Hanari speaks in a hushed voice to Kamiya and presses her forehead against his.

“I’ll go with you, wherever you go. So… don’t go anywhere I can’t follow, you big dummy. You’ve always.. always helped me more than you could ever know. An’ I um.. am really grateful for that.”

As we did that day, when you gave us our answer.

“I’m leavin’ too. I know that we’ll be able to do ‘cause you’re right by side.”

In your darkest hour, in the blackest night…think of me…and I will be with you. Always. For where else could I go? Who else could I love but you?

How touching.

Hisato’s execution goes unwatched by Hisashi, right up until the end. He can’t help paying attention long enough to watch the king’s head roll; guillotines have always fascinated him, after all.

The rest of everything after that… The tears, the goodbyes, the I love you’s thrown this way and that… The fact that Azusa has the gaul to cling to Arisa, as if she still had the right–

How touching.

His face settles into an obvious, nose wrinkled look of disgust at it all.

There’s a moment, though, that he spends observing – a brief second of reflection, on himself, the people around him, and everything that’s happened here. He’s changed, certainly, but it’s just more of the same and foregone restraint. He has friends, somehow. A girlfriend, of all things. The biggest difference, really, is that he bothers caring at all – and even then, that’s only sometimes.

Standing here, feeling nothing but faint annoyance, it becomes startlingly clear that through the entirety of this shitfest of a game… Hisashi hasn’t lost a goddamned thing.

Quietly, he huffs out a short laugh.

“Why the hell would I stay here? Ahhh… Saturday night Calantha…That’s Yamaguchi, right?”

Hisashi speaks casually, hands tucked into his pockets as he walks towards the portal. He pauses beside the fairy shaped avatar, regarding it with a tilted head. For an uncomfortable moment, he’s silent –

And then he smiles.

“You’d better hope the muscle atrophy from laying around did me in, hm? Ah - but even then, nobody’s impossible to find, you know. Aha! Ahhh… I am really looking forward to meeting you people in person one day. Because, you know–”

“I’ve always thought hunting for sport was a bit inhumane, but I’m starting to see the appeal.”

He laughs quietly, pulling his hand from his pocket to give the fairy a friendly pat on the shoulder before continuing on his way.

Ah…

He really hasn’t learned a single thing, has he? If anything, all Hisashi Shimizu’s time in the kingdom of Elysium has done is solidify a single, unfortunate life lesson for everyone else:

Sometimes, bad people do win.

So much for fairy tale endings, huh?

It’s not a pleasant sight, seeing Hisato Kaneshiro die, and Ami makes sure she stays holding Kushiko close the whole time in case she needs to look away. Perhaps this is what Hisato wants, and in some way the apt punishment for what he’s done to others, but watching someone die is always terrible. Especially when it’s someone you once called a friend. All Ami can hope for, really, is that death by beheading really is instant, and that at least temporarily, Hisato will have some relief from his burdens before consequences catch him again. Does he actually deserve that? She doesn’t know, but she thinks at some point, he did.

And then, as Azusa speaks, hugs her and says she loves her, Ami breaks into a sob.

“L-love you too, Azusa…it’s all going to be better someday, I promise…”

Terror grips Ami’s chest for a moment, but she breathes a sobbing sigh of relief when Arisa hugs Azusa and the vial shatters on the ground, the fears of watching another best friend die dissipating into gratitude towards Arisa for managing to break through to her. 

“I’ll be out right behind you, Kamiya-san…I can’t stay here. The things it falls to me to do for everyone…I can only do them outside of this world. ”

At the beginning of this, she probably would have jumped at the chance to run away from her life–one she didn’t see a future for, so she simply kicked and screamed against it uselessly. She became a phantom thief in hopes it would give her some sort of excitement. She fought with her mother and defied the way she wanted her to present herself at every turn even if she was ultimately powerless against her. If someone told Ami a few months ago that she could stay here forever and not have to go home, she would have said yes and never looked back.

Now? Now things are different. She has so many promises to keep and things to do in the world outside that it’s impossible for her to stay here. Hearing Aina speak confirms as much to her.

“…thank you, Aina-sensei. I-I hope I can do right by what you say. I…I’ll tell your daughter that…you’ll be back.”

Ami is trying desperately to wipe away tears, the feelings coming from leaving people behind overwhelming her. Yes, she’s telling herself it’s not the end and she really does think they can do it, but she’s still scared. She’s still going to be sad while she waits.

But then Chiharu takes her hand… her friend, Chiharu, as they’ve both stubbornly been at each other’s sides through everything. And now they’re both going to stubbornly fight so the people they love can live happy lives. 

“Right. One moment, Chiharu-san.”

She smiles, and gives Kushiko, her personal Elysium, the biggest hug she can before stepping back to speak. Ami understands the fears her beloved has and why she needs to watch over those she cares about: it’s not in Kushiko’s nature to leave people to the unknown. That’s why Ami knows what they both need to do.

“…don’t stay too long, alright? When we know for absolute certain Yoshiko-san will be safe and when she’ll wake up…come home. We can go home together. Until then, I’m talking to you as much as I can through those servers—Yamaguchi and the others are going to be sick of me, just watch!”

They’re doing the same thing, just in what they believe is in their power right now. It’s going to be ok even if their duties take them to different places for a while—what’s a month or so compared to the lifetime they’ll have together?

“You’ll both be home in no time. Wait for me, Kushiko-chan…I love you so much! The future we’ll build is going to be great!”

[♫♫♫]

“Let me out of here this instant. Let me out of here right now. I don’t care about your perfect world or your perfect life or your stupid kingdom. This is not my home. It never has been.”

Ah, if only it was as easy as that.

They knew from the beginning – that their wish would never be answered. It was mostly the confusion that caused their outburst. So much of this place was out of their control, far from their mind, or anything ‘Amarantos’ had ever experienced. Perhaps it was worth the attempt, if only for the pity points, to make Hisato realize how he’d torn their family apart with a killing game that they saw as nothing but meaningless.

Deep in their heart, Aina Funai knew that they had resigned themselves to an eternal slumber the moment Ami stabbed them in the chest. No, even before that, the moment they asked Ami to kill them was the moment that they’d given up their chance at a normal life. It was set in stone now – eternal, immovable, frozen, just like the people Amarantos the gorgon has turned to stone. With the deaths of Hisato, they could leave this place. Maybe not now. Maybe not for a while. But some day, perhaps.

They watch as Hisato’s head comes off, a horrible thing, really…

With a smile.

The game is over. The king is dead.

And they know, it’s unfortunate that they’re stuck in here for now, and while they might not remember their daughter or any of their life before this trial… but optimism fills their heart for the first time in a very long time. They know that Motoko will be left in good hands. There’s Ami’s promise to take care of her, and Chiharu’s promise to become a doctor…

The world is looking hopeful.

For once, they don’t cry at death. They keep the smile on their face. Now that they know this is all fake, they can finally look people in the eyes with some semblance of confidence.

They inhale deeply.

“Ami Sakurayama… thank you… thank you for everything. I am sure Aina… no, I… I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.” They put their hand over their chest, letting out the exhale. “You are a good person.” Something Aina has said to Ami a few times. The truth of it can be determined by Ami, but they hope that she’ll believe them this time.

And then, their attention then turns to their discarded kitsune mask. Their temporary shield from the world. They pick it up from the floor and hold it close to their chest for a moment. You have served them well. But they know now. There’s no more hiding that they need to do… because humans… are good. Probably.

Most of them, anyway.

“Thank you, everyone. You are… erm, a strange group… and there is a lot I still do not understand… but there is one thing I do know. I want… I want to see you all again some day. As the person I was before all of this happened.”

Another smile.

“Please tell my daughter… please tell Motoko… that she’ll see me again soon.”

Finally, the mask goes back on their face and they curtsy briefly. And then they head out the door right behind Yaco.

So that was it. The Tyrant King dies, the heroes get to go home, and the saviors get to return knowing that none of this is real. Maybe their memories will return, maybe they will wake up and return to a world they don’t remember. Maybe they return to a world they do remember and everything is so much more horrible. 

Wakka is simply standing there, hugging herself and pulling Arisa’s jacket over her shoulders. None of this feels right. It doesn’t feel right to her, the bitter-sweetness in the air. Tears, smiles, and exhaustion seem to be the choices and Wakka doesn’t feel like any of them fit her right now. 

She is staring at nothing, unmoving, letting everyone speak to each other and leave. The only thing Wakka is thinking about is her promise to the Tyrant King. 

What she knows is that she will leave this castle and hunt down Hisato. She knows she will find some normal person with no memories of their sins and is unware why a woman is pulling a sword on him. She knows this rage burning through her veins will push her to kill him over and over, as many times as it takes for him to Stay Dead. Finally…

Wakako knows she will never be the same again.

Hisato and Azusa’s betrayals hadn’t really brought any emotions on her, neither of them, stupid as they were, deserved Shizuka to feel even the slightest bit of emotion for them, not sadness, not regret and not sympathy. However, the former’s death had indeed brought her something.

Anger.

And it only lasted less than a second, it was a bridge that was burnt long ago now. A lifetime ago in her eyes, Hisato had been the one to set it aflame before they even built it. She hadn’t any fault in any of that, neither now nor then, it’s good to know that Hisato Kaneshiro was never her friend, not someone to grief.

Azusa Doigawa was worth even less than that; as was anyone that would kneel before him and herald him as king. They all angered her, but that too, passed before even a single muscle on her face moved. …It seems she at least has the sense not to throw away  the opportunity to go home, her opinion won’t improve one bit for it but it’s the one good thing  Shizuka thinks Azusa’s ever done.

Her spite is best shown through actions rather than just expressions

She would make sure their wish would never come true. She intended, from the beginning, the moment that they learned there was no escape just yet, to make sure Hisato Kaneshiro would never again touch a hair on Alphonse’s head. It was her final ploy to spite him, for as long as she lived -here or outside- the two of them will never meet again.

He had his chance, he had several chances, he had more chances than anyone else here, he had more than all of them combined but time and time again, Hisato denied himself that which could help him. And now he would never have it, someone to love, someone to care for. He’ll be miserable until the day he rots in his grave, after Chiharu and everyone else get them away from here. His eternity will be cut short. His life will be misery incarnated, all of his own making.

She looks over at Alphonse. It’s strange how alike, how different they are.

She can’t quite deny that perhaps, before their deaths, they had been friends. And friends should watch out for each other, even if she’ll have to watch out for him a few more times, even if she’ll be annoyed by him more often than not. He was, is, and will be her friend.

Much like Hisato had marked himself as her enemy, Alphonse will be her friend.

In a sense, much like Chiharu, Shizuka is motivated by love and sheer fucking spite.

But speaking of Chiharu and that love.

She had been holding her hand the entire time after they had said their pieces, listening to music as peacefully as possible given the circumstances, she hadn’t even paid much attention to everything else but this moment. It was nice and probably the last nice thing she’ll feel for some time, until she wakes up she thinks.

Her rough, calloused hand gently squeezes Chiharu’s when Saturday Calantha’s ends his speech about the decision the ones with the ability to take would need to make soon. They both knew the answer but she isn’t ready to let go just yet.

Her eyes dart across the room, so many people were in here and at the end of the day, they all were part of the same group, simply unlucky people that Hisato had somehow managed to get together, or rather someone else managed to get together for him.

…Man.

She really didn’t care for the vast majority of people that were here. It’s kind of laughable. ‘Much of what can be said for Chiharu can be said for Shizuka’, said that report and in turn, they had said Chiharu has a heart of gold. Which, in her bias, she would agree with. But for herself? Her heart is bronze, and kind of rusty bronze at that. And probably pretty small. …There is some people she probably called friends before, though. Those people get a small smile before her eyes settle on Chiharu again.

Another light squeeze. The time of parting is so close. How… scary. She won’t be alone in the literal sense but she’ll be lonely for a time, at least. She knows Chiharu won’t keep her waiting, and she knows she doesn’t want to keep her waiting in turn.

She wonders; can she force herself to wake up? Hisato had said that sort of thing was next to impossible but Hisato was a fucking dumbass idiot anyway so clearly the answer has to be yes, actually. It just might take her time, and she’ll more than likely need help but she’ll be getting it. Even the people who put her and the others here say they’ll try. And they better, or god knows what she’ll do to them if they don’t.

Waking up… Waking up… it’ll be nice. And her memories too. They are so far behind, so far away, so out of reach, but all the feelings they bring, the happiness Chiharu made her feel time and time again, that hasn’t left her, that’s a part of her that no one will ever take away, not matter how they try, not even death could manage, after all.

Death. Her dead peers. They all begin to depart, Yaco gets the kindest gesture she’s shown him yet; a simple head nod of approval. Aina gets another in turn. She’s already told herself she’ll watch out for even those she doesn’t like, she doesn’t need to focus on them right now, they could use all the time, instead her thoughts are with the person in front of her.

In the same way that Shizuka Maemi refuses to lose to anyone, she won’t ever stop loving her Chiharu Maki and with that love and absolute belief in her, the future isn’t as uncertain as others want them to think.

That’s why this isn’t a last goodbye.

[♫♫♫]

It might be a long-lasting one, but it’s not a farewell, it can’t be the end for them, they both will be working hard for it. Knowing this much, it’s all the reassurance Shizuka could need, her eyes begin to shine, there’s no use fighting the few tears that appear on her eyes, because Chiharu is right there in front of her.

Through her tears, the moon gives the sun her brightest smile, a choked out sound escapes her as she squeezes the other’s hand.

“I-I still can’t remember but that’s okay. You are right. I don’t care about this world, I care about you.”

But she has her feelings of love. It feels so nice to finally name them for the first time. Or more accurately, again. The others in her group might be less certain, and they might not even want to be who they were but she is convinced. She is Chiharu’s Shizuka.

“You and I… we are going to last forever, not just this life, but every one after. No one can take our love from us.” Her words are soft and gentle, calm and sincere, full of trust, the kind of trust that nothing, no one can temper with, the kind that makes you know for sure; it will all be alright in the end.

“I’ll love you well after the sun’s stopped, and after the world’s ended, after the universe has stopped I’ll love you, to eternity and even more. So… I don’t think it’s selfish. I can’t wait to be home with you.”

She blinks, trying to stop any tears from coming; even if they are happy because Chiharu is finally safe and even if they are sad because she’ll keep her waiting, a small laugh escapes her.

“I guess that’s just my job, huh? Just like before.” Before she was certain of who she was. “I promise. I’ll look out for them, so make sure you don’t get into too much trouble, okay? …Take care of yourself, too.”

But she won’t be worried, because she knows Chiharu will do this for her. She’ll be ready to welcome her back with a smile on her face and she needs to take care of herself for that, too. A smile crosses her lips from imagining the antics people like the ones Chiharu mentioned would get into, she nods and then —

Her scarf. The one Chiharu’s always been wearing; though she does not know it, this had been a gift she herself had given to Chiharu years back, now returned with the other’s warmth on it, she relishes the feeling around her, like the sun gently giving way to the moon in a slow evening.

“I’ll be sure to give it back. You always get so cold, don’t you?” She smiles, a little laugh following, and something comes to her, “I’ll treasure it, I’ll take good care of it, Haru-chi!”

Automatically, her arms wrap around Chiharu as soon as the hug is started, realy, they both had started it together as they had done with so many things before. Shizuka’s eyes squeeze shut as a few tears begin trailing down her cheeks, she rubs Chiharu’s back, warmly, gently, just as always, just like before. Just like she’ll do when she’s woken up.

“I love you, I can’t wait to see you again.”

It’s the tightest but also the warmest, most gentle hug she’s given, it’s careful and delicate and like it’ll never break apart, but it does because it has to, because she knows it’s the best for Chiharu, but she lets herself stay close, joined, just for a little bit. Just for a little bit to make up for the time they’ll miss.

As they part, Shizuka composes herself, shaking her tears off, and hugging the scarf to her neck, it’s not easy. It might be the hardest thing she’ll ever do in her life, but she has to do it, she has to see Chiharu off.

But difficult it may be, she knows that it’ll all be okay, and reflecting Chiharu’s warm shine, Shizuka gives her the kindest smile, the same smile Chiharu has seen time and time again directed at her. The same smile that’ll be directed to her when they reunite.