Second Death

The only thing I recognize about Tsuki is her dress.

That... thing had disfigured her to the point that she no longer resembled the beautiful, albeit stern woman who welcomed me to the mansion. She was a mass of flesh and nerves, and it was now clear that there was nothing I could do for her. The only reason I decided to come back was to not give in to my misfortune and save one of the few friends I had made in this world. I was stupid to believe that someone like me could make a difference, and now I find myself here, in the belly of the beast, and all I can do is watch the horrifying end they have brought upon Tsuki.

Perhaps if I had pulled her out of the corruption, it would have been revealed that those nerves weren't hers, maybe they were tentacles holding her down. But even if that were the case, I couldn't move a muscle. Everything in my body told me not to set foot on the infested flesh, all my energy was focused on a single goal: to stop shaking.

But my bones won't listen to me, my teeth won't listen to me, I'll end up breaking them all. And then who knows what a mess it will be, are there dentists in this world?

The sound of battle a few steps away from me immediately brings me back to reality, I am not even allowed to isolate myself in my thoughts. Perhaps this world is even more cruel than mine. Or rather, it is cruel in a more direct way. It suffocates you by putting its hands around your throat, not by poisoning the air you breathe.

I can't do anything.

I can only watch Lionheart fight and hope he emerges victorious.

I won't save any lives on this stupid rescue mission. All I can gain is my own survival, and even that doesn't depend on me. As the battle between the statue and the knight continues, my rescuer seems to be in increasing difficulty.

It was only a matter of time.

He would lose.

And I still can't do anything. Slowly, I see Lionheart surrounded by a web of flesh, growing denser and denser, until I can no longer even watch his last moments of life.

“Useless even in this...”

The thoughts usually confined to my brain come out of my mouth. I mean every single word, but I usually keep it all inside. No one cares to hear someone else's complaints. Yet, I got a response.

“Wouldn't you like to be more useful?”

A familiar voice. Finally, my body allows me to move. I turn around and see Tama. I throw myself on her small body and hug her. It's useless, but it's what I wanted to do. At least in these last moments before the Fateless kills us, I want to live without my self-imposed limitations.

“So Kaede, would you like to be more useful than this?”

“Yes... but how? I can't do anything!”

“Would you like to have powers to help Lionheart?”

“Of course!”

Tama can give me powers? Why didn't she ever mention this before!? A glimmer of optimism grows in me, but we must hurry, I don't think there's much time left to save him...

“Then there's only one thing to do!”

“Huh?”

I feel myself falling backwards after a hand pushes me from the chest. The fox girl's face moves away, I perceive everything in slow motion but I understand what's happening. She pushed me, and behind me there is nothing but corruption.

“Ta...”

A sharp pain pierces my back. Dozens of spikes of flesh pierce my skin, attaching themselves to my nerves like suction cups. I feel my muscles detaching from me, things that should be inside my body coming out of my back, not out. My eyes burn; I can't keep them open because of the pain. Enduring this is not normal, no, it's not human, it's not possible that our bodies were designed to feel this pain.

“Now my role is over. I've done everything I could to get to this moment. Don't disappoint me, Kaede.”

I can see Tama walking away, opening the door I struggled so hard to get through without any difficulty. Nothing happens to her. I don't understand anything anymore, I just want it to end. I don't want anything anymore except to stop suffering.

Is this my punishment?

Am I finally paying the price for wasting my previous life?

Did Arthesya just bring me here to torture me?

I hear glass breaking. I can't turn my head to see what's happening, but it doesn't matter anyway. I just need to distract myself while I wait to die.

“[ECHOES] Stop.”

The voice is familiar, but I can't remember exactly who it belongs to.

“[TRAVELER] You've arrived. Now everything is in its right place.”

“This is your last scheme. You won't get out of here alive.”

“Oh, are you sure you want to focus on me? If you don't stay here, everyone in the city will die.”

That dialogue is a good distraction.

It allows me to reach the fateful moment more quickly.

The light disappears from my eyes. I can no longer see anything.

The pain finally ceases.

I'm free.

But I've failed.

*

“What have you done this time, [ECHOES]?”

“Oh, with that tone, it always sounds like I'm doing something wrong.”

“You're not doing anyone around you any good, that's for sure.”

“Trust me, without me, she would have died as soon as she arrived... but the point is very simple. She's like us, and you know what happens when we die a second time, right?”

[TRAVELER] looks at the girl not far away, now it's too late to save her. He didn't know the powers of the statue-like Fateless, but just looking at the bodies of her victims was enough to understand the brutal method with which she killed them. And he had arrived too late, even using his power, he couldn't have prevented the girl's death.

“You wanted to create a new Fateless...”

“No, I want to create the Fateless who can destroy the first chain. And you know how I am, I can only trigger the chain reaction, then it's up to people to do their part. But I have high expectations for her. That said, my predictions are rarely wrong, but if I'm wrong here, I'll lose my ears! Good luck!”

The fox girl started to walk out the door, [TRAVELER] ran after her, but after a couple of steps, he began to feel a strange energy. The heat in the room was rising.

He turned around.

The new Fateless was being reborn.

“Like me... she's releasing her power unconsciously as she comes back to life.”

I can prevent her from being reborn, lock her in perpetual stasis...

It would work. The power of entropic death was capable of freezing the girl and blocking her rebirth whenever [TRAVELER] wanted. Yet, he hesitated.

And the temperature rose again.

“This power... is it the opposite of mine?”

He took a step toward the stranger.

“I understand why you needed me here [ECHOES]... that's why you've allowed yourself to be followed all the way to this city. I never learn."