((Loss))://deadstate

Dozens of Arcans had encircled the ArcanTech facility in the days that followed. All of them attempted various incantations and spellworks to cut through Miu’s barriers, but it was to no avail. No matter how much they spoke, or how many rounds of bombings and shellings the military carried out, the fortress of desperation held. Little did the attackers know that every attack only further whittled away at Miu and Yuki’s mental well-being.

Even Taki and Emi were beginning to strain under the faint booms of constant bombardment. To their credit, they had not abandoned Miu after the massacre. Truly, Taki was starting to lose his resolve in his current employment situation. They did not know how much the military was involved in the G.A.K.I. initiative’s sinister origin, but none of them had any belief that the leaders weren’t aware of the wickedness that was powering these automatons.

Beyond that, seeing Yuki’s mutilated human remains every day was a stark reminder that it was manmade weaponry that had ripped his body to pieces. All of these things were compiling in Taki’s mind, draining his dedication. So he stayed AWOL. Emi herself had also abandoned her nursing responsibilities and was now solely focused on helping Yuki unshackle as many souls as possible.

It was slow, deliberate work. Even if Miu couldn’t change the crystals of the beds, the crystals implanted in Yuki’s fingers allowed him to tap into the memory files and soul-loops. Just as Miu and Yuki had done for his own mind, the two of them would hack into the incantation code of the beds and slowly unravel the security systems until the hostage’s mind was freed within its G.A.K.I. unit. Then, Yuki would communicate with them via the internal base systems.

One by one, they were freed. The wear on Miu and Yuki was noticeable. Every day, Miu’s cheeks sank deeper and the whites of her eyes faded. Shakes became constant for Yuki. Ratings dropped. Vanishing decimals told them that his integrity was fading with every liberation, but he didn’t want to stop.

The plan was for Miu to find them and bring them to the facility to say goodbye to their bodies. But first, they were unleashed on the world. Rogue machines without code restraints began wandering the streets and alleys of the major cities, inflicting vengeance on every worker associated with ArcanTech, every politician that upheld their suffering, and every soldier that dared to stand in their way.

Weeks became months. Summer’s heat overtook the world. Aside from occasionally escaping for pregnancy appointments with a friendly doctor that wouldn’t report them, Taki and Emi remained. As Yuki and Miu worked, Emi made sure every bed stayed stable and life support systems were active. Taki kept tabs on the outside. Leaving the facility would reveal an ever-escalating environment, where more and more world powers descended on them to try and break Miu’s barriers.

Through it all, her wrath scaled.

Every night the two of them would briefly depart and lay waste to some government’s hideout or military base. Fire spread across the world as Miu’s hate grew in indignation towards the entirety of the global systems that had led to this moment. Occasionally, Taki and Emi would awaken in the dark at the sound of their return, and catch glimpses of the two broken companions drenched in blood, slumped in exhaustion, and crying as they clung to one another.

With every attack on a new sovereign entity, more military forces arrived. By now, the facility was surrounded by death on all sides, but they stayed safe.

By the time they reached the end of the unshackling efforts, a new villainy announced itself in the heavens. Just as Yuki was preparing to speak with one of four remaining souls that was trapped in the incantation lexicons, an unsettling trumpet-like sound horned out across the world.

It didn’t seem to come from any sort of source; it was merely a vast, unending call. There was no build. As soon as it began, the force was fully articulated and unending. Emi screamed as it shook the walls.

“What is that?!” Taki shouted as he rushed to his wife.

The four of them ran outside to find answers. As soon as the door opened, they were given clarity. Gone were the pink clouds and hazy sunlight. Now, all of the heavens were bound in glowing, rotating hexes. Every glyph and symbol was the size of a prefecture, spanning across the horizon as it met a sacred sibling.

Each one of them was draining out some manner of oozing lettering. Millions of radiant letters spiraled down towards the world below. Their purpose was unclear and unseen, but the four companions felt a pull of fear gnaw at their stomachs as they watched the magic unfold.

“I don’t like this…” Emi whispered.

“Miiiiiuuuuuuu…. happppppenining… what?” Yuki asked.

“I don’t know,” Miu frowned.

Their answer came the next time Taki and Emi snuck to their doctor and caught glimpses of the real world. Out in the human realm, every soul was now walking with a rotating halo of light around their head. Blankened eyes revealed a hypnotized stupor. Drooling mouths uttered two words again and again:

“Acolyte. G.A.K.I.”

That was all that was said now as the world continued on. Comatose souls drifted through portals to go to office buildings and restaurants. Daily life maintained its flow, even as the perversion of existence spat in its face. Slack-jawed citizens were nothing more than drones for the powers that be, now intent on destroying the only ones they couldn’t touch.

“They’re using everyone to try and get to you,” Taki admitted upon returning in tears.

Their doctor had also been seized by the spellworks, and the two had barely escaped without notice.

“It’s awful. It’s so awful. Everyone’s like that,” Emi sighed as she held her stomach.

“B-B-B-Because ussssss?” Yuki asked.

Taki nodded.

“I think so. I think it’s a ransom trick. They may be hoping this breaks your resolve, and you finally surrender…”

Miu closed her eyes and shook her head.

“If they’re willing to do this already, would they even undo it if I’m dead?’

No one answered. Miu’s hands fell to her side.

“They’d rather enslave the minds of the entire world to get to me instead of trying to change things for the better. I hate all of this. So very much,” she sighed.

In her heart, she knew The End was approaching. There was only so much more that she could take, and she feared what else those in control would unleash with the Arcans’ help.

“Why are they doing this?” Emi asked as she wiped her eyes.

“Is control really so important that they’d reduce all of us to facades of ourselves while they kept their livelihood?’

“What do they even want?!” Taki sighed in desperation as he looked at the nearest bed.

Another tenth of a percent dropped from Yuki’s Manu-Crystal integrity rating as he tried to reach out and comfort Taki.

“MMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm soooooooooorrrrrrrryyyyyy Taaaaaaaaakiiiiii,” Yuki churned.

Taki’s question was the same one Miu had asked for so long. Why did any of this happen? Why were the Arcans here? What did those in control want with any of this? How far were they willing to go to achieve it? Hydrogen bombs, human experimentation, and mass subjugation were already proven methods. Whatever else remained would be nothing but pure wickedness.

Miu inhaled and exhaled through her nose as she felt her fraying body’s complaints. Time was running out. The inferno was growing.

“Taki, Emi, I- I think we are almost done. I think everything is almost done. You can leave after the last G.A.K.I. is unshackled if you want. I can handle the recovery of all of them in the coming days.”

There was a heavy finality to her words that unsettled the husband and wife.

“What do you mean, Miu?” Taki asked.

“You can both return to your home. Try to stay hidden. Or you can stay here. But I think that once I start finding the other G.A.K.I., it will be the beginning of the end. Once they are all here, my promise to Yuki is complete, and I will start…”

Shakes pulled her shoulders inward as she accepted the monster she was about to become. Yuki’s mind and body only had a slight window of functionality left. She herself was fading. The powers of the world were likely set to unleash unprecedented cruelty to deal with her. Everything had led them to this.

“What are you going to do, Miu?’ Emi asked.

As Miu's eye began to ignite, the two humans feared her answer.