Parallel Lines

“Checkmate”

“Not so easy, kid! Checkmate!” the imp responded with a high-pitched and whimsical voice.

And take all the gold coins on the table. His skin color was black, with a very thin body, sharp ears, a long chin, long nose, long tail, and a horn similar to deer antlers.

The little girl was surprised by the move.

“HA!? How!?”

“I can’t believe an imp won against a Prophet of Death.”

A man commented on the game; his eyes were like rubies, and his hair was red. He wore a black beret in red-and-black Harajuku fashion.

“Shut up, Jei! I’m just holding back! Let’s play again!”

“If you didn’t sacrifice all your pawns in the beginning, you might be able to play differently.”

The imp responded with a condition.

“Oh my Reona, sure we can play again, but I don’t want your gold coins anymore. You can even make gold without an effort. We can play together on one condition.”

“Condition? What is it?”

“Give me a name.”

Reona just laughed at the imp.

“You want a name from me? hahahaha! Better ask Juriasu; might even turn you into a bady imp again. hahahaha!”

“Come on, having a name given by a Prophet of Death sounds powerful.”

She stops laughing

“If you want to become a human, it's better to ask Miyo then; you know she’s the Prophet of Birth. Having a name from me wouldn’t benefit you; only eternal soul imprisonment. Similar to having a contract with dragons and humans, but you’ll be my familiar.”

“Or ask Jei: having a name given by a Prophet of Evolution is powerful; he’s right here in front of us.”

“So let’s start a new game!”

Reona starts arranging the chessboard, setting the pieces.
The imp looks at Jei, and he shakes his head.
The imp sighs and closes its eyes.

“I just want to have a name so I can live longer as Reona. So Reona won’t be bored; sooner or later, an angel will take my life, or the Harbinger will do it. That’s why this imp wants a name from a Prophet of Death.”

Reona's jaw drops at what she hears, and she looks at Jei, but he looks away.
She points her finger at the imp and sighs.

“Imps are still demons trying to deceive my heart, huh!?”

“If my soul will be imprisoned in you, then I’m fine with it. This imp doesn’t want to leave the mansion without Reona.”

Reona put her hand on her face; she was stressed out.

“Demons… Mother flipper.”

---

A butler knocks on the door gently, even though it’s open.

Thump

Thump

A female angel in a butler outfit stood there.

“Masters, the research on Harbinger of the Equilibrium has an update. The Prophet of Cycle, Master Shiizaa, required an immediate meeting with all prophets.”

Jei stood up quickly, revealing his birthmark, similar to Reona's, a serpent on his right arm.

“Well, Better to go for now. I’m excited to see what kind of person the new Harbinger is.”

Reona stands up as she notices Jei is about to leave.

“Let’s play again later after the meeting.”

The imp smiles

“Sure! Reona, this imp will be waiting for you.”

The imp starts putting away the chessboard.

Reona didn’t leave immediately; she watched the imp from the entrance putting away all the pieces and placing them in the cabinet full of various board games.

He noticed Reona and smiled; his smile was scary, yet you felt his comfort.
“Oh! Reona, see you later. Make sure to bring a jar of honey and bread again.”

Reona nodded and left as the imp watched her walk away.

The imp sat and counted the gold he won.

“I have good enough gold…”

---

Reona panting while running on the long hallway and arrives in the imp's room again.

“O-Okay… Okay…”

“Oh! Reona, have you forgotten something?”

She gave her hand

“I’ll give you a name! Happy now!”

“Are you sure!?”

She nodded while panting.

“But as I said, this is like a soul bonding, and you’ll become my familiar. No prophets gave a name to entities.”

“So this is the first time in history.”

The imp took her hand.

“Are you sure about this, imp?”

“Are you worthy enough?”

The imp nodded

“Then I’ll give you a name, Jes, and now you are a part of Ouroboros, under the care of the Prophet of Death!”

The imp glows and starts to transform quickly.
The imp grows wings, his tail sharpens, and he grows taller.

“Now we share powers, and you are now invisible on the Eye of Order as you make yourself part of Ouroboros. You are still able to die, so don’t do anything unthinkable.”

“Yippee!” He jumps, clicks his toes together as he raises his hand, and his voice becomes deeper.

Jes merges his gold with a black diamond to make a necklace, turning the black diamond into a heart-shaped pendant. He wears it around Reona's neck.

“Here’s the price.”

And he points to the black heart.

“It was Jes's protection; and its heart.”

“What do you mean by heart?”

Jes points to his chest, then back to the pendant.

“Jes will not cause chaos; it offers protection.”

Reona sighs and is about to leave.

“I’ll go for now; I don’t want to be late for the meeting.”

He nodded and smiled.

“I’ll be here, waiting for you”

---

Reona arrived in the meeting room, and when she was about to open the door, someone was shouting.

“The Harbinger, what!?”

“Umi, calm down.”

Jei calmed the Prophet of Fate Umi and let himself hear his thoughts. His eyes were blue, and his hair was blonde; he wore an open blue aloha shirt that showed the serpent birthmark on his chest.

“When she brought back the dead, Ma’at itself was there and even offered a new vessel for a body, and it was a dog. That shouldn’t be counted, right? Because there has to be a reason.”

“But in the rule of Ouroboros, a dead shouldn’t be brought back but to be reborn again!”

Shiizaa raised his hands, and everyone got silent. His eyes were black, and his hair was a combination of black and white stripes. His right cheek had a birthmark of serpent scales while wearing business attire.

“Reona, have a seat. We're discussing the Harbinger’s current situation. Do you have any thoughts about bringing a dead back?”

Reona sat down and shared her thoughts.

“If Ma’at was there, there has to be a reason. Why she let it happen in the first place.”

Nao responded calmly.

“Reona was right; there has to be a reason.”

She was hiding her birthmark; a serpent was on her forehead, using her bangs, she had light purple eyes, she had white hair with violet on the ends, while her hairstyle was a shoulder-length bob cut and wearing a classic gothic dress, the Prophet of Memory.

Juriasu was standing near the female butler, taking a sip of coffee, and responded differently.

“Did Kaguya think carefully about who’s the next Harbinger? Bringing a dead person back is actually a disturbance to Ouroboros, and where’s Miyo!?”

His birthmark serpent was on his left leg; his eyes were amber, his hair grey, and he wore a yakuza jacket, the Prophet of Time.

Shiizaa replies.

“Well, let the student be a student. It’s okay; we are going to finalize our decision as Miyo arrives.”

---

Chitose slowly opened her eyes.

Noon sunlight slipped through the curtains.

For a moment, she stared at the ceiling.

“…”

She blinked.

Then she remembered.

The cemetery.

The blue moon.

Ma’at.

The Grimoire.

And—

Chitose slowly turned her head.

A large white dog was sleeping peacefully on the floor beside her bed.

“…”

Her eyes widened.

“Kazu-kun!”

The dog’s ears suddenly perked up.

“Awoof!?”

Kazuha jolted awake and looked around, confused.

Chitose sat up immediately.

“I thought it was just a dream!”

She quickly climbed out of bed and crouched beside him.

“You’re alive!”

Kazuha stared at her.

Then he gave a small growl.

“What’s with that face?”

Chitose laughed.

“I know, I know. You’re not exactly human right now.”

She gently scratched behind his ears.

“But you’re really here.”

Kazuha closed his eyes and leaned into her hand.

Chitose smiled.

“Good morning, I mean good afternoon, Kazu-kun.”

Kazuha’s tail slowly wagged.

Then—

Her phone began ringing.

Ring…

Ring…

Chitose looked toward the bedside table.

“Hmm?”

She reached for her phone.

The caller ID showed her father’s name.

“…Dad?”

She answered.

“Hello?”

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then her father’s voice came through.

“Chitose.”

“Are you okay?”

Chitose’s smile faded slightly.

“Yeah. Why?”

“I heard something this morning.”

“What?”

Her father hesitated.

“I don’t know how to tell you this.”

Chitose sat on the edge of the bed.

“What happened?”

“The cemetery contacted your mother.”

“…The cemetery?”

“Yes.”

Her father’s voice became quieter.

“They said Kazuha’s grave was disturbed.”

Chitose’s eyes widened.

“What?”

“The coffin was found open.”

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

“And…”

Her father paused.

“Kazuha’s body is gone.”

Chitose froze.

She slowly looked toward the white dog sitting beside her.

Kazuha looked back at her.

His ears lowered slightly.

Her father continued.

“The police are investigating.”

“They think someone may have broken into the cemetery.”

“And I think this could be linked to Kazuha’s death”

Chitose didn’t answer.

“Chitose?”

“I’m here.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

She swallowed.

“Yeah.”

Her eyes remained fixed on Kazuha.

“I’m just…”

She forced a small smile.

“…surprised.”

Her father sighed.

“I know you’re still grieving.”

“And I know yesterday was difficult for you.”

“Please don’t go anywhere alone, okay?”

“We’ll come over later.”

Chitose’s expression stiffened.

“Wait!”

“What?”

“You don’t have to come.”

“Chitose…”

“I’m fine.”

She glanced at Kazuha again.

“I just need some time.”

Her father remained silent for a moment.

“…Alright.”

“But promise me you’ll call if you need anything.”

“I promise.”

“Okay.”

The call ended.

Chitose slowly lowered the phone.

Silence filled the room.

She looked at Kazuha.

“…So they found out.”

“Why didn’t I fix it!?”

Kazuha tilted his head.

Chitose sighed.

“Your body disappeared from the cemetery.”

She paused.

“Technically…”

She looked him up and down.

“…it really did.”

Kazuha gave a quiet whuff.

Chitose couldn’t help laughing.

“Sorry.”

She reached down and rubbed his head.

“But I think we have a bigger problem.”

Kazuha stared at her.

“How am I supposed to explain to everyone that my dead husband came back as a large white dog?”

Kazuha’s tail wagged.

Chitose stared at him.

“…You’re not helping.”

He tilted his head.

“Don’t look so innocent.”

She stood up and stretched.

“I can’t tell; my dead husband came back as a large dog.”

She sighed as she thought carefully.

“First things first.”

She looked toward the Grimoire sitting on the table.

“It’s also a problem when people ask where you came from? We need to figure this out.”

Kazuha’s ears perked up.

“And I can’t just call you Kazuha or Kazu-kun.”

She thought carefully.

“Ken? Kahu? Zuha? Zuzu?”

Kazuha’s tail wagged.

“Zuzu!?”

Chitose smiled.

“Okay Zuzu! We’re going shopping today.”

She pointed at him.

“We’re buying your food first.”

Kazuha gave an excited bark.

Chitose laughed.

“Come on.”

“Let’s start our first day together.”

---

Chitose opened the apartment door and was about to leave with Kazuha
She looked at Kazuha.

“Do you remember when you said you wanted a canine and bought a leash for a canine?”

Chitose scratched her head awkwardly.

“Is it okay if I leash you? You’re a dog now.”

Kazuha growls

But he has no choice, so Chitose leashes him.
And starts walking outside.

---

“Zuzu, what do you think of your first time walking outside?”

Kazuha ignores her.

“It’s not good if I didn’t leash you.”

“Well, at least I found some stores that allow pets inside.”

Kazuha still ignores her.

“Okay… I’ll buy you a harness. I think you are going to be comfortable with that.”

His tail was wagging.

They arrived at the store, and the staff quickly approached them.

“I’m so sorry; your dog was very large, even larger than regular Golden Retrievers.”

“Can we still get Harness, Bowl, Dry kibble, Wet foods, and treats too?”

“Sure, I will assist you.”

Chitose told the staff about certain brands of kibble and wet foods she saw online for Akita Inu.
The staff went back to the shop and got everything she requested.
Chitose took her credit card out.

“Card payment, please.”

Beep

The staff bowed

“Thank you for buying from our shop. Please come again.”

She looked at the two sacks of dry kibble and wet food.

“I think we should get a car with this.”

She took her phone out and opened an app.

---

A cheerful high schooler quietly approached them.

“Woah! That’s a big Akita Inu! Can I pet it!?”

A high school girl with light blue eyes and a blue jellyfish haircut; even her eyebrows and eyelashes were light blue
Chitose was stunned by her appearance.

Wow! I want to make her my dress model.

“Sure you can pet him!”

The girl crouched down and gently pet Kazuha.

As a Prophet of Birth she feels weird as she pet him.

Why it feels so wrong? Something is wrong, I just can't put my finger on it. I feels so weird I can't identify it.

“What's his name!?”

“Ka- I mean Zuzu.”

“Woah… What a cute name.”

The girl stood up and introduced herself.

“Ohh! I’m so sorry for being informal”

She lowered her head.

“My name is Miyo!”

“Nice to meet you…?”

“Chitose!”

“Nice to meet you, Chi-nee.”

She lowered her posture and smiled, grinning at Chitose.
Miyo saw a sketchpad brand she recognized on her bag.

“Ohhh! You love to draw?”

"Oh! I forgot to leave this at my apartment. I’m a garment maker, and I also design dresses.”

“Oh my! I love dresses. A friend of mine loves gothic dresses; she even wears gothic dresses every day. I find her dresses not just cute, but so elegant. And I want to be a model; it’s my childhood dream after all.”

Chitose smiles as she takes the hint.

“Do you want to be my model?”

“Really!? I mean, sure! Let’s exchange contacts!”

Miyo quickly pulls out her phone to show a QR code.

“Here, scan it!”

Chitose scans it, and Miyo is about to leave.

“I’ll be leaving for now, Chi-nee. Don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you need me.”

Chitose nodded and waved her hand.

---

She looked at her phone and saw her name.

Miyo Sonohara, she’s so beautiful.

The car was about to arrive, and she crouched down.

“Kazu-kun! I have a model now. Her appearance was so stunning yet elegant. And when I saw her, my imagination burst with all kinds of possible dresses she could wear. She was something, Kazu-kun. We can pursue our childhood dreams together.”

The car arrived, and she took all the items they purchased and went back home.