A Sparkle in the Endless Darkness

In a completely white world where it was not even possible to determine where the ground was, Ayumu continued walking without ever looking back. He knew that Akemi had disappeared along with everything else, but he had chosen to believe her.

With each step, memories he had lost came back to his mind. Memories of that endless second year and his own past.

After walking for a while, a girl appeared in Ayumu's field of vision, but he didn't speed up his steps. Calmly, he went to that person, the girl who always appeared in his dreams, and stopped in front of her.

“How many decades has it been since our last meeting, Ayumu?”

"But... we met... now... just now…"

Ayumu's voice was weak and it was like he was having trouble talking.

“That was just a trace of me.”

“A… trace…?”

"That’s right. But let's leave that for later! Tell me, how was your second year of high school? Did you join any clubs? Did you make friends? Maybe you even got yourself a girlfriend! Come on, tell me, how was it?”

Ayumu took a deep breath, but when he started to talk his voice was still weak, as if he was holding back from crying.

“In the beginning it was… difficult. I couldn't do anything no matter how much I wanted to change. I failed countless times… But in the end… I did it. I even wanted to introduce you to my friends Ryou and Takashi. Ryou makes some… stupid jokes every now and then but he's a great friend. But they aren’t… my only friends. I went to parties and festivals with my other classmates. The summer festival in particular was unforgettable… I wish you could have seen the fireworks with us too... And I've joined a lot of different clubs, now I can even use a sword… … … I haven't found a girlfriend… But there's a girl I like a lot… I even told her how I feel… But she couldn't answer yet… She said she is waiting for me… So… Well… How should I…"

“So, did you manage to find happiness?”

Ayumu opened his mouth and no sound came out. After a brief moment, he tried again.

“Yes… I managed to be happy… Very happy… All thanks to you… But… But… I… I… I forgot about you… My sister!”

He couldn't hold back any longer and began to cry.

“I had all those happy moments and I never thought about you! How… could I… forget about you?!”

That huge empty house and the weird photo that should have one more person in it. Someone had disappeared.

“Where did the money come from? And the food in the fridge? I forgot about our uncle and you… I forgot about everyone and went to be happy alone!”

“This is not your fault, brother. It was my wish that made you forget.”

"But sister…"

The tears didn't stop.

“You wished for my happiness, but you also deserved to be happy! After our parents died, I acted like I was the most unfortunate person in the world and I caused you a lot of pain! You kept giving your all to move on and I just gave up and cursed everything around me! I made you suffer for years without knowing anything! No, I knew… I saw you crying several times alone, but I ignored it and went on with my pathetic life. And when I finally accepted your help and tried to change, I couldn't do anything… My first year was a failure! I was a bad brother… And yet, in the end... you wished for my happiness… But you deserved to find your happiness too!”

The girl watched Ayumu crying for a moment before saying anything.

“Brother, you’re wrong about one thing.”

“Huh?”

“I have found my happiness. After all, my happiness is right in front of me.”

"Sister... You…"

“How could I call myself a sister if I had just abandoned my little brother? If I managed to find a light, it was my duty to help you find it too. Everything I did was my choice and I don't regret anything. Until the last moment, the only thing that pained me was the fact that I couldn't make you smile again. So I made that wish. From the bottom of my heart, I wished for my precious brother to find some happiness before the end. Because my family… was what made me happy.”

"Sister…"

Ayumu was no longer crying, although his eyes were still filled with tears.

“And I'm the one who has to apologize to you. My selfish wish made you suffer a lot. You had to relive your second year over and over, like an eternal torture. And even when you finally managed to change yourself, the world reached its last day and forced you to start all over again. I trapped you like a bird in a cage and even caused your death countless times. Please forgive me."

“Don't ask for forgiveness. It was thanks to you that I got here. I'm really grateful for everything you've done for me!”

That white world began to darken. Ayumu noticed that and looked around him, seeing a shadow that was consuming everything.

“Our time is up, brother. So let me say one last thing.”

Ayumu looked into her eyes.

“As you may already know, that world, that dream, was the last miracle granted by God. Now it's inside you.”

"That’s right. I am the heir of the last miracle.”

“And with that I can no longer protect you. So you have to be prepared for what comes next.”

“The infinite darkness?”

She nodded.

“Brother, promise me that no matter what you find when you wake up, you won’t be consumed by despair. Please promise me that!”

"I promise. And I won't be alone either. Together with Akemi, I can face anything!”

“Akemi? Is that the name of the girl who is special to you?”

She gave a small laugh.

“For some reason, I'm jealous of this girl. Take good care of her, brother.”

“That's what I intend to do.”

“So, it's time to say goodbye. When you…"

Tears started running down the girl's face.

“Huh? Why? I had sworn to myself that... I wouldn't cry... I want to say goodbye to you with a smile on my face...”

She desperately trying to dry the tears that wouldn't stop. And then, Ayumu hugged her.

“Thank you so much for everything, Hikari, my dear sister.”

Hearing that, she couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

“I… I don't want to leave you, Ayumu! Why now that you've found your happiness I have to stay behind? Why did that happen? Why… did I have to die?”

Ayumu started to cry again and slowly, the two disappeared into the darkness.

When Ayumu opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the middle of a completely destroyed city. It was still morning, but the sky was covered with clouds so dark the sunlight could barely illuminate the world.

"Where am I?"

There was nothing there. Anyone who had ever lived in that city had been long gone.

“Ayumu!”

He turned around and saw a girl running towards him.

“Akemi! You’re okay!"

"I said you could trust me."

She said after stopping beside him.

“Akemi, what happened here? Why is everything destroyed?”

“This is… the real world. You have been for years and years living in something like a dream, protected by a divine miracle.”

“The real world? That means…!"

She nodded.

“Humanity has been annihilated. This is the end result of the choices made by the human beings.”

“Annihilated…?”

That would be hard to believe if there wasn't the purest destruction around them.

“Is that why what awaited me was despair?”

"That’s right. Because of human actions, everything was destroyed and God forsaken this world along with the angels, leaving only that last miracle behind. And without God's presence, the demons were free to come into the world of men and consume anyone who was still alive. Ayumu, maybe you’re the only person still alive in this world.”

“God has forsaken us?”

After some thought, Ayumu finally understood something.

"Akemi... If I'm the only person alive, then you…"

"That's right! That girl has been fooling you this whole time!”

A little far away from the two was the girl who until some moments ago was sleeping at Ayumu's house.

"You woke up!"

Ayumu said in surprise. Akemi stayed silent, staring at that other girl with disgust written all over her face.

“I screwed up and let that stupid guardian hit my very existence. It would have been better to die, come back here and wait for the next loop. Well, at least you finally got out of that world and we can finally interact!”

“What did you want to say to me so badly?”

“Oh? I only wanted to reveal that you were trapped in a fake world. Your wishes had the power to change that world and if you knew it was all fake, I expected you to destroy everything and come here.”

“That's why the guardian always attacked you. She wanted to keep me in that place to protect me from you!”

"That's right!"

A pair of wings that looked like those of a bat appeared on that girl's back. Then a pair of horns appeared on her head.

“After wandering around this world for so long I found a human still alive! But you had that stupid holy power preventing anyone from touching you. But I'm not a lesser demon like those scum that tried to consume you before me and were destroyed! I was able to get close to you, so patiently, I studied that fake world, learned its rules, and slowly began to influence it. I turned that disgusting angel into a demon so you would see it as an enemy!”

"And I wanted to save a schemer like you!"

She laughed.

“It was a lot of work! You didn't understand that you had the ability to change that world with your willpower and I couldn't say anything! And your misinterpretations of everything fueled your imagination which then affected the world around you!”

“Did my imagination affect the world?”

Wait, you mean that Darkness was an enemy created by my head?

“Well, at least it's finally over! Now, before we go any further, I want to see you be consumed by despair!”

She pointed at Akemi who continued to stare at her with disgust.

"It’s time! Reveal your true form! After all, we’re sisters!”

The girl started to laugh as Ayumu turned to Akemi. He was apprehensive, waiting for a reaction from her.

Akemi bit her lip and then, a pair of wings appeared on her back.

“You were used, Ayumu! This girl is a… Huh?”

Something was very wrong. Akemi's wings were different from that girl's wings. Hers were like a bird's, with feathers as dark as the night.

"This can’t be true…"

The demon girl couldn't believe what she saw.

“Akemi...”

Ayumu was surprised too.

"We’re sisters? Don't make me laugh, scum."

As she said that, a broken halo appeared over her head.

“A fallen angel? This is impossible! It's been decades since God and the angels disappeared! Any angel who fell that time should’ve already transformed into a demon!”

That girl's voice was filled with despair.

“A fallen angel? Don't underestimate me, scum! I’m an archangel!”

Akemi spread her wings imposingly.

“An archangel?! But… But that doesn't matter! If you fell, you're just as bad as I am! And how do you still keep those wings?! How have you not transformed yet?!”

“Stop insulting me! Do you want to know why I fell? I fell because I loved the human beings too much! Our creator didn't want to intervene in the human world, but I wanted to save them anyway and because I tried to do that, I was punished."

“Impossible… You fell because of love…?”

The demon girl took a few steps back, as if she wanted to get away from there.

“What is your real name, archangel?!”

“My real name doesn't matter anymore. Now I am Akemi.”

“Ah, forget it! It doesn't matter if you're an angel or not! You fell! You should no longer be able to use the light! And as a pure demon, I am much stronger than you! And that boy is useless outside of that world! So, it's time for me to take my prize!”

Akemi turned to Ayumu and took his right hand.

“Ayumu, I'm sorry for hiding this from you.”

He looked into her eyes and then shook his head.

“It's not your fault, after all the guardian would attack you, right? And I know you really wanted to help me!”

“Ayumu!”

She said smiling with joy.

“Are you two done talking? Because now it's time to kill an angel.”

“Ayumu, you are not helpless outside of that world. After all, you received a gift, didn't you?”

He thought for a moment and remembered what he had received.

"Yes! Let's fight!"

The divine sword appeared in Ayumu's right hand that Akemi was still holding.

“What is that sword?!”

The demon girl who was approaching stopped at the sight of that.

“Ayumu, together we can awaken this sword in this world. Raise it!”

"Sure!"

He raised the sword above his head. Unable to keep up with him because of the height difference, Akemi released his hand and raised her left arm.

“Wait, that sword…!”

The demon finally realized what it was.

“Ayumu, imagine the sword on fire and you releasing those flames with one attack.”

"Okay!"

Ayumu started creating that scene in his mind.

“O flaming sword, gift from Uriel! Answer to my divine will and fight for your new master!”

The sword was enveloped by fire, answering Akemi's call.

“An archangel's sword! Why is that sword here?! I have to run away!”

The demon girl turned her back on the two of them and started to run. She was so scared that she even forgot she had wings.

“O holy flame, purify this world!”

Akemi yelled and lowered her arm. Synchronized with her, Ayumu brought down his sword releasing a jet of fire.

"No! No! No!!!"

The demon was swalloed by the fire and disappeared.

"Is it over?"

Ayumu asked.

"Yes. But destroying just one demon doesn’t mean much.”

Akemi made her wings and halo disappear. And Ayumu did the same with his sword.

Once again, Ayumu looked at the world around him.

“Akemi, what caused this destruction?”

“That is what you ask me first?”

She laughed.

"Forgive me, but when I escaped from the underworld, it was already like this."

Ayumu was lost in thoughts.

“Hey, Ayumu. If you're not going to ask… There's something I need to make clear to you.”

"I didn't ask because I know you didn't enter that world to cause me harm."

“Still, I want to explain everything. I've been hiding things from you for too long and I don't want to do that anymore."

"Okay. I’m listening you."

He was smiling.

“When I found you, I saw that demon trying to interfere with the miracle and I couldn't let that happen. So after observing a bit to understand at least a small part of the situation, I entered that world to tell you the truth. I wanted you to understand what was happening so that if you wanted to continue in that world, you wouldn't be influenced by demonic interference. But the guardian didn't allow it and I couldn't do anything. So I decided to fulfill that wish and make you happy.”

The two stayed silent for a few moments and Akemi's face turned red.

“And I also wanted to thank you for saving me before I entered that world… And for saying that you love me.”

“Did I save you?”

"That’s right! When I arrived in this destroyed world, I was consumed by despair, after all everything I had done had been in vain. And because of that, the darkness began to overwhelm me. If my broken halo wasn't enough, I lost my golden hair, my eyes turned red and my wings darkened. I was about to turn into a demon when I felt a holy power nearby. And then, I found you. There was still someone alive! Someone who might still need a failure like me! Ayumu, you are my light!”

She smiled. A smile so beautiful that it made Ayumu's heart race.

“Ayumu, normally I wouldn’t be able to asnwer to your feelings. But now that I am an abandoned child, I can be honest with my heart.”

She took a deep breath.

"I love you! I want to be with you!”

"That’s my wish. Let's stay together!"

The two hugged each other.

“Ayumu, what will you do now?”

She said in his ear and then released him.

“Akemi, is there any way we can save this world?”

“A way to save this world… Oh! There is something that could work, but...”

"But...?"

"Forget it! It's impossible! It would be too risky! And I don't even know if it would really work…"

“Too risky? Isn't trying to survive in this world dominated by darkness already risky enough?”

"But if you die this time, there's no going back."

"If there's a chance, I want to try it."

"Knowing you, I won’t be able to convince you to give up…"

She sighed.

“First of all we have to find out what really brought humanity to its end. It’s easy to imagine that a war started and spread across the world.”

“Given the state of the buildings here, a war is plausible.”

“Knowing the cause, we have to find a way back to Heaven. There we’ll find the throne of God vacant.”

“The throne of God...? And what will do with it?"

“Well, are you willing to make me a goddess?"

Ayumu stared at her for a moment and then started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"It’s nothing. Forget it. But… Akemi as a goddess? I can't wait to see this!”

A big smile appeared on his face.

“Come on, Akemi! Our journey begins now!”

“Huh? Sure!"

The two started to walk in that destroyed world.

“We’ll need the power of your miracle to accomplish that!”

“Well, first we have to find something to eat. Wait, an angel like you needs food?”

In that world consumed by darkness, a small light of hope shone.