Lucid carried someone impossibly heavy. The weight pressed down across his shoulders with relentless force, threatening to drive him into the ground with each step. He had supported Ayame toward the starlight carriages, where they exchanged final words with Arthur. The magistrate had waved goodbye from the threshold of her residence, her demeanor distant and closed off as always.
He looked down at the person he was supporting. Ayame. Her body had changed in ways he could not entirely explain. She could consume anything as long as it was meat, but gladly drinking alcohol was somehow ok. He started to feel bad for his oni companion, come to think of it, it has been a while since she feasted on his blood.
What was genuinely troubling was her weight.
He recalled carrying her through the Red Mountains when they were navigating harsh weather and the ever-present threat of the S-ranked Unfaithful lurking in the distance. Back then she had been heavy, certainly, but within parameters he could manage. This was different. This was equivalent to bench-pressing an entire structure. Even draping her arm across his shoulder threatened to compress him into the ground beneath them.
She seemed disconnected from her surroundings. Both moons were visible overhead as they walked along the shoreline. The twin celestial bodies cast overlapping light across the sand and water, creating shadows that shifted with each wave.
Lucid looked toward the ocean.
A ripple touched the water's edge and brushed against his ankle. He recoiled immediately, his body responding to contact with the element before his mind could process the reaction. By the time he recognized what had happened, he was already moving away from the tide.
'When did water become something I actively dislike?' he wondered, examining the sensation with clinical detachment.
It hadn't been an issue before. He had swum through rivers and crossed bodies of water without concern, especially inside that Zeta Rift. Now contact with water triggered something close to revulsion. His skin crawled. His breath shortened. His instinct screamed at him to move away from it immediately.
He examined Ayame's face as they continued walking. Her complexion was pale, yet she possessed a healthiness that was entirely new to her appearance. Ever since they had first met, she had carried something broken and desperate in her features. That was gone now, replaced by a softness he had never seen before.
She wore her dark robe, the fabric tied at her waist with his chain. The hem of the garment had begun to slip loose, pulling away from her shoulders slightly. The exposed skin was pale and soft, the gentle curve of her shoulder and collarbone visible in the moonlight. Her chest rose and fell with each breath she took.
Lucid found himself looking. He couldn't help it. His eyes traced the line of her shoulder, the delicate structure of her neck, the way her breathing moved the fabric.
Alice's voice emerged in his mind with sharp amusement. "You are an absolute pervert, Lucid."
"Oh, would you look at that," he replied with deliberate sarcasm. "The divine maiden has learned a new vocabulary word. I am so incredibly proud of you."
"Real proud for you," Alice shot back, her tone dripping with mockery. She chuckled, the sound carrying something between genuine amusement and malicious satisfaction.
The starlight carriage came into view in the distance. Lucid wanted to discuss several matters with Alice, but there would be time for that later. Conversations with the consciousness inhabiting his body could occur whenever he chose to close his eyes and redirect his attention inward.
He closed his eyes for a moment, trusting his body to navigate the familiar terrain without visual input.
"Is there something..." Alice's voice sounded uncertain, which was unusual enough to make him open his eyes immediately.
She had been reading his mind with increasing frequency lately, something that was completely new and foreign. It was clear they had drawn a line that no individual should interfere with another's consciousness. Yet she had taken the liberty to breach that boundary repeatedly.
Was it because he had confessed his lustful feelings toward her? Because he had acknowledged desire in her presence, had that removed all boundaries between them?
"Alice, I don't—" he began, but his foot caught on something protruding from the sand.
He caught himself before falling completely, stumbling forward and regaining his balance. When he looked around, he realized what had tripped him.
Scattered bodies lay across the beach, dressed in purple robes, their forms arranged as if they had been dropped carelessly into the sand. They weren't breathing. They weren't moving. They were simply there, evidence of something violent that had occurred in their absence.
Lucid made his way closer, Ayame's weight still pressing down across his shoulders. He examined the bodies more carefully.
Among the scattered corpses, he could see what appeared to be a massive pile of purple flesh and bone, as if something had consolidated several bodies into a single grotesque mass. The sight was nauseating.
"I can sense a concentration of fate essence," Alice observed, her voice steady again though carrying an edge of confusion. "But it is wrong. Distorted in a way that suggests—"
"Corrosive fate essence," Lucid finished, understanding what she was perceiving. The essence that rotted and corrupted, that transformed living things into twisted abominations.
Alice had been in darkness regarding many things since she had gone silent during the rift collapse. Her awareness had been fragmented. Her memories had been scattered. Now, as she was slowly recovering her full consciousness, she was discovering gaps in her knowledge.
"What is this?" she started to ask, but couldn't finish the sentence.
Lucid lowered Ayame carefully onto a patch of sand that seemed relatively free of corpses. She settled without resistance, her body limp and unresponsive. He stood and examined the scene more carefully, trying to understand what had occurred.
The bodies all wore identical purple robes, suggesting they belonged to the same organization. The Luminari Covenant, perhaps. Or one of their affiliated orders. The corrosive fate essence suggested they had been exposed to something far more dangerous than standard combat.
"These are not fresh," Lucid observed aloud. "The bodies have been decomposing for several days at minimum. The corrosive essence is still active but dissipating."
"Meaning what?" Alice asked, her uncertainty making her question sound almost vulnerable.
"Meaning something killed them here and left their bodies to rot. Meaning whatever did this was confident enough to not bother concealing evidence. Meaning we are dealing with something operating at a level where normal opposition is beneath consideration."
Lucid turned in a slow circle, examining the broader area. There were no signs of struggle beyond the bodies themselves. No disturbed sand. No blood trails. It was as if whatever had occurred had been quick and efficient and completely one-sided.
"Is Ayame in danger?" Alice asked, her protective instinct surfacing despite her uncertainty.
"Not from whatever this is, she is just drunk." Lucid replied.
He looked back at Ayame, who remained unconscious or unresponsive on by his shoulder. Her breathing was steady. Her pulse was strong. Whatever was causing her increased weight and lethargy, it didn't seem immediately life-threatening.
"We need to move," Lucid decided. "Whatever this was, I do not want to be here when it returns to check on its work."
The smell of corrosive fate essence in action.
Alice's consciousness shrank inward, withdrawing from her exploratory reading of his thoughts. She seemed to be processing information, consolidating knowledge that had been scattered through the rift event.
"Lucid," she spoke quietly, her formality returning. "We should reach the carriage before darkness falls completely. There is something you need to understand about what is occurring with Ayame, but I require more clarity regarding the situation before I can explain it properly."
"Then explain it while we walk," Lucid replied, moving toward the distant lights of the carriage with Ayame's weight pressing down across his shoulders.
He did not look back at the bodies. He did not examine the pile of consolidated flesh and bone more closely. He simply moved forward, aware that whatever had occurred on this beach was evidence of power operating at levels that normal warfare could not touch.
The starlight carriage waited in the distance, its lanterns burning softly against the gathering darkness. Arthur would be there, probably with fresh drinks and a patient expression. They would climb aboard. They would continue moving. And eventually, Lucid would gain enough clarity to understand what was happening to Ayame and why her physical form had begun to exceed the boundaries of normal existence.
For now, he simply carried her forward, aware of Alice's presence within his mind.