… Nothing.
No sound, no light.
Only an endless void in every direction.
Absence.
I don't even know where up is anymore. It seems impossible to make sense of anything.
Am I dead?
I dismissed the thought. The dead don't think.
At least, that's what I believe.
I remember.
I was sealed. The place is irrelevant.
Time has passed. I am certain of that. But I'm not sure about how long. That is, if "long" can even describe it.
My consciousness… seems to be fading.
Before, I would only black out every now and then, waking up to the nothingness again.
But now… It's the opposite.
I am mostly unconscious, only sometimes having a flicker of consciousness. Like a thought struggling not to vanish.
A fleeting sensation.
Just like now.
How long will it be until even that disappears?
It would be easy.
Peaceful even.
Merciful.
Kind.
There's not much I can do when I can't even feel my own body.
I am starting to forget who I am.
Perhaps this is how it should end.
'I just wished that we could both lead our lives as we wanted, without all this conflict that for us here feels completely senseless, pointing blades at old friends.'
The memory surfaces without warning.
Maybe… That was impossible from the start.
This world was never designed for such wishes.
…
A blinding light seeped through the void.
Huh?
I stayed in place for quite some time.
Should I move? Can I move?
It was there.
A single crack.
Something different, for the first time in an eternity.
I tried to reach it, but couldn't feel my arm.
I'm too weak right now.
It's as if I am submerged in something heavy, unable to move the way I want to.
Like a drowning person trying to resurface.
It takes time, but I can finally reach it.
Slowly, my arm appears.
But if feels unfamiliar.
Almost as if it's not mine.
CRACK
CRACK
CRACK
The fissure spreads across the darkness.
So I could do it after all.
The pitch-black cage crumbled right before my eyes, and a blindingly white light took its place.
For a moment, I want to close my eyes.
But I don't.
It took me a few seconds to grow accustomed to the brightness after so long. As my vision started to clear, I could finally make out my surroundings.
Cold air touched my skin. Real.
Voices followed. Shouting.
Chaotic.
Some people were frozen stiff. Others, trembling. But most were running around, quickly moving from one place to another. Some with a clear objective, others lost, just like me.
All between clear white walls and desks filled to the brim with unfamiliar objects.
This place feels wrong.
It's… strange. As if I am not supposed to be here.
Maybe it's not the place.
Looking down, I noticed black fragments all around.
The seal really had broken.
I still couldn't quite believe it.
The time I passed there almost felt… meaningless. Irrelevant.
As if it never mattered.
As if I never mattered.
"D–DON'T MOVE!"
I turned to the direction of the sound.
Not just me. Everyone looks.
It was a person wearing the same clothes as every other individual in the room.
Some kind of uniform?
The only thing that made me be able to differentiate him from the others was his shining bald head.
"Don't move!" he repeated, in a slightly lower tone, trembling.
He pointed a strange metallic object, holding it with both hands.
Many others then did the same, encircling me.
What is that?
Even without knowing that, I knew I had to be careful.
I sharpen my senses.
It is difficult. As if there is a dense fog in my mind. Something that almost disconnects me from my body.
I took one step forward.
The bald man's arms were thrown back, and he fell due to the unstable stance he was in. He has never trained before.
Simultaneously, I heard a loud noise.
BANG!
The feeling is familiar, even after so long. Danger.
Without thinking, I moved sideways.
A high-speed projectile passed right where my head had been a moment earlier.
Fast. I thought.
This was the kind of speed you only saw in true masters, forged in thousands of battles. And someone so frail did it.
But worse, I didn't think fast enough.
Silence fills the room, almost unbearably so.
And then, it fell into even deeper chaos.
People stopped what they were doing to run. To flee, desperate.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
I unsheathed my sword and slashed.
But the projectiles didn't stop.
My body was slow. Heavy. Unresponsive.
I missed.
My movements were sluggish.
Far too sluggish.
I tried to dodge, but it was too late.
I barely had time to think before I felt a sharp pain in left arm.
One of the attacks hit me.
I checked the wound. It was superficial. I was only barely hit.
It should have reassured me.
But it didn't.
This shouldn't have happened.
I failed.
BANG!
Another projectile grazed my shoulder.
I moved behind some desks for desks for coverage, as shots fly through the air.
I tried steadying my breathing. The pain spread slowly. Not unbearable.
I was currently too weak.
I opened a compartment in my belt and started bandaging the wound in my arm.
Maybe I can just stay here for now.
And just… stop.
A shot pierced the desk and landed beside me.
The thought disappeared.
Quietly.
As if it never existed.
I rolled across the floor, nearly missing the next barrage of projectiles.
But I didn't go as far as I intended.
I was now out in the open.
"KEEP FIRING!"
There seemed to be no escape. I could just give up.
I am weak now. It wouldn't be strange.
But my body refused to listen.
After so long without being able to, I tried tapping my own qi.
At first, I didn't feel anything.
Is this the end?
My mind had already accepted it.
Yet tried even harder to feel it.
I spent years training to achieve it. It cannot be gone.
Then—
I felt it.
A faint flicker. A shadow of what it once was.
But it was still there.
And that was enough.
I poured it on my legs and leapt across the room in an instant.
The woman shouting orders widens her eyes.
Too late.
My hand closed around her wrist, and I disarmed her with my sword, grabbing the strange weapon midair while simultaneously hitting her forehead with the hilt.
She collapsed.
No scream.
Even the sound of her body meeting the ground seemed dull.
I watched her for a while longer. As if hoping something would happen.
She was dead.
It felt… excessive.
The others looked at me strangely. Afraid.
"What the?!"
I stared at the new weapon in my hand. It felt heavy.
How do I even use this?
I try to imitate her movements.
BANG.
I completely missed and almost lost my balance.
But it made them hesitate.
I fired again.
This time, it hits. The man didn't die immediately.
He fell to the ground, in pain.
Screaming.
I looked away, dashing into another one's direction, and they flinched.
I cut his throat.
Precise.
Quick.
Clean.
Then, I tried shooting another one.
Click.
It didn't work. I threw it to their head instead, knocking them out.
They are not warriors.
They are just pretending to be.
My hands were shaking.
I wondered when they started doing that.
I gripped tighter on my sword and was finally able to steady it.
This never happened before.
I decided not to think about it.
This was necessary.
I repeat the thought.
That was also necessary.