Chapter Seventy-Eight: Planet Mukuro
Outer Space
With Morgan's consent.
Ashley exhaled a large mist of air, slowly lifting her gaze towards Mukuro.
I'll end this in one attack,
she thought.
Then, she gripped her fingers tightly, clenching them into a fist.
Immediately as she thought that, she braced herself mid-air, becoming a blur.
She shot towards Mukuro at insane speed, who positioned
"
Another wave of [Reiryoku Decompression] erupted, collapsing the space around Ashley.
No, it was around Mukuro too.
However, the [Decompression] didn't reach her at the epicenter.
Yet—
"Useless!"
That level of interference was not enough to stop Ashley herself.
Rather, it was Ashley herself who was in danger, since her Territory was being crushed.
Apparently,
That technique even affected Ashley's [Mana-enhanced] Territory to some extent—
But she didn't hesitate.
She closed the distance and drove her fist forward with everything she had.
"…how art thou—"
"Willpower, son!"
Mukuro stared wide-eyed at the blazing blue that suddenly appeared in front of her.
For a brief moment, she stared at the girl, so similar in stature to herself.
Then she blinked.
'Neinth—'
She reacted instantly, swinging her key toward Ashley.
But as she did…
The world seemed to slow down as Mukuro's perception increased.
She would strike first.
And if she did, she could lock Ashley's existence and cast her adrift forever.
That means…
"Muku's won!"
She thought that, however, something strange happened.
Ashley, who had already set in her stance, suddenly drove her fist forward.
It sparked blue, gold and green. Three different luminous.
Her attack hadn't even reached Mukuro, yet white began to flood her vision.
Her position reversed.
'...how!?'
She thought that through a haze as the world went blinding white.
Blur blur blur~♬
A lullaby-like sound echoed disturbingly in her mind.
It was irritating, yet her thoughts gradually stabilized as her clarity returned.
There, she met herself.
In a white void that stretched endlessly.
Looking down, she saw she was no longer wearing her constellation-themed
She was in casual wear.
Tight-fitting blue shirt and navy skirt. Her hair remained the same, and even worse.
Mukuro couldn't feel Reiryoku.
It was more like it had ceased.
"Aaa, don't bother to summon it, this is a different pathway... so naturally, you can't."
Behind her, a voice resounded.
Slowly, the figure walked past her before turning, leaning towards her.
"Mmph. So this is how you look, huh?"
After that, she pulled her head away, then casually placed her hand behind her head.
It was an action so casual that it brought an unfamiliar irritation in Mukuro's chest.
Where are all these emotions coming from?
They ought to be sealed.
"Exceptions… contradictions… this shouldn't be possible, and yet…"
"We already have someone who can go against it. That explains a lot."
As Ashley spoke,
Mukuro narrowed her eyes and took a cautious step back.
No wonder.. that would explain what happened back then.
But more concerning was…
"Thou can read my thoughts?"
Ashley nodded.
There was no point denying it,
afterall, this was the kind of place that made such things obvious.
It wasn't one-sided either. If Ashley thought something, Mukuro would hear it as well.
That was the nature of this space.
And that was the problem.
"Thou hast brought me to this accursed place, but what dost thou intend to do now?"
Despite the countless contradictions she'd felt since facing Ashley.
Her face returned to stone cold as she stared at the Space Esper who simply smiled.
"Still hanging onto that nasty attitude huh?"
"What doth—"
Ashley waved her left hand in dismissal in front of her face with a flat expression.
"No, no, no."
Slowly, she then dropped her heart as her gaze squared on Mukuro.
"The current you isn't worth speaking to."
Following that, Ashley raised her left index finger, pointing it towards her.
"I want to speak with the real you… Mukuro!"
As soon as those words left her mouth, Mukuro felt a tug that pulled her.
It wasn't the attraction or repulsion force Ashley had been using.
It was different.
Like… it was as if the contents of her heart, foreign to her, spilled out.
And, that feeling, that metaphysical sense spilled forward from Mukuro.
Black, mixed with white and gray like substance, spilled from Mukuro.
Gushaaa!
It erupted like a torrent of abyssal waters, flooding the plane and washing over Ashley.
No.. rather than that.
Both Ashley and Mukuro themselves were submerged within the murky deluge.
It enveloped and embraced them as countless emotions crashed down upon them.
The connection to the others was severed after a sharp pain shot through the link.
But the two drowning within felt it far more intensely than the rest.
—Chaos.
In a manner of speaking, that was Mukuro's current heart, given form.
…it materialized as this abyss.
And what Mukuro felt drowning in this sense of chaos was none other than:
Fear.
Towards pain and fear towards death.
She could barely breath, the air was thick, I am confused.
…am I drowning?
A terror long forgotten surged violently through Mukuro's heart.
Those were her thoughts.
And the more she thought about them, the deeper she sank into the murky waters.
Silence then reigned.
A deathly silence.
What played out was a vision.
It was inside a dark space, like a theatre where two females sat.
Their gazes were fixed in front, towards the image displayed there.
What they saw was...
A lonely child without a family.
One who concluded that people blessed with a family were special.
That she could not be considered special.
Yet, one day,
She would eventually be adopted into a warm family, a couple who wanted a child.
Along with an older sister, they would live happily for many days to come.
There, Mukuro lived in bliss under the warmth of a family.
Her older sister would always compliment her hair while styling it.
Oftentimes, they even went stargazing together as she would recite stories.
Stories of the constellations in the sky to her.
But, one day, all of this would change.
Her older sister's friend had casually commented about Mukuro's hair.
About how long it was and should be cut.
Mukuro was taken aback by how readily her older sister, who loved her hair, agreed.
Hurt by that, she concluded that Asahi had loved her friend more than her.
As she panicked over that conclusion,
With that power she would come to have
She locked away the memories of every acquaintance of her family.
Selfishly, so that they would love only her.
But humans would remain human.
Confronted with such incomprehensible power, they grew afraid, and rejected her.
In the end..
Mukuro, to endure the loss of warmth…
Unable to bear the truth, sealed their memories of her.
Then, she sealed her memories and her heart before departing for space.
"With how you acted, I thought it would have been worse than this…?"
Ashley muttered, resting her elbow on the armrest of the chair.
Her gaze remained fixed on the vision playing in front of them.
But those words drew an immediate snarl from Mukuro.
"Thy words that leavest thy lips are foul."
"Don't get me wrong. It's not like I don't understand that pain."
Ashley leaned forward, finally shifting her eyes toward Mukuro seated at a distance.
Unfortunately…
Consoling others had never been her strong suit.
No matter how much she had boasted otherwise when they were in space.
But what Ashley felt now was different.
When she really thought about it—
"You simply ran away."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
And they weren't meant for Mukuro alone.
"But you… you could've still tried to change. You had those godlike powers."
Yet she hadn't.
It wasn't accusation.
Mukuro, who had grown up without a family…
Would likely have never been taught how to face something like this.
Someone who believed herself insignificant wouldn't know how to deal with it.
And how to hold onto warmth properly.
If Ashley were in the same position, if she had been adopted into the Sinclair family..
She knew she might have become the same.
By then, it wasn't love anymore.
Mukuro had become obsessed, selfishly wanting their love for herself alone.
Inherently, such a thing wasn't wrong.
Everyone wants to feel important to someone significant, don't they?
Ashley understood that completely.
Mukuro, who was linked to Ashley's thoughts, could sense that sincerity.
Even so, her hardened heart made it difficult for her to believe her.
"It's never that easy. I know that."
"After all, I was once in the same position. But now…"
She turned toward Mukuro, who was seated far away from her.
A gentle smile bloomed on Ashley's face.
"Now, I've gained an irreplaceable family."
That smile seemed to brighten the entire place, leaving Mukuro momentarily stunned.
Petals drifted through the air as the scenery shifted into another plane.
A vast grassy field spread out before them.
But now, it was adorned with countless flowers swaying endlessly.
"I have Leo. She's a little cowardly, but she's a good girl, y'know."
With a grin, Ashley snapped her fingers.
Then, she turned to her left, speaking as though someone were standing there.
"And of course, there's the cool and calm Maya-nee."
"Believe it or not, she's made mistakes too. A lot of them, actually."
She glanced around, then leaned in as if sharing a secret.
"P.S. Don't let her know I said that. Ah—and there's also Cee. She's like a mom."
"Then there's the ever-kind Artemisia."
Ashley listed them one by one, her expression filled with joy.
That alone tugged at Mukuro's heart again, this time with something unmistakable.
Jealousy.
And it would spike after hearing this.
"Finally, there's that guy, the person I love the most in the world, my brother, Morgan."
What crossed Ashley's expression was one not even Mukuro had seen since their encounter.
There were no words to describe it.
Naturally, the intent inside those words was pure, so much so that…
"Love.."
Mukuro muttered.
Eventually, Ashley scratched the back of her head, finding everything she'd said corny.
But she didn't say it out loud.
Doing so would only ruin the mood she had built.
"Yeah. You can look for someone important too. It's not too late to change, Muku."
Like a certain yellow-haired protagonist in an orange jumpsuit,
Ashlet extended her hand towards Mukuro.
Slowly, the other girl reached out and reluctantly shook the hand.
Once more, a miracle happened.
No, whether it could be called a miracle or not was simply unknown.
But, because this was Artemisia's domain, one which belonged to a Saint.
Things could spiral out of control.
And such a thing happened at this moment.
Mukuro's memories… something new was being woven into them.
Within those memories,
Before she was adopted, she had met a younger girl and a boy.
The younger girl was Ashley, but the boy's face was blurry and distant.
Shortly after they met, she got adopted.
Artemisia's love was writing a fanfiction inside a fanfiction.
Naturally, Mukuro understood those memories were false.
However, those false memories were not meant to be factual.
It was to teach her warmth.
Ding~
The sound of a café bell rang as both of them slowly returned to reality.
Mukuro's heart had been unsealed.
Under normal circumstances, she would have inverted.
But thanks to a certain omnipotent guardian.
She didn't.
Naturally, it wouldn't have been that easy of a job to do.
But indeed.
It was thanks to that place they were able to suppress Mukuro's negative emotions.
Otherwise it might have been harder.
But that was beside the point.
"Fumm… Muku thanks thee, and thy brother as well, for rescuing Muku."
"Hehe…"