In the beginning, I was oblivious about the missing thing.
Such is pain—it engulfs everything, and it also makes the awareness of subtle losses impossible.
I was lying on the hard and cold stone, and from there, my eyes were directed to a ceiling that appeared like the shattered and dark sky. I was also hearing my heartbeat and feeling it change its tempo while stuttering and then recovering.
Rei was still holding my arm tight.
Her hand felt hot.
That probably should have signified something.
But it didn't.
It was just then that fear started getting the upper hand.
"Kuro?" she spoke in a low voice. "Hey. Just gaze at me."
I did so when I turned my head, for I was aware that I ought to do it—not because I felt like it. Her face looked sick, covered with dust and blood, her eyes were very worried and they were the same as sharp.
I knew her.
I had heard her name.
I was aware of her importance.
But the resulting feeling—the attraction, the innate certainty—was… suppressed. Far away. Like waking a dream instead of experiencing a moment.
The shadow was lying flat and still on the ground next to me.
Too still.
Then came the slow and painstakingly deliberate text, like each word was a nail.
BURDEN EVOLUTION COMPLETE
ASPECT: ECHO-SHADOW
PRIMARY FUNCTION: MEMORY CURATION
LOST: EMOTIONAL PRIORITY ATTACHMENT
Rei was reading it.
"Her breath got caught in her throat. What does that mean?" she asked.
I performed a swallowing action. My throat felt like it was on fire. "It signifies… I have the memories of people. However, I do not feel them like before" was my response.
There was a void of sound.
The Underway was feebly pulsating underneath us like an entity that was patient and waiting for us to decide the next move.
Rei ungripped my arm gently, as if she were the one afraid that I would shatter.
"You leaped," she remarked in a low voice. "You did not take any time."
"I know," was my answer. And that was the issue.
The shadow seemed alive then—it was moving across the stone almost like melting ink, it was thinner than before, but its borders were still very precise and very much intentional.
As it moved, dim faces, places, and moments overlaid its form, and they were coming and going in quick succession.
Cataloged.
Stored.
Not prized.
Rei visibly suffered while watching. "It's not the same."
"Neither am I."
We gradually pushed ourselves up. My body was sore but yielded. The rupture within me was not corporeal.
That was scarier to me.
An echo of something being made through the Underway.
Not the sound of feet moving.
A breath.
It was long. It was controlled. It was close.
Rei became tense at once. "There is no one else here with us."
"I am aware."
The shadow in front of me extended and wandered through the dark without me taking notice of it.
It detected.
Somebody.
Text appeared brightly at my vision's border.
KURONUMA YAE — ACTIVE
DESIGNATION: HUNTER
A woman was in front of me, and her power was like that of a kingdom. She was wearing a dark, layered armor with notches for every kill—hundreds of them.
A long wire blade was around her arm like a snake, with a low and soft humming as if it was alive.
Her glare went to my shadow.
Then to me.
Her mouth slowly turned into a smile.
"There you are," she said quietly. "I sensed the progress."
Rei reflexively raised her empty hand, then swore softly. "Yet another."
Yae inclined her head, examining us as if we were being dissected.
"Two candidates. One freshly shattered. One closed."
She took in the air deeply.
"Excellent."
The Underway responded.
Signs lit up on the walls as if to say, "welcome," to her.
Text was like fire—bright and demanding.
HUNTER ENGAGEMENT CONFIRMED
ESCAPE CONDITION: SURVIVE 300 SECONDS
Rei said in a whisper, "Five minutes."
Yae chuckled softly. "Oh, I wouldn't need that long."
And she was off.
The wire blade was sent out with a bang, cutting the air like a shrieking monster. The shadow reacted at once by splitting, deflecting, and redirecting but still the impact threw me into the wall.
I felt it.
Rei without thinking jumped in front of me, took a loose stone shard, and threw it. It was of no use.
Yae didn't even blink.
"Brave," said Yae. "Pointless."
The shadow slowly ascended again, and this time it was other.
It didn't spread in all directions like before, instead, it took the forms of distinct, accurate objects—hooks, edges, lines.
Effective.
Chilly.
I moved closer.
Not for the reason that I was scared.
But rather, the shadow computed that it was the right time for me to come.
That awareness was more freezing than the battle.
Yae's eyes sparkled. "You let it decide for you now."
I stayed silent.
The shadow hit.
It did not interfere.
It guessed.
Yae's wire blade met nothingness as the shadow moved in the spot where she would be and not where she was.
A slender band of blackness encircled her leg, pulling her off balance for a fraction of a second.
That was enough.
Rei dove on her.
They slammed hard against the stone floor, Rei's elbow crashing into Yae's chin. Blood gushed out.
Yae could even be heard laughing amidst her wounds.
"Yes! That's it!"
She turned around with such force, tossing Rei away like a toy. Rei banged into the wall very hard and then slid down while moaning.
I felt something within me get tense.
Not strong feeling.
Priority.
Rei's existence was assigned the status of *essential*.
The shadow reacted with an increase in its intensity.
The screen blinked.
EMOTIONAL SUBSTITUTE DETECTED
LOGICAL PRIORITY OVERRIDE ACTIVE
I was quicker than I had ever been before.
The shadow scotched Yae's wire in mid-swing, immobilizing it. I dashed close, snatched her wrist, and then pounded my knee into her ribs.
She uttered a sound—of astonishment.
I whispered, "Five minutes" into her ear, voice unemotional.
Despite the hurt, her mouth stretched into a wider grin. "I like you."
She broke free, pushed off me, and executed a backflip, landing gracefully as the Underway shook violently.
Text glared again.
TIME REMAINING: 210 SECONDS
Yae retreated slowly, keeping her eyes on me the whole time.
"This isn't the end," she said.
"Hunters never forget their prey."
She was swallowed by the shadows as the sigils faded away.
A stillness once more enveloped the Underway.
Watching me, the shadow of my former self wrapped around my feet in a quiet, obedient manner as I stood there panting heavily.
Rei slowly pushed herself up, grimacing with the pain. She glanced at me and that did not show a sign of fear.
Worried.
"You saved me," was her acknowledgment.
"Of course," my answer was short.
"Do you still care?" was her next query.
The inquiry was more painful than any sword could be.
I parted my lips.
Then I closed them.
At last, I told the truth.
"I can't grab the feeling," I expressed softly. "But I am certain that I will do it again."
She was looking into my eyes for a longer time than expected... then she gave me a nod of approval.
"That is sufficient," she stated.
"For now."
The Underway throbbed once, giving its consent.
The text burst into flames, final and foreboding.
CANDIDATES Kuro Ayanagi & Hoshino Rei
STATUS: MARKED BY A HUNTER
PROGRESSION PATH: IRREVERSIBLE
A new route, narrow and steeply descending, was lit by faint and unfamiliar symbols, was the one ahead of us.
I stepped in that direction immediately without any doubt.
Not because of my courage.
But because the shadow had already chosen.
And that was more frightening to me than anything that was still in the dark.