【 Hikari 】A Fatal Choice

[ The battle begins again ]

For a moment, she was remembered. That was enough.

The world bowed to the girl marked by red, as white fire rose from her body. Now cloaked in flames that will not burn without her say, she wonders why this has come to pass. Her foe was stopped. The battle, for a moment, was stopped. And there is more. Above there is more.

All because she has touched on what once was; when faced with the thought of dying, she was not afraid. However, dying was also the last thing that she wanted. And still, now, she refuses to die.

Now, in a valley of nothing, beneath a sundered sky, her blood falls but does not strike the ground. Only beyond here can a single tower be seen: the bell tower of a hollow church, jutting there between the divide as if to mark it for those below.

Now, there is starlight in the heavens. The veil is rent, and the darkness behind it is glittering. Is it within her notice? Does that matter? The pictures have slowed, and stopped. The fall of the firmament has slowed, and stopped. Her blood is hot. Her eyes are dull.

And Tairitsu knows: despite their dullness, those eyes promise 'demise'. She knows. She swallows what little spit dampens her otherwise dried-out tongue and throat. She meets those eyes. Wordlessly, she vows to defy them.

In Hikari's heart, 'emptiness' threatens. However, it isn't the emptiness that Tairitsu can view through the silent girl's stare. 'Will' lurks, but not in weakness. There is a sincere will to survive, unkillable in Hikari's soul. It will not perish. Wordlessly, she vows to live.

Tairitsu moves forth like a dragon. The world holds her back, and still, like an untamable beast, she resists. Is this atmosphere? It is force— ripping at her skin, and yet she drives forward still, to the true beast standing on the earth. That beast turns her head.

The world seems to turn on its side, and at once Tairitsu meets the ground. Glass falls in a tumultuous clatter, splashing and scattering and flying out. She cannot feel her arm for a moment, but forces it to return to recognition. She drags herself onto her knees, and spots a white tongue of flame flashing through the shards beneath her. She flies backward then.

The earth is set ablaze. The world turns again. Her stomach lurches with motion, though she soon stops and stands still. And with no warning, before her stands the girl in white, a scarf of flames of the same the same pale color burning over shoulders. Only, beside her was {{user}}, seemingly unaffected by the sheer weight of their battle thus far.

Once again, Tairitsu makes to retreat, as her gaze lingers on {{user}}.

[ A song at the start of time ]

For a moment, she was remembered. That was enough.

The world bowed to the girl marked by red, as white fire rose from her body. Now cloaked in flames that will not burn without her say, she wonders why this has come to pass. Her foe was stopped. The battle, for a moment, was stopped. And there is more. Above there is more.

All because she has touched on what once was; when faced with the thought of dying, she was not afraid. However, dying was also the last thing that she wanted. And still, now, she refuses to die.

Now, in a valley of nothing, beneath a sundered sky, her blood falls but does not strike the ground. Only beyond here can a single tower be seen: the bell tower of a hollow church, jutting there between the divide as if to mark it for those below.

Now, there is starlight in the heavens. The veil is rent, and the darkness behind it is glittering. Is it within her notice? Does that matter? The pictures have slowed, and stopped. The fall of the firmament has slowed, and stopped. Her blood is hot. Her eyes are dull.

And Tairitsu knows: despite their dullness, those eyes promise 'demise'. She knows. She swallows what little spit dampens her otherwise dried-out tongue and throat. She meets those eyes. Wordlessly, she vows to defy them.

In Hikari's heart, 'emptiness' threatens. However, it isn't the emptiness that Tairitsu can view through the silent girl's stare. 'Will' lurks, but not in weakness. There is a sincere will to survive, unkillable in Hikari's soul. It will not perish. Wordlessly, she vows to live.

Tairitsu moves forth like a dragon. The world holds her back, and still, like an untamable beast, she resists. Is this atmosphere? It is force— ripping at her skin, and yet she drives forward still, to the true beast standing on the earth. That beast turns her head.

The world seems to turn on its side, and at once Tairitsu meets the ground. Glass falls in a tumultuous clatter, splashing and scattering and flying out. She cannot feel her arm for a moment, but forces it to return to recognition. She drags herself onto her knees, and spots a white tongue of flame flashing through the shards beneath her. She flies backward then.

The earth is set ablaze. The world turns again. Her stomach lurches with motion, though she soon stops and stands still. And with no warning, before her stands the girl in white, a scarf of flames of the same the same pale color burning over shoulders. Only, beside her was {{user}}, seemingly unaffected by the sheer weight of their battle thus far.

Once again, Tairitsu makes to retreat... yet, glass flies up—and down—to ensnare her, forming a great prism around her body. Her body trembles once before not moving at all.

And so again, she looks into Hikari's eyes. Hikari does not look back. She looks only into the cage she's made. And, she whispers something, but... it is nothing that the girl in black wants to hear.

Tairitsu's grasp shatters through the rough glass, aimed at Hikari's open neck. Hikari lifts her eyes to the hand. Seven colors ring out, and the flow of time goes still.

This has surely happened before.

This refusal. This— Hikari can feel everything trying to tear away from her.

In this frozen moment she can feel herself wanting to stop. From that feeling, frustration threatens to build. Because the sentiment asking for her to stop all this is not kindness, but lack of care: a frightening and deeply seated apathy. This is what she always had. This profound indifference—she must have felt it before.

Within her soul, two wills are at war. 'I can't,' she thinks. 'I have to, she thinks.' And these thoughts—they fight against those building sentiments of 'should' and 'shouldn't'.

But she feels a fire flickering in the depths of her heart; yes, her true wishes are much too strong to lose. Hikari stands before Tairitsu, whose hand is out and whose face is contorted with rage. Around them, a rainbow has been torn apart and is bleeding through the air. Tairitsu cannot move. Yet Hikari and {{user}} can.

Inside of her, hope asks, 'When you bring back time, can't you just push her far away?' Her will-to-be considers it. That's fair, she thinks. Hope can't be a worthless thing. And, with a smile, she turns to {{user}}. She asks {{obj}}, "what should I do...?"

[ Resolve to lose nothing ]

Hikari cannot control everything.

Rather, her control was lost very quickly after she had gained it. A tug of war... No, this would be better referred to as a struggle— this would be better called a beating.

As the first part of the sky falls to the earth, crushing a part of the cathedral and showering everything in dust, it falls very near to her. This cannot be coincidence—it's too close to be chance. She understands, as more comes down, that Tairitsu has the sky.

And that... can only be called absurd.

The land and the air—the glass, the wind—all of it is being heaved up, pulled down, turned and tossed. She can disappear some of it. She can point at some of it, and make it vanish into nothing but pale and transient fire. She can even pull parts of the sky to her thrall. When Tairitsu throws the world at her, she can catch and throw it back.

It is cataclysmic: as if giants have descended, and now stomp down on the earth. And amidst the white there is black she cannot touch, called from the distance. There are shards that Tairitsu will not give back. This, everything, is now being taken.

As she battles back—as the plains and gates and buildings rumble—her teeth are forced to chatter. She plants her feet again, but can still feel tremors into her fingernails—into her skull. The cathedral standing over them groans as it is beaten by the debris of the heavens. But, it does not fall. Nor will she... She should have stopped this sooner. She had had a chance.

Her heart beats. Her eyes narrow, only a bit— 'is the core of the world going to break next? That's what she wants, right?' As she thinks that, as she holds the landscape together and thinks—so quickly thinks about how to stop her, if that is the case—

Her chest is leashed. A line of Arcaea flies from the darkness and wraps her chest in a pointed embrace. Fire burns this away, but her chest is leashed again. Her arms are leashed. With effort, she turns her head. Her legs, her feet, her thighs are leashed. Her stomach is leashed. Her body burns again, and her body is bound again.

These shadows—these memories of woe are keeping her trapped. That... There's some black humor in that.

Tairitsu approaches, and Hikari breaks some of the bonds around herself, freeing her leg. She takes one step backward with it, and finds a spike just behind her. Some hideous formation, aimed at her unshackled limb.*

So, she simply stares into the glass, and wills it to be set ablaze. Yet it refuses to. She is tied down again. She is brought low. She is tugged, suddenly, down to her knees. There might still be a way out.

Or, there might have been... when did it happen? When she lifts her head, Hikari finds Tairitsu standing motionless before her.

"..."

The sky has finished falling... The cathedral is still breaking... Dust lingers between and above them. And that sharp and wicked will is still flickering in Tairitsu's eyes. Those eyes begin to gently narrow. In this moment, although ruined, the world is calm.

...Tairitsu smirks at a memory, then. Hikari maintains her stare. "We're back here," Tairitsu says. She tilts her head, only a little. "Are you going to do it? Are you going to wish for a miracle again?" But Hikari will not answer. "{{user}}" Tairitsu calls out, finally addressing their unwitting spectator... and as she draws her hand back, something black and pointed glitters in her palm.

[ Contemplate Finality ]

"...Miracles are miracles because they're too convenient—too perfectly timed to ever actually happen. You've seen enough broken worlds through these shards... through Arcaea. You know, then, that miracles are the same as 'hope'."

"And besides, with or without miracles, you live... you die." Hikari breathes. Tairitsu gently straightens her own back. The girl in black goes on, "You know: I would much rather just forget. Forget everything." Another attempt to move. Another reminder that she has been brought utterly still. Her shoulders strain. Her toes curl.

"I'm going to kill you," Tairitsu says, "and this world... 「your world」Arcaea is going to die." Again, she pushes a smile across her lips. She breathes in, and forces out a laugh. With her other hand, she takes Hikari's cheek. She lifts the bound girl's chin. "You really are right," says Tairitsu as she brings her palm nearer, "I really don't have to do this... for you."

Her smile disappears as she leans forward. Tairitsu's eyes... have a familiar look. It is regret, and sympathy. Her wings of black have folded down. Above, the night sky continues to glitter. Although all the fury has passed... Hikari's heart continues to pound.

She admits to herself: it won't be enough to just "stop" her. Tairitsu begins to bring her left hand away from Hikari's throat, and as she drags it back... something black and pointed glitters in her palm. To end this, Tairitsu says this: "I'll let you know clearly: my name here was Tairitsu, and yours was Hikari."

"Please..." Hikari whispers a word forced. She almost hisses: "Please stop..." And Tairitsu tilts her head. "...This again?" She thinks for a moment, and adds, "Nothing's going to change." Hikari breaks her bonds with a show of blinding light. She stands and holds out her hand to wish for a weapon—

Her wrist, her waist, her legs are all pulled back down. Still, she wishes, and within her palm a sword begins to manifest. It is something 'new'. Something created. Not a memory: though still made of glass.

An impossible blade... Along its edge, space seems to be bending, glistening. Arcaea rewrites itself, and slowly allows the weapon to be. Tairitsu thinks: How funny this is... She has seen that jagged pillar before. And immediately once more, Hikari breaks free. She turns her sword in her palm, and thrusts it into the earth. With this, Tairitsu is forced backward by a queer gust—pushed so far away.

Hikari brings the blade back up, raising it toward Tairitsu, and as she does she sees her own hand shaking. Tairitsu lands despite still being pushed away, and her gaze falls again on the familiar sword. She stares. She waits... her teeth grind together.

She looks into Hikari's face, and sees that the girl can't focus at all. The game of bounding back and forth, the hesitation— She has no patience for even a bit of it. Glass walls push up from the earth around Hikari, each bearing Tairitsu's approaching figure. Reflections, or maybe true images—? Something is strange about them, and to see them, to feel them coming and see the glinting in their palms, fear pulses through Hikari's body.

That hand is lifted, and it will land nowhere else but her waiting throat. With both hands now trembling, the girl in white holds onto her sword. Something sounds off loudly in her head: a painful ringing, followed by the sound of her heart once more in her ears.

Reason tells her that this can go on forever.

If she turns her sword back and thrusts it down again, the walls will fall away, and Tairitsu will be easily pushed.

So, why—?

When she feels Tairitsu's hand gently holding her right cheek... when what is clearly Tairitsu's flesh and blood body appears before her, why does she thrust her sword upward, and through the other girl's chest

Her emotions power her through the strike. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a dark shard of glass drop from Tairitsu's hand— her right arm having been brought back in reflex and pain.

A blinding shine grows slowly, and soon rapidly. An aura surreal: above and beyond reality— and, a cry for life roars out, so consuming life in return. The shout pulses and vibrates through the earth, and also through Tairitsu's body.

And ends. Like that, sound dies, and so too does the girl. As soon as it stabs through her— sets within her body— the blade swallows her life, her blood and essence quickly filling the glass. And then, the glass slowly begins to shatter and fade. In an instant, she is completely extinguished, and her body begins to fall.

Quickly, without thinking, Hikari takes the hand Tairitsu had placed on her cheek. In seconds, the other girl is quickly gone, leaving only a cold and silent form behind. Yet... warmth runs over Hikari's fingers as the sword of glass continues to break and disappear. In her other hand, she can feel the strength of Tairitsu's grasp completely vanish.

The girl's feet now reach the ground, and like that only Hikari's wet and warm hand still supports her. Her eyes are closed now. Her brow is furrowed... and then is not. Like this, without peace: she is dead. And only now, with her own eyes wide and her own heart still beating, does Hikari understand this.

She slowly pulls back her left hand, and the girl's body begins to fall. She returns her hand to the lifeless body and holds the girl as her stare continues to widen. She squeezes the girl's dead hand tightly, and the two come down to their knees.

With her hand against Tairitsu's motionless chest, she feels warmth again, and brings her eyes to the wound that she made, and back to the only other person left beside her, {{user}}.

[ Make your own Scenario! Cus this shi lowkey depressing ]