[Fern]

---

 

"Wakey..."

 

"Mrrrh..."

 

"Wa...ke..."

 

"Mmmhr..."

 

"Elly, wake up!"

 

Elysion suddenly sits up and opens her eyes, awkwardly staring at the wall from her bed. Afterwards, she looks around just to find the one that has awakened her slumber - the boy with a blinding grin.

 

"Finally, you're awake! I thought you'd just lay down dead on the bed forever. We're going out exploring today... you promised, remember?"

 

She tilts her head to the side and blinks a couple of times.

 

"Yeah."

 

Elysion answers flatly, trying to pretend she has never forgotten such thing.

 

"Cool beans! I'm ready to go, I'll be waiting for you outside."

 

The youth quickly makes his way out, smiling all the way. In contrast to the kid's enthusiasm, the girl yawns and sluggishly rises to a stand, going ahead and doing all the preparations needed before she follows his trail. Once they catch up, he eagerly starts leading her towards their destination, carrying around a backpack on him.

 

"Are we just going there without eating anything?"

 

"I knew you'd say that, so I was ready."

 

He lightly pats the pack and chuckles.

 

"Oh, food's there huh? You really are excited about all this. What's so special about this forest anyway?"

 

"It's got something really weird in it and I wanted to check it out with you. People have been talking about it a lot back in town."

 

"Is it really that weirder than the Ice Vines we found last week? I can't be your bodyguard every day, you know...?"

 

"Oh you'll see!"

 

She lets out a giggle and chooses to simply play along, following the boy all the way through to their destination while chatting about unrelated matters.

 

...

 

The pair finally encounter the spot they've been looking for all this time, confirmed by the boy pointing a finger and exclaiming "There it is!" as soon as his eyes catch glimpse of it. She fixates her attention upon the large structure before them, absorbing every little detail of its appearance.

 

A tall, gray stone gate with a white circle in its middle. Six black dots total are lined up left and right within the circle. The door simply remains there, unmoving in-between an array of trees.

 

 

She raises her eyebrows and takes a few steps forward in order to get a closer look at whatever it is.

 

"What's th-"

 

 

The moment she speaks, the gate suddenly opens itself and reveals a white light that makes it incredibly difficult to tell what's inside. Alarmed, Elysion jumps back and groups up with the boy, who shows no sign of worry in regards to the situation.

 

"Relax. No need to be so tense Elly! We don't even know what's inside- it could be something good!"

 

"Are you sure we should be going inside that... thing?"

 

"We'll be fiiiine. Plus, even if something were to happen, there's nothing you can't take on!"

 

"I'm strong, but not unbeatable, you know?"

 

She sighs. He flashes another confident grin at the uncertain woman before beginning to approach the tall door, gesturing for her to follow him. She warily eyes over the entrance as she comes along.

 

"Let's go - this'll be a fun journey!"

 

As they go through the gate, their vision is momentarily blinded by a pure white.

 

When they are able to see again, they witness a world far beyond their imagining. A world with many different things such as elegant gardens with statues and fountains with water that doesn't seem to move at all, with a massive floating castle located towards the north of it all. The area is completely devoid of color, even the sky itself is naught but monochrome.

 

 

"Huh..." He's at a loss for words.

 

"This... is..." She fails to come up with anything to say about the scenery herself.

 

It all looks fantastical, like it came straight out of a dream. A monochrome world.

 

(Music)

 

"This is... something, alright."

 

The boy begins moving forward, taking his time with observing, experiencing the grayscale paradise surrounding them. Elysion, on the other hand anxiously looks around and repeatedly gazes at the youth's direction in concern.

 

"Wow. It doesn't even feel like we're in Kysei anymore... I wonder what this place is."

 

After exploring the area for some time, she suddenly speaks up.

 

"Let's go back."

 

"Huh... are you sure?"

 

"Yes. Let's go back."

 

He stares down at the ground in thought, more than likely wanting to look around some more, but ultimately taking her advice.

 

"Alright Elly. It's not often you act like this, so maybe it's bad to-"

 

The ground trembles violently, nearly causing the girl to lose her footing and her companion to fall on his rear.

 

"... to stay here."

 

Distorted whispers are heard within the area as different monstrosities begin fading into view. Towering, black bodies with massive skull heads and soul-piercing white pupils locking onto the pair they are surrounding.

 

"Let's... meet... again... some... day.." "It's time... to... end... it..." "I miss... my... parents..."

 

 

The boy's completely paralyzed. The nightmarish eyes on him have caused him to freeze out of fear and speak no words, silently acknowledging the situation and the error that was coming to this world.

 

Without waiting a second, Elysion grabs the youth by the arm and begins darting away from the creatures. The monsters take a moment before they start chasing after the two, gradually speeding up their movement.

 

"W-What is going on? That... I... that's horrifying..."

 

Even the once courageous boy trembles in fear as he attempts to process the situation, running along with the white-haired girl.

 

"We're getting out of here-"

 

Their path is closed off by black pools forming on the ground, giving rise to more of the skull-headed figures they previously tried to avoid. As a result, they change their course and flee elsewhere while trying to remember where it is that they've originally come from.

 

"This isn't good... where did we first appear when we entered? Damn it!"

 

She angrily curses and grits her teeth as she briefly looks behind to gauge just how far away they are from their predators. Unfortunately, as more and more enemies appear, they are eventually led towards the airborne castle's direction. Platforms rise from the gray abyss underneath as if automatically forming a path for them to take, and seeing as they have no choice but to keep running away, they take the route offered to them.

 

"Hold on tight!"

 

Elysion exclaims, picking up the youth and surrounding herself in an ardent veil of flames before jumping from platform to platform, making her way towards the castle in hopes that they would lose their assailants.

 

They run... run and run, going deeper and deeper into the castle before stumbling upon what looks like a large tree with white leaves, coming to a halt and panting.

 

"Did we lose them...?" He asks, sheepishly.

 

Suddenly, another foe appears before them. An image of whispering darkness emerges from the tree, possessing an appearance nigh-impossible to comprehend for most mortal eyes, seeming far more taller and menacing than any of the monsters they have ever encountered in their lives. Its gigantic, white eyes shifts towards many directions before eventually focusing on the duo in front of it.

 

 

The boy once again stops all movement, staring back at the abyssal creature and feeling as if his life is about to come to an end. He weakly speaks out a short sentence to his friend.

 

"... Elly, I'm scared."

 

He wants to say so much more, but is unable to. He can barely speak with how terrified he is. Seeing as they're cornered, Elysion sees no choice but to step forward and enchant her claws with Nerifian magic, preparing for combat.

 

"I'll protect you- stand back!"

 

The battle would then inevitably begin.

 

...

  

But it would be all in vain.

 

No matter how much the girl tries to fight against the horror before her, she's unable to stop it from overwhelming her.

 

"AGH!"

 

She's swatted by the figure's ebony arm and sent flying, eventually landing on the ground with a loud thud. Her attempts at getting up are simply futile. She is left completely vulnerable for a final blow.

 

"I can't move...! No...!"

 

The abomination extends a sharp tendril from its chest, sending it straight towards her!

 

 

"..."

 

"No... why?"

 

She looks wide-eyed, taking a moment to understand what just happened.

 

"You... weren't supposed to do this!"

 

"H-Haha... s-sorry..."

  

(Music)

 

He, who truly cherishes his friend's life, has taken a fatal blow for her.

  

"NO!"

 

"I couldn't just... let it do that to you. You have been so nice, and so patient with me... I should return the favor somehow, y'know?"

 

"Noah... Noah... no...!"

 

She calls out his name, forcing herself to stand up and drag her wounded body towards him. Elysion reaches out with a claw.

 

"Sorry... for dragging you into this. Get... out of here. I want you to live... to become somebody in the world."

 

"N-Noah..."

 

"Good bye, Elly."

 

Without much time to have their final moments, the creature begins sinking back into tree and pulls the youth towards it. His body is promptly stuck to the mystic wooden structure with his arms spread. The girl continues to desperately scream his name, trying to force her way towards him but unfortunately ends up falling on her knees.

 

Once the cyclopean monstrosity finishes entering the tree, Noah's appearance begins losing color, the phenomenon beginning at his feet and making it all the way over to his head. He soon loses the ability to move or speak, becoming one with the horror that abducted him.

 

"Why..."

 

She turns her face towards the ground with tears streaming down her face, sobbing as the agony of failure overwhelms her very soul. Her thoughts are filled with regret - she wishes they would have never come to this place, and that she would have been much stronger so that she could protect his one and only friend.

 

Elysion cries for what may feel like an eternity, believing all hope has been lost and that her happiness has ultimately come to an end.

 

...

 

(Music)

 

Her sorrow is eventually interrupted by the sounds of footsteps. She turns around in order to face the newcomers.

  

A pair of monochrome fellows, a man with a stern expression and a woman that has heart-shaped pupils, carrying a gray book.

 

 

"My my, what do we have here?"

 

The woman places a hand on her cheek, gazing at Elysion with a soft smile on her face.

 

"You... who are you...? You're going to try to kill me too, aren't you?! I'm not going to deal w-"

 

"If you are not interfering with my pursuit for power, then I have no reason to end your life."

 

Elysion is suddenly cut short by the man with a coat.

 

"What...?"

 

"That's right. We're not looking to strike you down. We are merely taking a stroll around this pocket nightmare." His companion chimes in.

 

She glares at them for a moment before shifting her gaze towards the ground, gritting her teeth and shaking her fists.

 

"If you do not mind, may I ask what is troubling you, dear?"

 

"I just lost my only friend because I wasn't strong enough. If only... if only I could turn back time so he wouldn't die because of me."

 

"Oh?"

 

"... 'Oh?' Is that all you have to say?"

 

"It's a little difficult for me to relate. I don't feel many things, you see."

 

The woman peers over to the boy that has combined with the bizarre tree.

 

"I assume that is your friend."

 

"Noah..."

 

"-- He does not look 'dead' to me."

 

"... What?"

 

Elysion looks completely confused, but the coated fellow elaborates soon thereafter.

 

"He has fused with this Purgatory's core, for some reason or another. It seems he has become one of the... so-called 'Lost' as well."

 

"He's still alive?! But then how do I save him? Tell me... tell me!"

 

"I truly doubt you can-"

 

"I disagree, Scorpius."

 

The monochrome woman lifts her index finger, then adds:

 

"Perhaps if she were to find the Lazarus Shard..."

 

"... You still believe in that nonsense, Vesper?" Scorpius lightly shakes his head.

 

"Everything is possible."

 

"Lazarus Shard?" Elysion blinks in confusion.

 

Vesper's smile grows a little bit more, as if having special interest in the topic at hand. She places her hands behind her back and begins slowly wandering over to the dormant Noah, stopping a short distance away from him then tilting her head to the side.

 

"Yes. The Lazarus Shard - a magic mirror said to be able to grant any wish. If you find it and prove your strength, that is."

 

The Shaitan, desperate for a way to save her friend, doesn't even question what she's hearing and instead asks another question.

 

"How do I get stronger... strong enough?"

 

"That is not something I know the answer to, my dear."

 

"Damn it... I have to, I have to save him! I don't care what happens to everyone else!"

 

"Would you truly seek to obtain power, no matter the cost?" Scorpius' attention appears to be stolen, suddenly.

 

"I'll do anything!"

 

"... I see. I am curious to see where this path will lead you, so I will say I may know something that can increase your strength. However, it would mean that you become a shell of your former self, just like us."

 

"Then I'll do it. Not like I'm human as far as the world's concerned anyway."

 

"Determined, are you not? Fine then. Don't move."

 

Scorpius approaches Elysion and holds out his hand towards her. A monochrome energy appears and begins encompassing the Shaitan's body, soon giving form to a powerful magic pillar that lingers about for a few moments. Vesper simply opens her book and reads through a page - until the pillar breaks apart into small embers that gradually fade away from sight, revealing the white-haired woman's new appearance.

 

She now has gray skin and diamond-shaped pupils, possessing an appearance fairly similar to the other two. She looks down at herself, then at her claws before curling up one of them into a fist.

 

"I'll do whatever it takes. For him."

 

Vesper approaches while looking over the page in her book, reading aloud:

 

'My wish for this night,

is certain to change my life

Yes, I only want change,

Change, change and change.'

 

She closes her book and smiles at the pair.

 

"Perhaps it's time for a new journey."

 

"I suppose." He responds.

   

"Wait for me... Noah."

  

"I'll bring you back."