/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>46479341
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Suddenly, the world beats as if a living heart.

I blink and the death spell suddenly disappears, his and Yukari's movements returning full force in such a way that it gives me whiplash, coincidentally at the exact moment Meiling finishes those words… Such words are accompanied by Anon, who, tenderly holding a hand to Yukari's belly, stared straight at Meiling—

—A hand holds mine and, with a throbbing heart, I turn to the space between me and Meiling. Sekai stands there, holding one hand each of ours, staring directly into Anon and Yukari. Meiling stares at the little girl too, puzzled beyond belief.

Before any of us can react, the world changes and a towering tree of blue casts light soft and ethereal onto us; however, comparing this one to that tree a year ago is like putting a shack against a mountain. The tree's top pierces through the observable sky of darkness; canopy the stars, nebulas—the all-encompassing cosmos; spectral animals prowling around overgrown roots the size of rainforests—nestled in the center of all, the shrine.

Anon and Yukari can only marvel at the sights as Sekai, taking a deep breath, releases our hands and moves forward, kneeling before catching one cheek of each parent with her tiny hands. She speaks words not meant for us and, by the next second—feels so much longer—the couple is gone.

Leaving behind only us three in this hollow world…

… No, this cage—this hell.

“S-Sekai…” Meiling attempts as both of us watch the little girl slowly leave her kneeling position while keeping her back turned, concealing her face. I barely notice, hyperfixated on my spiraling thoughts—the sudden proposal to work on my Ki; Sekai exacerbating our fears and then denying them; the entire war and Meiling's discovery of why she can speak to Anon; everything she erased from our minds…

'With you, this hell was bearable.'

All that and more culminated in the following words:

“It had to be real.” Sekai stops, as does Meiling, who turns her eyes to me. I ignore it and step forward towards Sekai, my face impassive. “These forms weren't supposed to be. The spell I used to bind mine and Meiling's souls to this barrier would've left us in a state of hibernation until a link could be achieved again… But you capitalized on the connection to make us these forms so Meiling could discover her connection to your Father and have me build the portal to link both your world and Anon's world. Then, fostered between us discord after our first contact, which kept us busy and wandering without a clear target until the perfect moment where Anon and Yukari connected, and so Meiling could connect to Anon through sharing a real connection between me, her and you; weaving this web that used us as vehicles…”

With me, Hell was bearable for Meiling; for Sekai, it was bearable because of us; with Anon, it mustn’t have been Yukari… So maybe whatever was going on in his head when he touched her belly? I can only wan—

“Father touched Sister Renko and thought of Sister Hana, whom, even though has committed many bad things, Father still loves dearly—without Sister Hana, he… Father wouldn't be alive now.” Sekai speaks with her back to us, staring longly at the inconceivable lengths of the darkness her tree shadowed, seconds of silence passing. Time to digest… Yukari is pregnant? Hm. Unimportant. I turn to Meiling, seeking her reaction and I find her horrified, staring at me too.

This entire war was playtime for Sekai, and the whole plan nothing more than a child banging toys together and imagining a compelling confrontation…

Yet, everything fell right in place to end where she wanted.

We look at Sekai's back silhouetted by the overpowering blue in heavy contrast with the cold ground, a soft wind of nowhere waving her unremarkable clothes, peach-brown hair cut short and light skin, Anon's nose and Yukari's chin. She stood just a tad shorter than Remi. “Mother Meiling, Mother Patchouli…” gingerly, she turned to us, speaking with a sort of calm; almost casual.

Those eyes of nebula sparked something primal on my spine, and the thoughts of what's to come after today—if I'll even leave—became muddy.

A child will be a child, and children can be especially cruel…

… But then she opens the biggest of smiles, eyes soft and with cute dimples, arms spreading wide just as sweet, sweet giggling boomed through the world of ethereal blue. Sekai then starts rapidly changing; grows tails, wings, appendages, and even horns that just as promptly fade away, going through so many unique transformations in the span of three seconds filled with laughter that scares the animals made of light. Meiling mumbles, “B-Bwuah?!” Stepping back at the stunning yet disturbing sight.

She suddenly sprinted towards us, transformations still happening and, reflexively, I tried to bring out grimoires for defense—Meiling said something…

W-Woah!

Sekai catches us in a tight and disarming hug.

“Father and Mother… They know I exist—t-they… I’m so happy.”