WORLD: BOUNDARY - MEMORY ZONE
BRANCHED WORLD: DATE A LIVE
LOCATION: NEIGHBORING WORLD
A far, far distant story.
Kurumi Tokisaki liked the word "madder." There is only one moment in a day to witness the madder-colored sunset.
Missing this moment feels like the whole day was for nothing.
"...Please wake up Kurumi-san."
That is why Kurumi was grateful that her friend, Sawa Yamauchi, woke her up remembering this fact.
"Sawa-san..."
A cute girl with chestnut-colored hair tied into two braids. An angelic girl, gentle, calm, kind to everybody, bringing peace to her surroundings. Also, she owned a cat. Kurumi was jealous of her.
"Since everyone else had gone home. But I hesitated to wake you up since you were sleeping peacefully,"
Sawa whispered as she leant over her.
"That is fine. Thank you."
As Sawa mentioned, they were alone in a classroom.
Students were either at after school club activities or had gone home already.
Shouts from the students outside echoed throughout the classroom. A moment of warmth wrapped within a warm atmosphere.
There was no exchange of words, there was no need for it. Sawa sat on the seat in front ofKurumi and admired the sunset together.
Kurumi sighed as she pulled out a letter from her bag. A clean white paper tucked snugly within an envelope.
The handwriting was not clean, but it was clear to Kurumi that the writer had put care into their work.
"Are you troubled?"
"Yes."
She let out another sigh. Kurumi was given this during her commute to school.
An unknown high school boy reverently handed it to her and she instinctively accepted it.
The content of the letter was—
"Is it a love letter?"
"Yes... It does seem like it..."
It was indeed a love letter. "I like you" and "Please go out with me" were written within.
"So... What will you do?"
"I appreciate the thought, but I will have to reject the offer."
Sigh. She was not saddened, she instead felt awkwardness.
"Kurumi-san, have you been confessed to before?"
"No, I have not."
Sawa tilted her head, her braids swaying slightly, and placed a warm hand on Kurumi's cheek.
"Even when you're this cute?"
Kurumi's cheeks colored faintly. A flush like the madder-colored sunset she loved so much.
"Please don't tease me like that!"
"Hehe, so~rry."
"Mou,"
Kurumi pouted as Sawa looked at her mischievously.
"But that's good. We will be able to play on Saturday again."
Kurumi felt as though she was being treated like a child, which only deepened her pout.
"Yes that is true... However, if I find someone that I like, I'd like to go on a date with that person."
Kurumi pouted a little while saying that, leaning back onto her chair slightly, and Sawa spoke up hearing that.
"Say—what sort of date would you like to go on?"
"Umm... watch movies... go to a cafe... look at cats... pet cats... dote over cats..."
"Generally an activity to do with cats... If that's the case, wouldn't my house suffice?"
"Go over to your house in the middle of a date?"
Kurumi laughed at what an awkward situation that would be.
Sawa smiled faintly but her voice dropped a note lower.
"Mm—If Kurumi-san gets a lover, will you not play with me anymore?"
"That's not the case. Definitely. You are my very, very important friend."
"Ehehe... I'm happy."
Kurumi narrowed her eyes at Sawa, who looked just a little embarrassed.
"I hope we are both able to find wonderful love."
"I will be sure to root for you when you find a person that you love. I promise."
They entwined each others' pinkie fingers. A silly promise with no guarantee. Kurumi remembered that she had made this promise,
All too well.
Connections.
It isn't like the 'thread of fate'. For fate, everything would eventually lead back to a destined point.
For connection, however, it was unhindered by a destined point, weaving even 'fateless' beings together.
WORLD: FIRST REGION: KETER
BRANCHED WORLD: DATE A LIVE
LOCATION: NEIGHBORING WORLD
Why?
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
Why have you come to hunt me again? The thought echoed as she stirred from her slumber.
An endless white stretched in every direction. One where there was no floor, no ceiling, no horizon.
Just an endless white void.
At its heart, a single cube of pure white floated, suspended in the emptiness.
Upon that cube sat a throne which had golden rims catching the unseen light, edges gleaming sharp as if freshly forged.
Red cushioning that wrapped around the seat and back, rich fabric spilling slightly over the armrests.
She sat there, right leg draped over her left, left elbow resting lazily against the armrest.
Her head hung at an angle, as though the weight of boredom itself pressed it down.
Her eyes opened.
White Queen.
To think, not long after everything, that one would come running back to her. Was it regret?
If that was all, then there was no reason to entertain her. But what was it... She couldn't put her hands on it.
Yes.
Why is she here? That was the question that now hung in her mind. However, it didn't really matter.
She would first attend to the nuisance, and then, the domination of the Neighboring World will come after this.
She had already dominated the first Region: Keter.
Queen had arrived at this region first and reshaped this place to what she wanted.
Now, it was reminiscent of the old Japan, where she and her friend once lived.
This space, however, was but a hidden space.
She had sent the coordinates of their battlefield. It was here, in Keter.
The location...
LAUREL.
He exhaled slowly. Conquering worlds... perhaps that was never the whole purpose.
Somewhere along the lines, he'd changed many things than he could count.
He was past that since, He was first and foremost, a calamity.
There are those who would flourish from the grace of calamity.
And then, there are also those who would suffer the mercy of one.
"With this final act, I shall sever the fate of this world. This world birthed from the origin."
This world was said to have been born from the dream of a sleeping girl. And when she woke... that would be the end.
It was this same world where countless fates had changed for the better. They'd met people who had met people, formed bonds and connections.
However, now, those fates would be erased.
It was cruel, to strip away the weight of their struggles.
Yet with their struggles gone... so too would come new encounters.
"While I know how this wretched story will end... I'm looking forward to a different conclusion."
Is this the battle to end the world, or one that brings the beginning to a new world?