???: "Clain! Clain!"
????: "Ahh- just 5 more minutes... Uahh~"
As the sun rose, a frantic kid called out to Clain, who—even though it was already so late—was sound asleep, dead to the world.
Even when roused, he had the nerve to ask for a few more minutes.
Only to follow it up with a long, drawn-out yawn.
???: "Come on Clain! We're gonna be late for the exam!"
Clain: "Huh!? What exam? Wait... where the hell am I!"
???: "Oh come on! You promised you'd go this time, don't play dumb now!"
Clain, who clearly had no idea where he was, tilted his head sharply.
He shifted back and forth, still cozy in his bed.
But for some reason... Clain felt a deep emptiness. Even with someone right in front of him, he might as well have been alone... Who was she?
Only a blurry figure came into focus—something in the air suggested long hair flowing freely. The way it moved hinted at a slender frame.
He could tell it was a woman, but couldn't make out her voice or her full face at all...
With obvious worry, that girl—or boy—exclaimed "Hey hey! You okay?" Though to Clain, it was just faint, incomprehensible muttering.
Clain: "Yeah... Actually, let's head to the exam right now! I'm excited for it."
????: "What- What's wrong with me?"
???: "Yes! Great, I'll go with Mom and Dad. You stay here and don't move, okay?"
Clain: "Hahaha, sure thing. I'll wait for you here!"
Clain said with a smile, waving off what seemed like a cheerful kid—though he couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl.
But then, like some kind of zombie, the body's original owner couldn't move it at all.
His body spoke and moved on its own.
Even so, the presence inside could only watch from a place of uncertainty.
The weird thing was: the moment he'd woken up to that kid's voice, he'd been fully aware of his body.
In his current state, he wasn't—he just felt numb.
No, "felt" was the wrong word. He couldn't feel anything at all.
Clain: "Hmmm... What was that? It's like... I blacked out."
????: [What are you talking about! Wait, who's controlling my body!?]
Clain was worried about not having been conscious, something 「????」 was screaming about—but without a mouth to speak or hands to hit with, their efforts were useless.
But... in the blink of an eye, 「????」 got control of the body back. Stunned by this, they darted around the room wildly.
Their expression was terrifying—but ironically, it showed fear. They had no idea what was happening, didn't even know who they were in that moment. So they tried to find a mirror in that run-down room.
A room with old red bricks, furniture eaten away by bugs, and tattered curtains.
That was the best way to describe it—but at first glance, everything was white, like "Clain" had some kind of eye condition.
????: "Ugh, damn it, I can't find anything..."
???: "Little brother, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Clain: "Oh, of course! Tell me, what did Mom and Dad say?"
While 「????」 desperately searched for something to see their reflection in, that delicate figure appeared again. This time, they paid no mind—but when they tried to keep looking, their body responded on its own.
It was like... like someone else was living in that body.
????: [No... Not again...]
Once more, 「????」 was reduced to nothing but a disembodied consciousness—unable to scream, unable to even touch. They wanted to punch the floor, but there was no floor to punch.
Clain, for his part, tried to keep his cool. It was obvious to 「????」—who was inside that body—that Clain already knew about them. It wouldn't be long before trouble started.
???: "Actually, little brother, it's time to eat. How about we go to the dining hall? Mom and Dad must have made something delicious!"
Clain: "Of course! I'll be there in a minute!"
The vision was blurry, the surroundings unclear, and the figure in front of him: a stranger. 「????」 wondered frantically where they were supposed to be, watching as Clain cheerfully waved off his brother—or maybe sister. 「????」 could only stay still, but then out of nowhere, they felt like their face had hit the floor.
They got control of the body back again.
????: "Ohhh, damn it!"
Those were the first words from that unknown person after regaining control. They couldn't help but feel frustrated, hitting the floor over and over.
????: "Okay- aaaa~ I need to calm down a bit, and think about this damn situation."
They said as they stood up again. With a situation this frustrating, it was only natural to fall into a short fit of anger.
But in the end, humans always get back up to face the problem. Or at least, that's what 「????」 remembered hearing somewhere.
Other than that, there was no time to think about such trivial things.
「????」 studied the room carefully. Even though they couldn't make out any details, they deduced from past patterns: whenever that kid came and went, the other person took control.
That sister—or maybe brother—was the cause of the switch.
????: "I got it!"
With that in mind, they looked all around the room.
Apparently searching for something specific.
But before they could do anything, that person came back, and 「????」 returned to a state of non-existence—no legs to walk on, no eyes to see with.
Just floating in a dark space. Feeling and hearing from there as the scene unfolded.
???: "Little brother! Here~ you must be hungry. We're gonna be late for the exam, so eat up fast!"
That slender figure said energetically, holding a curved plate in their fidgety hands.
A bright smile and sparkling eyes—they were the very picture of joy, though it was still hard to tell if it was a boy or girl.
Clain: "Sure, Annie, but- didn't you just leave?"
Annie: "Well... a few minutes passed, but this isn't the time for questions! Eat!"
"A few minutes passed" is what Annie said—but Clain's question was about his "blackout."
Basically, that comment set off Clain's senses. Something weird was going on.
He frowned noticeably, but as Annie had said, this wasn't the time for questions.
So with that, Clain did nothing but eat.
In response, Annie sat down to watch her brother eat, while Clain was clearly suspicious.
Once he was done, Annie stared at Clain, sighed, and then asked the question.
Annie: "So, little brother, are you gonna tell me what's wrong?"
Clain: "What are you talking about?"
Annie: "Lately—lately you've been acting like a different person!"
Simple words, but confusing ones.
For 「????」, who was seeing this blurrily, everything was strange.
At first, they'd been able to watch but not feel.
Maybe they couldn't make out colors, but they could see.
Now that sense was gone—instead, they could feel every part of their surroundings as if it were their own.
"What does she mean?" they wondered in that frustrating dark space, confused by the situation.
But for Clain, who was now in control of the body, this question didn't seem like a surprise.
Instead, he just set the bowl on the floor and, with a bright smile, exclaimed:
Clain: "I don't know what you're talking about!"
Annie: "Huh-?"
Annie was stunned. What do you mean you don't know? Was he playing dumb, or just trying to change the subject?
Of course, for Annie—who was supposed to be his sister—either option should have been a clear answer.
Clain: "I'm Clain, the great hero of Rayiux! And a hero can't show sadness. Hahaha!"
But before Annie could think about it too hard, Clain stood up suddenly and declared that with a bold voice.
「????」 didn't know it, but he was definitely pointing one arm at the sky.
Because of this, Annie just laughed softly and pointed at Clain—who clearly deflated at the teasing.
Annie: "Hahaha, you're still so cute. A hero of laziness is what you are!"
Annie said as she rolled around on the floor, laughing louder and louder.
Clain: "Hey! Don't be like that, I try harder than you think!"
Annie: "Yeah- sure, you try way too hard at sleeping. Hahaha!"
Despite Clain's annoyed retort, Annie didn't stop laughing. Defeated by her teasing, Clain let his arms fall and turned toward the door.
Clain: "Forget it... It's time to go, get off the floor."
Annie: "Haaaaaahaha! Oh- right, sure"
After that, Annie stood up gracefully, brushed off what looked like a skirt, and then quickly walked past Clain.
Annie: "I'll go first—who knows what could happen to the so-called hero. Hahaha"
She said sarcastically and confidently, hands on her hips.
Clain: "You're never gonna let that go, are you?"
Annie: "Heh, heh, Of course not~"
Clain sighed, and in response, Annie replied with a soft, teasing voice.
All of this was strange for 「????」, who couldn't see anything at all—they just had to feel and listen.
Three of their senses were gone, but something was off. Every time they came and went from Clain's body, their senses changed.
This was a very confusing thing for them. Why? they wondered.
Another important fact: they'd confirmed that "Annie" was indeed the cause of the switch.
It seemed that when she was around, Clain controlled the body—and when she wasn't, they did.
The rules and reasons for this were unclear. In fact, they couldn't even remember their own name.
They remembered things they'd learned at some point—clearly, they could think and didn't seem to have any mental disabilities.
So why couldn't they remember anything before that morning? This confused 「????」 less than it should have.
Since they were easily distracted, they couldn't think about it much—and before they knew it, they had control of the body again.
They stumbled a bit, and even though they tried, they couldn't help but fall onto a bed of smooth stone.
They felt dizzy, but with enough effort, they stood up again.
What they saw left them speechless. A cluster of pyramid-shaped structures, stretching up into the deep sky.
Lateral and horizontal void intersections decorated with glowing blue LEDs, and walls as black and blue as jet.
There were no people, no vehicles in sight—only this set of massive structures in front of them, which looked truly beautiful in the light of the moons.
And because of this: the so-called hero's face was filled with surprise—a surprise that was suddenly interrupted by an impact from the sky.
Something like a rock fell on his foot, but luckily 「????」 pulled it away quickly.
The object just kept going, piercing the floor—which regenerated as soon as it was broken.
This time, 「????」 felt no pain, nor did they hear the crash.
It made sense to assume they'd lost touch and hearing this time—but they didn't care, mainly because they'd already gotten used to it.
They just walked, stumbling a bit, wondering when Clain and Annie had gotten here.
Of course, since this was where they'd regained control, it was normal to think they'd split up at this point.
But just as they walked, something crossed their mind: "Could this be the place for that damn exam?" As they'd heard repeated times that day, it was exam day.
It also seemed strange that it was night, since for them it had only been a few minutes since dawn—no, more like it had just started to get light.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, they felt a strange sensation in their body and mind—overwhelmed by unbearable pain.
Their vision blurred until they could see nothing but white.
They tried to hold their head but couldn't even move. Their brain was shaking, their heart was beating so fast it felt like it would explode.
They could even feel their blood flow changing—so much so that they couldn't even form a coherent thought.
And just as the pain had come, it was gone.
They were back in that state of non-existence—no nerves to feel with, no mind to react with.
Suddenly, they heard a shout.
???: "I knew it! Damn it, I knew it! It's you, 「DEATH」"
「????」 was stunned. They couldn't react to that word, couldn't speak, couldn't even feel what was happening—but that title, that title filled their senseless heart with fear.
It was as if they already knew what it meant—or rather, those words were directed at them, because the one who said them was a frantic, angry Clain.
Clain: "How many dirty tricks do you have up your sleeve, huh? Get out of my body already, damn it"
Maybe all that pain 「????」 had felt was Clain's doing. Since they didn't know his abilities, they could assume it was his fault.
But what if it wasn't? In the worst case, maybe that "DEATH" had manipulated their senses.
Something more important: why were they being called by such a creepy title?
Clain: "Despicable being! So you made everything dark, huh? You really do love the night"
He shouted at the sky, clearly exasperated.
All of this filled 「????」 with unimaginable fear. They had no idea what was happening, no idea why—and they couldn't do a thing about it.
But before Clain could strain his voice any more, a figure appeared: a girl with a clearly unhappy face.
???: "DEATH? DESPICABLE BEING?
Do you even know what's going on, Clain!"
It was Annie, rushing over to Clain.
For his part, Clain couldn't say anything to her—he just stood there stunned.
Annie clenched her fists and looked up at the strange Clain, clearly worried.
Annie: "Tell me, little brother! Do you know anything about this!? Or do you have something to do with it!?
But Clain didn't respond. It wasn't because he didn't want to—he just couldn't form any words.
Then Annie saw it, saw it reflected in Clain's trembling eyes. A shadow was descending slowly from the sky.
Eclipsing the bright moons with its darkness, hiding the glow of the LEDs, and bringing with it a pressure strong enough to shatter any human bone.
But Annie and Clain's bones were strong enough to withstand it.
Even so, both of their breathing became ragged.
That shadow could only be described as the embodiment of fear—corrupting everything in its path, just as fear corrupts the soul.
The surrounding buildings simply split, collapsed, were destroyed.
That being took step after step, unflinching, surrounded by darkness as deep as space itself.
Every step made the world shake—it seemed like an exaggeration, but the entire horizon was eclipsed by the deep indifference of the being in front of them.
Burning fragments fell from the sky. What had once been a beautiful structure was now the cause of imminent destruction.
Clain reacted on instinct and rushed toward Annie, dodging all those hellish stones.
But the flames already contrasted with the darkness of that being Clain called "DEATH."
Any effort would be useless, any moment would be forgotten. The indifference of what they were facing was so great that escape was impossible.
DEATH: "DIE"
The word was dry, emotionless, unfeeling.
A simple word that floated in the air with no direction—but Clain, Annie, and 「????」, who watched from the depths of their fear, all felt its destructive power.
But there was no time to react. The shadow's indifference faded and turned to rage—an indescribable rage aimed at the only living beings there.
Flames were shot at Clain, who quickly blocked them by lifting a rock from the ground.
A fast, precise movement.
But it didn't stop there. A wave of shadows was shot at Annie and Clain.
With unimaginable skill, they dodged them with movements that were both precise and simple—showing a level of combat ability 「????」 hadn't expected from them.
Quickly, Clain launched a counterattack, summoning a long sword in his hands and shouting at that being.
Clain: "DEATH! I'll finish you here!"
It was like a war cry—but even with this effort, nothing worked. The pressure increased, and that being split everything.
Literally everything—a direct blow to reality.
Everything became nothing, so it was more like deep space. There was nothing left—only two bodies in front of a shadow in the middle of utter non-existence.
No, now there were three bodies. 「????」 appeared on the scene alone—not close, not far, just there as if it were no big deal.
Their head was flooded with information they couldn't process fast enough, so with this inability, they just stayed as an observer.
For their part, Annie and Clain didn't flinch.
They attacked that shadow in sync. Clain's long sword was gone, so he created stone fists to hit the being in front of him.
And Annie supported him with explosions from all angles.
None of this worked—it was useless. That shadow took a humanoid form and in an instant repelled and blocked all attacks.
It moved with terrifying speed and struck both of them one-sidedly.
It seemed like it would continue—but in the blink of an eye, Clain and Annie were no longer where they should be.
Looking over, Clain was sliding across inert ice, quickly throwing a punch at that humanoid being, while Annie kept firing literally hundreds of flaming arrows.
Every single arrow dissipated into nothing, and with an incredibly fast reaction; Clain teleported—once, twice, no, dozens of times around the enemy.
He aimed kicks, elbows, hands, and feet. But none hit their mark.
Instead, he took a blow to the side that sent him flying hundreds of meters. Quickly, Annie copied the move and lunged with flaming fists.
Each punch created an explosion powerful enough to knock down entire buildings—yet nothing hit.
That shadow moved as fast as light.
While Annie attacked in a frenzy, Clain took the chance to lift hundreds of square meters of rock around him.
Turned into large stakes, Annie pulled back and Clain fired them. The stakes glowed with heat from their immense speed.
But faster than lightning, the being created something like a black hole. All that matter was absorbed and then fell from the sky like meteorites.
Thousands of meteorites falling into deep darkness.
Annie didn't flinch—she just copied the move, creating something that repelled instead of absorbing.
After that, Clain charged in, hitting that shadow thousands of times per second—but it was like hitting thin air.
It was completely useless; physical damage seemed to mean nothing.
But this time, something different happened. The shadow copied him and struck Clain's entire body with brutal speed—so fast it was almost invisible.
Adrenaline flooded their veins, their whole bodies sweating with dizzy minds.
Annie and Clain were fighting to the death against something unknown.
A shadow from another dimension, another world, or maybe even another reality.
Clain was almost knocked out from all the damage he'd taken, but Annie didn't fall behind—using something like a portal, she hit the being from behind.
Yes, she hit it—with something like a photon fist.
Finally, something had managed to strike that being—but it didn't end there.
Portals opened from every angle, attacking the being in quick succession.
Forcing it to stop its assault on Clain and respond to Annie.
It turned into an exchange of blows, as the being started to copy with both defense and attack.
While that happened, Clain managed to create something in one hand.
A huge cluster of white flames like a small sun—and, seizing the moment, he threw it quickly.
This could have resulted in Clain's victory, if that despicable thing hadn't used Annie's portals to escape.
Annie absorbed most of the impact because the portals were still open.
And afterward, both her arms and legs were pierced by large dark arrows.
Clain couldn't believe it—he'd hurt his own sister. He was on the verge of despair but knew he couldn't give in.
So, calming down, he attacked the shadow again to defend his sister.
He didn't know what to do, didn't know how to respond—but he knew he had to try.
All effort was useless. In that moment, he tried to attack again, but it did nothing.
His sister managed to escape thanks to Clain's useless attack—but Clain took the next hit.
A blue explosion filled his abdomen, his consciousness clouded over, and for some reason, he lost the ability to "fly" in that void.
Falling, falling—he couldn't think of anything. His consciousness faded and that shadow approached him, with deadly intent in its movement.
But the one watching from far away could only make out meaningless flashes—unable to follow the entire battle that had unfolded in mere seconds.
Out of nowhere, they took control of Clain's body—it was them who would take the hit.
For the first time, all their senses sharpened at once.
The shrill sound of their blood rushing and their heart pounding.
The horrible feeling of pain flooding their entire body and mind.
The smell of iron that filled their nostrils until they felt sick.
The dry taste of saliva in their mouth.
And finally, the clear sight of a girl in front of them—with beautiful red hair flowing behind her, staring at them with bright blue eyes, a girl who gave one last smile.
「????」 couldn't even react, couldn't move, couldn't defend the one in front of them.
Tears in her eyes, Annie spoke soft words—words that shouldn't have been directed at the one in front of her.
Annie: "I'll miss you… Little brother…"
Her final words weren't just "I'll miss you"—it wasn't an obligation, nor was it just a goodbye.
It was an affirmation of her truth—similar in essence to an "I love you," comparable to every "I love you" they'd ever said together.
There was no reason, no logic—if you tried to explain the reason for such deep love, you'd never finish. It was completely unconditional.
A family love that would bind them even in death—that's what it was.
Inevitably, Annie split into 2, then 4, 8, 16—she split infinitely until she became nothing more than an echo of what was once life, what was once a sister capable of feeling and loving.
Nothing was left—not even a fleeting sign that she'd ever existed.
After that, a huge explosion erupted—something 「????」 would never be able to explain.
Their body survived, but for some reason their mind broke.
Maybe they could fight, they had no experience—but they would do it, they'd do it for that girl who'd defended them with her life.
It was what they had to do—that being who seemed superior would fall for its sins.
But before they could move, intense pain flooded their body, and in the next instant, they were an observer again.
Clain: "We'll see each other again! Annie."
Clain shouted at the sky—not in anger, nor in sadness. But in deep acceptance of what had happened.
There was certainty in his words, and determination too.
His mind didn't fall into anger or despair over such a precious loss.
It wasn't because it hadn't affected him—but because he had to win, he had to stop the imminent catastrophe right then and there.
As for 「????」, they started to lose all their senses—no consciousness left to feel with.
Falling, falling into deep darkness—a bottomless darkness in the oblivion of non-existence.
Something so fleeting they'd never be able to explain or even imagine it.
They could only make out flashes—flashes that could mean absolutely anything.
Between the haze of insensitivity, between the fading of their thoughts, between the decay of their emotions.
One last glimmer of life stirred their mind.
? : "Don't forget, Alcor—this is the ----- 1732"
What did it mean? They didn't know, didn't think about it, didn't even imagine.
They just listened.
As for Clain, he kept fighting until he was exhausted, doing everything he could to win.
Broken bones, shattered mind, drained energy.
And still, his efforts were in vain—he didn't make it, and inevitably perished in his world's ruin.
As a relic of the disaster, all existing matter turned to non-existence.
And with that, the being known as "DEATH" won.