Gabriel tilted his head slightly, clearly not fully catching the direction of Kurumi's words.
But his mind moved quickly, aligning with the intention he had already formed.
He did want to do something to the Spirit—just not in the way Kurumi imagined, but as a rational decision.
Kurumi's ability was far too useful in many situations.
Even as a clone, her value remained high.
Without saying much, Gabriel pulled out a scroll from his Storage Ring. The paper looked old, yet a subtle flow of energy shimmered across its surface.
He held it out toward Kurumi.
"Spirit of Shadow," he said calmly. "Form an existence contract with me. Our fates will become linked."
The night air grew still.
Kurumi stared at the scroll seriously.
"The benefit," Gabriel continued, his tone unchanged, "is that you will no longer need to sacrifice Life Force to use Zafkiel. If you die, I, as Master, can revive you. Injuries can be transferred. Stamina can be shared."
He paused briefly before finishing.
"The drawback… our existences become bound. If the Master dies, the Servant vanishes as well."
There was no dramatization in his voice—only a statement of fact, cold and honest, like a judge reading out a verdict.
Kurumi did not immediately touch the scroll. Still, she stepped half a pace closer, her shadow stretching long beneath the moonlight.
The night wind stirred the hem of her dress.
The clock in her left eye turned slowly.
"Ara~" Her voice lowered by a note—no longer playful, but the real Kurumi, the one who calculates. "So this is what you meant by 'doing something'?"
She took the scroll… but only held it between two fingers, not opening it yet.
"To become… your Servant?" Her smile was faint. "That is not a light word, Pianist-san."
Her eyes locked onto Gabriel, sharp, piercing through the mist.
"You are erasing the greatest cost of my ability."
"Time."
Her tone was no longer flirtatious—it was the voice of a Spirit who had killed, been hunted, and survived on borrowed seconds.
"No longer needing to sacrifice my lifespan for Zafkiel's bullets… being able to rise again after death… injuries transferred… even stamina shared…"
She tilted her head slightly.
"A contract like that… even DEM would slaughter the world to obtain it."
Then—
"However," her eyes narrowed, "the price you ask is absolute."
She tapped the scroll lightly against her own chest.
"Our fates bound together. If the Master dies… I disappear as well."
Silence.
For several seconds, there was only the sound of the wind and the fading echo of piano notes lingering in the air.
Kurumi smiled again—slow, dangerous, yet… sincere in her own way.
"Pianist-san… you really are selfish."
She stepped closer.
"But that's exactly why… you're interesting."
She raised the scroll slightly.
"The question isn't whether this contract benefits me."
Her gaze softened just a little.
"The question is… are you strong enough not to die?"
The clock in her eye ticked.
"Because if you fall… all my time, all my sins… my entire existence…"
A small smile.
"…will vanish along with you."
Gabriel gave a faint smile. His voice remained flat as he replied, "If a nuclear missile were launched at me, I'd kick it to the moon."
Silence.
Kurumi's eyes widened slightly—not in fear, but surprise… then the corner of her lips lifted.
"Ara~" she murmured, amused. "It seems I underestimated you, Pianist-san."
She opened the scroll. The night wind that had been blowing softly suddenly felt still, as if the world itself were holding its breath.
"Very well."
Her gaze was steady now, no longer playful.
"I'll wager my time on you."
A little softer, almost a whisper—
"Don't die."
Gabriel tilted his head instead, looking genuinely confused. He hadn't expected her agreement to come so quickly.
"You… don't hesitate?" he asked honestly. "I was prepared to give you time to think. You could even let one of your clones decide."
Kurumi smiled faintly, her eyes narrowing with meaning.
"Hesitate over what?" she said gently. "I saw with my own eyes someone catch Ifrit's blast with his bare hand."
Kurumi lifted the contract scroll slightly.
"Then… how do I use it?"
"Just tear it," Gabriel replied calmly. "That's enough."
Without the slightest hesitation, Kurumi ripped the scroll apart.
Instantly, her pupils widened.
Foreign voices—clear, mechanical, yet strangely alive—flowed straight into her mind.
At the same time, a blue energy formed into a choker around Kurumi's neck before fading from sight.
In front of her, layers of notifications and translucent holographic screens began appearing, overlapping like a system interface visible only to her.
Meanwhile, Gabriel had already taken a seat at the piano.
His fingers descended onto the keys.
The first note rang out—Loki Variant.
A single low tone echoed, deep and heavy, as if marking the axis of time turning.
It was followed by broken sequences of notes, a rhythm that felt like the collapse of something old… then the birth of a new pattern rising from its ruins.
The air around the rooftop felt different.
Kurumi frowned slightly. Her gaze lifted toward Gabriel for a moment—his figure sitting calmly within the pale mist, playing music as if this were just an ordinary night.
Her attention returned to the transparent screens floating before her.
Ding!
[Variant Kurumi from Date A Live Timeline No. 10 has formed a Servant Contract with Herald Series 95.111.]
[From this moment onward, Variant Kurumi of Timeline No. 10 is bound to the same fate trajectory as Herald Series 95.111.]
[As a Servant, you are granted access rights equivalent to the Master.]
[Beginning beginner installation!]
[Infinity Room — a world created by the Prime God. This world is connected to many other worlds, or what you may call the multiverse.]
[Here, you may obtain the power, wealth, and authority you desire.]
[However, everything must be earned by your own hands. Infinity Room only provides opportunity to Heralds.]
[Basic information about the Infinity Room was transmitted directly into mind.]
The notification hovered silently in the air, its faint glow shimmering like something that did not belong in this world.
Kurumi's left eyebrow lifted slightly.
Gabriel's piano continued softly in the background, the notes sounding like the ticking of a colossal clock somewhere high in the sky.
"Variant…?" she murmured under her breath, her voice nearly drowned between the chimes. "So… there are other versions of me out there, not merely clones?"
Her red-and-gold eyes shifted, rereading the phrase that made her lips curve faintly.
Timeline: Date A Live
Ah.
At once, she was reminded of how Ratatoskr toyed with fate.
How Shido sealed Spirits as though this world were nothing more than a dating simulation, and they were its characters.
"So… that's the name of this world?" she whispered softly.
Her head tilted slightly, black hair slipping over her shoulder.
"How ironic… a world that calls itself like the title of a stage play."
Her smile widened, but her eyes did not follow.
"And I… am just a little girl dancing on the same stage, over and over, across different versions of myself."
Silence lingered for a moment, then a small laugh escaped—light, sweet… but hollow in its deepest part.
"Kihihi… the world truly is vast."
Only then did her gaze lower to the next holographic screen—her attribute status.
_________________
Name: Kurumi Tokisaki
Race: Human
Title: Nightmare
Job: Spirit
Authority Level: 5
***
Strength (STR): 105 (80+) {20+}
Vitality (VIT): 90 (65+) {20+}
Agility (AGI): 120 (95+) {20+}
Intelligent (INT): 246 (225+) {20+}
_________________
Silence hung for a few seconds.
Then a small laugh slipped from her lips—soft, thin, almost like an exhale.
"I see… if the bonuses from Title and Job are stripped away, I'm practically helpless."
"So… this is me without time?"
Her voice was flat. Not a joke.
Her hand touched her own chest, as if confirming her existence was still intact.
"Without being a Spirit… without a title… without Zafkiel…"
Her eyelids lowered briefly.
"Just an ordinary girl who can run… but can't change anything."
It wasn't self-mockery. Just an honest conclusion.
Kurumi had never been afraid of being weak.
What she feared was being powerless.
Slowly, a faint smile returned—one that somehow felt even more dangerous.
"Interesting."
She turned to Gabriel.
"So all this time… my power was never truly mine."
"The strong one is Nightmare."
A brief pause.
"Not Kurumi Tokisaki."
The final note of Loki – Theme Variant faded away. Gabriel turned on the bench to face Kurumi.
"Correct," he said calmly. "Ash assures you—your choice was not wrong."
He extended his right hand.
One leg crossed casually over the other.
The pale mist surrounding his body spiraled downward, condensing, then forming a magnificent throne beneath him—as though reality itself bowed to the role he played.
"Spirit of Shadow," he spoke softly, yet with absolute authority. "As your Master, Ash will grant you a small gift. Touch my hand… and imagine your wish."
Kurumi obeyed.
The moment their fingers met—
A bluish-purple light shimmered from the center of Gabriel's body.
An alien energy—impossible to comprehend—flowed into Kurumi, seeping into the core of her existence.
It didn't merely strengthen her.
It restructured her.
Her spiritual framework was rebuilt from the foundation, as if her fate itself were being rewritten with cosmic ink.
____
Author's Note:
I've kept my word—Kurumi has become Gabriel's Servant. Next will be Sith, Melusine, and Bargest in Rinkai. Stay tuned! 😀
Support me by adding this to your favorites, giving all your Power Stones, and leaving the best review 👍💯