||MekakucitY∞TimE∞TravelS|| Part 2: The Haze

●KagePro III● Eyes that Float in Memories

(AN) Edited :)

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August 15th

in a 『daze』

The world, the never-ending world, and the parallel world.

They're all interconnected!

She scrolled listlessly through the message, rereading it for what was to be the hundredth time. Time really didn't behave normally in the Haze. Looking up at the sky, Ayano had maintained her position for several days already.

She wondered if she could talk to him again.

Yes, it would be nice.

Hearing that cold voice stabbing into her heart, while she desperately tried to break through his ice.

She liked it that way.

She liked it a lot.

She wondered if he liked it as well.

She gave herself a sad smile as she tried to convince herself with lies.

Carefully adjusting her favorite red muffler, her mundane thoughts went to the siblings she left behind. Were they still together? Are they happy?

Does Kido-chan still distance herself from crowds?

Does Kano-chan still wallow in self-pity?

Does Seto-chan still shut himself out?

"You."

"Excuse me?"

"Are you a resident here?"

"I believe so . . . who are you?"

"Are you alone?"

"Maybe . . . I'm not sure. What are you doing here?"

The person---if it was a person---turned her back on her, toward a blood-strewn crossroad decorated with regularly-spaced white rectangles. "This world is . . . interesting. And hot."

"It's summertime. You'll get used to it soon . . . are you going somewhere?"

"I don't mind if you leave me alone now, though I'd actually prefer it if you didn't . . . . "

"Who are you?"

She half-turned, half-spun like a ballerina, her pale pink pigtails outlined against the sky. "You may call me . . .

. . . the librarian."

She gave Ayano a mysterious smile, then placed her tiny hands gingerly behind her back. A faint glow issued from her pale skin. Ayano could only stare at the large lotus-like flower she wore like a hat.

"How did you die?" were the only words she could muster.

The librarian cocked her head, causing her lotus to glitter in the sun. "Die?"

"It's a..." Ayano was about to explain to the girl her theory on how this all started: this mayhem, the burden, and all the lives at stake. But the words just knotted up and died in her throat. She was just curious as to how this librarian of sorts ended up in the Haze. Then again, she didn't know if she wanted to know.

She was confused, as usual.

But the librarian already seemed to know her thoughts.

"...long story," she finished for her. "That's partially correct. I live in a world housing 900,666 Phantom Books: books created out of man's madness, anger, passion, and fear; books that could burn and kill if opened by the wrong person.

"One of my custodians had visited me recently and asked for a book I couldn't give. Afterwards, I heard that they discovered a man could offer them that book and this summertime world, in exchange for the completion of this world again."

" . . . what book was this?"

The librarian bowed her head solemnly. "According to the man, the book had the ultimate power of creating Never-Ending Worlds."

Ayano's eyebrows furrowed in concern. She found the news oddly disturbing and familiar, like a sudden bump in the hull of a sinking ship. There was once a time when the strangest supernatural she ever encountered was a medusa. Now this.

"How exactly did the custodian give...a world?"

"Who knows how to contain the Razielis Archangeli?" The librarian echoed. "I do not know their terms of agreement. But one thing is for certain, dear Ayano: you must be careful from now on."

She wondered why she wasn't even surprised to hear the stranger say her name. "I'm quite safe here," she said. "And I'm keeping other people safe as I remain."

"That's not what I meant," the librarian insisted. "The archangel has been dealing with devious creatures lately. And this man is no exception. Assuring him of the completion of his world . . . in exchange for a book that could create Never-Ending Worlds . . . the man is quite short-sighted, but he is cunning. You, of all people, should be alarmed."

"Why?"

"Because the Razielis Archangeli seeks to seal this『daze』once and for all, with you in it, as well as everyone who will soon be entering. Then destroy it to make room for her own."

"With you in it?" Ayano pried.

"No, fortunately."