[Minatsuki’s POV]

I was sitting on the edge of the bed, lost in thought, thinking about how effortlessly ‘Vulture’ defeated me. He was weirdly surrounded by an ominous aura. I was on the edge from the time he entered the arena. Even though it seemed absurd, the sensation reminded me of a scene from an anime.

‘Can average people feel it too?’

Deciding to put those thoughts aside for the moment, I stood up from the bed and walked over to the mirror to tidy up my hair. I meticulously combed and braided it in double braids. With a sigh, I moved back towards the bed, ready to lay down and sleep.

Just as I was about to drift off, the room suddenly began to tremble violently. The unexpected shaking triggered memories of the Great Tokyo Earthquake and the horrifying day my mother abandoned me in a desperate attempt to save herself from the debris surrounding us.

As the earthquake continued, I found myself frozen in place, paralyzed by the combination of fear and painful memories. My body refused to move, leaving me in a state of helplessness.

But before anything could happen, I felt warmth cover me. Opening my eyes, I saw ‘Vulture’ carrying me outside the room to a safe place.

And after leaving me there, he went away at a speed I couldn’t even see.

“...”

“Well, that’s definitely weird…”

I was baffled by the turn of events that happened in these few seconds. I was remembering painful memories one moment, and I was sitting here in another.

‘Another weirdo. This place is full of weirdos.’

“I don’t even know his name. Oh well, what does it matter? I am probably going to die tomorrow anyway…”

—————

[Axton’s POV]

As I was dwelling on these things and needlessly overthinking, I suddenly ‘heard’ a voice. The voice was robotic but human enough to differentiate from one.

{You just need to control your intent or willpower that you are blatantly throwing around to not cause fear among everyone, but I suppose you already know that}

‘I see. So from when could you talk?’

{Since your evolution, You didn’t need to act like you were having a mental breakdown just to talk to me. Your acting was bad, and that’s me being generous.}

“Huh, Is that so? I thought it was good. Well, it worked, so I don’t see any problem.”

{I talked because I couldn’t bear to see any more of that ‘act’}

“Either way, you are going to answer my questions, or you can choose not to. I know I don’t have anything to bargain for, but I...”

Before I could continue, the system lady started speaking.

{I was an Eldritch parasite created by an Eldritch God. My purpose was to attach myself to you and ultimately control you. You were chosen because you possess a small amount of elder blood, indicating that your ancestors were somehow connected to elder gods.

However, due to the unpredictable nature of the void and unforeseen circumstances, the parasite was injured. Initially, I was meant to merge with both your soul and body, but my injury prevented me from doing so. As a result, I could only establish a spiritual connection.

Your survival in the void was made possible by the elder blood within you, as well as my assistance. I manipulated the void using the small amount of elder blood you had, leading you to this place where it would be easier for me to integrate with your body.

Furthermore, I created that Deadman Wonderland poster you saw as a means of communication, as I was unable to speak due to my injury. It was only visible to you because it wasn't real.

And that should answer all your questions. Now don’t disturb me again, I am still sleepy}

‘Like hell it does, that just makes it worse.’

“That was an acid trip for sure. Ah, I think I am going to have a real mental breakdown now.”

‘That’s really not how I thought that interaction would have gone—that MF just dumped all this shit on me. I totally thought I would have to fight a mental war with it and fight tooth and nail for every bit of information I wanted.’

Every bit of expectation I had for this was completely broken by this one interaction.

‘It basically said I am going to get fucked in every way possible by tentacles. I don’t even know what to think anymore. What does it mean that it was injured? And if it was going to control me, Why would it tell me anything? To make me feel despair? It spoke in the past tense, so maybe It’s not going to do that anymore...I hope.’

I just laid down on the bed, extremely tired, after trying to comprehend all of this.

‘If I knew it was going to be like this, I would have just chosen the soul-rending normal life over it. At least you could get momentous satisfaction and happiness from entertainment. It was better than living life every moment in danger. Not that I wasn't in danger back then, but it was at least simple as long as your luck wasn’t extremely bad.’

“Sigh… My future is going to be, oh, so very interesting.”

“You know, My mom used to say sighing too much can make you bald.”

I was confused, as I didn’t feel any footsteps or anything, but I wasn’t that surprised because Shiro could come and go without my noticing. I already believed someone else could too.

“I think I heard something similar from a girl named Akeno. Why would you sneak up on me though, Akeno?”

“Akeno was a fake name, and after my Parents adopted me, they gave me a new name, Makina.”

I was pleasantly surprised that Akeno ended up being Makina, but I didn’t show it on my face.

‘Nothing was shown in the manga about her backstory, so it is like this, I guess. During the show, she was in her mid-20s, so I guess it makes sense overall.’

“It seems your parents were German, Ms. Kiwako Flügel Makina.”

“Come on, Uncle, Stalking is a bad thing. I didn't know you were such a person. It looks like you are not fully innocent. What is your real name, though, Aizawa?”

“I wasn’t really stalking; I just know your name and that you are a G cup. As for my real name, you can call me Axton.”

The whole time, I didn’t even rotate my neck back to see her, which probably irked her.

“Now, will you tell me what you are doing here, Makina? This is a very dangerous place to be.”

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