1

With exhaustion, both physical and mental, finally taking its toll, Kazuki lay prone on the cold, hard floor.

In the end, it was all worth it. It was not an easy task, but he had figured out the answer to the trick question and made it in the nick of time.

Or did he? For all he knew, he just lucked into it, but as they say, a win's a win.

There's no further proof of his win than the predominantly green jewel that continued rolling on top of his palm. It was an Armament that gave him all sorts of trouble, but he was able to overcome it, and that thought made him happy.

He had lost some of his other senses temporarily, but when he fully came to, he saw the hooded figure overlooking him.

He was in no position to resist once the figure leaned down and picked up its Armament from his hand.

"Well done," congratulated the mysterious figure. It then conjured a new chord and promptly returned the Armament to its proper place – around the neck of its owner.

Kazuki flashed a smirk back at his opponent. In response, it offered its hand to the fallen Awakener.

He took that hand, and with a tough grip, used it to pull himself back up.

Up until now, he was not sure what the true identity of this figure is. However, the hand that he took was slender and smooth, and an inadvertent whiff of his hand confirmed that it was wrapped with mint fragrance.

"That's some smart thinking out there, Kazuki Arata. Now, I am certain that you can be a big help to the cause, whether the other Awakener approves of it or not."

"Before anything," began Kazuki, remembering his main goal after that stressful battle, "You still owe me your end of the deal. You're gonna tell me everything."

The hooded figure nodded. "Very well."

Kazuki watched as the figure slowly walked back to its throne.

"I take it that you understand what Fragments are, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Basically, these places are pockets, dimensions that exist parallel to the real world. They form a network that all exist in this world called Mu."

With that, Kazuki saw the figure point at a window that showed the red sky outside.

"The crimson sky and the miasmic atmosphere are traits of this world beyond our own. Some say that it is a world brought about by human desires. Those prayers, repressed wishes, hidden goals, all those things that deal with the human psyche."

"Well, sounds like a painfully standard explanation for another world. You know, just like video games and anime. How did you get that idea, anyway?"

"As you can see, inside Mu live beings called Nullities."

"Those humanoid shadows, those black monsters... Yeah I know them alright."

"When a person feels a strong emotion, they release energy – psychic energy that end up in Mu, manifesting into these monsters. It is plausible that the whole world is fueled by those energies."

Kazuki was torn on whether to laugh at the sheer absurdness of the explanation or not. It all seemed to be something ripped out of an anime plot, but at the same time, having been to Mu a couple of times already, he had firm doubts that he was being lied to.

"Mu mostly exists in an alternate plane of existence. It is in most cases, an existence completely separate from the world we live in. In normal situations, Fragments would never materialize and connect our world with Mu. However..."

The hooded figure now stood back up.

"The disappearances, right?" asked Kazuki.

"Something happened in the past that caused the barrier to thin, and it allowed some people inside. You know what happens once a person goes into Mu?"

"They either die or gain powers like us," answered Kazuki with some doubt in his voice.

"You catch on quick. Some who have strong wills can end up tapping in to their powers and coming out like us. However, for most people..."

It all made sense for Kazuki, who continued listening attentively. He recalled his previous trips to Mu and how the conditions became more and more bearable, culminating with the time he obtained his Armament.

"So I reckon you know what's next?" asked the figure.

With the flow of the conversation, Kazuki slowly felt the pieces falling into place. He recalled that the previous one he was in had another person that Uehara was going after. It was a long shot, but he could already predict where this conversation is headed.

"You're saying that there is someone responsible for these portals appearing now and that he's using his powers to whisk people into this dimension?"

He got a nod for a reply, and he sighed.

"Sayaka Uehara already had a headway into the investigation, but I have the feeling that this would not be the last of the disappearance cases. Also, I am asking a favor for her sake."

"For her sake?"

"Her mana flows inside you. Ever since that fateful night, the two of you have become linked, and I think that you are the best person to pull her out of the darkness in her heart."

Stepping down from the throne and approaching Kazuki, the hooded figure reached out and placed its hand on Kazuki's shoulder.

"For years, her heart has been drunk with the darkness of vengeance. She has long decided to walk the path of solitude. Being her parental stand-in, I do not want that for her. She won't listen to me, but I feel that one who has part of her coursing inside him would be the one able to provide her a shoulder to lean on. I take it that you know how she feels, right? Taking on the world by yourself after losing everything?"

Kazuki was taken aback.

"Hey, don't make it sound overdramatic like that. I at least have a handful of friends and a sister."

"I know. I know that very well. At least you have it better than her, who has no one but me to trust."

Kazuki found himself not knowing how to respond.

"Besides, you felt it, didn't you? The true nature of your Armament, the representation of the desire you harbored and sealed off deep inside you."

He was unsure of what this mysterious figure was talking about, but Kazuki felt that it had to do with the transference of power that he felt when his shield met those swords, illusion or not.

He set that thought aside for the meantime and returned to what this person said about Uehara. That request is a monumental task, especially for someone he barely knew.

In the end...

"You got it," he involuntarily answered.

Seconds after uttering those words, Kazuki wondered what got him to make that decision on a whim. He never considered himself a good listener, nor was he the standout example of empathy. However, in some way, he knew the answer.

Due to previous experiences, he had shut his heart off to most people. Embracing solitude, he realized that in doing so, he had ended up relying on his last remaining connections too much. It felt just right to be the beacon of hope for someone else for once.

"Thank you."

After saying thanks, the hooded figure stepped back, and after drawing circles in the air and chanting like Uehara did, summoned a veiled portal.

Staring at the portal, Kazuki cannot help but ask. "So, do all Awakeners get the ability to pull nifty tricks like that?"

"That would be a yes. Unfortunately, teaching you how to do that will have to wait."

Kazuki shrugged. "What a shame."

He then gave the figure a good look at the dark area being hidden by the hood.

"By the way, I've been wondering. How did you know about contacting me? Maybe you should take off that hood of yours before I leave."

"That is not part of the deal," answered the hooded figure. "Now go!"

"What a pain..." Kazuki scratched his head before conceding the lost cause. He walked into the veiled portal before giving the figure one last look.

Kazuki Arata smirked at the figure. "It may not seem like it, but I really thank you for everything, whoever you are. I have a feeling that we'll meet again."

He immediately got his reply. "Oh, we will."

With that, Kazuki proceeded with exiting the Fragment.

2

"Where have you been? I've been trying to call you for an hour already!" yelled Sayaka Uehara into her phone.

Saying that she's in a foul mood is understating it.

"Hey, what's the matter? I had to attend to something," answered the altered voice from the other end of the call.

"Talk about awful timing. Listen. We got a new development in the case, and I needed your intel for over an hour already!"

In between lines, she drank her coffee while eyeing the patients and doctors entering and exiting the hospital cafeteria.

It was really an awful coincidence that just as she needed intel the most, she was unable to contact her confidant who had always been available.

"Calm down. One at a time. What came of your interrogation?"

"Well, the story is..." Uehara began while recalling what happened over an hour earlier.

Uehara made her return to Jay's room after having visited the room 1108. Standing some distance away from the bed, she prepared to tell him the news.

"How is she?" asked Jay with a hint of worry in his voice.

"She's alive."

She was talking about the woman she saw in that room. She could not forget the image of that woman with blonde, wavy hair laying lifeless on the bed. Her pale face exuded an air of tranquility as the rest of the body rested in an orderly manner.

It all seemed that she had a smile, an expression completely unbefitting her current state of being comatose. The woman had a haunting beauty to her, as if she was already under some spell that preserved her foreign beauty through the difficulties of life confined to a hospital bed.

Various apparatuses surrounded her bed, all recording her vitals and looking out for possible changes.

However, the two most important pieces of information that Sayaka Uehara got included finding out the name of the comatose woman. Josephine Shizaki, mother to the person in front of her that also lay on a hospital bed of his own.

The second one was of the doctor in charge of looking after her: Dr. Shin Kagami.

"Thank goodness."

From the tone of his voice, Uehara can feel that the blonde youth had a heavy weight lifted off his shoulders. Somehow, the mystery had begun coming together, and it did not please her.

"Care to spill the beans now? You got a lot of talking to do."

Jay flashed a surprisingly calm and peaceful smile at her. He seemed to have calmed down and was looking a lot fresher and stronger than a while ago.

"My mother has always been terminally ill with a degenerative illness. Weeks ago, my mother was on the way home at night when her body finally gave in. Stopped functioning altogether, and she just collapsed."

He slowed down his talking as he seemed to have difficulty narrating through his feelings.

"The authorities said it was an accident, but they could not determine its full explanation. Either way, her condition kept getting worse. Whoever got assigned to her eventually gave up, one by one. Said there was nothing more that can be done and that it was only a matter of time. Then, he came and offered to do it."

Continuing his narration, Jay looked on with longing eyes.

"Dr. Shin Kagami. He believed in a power that can save my mother. He refused to tell me everything, but whatever he did, it worked. My mother was on the brink of death, but like magic, Dr. Kagami took her in, and after a night, was able to improve her condition. I do not care if it was magic or some divine intervention, but it was as if time turned back."

Using his free hand, Jay started being more animated in his telling of the story.

"I did not understand much of the jargon the doctor told me, but he did say something about a power that allowed him to share part of him to regenerate the damaged parts of her body, whatever that meant."

Hearing those explanations, Uehara's eyes widened.

Could it be?

She recalled the scene that she found herself facing just a few days back. She cannot be entirely sure, but if the doctor was the one responsible for opening the Fragments and spiriting people away, it would make sense for him to be an Awakener.

Awakeners, when reaching a stage of power, have the ability to transfer some of their mana in order to heal someone.

"He then told me that in order to continue the healing, he wanted more money. I started getting into... questionable deals the past couple of weeks. Strangely enough, the people I made deals with ended up on the disappearances list," resumed Jay.

All of a sudden, his eyes began tearing up, and he shook his head. 

"Who are we kidding? The doctor surely had something to do with those disappearances. After getting caught in that dreadful world, I know it already. Granted, most of the people I dealt with were assholes, but still..."

Jay used his free hand to slam the bed several times.

"The doctor continued to ask for more and more money, and without those large amounts of money, he refused to continue treating my mother."

For any other person, it would be easy to just report extortion to the proper authorities to have this person investigated, but he would have no doubt prepared himself for something like that.

"He's my only hope. If I lose him now..." Jay chimed in, affirming her thoughts even more.

Uehara had enough, and she moved beside the hospitalized youth. Meeting his weak and helpless expression with a firm and resolute voice, she gave her response.

"Make no mistake. You still have a lot to answer for. But..." She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "Whatever the doctor has planned to do with that wretched world, I swear I'll stop it dead in its tracks."

Jay remained silent when Uehara asked him one last question.

"Where is he?"

Jay shrugged.

Having seen his expression, the black-haired girl felt a mix of emotions. After that story, she could clearly see where this person is coming from. 

For him, that doctor was his only hope, right or wrong he may be. Still, nothing good comes out of a person proud enough to even think of harnessing the power of Mu.

She had seen this scene before. She had seen roads littered with good intentions end in disaster and regret.

"I'll bring him back, I swear."

"Big breakthrough..." were the words that came out of Jay's mouth.

"Come again?"

"The doctor said that he was about to start his big breakthrough today, one that would change the course of history. He said that he would start by giving society's degenerates a second chance at life."

"So that's what happened," said Uehara in the present after she finished giving a digest of her conversation with Jay Shizaki.

"Amazing..."

"Now's not the time to be amazed! I need intel on Dr. Kagami as soon as possible."

"Yep, I'm on it now. But who would have thought that the head pharmacist of Aspira would be behind this whole mess?"

"Somehow, I had a feeling, too. I just didn't think that it was that particular doctor, of all people. On another note..."

Uehara stopped for the moment as she remembered the incident a few nights ago.

When she brought Arata in, the doctor was indeed far too eager to take a look at him. His mannerisms, his actions, it was as if he was expecting the events.

Why did she not notice something suspicious then? She wanted to hit herself for not noticing it earlier.

"You've gone silent. What is it?" asked the voice.

"N-nothing important. How's the search going?"

"Most of the data has been wiped, but we were able to recover some activity logs from the hospital database. Dr. Kagami notified the hospital that he will be on leave today. However, we have seen some hints here pointing to South Quinn Street."

Hearing the name of the venue, it all made sense to Uehara now.

"South Quinn Street, huh? Any tabs on major events happening there today?"

"Huh? What's with that?"

"If the doctor wanted to make something big happen, it would probably be most effective somewhere with a lot of people gathered together."

"Hold on a sec."

Uehara patiently waited for the answer as she heard nothing but the sound of keyboard keys being hit in rapid succession. It took a while, but the much-awaited reply came soon enough.

"There is one event scheduled at Imperial Tracks. You know Yuki-tan, the idol? She has something scheduled later in the late afternoon."

Uehara hung up and got up from the table with her destination in mind.