1

"This is more trouble than I expected."

Despite the disappointed and downcast expression on his face, Kazuki's feet continued taking him as fast as they could. His eyes carefully observed the overgrown vegetation that surrounded him while his ears listened for any possible noise besides the loud sound of crunching leaves that followed him.

Being separated from your partner is not the most ideal situation for traversing a living maze like this. For now, the shield on his hand with a blade extended out of it could protect him from any Nullities that might take advantage of this development.

Not that it mattered.

For the past few minutes, no Nullity has shown up. Instead, traps and shifting pathways were what drove him insane most of the way.

"One second there's a path in front, then the next second, it gets blocked by those thick vines or spawns a hole. There's a reason I never wanted to be the guy to get transported into another world," he groaned as he looked at what can be seen on the red sky past the trees.

Listening intently to the shrubbery surrounding him, he could confirm that some of them were on the move. Since no vines were shooting out hoping to entangle or impale him, Kazuki figured out that his path was probably being laid as he traversed the maze.

The whole place was not a maze per se. It was never designed to keep people wandering despite it appearing as such. That much has been made clear with the shifting paths and how he sensed that he was getting closer to one of the Class A Nullity signatures.

He paused his run for a moment and closed his eyes. Focusing on detecting the waves and signatures inside the labyrinth, he quickly picked up multiple presences.

Speaking of, one of the Class A signatures on the far right has disappeared.

Near the disappeared presence was another one on the move. It did not feel like a Nullity, and he quickly knew who it was.

Of course she'll pull through. Now, it's him turn to get the job done and reunite with her deeper into the Fragment.

Having gotten this momentary pause, his eyes darted around to help him gather his thoughts while standing in front of a three-way fork.

Only the sound of rustling leaves and bushes registered, and for a Fragment, the area seemed oddly tranquil in its own way.

Looking at the fork ahead, he already knew what will happen should he decide to take one of the paths. Experience has taught him that he would either be able to keep going forward until a hole prevents him from going forward.

Should that not be the case, he would find himself in front of a continually regenerating wall of vines. Spawning so fast, no amount of hacking can overcome the speed of its regeneration.

At the very least, he had yet to experience those vines shooting out and trying to stab him. He could only wonder if the same held true for the other side of the maze where his partner was sent to.

The distractions will keep going until he got to the "right" path. Then, the path will be clear.

If what Uehara said was correct and that there was someone behind controlling the maze's behavior...

He's being led somewhere. And someone's also having the time of his life toying with him.

Then why not just block off all paths with the exception of the correct one, dammit? Games that force you to backtrack are spawns of evil, and this Fragment is not helping me change my opinion one bit.

"Left, center, or right?"

His gut tells him to try the center route.

After all, if you're unsure of what to say, it's always better to try the centrist approach, right? Never making a full decision nor being decisive with your words.

"Does it even matter which one I choose first?" was his instinctive comment, but as soon as that sentence left his mouth, he had to stop himself.

Of course it mattered.

Every second he wastes is a second spent not making any progress towards reuniting with Uehara.

A second spent not heading towards Amagi.

A second spent being emotionally drained and worn down by the Fragment.

Left it is then.

2

Why did he take the left path?

He did not know the full answer, but given that the sense of danger and the heavy feeling enveloping him ever since he picked this path, he knew that he hit jackpot on the first try. In contrast to the sharp sense of anger and death that followed him whenever he entered a big Fragment in Shiroki City, the atmosphere of the whole place just seemed gloomier.

All this time, he had been traversing a formerly lush forest, one that could even house some settlements and even fortresses. Such settlement, in real life, would ultimately meet its end, not in a bang or a show of power, but of eventually decay, eventually being overrun by these vines that radiated despair.

Much like how emotions creep onto you. They latch onto you, feelings accumulate, and they slowly break you down from within.

The realization of that made him bite his lips as the scene that transpired in front of him moments ago replayed in his mind.

He remembered the tears that his childhood friend fought. He can see her look of disappointment.

How should I have gone with it?

Kazuki found himself still being bothered by such thoughts. Would anything else have sufficed? Shelving those thoughts, he focused more on the path ahead, and the further he went, the more convinced he was in this path that he took.

It also helped that the left path is the one that will take him even farther away from Uehara and the remaining presences... except one.

As they say, the more enemies that appear and the more obstacles come your way in a video game dungeon, the more you know that you are on the right track.

Eventually, the walls surrounding him gave way to a clearing ahead, and in front of his eyes was a vast canvas of green.

Various trees lined up in a scene that evoked images of the area outside this Fragment.

As he walked inside the forest, Kazuki found order in the disarray and chaos. The scattered formation of the trees, the dark environment, and the canopy blotted out much of the red light coming from the sky.

Inside, the sense of solitude that has been slowly creeping up to him intensified. Instead of the hair-raising feeling that people would feel, Kazuki instead felt the weight of the atmosphere pressing him down. The air also began cooling down, slowly and slowly, until it felt like death's door.

A lonely, nonviolent death. A slow, gradual one.

It was at that point that the Awakener noticed that he failed to even properly prop up his shield. His hands were like heavy weights that punished him with the urge to droop down. Eventually, his will gave way, and the bladed part of his Armament disappeared in a fizzling sound, reverting the shield to its base form.

Yet he soldiered on. Forward. In between the trees that become more and more ominous the deeper into the abyss he walked.

The whole area felt like a zone that sapped the will to live out of him the more he walked.

In the midst of the lonely abyss, a voice came calling out to him.

It was a female voice that felt familiar to his ears. It resembled a voice that he swore he had heard countless times already.

"Kazuki Arata, I have been waiting for you."

He paused.

He lifted his head and lazily stared at the being in front of him. Several meters in front of him was a female figure levitating in between the trees. From the lighting condition he had, he could barely make out the yellow hair and the formal outfit.

"Who are you?"

Without him noticing it, the feminine figure had crossed the distance between them and was right in front of him. It is at this point when he snapped back to his senses and gave a wild swing with his shield hand.

His swing barely grazed the yellow-haired woman, who laughed.

"Who are you?" repeated Kazuki.

That was a question out of impulse, but he already knew what this thing in front of him was. Like other Awakeners, he had long learned to sense the rough power readings of beings inside Mu.

And he sensed a power that was strong enough that it jump started the rest of his dulling senses.

It's the power of a Class A Nullity.

Fighting off the quickly-beating heart and the surge of adrenaline that threatened to immobilize him, Kazuki pulled his left arm back and placed his right hand over the shield.

There is no more time to hesitate. Assimilator's Core will reform the bladed shield on his hand, and he will get to fighting this opponent en route to rescuing Amagi.

"There is no need for that."

The voice, as haunting as it was, echoed throughout the dark forest, and the woman phased out of view.

What?

A cold breath.

"I have no need to see your strength. It is something that I have long acknowledged."

Kazuki shivered as he felt someone breathe cold air onto his nape. Gentle hands draped over his shoulders, and someone hugged him from behind in a calm embrace.

Instinct would have told him to shake this thing off, but his body froze in place, seemingly chilled out by the mere presence of this woman.

"Your heart and emotional fortitude, however..." whispered the woman.

His arms failed to respond to his commands, and just like that, he felt his body shake. He knew immediately that it came from his legs that grew unstable.

Something's happening to him, and it was all caused by the embrace of this yellow-haired Nullity.

What little that he can see of the world started spinning, and he felt the last bits of his consciousness fade away right as he got a proper glimpse of the Nullity's facial features.

It was a familiar-looking visage smiling at him past his shoulder. But he failed to recognize her.

3

The first thing that Kazuki's eyes saw when they opened was pure darkness. Pitch-black darkness awaited him as he stood in a daze.

Eventually, the darkness gave way to flickering lights arranged in a straight line, much like lamp posts on a street. The lights illuminated a path and a platform.

"Where is this place?" he asked. He last recalled fighting to stay awake against the Nullity's spiritual force. He knew that for a moment, it had crushed his will. However, he was positive that he had not died yet, so that thing should not have been some kind of life-consuming wither attack.

He began to take his first cautious steps when the sight in front of him shone with bright colors flying around. It was as if a screen was playing a clip in front of him, and the sequence that unfolded strongly tugged at Kazuki's heartstrings.

"This is..." his voice trailed off as he quickly recognized the person in the scene.

Humming a familiar tune, Amagi's form diligently finished preparing a box of cookies that she neatly wrapped with a ribbon. Heaving a sigh, she wiped her sweat yet maintained a look of satisfaction.

Looking at the digital calendar that read February 25, she smiled before finishing up.

An incomprehensible emotion pressed down on Kazuki's heart at the sight of this.

For as far as he can remember, Amagi had always gifted him those handmade treats on his birthday. He always gave a word of thanks, but only now did he realize how consistently she did it every year and how effort she put into it.

Before he can further process the scene, the view being manifested in front of him shifted. The colors blurred into each other before being restored to give him another scene.

This time, it was Amagi, a bit younger this time, standing in front of a much taller adult figure. The adult figure sat in front of a large desk with various trophies and diplomas behind him.

Kazuki knew what this room was, and he choked up almost immediately.

Emotional burden continued tearing away at Kazuki at the sight of this scene. He can more than remember this day when she volunteered to bail him out of much-deserved trouble. He had forgotten this memory, but it all came back to him in such a vivid manner as if it was divine-ordained punishment.

"Amagi, you really went through all those lengths."

It was then followed by event after another, events that Kazuki had forgotten or took for granted. 

Whether it be standing up for him against Ishida and the guys who ostracized him, taking care of him along with Hikari when he felt sick, giving him strength when he felt down, or tutoring him for elementary exams, Amagi had done it all.

Each memory played one by one until the male teen could feel his own mind being overcome with madness.

He knew exactly what these memories were getting at, but he still kept everything in and refused to acknowledge it outwardly.

"I get it, okay!" shouted Kazuki in a voice with a blend of annoyance and sadness. "What more do you want?"

"Payback. Redemption for the suffering I had to go through."

Kazuki's eyes looked on to see the shape of the Nullity forming beside the visions. He knew it was coming at the back of his head. Part of him wanted to keep running away from it, but it was all a matter of time.

A gasp escaped between his breaths, and he felt his fingers fidgeting as he laid his eyes on the yellow-haired woman.

"Struggle as you want, you cannot escape it. That is what you took for granted. That is what you set aside when you heartlessly rejected me. Not only that, you even tried skirting around the matter and never became honest in your rejection. Even now, do you have the fortitude to admit your faults?"

Carrying the indignant voice, the yellow-haired woman floated in front of Kazuki.

"Have you not considered the magnitude of your actions? Have you not considered my feelings?"

The woman, the Class A Nullity, put her hand over her chest, and her next words cut like razors. "Just like I expected. You're a horrible human being who has no shred of empathy."

With those words from the Nullity, the Awakener felt a bitter sensation within.

He had never denied those accusations, but something about them being stated out loud hurt him. It was as if somewhere deep inside, he still wanted positive validation. That is despite him knowing that he did not deserve it.

How horrible...

Those thoughts were directed to himself. He never deserved Amagi's admiration, and those words that came out of the Nullity were the ones that she should have told him a long time ago.

Is that how she really felt about me?

Kazuki knew very well the power of words, and he was not prepared to accept those words. Quietly, he begged for the Nullity to stop, but he also knew that it was not the end. A terrible and selfish human being like him deserved more.

He felt guilt for rejecting Amagi, but he never thought that everything would come crashing back at him like this.

"You're naïve. Gone was the old you that everyone looked up to. Now, all you act on are your own selfish desires. You deserve all the scorn you got when Ishida and everyone saw through your crap with that boy. You deserve to be expelled from school for all the things you pulled."

An uneasy feeling came over Kazuki as he found himself internally agreeing. Sure, those were valid accusations, but along with them came an unpleasant feeling that he cannot shake off.

"You were never deserving of my love."

With that statement by the Nullity, the male Awakener felt all willpower in him sucked dry.

"You never cared for my feelings. All you saw are my shortcomings, and you stuck around because of how much I gave. Just taking advantage of the love others give to your underserving self. Now that you have another girl who's far better than I am, you just throw me aside like the trash that you saw me as!"

Kazuki wanted to snap, but even as he took in all his feelings to give his reply, he found his voice shaking with every word he muttered.

"I never wanted this. It's never about you, Amagi. At the very least, believe my words this time. I never thought of you that way!"

He shook his head repeatedly before pressing his hands against his head. All the while, he sensed the Nullity hovering above him, reflecting more of her thoughts at him.

"Can you live with the guilt? Can you live with hurting me after everything?" the voice echoed, now echoing loudly and becoming like a demon's. "After everything you saw?"

He could swear that he was honest with his thoughts about Amagi, but it was ultimately a lost cause. How could he convince the angry manifestation of his childhood friend? It's not like there's a way to quantify his feelings.

It's no use...

Nevertheless, he gave it another try. He had no choice but to accept it.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I did," he responded in a pleading manner. "Is there anything that I can do for us to start over again?"

The Nullity instead scoffed at him. "No matter how hard you want to come to a compromise, your heart would not allow you to. You never had any intention of accepting my feelings."

He dropped to his knees and looked at the ground.

It felt as if a large cloud of remorse had blanketed him. No matter what he said, she was correct. He never intended to commit to a relationship or answer her confession, and the fact will never change. The fact that he would also have been undecisive in committing to Uehara will not change it.

He had also been quick to jump to responsibility only when it benefitted him.

When it fed his curiosity and gave him a purpose. When it made him seem cool. When it had the reward of gratification at the end of the tunnel. When it would keep him away from the feeling of guilt that consumed him now.

It was that which urged him to take the first step into this world of Awakeners and Nullities. It led him to Uehara, and it led him to all those moments that gave him a sense of power.

It was the same personality that came biting back at him now. Only now did he felt the consequences of his actions.

It was only now that it finally hit him on how insensitive he had been to the feelings of those who called an asshole like him a friend.

Those were the only people he had, and he had pushed them away.

In response to his thoughts, the ground shone back at him. Tears that were freshly dropped had expanded into puddles, and those reflected back to him an image of a broken teenager.

All of a sudden, the air in the abyss began to drop in temperature.

The blood vessels in his body felt like they have begun to squeeze into him, and it was a sensation that he never thought he'd feel. With each breath he took, he took them with more and more effort.

The already dormant Armament on his arm shattered into bits of magical energy that flew in front of his now emotionless eyes. The same eyes laid onto the yellow-haired Nullity looking at him with fierce eyes of a judge.

She raised her arms and opened her mouth for the final judgment.

"That's enough. There is no more need for that. I know understand everything."

Kazuki's expression changed upon hearing that voice come out of the yellow-haired woman's mouth. The voice came from the same Nullity, but in contrast to the conviction that he felt from the original one, this one had warmth.

It was a voice that resembled the calm and understanding voice of a friend.

"Arata, you do not have to push yourself so hard anymore."

"Amagi?" wondered Kazuki aloud as he blinked multiple times. Snapping out of his daze, he found the yellow-haired Nullity's expression contort. It was as if she was struggling with a battle of control from within.

"I have heard everything. Do you think that your dear friend would not be able to forgive you? Don't let her lies fool you, Arata. You know very well that I trust you more than anyone in this world," said the Nullity with much effort. "Especially after you went through hell and have come this far for me."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I was hurting, but I think that it will hurt me more if you would never free yourself of those burdens. What's important is that you learned to face your shortcomings head-on and accept them. That will lead your way into becoming a better person."

Finally standing up, Kazuki clenched his fist. Feeding off the energy that began to well up inside him, he yelled, and his Armament slowly materialized once more. The brilliant shield now found itself rested on his left arm, the very same arm that he had used to protect people dear to him.

"In exchange for my forgiveness, I do not want my childhood hero to look so sullen. Raise up your head, stand up, and let us meet each other again, Arata."

"Of course. I'm coming to save you, Amagi!"

Letting out yet another battle cry, Kazuki swung his arm horizontally, and the entire world of darkness shattered. Like breaking glass, the walls of the dome quickly fell against his will, and he found himself face-to-face with the Nullity in the forest.

"Wait for me, Amagi. I promise you..."

Still feeling the high from his renewed determination, Kazuki stared at the figure that now looked at him with a dazed expression.

"I will show you the hero that you admired shine in glorious brilliance!"

It's become clear now.

That thing in front of him is nothing more than Amagi's residual thoughts, the honest yet conflicting sides of her that she had locked away.

It was not the best experience, but thanks to her, he knew what he had to do.

"I'm sorry I had to cut our chat short, but," he said as he placed his right hand over the shield. "I don't have any more time to waste. A hero cannot keep his lady waiting, right?"

Light shone on the shield, and Kazuki yelled as he channeled the pent-up power within.

"Assimilator's Core!"

The bladed part of the shield appeared once more, and the female Nullity simply gazed at the blade with eyes full of wonder.

"Thanks for helping me see the bigger picture. As my thanks, I'll be sending you back to where you belong now."

His careful pace forward turned into a charge. Feeding off the energy within him, he aimed his Armament at the Nullity's heart.

The woman made no effort to dodge. She spread her arms wide, leaving herself completely open.

A relived breath escaped Kazuki's lips as his blade pierced the female Nullity.

4

Sakuya recoiled, and she loosened her grip on the girl's cheeks. It felt as if a powerful bolt had struck her from behind.

It certainly was not a matter of the brunette in front of her getting the ability to telepathically strike her. Seeing as her hands were shaking and that she felt the loss of some control over the structure of the Fragment, what happened was clear.

Both of them have been completely defeated.

"Sakuya..."

The brunette in front of her, Miki Amagi, opened her eyes gradually. With their telepathic link a while ago, she had certainly seen everything.

Not only that, the human girl even managed to temporarily overpower her will and reach out to the humans. Sakuya knew that very well, and she only had words of admiration for the human.

"Amazing, Miki Amagi."

The girl in front of her was still physically powerless and worn down, but the eyes that Sakuya saw revealed strength.

Two battles fought in different planes both concluded with the same answer.

Even with all the hate and frustration released onto them, the two humans fought through everything and overcame the trials. Instead of facilitating the brunette's fall into despair and eventual dependence on this dream, the two seemed to have made her stronger.

Sakuya sighed. Despite hating to admit it, there was no way around it. It was her defeat.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying, Sakuya?"

"I..."

Sakuya realized it too late, but she had tears welling up in her eyes.

She did not know that she was capable of this range of emotions as a Nullity, but seeing the two fights and the various spectrums of feelings in display had overwhelmed her with newfound emotion.

"Didn't I tell you so? I thank you for your concern, but escaping reality is never the answer. That much I have learned from being with you here."

Just as quickly, Sakuya felt a sense of satisfaction and happiness the moment she saw the smile form on the brunette's face. She still tried to fiddle with these foreign feelings, but it made her calm.

"Don't you think that they're great people after all? The human world is not as bad as you think, you know. In it is full of pain, but it is also a world that gives birth to hope and the strength to fight for a bright tomorrow.... Or at least that's what those shows that Arata kept watching said."

Sakuya had no more retort to the laughing Amagi. Instead, she placed her hand gently over the human's forehead.

Amagi's eyes widened upon seeing the Nullity's action. She then peacefully closed her eyes before voicing out a request.

"Please, bring us all back to our world. There is a lot of things I still have to do."

The Nullity nodded at the request.

"That would wait some time. For now, this is the least that I can do for you, Miki Amagi."

She channeled magical energy from herself which flowed into Amagi. It was a steady stream, but with each second, she felt her power over the domain weakening and re-stabilizing.

"We have both seen what your heart's deepest desire truly was. That ability, manifested in that bow of yours, shall be my parting gift to you."

"It feels warm..."

A calm and serene smile emerged on Amagi's face.

As the flow of magical energy continued, the vines entangling her had begun to unravel.

First, her hands were freed. Then, her feet emerged from the thick entanglement, and she slowly floated down the ground along with the Nullity.

"I do not know for how well you can use that newfound power with your physical and mental state right now, so rest up. You fought well, Miki Amagi."

With a sizzling sound, the transference of power concluded, and Sakuya prepared the next phase of her plan, or so she thought.

Those plans, whatever they were, would be cut short when a piercing new sensation assaulted the Nullity.

Pain.

Sakuya was interrupted in the worst way possible.

The Nullity felt a pain sear through her body. It started in her chest before quickly radiating all over. The sensation soon gave way to a forceful flow of magical energy, as if her entire being was being sapped away.

"Wh-what are you—"

A look down at the impact point revealed several serrated claws protruding out of her dress. No, those were tentacles hardened in the form of claws.

With much effort, she turned back to get a better look at the assailant.

Several meters away, he saw the source of the protrusions that had lethally pierced her.

The man wearing a mask.

The individual that Sakuya had wanted to see the least.