1

Unforgiving cold. Hopelessness. Despair.

Those words described Akane Fujiwara's heightened emotions when she slowly opened her eyes and found herself sprawled on the cold floor. It would seem that she had taken a big fall, yet none of those associated pains radiated from her back.

What worried her more was the heavy blanket of air that weighed her down. It carried a scent that vaguely brought back some really bad memories. It was a severely unpleasant yet strangely familiar feeling.

It felt like she had seen this scene in a dream.

Before she can continue gathering her thoughts, she was interrupted by a sound that she had never heard before. It was one that filled her with discomfort, and she turned to see her childhood friend on his knees.

Reijy Ishida continued punching the rocky floor while continuing his unintelligible shouting.

"Why?! You had to take even Akane? How cruel can you get in your punishment?!"

He had his head craned up and seemed to look up to the heavens as he continued his protests.

Each shout of anguish tore at Fujiwara's heart as she approached. It was not an act of anger that she was witnessing. Given Reijy's shaky voice, she can tell that he had let go of the frustration that consumed him a while ago.

Instead, what she can see was a person completely overtaken by self-pity, someone who directed his frustrations not at anyone but at fate.

She sprang to her feet and quickly ran to the direction of Reijy.

"Reijy!"

Without warning, she threw herself at him and embraced him from behind. Unlike the previous attempt, he made no attempt to resist.

Instead, his body just lay limp, and Fujiwara heard a weak snivel from him.

"It's okay. I'm fine, Reijy," she whispered.

Never in her life did she see her childhood friend in such a vulnerable state. His actions a while ago may not be justified at all, but more than that, she just couldn't bear seeing him in such a sorry state.

Somewhere beneath the Reijy that she knew now was the childhood hero that she swore to support, after all.

"Akane, you're alive?" he weakly asked.

"Yeah, and I'm still mad... a bit. What's with you today, huh?"

"Thank goodness," he said with a bow. "But it's over."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing's working out. At this rate, there's nothing I can do to become the heir to the conglomerate. It's over, Akane. All my hard work, all for nothing. All while that Arata just goes by living his life that way without any repercussions, then gets rewarded for it. I can't even beat him a while ago."

Fujiwara cannot believe her ears. She exhaled before releasing her embrace. Reijy faced her with possibly the weakest expression that she had ever laid her eyes on. Those eyes were empty, and they were framed by a face that looked lifeless.

It was a sight that hurt Fujiwara, and she averted her eyes, unable to look him in the eye.

Then, a sound echoed in the room they're in, followed by a male yelp.

Reijy had made no effort to dodge the incoming slap.

"All that for a jealous fit! And you've been holding it in and suffering by yourself all this time."

"Akane. That's... the first time you hit me, or anyone for the matter," said Reijy while massaging the impact spot.

"You only ever think of yourself now. All your actions, have you ever thought how they affected others? Have you even considered what Arata goes through? Especially after you scapegoated him in the Nakagami incident? Stop being so self-centered, Reijy!"

The sullen boy made no effort to answer, instead letting the girl continue her tirade.

"Unbelievable. Is that what you have become after we separated? The Reijy I knew from childhood was not as weak and scummy as the person in front of me is," she scoffed. "You're much cooler than that, Reijy. Back then, the Reijy I knew would always find a way to get back up instead of crying over circumstances. He was the one who saved my family and many more."

She clenched her fists, an act that seemed to prompt a response from the boy. However, she kept going.

"It hurts me so much seeing you like that. Don't you trust me? Or Saito-senpai, Bloomenfled-senpai, or anyone else, for that matter? Do you know how everyone felt?"

"I'm sorry, Akane."

"And what's with the obsession with the company?"

"Akane, I..."

He never got to finish his sentence when a growling voice resounded throughout the room.

It took the momentum out of the conversation, and both of them started looking at the place they found themselves in, a small room filled with some strange inscriptions on the walls. Fujiwara can feel the tension in Reijy's already unstable facial expression, and she herself felt her fingertips shake along with the low, echoing growl.

It helped remind Fujiwara of the current situation that she had forgotten about thanks to her feelings. This was a world that was eerily nostalgic yet mostly unknown. Her body remembered the cold and depressing aura as well as the daunting appearance of the world.

Fear threatened to grip her, and the sweatdrops seemed to grow heavier by the moment.

It was the narrow pupils and open mouth of her childhood friend that changed everything. The sight of her friend hardened her heart, and she was able to exhale after a while.

Already unstable the past couple of days, he clearly could not come to terms with this world.

However, she can, if for some unknown reason.

She knew what she had to do. The two of them had a lot of straightening out to do later on, but for now, safety was the bigger concern, and she was completely determined to do it.

It's just right. It's her responsibility as the voluntary pillar of support.

"Reijy," she said, taking a deep breath and taking hold of his hand firmly. "Let's get out of here. We can talk later."

"Where?" asked the boy in a quivering voice.

"We're safer anywhere but here."

Reijy nodded meekly as he got up. Looking around, Fujiwara prepared to face the daunting task of navigating this place.

She had little clue where she was when both of them exit the room, but judging from the old, worn-down architecture, the cracked walls with runic markings, and the pillars that seemed to be everywhere, they seemed to be in some sort of ancient temple.

Fog appeared in varying levels, and she felt her skin crawl. It was as if eyes were somehow on the walls.

Watching.

Observing.

Looking at their every step.

Nevertheless, she pressed on with her resolve guiding her way.

2

"Why does this always keep happening when I'm with you?! And I was so stoked for the post-event celebration, too."

"I don't like it any more than you do, Kimura."

"I'm a thousand percent convinced that you're just a magnet for misfortune."

"If you put it that way," Kazuki put his hand on his chin while continuing his brisk walk with Kimura. "Perhaps you're the one who's a trouble magnet. I mean, when you look at it, you're also present all the time when we get into situations like this."

Kimura stopped for a moment, and after initially giving an expression of confusion, pouted. "Hmph! It can't be me! I just know it can't!"

"Really? Experience tells me otherwise."

"Argh! Let's just hurry and get to the others, okay? Say, how many were they again?"

It was a question that immediately flipped the switch.

Kazuki stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes. It had been a while since he had to go to this ability that's innate to all Awakeners. As his mind slowly detected the responses one by one, his heartbeat quickened.

He felt sweat drip from his forehead the sooner he kept this trance on. His usually pinpoint focus on this ability fluctuated with every second, as if the sparks making his brain work continually shorted.

The nightmare had no end in sight.

Judging from the amount of signals he received and how spread out everything was, he can tell that this Fragment was far larger than anything that he had navigated before.

It also contained far more people.

"Anything?" asked the anxious girl.

He hung his head, giving Kimura a serious expression. "Hundreds. I cannot keep track of them all."

"Seriously? You're telling me the entire school has been caught up in this?!"

"Let's hurry and find some of them."

He quickened his pace, and despite his relative silence, his mind was anything but calm. If they had all been caught up in this place...

Uehara and Amagi should be fine. Hikari and Sana though...

He clicked his tongue when he turned a corner into a dead end. It was one of the multiple ones that they had ran into. As he got ready to run, he felt a gentle pat on his back.

"Getting worried?" asked Kimura.

"But Hikari and –"

"Ssshhh!"

"Kimura, we have no time to waste."

"Hihi, you really worry a lot for your sister, do you? I just find it really cute. The whole thing is like the Chronodome incident all over again."

"This is serious."

Before giving him further chance to speak, Kimura put her open palm out to stop him.

"I know what that feels like, being an idol and all. You know, stage jitters. In cases like that,what I should do is to take a deep breath, refocus myself, and think... at least that's what Manager would have said. It really isn't for me," she said with a sheepish smirk. "But you should try it. You're very confused now, so maybe with a bit of focus, we can find out way to the people. Ahh, who am I kidding? If it's you, I know you can do it."

Her eyes looked completely serious, and Kazuki had no choice but to take a pause.

"Thanks," answered Kazuki. "I honestly wouldn't talk up to myself that much, but still, thanks."

He closed his eyes once more and focused on the clusters of readings.

Most of them are on the move.

With nothing else to trust but his gut feeling, Kazuki decided to focus on a moderate cluster of readings. They were all weak and exuded nothing of note, but two powerful ones hung around the area.

Could those be Uehara and Amagi?

There's only one way to find out, and Kazuki knew that.

3

"I just find it strange that we've been in this weird temple palace thing for quite a while, and I've never seen those... what you call them again?"

The two had resumed their run between the many pillars and interlocking hallways, and Kimura's observation was something that Kazuki also noticed.

Ever since they entered the Fragment, they never encountered any Nullities. The growling sounds and the tingling sensations were ever-present, but none of the shadowy humanoids nor animal-like monsters made their presence felt.

As he felt the unforgiving cold bite down on his nape, Kazuki quickly looked around, only to see no Nullity in sight.

"It felt like we're being watched. I don't like this," said Kimura.

"Me neither. Just be glad that there weren't any of them."

Then, he felt his body tense up. "Speaking of, I'd be happy if I didn't just jinx us!"

Pushing his feet against the ground, Kazuki turned his body towards Kimura. Even as he heard the surprised yelp of the girl due to the abrupt turn, he narrowed his eyes to a certain spot on the ground.

Then another.

Then a third one.

Swinging his left arm to the side, he materialized his Armament, the trusty shield that had served him well for as long as he can remember.

"Assimilator's Core!"

Magical energy filled the Armament, allowing to transform into its bladed form. Spreading his other arm, Kazuki took a defensive stance between Kimura and the source of the disturbance.

"Kimura, stand back!"

From those three spots crept shadows. Like a pillar of shadows, they grew until they were two-thirds as tall as Kazuki was. They danced in the air and gathered miasmatic energy around them as they grew.

"Arms?" wondered Kazuki.

Creepy tendrils sprouted from the end of each pillar, forming fingers that looked similar to rotten wood. They swayed as if beckoning passersby to their doom.

Kazuki kept his eyes alert, and it was this focus that allowed him to slash at each arm that lunged at him. Three sounds of dust clouds entered his ears as he slashed the arms off with precision.

Just as suddenly as they appeared, they were gone.

"W-what was that?!"

He could feel the unease in her voice, but even he cannot come up with a conclusive answer.

"I don't know. Are those what this place has for Nullities? They just didn't feel the same, though."

He felt just as bewildered as his companion. Those things were not the embodiments of human emotions given life by this world.

First off, all the Nullities that he faced had a complete form. They were either humanoid, animal-like, or a complete eldritch abomination in form. Never were they simply arms or malicious forms that immediately dissipate into nothing.

These things were so frail that they might as well be susceptible to physical combat without the aid of Armaments.

What if those arms were just a part of a whole? The possibility was there, and it would put a completely new dynamic to the Fragment.

Surprisingly, Kazuki also never detected any strong readings from a powerful Nullity. If those arms were just part of a powerful Nullity, an ability as wide-scale and unique as this ought to warrant a Class A classification at the very least.

Should such a Nullity really exist everywhere in this Fragment, it would not bode well for the non-Awakeners caught in the world.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, he slowly talked while shaking his head.

"Kimura, we need to hurry!"

"Way ahead of you!" nodded her as she began her run.

Focusing on a particular cluster of people that he detected above them, Kazuki rushed on.

4

"Waaaaah!"

The loud scream bounced off the walls of the hallway. None of that, along with the loud footsteps on the rocky floor, registered in Seiji Shiki's ears. Not when his entire focus was on running from the thing trailing him.

It was all thanks a burst of adrenaline that had made him seem to forget the pungent smell and the debilitating air in this unknown world.

W-where am I?!

The images were burned into his mind when he came to. He had no clue as to what happened, but for some godforsaken reason, the audience applauding his speech had disappeared. Everything transpired in a blink of an eye it seemed, but the audience disappeared in a swirling vortex of colors before he blacked out.

When he awakened, he was inside this strange place, and the energy he brimmed with while preparing to accept the honors had been drained.

This was no doubt a place of unhappiness. From the cold air, to the scene that made him cough more than he liked, from the onset, Shiki wanted nothing more than to get out of here.

For all its intents and purposes, the place made him lethargic and drowsy.

Those sentiments of lethargy changed when he entered a room by accident. From then on, his world had been turned upside down.

He can recognize their faces even after they had been turned into lifeless statues, glued to the ground.

Tomoda was there. As well as Daimonji, Yamada, and a lot of the other classmates who had been part of the audience and the team. They were non-responsive, being nothing more than petrified forms of themselves, firmly held to the ground by what looked like roots.

It was when Shiki had tried to untangle Tomoda when the low growl entered his ears. He felt the blood drain from his body while he slowly raised his head.

Those were greetings from otherworldly arms that emerged out of the ground near the victimized students, and they were the last things that he had wanted to see.

"I have dreamed of being in a video game world, but not this way!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, seeing that the thing was still hot on his heels. "Someone save me from this nightmare!"

It had been a long chase ever since he seemingly tripped a trap in that room, and now, the pursuers had been cut down to two hands that glided along the floor at will. Unperturbed by anything, the two remaining hands stayed in pursuit, slowly gaining ground on him.

"I don't wanna die I don't wanna die I don't wanna die!" Shiki repeated over and over again as he continued his aimless running. Anything, anywhere to get away from those creepy hands.

Corner to corner. Room to room. The chase seemed to never end, and he just prayed under his breath that his instincts will show him the way.

His furiously pumping heart, along with the rest of his muscles, came to a screeching halt as soon when he passed a flight of pillars. With his arms flailing around and his soles managing to hit the skid, he gulped as he gazed at the chasm in front of him.

He tried to gather himself and stabilize his breathing while staring in awe at what his eyes laid on.

He now stood at the edge of the gorge, marveling at the layers of ruined bridges and collapsed plates on the other side.

Now that he finally put everything together in his mind, he concluded that this place looked completely like a dungeon from one of those high fantasy stories. The scarlet sky that seeped through cracks on some walls further supported that claim of this being another world.

The rumblings behind him snapped him back to the situation at hand, and he hastily searched for a way out. There seemed to be no way to cross over to the other side, but an inviting slope caught the corner of his eye.

Running down that slope, Shiki had no hesitation leaping into a gigantic crack in the wall to find himself back inside the winding series of paths.

"Geez, whoever designed this place is nuts. So you're telling me that there are at least ten more floors of this?!" he complained, recalling how high up he was a while ago.

Still, he continued to feel the sensation of danger creeping behind him.

It began to feel even closer than before, and Shiki felt his feet accelerating with what little strength he had. Down the corridor he went as the growling sounds surrounded him.

He scrambled forward, eyes darting from side to side. Running out of wits end, he had nothing left to do but to throw all caution in the wind and try to survive for as long as he can.

"Oh shit!"

He stopped too late when he saw a figure in front, crashing straight into it. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, ready for it to be his last.

Shiki opened his eyes at the sound of the unexpected female scream from the object he accidentally tackled.

It was no monster that he bumped into, but the identity of the girl did not make him feel any better.

Not when his eyes opened to see the rage-filled eyes of Rin Amamiya. Her teary eyes burned with indignation, and her lips shook. Worsening the situation was Shiki finding out that he was on all fours on top of the upperclassman.

Why her of all people?!

Heavy breaths continued while he tried to calm himself down. Normally, he wouldn't be too stressed out, even if he were to be put in such a suggestive position with an attractive girl. But this was Rin Amamiya, and they didn't exactly hit off on the right foot ever since.

"W-w-wait, it's all a mistake, Amamiya!"

In his panic, he sprang back with both hands raised. For one moment, it was as if the danger of the growling noises and the pursuing hands disappeared, being overcome by an even bigger threat: a grumpy girl who's in a terrible mood.

He shut his eyes and prepared for the incoming slap or ear pull, but to his surprise, what he got was a tight grip on his shirt.

"Thank goodness you're fine!"

Emotions overflowed from her voice as she clung onto him.

Dumbfounded, Shiki had no clue how to react, but it was as if instinct prompted him to gently caress the crying girl's back.

"T-they're gone... Everyone. All turned into stone. And there are those creepy arm things chasing me around!"

Just like what happened to Tomoda and the others?

"T-the hands..." she cried. "They got Chouno. They ate her up, and she just fell down and became like the others. I couldn't save her.... Uwaaaa!"

This is bad. What should I do?!

Shiki said nothing, instead holding Amamiya in an attempt to comfort her and calm her down. Time slowed to a crawl, and for some reason, all presence of the pursuers had disappeared.

Then, the silence was interrupted by a new sound.

Drip.

Drip.

The sound of splattering grew louder and louder, and they were soon followed by footsteps.

"There's nothing to cut here, only garbage like those hands. It's such a bore. Ain't that right, Setsura?"

From one of the area's many paths walked a strange person. Shiki did not recognize the spiky-haired youth who wore a mask.

He most certainly did not know anyone with a right arm that looked so deformed, as if it was some living organism with all the wriggling under the long sleeves. Trailing him was a pale woman with beauty second to none.

Shiki felt that such a woman would have enthralled him had she not had blades for arms and a ghastly, translucent feel to her body.

"Oh, what do we have here? Looks like we have some playmates after all, Setsura."

"W-who are you?!" Shiki blurted at the approaching person.

"Any chance you know of a person called Kazuki Arata?" he asked, tilting his head.

"What if I do?"

"Tell me. If I kill you now, skewer your body, and cut your guts out, will he show up?"

The sound of that made Shiki's stomach turn. He tightened his grip on Amamiya, whose heavy breaths and trembling he felt.

This person's bad news, and he had to act quickly.

Otherwise, he knew that he and Amamiya would meet a quick and untimely end.