1

Sorry, everyone.

There were more reasons for her to want to go after the Nullity. She knew full well that the reason of them being unfit was just that, an excuse.

More important to her heart was the desire to make things up. The failure stung, but it also compounded to an even more pressing concern.

Right when she was about to deliver the finishing blow to the homunculus Class B, she saw him.

Brother...

It was that glint, that glimmer, that caused her to hold back for a second, and her hesitation could have cost them all.

Still, there's still a way to rectify it all. She'll hunt the Nullity and finish it off.

No way could her brother be really alive, right? And assimilated in that Nullity, too.

It was all an illusion.

She convinced herself while running.

Unless she would hear his voice again... unless she could touch his gentle, caring hands again... she refused to believe the power of Mu.

She tapped her head a couple of times, as if trying to force those thoughts in. She cannot afford to be distracted now, not when Samsara's in danger. Not when she has yet to meet Guren Izaya.

Each of her footsteps echoed louder and louder. With only the trail of the leaking magical energy guiding her, Sayaka Uehara hurried down the hallway. She did not know where it led, but she knew full well what awaited at the end of it all.

The blade on her hand emitted a cold, blue glow.

Her Armament was hungry, and so was she. That Nullity had barely escaped them, but it would not do so again.

Running past the end of the tunnel, she leaped down and landed inside a room.

It was spacious, but there were no windows nor passageways in sight.

A dead end.

She had followed the trail of the Nullity, but this was where it ended. Walking towards the center of the room, she saw no sign of it.

She expected spikes to shoot out from one of the walls or for the pillars around the room to collapse on her, but none of that happened.

"Where are you?!" she shouted. Her sword glowed in sync, the blue radiance of it pulsing like heartbeat.

When the fog started growing thicker, she started peering to the sides, anticipating an attack.

It was here when she realized something amiss. Looking back, she could only see thick fog from where she came from.

She had lost track of the tunnel in which she came from as the thick fog blanketed the entire scene behind her.

She was completely alone.

"Arata! Amagi! Kimura!" she called out into the void, but her only reply came in the form of more fog.

No one else is here.

Her conscience battled against her heart while it started to sink in. There was no way around it. In her mad dash to this place, she had abandoned those three companions of hers. None of them were in any condition to fight another intense fight. Only prayers could save them from the Class B Nullity should this one be a decoy.

On the other hand...

It was better this way, she decided. If this Nullity happened to indeed share a connection with her brother, it was a being that she hoped to confront alone.

Then, it was solely her business. None of those three understood her, and they had lost any right to be involved in matters concerning her brother.

Upon quick observation, she saw that the fog had become thicker the past few seconds. She continued holding out for the reappearance of the Nullity, and when it does, she would easily finish it off and end this madness.

Her eyes desperately looked around. Her vision shifted from one end of the room to another, but all she saw were the same pillars, statues, and brick walls. Those parts that weren't covered by the purple fog, at least.

Tension first manifested when she found her next step especially tough to take. Her step felt heavy, and her feet started feeling numb.

She now found herself struggling to move through the fog, as if it contained a neurotoxin of sorts.

The fragrant smell of roses captivated her before her vision was completely blotted out by the purple haze.

She kept her sword in the ready stance, anticipating the incoming Nullities that would use this distraction to strike her.

There were few things more unnerving than the blinding fog, and one of those was the dead silence that enveloped her. She waited in anticipation, but none of the enemies came.

When she heard her own tired breaths, an unpleasant sensation caught her by the heart.

Without warning, she charged up her sword and shot a blade beam forward, hoping that it would catch a Nullity unaware, but her ears only registered the sound of a wall breaking.

No growling or wincing sounds, no retaliation in the form of an attack passing by her head, and no enemy lunging at her.

After that last attack, fatigue sapped the last of her strength away from her, and she violently dropped, her knee burning when it met the hard, unforgiving floor. Her own breaths became more and more labored as she looked at the weapon that she planted on the ground.

Not being able to see anything but the purple haze as well as the lack of knowledge of her location only made matters worse, and eventually, her legs started stiffening up.

While she tried to keep herself up, her vision started blurring. Her eyes struggled to keep themselves from closing, and despite all the strength she tried to muster, her entire body started failing her one part at a time.

Move! Move!

Bewildered thoughts took over her while she tried making sense of what's happening.

Was the fog really this strong and debilitating?

If so, she had made a very big mistake going after the Class B. While it lacked the Magna Arbiter's combat prowess, it more than made up for it with trickery up its sleeve, and she had fallen into its trap.

She refused to concede defeat and tried to power herself back up, but at that moment, the sound of glass shattering dropped all the remaining hope she had.

Her eyes widened, and she knew that despair finally took a firm hold in her heart. Her Armament had just broken out of her own will, which could only mean one thing.

The poison from the fog had infiltrated her body and was now messing with the rest of her body functions.

As if to remind her of her borrowed time, she collapsed, a heavy weight pressing down on her before she sprawled down with a thud.

Feeling her breathing give way, she clenched her fists.

It was all she can do.

Her eyes shut, and soon, the rest of her body will follow.

There wasn't even a time to regret, and all she felt was the wave of depression crushing her.

Would they have helped? No. They would just have gotten caught into the thick fog and suffered the same fate. It's better this way...

Before finishing that thought, her head lay on the floor, blinking her in and out of consciousness.

"Sayaka, where are you?"

Her eyelids flung open, that voice having invigorated her. Few people called her by her first name, and she could recognize that voice... Even after three years since she last heard it.

She failed to call out his name even with strength slowly returning to her body. The fog was as thick as ever, but despite not being able to see the source of the voice, she can pinpoint where it was exactly.

To her right, a couple of meters away.

She can only reach out desperately. Her body wobbled, and she found the last burst of strength slowly losing out.

She would fall to the ground again before being consumed by the fog.

With her last ounce of strength, she prayed for help that would come.

A hand gripped hers, and at that moment, she found herself being pulled up. The force easily overpowered everything weighing her down, and unable to muster even the slightest resistance, she let the force take her forward.

Two arms then found their place on her back, and she was lifted off her feet.

All of a sudden, the pressure weighing down on her disappeared. She blinked repeatedly just when the strength returned to her limbs and the rest of her body.

It was all thanks to the healing touch of her savior.

Senri Uehara.

With his messy black hair and sharp eyes, Sayaka's brother carried her in his arms.

"Sayaka, you've grown so much since I last saw you," he said before giving her back a comforting rub. "Have you been a good girl while big brother's gone?"

Without realizing it, the girl nodded and leaned her head against her smiling brother's chest. She had missed this warmth, and she had for so long wished to once again see her brother in the flesh.

She took every chance to savor the moment, slowly running her fingers through his smooth arms. While she was being carried by him, she found herself being transported into the past.

"Oh, I missed you so much."

The words came out automatically while she reminisced the past.

Back in those days, he would let her lean against him while he would lull her to sleep with his comforting back rubs. The act had always made her calm, and she would temporarily forget the not so ideal conditions that their homes had.

It did not matter whether they're staying inside an abandoned hotel room for the night or a makeshift shelter outside. Home was where the heart was, and he was all she needed.

Her eyes started closing, having found sanctuary in the arms of her dear brother. She wanted to curl her body in and fall into slumber in the hands of the most precious person in the entire world.

Before her eyes can fully shut, they caught sight of the fog that still surrounded her, and she pushed herself off.

She managed to land expertly on the ground, roll a couple of inches away, and stare at her brother.

Seeing the purple hue seemed to have awakened an instinctive sense that she had lost when the fog grew thicker. She eyed this person, and after seeing no sign of the Nullity she had come to hunt, bent her knees in a ready position.

"Just who are you?"

2

With her hand pulled to her side, she called upon her Armament, but the sword would not materialize.

"That's a good question."

Senri looked at his sister in a confused manner before he burst out laughing. He soon had to place his hand on his forehead to help reel back his laughs.

Normally, it would be the type of laughter meant to annoy people, but to Sayaka, it felt nostalgic.

When he finally stopped, he only had a look of concern on his face.

"Do I look like one of those things? Do I feel like them?"

When Sayaka failed to reply, Senri took the chance to approach her. Sayaka recoiled, but even she hesitated in doing that. She eyed her brother carefully.

Not a single drop of malice emerged from him.

She had a hard time wrapping her head around the Senri Uehara that stood in front of her, but when she can confirm that he was no Nullity, she allowed him to get closer.

If he is not a Nullity, then what is he? A piece of my memories given life by the powers of Mu? If so... is this what Ms. Sadohara talked about? The power to make real what isn't supposed to be real? The power to bend reality?

"Don't you trust your dear brother?"

The fog around them grew in intensity. While Sayaka tried to stay on her toes, her brief moment of resistance disappeared the moment the smell of roses filled her nostrils.

She entered the state of half-awareness, being able to retain some thoughts despite her body not responding as much to all her commands. Instead, her legs inched forward against her desires.

"O-of course I do. There's no one in the world that I trust more than you. My dearest brother and my savior."

How could she not? It would be a mortal sin to forget everything that her brother had done for her.

She had spent her childhood in misery. The drunkard of a man and the prostitute who fought him every night barely qualified as parents. Those sleepless nights trudged on, and she could only beg for it to end. There was but one light in that abyss, and it was in the loving brother of hers.

That fateful day when her brother ran away from home along with her – that was when her time started moving.

The months and years flew by, and living as runaways with her brother was an adventure in of itself.

"Sayaka, this right here is Tamaki-kun. Be a good girl while big brother goes out and gets some food, okay? He'll keep you company, and make sure to give him a good hug when you're feeling lonely," Senri said while holding the plush doll.

"Brother! It's beautiful!" the young Sayaka exclaimed while pointing at the fireworks in the distance.

"Wow! You look so pretty!" exclaimed a wide-eyed Senri while he looked at her first kimono.

"Get away from my precious sister!" shouted him to the boys who won't return Tamaki-kun.

"Happy birthday, Sayaka! Any wishes?" he asked with a smile, to which she responded. "I wish we'll be together forever!"

"We have to leave, Sayaka," he sadly announced. "We're no longer safe here."

"I'm not strong, contrary to what you think," he said before hitting his chest. "But true strength comes from the heart, Sayaka. I'm sure that when you grow up, you'll be even cooler and stronger than me."

"Sayaka... Sayaka...!" he held back his tears while holding her limp hand. "Oh what I would do for you to live. Please forgive me for being a bad brother."

Happy or not, they were all important memories that will stay in her heart forever.

Indeed, it was also her desire to see him once again that caused her to pursue the goal of finding Guren Izaya.

She now knew why she held back.

It was that glimmer of hope that caused her to pull her blade back at the last second. The fact that some Nullity might have connections with her brother made her hesitate in delivering the final blow.

Alas, none of those mattered now. Not when the real Senri Uehara was already in front of her.

"How could I forget, Brother? This body, this life," she pointed towards her chest. "The reason why this heart still beats is because of your sacrifice. It is for you that I had become strong, that I swore vengeance on those monsters that took you away from me."

"That I can see," said Senri with a coy smile as he scanned Sayaka from head to toe. "I'm just pleased to see that you have grown so much ever since we last met. I'm very proud of you, so please carry on my will, okay?"

"Your will, you say?"

"Yes."

"I remember, Brother," replied Sayaka, placing her hand on where her heart was. "You wanted to use the powers of Mu for the good of mankind. You believed in its potential, and with it, you will protect the weak and save humanity."

The smiling Senri nodded.

"Yes. I remember. And I believed in it. I really believed that we're going to the ultimate tandem who will save the world."

Flashing back to her memories of the past, Sayaka chuckled.

I really said that, didn't I?

How absurd was she back then. She really thought of that as a naïve 11-year old girl.

Unintelligible feelings welled in her heart as she leaned her body against her brother's. In response, Senri softly patted her nape before giving her a peck on the neck.

"We were. We really were, so I am sorry that I had to leave you alone. I had to trouble you."

"No. Don't be sorry, Brother!" Sayaka strongly replied, leaning her head against her brother's neck.

"If it wasn't for me... If it wasn't for me running into Mu, you would not have needed to save me." She looked down and hung her head. "And if you did not have to give me a second life, you would have been able to defeat those monsters on your own."

She leaned back and shook her head vehemently.

"I know because I know you're the strongest person in this world! Don't even deny it like you kept doing back then... You... You would never lose to the bad guys! You would have been the hero of justice you so dreamed of becoming! Instead..."

"Instead, you took your sword and swore vengeance on the residents of this world. Instead, you channeled your rage towards people who, like me, wanted to make use of it. To make them pay for their folly, and because you hate this world that took me from you."

Senri placed a hand on his chin while staring off into space.

"You felt that if this world and the human world can be separated forever, you will be able to say farewell to the sadness in your heart."

Sayaka carefully nodded.

"Only if you say goodbye to your last memories of me will you be able to free yourself from the chains of hatred."

"Say goodbye to you? No, I never want to do that, Brother!"

"By this point, you realize what I am, right? Not a Nullity, not a human. A mere piece of your memory. The mere fact that I am here talking to you is an error in reason that can only be realized in this world."

Error in reason?

Sayaka was left pondering hard on those words. Like a light bulb being lit, her mind connected the dots almost instantly.

So this is what Ms. Sadohara meant. If a Fragment by the Magna Arbiter can make this event possible, what more for the Akashic Records?

By the time Sayaka finished thinking, Senri's body had begun turning transparent. Slowly but surely, his body melded into the fog. She raised her head, only to have her eyes widen in horror.

Seeing this, she sprang into action.

"No, don't go! Brother!"

Sayaka ran forward, trying to catch her brother, but only sadness filled her heart when her embrace caught nothing but air. She wildly swung her arms around, trying to catch the fleeting particles of what used to be Senri Uehara.

Instead, the quickly-intensifying fog greeted her. It enveloped her body, and the insane weight returned, dropping her to her knees. Her body's muscles ached under the pressure, and she let out a scream.

She continued until her voice turned hoarse before the constricting grip reached her throat. Giving off a force that threatened to crush her throat, the fog resumed its relentless onslaught on her body.

Losing all strength, she finally dropped to the ground. This time, it was final.

Sorry, everyone...

Quickly losing consciousness, Sayaka felt her eyes start to roll back while all she could do was continue to breathe in the suffocating fog. Her vision quickly blurring, the last thing that she saw was a figure who resembled her brother. This time, he had what looked like wings.

Appendages that all pointed towards her.

Before those appendages can strike, another figure leapt in front of her.

The second figure raised his arms up, and something began materializing on his arm.

An Armament?

Before she can figure out who that was, her body completely shut down.

3

The rumbling sound alerted everyone in the tunnel, but it barely shook the ex-manager off her feet. She looked past the tunnel before shrugging.

"It seems that the Class B has been defeated. Well then, I'll be taking my leave."

The flying knives around Reiya Utara stopped in mid-air. One by one, they fizzled out.

"It has been defeated? You mean that Uehara did it?"

"Who knows?" she responded to Kazuki, who lay prone in front of her. "I'm just following Lord Izaya's big plan."

"Lord Izaya?"

Kazuki's struggles to push himself up was put down by his own arms giving way. As he planted back to the ground, he had little leeway to survey the damage Utara's ambush had. Not that it really mattered.

All he had to see was Amagi's unconscious body and her damaged dress for the flames of hatred to be fully lit in his heart.

"What does that bastard have planned?" he grunted.

"Don't even think of questioning Lord Izaya's wisdom," she said resolutely before summoning a knife and pointing it at Kazuki. "He's the messiah who would bring the world to salvation, and you better stay out of his way."

"Is that really what you think, Manager?"

Kazuki looked the other way, just in time to see Kimura pulling herself out from the crushed wall. The rest of the knives holding her to it dissipated while small debris on the wall fell behind the girl who got to a wobbly base.

"You were the one who told me to follow my dreams and not be bound by anything or anyone. You were the first one who believed in me and wanted to make my dreams come true. I refuse to believe that the manager who believed in me would say something as weak as that!"

"Believed in you? You were a spoiled brat who's not supposed to last more than a couple of years. You were a temporary reprieve, meant to fill the hole in my life while waiting for salvation. That's all there is to it."

"That's all? All those two years, they meant nothing to you?"

"Absolutely nothing."

Hearing those cold words, Kimura collapsed down on all fours. She looked down on the floor, and while she did not mutter a reply, Kazuki can eventually tell that her arms had started shaking uncontrollably, and it was not due to battle damage.

She's crying.

"Cruel..." he muttered to himself, never seeing Kimura in such a sorry state before.

"T-that's so heartless!"

Amagi's strained voice did her no favors, but she fought with all she had to throw those words back at the lavender-haired woman.

All it drew was a raised eyebrow from Utara as she eyed Amagi, watching the latter try to sit up.

"Kimura and I did not get off on the right foot, I admit. But I've seen how hardworking she is and how much she loves everyone. I've seen her at her most devious and at her most passionate. She's got trouble expressing herself at times, and she puts on an arrogant mask that gets annoying at times, but there's no doubting her heart!"

"Amagi..."

"She doesn't deserve someone as heartless as you!"

"Is that how you intend to pay your debt for her help at the Chronodome?" answered Utara nonchalantly. "Weak."

Before leaving any room for retort, she turned her back on everyone. "Anyway, that's enough. I've been instructed not to kill you, and this Fragment would be collapsing in a few minutes from now. You're free to go forth, but I doubt we'll be meeting each other again anytime soon."

"You bitch..."

Hearing Kazuki's words, she looked past her shoulders for a moment before licking her lips.

"Thank you for the compliment."

Those were her last words before the darkness of the tunnel consumed her.

4

"Haaaah... Haaah..."

Reijy Ishida panted as he held his two swords for support. Having planted them firmly on the ground, they had been reduced to nothing but temporary replacements for his tired legs.

Bloody replacements.

Without warning, he felt a convulsion in his stomach, causing him to cough out blood. This, in turn, opened up his body's slash wounds and the hole on the side of his abdomen.

More blood spilled forth, dyeing the crushed floor red.

"Damn you..."

He bitterly spoke under his breath before turning his eyes on his opponent.

Touya Satoru was missing his tentacle arm, and the Nullity that sprouted from his back was nowhere to be seen. The spiky haired man twitched as he leaned against the destroyed wall, a bloody mess with a cracked mask barely attached to his face.

Around him were pieces of evidence of the destruction the two had unleashed on the place.

Broken down pillars, crushed walls, splatters of blood that were barely visible due to the fog.

"This isn't good. Looks like we overextended ourselves this time."

Lacking the usual playful tone in her voice, the fairy Akane reappeared on Reijy's shoulder. Reijy gave her a glance, only to experience more sadness in seeing her already skimpy attire in tatters and part of her wings withered.

That's the price to pay for overcharging him with power, and even with such power, he couldn't finish the job. The enemy still lived, and he was at his limits.

"I'll acknowledge it."

Reijy looked ahead upon hearing the voice of his opponent.

"I'll acknowledge it. What those two said were really true, dammit."

Reijy did not need some creepy stranger's praises, nor did he want it. As a result, he only scoffed at his opponent's words.

"But hear this, Reijy Ishida. Next time we meet, I will trample you under my foot and consume you. Then, I'll finish off that fairy you got there and turn her into my slave, just like Setsura!"

Akane gasped, and Reijy's hands shook in indignation at such words.

Just as he was about to muster the strength to get back up, an earthquake struck and finally sent him down to the floor for good. The quake sapped off his remaining strength, and he was left staring at the ceiling.

Nothing but fog greeted his sights before he heard a groan and the sound of a body collapsing a few meters away from him.

This was no victory at all.

This operation had been a bust. He had expended his energy trying to kill this person. With the state he's in now, finding Kazuki Arata had become a pipe dream. The same went for exacting revenge on his brother in the real world.

What a fucking waste of time.