1

When the sliding doors to her compound opened, Uehara was looking at her phone. Various news articles lined up the screen while she scrolled on, her mind ignoring the footsteps.

"Did I interrupt anything?"

Guren Izaya, still carrying his usual affable expression now stood in front of her.

"No, not at all."

The black-haired girl put down her phone to give Izaya her full attention.

"Is there anything you need me for?" she asked.

"Just a general catching up. I want to know how you feel after a week of working with me. You sure you don't want to bury the hatchet with Ms. Utara and the rest of Euphoria?"

Uehara shook her head vehemently.

What an insulting question. She had no intention of working hand-in-hand with those people.

Not Dr. Kagami, who performed inhumane experiments and caused the first series of Mu incidents, nearly costing her life.

Not Touya Satoru, the man who knew only a world of power and strong eat weak. He had little convictions besides gaining power and asserting his will.

Definitely not Reiya Utara.

Working with Euphoria was out of the question. The only person she signed up to work with was this man in front of him.

Izaya, thanks to his linked past with both her brother and Ms. Sadohara, held the keys to her reunion with her brother: the only acceptable end to her longstanding vendetta against the Nullities. Besides, this man in front of her exuded a completely different aura, one that was accommodating and understanding of a person's plight.

"I see. That's a shame."

"Whatever happened to the person we saved last night?" she asked, feigning ignorance towards the understandably disappointed tone of Izaya.

"I had him sent to Aspira. Latest updates say that he's doing fine. I asked the Ishida heads to arrange the process, so there's nothing you need to worry about."

"I find it amazing how much pull you really have over the Ishidas," she said while surveying her room.

Truly, everything was nothing short of impressive. When she made the decision to work with Izaya, she never thought about... everything else. After the numerous battles she had against Euphoria, she never expected the leader to treat her like this.

She expected having to sacrifice a lot to serve under this leader, but what actually happened was a far cry from any expectations she had.

Her own private quarters in one of the Ishidas' underground compounds, personal assistants to tend to her needs, and full permission to use the compound's many amenities which included a private bath.

She even got out unsupervised. Just that she was not able to return to Fuyusato Academy.

Why is this guy letting his guard down around me so much? It's quite insulting, to be honest...

She quizzically looked at Guren Izaya. Does he not know that with how much freedom she's had, she can just leak everything out to the public and turn the tables on Euphoria?

Part of her imagined that, but she never really seriously considered it. It could be due to him possibly feigning overconfidence and luring her into a trap. Second and more importantly, turning her back now would close the door on seeing her brother again.

"Is there anything wrong?" he asked, probably having noticed her expressions.

"Nothing," she said, hiding her true intentions. "But I would appreciate it if you were to tell me your plans. What do we do once we confirm that the Magna Arbiter's power is in Hikari or Sana? If it's with them at all?"

"You made that big decision without consulting with me first?" laughed Izaya. "I see. So that's how you differ from Senri."

"Would you please cut to the chase already?"

He had thrown a rhetorical question that did not please her one bit. She agreed with his assessment, but did he have to say it in such a joking tone? It seemed insulting, and she made sure to show her disappointment.

"Let's go elsewhere so I can demonstrate."

"Elsewhere?"

Izaya flicked his fingers, and Uehara found herself caught in a swirling tempest. The door was not opened, and there was no change in the surroundings. Still, she struggled to maintain her base.

Then, the familiar sensation of a Fragment came upon her. She stood up just as Izaya seemed to go farther and farther before a powerful wave knocked the wind out of her.

But her back did not land on the bed. Instead, it met concrete floor as she tumbled backwards.

When she shook her head back into consciousness, Guren Izaya stood several meters in front of her. The man, flanked by shelves, held his rapier high.

"It takes a while to get used to the place, especially for first-timers. Sayaka Uehara, I welcome you to my domain."

"Domain?" the girl asked, picking herself up and looking at her new surroundings.

No doubt this was a Fragment... or something similar.

"A reflection of my heart, a personalized inner world that only the strongest Awakeners and Nullities can create out of their own will. I take it that Miyuko had not shown you hers?"

"Ms. Sadohara has one?"

Izaya smirked. "Of course, she has. Like me, she has been blessed by the Absolute Order... by Kiyone."

"Why did you bring me here? Just to show off? You haven't answered my question yet."

"There's no better way to explain than a physical demonstration."

Without warning, the man lunged. She barely had enough time to react, but her sword managed to block the incoming rapier strike at the last second.

She pushed hard to maintain her balance as steel tips clashed.

"What's your problem?!" she snapped. With a forceful swing, she pushed Izaya away before recovering into her battle stance.

"You asked me, didn't you? What will we do with the girls once we confirm and capture them?"

The black-haired girl gritted her teeth upon hearing that. It came as the implications of Izaya's reply dawned on her.

Speaking of, just how does he plan to extract the powers of the Magna Arbiter from the host? Is he going to hurt her?

Her feelings flared, and she felt her hand trembling. She was in a battle against herself trying to maintain her stance, all as she anticipated her opponent's movement.

She blinked several times before Izaya disappeared.

Where is he?!

"Letting your guard down? Was it something I said?"

Uehara gasped the moment she heard Izaya's voice from her left. When she turned around, it was all too late.

The sharp end of the rapier went right through her. It pierced her in the abdomen, but all she could do was watch.

From the moment the weapon came in contact with her body, it felt as if her entire body was frozen solid. The only motion that she could muster was from her eyes, both which glared straight into Izaya's own eyes.

The feeling of paralysis gave way to complete numbness, and her eyelids slammed shut.

2

In contrast to the time he stabbed Reijy Ishida and activated his Armament's Yasakani ability, Izaya did not experience an overflow of negative emotions. Instead, what pressed onto him was a feeling of uncertainty.

Dread.

It was more daunting than violently lashing out, but he fought hard not to get caught in the fervor of emotions.

He tenderly held the unconscious girl, using his free hand to calmly caress her long hair.

He continued channeling the ability, holding the rapier firm in his hands. In spite of it piercing right through her, no blood was being shed. He himself knew that the girl was stable despite having the end of the rapier go through her spine.

Such was the property of Yasakani, a reflection of his own heart's desire.

Izaya took a deep breath and finally closed his eyes. With part of the Magna Arbiter's power already at his command, he saw himself gliding through the tunnel of this girl's memories. Whereas the experience with Reijy Ishida was him naturally being sent to the youth's strongest memory, due to having more power, he had more control over his direction this time.

Various sensations and voices assailed him from all sides, all of them corresponding to an experience that this girl had gone through.

All of them connected with him in a near-spiritual level.

Still keeping his eyes closed, he let the currents in her heart lead his way. He wanted go as far back as he can, all the way to the earliest memory that the girl had burdened herself with.

Before the numerous battles she had been through. Way before Senri's untimely demise...

When his eyes fully opened, he was in his astral projection form. Levitating over a series of houses, he looked at his surroundings.

Something in him told him to key in on a particular house in the distance, and as he floated that way, he noticed the signs showing the street names when it dawned on him.

This was not a place in Shiroki City.

He phased through the house's walls only to be caught by surprise when he found himself inside a dark room. He first made out the worn-down cabinets with walls containing stains. Next were the ornamental chairs and tables, but even those had seen better days.

This house looked like a hand-me-down. Either that or it was abandoned and rented for cheap.

Then, he turned to the small bed where two youths sat together in an embrace.

There's no mistaking the boy with the messy black hair.

Senri Uehara sat there, embracing a young girl and patting her on the back. The girl, with shoulder-length hair, continued crying. She buried her head inside her arms, and Senri was making little progress in getting her to calm down.

"It's not your fault dad and mom are fighting again, Sayaka. I'm here, so don't cry," pleaded Senri, who now switched to rubbing the girl's back. "Even if dad and mom were to both hate you, I will be here for you, Sayaka."

"B-but..." Sayaka sniffed, holding her neck.

Despite Senri's words of comfort, his hands balled into fists, shaking in between his breaths.

"Dad will pay for that. I will make him pay."

Mesmerized by the scene, Izaya slowly approached the two.

Meanwhile, he heard sounds of objects hitting each other and a chorus of shouts from the distance. The walls of this room did little in hiding the sounds of conflict and the venom being spewed from human mouths coming from the first floor.

A female voice was the aggressor, while the male voice roared in return. It only piqued his curiosity to know what the two could be fighting about, but he did not want to head on down as his attention was on both the Uehara children. They're the key characters in this quest of his, not the parents.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that Sayaka had bruises on her neck. What Senri covered in his embrace was also a torn top, while his frame hid a frayed hairband on the bed.

He continued watching the scene develop when a female voice spoke out to him from behind.

"Peering into my past without permission?"

Surprised, Izaya turned around only to see the present day Sayaka standing with her arms crossed over her chest.

Like him, the translucent girl levitated in astral projection form, and she looked none too pleased with him.

"That's a first. Then again, it's the first time I used Yasakani on a full-fledged Awakener. Interesting development."

Unfortunately, the girl did not share his enthusiasm one bit.

"I give you until the count of three, intruder."

3

Guren Izaya looked at the girl with a look that's a mix of confusion and pleasant surprise. It was his first time using Yasakani on an Awakener, and he can't say that the results surprised him so much.

It made sense that someone with enough spiritual power unlocked could intervene in his journey into a person's mind and like him, appear as an astral projection. There's no doubt that Sayaka Uehara in the real world was still unconscious, yet her will, the spirit within her, resisted this intrusion.

It only served to fuel his curiosity.

"One."

Izaya did not flinch. He only raised his eyebrows at the girl who was now without her signature sword.

"Two."

He could see her crouch ever slightly.

Before counting to three, she shouted, and Izaya was shell shocked by the impact of a murderous aura overcoming him that very moment.

"I'm genuinely curious. I have heard things from Senri, but seeing it myself, finding a way of understanding your plight, is much more mesmerizing."

"This is none of your business!"

"I also thought that it would be better to demonstrate the process of removing the power of the Magna Arbiter's power."

Sayaka lunged and grabbed him by the throat, not giving him a chance to continue. They tumbled down near the floor, the two children comforting each other still oblivious to their existence.

"What does this have to do with it?!" she angrily yelled.

Izaya grunted in shock. Both of them were ethereal beings, astral projections, yet the pain felt real. Her nails dug at his neck, and he somehow found himself running out of breath.

This killer instinct...

He struggled while the girl tried to shake him with much force.

"Leave... Leave!"

However, he had a trump card up his sleeve. He still had control over his body in the real world, so if he managed to use the other property of Yasakani, its transference ability, to weaken Sayaka's powers, he could forcibly eject her astral projection.

Come to think of it, that might be the only way to save himself now.

Peering further into her past would have to wait, unfortunately.

With what strength he had, he pressed his hand onto astral Sayaka's body. Gritting his teeth, he then attempted to squeeze in what power he can take from her.

His hand battled her resistance, and the entire memory world shook as if on the verge of collapse.

He stared straight at her bloodshot eyes, and he knew that he had unlocked a side of hers he did not know existed. While his mouth opened to say something, he felt his consciousness fading.

However, astral Sayaka suddenly disappeared, and so did the memory world...

4

Izaya returned to the library with a start. When his eyes opened, he was already in mid-air, a force having flung him away from the girl. He wasted no time and drove his rapier into the floor to prevent himself from being pushed even further back.

The black-haired girl hopped back nimbly, landing gracefully a little less than a meter away from him.

"What in the world did you do?" she blinked repeatedly, touching the area where she was stabbed. "I felt my body going weak when you stabbed me, but..."

She immediately went back to her battle stance, sword in hand. It was an action borne out of impulse, and Izaya saw her body's hesitation as a sign of that.

She was unconscious the whole time. In that case, then the whole astral projection was simply her subconscious will. Unlike Reijy Ishida, she broke free forcefully, all while Yasakani was still in effect.

However, part of his job was done for now.

Taking on a non-aggressive stance, he raised his hand and dropped his weapon.

"Do you not feel any pain, Sayaka Uehara?" he asked, motioning to his own chest.

Seeing his gesture, the girl likewise relaxed her form before shaking her head.

"Try coming at me with all you got."

"Gladly. Crimson Lust!"

Her eyes widened when the activation of the ability was met with a fizzling sound. Izaya felt the release of magical power, but it did not manifest into anything.

The magical markings on her face and the immense aura never appeared, all according to his expectations.

"W-what did you do?!" asked her, dumbfounded.

Seeing her confusion, Izaya cracked a small smile. His long, silver hair flowed along with the power emanating from him.

"Perhaps you are talking about this?"

Izaya confidently picked up his rapier and pointed it at her, and he slowly felt the temperature in his body rising. The magical energy circulating in his body began focusing on the hotspots in his limbs. His heart vibrated in excitement as he felt the runic markings burn and appear on his body.

"T-that's..."

He finally saw it.

Genuine fear in Sayaka's eyes. The unwilling acknowledgement that she was, for the first time, facing someone far out of her league.

The natural reaction of a mortal when faced with a being far superior.

It was the same feeling he had when he first laid eyes on the Absolute Order.

Then, Crimson Lust ended, and while his vision and body temperature stabilized, he slowly pulled his rapier back.

"When we get to the host of the Magna Arbiter, my ability will allow me to take hold of such power without causing any harm. That person can just go back and live their lives in peace when it's all said and done. In ignorance of what had happened just like you were a few seconds ago."

"How can I trust you to keep your word?"

"My goal was to create a world without conflict, a world where people can actualize their goals."

Seeing her reaction, he calmly unsummoned the rapier.

"Our Armament's powers are a reflection of one's heart. That you should already know. Why do you think I was blessed with such a non-violent power in that rapier of mine?"

"Of course I do."

"It is up to you whether you want to believe me or not. But these hands of mine have not shed a drop of blood. Besides, if I really were a malevolent person, don't you think I would have just stabbed you right through the heart?"

He then beckoned to her.

"Come, I'll return your ability to you. Then, let us rest. The day is early, and we're better off preparing to rescue people in Fragments."