He stared at the dusty sword.

Upon his senses triggering, he had found himself in his attic after 20 years. 

"It was... supposed to be safe."

How could fate from the bottom of the Earth jump to the top? It made no sense. His intuition had failed; the invasion had started. Just like it did 25 years ago. How did GRS make it up here? How was the gate holder up here? It felt like a bullshit reality twisting itself to make sense, as if a plot was forcing things to happen.

Nevertheless, it did make sense. GRS didn't stop at the 6th layer. Why would they stop at the 7th? The flames of hell he failed to stop would keep spreading through the layers again. He rushed up here in hopes to escape a bullshit destiny, and so did the others. 

In the end, it was all due to his negliance and failure to carry out his duty.

As he stared at the sword, he wondered.

"Can he really do it? I didn't train him enough."

He thought about the 20 years that he lived on the surface and the 20 years he lived beneath the surface.

"Will he get to where I did? Will he make the same mistake as I did? I wonder."

It's up to them. It's up to them. It's up to them.

When he had uttered those lines 22 years ago, what did he mean? He would throw the future generations with the burden that he had carried? Who could have had such cruetly occur? 

And worse of all, he dug his face into the sand, pretending magic would resolve the issue. He had thought Earth was a magicial, fantasy place that could wrap fate into a choosable destiny. That's why he worked so hard to become used to Earth and even place his children there, neglecting all forms of their training.

He clenched the sword that collected dust, unsheathing it to reveal its blade. Made from lumiant hellstone, it was one of the rarest swords in the entire 8 layers of the world. It was meant for the hero of CHK, the one that participated and won the Oracle War 20 years ago.

Truth was, he was no hero. The choices he made 22 years ago were those no true hero would make. But just for today, he decided to enact as one. 

Even though he couldn't undo time, even though he couldn't undo his mistakes, he knew that he was going to fix them.

"Ayato Hinode. My son's fate who I cursed. The rest will be up for you."

As he muttered that, light burst into the attic.

The impact of [Vanishing Light] slammed against [SE Sacrifice]. The energetic barrier waivered.

I grimaced.

"The shield doesn't look like it'll hold up."

"Yeah. We have to pray it ends before the shield shatters."

Kazane, who's arm were wrapped around my neck, gave me a gentle hug.

As we watched, Kazane grip suddenly strengthened.

"Kazane? Is something wrong?"

"This scenario is familiar." Kazane muttered, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Familiar?" I frowned. "Don't tell me that... back then."

"Back when?"

"I-it's nothing!"

Despite my hands waving, the corners of Kazane's mouth pulled down.

"I know that Lieyato has difficulty communicating their concerns, but sometimes communicating those concerns help a lot."

I sighed.

"-Well, the truth is. I was suspecting that this was how everyone died in that park."

"Ayato's first death," Kazane repeated, a grim look encasting her face.

"Do you remember?"

"...I don't want to talk about it."

"Um, I'm having a bit of difficulty breathing if you squeeze my neck that hard... maybe you could soften your grip a bit?"

"---"

Kazane's arm pulled me tightly. Her head was buried against my neck, and I found it very difficult to look back to her expression.

Ah, maybe it would've been better to not mention my death. Though, receiving this much love did feel nice.

As I was pondering, a fiery, red caterpillar from nowhere landed on my arm.

Blood dripped down my chin. My teeth mashed tightly into my lips.

But I didn't scream. Rei had no time for distractions.

Is it venomous? Does it paralyze animals? Does it bite?

Thoughts like that pounded in my head.

Of course my body moved. My arm swung like a hammer, trying to fling it off. My other hand lifted, ready to smash the caterpillar.

"Wait."

Kazane whispered, grasping my arm.

"W-wait what? T-this thing, it almost made me scream."

I could barely control my voice. Kazane frowned. She pointed at the caterpillar, who clutched to my arm tightly, burying its head into my forearm.

"How is it moving in the [frozen world]?"

"Huh?"

It was the first time I had seen this sort of creature move.

The red caterpillar was happily eating a leaf. It showed no signs of hostile intentions. Yet as me and Kazane stared at it in the midst of [Vanishing Light] hitting [SE Sacrifice], a small fire blazed at its 24 legs. 

It didn't hurt. Not even a tickle. It felt as simple as a bug walking on skin.

"It really is moving, huh."

Kazane peered over my shoulder, watching the bug happily having its meal on my arm.

"Life is making less and less... Why would this bug be able to move? What kind of creatures even does it count?" I muttered, my hand pressed against my forehead.

"Ayato. I think there's bigger concerns."

"Concerns? You mean regarding how Rei's barrier is standing?"

I looked up. A glimmer of white still encased us in a dorm. There were little cracks, but they soon disappeared within a few seconds.

It was a 360 barrier, preventing absolutely anything from crossing.

"Sorta? I mean more like... if only things stronger than shields can pass through shields... how did this bug pass through Rei's aegis..."

"Oh." The edges of my mouth twitched.

Don't tell me. This bug was...

"...If it isn't stronger than Rei?"

"There's no way this bug is stronger than Rei. Hell, I almost crushed it in a single hand."

"Hehe, if Ayato truly believes it is that weak, perhaps Ayato should try to crush it."

"Ha... even I'm not that stupid."

No doubt. Not only was this caterpillar moving in the [frozen world], it also crossed Rei's barrier without even needing to break it. Even if I could kill it, there was no reason to take the risk.

Kazane stared at the caterpillar.

"I do wonder though. If the caterpillar is already that strong, what kind of butterfly will come out from this caterpillar?"

"I don't have any idea."

"How powerful would such a creature be?"

"...Well, maybe an estimate of 10x stronger than caterpillar form, since most caterpillar are useless. For example, the tarantula wasp can take down whole plate sized spiders while the larvae can't do anything but eat the food their mama feeds them. It's so painful for the spider, they say it sounds like it comes from a horror story."

I paused.

"Oh. This isn't one of the worlds where insects are overpowered and attack humans, is it?"

"I highly doubt it's true. Ayato should know there are also quite a lot of caterpillars that regress and their butterfly form is much weaker."

"This caterpillar though... If it is strong in its early stage, and its strength is incomprehensible to us... Does that mean there are creatures in this world beyond our imaginations?"

"Well... I'd hope that they would all be passive creatures."

"What if some stupid nature spirit drives them mad? Like, what if for some reason this caterpillar has random frenzy and starts ripping me apart?"

"R-relax, Ayato. Its not that bad. Like you said, there's no way the bug is that powerful."

The caterpillar was looking at us, before turning its giant red head and eating the leaf.

"You're right. It's not that powerful."

What was I getting worked over about? Was I thinking about Forna?

It was easy to tell how much she struggled to beat me. The whole time, she was laughing, as if a human was playing torture games on a legless crab.

I didn't understand anything of this world. My scope was so limited. How strong was Rei? How strong was Khosrow? Certainly, I can put my friends on a strength ranking and come up with something. But how does Forna compare to the butterfly form of the caterpillar? How does Saria compare to Forna?

What does it mean to be stronger than another when you are already a god? In the end, a mere mortal like me could never understand.

"Hey, I know you're stressed but don't lose your head thinking too hard about things."

"Yeah, I know..."

I took a heavy sigh, before looking up.

"Oh, the shield is breaking."

However, the sky that was once covered by dust streams shined brightly against my face.

[Vanishing Light] had ended.

"Amazing. I thought I encounter a strong shield wielder before, but today, I finally met someone that survived without physical injuries."

Khosrow stood, staring at Rei.

"Ack," Rei groaned as he spat onto the ground before he fell forward. Ayaka ducked under Rei's arm and supported him up.

"Ayaka, what are you doing?"

"Lean, it'll help you stand better."

"But your current state-"

"Don't yap, it's still a lot better than yours."

Despite that, I could see how tired Ayaka was. 

Ayaka turned to face Khosrow.

"Step closer Khosrow. I'll kill you."

"You really think you can kill me? Ha. Don't make me laugh."

With a roar, Khosrow took a step forward. Kazane's hug on my neck got tighter.

"Without your shield, you're not actually strong, are you?"

"You'd be a fool if you think I only relied on the shield."

Khosrow took another step forward.

Maybe I should help? No... I could barely move. My body would bust open if I stood up, let alone trying to support someone.

Fuck you Khosrow, why did you crush all my bones?

My teeth clenched, and I instinctively reached for the ground.

Yet a pair of arms that wrapped around my neck stopped me.

"Don't move. It won't end well even if you do that."

"Then what do you want me to do? Lay down and die?"

"..."

The truth was, Kazane couldn't beat Khosrow.

Sure, she could stall Khosrow. But for what? Ayaka was exhausted. Rei is practically asleep. And I literally cannot move a muscle. Nobody was going to make it to the exit Rei mentioned to the North.

The caterpillar on my arm looked up at my face.

"Eeeeeee?"

The caterpillar cried.

It was then I noticed. Just like a human, it had two eyes and a mouth that could form various shapes. Its eyes were pulled down, the mouth shaped like a frown. 

My hand slowly reached out and patted the caterpillar's head.

"Eeeeee?"

The caterpillar cried.

In the end, I was mistaken. The caterpillar was no monster. Up till now, it has done nothing wrong. Maybe in 10 minutes, it would betray me. Maybe it would rip my head off and tear me to bits. Maybe it would blossom into a butterfly that will destroy the world.

Just for now, it wasn't a monster. Monsters need to do something bad. Khosrow was one. Forna was one. All those wolves that killed me were one too. Even the smallest cockroach in a basement could be a monster.

But right now, right here.

There was only one monster.

A black shard formed in my hand.

"Kazane. I'm going to kill everyone here."

"A-Ayato?"

"Did you hear me right? I'm going to kill everyone here."

"That is... extreme. Is there no other way? If Khosrow kills us here, we'll all respawn."

"Khosrow's not here to kill me. He already knows about my [Unending Death]. In fact, among the last times he killed me, he tortured me and kept me alive. There's no way he's going to make such a mistake."

"---"

Kazane bit her lip, as if trying to mask the conflict on her face. She turned her face away from me.

"Ayato, you realize what you're asking is a large atrocity? It may be an easy task but it'll be one you'll remember. Surely, there is some better idea such as removing yourself."

"If I alone die here... and one of you dies when the [Doors of Death] is closed, you could be deleted from the world. No matter what fate I get... I'll never allow it to happen."

"I see. So that's what it is."

"Huh?"

Kazane turned back to face me.

"Even if it is your [Unending Death], I don't want to allow it."

"Why? It will save everyone here. It is not like I'm asking you to commit the atrocities. It's just me who will."

"Ayato... That's exactly why I'm concerned. You'll be the one committing the atrocities? For how long?"

"As long as it'll take to get out of hell."

"Then I respectfully decline."

"Why... why decline it. It could solve everything. If I use my body like that, everything could be solved. So why. Why decline it? Why decline it!?"

"Because. The special Ayato Hinode is supposed to be a human, not a monster."

Saying that, Kazane smiled.

To be honest, I was tired. I questioned if I even had the energy to kill the others.

I watched Kazane as she pushed herself up. She reached into her pockets and pulled out a twin pair of daggers. The edges of the blade were a glimmering jade crystal, its edges so sharp I thought it could cut diamonds.

Then, a gust of wind.

It was Khosrow's turn to laugh- he snickered as he turned from Ayaka to face Kazane.

"Really? I thought you were going to die lying down and holding some dead friends."

"---"

"Ha. Very well, this conversation is over."

With a sigh, Khosrow stood forward, brandishing his blade.

"Die."

Just as he swung his blade, a glint of mischievousness danced across Ayaka's face.

"You're not killing me that easily," she said with a grin, opening her hand and letting a white crystal drop to the ground.

A wall of crystals erupted around Khosrow. The swinging blade immediately came to a halt.

"Let's make a run for it!"

Ayaka voice rang in the air.

What was happening? I felt to weak to turn my head. Someone grabbed me, slang me over their back, and started running.

My eyes were closing.

"The fuck is this?"

Khosrow snapped, striking the crystal wall.

No matter what he did, he couldn't break past it. It was simply made of materials too tough for him without utilizing [Vanishing Light].

That damn brat... to think she saved something like this for after his [Vanishing Light].

A headache stirred in Khosrow's mind.

"What the hell? I really did get outplayed by that brat."

He watched as the final breeze blew across the trees.

"I'll let you get away. Just once."

As he spoke, he had a strange feeling in his stomach. It warned, urged, pushed him to try to do anything but that. He even got glimmers of worry. But as he said his words, his stomach suddenly filled with satisfaction.

"But the next time we meet, you will die, Ayaka Hirano. Even if I break my contract."

My eyes stirred.

Above me was a night sky obscured by the branches of tall trees. Glimmers of stars peeked through the canopy.

As I turned, I realized my head rested on someone's lap.

"Did Sleepyato wake up?"

"Sleepyato? How did the yato names come again... wait what happened?"

My eyes refocused. Kazane was looking down at me. Her short brown hair dangled above me as she gazed at my face with her emerald eyes. Her hand rested on my head, gently stroking my hair.

"Wha... how did we get here?"

"We got away from Khosrow."

"Khosrow? Who?"

"Oh, don't tell me you forgot about thaaat."

A difference voice rang out.

Ayaka sat on the grass, leaning against the wall. Her jacket and scarf were off, leaving her in a light blue t-shirt. Her black hair fell to her shoulders as she crossed her arms.

I frowned.

"Where's Rei?"

"Over there."

Ayaka replied while pointing to her side.

Rei rested on his side, his head leaning into a stacked jacket . The blades of grass surrounding him stood still.

"The time is still frozen." I murmured.

"Well yeah. We haven't fully escaped after all."

Ayaka retorted as she took a sip from an ice mug.

I almost laughed.

"Oh, I forgot you could do something like that."

"Really? Is your memory decaying or are you still not used to abilities?"

"Ahahaha..." 

In response to my silence, Ayaka chewed her lips.

"Damn, I left my bag a long way back. Lost my canteen and juice packs."

"There's no way to flavor the water?"

"All I can do is create ice after all."

"Water is plenty," Kazane interjected. She held up her own ice mug and took a sip.

"Wait, you're drinking it!?"

"What's wrong with drinking it?"

"D-do you know where it comes from?"

"It comes from using energy to frost the air."

"W-what? When..."

As I scratched my head in confusion, Ayaka studied my face. 

"We never got to test it."

She murmured quietly. A silence fell onto the three of us.

I watched Ayaka's eyelashes as she chewed a piece of ice. Our eyes met, and we stared at each other.

Now that I think about it, I thought I remember talking to her sometime ago, when she was pondering something related to the city falling. I felt an urge to ask her if she knew Khosrow was attacking.

Sometime later when its just the two of us, I'll ask her I guess.

"Are you able to stand up?" Kazane asked, gently tapping my head.

"Stand up?"

I got off Kazane's lap and sat on the grass. Strangely, there wasn't significant pain.

"Ayaka? Did that vial instantly heal my broken bones?"

"Nope."

"What do you mean nope? Then why doesn't it hurt to stand? This isn't a painkiller is it?"

"It's more like your body healing process is being greatly accelerated. What was that saying? Time is the best cure? It turns out if you accelerate body healing processes even a skin cut and go from taking days to hours. In your case, the 3 hours or so is probably similar to 3 weeks of healing."

"That sounds like some sort of black magic."

"Don't ask me how it works. I never studied this stuff properly. At any rate, does it hurt to stand up?"

"Not too bad. It just feels sore."

"That's good. This guy on the other hand..."

Ayaka shot a glance at the unconscious Rei that was still sleeping.

"He's fine, right?" Kazane asked.

Ayaka nodded. She dug in her pocket and pulled out a yellow vial before setting it on the grass.

"Pretty much all our supplies got lost. The potions are great at healing injuries, but when the problem is regarding energy..."

She clicked her tongue and pointed at Rei.

"That's what happens. There's no way to accelerate that."

Silence followed her response. The wall of shrubs surrounding us stayed eerily still.

"By the way, where are we?" I asked.

"We ran north into a forest. Then, we kept running north until we got into the middle of nowhere."  Ayaka muttered as she sighed. She set her mug onto the ground.

"What do you mean middle of nowhere?"

"Middle of nowhere means I know zero shits about where we are."

"I didn't mean it verbatim... Are there still GRS searching for us? Are they near here?"

"Maybe."

"M-maybe? How long is the run to the [safe place]?"

"Dunno."

Ayaka shrugged and brushed her dress. She pushed herself up.

"Anyway, I'll check the surrounding. I want a better understanding of where we are."

I watched her back as she pulled out a map and disappeared through the shrubs.

Kazane patted my head.

"Worryato, I don't think GRS are near here."

"What makes you think that?"

"Ayaka said that the GRS monsters can't cross into this area of the forest, and Khosrow couldn't enter either until he had enough energy."

"Energy? Is it that [Vanishing Light] thing that he used?"

"Well, it's very likely that [Vanishing Light] thing consumes a lot of energy."

"Sounds about right. That stuff looked deadly."

As I finished my sentence, a silence surrounded us. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

"By the way, you know about my [Unending Death] ability right?"

"Yeah."

"Then how did it feel when you survived that Khosrow attack in the park?"

"The attack by the park... I feel like we were looking for you and then I saw you passed out onto the ground. I thought you were dead. Then, I don't remember anything after until we woke up in the cabin. Why do you ask?"

"Oh... I was just wondering how it felt like for you all since I just remembered the deaths from my perspective."

"I see... It must've been tough with all those deaths. Though I'm really glad you survived."

Kazane drew a circle in the dirt with her finger.

"I wonder where mom and dad is," she muttered.

I sighed and stared at the ground.

"I don't know. All I can do at the end of the day is pretend like that they are fine. Maybe it is a good idea to never check their status, so that I can live my life imagining a fantasy where they are alive."

"..."

In the midst of the silence, a head rested on my shoulder.

"This doesn't hurt, does it?"

"Not at all."

"Wake me up if there's any problem."

Saying that, Kazane closed her eyes. 

As I watched Kazane sleeping, I heard a voice call from behind me.

"Anything happen while I was out?"

When I turned, I saw Ayaka emerging from a bush. She wiped off some leaves that had collected on the arm and plopped down, before gazing at me and Kazane.

"What happened here?"

"She fell asleep." I replied, patting Kazane's head.

"I thought she would. She hadn't slept in a while."

Ayaka sighed and leaned back.

"Damn, we're like a 2 hours or so of walking before we get to the safe place."

"Can't we take like a vehicle or something?"

"Not unless you want to die a few more times turning around to fetch one."

"...How even is it a 2 hour walk?"

"Well, it's on the outskirts of this region. You know, Brightful City is the southern city of this island. It's damn annoying that it is right between the edge of the two regions."

"That makes me wonder If we get too far, what will happen to the time freeze?"

"I don't know. I've never read about a GRS time freeze mechanic."

"Maybe we'll find out?"

"Who knows. The entire world is probably frozen. We can bother Rei when he wakes up."

Ayaka retorted as she stared into the ground.

I frowned.

"You look tired. Did you not get any sleep either before I woke up?" 

"I really look that tired? Damn."

Ayaka sighed as she rubbed her eyes.

"I haven't slept since last night. Dontcha think someone oughta keep our group afloat while Rei is out?" she remarked.

"Maybe you should get some sleep too, now that I'm awake."

Ayaka opened her mouth as if to say something, but paused. Instead, she yawned and laid on the ground. She gave me a glance with one eye opened and flashed me a grin.

"Don't do anything weird, alright? Don't storm chase like a suicidal bastard at the first sound of danger."

"I definitely won't do that."

Hearing my response, Ayaka closed her eyes and mumbled some inaudible words. A few minutes later, she fell sound asleep.

I scratched my head.

"She must've been really tired. Then again, she didn't get any sleep since the Khosrow fight. I sorta feel bad now."

Watching the slimmer of moonlight fall onto her face, I looked up.

The trees covered the vast majority of the sky, but I could still see through a small opening. Despite time being frozen, the stars twinkled. Indeed, day and night still came and went in this world.

"The GRS aren't powerful enough to freeze the sun and stars, huh?"

The world was ugly.

I died several times in some of the worse possible ways. I carried the psychological burden of being tortured, eaten alive, and watching others die. All of this to emerge in a tattered state with others and witness a slimmer of an ordinary starry night covered by trees. Even now, I still had no clue where my parents were.

But I thought the ugly was beautiful in its own way. 

I felt Kazane's body against me rising up and down as she breathed. I watched Ayaka and Rei sleeping. Now that they were both at peace and resting, I could see a lot more of their facial features. They really looked like siblings.

There was a calm, settling peace that washed over me. In this eerie forest that stayed still, in this world of eternal torture, the burning finally paused.

That hell wasn't over. No, it was just the start. 

Maybe the safe place we were seeking didn't even exist. Maybe GRS would somehow get to us. Maybe more awaited us there.

And yet, I thought it was rather fulfilling. The dreams that I had as a kid that were washed away by adulthood. Wandering around in a power fantasy with a group of companions set apart to find a safe place.

Sure, I was idealizing things that hadn't happened.

I thought about the fake life Saria had shown me a while back, where I lived a normal life and became friends with Rei and Ayaka. Where I was going to return back to the club and start the boring cycle of life again.

This track of hell that diverged from normal life was a painful road. I regretted it many times along the way. But at the end, I changed my mind -even if more pain came along the way, even if I regretted it once more. Since that night where I declared I was special to Kazane, it was the first time I came to the same conclusion that I once had.

I grinned.

"This was definitely way cooler."