āParting from Kuro at the fountain at the plaza, I began walking down the path towards Lilia-sanās mansion as the sun sets.ā Iām kinda feeling a sense of deja vuā¦ā¦ It seemed a little strange, but as I wasnāt able to think of any particular cause for this feeling, I concluded that it must have been my imagination and just proceeded with my steps.
Butā¦ā¦ at that moment- I felt something out of place, far exceeding what I had been feeling just now.
It was almost evening, the time of the day when streets would normally be crowded with people returning home from work or going out shopping for dinner, but there wasnāt a single soul that could be found in the wide straight main street, filled with a strange silence.
Finding myself in such an abnormal scene, as if this space had been cut off from the rest of the world, I naturally stopped in place.
[ā¦ā¦What the heck isāāā!?]
Immediately afterwards, a chill ran down my back and I can feel the hairs on my body rising.
The buildings in the vicinity were melting as if they were rotting, and the road in front of me was collapsing, a sensation so horrifying that it was almost impossible to imagine such a scene in my mind.
I donāt know why, but my body was shivering, and it felt like the sound of my thirsty throat was loudly resounding in my ears.
And it isnāt just in my head, all of my bodyā¦ā¦ and the instincts within it were warning me.
-That something very frightening is coming.
Itās different from the pressure Iāve felt from Kuroās magic power when she visited me in Lilia-sanās mansion before. It was much more fundamental, an inexplicably terrifying feeling that seemed to alert my instincts as a living being. In other words, a negative presence- dense enough that I could feel it on my skin.
And then, from the end of the dimly-lit road which is tainted with silence, that appeared.
Long hair as white as ashes, morbidly white skin, deep and gloomy blood-like crimson eyes.
A woman dressed in a āblack gothic dress-like clothingā, wrapped in a pale blue light, floating just like fluttering dandelions, she approached my direction with an eerie presence around her.
She looked like a ghost, but she held beauty that could be described as unequaled. However, even her beauty accentuates the fear Iām feeling.
[Kahhā¦ā¦ ahhhā¦ā¦]
Just by seeing the womanā¦ā¦ I felt like I saw an illusion that my head had been decapitated. I canāt breathe well and my whole body is shaking like crazy. And yet, Iām unable to move from where I stood at all.
Fear Iāve never felt before surged through my body, and at the same time, my instincts were intensely warning me.
Donāt get involved with her, quickly run awayā¦ā¦ or else, I will be killedā¦ā¦
However, contrary to such thoughts, my legs wonāt move at all, as if my feet were sewn to the ground.
āā¦ā¦What an unusual magic powerā¦ā¦ Are youā¦ā¦ the Hero?ā
[!? ]
Her cold voice resounds, and her red eyes look at me. At that moment, I felt a chill that froze my whole body, and I lost all my words due to the intense discomfort Iām feeling.
Ahh, I knew this feelingā¦ā¦ It was just like āback thenā.
The day I lost my parents. The crushed car, the feeling of blood running down my neck, the coldness that seemed to drain the heat from my bodyā¦ā¦ Thatās right. This is the feeling of impending deathā¦ā¦ An overwhelming fear that seemed to freeze my soul.
Yes, I felt so terrified of this woman Iād met for the first time.
As the feeling of fear seemed like it was starting to overwhelm my thoughts, the question of the unusual woman āAre you the hero?ā popped within my mind.
Even though my instincts are telling me that I have to respond, that I mustnāt go against this being, my body just keeps on shaking and I canāt move properly.
āā¦ā¦I repeatā¦ā¦ Are youā¦ā¦ the Hero?ā
As if my continued silence was off-putting, the woman changed her tone to a slightly stronger one and asked me the same question again.
It was as if I was being strangled by an invisible hand, pushing me down with an oppressive, suffocating feeling.
[ā¦ā¦Iām anā¦ā¦ otherworlder, butā¦ā¦ Iām notā¦ā¦ the Hero.]
āā¦ā¦Is that so?ā
The woman nodded to the words that I barely managed to squeeze out, without showing any particular reaction.
The silence is heavy. I feel as if the air itself has weight.
The trembling in my body grows even stronger, wanting to get rid of this hellish feeling as soon as possible.
After a few moments of silence, the woman holds out her hand to me to shake my hand.
āā¦ā¦Iāmā¦ā¦ Isisā¦ā¦ Isis Remnantā¦ā¦ Nice to meet you.ā
[Ughh!? Aaaahhhhā¦ā¦]
The moment I looked at the held-out hand, what rose in my hand was an intense sense of discomfort. A feeling of fearā¦ā¦ Far greater than my mind can tolerate, and I feel like nausea was rising from the pits of my stomach.
I have to escape, escape, run away, runā¦ā¦ my instincts were intensely screaming at me.
The hand that is supposed to look white and beautiful, looks like the sickle of the Soul Reaper.
I mustnāt hold that hand. If I were to hold her hand, I would die. Donāt defy her, donāt go against her, donāt take my eyes away from herā¦ā¦ One after another, they resounded in my head like an alarm clock waking me up from sleep.
āā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā
Seeing me like that, the woman slightly lowered her eyes, without saying anything. And the moment I saw the expression on her face, deep sorrow and intense loneliness in her slightly wavering eyesā¦ā¦ I felt as if she was inhabited by a feeling of loneliness that was too intense.
I ādonāt have some sort of power that could help me read other peopleās emotionsā. Thatās why, this was just a feeling of mine.
To be clear, I donāt understand the logic behind this. Why did I feel this way? I donāt know the logic for this thought, nor do I have a clear reason or basis for it. But for some reason- If I were to run away here, I feel like I would regret it for the rest of my life.
āā¦ā¦Eh?ā
I can hear the startled voice of the woman. My body, which should have been frozen in fear, awkwardly movedā¦ā¦ And I found myself slapping my cheeks with both of my hands.
The bizarre fear that still assaults my body hasnāt disappeared. I feel like puking at the prospect of imminent death. However, the thoughts that were coming to my mind are about to become something completely different.
Get your head out of your ass! Go think about the situation more seriously this time!
What did this person even do to me? Did she do any harm to me or had she ever directed her hostility towards me? No, she didnātā¦ā¦ She had only asked me if Iām the Hero, and then, introduced herself and asked for a handshake. She didnāt do anything strange.
Looking back into the womanās red eyes, which seems somewhat startled, I was about to reach out and accept the handshakeā¦ā¦ but the intense sense of discomfort assaulted me again.
Clenching my teeth within this dizzying fear and discomfort, I still tried to desperately move my hand.
I donāt have any basis for my actions, nor do I have any reason why. I donāt even know why Iām so desperateā¦ā¦ However, I feel like I have to hold this personās handā¦ā¦ right here, right now.
If I had been in the same situation before I came to this world, I would have definitely ran away.
However, when I came to this world and met Kuroā¦ā¦ I understood that even a single goodwill could save a personās heart. Iāve learned how glad I am to have her reach out to me, even if Iām hiding deep within the darkest depths of my heart.
For this reason, if Iām the only one who can reach into the depths of this personās heart at this moment in time, thenā¦ā¦ Thereās no way I can run away from here.
Iām sweating profusely and my body is shaking like crazyā¦ā¦ but if Iām shaking, that means it isnāt that I canāt move! Then stop shaking there like an idiot, and get moving!
I donāt know if it had been answered because of my scream within my heartā¦ā¦ Clenching my teeth so hard that my lips were bleeding, I desperately tried reaching outā¦ā¦ Little by little, my hand moved toward the woman in front of me.
At that moment, the discomfort I felt became even more intense, and for a moment, I felt like I was going to lose consciousness, but I bit my lip hard to hold onto my awareness.
Even as my hand was shaking, and even though my body was shaking, I didnāt stop. The fear of death assaulting my mind is too intense. I want to escape. Even as this feeling grows stronger and stronger though, I still try to reach out my hand.
Little by little, an incredibly small distance at a timeā¦ā¦ I tried to hold the womanās hand at a pace so slow that it took me several minutes for my hand to move a single centimeter.
Whether Iām feeling nauseous and consciousness dimming, whether itās sweat or tears flowing down my faceā¦ā¦ What kind of face Iām making right nowā¦ā¦ I donāt know any of that.
Why am I so desperate? Why do I need to feel this much pain, reaching out to this woman, whom āI have never met beforeā?
Iām just an ordinary guy with no special power. Therefore, moments like this make my weakness pretty clear. Even at this very moment, Iām afraid of this woman in front of me.
But still, I donāt know whyā¦ā¦ but I just couldnāt bring myself to choose the option of giving up.
How much time passed? Anyway, my hand reached the hand of the woman who had spent a ridiculously long time waiting for me to hold it out the whole time.
The moment I held her hand, I was struck with fear even more intense than before, and I fell to my knees on the ground, unable to stand. Howeverā¦ā¦ not yet.
I still havenāt spoken a word back to her yet. Get up, get up! Iām just feeling scaredā¦ā¦ Bring about my whole body, muster all the strength I can!
Getting up, holding my wobbling leg with my other hand, I slowly turned my attention to the woman in front of me.
The smile on my face as I looked at her looked forced, but I think it canāt be helped. Still, I want to get along with her. Setting my mind straight to the thought of wanting to be friendly with herā¦ā¦ I spoke.
[ā¦ā¦Itās nice to meet youā¦ā¦ Iām Miyama Kaito.]
As I told her this in a voice that is aptly described as me squeezing those words out of my throat, the girl smiledā¦ā¦ and the intense fear that had assailed my body completely vanished immediately afterward.
Not only that, but the surrounding scenery changed to a āsnowfieldāā¦ā¦ a blanket of silver-colored snow covering up my surroundings, and at the same time, āthe memories that I had somehow forgotten until nowā began to come back to me.
[ā¦ā¦Eh? Arehh? Isis-san?]
āUnnn. Youāre both right and wrong. Iām sorry, Kaitoā¦ā¦ for trying to test you.ā
Isis-san, who was wearing a black dress unlike her usual blue dress, said something I didnāt understand, in a voice that seemed to resonate in my ears just like Lillywood-sanās voice did.
What did she mean? The atmosphere around her also feels different from normalā¦ā¦ but the woman in front of meā¦ā¦ I think sheās definitely Isis-san.
[Errr, you areā¦ā¦ Isis-san, right?]
āYou could say I indeed am, but you could also say Iām slightly different. However, unnn. I will be glad if you call me Isis.ā
[I understandā¦ā¦ Ummm, Isis-san. Where is this?]
āWith my power, Iāve āconnected your heart with mineā. You can think of this as a dream. Earlier, I was trying to test Kaito a little bit, so you werenāt able to remember some of your memoriesā¦ā¦ā
In a dreamā¦ā¦ I see, the situation itself was rather strange, but thinking about the strange events that have just happened earlier, it makes sense.
Was that perhapsā¦ā¦ in a way, a reenactment of my encounter with Isis-san? I see, it felt a little strangeā¦ā¦ but I guess that was because I was in a state where I couldnāt remember things?
I mean, Isis-sanā¦ā¦ So youāre able to do stuff like that huh.
āIām a part of Isisā mind. Itās not that one of us is the real one or anything like that. Itās just that me and the other me blended together. If I were to explain it, you could say Iām the first Isis Remnantā¦ā¦ wait, Isisā¦ā¦ You could say that this self is another me. Thatās why, you could say I indeed am Isis Remnant, but you could also say Iām differentā¦ā¦ Hey, Kaito? Do you know who I am?ā
[ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦]
Her riddle-like phrasing makes me tilt my head back and think. Sheās indeed Isis Remnant, but you could also say sheās differentā¦ā¦ If I take her word for it, the woman in front of me is Isis-san, but not Isis-san.
As I was thinking about this, something suddenly came to my mind.
[ā¦ā¦Could it beā¦ā¦ You are āher magic power of deathāā¦ā¦]
āUnnn. Youāre rightā¦ā¦ Though I suppose the most correct answerā¦ā¦ would be the āmemory of the being that is the origin of her magic power of deathā?ā
[Errr, Iām sorry. I donāt really get what youā¦ā¦]
āItās alright. Iāll explain it to you. Thatās why I called Kaito here like thisā¦ā¦ However, I want to walk with Kaito for a bit. Is that no good?ā
The magic power of deathā¦ā¦ Or rather, the other Isis-san looked at me with a slightly anxious expression on her face. She had the face of the Isis-san I know so muchā¦ā¦ Whatever the case may be, I felt such a sense of relief that the being in front of me was indeed Isis-san.
[Of course, gladlyā¦ā¦ Thereās no reason for me to refuse an invitation to a date from my precious lover after all.]
āAhhā¦ā¦ Unnn!ā
Hearing my words, a smile that seemed like blooming flowers appeared on Isis-sanās lips, making her look so unfairly cute that I canāt help but smile.
Thereupon, Isis-san held out her hand to me, seemingly expecting something, and I, sensing her intentions, took her hand in mind and started walking with her.
[ā¦ā¦How should I say thisā¦ā¦ This place is beautiful, isnāt it? A world blanketed in silver snowā¦ā¦ With the clear skies above us, it feels especially so.]
āKaito, have you not seen views like this that much?ā
[Yes, we didnāt get a lot of snow where I lived. This feels rather refreshing.]
āFufu, I see.ā
[ā¦ā¦You seem happy, Isis-san.]
āUnnn. Iām very, very happy. Not only because Iām together with Kaitoā¦ā¦ but because I realized once again that Kaito is the coolest guy in the world.ā
[N- No matter how you put it, youāre exaggeratingā¦ā¦]
Isis-san looked really happy from the bottom of her heart, praising me with a big smile on her face. Embarrassed by this, I responded while scratching my cheek with my free hand, to which Isis-san shook her head.
āThatās not the case at all. After all, Kaito held my handā¦ā¦ I believed that if itās Kaito, you would face our magic power of death āeven without your Sympathy Magicā. However, I never expected you would also hold our hand.ā
[E- Errrā¦ā¦]
Ahh, I see. The meeting I just had with Isis-san was different from what I rememberā¦ā¦ I donāt know what the logic of how it happened is, but I was in a state where I couldnāt use my Sympathy Magic earlierā¦ā¦
āThe magic power of death is the fundamental fear of all beings, something that couldnāt be withstood by mere mental powerā¦ā¦ is how it should have been, but Kaito suppressed even that. In the midst of fear that normally would have ācaused one to go insane or have a mental breakdown dozens of timesā, you still held my hand. Kaito really is amazing!ā
[ā¦ā¦A- Ahahaā¦ā¦ Well, you can count on me.]
Eeeeehhhh!? Was I in that much of a peril just now? Go insane? Mental breakdown? M- Magic power of deathā¦ā¦ really is something amazing huh. I felt some shudder crawl behind my back, but seeing Isis-san looking very happy, I think it was worth the effort.
āAhh, o- of course, if it seemed no good, I was going to restore you back to normal immediately.ā
[Itās alright. Iām not misunderstanding anything, nor am I angry. Rather, Iām happy to meet your expectations, Isis-san.]
āAhh, unnn! Ehehe, Kaito really is the coolest in the worldā¦ā¦ I love you very much.ā