Phantom: 4

Phantom: 4

…

Commissioned by Blfqy

Word Count: 2526

…

You attempt to meditate, but both a voice and a hand interrupt.

“Sad.” The voice is familiar, but different. Occisor’s voice, but softer, lighter, and… lacking. You open your eyes to a visage that is akin to the voice. Ivory skin. Golden eyes and hair. Fair features. But, all slighter, smaller, and less focused. The Shard holds your face in her hands. There is no inflection in her voice, but you know that she inquires nonetheless. “Sad.”

Limited in both personality and mind does not mean inability in empathy. Or, perhaps, Shard is simply more empathic than Occisor. Could it be that the years of misuse and apathy, by the individual she’d waited for, changed her so much? Or was it simply because of the fact that she was broken?

You do not know the answer.

And, of course, you are avoiding answering her question.

A lie threatens to escape your lips. You want to tell her that you’re okay, to not worry her, but you know better than to lie to Occisor. And, as different as she is from Occisor, the Shard before you shows the same concern that she would. It would be very rude to refuse someone’s aid, especially when its freely given.

Besides, more than ever, you do not want to be alone in this expanse, especially after what you’ve learned.

You admit that you are, but not more than that. Explaining everything, ruminating further on what you’ve learned, none of it appeals to you in the slightest.

“Help?” The word is delivered with complete, utter earnest from the Shard’s lips that you can’t help but smile. Her slightly-tilted head, step back, and outstretched hands tell you all that you need to know about her offered help. The fragment of the Sword of the Morning, blonde curls held in a leather cap, and wearing a white sundress is offering you a hug. “Help.”

You accept.

Who wouldn’t?

Well, besides Miyakuro.

You do not recall the last time you were held, or when you’d held someone else. Within the Tribe, as a child, you’d been kept safe and warm during the night when resources were lacking, but that never came to be again. The Tuzi were never coddled, and you can attest that their children are treated quite coldly. Holding the Shard in your arms, her form so slight against your own, brings an instinctive feeling of satiety and warmth that’s almost alien to you. The moroseness that had been gathering within you for the truth you’ve discovered fades somewhat, due to the slim limbs that entwine around your neck.

Time passes slowly during the embrace,

You only truly come to when she shifts in your arms to be seated, whilst you place your hands on her lap, upon which she places her own.

“Stay.” The statement is simple, again. However, that’s all that needs to be said. In some ways, you find the Shard to be more concise and intelligent that Occisor. Still, that intelligence is born of pain and suffering from Lucifer’s hands, so you do not want it for the woman you remember. You simple accept the Shard’s offer to simply provide you company whilst you deal you’re your turbulent thoughts. “With.”

So, the two of you simply stay together, in the endless expanse.

…

The world you currently inhabit is a good one.

Humanity has not been pared down, annihilated, and brought low. They are not constrained by Earth, still retain autonomy, and their leaders are not controlled by the Silver Maiden. If the price for that what you’ve suffered, then it is a price you’re willing to pay.

Not a price that you must pay.

A price that you are willing to pay.

Is it terrible to know that the man you envied, who lords over a city, and has a tribe to love to him, is born of a world that has fallen to the Silver Maiden? Yes. It is. Perhaps, there’ll be no worse knowledge you’ll ever encounter than that. To know that going along with her plan, by simply never meeting her and following her orders, by just doing what you wished to do, you would’ve been happy… it hurts.

You wish that such knowledge did not remain within your mind.

Nonetheless, that knowledge now exists within your mind and your heart, and that shall forever be the case.

Living with it is necessary, thus you say that you do not regret your actions.

There are things you could’ve done differently. Mistakes and actions that you wished to never befall you. A gunshot. A girl. A moment of weakness that you could’ve overcome… that comes to mind first and foremost. However, fighting against the Silver Maiden, denying her plan to destroy most of humanity in exchange for D-Weapons to never be used, will be something you’ll never regret.

You merely wanted the happiness that the Chieftain had spoken off.

Happiness you’d never had.

The joy of having a child. The future holds too much violence for you to allow yourself that.

Of having a home, people, and family to protect, instead of a mission to save the whole world, with individuals you barely speak to every day. The days are few when you spend time with all those you call companions, and even those you do spend time with have their own missions, goals, and objectives. There is no moment, save with a spare few, where you have someone constantly protecting your back and you theirs.

As prideful as it may sound, you’d like to be more than just a leader of warriors, but someone who can advocate for others and for certain edicts. That path is closed to you now, as you must be wary of the ensuring that humanity retains their independence of you. The day will never come when you can affect change upon humanity, because whatever you say now will be carried through with religious fervor, rather than political influence. You must stay apart from the development of humanity into a better people, while the Chieftain claims that as his main form of affecting change.

Never did you regret your actions, but you were jealous and envious of the results of his.

The Chieftain held in hand all you’d wanted as a child, the dreams you’ve always wished for, yet at the cost of everything you now stood for.

That jealousy fades in the face of the pride you feel over the deeds you call your own now.

And, you’re sure that you’ll find love and camaraderie someday, while you can trust those who rule humanity to see it walk a righteous path.

Yes.

Without a doubt, you would not take his place over your own.

…

You place the Shard in a cot, before ruminating on your current predicament further.

Your situation is quite dire.

While you’re growing closer to her, there’s no sign of her developing the same abilities as Occisor. Not only that, you’re not sure that rushing such a an important bond will have good results. You could very well be sabotaging your efforts to escape by going too quickly, yet you must leave before either Hyoudou and his parallel have to consider consuming Lucifer’s flesh. There’s no telling what might happen if they do such a thing, and that’s not even considering the moral ramifications of such an act.

The world around you is vast, but your reach with Nemesis is long. However, all your sensory abilities tells you is that there is nothing around you besides endless expanse after endless expanse. Even stretched into a thin wire of its utter length, masterfully used to glide over the utmost boundaries of your reach, you find nothing.

You and your companions are trapped in what may as well be an infinite space, except for the solid wall and floor that continuously emits a faint light all around you.

There are many more questions to consider, too.

What created this place?

Who has the power to call forth alternates of you and others here, from across both time and space, so that you may fight against one another?

Why has that being not shown itself, presented itself, and asked what it wants of you?

Or, perhaps, the better question is why do you live when such a powerful being can smite you with utter ease in your current state?

You lack information, a means to escape, and, yet, you have the means to try and attempt to escape.

There is no danger to you, besides the one you have already conquered, yet you remain trapped due to powers beyond your own with individuals who do not understand just as much as you.

What can you do besides attempt to escape, or die trying to escape, this place you’ve found yourself in?

Yet, still, it is empty and silent.

Taking a deep breath, you take a moment to catalogue all your questions and file them away.

You acknowledge the dangers, take into account the challenges, and stand firm and unbroken despite them.

You will find a way out of this place, before the worst comes to pass.

No matter what happens.

…

“Eh? What do you mean we’re just busting out of here, Li?” Hyoudou blinks several times after you convey your plan to him. His parallel is just as astonished by your words as he is. It’s somewhat strange to see a younger, more unkempt version of your friend beside himself, but you take it in stride. “I thought you were going to bond with Shard-chan, then we’ll get out of here after she’s as strong as Occisor-san?”

It’s good plan, but you admit that it’s likely that she’ll develop differently than Occisor. While it’s still possible that she’ll become like Occisor in the future, she’s different from her.

“So, though she’s from the same type, she might have different evolutions and movesets?” You don’t particularly know the reference the younger Hyoudou makes, which has yours rapping him in the temple, but it’s an accurate statement. “Eh, it is?”

Getting closer to the Shard of the Morning today has resulted in you gaining the ability to hide her from sight. It is a powerful ability, but not something that Occisor is capable of. It is more reminiscent of Lucifer’s method of hiding her from the senses via Nemesis, than anything your Sword of the Morning could do. It would have been convenient for her edge to become keener, as Occisor’s did, but that was not the case.

It’s still possible that she’ll develop similarly to Occisor, but you won’t have all your hopes placed on a singular possibility. So, though you’ll be exhausting them, you’re going to need both their help to break through the barrier above you with one of the smaller shards of the Sword of the Morning.

“Huh, you’re right, that’s pretty small ain’t it.” The Shard you’d ascended had been the length of a forearm, or half of the Sword of the Morning. The rest, most of which you’d used to lobotomize and immobilize Lucifer by punching them into his joints and brain, were much smaller and varied in size. The largest of them, which you hold in your hand, is only the length of your palm and the width of your finger. You have large hands, given your stature, but it’s small even in Hyoudou’s palm. “So, you’re going to use this like a knife, while I Boost you?”

That’s the plan.

Though you might be lacking in terms of raw power in breaking seemingly-invulnerable material, being enhanced by Hyoudou and utilizing a shard is a good enough argument for you to try. Having two Longinus Sacred Gears empower you would be even better. Therefore, you’re asking both of them for help.

And, if it doesn’t work and you exhaust their stamina, you’ll be placing them both in medical pods that can preserve them for several weeks, until you can find another way to leave this place.

“So, it’s go all out now, with only wait and see, if we don’t manage it, huh?” Hyoudou takes the news better than most. Surprisingly, so does his parallel. The two of them are calm and decisive in the middle of a situation where they might find themselves trapped in and endless expanse forever. You imagine that a normal individual would be quite scared of this situation. Your friend, however, merely nods and catches his own punch within his fist. “Well, then let’s get this done! Let’s do this before we get worn down, so we can say we gave it our all!”

“Right, right. That sounds good. I’m not one to lay down and die, too!” Though younger, you’re glad to see that the best of Hyoudou’s traits shine in his parallel. The mature boy remains gangly, and somewhat thin, but he’s obviously well-trained and has a veteran’s mind. His eyes lock onto the shard in your hand, after he presumably gets a few words of advice from his own Sacred Gear. “Hey, Song-san, Ddraig has a question: did you try repairing that sword of yours? He says, from what he sensed about it’s true potential, it should be able to get us out of here fast if it were whole.”

Without a doubt, if Occisor were whole and present, you can carve through this place with ease. No material can withstand her, but Lucifer had broken his Sword of the Morning, to the extent where it was broken into a myriad of pieces. Only Creation, or God, could have reforged the pieces into what it was before perfectly… and you’ve no skill to even attempt such a feat.

“Yeah, he gets that… but, maybe Shard-chan can do something with it? He says that she feels incomplete. He thought that it was because you haven’t bonded with her, but he says that she still feels incomplete after she grew in power.” The younger version of Hyoudou makes you blink several times. You look at your own Hyoudou, and he can only shrug. Apparently, your version has no idea what his parallel is saying. Perhaps, there’s differences between the Sacred Gear systems between the two universes? “Maybe, she can do something with the shards you have? And… ummm… the ones you’re using to seal Lucifer? He things we should try that out before we try to remake a spirit bomb with a dagger… no, he says he didn’t say it like that.”

You look at the shards you have in your hand,  feel for all the other small fragments you have in your Dimensional Space, and keep in mind those that remain within Lucifer. Picturing each one, you can clearly see that none are missing. Save for the handle, which Lucifer decided he’d not needed, the Sword of the Morning can be reassembled meticulous by simply being pieced together.

It’s a slim chance, but the dragon’s words ring true.

You should pursue all available opportunities to you now, before you commit strength you’ll never again at a problem you must solve.

If it’s true, you can only hope that you can escape and keep Lucifer trapped, after reconstructing Occisor.