Shiro lay back on the bed. The white sheets were clearly of high quality even from a distance. His face showed exhaustion, but also satisfaction.
"God… don't scare me like that. I was worried," Kaede murmured, clenching her fist as she looked at him with a hint of sadness.
Shiro glanced sideways at her but didn't respond. Instead, he calmly closed his eyes.
Kaede, already wearing her usual sleeping clothes, sighed softly.
"At least you changed your clothes, I guess…"
She slowly approached the bed, but before she could climb in, someone opened the door.
"Sorry for interrupting. I just wanted to remind you that you're free to sleep as much as you want."
It was Selina entering the room, wearing only a long black shirt.
"…You didn't seem like the type of woman who wears those colors, Selina."
Her eyes widened slightly for a moment as she adjusted her hair.
"You're not wrong. It's just that this shirt belongs to Calius."
"He's smaller than you. Why is the shirt so big?"
"Uh… he likes them like this when he sleeps. Anyway… Shiro, are you alright?"
Shiro pushed himself up slightly from the bed just to give a small nod.
Selina chuckled quietly.
"You two wear the same clothes to sleep. Like a couple or something?"
Shiro simply looked away. Kaede smiled faintly.
"Yeah… something like that. Shiro never minded wearing those loose black clothes."
Selina laughed again, softly this time.
From behind her, Calius tapped her shoulder.
"Hurry up and come to the room. The lights are bothering me… and knowing you, you won't let me turn them off until you get in."
"How sensitive do you have to be for a few lights to bother you…?" Selina murmured.
While the Valtherion step-siblings continued their quiet argument, Kaede laughed a little, pointing proudly at them with her finger.
"You two are wearing the same thing too!"
"…I'd better not say anything. Good night," Selina replied.
Selina pushed Calius along as she led him away. Before closing the door, she gave them a small smile.
Silence settled over the room.
With soft steps, Kaede turned off the light. Despite her usual lively attitude, the way she moved at night was calm.
Without another word, she lay down on the bed, turning her back to Shiro.
"Shiro… can you hold my hand?"
"…Huh? Why?"
Kaede raised her hand. It seemed firm at first, but her voice faltered slightly at the end.
"Um… I want to check something!"
Shiro didn't dare look directly at her. Still tired, he extended his hand.
Their fingers intertwined—cold and soft.
Kaede shifted slightly beneath the white sheets to get comfortable.
"As Mizuki told me… continuous contact lets me receive the ether you passively store."
Kaede tightened her grip, closing her eyes and hiding part of her face in the soft fabric of the sheets. Her breathing gradually grew calmer.
"Good night."
"Good night…"
Shiro also closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
However, a thought crossed his mind.
Alma Rigel… I'm not allowing you to call me or speak to me all night.
With that small sense of reassurance, he finally closed his eyes.
It was a dream.
And yet, it wasn't reality.
Sore wa yume de ari, genjitsu de wa nai.Sore wa yume de ari, genjitsu de wa nai.
"Wait… what are you talking about?"
Sore wa yume de ari, genjitsu de wa nai.Sore wa yume de ari, genjitsu de wa nai.
"S-shut up! Stop playing around in my head!"
Sore wa yume de ari, genjitsu de wa nai.
"Who's coming…? Silence!"
Sore wa yume de ari, genjitsu de wa nai.
"I just want to sleep peacefully for one night… I already practiced with my ring with you. We talked about how we'd use your card in battle… what more do you want from me…?"
"They're already coming, Shiro. Separately, or even as enemies to each other… but they're coming for one of you."
The endless words twisting through Shiro's mind drowned out Alma's firm voice.
"Alma… shut up… shut up!"
Sore wa yume de ari, genjitsu de wa nai.
"Why… why…? My body hurts so much… aren't I… asleep?"
"Please… save me…"
"W-what are you talking about now…?"
As the conversation continued, the words grew louder and more distorted—like a radio full of static. It was unbearable to hear.
Sore wa yume de ari, genjitsu de wa nai.
When the voices finally filled his entire mind and submerged him in a lake of despair—
A voice that had guided him for a long time called out once again.
"Shiro…?"
He suddenly sat up in bed.
Even though his fingers were cold, his body was drenched in sweat. It felt like he was suffocating. Instinctively, he tore off his shirt and leaned back, breathing in quick, irregular gasps.
"S-Shiro?! Are you okay?!"
It was Kaede. She rushed toward him, trying to help somehow, moving her hands back and forth without knowing where to start.
"A-are you okay…? Talk to me! You've been like this since almost the first days we met! I can't take it anymore… I'm scared. I'm scared it's my fault!"
Kaede was always cheerful. Hearing her voice break like that because of him felt like adding another sin to his list.
Shiro hurried to sit up and move closer to her, trying to calm himself so he wouldn't worry her even more.
"N-no, it's not like that, Kaede… I just—"
"Don't give me excuses! You're my partner…!"
Kaede didn't hesitate.
She threw herself forward and hugged him tightly, trapping him in her arms.
"Without you… I wouldn't even be here. I'd still be perfecting my combat techniques with no direction… Without you I couldn't keep doing this. You have to be okay—for both of us!"
"You could have found another partner, right…? Why someone like me?"
"Are you joking? Anyone else wouldn't work for me. You're unique."
"And if I hadn't come… then what…?" Shiro murmured, narrowing his eyes at such ridiculous words.
"I… would still be waiting for you. And if you never came… I wouldn't be able to move forward even a single step."
Kaede was a little angry that Shiro tried to hide things.
So she vented her frustration by biting his shoulder.
Even though she tried to bite hard, it ended up being a gentle, lingering bite.
"C-calm down…" Shiro murmured, trying to hide his reddened face.
"No. Apologize…!"
[...]
"Alright… I'm sorry for hiding it."
Kaede hugged him even tighter, trying to form her usual smile.
"It's okay. The operation is today, so… can we talk about what's happening to you?"
Dawn slowly began to rise.
The lingering aura of night still covered all of Solarin.
Below it, the place was cold, filled with rocks, dirt, and dust. Yet the atmosphere carried a sense of history—collapsed pillars and ancient inscriptions scattered everywhere.
He was sitting on a piece of rubble, holding a cookie and eating it slowly.
His black hair fell along the sides of his face like bangs over his forehead. His black jacket fluttered slightly in the wind that moved through the deep ruins. Beneath it, his shirt was gray, with nothing particularly remarkable about it.
Eventually, he stood up.
He walked with simple black shoes. One eye was black and determined. The other—his left eye—was white.
His pale hands stretched slightly as he gave a few light jumps, his tall and flexible body loosening up.
"I've never liked these crystals… but they'll help today, don't you think, Amaya?"
She stood among the shadows of many pillars, watching him with dark violet eyes that seemed to glow.
"I suppose…"
The two of them stared at a corridor divided by rubble.
"Amaya… summon them when you need to. You have my permission."
"What are you going to do alone against something like that?" she asked in a serious, almost melancholic voice.
He glanced slightly back at her and smiled faintly before continuing to walk.
"Survive and return, Amaya…"
He kept walking until he disappeared into the shadows.
"Don't die… come back to me and survive. That way we can return to our world."
"I still think you belong to this world," he murmured as he walked away.
Amaya stepped out from the shadows.
Her long albino hair stood out clearly. She wore black pants and semi-formal black shoes. Part of her hair fell over her forehead like bangs. Her dark purple long-sleeved shirt was slightly torn around the sleeves.
Her gaze was frightening.
Naturally resolute.
Like someone about to kill.
"I suppose the operation to capture half of a Walker's vessel begins now."
She said this as she walked away in the opposite direction from where her companion had gone.