"What did she just say?"
11th of January, 10:20 pm, Aqua's hideout
I have probably just misheard what she said. She cannot possibly know…
She would have told me if she had known.
Unless…
What if she really knows about my past…
It does not matter anymore now, even if she knows it would not change a thing.
Aqua turned away again, a wide grin spreading through his face as he shook his head.
Maybe all of this is a good thing, even.
If Akane dies here, mine as well as Ruby's secret will die right along with her.
"Akane, you were smart, I have never had a single doubt about that," Aqua murmured, speaking more to himself than anyone else. "But in the end… In the end, you were no match. You cannot stop the chosen one from fulfilling his dut-" Aqua stopped in his tracks.
The chosen one…
The one who looked through the web of illusions…
Why exactly would that person be me, again?
The knife he gripped tight clattered to the floor as his palms began to turn sweaty. There was a sudden tightness in his chest, making him gasp for air while reaching for anything to keep him upright.
Why would it be me? What did I do that earn myself this title?
It is the prophecy… Tera was meant to search for the chosen one, give them the book, and then fight Tsukuyomi alongside them…
Aqua was brought to his knees, followed by a sudden fit of coughs piercing through the quiet night.
But that doesn't explain why I am the one…
Everything I know was given to me in the end…
Nothing I know about this world I've found out on my own accord…
I need to put my bias aside…
Aqua's breathing somewhat regulated itself again. It was at least enough for him to see clearly once again, and the black spots that had begun plaguing his vision disappeared.
A beautiful child with bright hair was given a book to give to the one who looked through the web of illusions, and the power of the moon to beat the evil of this world… What if…
Aqua looked at the bloody knife lying in front of him. The faint glint of the candlelight reflected off it and shot right into Aqua's eyes.
What if it's Akane? She managed to find out all of this on her own…
That would mean the pretty kid from the story is Tsukuyomi, not Tera…
Of course, Tsukuyomi is the moon, I thought maybe because the roles were reversed…
But then…
Aqua grabbed his chest with his right hand. However, no matter how much he wanted it to be there, he didn't feel his heart beat even a bit. Looking at Tera, betrayal flashed in Aqua's eyes; betrayal which was only met by Tera's cold gaze.
Aqua hurried to his feet while snatching the knife off the floor, pointing it at Tera. "YOU!" he growled with a voice that was more than that of a savage animal than a human. "You lied to me. I will not follow your plan any further."
"No need to," Tera replied in his usual calm voice. It, once again, made Aqua shiver; now he could finally put a finger on why exactly, too. "Look." Tera pointed his finger at Akane. "She's dying, you killed the person that loved you most… And it was all for nothing, too."
"What do you mean?" Aqua gripped the knife even tighter; his knuckles turned painfully white at first, then red as they burst open all over again. But he didn't even notice it.
"Oh didn't I tell you?" Tera said while an inhumane grin spread across his face. "Bringing someone back from the dead is impossible."
The hatred in Aqua's eyes disappeared in an instant. It was replaced by an overwhelming emptiness; his once so beautiful aquamarine colored eyes looked white like a blind man's. The sound of the knife clattering to the floor broke the silence, ripping through it like a piece of paper.
Impossible, huh? What you mean to tell me is that Ruby won't ever see Ai again?
That I made her anticipate nothing?
You want to tell me that all this is just a big disappointment for everyone?
That everything I have done was for nothing again?
That I once more caused pain to everybody around me without giving anything back?
"You little!" Aqua screamed as he darted forward, snatching the knife off the ground before jumping towards Tera. He closed his eyes as he flew towards him, knife pointed right where Aqua believed his heart to be.
But there was no impact. Aqua had already expected this outcome. Tera wouldn't be stupid enough to die that easily. What he hadn't expected was the shallow body of water he found himself in. He got up out of the water again. His pants and sleeves were soaked in the freezing water, chilling him to the core. He looked around the impossibly wide and empty terrain. The knife he gripped just a moment ago was gone just like that; maybe it disappeared into thin air, maybe it was just lying beneath the surface of the water.
In the distance was the only thing that wasn't either the far sky or the infinite lake, a temple, its walls colored in jade and white. It was merely 50 meters in front of him; seemingly merging into the lake. It appeared to be from the Sengoku period; maybe even older. There were at least 4 levels, all decorated with golden sculptures and emblems.
11th of January, 10:30 pm, 100 EMOJI! Productions' studio
"Your wife cheated on you, and then she left with the kids? That's rough, man. I almost feel sorry."
Kana leaned back once again, facing straight ahead, while she couldn't hold back the goofy grin forming on her face. The crowd to her right side was indecisive; some laughed and cheered, clearly enjoying the shift in the power dynamic; others still looked around, unsure of what was going on. It's not much, but the few laughs were exactly the confidence boost Kana needed. A flower, deep within Kana, which threatened to rot away just a few days back, was now starting to bloom brighter than ever before.
"This is not how this was supposed to go down!" the moderator shouted into his microphone while jumping up from his chair, facing towards the crowd in one desperate last attempt. "They tricked me, she is lying to y'all, don't believe her."
What an amateur… Doesn't he see that he is totally embarrassing himself right now?
Come to think of it, maybe this is really their gimmick here…
In case the moderator isn't able to get through to the participant, maybe they hope that the moderator will lose his cool instead.
It wouldn't be optimal for them, but better than nothing, probably.
Maybe I'm really overdoing it… He is clearly not trained for this kind of situation, maybe I should-
What am I thinking?
He also never cared about the feelings of others…
This isn't just for me anymore. This is revenge for everything he's done.
"The only people who have been tricked time and time again were young and inexperienced celebrities… You knew what you were getting yourself into." Kana said, not moving even an inch, demonstrating that she doesn't need to.
"Now, what exactly do we have here?" She asked sarcastically as she leaned over the table. Daniel could only watch in horror as Kana picked up the cards he had prepared beforehand, the cards on which every detail he had looked up was noted down neatly.
"Let's look at these, shall we?" Kana asked the crowd. The loud cheers coming back, almost blowing her hat away, were every bit of confirmation she needed.
She shuffled through them, silently reading each one as the crowd watched her in tense anticipation. Daniel didn't dare to move even an inch. He stood frozen in the middle of the stage. Then Kana raised her head again. "Ouh, this is a good one. 'Ask her if she can even look into a mirror — I certainly couldn't."
"For anyone that cares… Actually, no, I actually wasn't able to look at my own reflection at first. But by now I can. Totally no problems at all… How about you, Danny? Can you look into a mirror without hating yourself?" Kana asked while walking up to the front of the stage and placing her hand on his shoulder.
"You actually got me really good here," Daniel growled as he turned away from the crowd, strolling back to his chair. "I have to give credit where credit is due."
"I take that as a no," Kana teased as she also returned to her chair, too. The bright lights that shone down on her head made her feel a little bit dizzy.
"Take it however you like…" Kana's heart was filled with pride as she heard the moderator's resigned words. To her, he sounded a little bit like a tsundere who just couldn't admit to her true feelings. She knew that he was really close to his breaking point. The cool facade he had put on wasn't genuine; it was a protective barrier she knew all too well.
"Alrighty…" Kana shuffled through his cards again. The sound of them scratching against each other over and over again nearly drove the moderator mad. The cheering crowd didn't help his state of mind one bit either.
"Oh, this one is also good," Kana exclaimed joyfully as she pulled one of her cards out of the stack and turned it so Daniel could read what was written on it. His demeanor fell even further than Kana had believed to be possible.
He fell silent for a long moment, just slowly nodding his head while looking down. "You little shit," he mumbled as he finally raised his head. Kana was just about to drop another snark remark as Daniel jumped up from his chair, using the momentum and his arms to push himself over the table, barreling towards Kana.
11th of January, 10:20 pm, Aqua's hideout
Aqua waded through the shallow water. "This place is really strange. Is this some sort of new trick?" The temple was probably his best bet if he wanted to get to the bottom of where exactly he ended up. The closer he came to it, the bigger and brighter it seemed to get, until he was finally standing right before it. The thin shoji doors might let light through, yet Aqua could still not see what lay beyond them. "Whoever lives here will probably know more about this place than I do."
His wet clothes dripped onto the dark oak as he stepped out of the water and onto the veranda. Common courtesy would be to not enter another's home uninvited, especially not when you're this wet. Aqua had bigger problems than common courtesy, though; therefore, he just slid the door open and stepped inside without looking back.
The entrance hall he stood in was modern; the complete opposite of the antique-looking outside of the place. The strange part was, Aqua felt like he had been here before, more than once. He just couldn't quite tell why he felt that way. "What is this place, and more importantly, why do I know it?"
Aqua also pushed open the next door, stumbling right into the living quarters of whoever lived here without even knocking. The place was clean and tidy, like nobody had touched anything in years. The king-sized bed standing in the left corner of the room was made, but it still looked like a child had just slept on the blanket a few moments ago.
In the middle of the room, there was a TV and a large couch. But Aqua noticed none of these things. The thing that caught his attention was the dinner table on the right side of the room, or more specifically, who sat at it.
Most of her long and vibrant hair, which seemed to have been glowing all on its own — though this could've been Aqua's own imagination — hung freely behind her back all the way down to her hips, while some of it found its way over her shoulders and now fell down her chest.
The yellow sundress she wore matched her frame perfectly. From the way it was held up by her shoulders, over the tight cuttings around her hips, to the seemingly flawless transition over into her soft skin around her ankles, it all looked as if it had been made just for her body. Perhaps it was only in contrast to her stunning beauty, but the dress itself looked, all in all, rather simplistic.
Her body was decorated with various accessories. However, the Bunny hair clip she wore back in the day was gone, nowhere to be seen. She looked more mature in general, like she had finally accepted things she never before could. A thin, golden necklace that hung around her neck alongside one bracelet on each of her arms, both golden too, replaced it nowadays.
She was smiling, or rather grinning, but it wasn't that usual smile she had smiled whenever she had to; it looked more genuine, like she truly meant it. The most important part, however, was her eyes. Once filled with lies and hardship, they now looked at peace. The white stars, which were omnipresent for all her time on earth, were gone, with only a faint outline remaining.
"Welcome home, Aqua," she said, sounding exactly like she did 15 years ago, not a day older.