The evening was darker than ever, even if the sun was yet to drown under the horizon. Snow continued to fall gently, barely covering the ground before her. Viola felt a shiver down her spine the moment her hand wrapped around cold metal, pushing the gate open.
Strange, they never closed this early.
She entered the field and walked towards the main building. There was no one around. And though she expected it, she still felt her skin crawl. Her limbs trembled, and she couldn't decide if it was due to cold…or something else.
The front doors aren't open either.
Luckily, they weren't locked. Twisting both knobs at once, she pushed them apart and stepped inside. The hallways were dark, a light or two flickered unevenly, and they were devoid of all sound and life.
Her footsteps echoed louder than ever as she made her way towards a staircase. She passed by one empty classroom after another, even looking inside windows to find anyone, anything.
There were a few people yesterday. Where is everyone now?
Climbing one staircase after another, Viola's heart raced the closer she got to where she needed to be. The moment that final door came into view, she paused, clutching the fabric between her chest and taking deep breaths.
Calm down, nothing is proven yet! I must see the truth for myself. Sure, she is a bit…weird at times.
With a determined frown, she walked forward and placed a hand on the doorknob. It was the final barrier stopping her from witnessing the truth of the world.
But it's far too convenient to simply declare her the villain!
Twisting it, she pushed the door open. And standing on the opposite end, near the edge wall, was the Puppet herself, patiently waiting for her Lily.
"You're the only kindness I've discovered here."
Long, curly, dark-brown hair gently waved against the wind, while snow decorated it like several little pearls. She wore the same plain dress from the day before, and her hands were neatly folded below her waist.
And you're the only escape I've found in this long, arduous journey.
Closing the door behind her, Viola stepped forward, stopping halfway. Rosaline's gaze remained on the view before her. Dark clouds covered the horizon, leaving no room for the sun to peek through. She sighed deeply.
"No warmth this evening. Unfortunate, isn't it?" she spoke softly. "Only cold and the shade…"
"The snow isn't too bad," Viola said. "It even decorated your hair."
"If you say so…" She looked further above. "Still, it's unfortunate. Had the sky been clear, I might've taken this off to witness it alongside you."
Lifting her hand, she gently clutched the black fabric concealing her sight.
"After all, it's a piece of this world you introduced me to," she continued. "A piece you've touched…and turned beautiful."
"Rosaline," Viola asked hesitantly, "you don't wear it because…you're blind?"
"I'd rather be."
A cold wind brushed past them as if the whole world gasped alongside Viola. "Why?" she mumbled. "If you could've seen this entire time…why choose not to?"
The weather picked up as each snowflake felt heavier on their shoulders, nearly covering the roof around them. Viola heard Rosaline's heart race, and she clutched the fabric above her chest in an attempt to calm herself. Her head hung low.
"I-I'm afraid," her voice quivered. "I-I'm afraid of the audience, Viola. I can't bear the sight of them, and of the bloodshed they root for. Every time a corpse lies before me, they don't scorn me for why I did it. They cheer and encourage me to bring them more. And I can't bear the sight of red…I just can't…"
Violet eyes widen in horror. "Rosaline…what are you talking about?"
"You're too naive." Rosaline assumed her previous posture. "You've yet to learn the truth of this world, and of this stage I perform in. After all, you're in a brighter one yourself."
"Brighter?" She frowned. "I wouldn't be so sure."
"In the little time we spent yesterday, even mine felt a little less dark." Rosaline finally turned around and smiled faintly. "There's something I wanted to ask of you."
She took a step forward and offered her hand.
"Will you run away with me?"
"Run away?" Viola blinked, unsure if she heard that right. "But where? Why?"
"You told me yesterday that there's nothing you wouldn't do to go back. To leave everything behind and return to the past. Is that not what you desire?"
"I-I did…but it's easier said than done—"
"It will be done. Just take my hand, please."
Viola gasped sharply. She could not believe what she was hearing.
"Let me take you there, Viola," Rosaline continued. "I'm strong. Stronger than you. I can protect you, your parents, Eliana, and everyone you love. You will never have to worry about their safety, and I will never have to act for an audience that only cares for what I do, not who I am."
The other's breath hitched in her throat, unknowingly taking a step forward.
"I ask for little in return," she went on. "To be loved, to be cherished, that is all I ask. Let me step on your stage, let me stay there and play the role I always desired, but never offered. Welcome me. Embrace me. Smile, laugh, and grow lilies with me. I'll even make a crown for you. You'll look beautiful, I'm sure." She chuckled. "And someday, I could see it. You, the flowers, the sunsets, and everything you touch."
Her face slowly lit up the longer she talked.
"As long as you stay by my side…I'm sure that, eventually, I'll have no need for these."
Viola gulped, staring into the other's open palm. Just a few steps away, and she could return home and live with them, with no worry of any threat. No more dwelling in the supernatural, no more Hunters and the Void. She took another step forward and gingerly reached out, heart racing with every inch she moved.
But could it really be that easy? How can she place her trust in someone she just met? She wanted to believe her. She really did.
Viola paused and hesitated, fingers curling into her palm.
"You make it sound like fantasy, like a world that won't accept me," she spoke up. "It's too perfect." Looking away, she reluctantly stepped back. "And that's why I refuse to believe it. I came here wanting to believe you're ordinary, not accept something that could only exist in a dream."
Rosaline's smile faded. Viola's gaze pierced through the black fabric as she continued.
"Stronger than me, you say? If so, then that only means one thing…you're not human either."
The other inhaled a sharp breath.
"And what was that thing about a corpse? How much more are you hiding from me?" Viola's head hung low, and her fingers trembled. "I want to take your hand. I want to leave all this behind. I really do. But I know too little to make a choice. And too little to trust you."
For the first time since carrying it, Viola felt the weight of the weapon on her back.
"Besides…I cannot simply run away from this burden I carry."
"You wouldn't have to," Rosaline said softly, "if you stopped caring for a world that never gave you anything in return."
Viola froze. Her hand retracted to clutch the pendant below her neck.
"Let the world rot if it so chooses."
She stretched her arm wider towards Viola.
"Just let me protect yours."
It was inevitable. Viola saw the truth already, but she didn't want to believe it. She didn't believe Eliana, nor saw the obvious signs, and instead put her faith in a stranger she had met a day prior, for barely an hour.
It's not like I didn't trust you, Eliana.
"You must be worried," Rosaline continued. "That must be why you cannot reach me."
I wanted to believe that the hour we spent was Fate proving that it can be kind.
"You need not worry about Him." She smiled, slightly tilting her head. "My desire will be granted. He will accept this—"
And that single word uttered was when everything shattered before her.
"Not worry? Really?" Viola interjected. "You talk about the very Person that forced me here…and tell me to forget about it?"
Rosaline opened her mouth, but words failed her.
"You want to protect my world," Viola continued in a low tone, "while working under the one Person that took it away from me?" Her fists clenched violently, and she stared into the snow piled up below her. "Do you even hear yourself, Slave?"
They both took a step back, and Rosaline retracted her hand, sighing deeply.
"No," Viola declared, "I do not trust a Slave!"
Rosaline flinched, though it was barely noticeable. "Not even a name?" she murmured. "I see…this is what it has come down to."
She immediately wiped off a tear that escaped the blindfold and faced away.
"It's disappointing. Every time you called me by that name…I felt a little more human."
Snow had covered the entire roof. The sun had set, and the sky was duller than before. But even if the clouds did not intervene, the warmth of the light wouldn't have made a difference.
"What was I even expecting?"
Viola whispered into the wind, fingers digging into her palm, threatening to break the skin, while a tear or two dropped on the snow below.
"I should've known," she continued. "The truth was before me all along. But I turned a blind eye to it. I wanted to see otherwise, feel otherwise. I wanted to embrace that lie. For once, I wanted to believe that I wasn't simply here for Fate's amusement."
Lifting her head, Viola offered a glare colder than the weather.
"But that's all I'll ever be…a puppet."
Rosaline fought another tear. "I should've seen it, too," she said. "After all, when the villain decides to turn a new leaf, who would ever believe it?"
She turned around and gazed at the horizon.
"We're truly naïve," she spoke softly. "For thinking Fate would ever take pity on us. A higher being like it would never allow everyone happiness. If it did, that being would yawn, complain, and only wake up when conflict occurred. Such is the truth of reality, and the stage we perform in."
Darkness manifested in her palm, shaping into a knife. She eyed it closely.
"The moment one is born, they're given a role to play, a script to act, and choices already predetermined. You, me, this world, and everyone, from the very beginning, are under the mercy of Fate. Some are granted a brighter stage, while some a much crueller one."
Clutching the weapon violently, she reduced it into pieces.
"And no matter what we get, we must perform before Fate again, and again, and again…until we either crumble away too soon…or too late."
Turning again, she finally returned Viola's cold gaze.
"We are all, simply, puppets."
"Enough poetry!" Viola unveiled her sword and pointed it at the Slave. "Just tell me what you're up to, Rosa—"
"Rosaline…was the kindness I allowed you," the Slave interjected. "She offered you an exit. Yet you chose to remain under the strings. And if the Lily wouldn't leave the stage either…then why should the Slave?"
Viola could see the faint glow of red under the blindfold. She tried to move, but her weapon was locked in place by an invisible force.
"Don't point it at me if you're incapable of even seeing them."
With one swift motion of her arm, Viola was disarmed, sending her weapon tumbling to the floor several feet away.
"The Puppeteer is done playing kind." She slowly walked towards Viola, who was still frozen in place. "She shall assume the cruel role."
This…again?! What's keeping me in place? Is her magic—
"Number Four of the Seven Crimsons," she declared, "that…is my true identity. And my name…"
Viola gulped as the Slave stood inches away from her face. An immense void aura consumed the entire place, nearly suffocating her from the sheer presence.
"Pandora. Just…Pandora."
So even the name was fake…
"What will your role be in today's play?" Pandora asked, slightly tilting her head and leaning a little too close. "Will you attempt to stop me?"
"W-Well? What do you think?" Viola frowned, and Pandora whispered into her ear.
"If you struggled against the one earlier…then I'd rather not waste any time in physical conflict against you."
Viola gasped sharply.
"You. Will. Fade."
Pandora pulled back and stepped away. Walking up to the wall again, she gazed at the darkness beyond. The world felt especially gloomy that evening.
"I don't wish to cut your strings, not yet," she continued. "You have much to learn. About yourself, those we work under, and the truth of this world you refuse to see." She moved a few feet towards her left. "No…you deserve to learn all of it."
Stopping at a certain spot on the wall, she faced Viola with a dull look.
"I invite you today as my only audience. The stage is ready, and so are my puppets. Some will act alongside me, while the rest will stop any…unwelcomed guests."
Facing the wall again, Pandora broke a part of it with one swift kick. She stepped on the very edge and gazed down.
"And this evening's play will be on…the darkness humanity harbours."
"Rosaline…what are you—"
"Oh, right. I've forgotten something."
Her face turned sideways, just enough for Viola to notice a faint smile.
"The cookies…were delicious."
"Wait!"
"Find me," Pandora ordered, before jumping off the roof.
Viola could finally move again and immediately ran after her. She heard the sound of glass breaking as she looked down. But Pandora was nowhere to be seen.
"It's begun…" she muttered under her breath, slowly stepping away from the edge as her eyes widened in horror. "Whatever they're up to…they've begun!"
Viola searched the space above her for any sign of the pigeon. "Hey!" she shouted. "If you can hear me, please call Eliana!" She grabbed her sword from the floor and ran back inside the building.
Hurry!
Fortunately, the pigeon had long informed Eliana from the moment Pandora made her first move of trapping Viola in place.
"Guess the talks didn't go so well."
Eliana sighed deeply, investigating the school auditorium a bit further away from the main building. Inside, she could immediately pick up a heavy stench of copper that made her grimace. She could also feel a dense void aura occupying the entire space. However, the room was clean and empty. If not for the smell, an ordinary person wouldn't think that anything wrong occurred here.
"The Thing was here…" She tightly clutched the hilt of her sheathed katana. "Must've cleaned this place about an hour ago."
She stepped onto the stage and pulled out her katana.
"Therefore…it's still here."
Swinging her blade, she deflected a projectile aimed at her head. Turning to it, she discovered a white figure standing on the far corner. It had a humanoid shape but was woven together by strings and held a bow of the same fabric.
"As if dealing with a Crimson wasn't already enough!"
Manifesting an arrow made of strings, it shot several more at Eliana. She avoided and deflected each one and stepped away from a blade swung at her. To her right was another figure made of strings, but this one had a blade for an arm. Glancing to her left, there was a third figure wielding a staff.
"Multiple Scarlets, a type of creeper we've never seen before, and a Crimson…"
She clicked her tongue and took a stance that resembled Yukari's.
"We're heavily outnumbered here!"
Meanwhile, Pandora had landed gracefully inside a hallway three floors below, breaking through the window. Walking forward, the doors to the familiar classroom opened on their own as she stepped through.
"It's no longer empty," she mumbled to herself.
Ten students were inside the room. Some were seated, some curled up into a ball on the floor, and the rest simply standing. Most had a dull and gloomy look on their faces, while a few sobbed. But everyone shivered…and held a black knife.
"Does everyone remember their roles?"
Eight of them looked straight at her and nodded.
"Good. Let us begin."
All eight marched out of the room and past Pandora, whose dull gaze remained on the two who didn't respond. But after a minute, she turned around and left, too.
"Being unable to make a choice is still being weak." Her voice echoed in their ears. "The kind this world enjoys feasting on."
With one swift motion of her palm, the doors to a classroom far away from theirs were ripped open. The eight students moved ahead like lifeless dolls. And a second later, another student walked out of the second room, unarmed and in shock.
"Today, the Lily will witness the truth of the humanity she chose to protect."
One of the eight charged in, knife in hand, with a scream. Pandora kept watch from further behind.
"The reality of the world she has chosen to live in."
She glanced outside the window as another scream followed.
"And the bloodshed…she could've avoided."