He opens his eyes…
A white vision..?
He straightens up and looks around.
It's empty, silent… calm…
He looks to the left… then to the right…
Then he feels something behind him…
"So… you're awake…"
"I… (freezes)… can I speak..?
Or are we just… inside my mind?"
"Who knows?
Do you remember anything..?"
"…Something… hh"
Zack freezes…
As if everything suddenly clicks in his mind…
"Hhhhh….HHHAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH…!!!! AAARRRRGGGHHH!!!"
He screams… until his vocal cords tear,
until blood comes from his throat,
until his voice breaks…
The mysterious girl walks from behind him to his front with graceful steps…
She gently touches his head…
And strokes it…
"Shhh…"
The screaming fades…
Zack calms down…
"This is why that old Bifrat never told you anything…
Could you really handle all this?"
"..."
"When your mind tries to comprehend all the secrets and truths of this reality at once… this is what happens…"
"So… it's all real…"
"How far do you remember..?"
"To the moment… when I tore out an innocent girl's heart with my bare hands…"
"And that girl—"
"Was Mia. I know…
Right now, I want to lose my mind,
Tear everything apart,
Kill myself…"
"But you're under my control… Calm down…"
"Why…?"
"Because you are special…"
"What makes me special..?
If what you showed me about the past is true…
Out of all those people and test subjects…"
"Only you are special…"
"Where have you been..?"
"…The Holy War… is on the verge of ending…"
"The Holy War..?"
"In the 15,357,613th time period…"
"…I can't understand…"
"You don't need to… Just stay calm…"
Zack squints his eyes… his hands slowly begin to grow cold…
He lifts his right hand toward his face…
The tips of his fingers seem covered in sand,
and the wind blows the sand away…
"W-What is this..?"
"…You are dying…
In other words… disappearing…"
Zack's breathing begins to accelerate…
**"The core fragment created under the NWG (New World's God) Project acts as the HEART of the subjects…
It also stores memories…
Think of it like the memory card in a computer or phone…
If that fragment is significantly damaged, destroyed, or becomes useless…
the carrier dies…"**
Zack grabs his head with both hands…
His breathing is still erratic…
He's going insane…
"…What did you expect..?
That I'd let a monster like you live..?"
Zack suddenly looks at the girl's face…
Her hair still covers it…
**"I am neither a God… nor a divine power…
Not a creator… nor anything else…
Zack… look at me…
With eyes full of hatred…
Of rage…
Eyes that want to kill…
I… Zack…
I…"**
Her lips move…
The last word is inaudible…
Not even Zack can hear it…
What could she possibly say..?
What is this girl..?
Zack begins to feel nothing…
He looks at his hands again…
On both hands…
They're turning to dust and vanishing…
His fingertips are already gone…
He looks at his foot…
His bare foot… same thing…
He's fading away…
Death… is inevitable…
He wants to scream again…
To shout…
To curse…
To let it all out…
Even to cry… just for that…
But he can't…
**"That future you showed me…
I can't remember it…
Who was that person..?
The one with one eye closed,
Long white hair…
I can't remember…"**
**"You don't need to…
Just sit still and wait for your death…
The Holy War is already going to be won by 'GOD'…
And He's coming here…"**
"…God…"
—————————
A few days after Mia's death…
"Denis…
Hey! He's waking up… DENIS!
I shouldn't have let you go…"
Denis opens his eyes…
"Bifrat..?"
"Thank heavens!"
"Am I… in a hospital..?"
"Yes… Don't worry."
"Mia.."
Suddenly his eyes snap wide open:
"MIA!!!"
"Okay! Stop! Calm down!"
Tears roll down his face…
"….."
Bifrat stays silent…
Krauser approaches from the side:
"Hey, champ… You did a lot with your courage…"
"I didn't do sh*t!!"
Denis sobs, choked with grief…
They wait a bit…
Let him calm down…
"A-Ayato… Liv… how are they..?"
"Liv's already back on her feet…
Ayato might be out by tomorrow, or the day after…"
"…Where is he..?"
Krauser:
"As far as we know, Jerusalem is after him…
He's a fugitive now… As of yesterday, by the Emergency Council of Dragonomica, he's wanted by all nations…"
"Tch…"
**"But, I'm not sure…
According to the car footage, just before killing Mia…"
(he pauses)
**"…He showed his face…
It really was him…
But his eye was closed…
There's a chance he wasn't conscious…"** said Bifrat.
"Doesn't matter!
I'll never forgive him…
Never…"
And he finished the sentence in his heart:
"I'll kill him…"
—————————
One of the forests near the Dragon region borders; nighttime
Jerusalem soldier:
"What makes you think he's here?"
The other:
"Last known power surge came from nearby…
He has nowhere else to go…"
"Hey! You two!
Instead of slacking off, keep searching!" says Lie.
Both:
"Yes, sir!"
Lie:
"We know you're here…
Come out,you bastard…"
At that moment, on a branch in the distance,
a black substance appears…
It quickly slithers upward…
And merges with—
The Dark Angel..!
—————————
File #030
Unknown Truths
There are still some forested areas left in the New World. Certain institutions and committees allocate budgets and initiate projects to clear these forests.
But many people don't believe this, and stay away from the forests altogether…