Vol 7 Chapter 2.1 (1/2)

CHAPTER 2

If one's human soul should completely disappear, one would probably be more likely to find happiness. But even so, the human inside oneself feels horror towards it like nothing else. O how so completely terrifying, grievous, and painful he thinks it! For one to lose his memories as a human.

She had awakened.

Safu had awakened, and understood everything.

She knew now what had happened to her.

What have you done... what have you done... what have you done?

”Goodness, Safu. What's wrong? Look at the fluctuation in your emotions. How long do you plan on keeping up this agitation for? What a troublesome child. Your beauty is going to waste.” He chuckled. ”Ah, no, that was just a joke. A flat joke. Don't mind me. You are still beautiful, very beautiful. A huge success. Things are going exactly as planned so far. And of course, there will be no mistakes in the future, either.” He chuckled again.

The man continued to laugh from his spot beside Safu.

So you were the Devil.

Why―why―why have you done this to me?

”You are not only beautiful. You are also resilient. You are my ideal, Safu, let me confess that. I cannot lie to you, after all. I... at first only collected you to use you as a specimen. I tried to treat you as I would any other sample. Oh, I hope you will forgive me. I don't want you to reproach me like that. I didn't know that you would be so beautiful and strong. Safu, you captivated me. I could repeat myself a million times. You are my ideal―you are what I've been looking for. That is why I will make you queen. No, I will make you into someone close to a G.o.ddess. A perfect existence. You and I, we will rule the world together. How does it sound? Exciting, isn't it?”

You are the Devil.

Don't come near me. Don't come near me.

Safu's voice did not reach the man.

The man continued to talk fervently as if he were possessed. Colour tinged his cheeks, and he paced in circles, back bent slightly forward.

He was like a fish in an aquarium. He went round and round, round and round, swimming in an enclosed s.p.a.ce. Round and round. Round and round.

The man's feet trod silently on the floor as he continued talking. Perhaps he was speaking more to himself than Safu.

”I finally have you in my hands. The ideal materials. Oh, Safu, I'm no believer in fatalism. I don't believe in forces beyond the bounds of human power, or the heavens being in control of our lives. I have always laughed in scorn at it, calling it absurd. But―please don't laugh, Safu. After meeting you, I, well... I feel like I could believe a little bit in this so-called fate. Perhaps it is true. Perhaps there is a G.o.d, and He is trying to bestow me with an absolute power. If not, what could explain the fact that I met you like this? That is why I will make you a G.o.ddess. I have the power to do it. Oh, yes. Yesterday, I told you that you wouldn't need a name. Right, of course, of course. You should throw away your name from the past. I shall give you a name suitable for a G.o.ddess.”

The man's feet and tongue showed no signs of stopping.

He kept walking. He kept talking.

”Yes, how about...” The man's feet stopped abruptly. A slow smile spread over his face. ”How about... Elyurias?”

Elyurias?

The man resumed pacing. The blissful smile still hung over his face. ”A splendid name, isn't it? Indeed, a name fit for a queen. Perhaps it is all the more suitable for someone like you.”

This man...

Safu's gaze locked onto him. For the first time, she got a good look.

His thin face looked gentle at first glance. His age―it was hard to tell. Depending on how the light hit him, he either looked very young, or considerably aged. The man had completely cut himself off from the external world and was wallowing in his inner realm, staring intently into the air and soliloquizing his feelings.

Self-intoxication.

This man was completely absorbed in himself. He believed that his abilities were equal to that of G.o.d. He believed he was entrusted with everything, that he would be forgiven for anything. That... that was why he could do this.

”Just a little bit more. Just a little more, and my project will be complete. You were the last piece. Thanks to you, I have all the parts I need. They're complete, that's no mistake. I just need time. I just need a little more time. How do you feel? I want you to be comfortable, and for that, I would do anything. You are one of the most important things in my life right now, after all.”

Set me...

”What? Safu, did you say something?”

Set me free. Change me back to who I was. Let me see him.

Her emotions reared angrily. A wind roared in her heart, howling loudly. She wanted to scream from the bottom of her lungs. She wanted to cry.

I want to see you.

”Oh, what's the matter? Your numbers are going up. I guess you're having trouble adjusting to your new environment. Hmm, I thought the transition would be smoother. Oh, no, I don't mean to blame you for it. I wouldn't blame you for anything. You are my treasure. Will you sleep a little more? That should make things better. Hm? ―It looks like Mother agrees with my judgment. She says she will prescribe you some stabilizers. Oh, yes. I have to tell you about Mother. You and Mother are directly connected, you know. Mother will always monitor you to adjust your conditions for utmost comfort, so that you will have the best environment possible. So that's why, look, now she's saying that you need rest―”

A bell sounded shrilly. The tapered ends of the man's eyebrows shot up.

”What is it? An urgent call now? How uncouth― yes, it's me. What's the matter? Today is the Holy Celebration, are you not busy with your own―what? What's that? What do you mean? In the city? This is happening in the city... no, that can't be... right, send the video over to me. The samples, too. Everything you've collected... yes, I'm about to right now... what? Thirty bodies already? In the s.p.a.ce of one day... so that's what's happened... I understand. That's enough. I'll go over there myself... yes, immediately. Immediately.”

All the blood had receded from the man's profile. His lips were bloodless, white, and parched. They trembled uncontrollably.

”It's a mistake. It must be a mistake. That... that couldn't have happened. It just isn't possible,” the man practically spat, as he exited the room. He was agitated to the point of it being unnatural. All the ease and eloquence he had a minute ago were gone without a trace.

This is happening in the city, the man had said. Had something happened inside No. 6? Something that exceeded that man's predictions...?

No. 6, where I was born and raised. But there was always unrest squirming below the surface. It was such a comfortable and beautiful place, and yet it was always precarious... the lingering feeling that something was about to happen... at least, I thought so...

Safu could feel her rage gradually begin to quiet.

She was sleepy. So sleepy, she could melt. Had she been dosed with a sleeping drug? She was connected to the Mother―what did that mean? The Mother... oh, I'm so sleepy.

Her consciousness blurred. It became hard to think. And in these moments, there was always a figure which rose in her mind.

s.h.i.+on.

She tried calling his name. s.h.i.+on smiled, and gave a slight nod. It wasn't an illusion. He was so vivid, so concrete, as if he were standing right in front of her.

Hey, s.h.i.+on. When was it again? I remember the sun was setting. The wind was a little nippy, right? It had snowed for the first time the day before, and the path was wet. We were walking side-by-side. Do you remember? You haven't forgotten, have you?

And I called your name, didn't I?

s.h.i.+on.

She called his name again. And s.h.i.+on, again, smiled at her.

”What's wrong, Safu?”

”No... I just―”

”Just?”

”I just wanted to call your name. I was giving it some hard thought, and I actually realized that 's.h.i.+on' is a nice name. It's a flower.”

”You had to give it a hard thought to notice it was nice?”

She had giggled. ”So, what kind of flower is a 's.h.i.+on'?”

”Uh... a perennial flower that's part of the Asteraceae family, if I remember correctly. The stem grows up to 1.5 metres high, and it blooms with light purple flower heads...”

”s.h.i.+on, I don't want to hear an explanation about the flower. I can get that kind of information easily.”

”Then what do you want to know?”

”Something that I can't get easily.”

”Can't get easily... hmm, that's almost like a riddle. If you don't want to hear about the aster flower, then... nope, I have no idea. What do you want to know, Safu?”

I want to know about you, s.h.i.+on.

I wanted to know you. Who named you that? Do you like it? When was it that I first called you by your name? And when was the first time you called me....?

s.h.i.+on, I still don't know anything about you.

I know your habits, the food you like, how you talk, your gentleness and strength... yes, I do know. I know it very, very well. But, s.h.i.+on―

Who were you chasing? Who did you long to be beside? Who were you yearning for? Who stands at the other end of your outstretched fingers? Couldn't it have been me? Did it have to be that person? I don't know anything. So tell me. I wanted you to tell me, s.h.i.+on.

s.h.i.+on.

Safu.

She heard a voice. Sparks burst in the haze of her consciousness. Scarlet flowers opened their petals. A wind scattered the fog that hung over her eyes, and in the same way that the scenery would unfold before her, Safu's consciousness came back to her. The voice had called it back.

Safu.

Who is it? Who called me?

It wasn't s.h.i.+on's voice. Nor was it her deceased grandmother, or her parents. It was a voice she had never heard before―no, sound? Melody? A breeze in the canopies, the gentle splash of water, the pounding of rain on the ground―it sounded similar. But it was different. It was a sound she was hearing for the first time.

Is it a song―? A beautiful, song-like...

Safu.

Who is it? Who's calling me?