[NaNoWriMo] Xenophilia

[Anathe]

THIS STORY IS TERRIBLE

A rewrite is underway at Archive of Our Own. Please stop reading this.

All things start and all things stop. It happens all the time. Everyone knows how it starts and how it ends. What matters is what happens in between. Take me, for example. I started as a human, and now, I'm... this.

You could call it an end - the end of my existence as a human.

Look at me, getting ahead of myself. Curious? No matter how you respond, dear reader, I shall have to continue. It is a story that needs to be told.

--

The sharp ringing of the alarm clock was what roused me to consciousness. I cracked open one eye and looked at the time. 7:00am. Slamming it on the top to make the infernal sound stop, I flopped back to bed and sank back into blissful sleep.

It wasn't until my brother had come to my room to get me up that I actually woke up. I went through my morning rituals half-asleep, though feeling the cold water splash onto my face certainly cleared my head. After grabbing something to eat, I went out to the train station to meet up with Sakuri.

Sakuri's my good friend; we've been together since we were kids, but I was overseas for four years due to my dad's work. We only moved back to Japan last year. Despite our time apart, we're still close friends. The high school we go to is kind of far away from where we live, so we have to take the train to get there. Usually, we meet up at the station, then go to school together.

That day, she didn't appear. Not at the station, not at school and not at her club activities.

I was puzzled, but I assumed that she had a fever or something. She was a sickly kid growing up, and was prone to seasonal illnesses and changes. Once, I had to help her back home when she collapsed during classes. I pulled out my phone and sent her a message.

'hey sakuri, you sick? we got an english assignment, so i'll go over to your house to give it to you. you had better be grateful that i'm such a good friend!'

Heehee.

Sakuri's family recently moved, and though she didn't change schools, (which would have sucked lots) it meant that she has to get up earlier to be at the station. The layout of the neighbourhood she lives in is a mess, but I've been to her home enough times to have its location memorised like the back of my hand.

The train ride was uneventful, but as the train pulled up to the station, I could see smoke in the distance. This made me feel a bit uneasy - had her house caught fire? Was her family safe? I needed to know.

My fears were confirmed, but not in the way that I expected. There was a huge crowd surrounding the area of her house, and there were some TV vans and reporters. I squeezed my way through to the front, right to the police tape, and my heart froze.

The house wasn't burnt at all. In fact, the entire structure was gone. In its place was a deep pit of soil - the smoke that I saw billowed from the pit, so I couldn't see much. None of the surrounding houses showed any sign that they were damaged or affected in any way, and the neighbours were saying that they didn't hear anything last night.

It was then that I sensed a certain.... 'scent' would be the best way to describe it, though there's nothing olfactory about it at all. The scent gave off an uneasy feeling and there was an instinctual feeling of wrongness, that this was something that humans wouldn't be able to do. Something only magic could do.

No specifics. It's the same as being in a dream and just knowing something is something when you recall it later.

I rode the train back home in a daze, the feeling lingering with me, and I was horrified to hear later that evening that two bodies were identified in the park in Sakuri's neighbourhood, and the both of them were identified to be Mrs. Kunikai and Sakuri's little sister. The condition of the two were described to be horribly mutilated, and in the case of Sakuri's sis, only her dental records allowed her to be identified. Only Mr. Kunikai was still around, and that was because he was in another prefecture for the past few weeks.

How could something this horrible happen? Where was Sakuri?

I couldn't sleep that night. Not knowing where my best friend had gone to, and knowing that such terrible things happened to her family made me fear for her even more. What's more, Sakuri had never replied to my message.

I woke up the next day looking and feeling like shit. My mom was concerned for me, as she knew I was good friends with Sakuri. She told me not to worry, that the police had classified the case as murder and was on high alert for the killers. I didn't say anything, but her attempt to comfort me unfortunately didn't work. How could I not worry?

No mortal human can do this. Only something magical.

A day passed, and at school I was questioned by my classmates,  I went home and found no peace there. Since I was Sakuri's friend, the police asked me if I knew anywhere any Sakuri might have gone.she might have ran away to escape from something. perhaps she's hiding somewhere, a place that you might know.

How was I supposed to know? I rattled off a couple of places that we we frequented, and they seemed to be satisfied by that.

Days passed. I tried to continue life as usual. It's not like I could do anything, right? If the authorities with all of their manpower and influence couldn't find her, what good could I do?

Days passed, ticking into a week. I was growing increasingly antsy. It was stupid of me, and it was too much to hope for, but maybe - just maybe. None of the humans could figure out where she had disappeared to. Maybe those that weren't could help.

For that, I needed to go to the city. There was a dingy bookshop, hidden away in a dark, ass-end of an alley, in a maze of back streets and cul-de-sacs. You couldn't find it unless you looked really really hard and thoroughly or already know where it is. It doesn't have much customers; I'm surprised it's still in business. I opened the door of the shop and coughed a little. The room was rather dim, with only a few naked bulbs providing an orange light. The air of the store smelt of old paper and wood.

"Ah, hello there." A positively ancient man greeted me. His beard was pure white, and his face became a mass of wrinkles as he smiled at me. "Need anything?"

"I'll cut to the chase. I need you to tell me where the magical books are." Normally, I wouldn't have been this direct, but there was no time for beating around the bush. Not when Sakuri was out there.

He frowned. "Magic isn't a toy. You don't know what you're dealing with."

"I don't care about that! I need to find my friend!" I growled. Doesn't this fossil think I know that?! Of course I do, but I'm prepared to take any burden I need to know that she's still alive!

"Are you speaking of the Kunikai child?" His smile was somehow sly, as if he knew something. "I've heard of the circumstances of her and her family. Truly, my condolences are with Mr. Kunikai."

"Yes, her. Are you going to tell me where the books are, or shall I have to conduct my business elsewhere?"

He laughed. "You'll be hard-pressed to find any other place as well stocked as my own, girl. You've given me a good laugh, so I suppose I can let you into the back room. See what you like!"

The back turned out to be a extremely small room with a shelf full of books that were coming apart. When I picked up a book, the pages spilled out in my hands. Most of them were handwritten, and the inks had smudged badly, rendering most of the writing and drawings illegible, not to mention they were in other languages altogether. The condition of the paper was incredibly poor, too. If I was too rough with them, they would crumble into pieces.

There was a certain thin book that turned out to be oddly good condition. I flipped through it; most of the writing were insane ramblings about stuff nobody cares about, but that's actually most of the magical stuff that manages to get written down. It's probably a combination of being too long in the desert and/or dying of the plague or something.

There was only one page that contained anything useful to me. It contained a clear drawing of a summoning circle with the list of reagents for the summoning of a 'being that is the master of all'. Jackpot. If it was the master of all, then it would surely be able to help me!

I went back out and placed it on the counter. "How much for this one page?" I asked.

He took a look at the book, and then replied: "2000 yen for the book."

"Wait, I don't need the rest of the book, it's just stupid rubbish. Can't I get that?"

He peered down at me. "Did you even think about what you say? Does anyone buy books that way?"

Oh, right. I'm stupid!

"Fine." I grumbled.

--

I went shopping for the reagents a few days after I bought the book and tried to read the one page. It asked for a lot of hard to find ingredients - candles rendered from fat, but I used plain wax candles in their stead, as I couldn't find any tallow ones. Surely it was just the magic of the ritual that counted. Besides, the english used in the book was really really old, and back in those days they used what they had, which was probably those sort of materials. It also asked for fresh human blood, so I went to the local blood bank and got a packet. They looked at me funny, but I persisted and got what I came for.

I decided to do it in outskirts of the city. There would have been a huge fire risk had I tried to perform it at home, and I couldn't have any sort of outside inteference. There was a place that I knew was perfect - it was a street soccer playing field, but everyone used the one that was in the city, so pretty much nobody goes there.

Once I got there. I took some time to draw the circle and light the candles - the rough surface of the concrete is ideal for marking on. I placed the item that would amplify the magic and let the being hear my summons. Just before the ritual started, I spilled the packet of blood onto the circle, and then started reciting the spell.

As I chanted, the air in front of me started distorting and twisting into strange shapes. My heart beat faster, but I continued to chant. Who would have thought that this ritual actually did work, that I was capable of casting magic?!

A sharp pain then pounded into my skull. I fell to my knees, gritting my teeth but still chanting, albeit slower. It then felt like something enormous and heavy pressed down onto my brain, and such a huge surge of pain came that my knees bowed and I fell to the ground. My body felt like the insides were being rearranged;  my very skin boiled. Before I blacked out from the pain, I saw a mass of writhing black mass come out from the air that was distorting and warping. I then closed my eyes to blink away the tears and lost consciousness.

[Anathe]

The candles had long gone out when I woke up, reduced to little stubs on the ground surrounded by a pool of white wax. The blood had long congealed, and the concrete was scorched where the amplifier had been.

I tried getting up; immediately, I was hit by a wave of the dull pain of aching muscles. My head no longer hurt, but there was still something pressing down on my head, making my thoughts thick and murky. Unsteadily, I stumbled to my feet, and ran for it.

I only stopped and caught my breath when I was in the city. The bright lights and the crowd made me feel less afraid, and I took a bus back home, head slumped onto the window the entire journey. I flicked the top of my phone open to check the time. It was 11pm; I had gone out at 8! I must have been out for at least 2 hours.

I don't remember how I dragged myself to bed, but there I was, in bed on a Saturday morning. Compared to yesterday night, I felt much better, and the strange pressure had vanished. Thinking about the night before, I sighed. So although I seen something happen, I passed out before I could ask the being anything, and I'm sure that it would mind being summoned again. What a waste!
not necessarily

What was that thought? I certainly didn't think it.

of course not. I am the speaker.

Wha...

your summoning attempt succeeded, human.

But...

the reagents were poor in quality and only had enough power to summon a splinter

Oh. Uh...

only my mind did, and i had no physical presence, so i jumped to you

So you're kind of like... possessing me?

in a way. i do not wield so much influence, however.

Why's that?

didn't you summon me for a reason?

"Right, the questioning!" I nearly shouted. I can't believe I would have forgotten something like that! The whole summoning would have been pointless otherwise.
ask

"I need you to find a person. Her name is Sakuri K-" I was then interrupted by the voice.

i know who you are referring to. there is no need for clarification.

"So, wait. Do you know where she is?"

certainly. go to the place that she vanished from; the scry will be strongest there.

I was excited. Not only because I could find Sakuri, but also because fucking magic, man. "Let's go there right now!"

stop. as for you – you require preparations. bring clothes and food. you will know what they will be used for.

Unusual things to ask for, but I guess he had a good reason for asking for them. I packed them into a small messenger bag, and headed off.

--

On the way to Sakuri's house, the voice asked me more information on Sakuri; it said that it needed the information to track her down more easily, which I happily supplied. I said I would do anything to find her, and what was a few bits of information?

There wasn't anyone else at the house; the people passing by only gave it a few curious glances, but it wasn't like the crowd that was back then. I only stood there for a while, holding onto the police tape while waiting for the results.
it is done

Well?

your friend is no longer on this plane of existence

"Oh." It sounded hollow, even to me. I felt empty. So, Sakuri was...

she is not deceased, although she might have been. she is simply not in this realm

So she isn't on earth! That's just great, I snapped. How the hell was I supposed to find her if she wasn't even here?! And what the hell do you mean by 'might have been' deceased? You don't be kind of dead. You either are or you aren't!

i can bring you there, if you so desire. you can bring her back yourself

"Huh?" Wait, so he had the ability to teleport me to a separate dimension, but he couldn't just make his own body. That didn't make any sense at all.

dimension shifting is easy. it is simply applying pressure to the weakest parts of reality.

i would not expect you to know, but creating a physical shell drains resources. even for you homo sapiens, birthing an infant of your kind requires three quarters of the terrestrial solar cycle.

I'm surprised you know so much about humans at all.

this is not the first time i have come into contact with humans. i am no idiot.

Okay, this conversation is really lovely and interesting and all, but we should really get going. What should I expect?

only suffering awaits.

The world paused and took on a monochrome colour, and I felt like I was being dragged down. Below me, the concrete pavement warped and cracked to reveal a sinkhole. I couldn't get myself out; the pull of the sinkhole was too great. It jerked me downwards, hurtling me at eye watering speeds. I blinked away the tears, and when I opened them again, my descent had abruptly halted, leaving me on my back. I got up and took a good look of my surroundings: the walls around me were rough stone, and just ahead, a red muck was covering the walls.

welcome to hell

"It's remarkably less fire and brimstone than I expected." I remarked. The air around me was dank and smelt of stagnant water. When I came close to a part of the wall, moisture glistened on its surface.
   

i imagine that there were many interpretations to the heavens, but none are right.

"So what, hell is just a dirty dungeon? That's a lot less dramatic than it should be." The place of ultimate suffering, where sinners reside, cut off from god's grace... is a underground cave complex.

it is what it is. no matter how much you imagine one thing to be, it does not change to fit your perspective

"So is this only one subdivision of hell? If not, jeez, it's not going to hold a district, let alone all of humanity."

there are many punishments for those who stray. this is simply one of them.

I walked along the desolate path; all was completely silent save for my footsteps. Out of curiosity, I tried touching the red muck on the walls. It felt... fleshy. Wet. There was a metallic edge to its smell.

I then saw my first hell beast. It was a red, stunted looking bat that struggled to stay airborne. As I watched, it flew along the corridor, moving back and forth for no discernible reason.

it is our opportunity. these beasts are weak here, but as you venture deeper, the beasts will grow stronger, and so must you.

How am I suppose to do that? I mean sure, I summoned you using a ritual, but I had to look it up in a book, and I had a seriously lucky break actually finding it there. Humans don't... you know, normally possess supernatural powers.

you don't need any particular powers to handle that one. just take it.

Hesitantly, I took a few steps forward. The bat thing didn't seem to notice, so I got closer and ducked when it flew over to where I was standing. Timing my movements, I reached out and took hold of the bat by one of its wings, which then struggled in my hand, chittering and trying to bite my hand. I swiftly pulled away, then held it by both its wings, so it couldn't try anything funny like injuring me. Something like this probably has all sorts of diseases in its mouth or something and would infect the wound if it managed to get one off of me, and I'm not a fan of feverish comas.

Alright, I got it. What do I do next?

that's where i come in.

I then felt something churn at my sides - and all I could do was scream as something large ripped themselves out of my body. Despite the sheer agony, I didn't fall unconscious; something was holding me back. Trembling, I turned my head and saw thick, black tentacles, chunks of flesh hanging around them by thin slivers of skin and a warm wetness dripping down my back. The base of the tentacles then tingled, and the chunks melted down into my skin.

"What the fuck was that!?" I hissed. It wasn't just the pain. It was the HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK. It was the exhaustion, merrily slamming bricks onto my head. It was the fear.

Mood worsened, my grip on the bat tightened and it shrieked. I ignored it.

you said that humans do not possess supernatural powers. that is not quite true. with sufficient knowledge and power, you could cast 'magic' and thus affect reality.

What the hell does that have to do with mutilating my body?!

you have no need for magic. you cannot learn it, and i cannot teach you. as your patron, this is most suitable for you.

What?

Does he really think that growing octopus arms is better than magic?! That is just such bullshit. Still... I don't have any other choice. I have to make the most of what I have. I'll have to kill the creature with these... appendages you gave me, then?

correct.

I, uh... tried wiggling the tentacles – it's hard to explain, but I felt an instinctual connection to them. Trying to move them at first was like moving a limb that had gone numb. Soon, I could get them moving with some ease, and bam. One stroke and it's out. What's your name, by the way? I can't refer to you as voice in my head forever. The echo's also making my head spin.

mortals have taken to calling me Azathoth. you may use it if you wish.

Azathoth, huh? That's cool.

were you not aware of who i am when you summoned me?

Not really. It didn't give any names, just epithets like "YE TERRIBLE DARK LORD" and stuff like that. Was there?

pay it no heed. let us move on.

There were a few more hellbeasts as I went along; they were typically the stunted bats, but there was also a kind of twisted, four legged lizard-like monster, with horns growing out of its head and limbs. It moved at a snail's pace, dragging itself along by its tiny front claws, but it had a huge maw, bristling with sharp teeth. It was weird how all the monsters I had met were weak and slow, but I wasn't complaining. I don't have a death wish, after all.

There was a door at the end of the corridor; I pushed myself up onto the raised platform that the door was on and tried the doorknob. It was locked. Figures.

just destroy it and move forward. you will only waste time trying to find the key.

That's a pretty good idea, actually. Hmm, how was it like? Kick the area near the doorknob? The hinges of the door were like a fulcrum, right?

There was then a sound of scraping stone, and I realised that the walls was moving inwards. Oh, good! Exactly just what I needed.

Trying to get out was more important than ever now; I wasn't nearly thin enough to slip through the subsequent gap, and I'll be locked out if I tried to retreat. Come on, this door has to break, one thing or another!

The first few kicks were weak, and I watched the walls nervously, keeping track of how much time I had left. As they closed in, I charged the door in desperation. That was enough for the door to break, and carried by the momentum, I fell forward, tripped over something and landed painfully on my front. Behind me, the walls slammed into each other with a reverberating thud.

That was close. I don't ever wanna do something like that again.

I laid there for a few minutes, waiting for my heart to slow down. God, I was so close to being squashed into pancakes. If the door hadn't given out when it did, I would be the slimmest I would ever be. This shit was real. I might die.

And Sakuri is here, in this place filled with monsters and traps.

By herself.

Gotta get up, quick.

The corridor this one was a lot more different than the stone and fleshy red fungi of the previous area. With a pastel orange wallpaper and a dark red fuzz covering the floor, this place could pass for something normal! Something normal with terrible colour coordination.

I didn't have very long to admire the decorations, because something flew at my face at high speed. I ducked just in time; the thing flew smack into the stone walls that blocked the doorway, bursting upon impact and creating a bloody splatter where it had hit the stone. There was an obnoxious whine coming from behind me, and I turned to see a large swarm of reddish insects that looked like praying mantises, a dim distant light playing on their wings and reflective scythe-like forelegs. They hovered in place for just a moment, and then they all came at me.

There was no way I could escape from a swarm of such number without any injuries, so I ran for it, ignoring the slashes they made with their claws, drawing neat little lines of blood and tearing up my clothing. I tried to lash out at the swarm with the tentacles, but they were so small and numerous that I couldn't kill enough to make a significant dent.

There was a door to the right; I quickly dashed inside and slammed the door shut. I could hear the muted thuds of the insects as they hacked away at the door, but looking at the wounds that I had received from them, there won't be anything to worry about.

There were a few lockers in here, and when I looked at them more carefully, bile rose in my throat. Dried blood had crusted on their surface, with some fresh stains, and it got worse as I went along -  there were all sorts of meat racks and barbed tools, all of them bloody or with bits of flesh on them. There was even a short section of intestine lying near the locker.

To my alarm, something - or someone - was opening the door. In panic, I rattled the locker doors, but none of them budged and the door opened and there was FUCK FUCK SHIT IT HAS NO GODDAMN SKIN

it stumbled forward and lunged at me but i fell sideways and my foot wildly lashed out it fell with a disgusting wet smack












i screamed and kicked and screamed and kicked and screamed and kicked --

















It... it was skinless. It was a thing with no skin, that bled when it moved. It had bloody sockets where its eyes were supposed to be.

It was wrong.

This place is hell, but not how we think it is. It is a place that pushes your buttons, that eats away at you until you simply give up or break.

The corridor outside was now packed with even more bats and lizards. They were easy to kill, but there were just so many. One of the lizards capitalised on my carelessness and pounced on my ankle, biting down painfully. Panicked, I ripped it off my leg and threw it as far as I could. It hit the wall, making a small splatter where it had hit.

Was there any point to all this? I didn't want to do this, but running wasn't a good idea, either.

I then noticed a stone door that had a red jewel embedded in it. I pushed open the door and came into a wide hall, with various shining gems and crystals dotting the walls and a polished marble floor. I touched the walls – they were warm, almost organic, and the jewels were too embedded in them to be pulled out. If this place had proper lighting instead of this half-assed dim lighting, it would make an amazing gallery or a ballroom.

The ground then started rumbling. It can't be an earthquake – I was underground, right? I turned around – during earthquakes, stand under a door frame. What I saw was a massive giant - it wasn't quite human, as its head was featureless, save for some flaps of skin that was pulled tight over its face. Its torso wasn't so human either - thick blue wires seemed to connect its chest and its legs, and it stepped towards me without any hesitation or pause. It certainly didn't look friendly, so I prepared to defend myself. Once it was far away enough from the door, I'll just run around it and get out! Simple.

Unfortunately, my hopes of escaping from it was dashed as the giant smashed the walls above the door. Large chunks of rock and rubble tumbled down in front of the doorway, blocking off the one way of exiting. Great. I glared at the giant – it obviously didn't want me to escape. I'll just have to beat it down, then.

It wasn't a good idea to get into close-range with it, but while they were long, my tentacles couldn't possibly reach across the entire room. I would just have to keep within enough range to be able to attack it and dodge its attacks at the same time.

I didn't have time to stand around thinking all day, as the wires seem to move apart, revealing... something that I couldn't see, and seconds later it fired a freaking laser beam at me. It just barely missed; I could smell burnt hair and my ear was raw and bleeding. I dashed forward, throwing my tentacles forward, and it reached out and painfully yanked me forward, clamping its other hand around me tightly. I squirmed, but I couldn't escape its vice-like grip.


It roared and then punched me. I tried to move myself so that I would receive the least of the blow, but all I got was a broken shoulder and a concussion. When it next hit me, the bone in the right side of my face gave way with a sickening crack. Feeling the pain and numbness grow across my  face, my vision hazed red.

I̧̛̙̫̱͇͊͌̎̿̽̃ͤ͘'̡̤̦͈͈̃̌͛͋̃̈͟ͅL͕̗̱̙͎̱̻͕͖̙̞̼̆̓́͗͛̿̈́̏̀͐̐̇͘͞L͛ͧ͒̒ͩ͛̍́̆̋̇̉̍͐ͬ̀͜͞͠͏̺͚̫̦̤͎͍̘͓͔̟͔͔̯̮͉ ̸̡ͧ̇́̽̉͠҉̭͈̝̣̠̬͍̺̣̯͈͙̻͚̳̟F̩̳̟̰̦̥̥̘̺̃ͬ͛ͦ̆͑ͨ͘͡U̷ͮ̆̔ͪ̋ͨ̔ͩ̿́̕͜͏̲̟̬̳̦͇̯̫̯C̨̤͔̟͚̫̬͚̤͍̳̫͖͖̟̈́ͮ͆͑ͨ͛̀̀́K̶̸̻͉̝̟̱̮̼̝̬̖͇̹̊ͯ̓̃͌͗̑̐̇̊̐ͧ̽͛́͊͐̇ͩ̕I̵͈̟̠̯̘̲͇̹̱̩͐ͣ̑ͫͫͬ͐ͮ̑͊͢N̛̗̙͚̤͎̟̖͚͍̹̲̰͙̲̘̘͇̣̬̾̉̈́̋ͥ̀͑̀ͫ̉͆̏̿̏̉͊̅͊͜͡G̿̀̆̆̾̋̔̉́̍̐҉̧͎͓͔͖̤̘̳̞̮̺̙̤͙̻͇͝ͅͅ ̸̴̨̤̙͖͉̮͉͕̳̯̳̻̞̱͙̭̽ͤͤ̀̊̅̍͋ͭ̿̓̏̂͗ͮ̅ͮ͋͟͡Ķ̸̸̟͕͓͉̠̮̞͉̻̥͎̟̀̏͐ͭ̾̊ͦ͝Į̸͇̠͉͙̹̦͈̆̅ͫ̉ͮ͊̌ͩͣ͋̚L̷̠̪͇̙̝̟̣̝̝̦͍͉͎̟͌ͯ̒̅͘L̨̛̗̝̲̠̣͉̎ͯ̎ͩ̀̑ͯ̃̿̒̍̄ͣ̃̈͜ ̴̛͓͍̖̤͙̫͕͓̫͖͖̠̦̯̠̤͆́̉̑͊͒̉̈ͦͦ͛ͥ́ͧ̎ͨẎ̨͈͇̘͍̥̹̟͔̲͚̯̻̱͇̹̼̽͐ͧ̓̀̍̉̋͊̒́̀O̸̧̪͎̦̲͂̏̿͂̏̅ͥ̆͐ͥ̅ͥ͂̃ͪ̐̓̀U̷̵̬̤̤̩̯̞̖̦͙͔͎͍̣̫̖͖̟̾ͫ͛ͯ̿͠ ͛́̎ͥͧ̅̌̎̚͏̸͝҉͓͇̖̩̼̲͔͚I̴̧̛̱̜͇̳̹̽ͯͬͥ̍̂ͬͪ̒̈́'̵̶̨͍̗͎͖̦͓̫̹̦̞̙̯͖͛ͣͥ̈́ͤͣ̃̄̑͑̿ͥ͂̅̅͘͡L̨̦͍̼̔̃͂͐͆͒̈́̔͝͠ͅL̢͎͔͉̤͓̹̖͚̓͒͐̐ͮ̈́̒ͥ̃͌̌̓͞ ̾̒ͪ̋͜͏̨̳͚̭̟̫͕̪͖̹͔͉͚̰̜̰̰̀͝F̺͔͓̙͍̱̟̠͈̻̻̦̙̓ͫ̃̒ͦ͂̇̌͑̉̂̈́͆͋͒͌ͦ̚͟͡ͅUͨ̈́ͬ̄ͫͩ͆̾҉̞͇̖̟͍̺̖̫̹͜Cͣ̓ͮ͊ͬͬ͒̆̂ͦ̐̏ͤͭ͏͏̷̹̫͇̖̗͔͇̤͈̣̭̱̗͔̝Ḱ̶̸̢̲͕̼͈̥̙̖̪̺͇̪̪̫ͨͩ̀ͅÎͯͥ̈̆ͧ̐ͫ̇̇̓̊͝͡͏͉͔͖̖̟̮̥̫̮N̷̴̢͍̫̙̞̦̝̫̣̳̦̩̣̒ͫ͒͛̔̇̄ͩͯͯ̋ͥ̀ͨͯ̽Ĝ̵̢̛̩̠̯̺̠̥͓͈̝̠͎̼͍̟̭̯͓̻̗ͬ̓̐͊̌̿͛͌ͧ͡ ̴̛͈̬̱̬̰̞̠͎̬͙̗̝̬͚̟ͧ̀̋͋̽͂̿̅͊̍̾ͮ̉ͬ̈́̐͢͞Kͭͨͫ̓̄̋̈́̐̕͞҉̨͏͙̮̩͎͔͇̞̹̪͖̘͖Į̴̤̙̭̜̗̓̀͒̏̉ͯ̉́̎́L̬̼͍̱̬̟͖̩͖͕̙͒ͣ͒̄̈́̅́͞͝͡L̢̮̬͙̒̓͐̒͋̅̒ͤ̌̈́̎̐ͭ̓̇̾ͣ̑̕͜͟ ̵̸̶̺̮̤̳͔͇̺̻ͪ͊͛̍̓́̓̈͌̈́ͩ̓ͩ̃̎ͦ͘͠Y̴̞̺̫̮͎̹͇̆͆̉ͫ̅̽ͩ͌ͪ̑ͨ̏͋͊̓̈͗̾O̜͚̣̭͖̜̜͓͈̣̜̣ͪ̋̂̊͑̽ͣ̓͑ͭ̃ͩͥ͊ͨ̀̚͟͜Ư̵̢̦̪̫̰͎̪͈̖͙̤̖̳͕͇̫̒͂͗̐̎̆̈́̓͒͜ͅ

̡̬̤̠̲͈̟̻̫̙͉̱̤͕̖̝͚̯̭̋̀̏̋̑̏̚͞I̵̢ͦ͂̂͌͋̉ͬ̾̈̌ͦ̉ͯ͠҉̼̝͚͍̜̪̰̘͇͈̳̜̞̟̙̮'̴̘͚͕̤͖͕̦͙̬̲̜̙͉͖̗̭̋̾̑͑̆̿̅ͣͧ̚̚͠L͎̳̞̙̻̥̲͗̋͊̅̿ͥ̓ͦ̊͒̏̎̽̑ͭ͘͠L̶̸̢̤͕̭̲͖̞̾ͦ̿ͤ̊͘ ̵̧͍͈͎̯͖̜̞̹̦͔̖͍͐ͥͮͬ̐͛̿̄̃̾͐͆̒͐͘̕F͕̙̱͎̘̦̩̲̳̞̥͈̯̜̫͔̫ͣ̓ͫ̈́ͨ́U̧̨͉̼̘̞̘͓̰͙͗͐̽̂ͩ͑ͨͦ͋͑̇ͪͦ͐̿̅̀͒̆͜C͊̇̈ͨ̎ͮ̿̅̑ͦ̈́ͯ͋͋ͪ̑͟͏҉͉̦̖K̸̈ͭ͌͒̉̔ͩ́̚͘҉͇̱̫͕̺͙̝̬̱̜ͅȊ̴̢͓͇̩͓̥̘̳̩̹͈͍͉͎̖͙̫͖̦ͮ̽̇ͥ̃̾̋̎͗ͣ́͑̃͟͜͞ͅN̉̒̓ͣ͛ͫ̉ͤ͜͏͓̯͈͔̜͍̼́ͅG̢̥͓̟̥̩̝̘͉̊́͐ͯ̾̐̏ͪ͗̏ͯ̀͊ͣ̿̏͌̒́̕͜͞ ͤ̍͂̓̌̀͗̌͛ͫ̾̃͑̔ͪͯͤ̚͏̱̣̻̬̙͕̖̣̥̦̭͎͞K̼͍̠͖̥̺̪̖͉͕̲͉̗̀̂͐́ͩ͗̽ͫͩ̓̓́̀̚͝I̊ͣ̔̐̉̊̒̈̿̈́ͯ͋ͮ҉͏̜̣̝̬͚L̸̸̶̝̯͔̥̻͕̜̩͈̖ͬͮ̐̈́̂ͦͭ̓͐͟L̷̠̼̖̦͍̍̋̋̚͟͝ ͯ̋̍͐̈́͂̏̄́ͯ͌̏ͨ̽́͂̃͏̵̧̺̖̰͎̥͎͍̙͡Y̶̧̞̖̹̳̩͉̝̖̬̝̰̙̝̰͛͛ͣ͊͊̽̈́ͯ̔̓ͥ̊́̀͞O̵̢̠̲̯̮̩̰͚̩͒̇̋̃̋ͣͧ̊̽͌̇ͅŪ̴̖͕̬̦̟̪̹̘͕͗̒̿͑̉̉̎͋̀͐̍̚̚ ̢̛̣̗̮̘̞͔̩͖̩̯̓̿ͪͯ̒͐̓ͣͬͪ͐ͭ͟͟I̶̘̰͎̮̞̠̜͕͓̘̮̠̖̞̥̎͊́̒͗̐̅́ͧ́̚͘ͅ'̏̌̉͋ͬ̓ͣ̀̌́͏̴̲̲̜̠͚͉̳͕̩̳͚̫̩͝Ļ̵̷̛̗̺̙̞̠̞̩͉͌ͮ͒̎͑ͣͤ͗͆̈́̉̿ͮͩͩͩ͒͘L̴̛ͯ̏ͭͥͣ͊́̅̃ͭͤ͊̑̔̀̚͜͏̤͎͇̼̠̥̻̜͎ ̷̴̷̭̫̙̭̰͙̞͎̗͓̮͎̹̱̪ͪ̈́̆̄ͬ͒͡F̷̷̹̝͕͓͚̲̘͙̦͖̼͕͖̩̌̈ͣͨUͭ̓̍ͨ͌̐͊͆̃ͫ̂͢͏́҉̠͖̻̖̫̱̗̼͔͓͉̪͔͈̝̭͕̖C̶̹͈̳̲̋̊̾ͣ͊̄̾̇̓ͩ̽ͩͭ̾ͬͯ͟͡K̸̶̸̜̦̯̰̝̱̝͇͒̓̎͑ͯ͒̋ͤ͂̿̅ͩ͋̇̂͑͌ͩͩI̊͛́ͣͤ̑̈́̆ͣ̏̇͏̢̭̹͈̙̗̀͟N̨̛͔̭͔̬͓̭͈͉̺̜̘̮̞̓ͫ́͑̃ͪ͗̃͛̓̊ͬ̋ͯ͋ͯͩ͂͜G̷̢̡̥̞̝̲̖̬̯̙̻͓̮̟̩̿̑͊ͣ̃͑͊̍̈̐͛̈͌̆͘ ̷̡̍̒̌̇͛ͫͧ͒̾͊̚͏̮̯̦̣͖̺͓͓̬ͅK̡̗͈̺̭̙͍̥͔̺̦̗̗̀́̽̓̉̎̌ͦ͛̍̓̈ͪ̄Iͮ̿̽ͦ̔̎͋͗́͒̿̿ͥ̌̉ͯ̀̀̚͞͝͏̫̞̜͔̪̞ͅL̡̗͖̞̥̥͚͉̘̰ͬ͗ͩ̈́̽̎̽ͥ͋̅͊̓ͤ͟͞L̷̴̛̪̖̠̪̮̩̩͎͖̥͇̰̺̱̺̥͉̤̀̍̄̇ͮͫ̾̂̚ ̶̶̧̨̱͎̻̼̟̼͎͇̦̗̳̺͆ͩͭ̇̌̄͌ͥ̇̈́̈́͐̔ͩ͗̊̉͜Y̸̛͉̠̯̯̱͚̓̒͒́ͯ̈̔̊̽̽ͯ̈́͞ͅO̧̤̙̥͕͚̞̯͚̖̞̣̗̭ͮͮ͛̐͛̈́͘͝͠U̹̣̤͖̹̲̱̝̜̱͇̰ͫ̓͗̌̏͗̅͊̂͐͋̋̿̓̎̊̕͜͞ ͩ̅̂̑̍ͯ̽ͩͬͤͮͣ̍̽ͫ̀ͯ́̑͘҉̠͍̗͔̰̭̼̳̩̜̞̦̟Ĩ̵͙̲͇͔͉̬̃̓̍̅ͤ̐ͯ͂̂́͢͟͠'̶̥̠͉̝͔̺̺̘͔̺̭̼͎̿̎͌͆͊͊̄ͧ̎̑ͪͯ̀́͞L͛̅̽ͪ̇̃̑ͯͨͯ̂͂͏̷̫̹̖̝͓̭͙̥̗͍̲L̴̂̔̋͗͂͊͆̿ͪ͆ͫͥ̿̔̈́̕͏̴̸̝̖̗͓͉ ̸̡̮̼͉̯̟͔̰͚̞͇̪̗̫̼͚̙̹̬͓ͪ̑ͤͦ̍̅̍̐̐̇͟͠F̵̷̢̝̦͎̼̻̮̱̲ͬ̊̓̎̇̑͑ͤͮ̓ͮ͊̀Ủ̴̡̦̝̘̫̾̿͐̉ͦ̒C̓̈́ͥ̅ͫ̎ͨ̔ͬͯ͏̨̰̱͙̺̙̙̫̻̘͔K̷͈̯̤͉̲͍͓̤͖̽̃̐ͩ̒̊̿̓̐̆ͧ̃̀̉ͮ͐̀́̚͠I̡̨̳̫̠͙̬͊̾̏͋̒̆ͥͩ̌̏͒ͪͨͮͫ̅̉͌Ṇ̢̖̳̬̠̩́̃̎̍̓̇͋̄̍ͭ̑̄͂͡Gͯ̒̈́̏̂̎̓͊͊̏́̚̚͞͏̷̱̪͇̩̕ͅͅ ̴̧̨̰̣̳̹̻̹̞͍͓̲̦͍͎͇̂̀ͬ́̐͆ͫ͐̂̾̐ͧͪ́͘̕K̨̪̮̩̠͛̈́͑ͧͣͭ̏̈ͥ́͟͜͝Î̸̧̩͕̗͉̟̱̥̭͖̳͉̞̼͕̬͓ͥ͐ͥ̋̄͂̕L̡̗̣͚̮̺͓̥ͤ͆͐͑͠Ļ̨̡͚͕̩̜̈́͒͊ͤ̑̃͆ͥ̆ͥͪͭͧ̄͑̐͂ ̷̲̰͙̰̭̮̠̞̀ͫ͌̄̀̏ͤͥ̏́Y̶ͮͮ̎̓ͫ̂͊̈́͞҉̬̤͉̖̫͖̝̼̺̠̖̻͇̻͈̜̭̝͜ͅOͧ̈̂̑ͤͯͪ͂̂ͬ͐ͧ͑͏̧̧̼͚͍̭̬͖̟͉͜͟ͅÜ̻̼ͮ͋͑ͧ͒͛̆̆͂̚͝ͅͅ

̧ͭ̉͆ͤ̾̄ͧ̂̒̌͐ͭ͗͗͆ͥ̚͟҉̵̳̹͕̱͎̜͈I̴̶̧̡͕̣̻͙̬͉̯̘͒ͣͭͭ̄̃̓̄ͫ͢'̸̨̨͖̪͍̹͕̾ͬ̅ͤ͊ͯ́͢L̵̸̠͙̖̹͕̘͎̰͓͈̠̦̝̣̲̬̜͙̎́͆͐̍ͨ̉ͨͦ̓͋͌̇͞L̶̲͉͇̟̲͉̖͇̦͕͍̳̯ͯ̄ͤ̊͑̑ͭ̃ͦͣ́̍͐̆ͨ̎͋̓̚͘͢͝ͅͅ ̃ͤ̾̃̈ͭͭ̈͛ͪ́̈́ͣ̅̄ͣ̿̾҉̧̢̼̻̱̥͠͝F̧̢̙̳͇͈̲͖͉͚̻̲̣͖̹̳̫̿͌̋̿̈́ͫ̌̃ͦ̓̋̕ͅƯ̛̠̞͙̦̑̄͋͂́̋̚C̴͊̄̈́̂̒̔͡҉͇̬̱͉̣͔́K̻͚̰̯̼͉̞̺ͮ̉ͫ̒ͧ̾̓̿͘͡͝I̸̥͎̘̦̘̬̥̞̖̝̹̲̞͖̞ͤ̑̏͊͂̾͛́̂ͩ̌͊̋̀ͨ͜N̡̄ͨͪͥ̾͂ͤ̆͊̈ͥ͊͐̓̊ͥ͠͏͚̫̩͖̱̰́G͐̔̌̽ͪ̔ͬ͏̛̛̝̝̥̞ ̒̑̂̽̀҉̢̺͔̖̦̞̰̻̀͟͝K̨͔̤̪͍̱̠͔͖̝̞̝̜̰̬̗͈ͫ̇͊̒͆͊͋ͥ̀̈ͦͬ͌͠ͅI̶̛͊̋̎̌ͧͤ̓̽ͩͩ͗̊̈́͆ͥ͟͏̝̭̩͕̬ͅL̫̳͔̟͚͉̪͙͓̜͌̈ͭ̂̔̄ͭ̌ͨͥ͠L̴̡̮̼̗͇̹͉͉̤̩̃̋̈́̈̔̿́ͩͪͤ̄͐̉̊̈ͯ̚͞͠ ̵͎̤̜̌͑̉̅ͭ̓ͬ̈̉̅̆̓ͯͯͮ͆̚͘͠͠Y̷̶̡̘̩͖͕̟̮̪͓͖̯̾͒̀̾̀͟O̴̞̞̼̩͖̜͔̦̥̠͓̰̪͉̞͎̪̮̓͗͛̔͊̐ͥ͟͝Ù̷̶̸͕̯͍͉̼͖̦͇̰͈̟̬̦ͣ͌ͬ̔͑͂̍̾̃͋́ͦ̈̚͘͢ ͦ̈́̑̂̇ͧͨ̍͐ͯ̅͏̶̦̣̰̜̤̱̯̻̜̳͉͙͙́͟ͅĮ̷̶̩̭̲̮͚̰̻̟͍̗͉̮̭͗ͨ̔́ͦ̋ͤ͛̈ͯ̒ͨ͢͜ͅ'̵̴ͯͥ̈́͏̘͎͎̥Ļ̵̢̡̝̘̺̳͈̺ͤͫͦ̊͒͐̏̍͆ͮͨ̇̍̆̐͞L̓̿͗̌͒ͦͦ̆͢͏̙̗̗͓̬̣̳̮͓͍̖̝̠̫̗ͅ ̻͔͕͍͉̖͕͕̩͖̲͕͛̃ͯ͌͊̉̽͑̏ͪͤ̈́͟F̽ͥ̎̋̍͏̶͉̟̯̖̹͕͡ͅƯ̡̭͖̲̥ͨ͒ͨ̔̃͂̒̾̎ͪͧͨ͒̍̊͌̽̑͘͞C̴̩̭̗̞̒͆̏̇͒ͪͭͩͮ̿ͮ̅̚K̡̛̩̹͓̬̬̫̲̫̄ͫͪ͑́͌͌̽͂̿̅̔̈́́͜͝͡I̛͍͖̘̠̯̖̥̩̱̭̘͖̱̊̐͆̅ͣ͛̂̏́̈͆̓̉ͨ̀̀̚͢͝ͅN̷̛͙̦̬̦̣̏̊̈́ͦ̾ͩͩ̃́͘͟G̨͍̙̗͉͇̼̙̦̘̬̮̤͔͉ͮ̿͂̆ͭͩͬ̊͛̄̉̈̂͗͒ͤ̂͂́͠͞ ̷̛͉͚̫͍̤̦̥̺̞̪̜ͣ̽̄̓̉ͤ̃́͘͞͝K̓̌͗ͭͯ͊͋̈́͆̈͊̚͝͏̸̫͕͇̪͕͉̲̣͚̳̮̥͉̰̮̫͚͝I̋̿ͮ̀̍̃͂̊ͮ̌̓͂̾͗͏̴̥͖̳͖L̩̼̘̠͕͉̑̓ͫ̔̓͟͟L͙̳̻͕̭̲̦̯̣̳̙̲͑̏́ͨ́̇ͤ͛ͨ͐͆ͣ̍͐ͥ̎̄́́̚̚͟͠ͅ ̵̖̰̦͇̣̱͎͍͓̬̎͗ͯ̓̍͛́̚̚͟͢ͅŶ̧ͣ̎̚͟͏҉̶͎̰̥̫̗̫̠̘͖̝̹̠O̸̢̠͙̞̫̥͔̣̻̜͚̣̍̋́͆́̐̃̃̂ͩͨ̃̓͛͋ͥ̋͝͡Ů̴̜̲̜̥̱̼̞̮̱̼̙͓̝͍̘͇̰͋͂ͮ̓̐̓̄͋̈̽̄ͯ̾͜ ̵̷͚̫̦͔̖̺̮̣̘͐̄ͦͭ͆ͨ̾̀̚͜͠͡Ì̂̆͋̇ͤ̇̏̾ͮ͆ͣͮ̈ͩ̾͋ͨ̚̕҉͖̻͙̹͘'͙̠̝͎̤̙͇͚̭͈̍ͩ́́ͬͪ̏̈́͋̐̑ͦ̃ͫͫ̒͂̚̕͠L̡̨̘̳̬̟͕̮̼͇̪̤̯̯̒̏̐́͗ͪ̎ͦ͋͛ͭ̓Ĺ̶̒̽͂̀ͦ̆͟͏̶͙̥͓̼̲ͅ ͕̫̜̼̝͙̠̘̖͍̲͍̓͛̋̒ͫͦ͊̍ͣ̔̍̊̆ͫ͒͆̔͋ͦ̀͢Fͣ͌͂̚͟͏̢̧͉̘̻̯̙͕͓̬̗͕͖̜̯̯̯̮͠Ű̸̢̲͉̝̜̖̼̭̅͆̊͑ͯ̌͗ͪ̕C̸̯̤̮̲̺̠͎̠̪̭̬̩̞̦͔̥̱̾̅́͑͌ͪͯ̽̄͊ͪͬ̐ͮ̊̄͟͝͡ͅK̴̘̜̥̝͇͐̿ͭͯ̓͂́́͜͠Ȉͦ͂ͯͬͦ̌ͧ͒̿̆ͦ̍̒ͬͩ͢͡͏͕̩̥̳̩̩͚̮̱̟͔͇̤ͅŅ̶̴̵̹͙̗̮̬̝̝̠̲̯̣̹̜̤͓̿̎ͤ͆ͧͫ͜ͅG̵ͭ̉̽͛̀ͫ̔̌ͩͦͧ́ͧͩͨͮͥ̚͏̶̡̤͚͙͙͕̕ ̱͇̺͓͙̤̰̹͙͇̣ͭ̊̒͌̒̎ͤ̅̎̎̉ͣ͡ͅͅĶ̈́ͥ̿͒͏̼̼͙͙̼̻͇͎̣͈͉̻̗͡ͅȊ̵̔͋̔ͮ̅̐̅̿̇ͦ̃͋́̅ͮ́̓͛͝҉͇̰͕͉͓̙̜͔̟͔͚̞̞͓̬̞̪ͅĻ̔ͮ̎́͌ͭ͒̆̀́͜͏̳͈̮̟͕͍͓̖̞L͈̪̞͇͑̈́̈́͊̈́ͣ͂̈̀͠ ̴̬̫͙̪̙͖̱̲̦̪̘̹̜͇̮̉̓ͨ͆̅̆͂ͫ̾̎ͯͧͧ̿͢ͅY̭͓̦̮͕̤̳͒͋͋̍ͩ͂͂ͦ͒̓̏̚͡O̵̴̢̧̭͍̦͇͎̺ͭ̋̈́͗̍̎̈́ͩͦ͒́̃̌͆ͨͦ̉̀ͫU̸̡̘͈͍̙͙̙͓̫̫͙̻͗̂ͪͥ͐ͥ͐̄̉ͭͩ͒ͣ͘͘͟

̊̆ͦ͆ͣ̂ͫ͊̄͋̂ͤ̈́͏̛͚͔̩̝̜͙͓̠̥̯̀͞I̵̷̢̫͓̫̖̯̬̰̩̘͎͐̐̚͠'̢̟̲͎̰̣̘̠̘̦͚̒̊͋̊̈́̓́̃͘̕L̈̑ͥ̿̈́͒̄̔̅̆͌̒̈ͩͯͬ̈́̎̚͏̣̤̬̤͕͍̯̮̱́L̶̛̄̽̌̂͟҉̡̘̞̱̙͇̪̟̣̠͚͕͔ͅ ̨̘̯̝̼̩͍̗̤̼̮̫̥̮̳̖̼̈̂̇̑͒̏ͅF̨̛̼̬̗͈͇̞̗̖̘͙͆̀ͧ̈́̕͘Ṷ̶͇̰͔̺̼͒̑ͨ̌͛ͪ͐̽͢͜͝͠C̾̐ͯ̏͑͆̒̃ͪ͗̀̈͌̃̚͡҉̴̹͍̦͚̰͚͠͝K͈̤̥͓̞̫̬̩̱̭̤̳͇͈̝̱̤̭̻ͩͥͪͣ̑͑ͫ͑̿ͣ͗̃͒ͦ̉͐ͫ̈́̀͞I̹̳̠̹ͪͩ́̂ͮͭ͌̓͊ͥ̏̇ͤͬ́͜͢͟͜N̵̡͈͔̣͔̳̳̹͓̥̳͉͖̥͍̔ͫͨͮ̅ͦG̘̭͈̝͖͐ͦ͋̔͐̌̎̀͛͂͂ͪ͜ ̒̋ͮ̎̈́ͥ̑͌̾̀͢͜͏̰̲̥̥̭̫̟͓͖͈͍̝̗͡K̵̴͚͕͎̳̖̖̳͎͚̘͓̦̝̻͉̩̤͋͌̄͌́̆ͥ͌͆̽̏ͩ̓̅̑̓ͩ̓ͤ̕I̡̭̦͎̠̳͉̟͓͚̟̬̯̪̙͉̋̆̑͆͛̃ͩ̽̇ͨ̏̋͋̏͡L̵̞̼͙̖̥̥̯̲̥͇̻̣̱̞̼̲̱̼̾ͮ̽̓̌̅̒̋ͫͧ̀̐́͘͠L̴̵̡̀̒͋ͪ̄̄̾͒̚͞͏̠̫̲͇̦̯̬̩̖̺̤̩̘ ̞͈̪͕ͣ̽ͫ́ͧ̿ͯ̽ͩͬ͋̍ͫ̾̚̕͢͟͝ͅY̡̻̼͖͛͆̔̉ͨ͋͛ͤͥͦ̀ͥ̚͜͡O̝̜̲͖̭̬̞̘̠̞̝̞̗͍̭̔͛͊ͥ̾͋̿͒̅͆̾̃̿ͣ͛̈́̚͜͡͡ͅU̦̤̹̼̳̺͎͔̘̰̺̻͎̭̝͚̎̓̍͋͘ ̢̰̘̤̲͎̜̺̠͓͔̙͇̰̟̹̬̩̄̽̍͗́͟͜͝Iͤ̉ͧͮͬ͒̃̑̓̇҉͢͏̘̫̰̥̹̺̺̠̺͓̟ͅ'̇ͮͬ̄̊̏̈́̈̽͐̍̃ͤͦ̔̂̔͒҉̗̱͙̦͔̥̤̣̫̝͇͇̳͟L̨͓̫̲̹͙̙̙͌̽̿ͥ̋̐̈́ͣ̐̀̋̍̆̀͘ͅL͈̯̬͔͓̞̩̗͓̄̍̆̏͊͆ͥ̏̈͝͝ ̴ͨ͂̈ͩ̑̀̅͊ͪͮ̆̉̂͏̹̟͖͔͖̝̠̮͙̯̪̬͖̜̳͚F̧̗̣̪̪̺̟̝̪̳̈͌ͧ̌̍ͣ͒ͣͣ̍̆ͫͧ͂́͜͡U̧̡̼̯̤͚̲̫̇̋͑̾͒̍̽̉͋͗̋̌ͬ̚̚͢͜C̸͓̞͇͇̳̦͔͈͎̬̼͙̯̗ͬ͌ͬ͐̔ͨͩ͜͝͞ͅK͈̳̥͔̟̰̱͍͓̲̫̥̰̍͋͑ͮ̀͡I̗͇͈̰͉̝͕̙̺̬̮̮̠ͤ̑̊̾̑ͣ̋̌̓̿ͭ́̔ͥ̿̍́ͯ͟͡ͅṆ̢͍͚͙̗̥͉̥̙͖̯̞̜͒̌̀͗̎ͫ̃ͤG̴̎͌̒ͤͧ̌͛ͤ̇͆͗̋̚͏͓̞̜͕̯̩̻̫̝̀͠͞ ̸̡̩͔͕͔̞̺̣̫̼̱̥̒̓̔ͤ͌ͣ͐ͭ̄ͪ͛̍͗̽̓͊ͪ́̚͘Ķ̷̸̬̞͍̦̮͎̜̝̖̜̲̗̪̺̑͂ͥ̌ͨ̚I̷̵̛̟͔͓̪̣̰͉͉̫̰̱ͥ̋̓̇͌̈́̽͘͡ͅL̒ͮ͌̽ͭ̉̃ͩ҉̡͓̪͎̜̭̖̥̳̪͚̘͉̦͔̪͔̼̪̗L̶̛̲͉̘̱̯̥̳̯̣̝̰̘̞̭͗̀ͭ̔̀̊͆͊̆ͦͪͫ̿̽ͩ̆ͦ̂́̚͘͜ ̷̜̝͓̥̙̫̘̩͒̾̂ͤ̿̇̽̃̉͌͂̀̚Y͑̎͗̅͂̅ͧ̐̊ͦ҉̡̠̟̰̙͉̰̹̭̮͘͢ͅO̲̳̜̟͙͍͎̠̮̜̙͕ͫ͒̊̎̀̎̀̀͘͘U̷͍̺͓̳̬̭͈̺̙̱̳͌̈͑̔ͥ̃̓̅ͩ͑ͪͥͤ̈́̊̓ͫͤͅ ̨̳̩̯̝̞̖͇̱͉̳̤͚̞̻͌̊ͮ́̕͟͜Ị̶̖͕͉̮͚͎̤̟̗͉͍̙͕̗͊̂ͫ̐̔̊̈́́ͦ͗̍̌ͯ̐̈̈̍̏̕'ͨͩ̔̎̾ͭ҉̸̭̤͉͇͈̩L̛̻͈̱̺̲̊̋͐̓ͥͣͪ̇ͨ͐̑̋̈́ͪ͋ͪ̈͟͝L̵̛͔̪̠̞̪̘̦͙͎̖̾ͨ̊̊̔̏̈́̍ͧ͒ͫ͒͌ͬ͂̋ ̴̶̛͕̗͓͕͇͎͚̞͓̰̦̳͗ͩ̔̈́͗ͣ̉̐͢͠F̼͎͕̝͕͚̙̫͓ͧ̓ͪͦ̅ͮ̈́̀ͦ̽ͯ̿ͫ͝Ų̷͖̥̜̯͖̮̞͓̖̜͉̘͔̮̦ͥͤ̽̇̋̏̓C̷̶̈̓̇́̌̓̕͞҉̲̤͎͇̖̭͓̤̭̤̱͖͈̳̝̯ͅK̴̷̢̼̹̳̞̠̲̫̙̳̠̤͎͕͖̟̱͈̯̰̏̿ͫ̄̇̂̋ͩ̈ͯ͊̋͆̆ͯ̑ͬ͒͢I̸̶̜̭̳̝͕͙̔̽͐͌̂̔ͦͦͭͣ́̄̾̒ͫ̔͘͢͟N͋͒ͭͦ́̊ͫ̉͐ͦ̂̌̏͋ͭ̋ͤ̈́̾҉̹̪̜͇̼̤̺̮̘͢G̶̫͉̳̥͍̮͚̩̅ͧ̍ͅ ̨̨̰̠̟̘̝͍̪̹͚̪͎͊ͧ̈́ͤ̏ͩK̶̢͕̺͙̥̼̭̲̩̮͎̃ͬ̉͋̄́̈͐̊́͊̔̀͘I̸̷͓͎̭͚͚̟̤̜̙͙̜͕̺̮̜͓̼ͬ͊ͣ̾̽ͣ̓̈́ͬ̐̈́̽̇ͩ͌͐͛̚̚͠L̶̢̨̨̟͓̙͈̤̩̘͑ͨ̊̿ͦͨ̀̽̏͛̋ͬͯ̒́Ļ̗̭̯̻̜̟̞͈͈̯͔͎̪̝ͩ̏̍͗ͣ́̓̓͛̉̊̚͘͢͞͡ ̴̷̤͈̹̲̤͖̳̠̠̻͉̥̝̱̖̤̿̈̃͊̍̈́͐̑ͅͅY̵̛͓̤͖͚͉̲̺͔͈̤̣͉̬͔͌ͧ͆̋̒̒̈́͛̉͆͊̀͜͟Ơ̸̴̦̥̮͔͍̹͓͙̠̹ͥͦ̔͂̎͛ͮ͌̔̿ͩ̐̅͗ͣ́͢U͌̉ͪ̇ͯ̿͑͌̇̒ͣ͐̐ͧ͡͞͏͚͎͙̦̗̳̘͔̪̯͙̰͇͉̹͉̣ͅ

̧̱͓̹̫̫͉̖̥͚̰̂ͦ̔ͭͤ́͡Ȉ̴̮̞̬̝̻̮̘̼̻͔͇̖̗̦̖͐̇̽͋ͬ̕͜͜'̧̧̤̻̱͚̭̜͚̤̖̹̬̹̮͔̠̗͚̜͒͗̐̒ͮ̐̅̋̇͊͐̿̔L͓͓̙̝͓͎̰̙̥͓̫̖̞̥ͧ̋̇̿̎ͤͥ̓̅̿̅̽̐̐̂̌̚͢͠L̷ͬ͛̈́̑̿̒ͫ̍̑̇͠͏҉̦̘͉̘̘̙̦̼̞̘͡ ̛̥͔̳͎̪̟̃̋ͭ̀̃̄͛F̴̸͎͔̟̬̠̫̼͎͖͈̭̞͕̼͗͑̿̋̏̾͆̀Ụ͎̮̜͇͎͙͙̹̝͂̓͂̏͋̓́̌̕Cͬͪ̅̽̑͒̓ͯ͢҉̣̺̠͈̣͔͇̞͔͇̰̦̺̰̘̜̼ͅK͂̅̍ͮͥ͛ͧ̋̆͛̊̆ͪ̚͠͠͏͠҉̮̯̮̬ͅI̸̘̪͉̜̥̗̯̼̣̮͕̖͚͍̳̥̠̗͒ͨͪͮͧ́͂̋͂͋ͩ̈̓͐̓͆̀͘͞N̜̯̩̖͇̱̯̺̘͈̖̫̬̒ͬͪ̒ͬͤ̑̉ͬ͛͂ͥ́̀͝ͅG̵̶̦̗̩̟̱͈̱̞̫͌ͨ̄̋ͫ͛͌ͬ̂̇ͪͩ̈̽ͮͧ͊̀͡͝ͅ ̲̳̜̭̗̜̖̳ͬ̇̈́̉͆̕͟K̂ͤͮ͛҉̴͈̠̻̻̙́͝Ḭ̧͈̟̻̣̇̓̓̐͘͟͞͝L̸͙͍̞͇̖̣̫̯ͤ͐̒̎͛ͦ̑ͫ͌͠L̶̮̖̼̜̤͈̙͎͉̗̠̹̅ͥ̇̂̏̅̐̄̿̉̀̚͠͡ ̒̈́̂ͧ̃̃ͩͪ̓҉̕҉̠̟̣̘͓̱ͅŸ̨̲̳͍͖͖̞̫̼̱̦̰͙̖͓ͫ̏̋̊̾̌͛̄͒͐̌ͣ͌ͤ͠O̅̊ͨ̋̎̌̇̿҉͉̜̖̺̩̭̪͚̲͈͘͢͜Ủ̡̬̰͎̗͉̺͉̜̠̗̖͉̜͈̲ͩ́̇͌ͣ͂ͥͨ͒̌͐́̃̒ͯ̽̚͘͠ ͓̩̱̻͔̝͗ͮͣ͐ͩ̌̅̕͜I̴̞̼̫͚̺̥̘͚̿́͗̚ͅ'̄̾ͪͦͦ̿ͬ̋ͪ́̍͊̍̚҉̧̨̛̦̬͉̜̪̰̲̦͖̹̭̹̣̖̻͡Ḷ̡̩̟̟̭̺͈͔͇̂ͥ̐͆̃ͮͥͭͨ̋̽͑ͫ̋̍̽̒̿̀͝͠͠L̶̨̹̹͚̬̹̗ͩͧ̎ͥ̂̈̒̀ͫͬͮ͛̃̚ ̳̠̳͍̰͓̪̖̪̦̬̩͔̤̐ͦ̈́͛͗̂̈̀̾̐́̀͜͡ͅF̖͍̼̗̻̳̙̥͍̍ͤ̓ͫ̌̆̄̆̄ͯ̎̍ͦ͐́͜͜U̶͑̒̿̿ͭ͐͘͏̠̱͕͕͈̣̤̩̫̜̦̣͓͓̲̻̜Ċ̥̺͓̪̠͙̠̮̘̙̯̏̐̉̃̑̆͑ͭ̋̽̽ͣ̽̉̓͞K̶̡̬̫͚͍̓͂̓͊ͧ̊̐ͣͣͪ̅̓ͮ̄͐̿̀͟I̡̫͖͉̖̞̮ͪͯ̐̃͛͊ͦ̏̑ͭͫ͆̌͆ͭ̚͞N̷̸͍̲͕̥͙̦͖͙̼͛͋̊̽̈́ͤ̔̆͂ͭ̇ͮ̏͢͞G̶̡̣̪̹͍͈͙̗̼̫̱̰̳̤̼̲͋ͪ͊̌͑ͣ́͘ͅͅ ͇͈̮̩͚̜̣̙̖̖͚̠͍͚͖̩ͭͨͣ̋̉͞ͅK̵̥̹̮̞̔ͮ͆̂̂͌̒̐̎͋͢Į̱̗̖̬̺̳͚̭͉̔͂͊ͪͬ̔̍͒͑͋̔̽̄͘ͅĻ̵̰̹͓̙̼̝̩͉̯̱̪͔͓̯̮̻̪̀̓ͦ̂̆̍̇̂͗́ͥ̈ͯ͟Ĺ̡ͮ̔ͬ̂̚҉̖̬͔̻̮͔̯̤̖̠̞̰̤̝͓͍̱̹ͅ ̡̯͎͇̰͇̱̙͉͕͕͈̗̯̔ͩͬ̿ͨ͋̆ͬ͊̒͊̾ͯ́Y̶̧͉̗̜̳̹̥̼̫͕̬̫̞̘̠̹͎͆̾̏̿́̏͆́̃̂̌ͯ̍͜͜ͅỌ̸͎̝͍̻͉̒̓͊͌͋̍̓͂͛̊ͭ̋̂̒͞Ư̸͕̞̜̩͇̰̣̼̟̞̫̣̦̏͊ͣ̏͌̌̿ͬ̋͑̌̈́͠ ̛͖̞͍̘̻͕̼͚̥͔͓̒ͦ́̿̀͠I̴̡̘̭̖̲̮͕̟͉͙̱̯͖͈̜̝̣̩̹͐͛͗ͧ̃ͬ̂̇͗̇ͯ̈́ͣ̈͘͜͟'͍̥̞̞͎͓̮̐̄̆ͣ͊̔̊ͯͮ͝Ļ̷̺̮̭̥͕͇͖̩̲̀̉̋̑̇̔̓͋͊̿ͩ̃̉ͫ̀̀̚͢L̷̲̹̜̰͚̗̙͎̺̟̫̩̘̺͉ͭ͛ͧ̽̇ͣ͗̏͆̈́͑́ͅ ̶̸̧̢̞̜͖̟̞͙͎͉͇̬͙̥͉̮̩͌ͭ̉͒ͬ͊̏̈͡Ḟ̴̸͙̜̣̱͇͔̋ͥ̃̍̽̏̌͂̏̔̾̅ͬ̋̒́̚͘U̢̦̦̦̤̝̞̠̭̹͛̇ͥ̎̆͐ͮ̌̊̊ͥ̎ͧ̅͒͝͡C̶̺͍͚̰̦͉̰̻͇̞͙̰͇̖ͮ̆ͭ͗͗̌ͨͬ͛̋̒ͥ͊͢͠ͅͅĶ̷̺͕̼̱̽ͦ̑͗̑͌̾̈́͛͆ͪͅĨ̛̜͈̮̟̦͙̄̽̌͒̋͛ͭ͊ͪ̄ͯ͘Nͦ̉ͯ̿ͣ͌͐̎̆҉͏̸͍͉̻̟̗̩͇̲̟͍̳̹̦̞͚͡ͅĢ̲͇͚͉̟̮̫̿̒ͬͮͣ͂ͬ̓̄̑̏̈́ͨͥ͆̅͛͗̕͟͝ͅ ̧̊͌̓ͥͧ̃̽ͩ͂ͦͤ̀̂̑͛̓̑͘͟͢͏̹̭̝̥͍̙̼͓͕͇̹̹̼Ḳ̺̗͉̰͉͕̟́̀̔̏͂́͟I̵̢̩̬̙͎̟͕̥̬̫̦͉̼̿̔̑͊̀ͤ̊͛͐̚͟L̵̥͕̳̦̝̋ͯ͂̑͆͑ͤͯ͊̄͂̆͛ͬ̀ͦ͊ͪ́̚͡͞Lͯͣ͋ͩ̋̂ͮͨͬ̒͑ͩ͑̆̊̚͏̷̬̰͇̰̟̞ ͙̻̯͎͕͉̗̞̻̦̭̂ͧ̾͑͐̉ͥ͊̔̈́ͪͪ̕͠Y̸̧̢̨̢͖͕̖̣͖̟̝̤̜̘̬̤̫͚̭̯͙͂ͦ̌͊̉̀ͫ̽͊̿͐ͣ̂̏̉Ŏ̟̩̱͇̲͓ͥͥͭ͋̆ͥͫ͋͊̓̌͋̏̓̈́ͪ͢͠ͅU̴̾ͫ̉̒̍̿̈́ͦ̐̊̄̈́ͤͤͦ͑̚҉̷̖̻̺̻̫̫͈̹

̨̲̬̥̝̟͉̭͊̍̎͆̎ͣ̾͌̀̈́̒̍̂͘I̴̶̝̣̙̯̣̟̞̣̼̝̯̙̱͔̋̅̽ͯ̇͗ͨ̆ͦ͒ͫͤͧͥ̋̇̚͜͢'̴̢͍͇̬̰̹̲͉̱͙͙̲̗̙̰̓̈̃ͪ̿͛̅̕ͅL̡̧͍͚͔̮̺̦̖̺̝̠̞̽͊̅ͭ̾̽ͬͭ́̾̃̉ͮ͒̆͂͡͡L̡̺̠͙̼̽̇̏̇͗̊̋̍ͦͦ̆̔̈́ͨ̚͘͟ ̧̨̤̗̝͔̪̜̖̭̟̺̮̼̦̀ͧ̎͐͆ͮ́̅ͫͭ́̈̽͑̏̄ͬͧ̀͘͢F̴̤͉̯̥͋̀̆̾̃̂͞U̡̙͈̺̯̬̰͉̜̽̀ͪ͋̎̏͗͑̏̃̔̀C̴̸͕͉̯̳̪̜̗̗͓̞̖̥͉̪̜̝͗̌ͨͥ̂̓ͬ͟͟͠ͅKͧͦ̿̒̄̍ͮ̌ͨ̍́̔́҉͉̜̹̭̣̭͔͔̥̺̰̟̣͇̥Į̮̞͙̘̖͔̻͉͍͍̜̫͈̳͉̥̱̼̈̽̉̀ͬ̓̀ͥ̓̇̆͋͟͟͠Ṇ̴͙̪̲̭̜̙̟̣ͬ̉̑̽̌͋̎̿ͪ̔̆̿̀ͥ͗̀͆̓͢͢͠Ġ̴̨̥͍̭̞̦̻͕͍̥̮̙͈͎͍́ͭ̏͌ͯͭ͂̄ͬͧͨ̃ͦ̚͘͜͞ ̢͇̗̙̣̣̑ͩ͐ͨ̃ͣͬ̉̃ͫ̍̑̌ͫ͊ͩ̀̀K̛̲̘͕̞͐̃̄ͣͫ͋ͮ̓ͬ͌̽ͥ̒ͫ́Iͪ͂͂̐ͪ̓ͦ̓͛̀̔͏̷̝̞̙̞̝̮͠L̨̢̛̮̪͖̞͙̺̲̦̞̬͌̋̿̉̏͟͝L̸̴̨̫̜̙̤̞̠̖̦̪͍̾̐̈̿ͣ̆̈́̃̋ͧ̉̎̈̄ͫͮ͌̓̀͘ ̸̷̡̝̘͚̿̿͋ͩ̽͊͌ͫ̋̐̓̐̔̓ͮ̄͊͑ͨ͠ͅỸ̜͕̫̱̣̼̣͓̼̝͎̱͉̬̜̲̆̎́̿̂͒̇ͮ̍̔͋̀́̚Ô̢̾̎ͦ̓̒̒ͥ҉̛̗͖͔̭̟̮̺̙́͠Ų͊ͣ͐͊̊̽͌̀̉͗ͬ̊̀͗̇̑ͦ҉͓͕͕͜͢ ̺̱̪̳̰̓̒ͯ̌́͘Ȉ̡̺̝͚̠̹̗̣͓̭̦̟̣ͧ̌̊͗͌ͩ̇ͭͅ'̨ͪ̀̂ͤ̽̋̅̃͛͒̔̒͘͢͟҉͇̖̮͓̤͎̖̼̬̤L̶̯̲̦̬̰̙̩͈͓̥̖̰̮͈͇̩̣̺͗̐ͪͯ̏̀̑͐͗ͯͪ̿̄̕͟L̨̢̯̟͎̮̱͉͖̇ͩ̒ͥ̿̇̕͜ ̎ͭͯ͒̈́̍̄̍̌ͪ͐̃͆͑ͮ̿̚͏͖͖̣̹̦̫͎͖̻̥̜̜̦̱F̴̂͒͛̉͛͏͕̼͕̼̹͍̞̹̮Ư̸̛̙͙̲̰͙̼̜̞͇͈̼̓̄͋̾̊̎͑̌̐ͤͤ̾̇̔̄̋͢͢ͅC̬̻̗̖̦̐͋ͥ̒̂̂̿̔͂̈́̂̀́̚̕K̶̢͖̬̣̣͎͚̥͚̞̳̩̔͌ͩ̒ͥͬ͌ͭÏ̧̪͍͖̖̮͍̳͎̈́̐̑͛͊̍N̸͉̬̱͕̻̼̤̰̣͈͖͕̗͙̉̋ͥ̅͐̾̌̌̋̽̒̐̓͢͞͡ͅG̴͇̩̫̣͎̲̠̬̰̹̫̬͈̿ͧͬ̓͊̃͡ ͬ̿̆̇̓ͣͨ̎͗͑ͤ̔ͭ̈̋́͘͏̷͙̰̙̹̗̣͈̫̠̳̮̬̪̲̯̪͞K̵̛̗͔̻̫̘̞͇͎̪̪̗̭ͯ̄̌̑ͯ̓̐̚I͓̟̰̭̳̍̓̆̓͋ͬ̾͗̀Ļ̶̡̡̧̣̟͕̦̠̭͖̌ͤ͑ͫͥͫ̔̓͋ͅL̨̺̹͕͙̱̘̩̹͓͍̪̑ͨ̑͛͗̐ͦ͛ͮ͛͊ͮ́́͡͝ ̡͍̗̖͚̙̖̥̥̫̘̺͎̫͓̳̺͓͚̦͋̔̅̑ͦ̒̀Y̗̱͖̮̺̺͖̗͎̦̤͓̾ͬͪ̀̌̕͠Ơ̶̜̲̜̫̼̦̣͇̠͐ͪ̍ͪ̏ͨͦ̃ͤ͘ͅU̵̴̶͖͎̠̗̗͓̦̜ͯ̂̏̌̀̔͗̏̐͆̓ͣ̆͊ͯ̂́̀ ̩̘̱ͯ̓ͦͨ͛̅̎ͫ̚̕̕Iͤ̃̇̏͆̈́͏̨͡͏̰͎̪̙͉͈̝͍͔'̸ͩͬ͛̇̌͋̿͐ͥ͆͂̒̐̈́ͤ͛̄͆̌́́́҉̝̜̦̩̯̯L̴̛̽̃ͥ͆ͤ̆̓͗̓̎̅̇̄ͭ͗̈͏̛̭̻̠͚̮̲L͂̎̾͆͒̔̎ͮͦͣͪ͋̒̊̒ͬ̑͏̖̹͕̥͖͙̟̥̼̱̕ ̨̣͓̟̳͈̲͍̪̞ͩ̓̉̎͌̏ͥ̏̆ͨͨ̑́̀͜͜͞F̶̨̢̦̤̫̫̱̻̌̍ͬ̓̊ͤ͑̀ͫͯ̆ͫ͟͠ͅU̢̘̼̜̞̟͎͉̝̖̣̭̦̗͎͕̖̗̠͆͑͂̑̎ͥ̐͊̆̾̉̍̿̚͟͟͡͡C̻͔̙̣̺̰̞̰͍̙̰̱̲̪͚̻ͩ̎̿̽̉̂̋ͯͬ̂͒͞Kͩͧ̽͗͌ͤ̔̈́ͮ̽ͥͬ̆͐ͥͫ҉̴͙̟̯̮̩̝͕̻̮͇̳̝͇̘͚͙͚ͅI̶̹͍͍̦͌͋ͣ͘N̢̰̗̺̯̮͚̜̩͙̆̅͐͗͆G̵̮̗͈͈͓̗̲͎̽̆̓͂ͯͭ̕͟͝͠ ̡͙̭̠̳̳̫̪̞̣̏̔ͪͬͫ͜͞͝ͅͅK̢͚̙̱̝͖̜̠̘̅͐̅͊̈́͗̐͢ͅͅI̶̡͚͈̗̭̘͋ͨͥͤ̅̀̀̇͆̑ͩͫ͝Lͣ̅̈́̏̔̑̎̍̇͊̔̉͆̒͏̵̕҉̩̮̹̼̘͔̩̦̮̤̪̥̺̱̪̻L̸̻̼̼̺̞̮̣̘͊̿͑̓͌̓ͯͣ́͋́̚ ̂̆̔ͦ̊̈́ͬ͏̡̰͕̳̬͍͕̬Y̷̨̬͔̞̫̳̩̗̗͖̳̫̯̜͊ͩ̔̂ͅÓ̵̧̧͎͔̜͎͍̱̱ͯ̂̅́̈́̉ͭ̇̉͜Ȕ̯̟̬̭̼̗͇̞̗̞͉͓̳̙̳̳̱́ͪ͑̏ͬ͂ͤ̀

̧̢͔̗̳̦̞̱̹ͥͥͤ͐̐̄ͬ̌̿͛̀̃͋͐̀͘͢I̢̡̠̩̞̦̺̙̗͇̻̝̺̙̹̩̝͛̇̽́̿͛̊̓̃͆ͥ̔'̧̢̭̜̘̭͈̮͖̮̬̯̲̗̻̘̗̗̅͋ͯ͒ͮ̽͗̋̽͒͋̈ͧ̀́͡L̶̢̜̳̥̥̺̗͙̣̱̭̘̂̀͛ͧ͛̅͂̂ͦ̔ͧ̔ͯ́̄̕͢͝Ḻ̶͔̜̙͇̫̻̻̻͎̳̫̞͈̗͕̜̰̐̅̾̾̇̉̀͢͠ ̶̡̳͍̥̗̩̝͉̘́̽̓̐̒̀͡ͅF̵̘̜̙̬̺̭͓̞̳̼̥̻̦̙̱͔̺̔ͦͭ̾ͣ̏ͥ̃̇̐̃ͧ͒͐ͯ̒̌͢͟͜͝Ų͎͚̤̱̗͕̭̮̩̩͓̫͇͕̅ͥͤͬ͐ͮͪ̃̇͌͊ͯ͒ͤͅC̷̴̵̖̥̦͍̖ͦ̈͆̂ͩ̆̊̌͂̑̀ͫ̀̽͑Kͭͨ̋ͯ̍̉̆͊͐̾̓̚҉̩̤̮͓͙͎̻̭̟͚̘͇̳̥͍͓͟͝I̸̧͓͔̹̻̓ͣ͐̌͂͌ͯͤ̔̆ͩͪ͗͘Ñͨ̾̇̍҉̵̡̡͏͈̲̘͙̲̻̥̭̼̤̹̗̜̖̦̯͖G̡̨͉̮̣̞͕͈ͪ̽͂̍̇̀͜ͅ ̶̸̧̗̘̪̣͕̱̼̤̖̱̗̻̺̭̟͔̯̅ͦ͆͗ͭ̏̀̒͆̿̃̋̎̏͞ͅK̢̓̒ͧ̎ͩ̇̊̀͘҉̯̙͉̞̠͎̠̠̥̪͙͚Ĩ̵̡͚̙͔͓͓̭͈̲̭͙̞͇̻̺̳̪̓ͥ̿ͫ͂̅̈́͟ͅL̃ͮ̏ͭ̋͊͏̖̺̙̬̪̞͇̥̩̭͍̝͍͔̠̕͠ͅL̢͕̩̹̝̬͎͖̮͙̤͕̺̫͍ͬ͊ͥͣ̓͒̇͌̀̒̌̑͆̈́͘͜ ̷̘̱̝͈̰͎̞̰͍̬̞̟͖̝̱̙̻͑ͬ̃ͪ͂̋ͯͬ̚͡Ỵ̶̲̻̼͙̭͍̰̞͗ͯ̍́ͭͨ̉̕O̊̌̌̊ͤ͆̀ͧ̒̒̾҉̨̰̞͔̖̤̥͠͡ͅU̵̢͔̻̻̼͎̫̱͕͚̦͖̳͍ͩ͌ͦ̿ͥ̓̃͊̆ͦͧ͌̔ͨ͋ͤ̍͞͡ͅ ̢̛̹̭̲̲̱̩̼̟̥͇̫̩͓̫͋̋̌̅ͯ͊̊ͧ̐ͦ̇̌ͩ͘͘͡ͅI̵̷̧͍̳̖͇̫̜͉͍̩̬̣̜͖͒ͮ͆̎̀ͨ̍̾͟͟ͅ'̨̦̝̰͉̰̝͕̥̻͚͙̝̱̋̅͐͆̚͝͞͝ͅĻ̛̛͎̩̦̞͕̎͂͆ͦ̽̄̈͟͞L̸̛̯͍͈̮͉̼̃̿̌̈͂̇̀̔̉ͭ͑̓ͦͅ ̵̡̨͉̖̻͈̳̩̘̞̳̘͚͍͓̩̻̣̯̘͚ͨ̍̄̆͝F̴̻̣͎͍̦̫̝̗̞̱̦̈́̌͒̓ͪ͑̅̈́̂̓ͮ̃͒͑ͩ̚͘͜͟Ǔ̜͈̠̼̖͖͍͈̯̺̮̭͕̱͓͈̬̲̍͊̓̂̾̓̎̀ͦ̔̀̈́͌͋̐̀̕͜C̦͚͍͕̭̫̜̹̯͓͚̼̟̮̻͓ͫ͐̌ͤ͌͗̄̑ͭ̿̿͘ͅK̷̫̟̮̝̭̙̰͉̞̥͈͖̞ͨͤͤͯ̏̂ͪ̒ͪ͗͡I̴̢̛̭̭̝̗̘͓̞̼̪̮̜̹̞̹̰̣̝̭͆̅̿̋̑̇̐̀̂̂͋͑ͩ͘͡Ṇ̰̘̗͓͇͖̥̮̮̫̖̩͋̅ͧ̇͗̕͘G̵̯͕̦̦͖͇̣̖͚̻̼̯̩̲̙̼̙̿ͣ̇͆̄̉ͦ͋ͮ̉͑̏̈̌ͮ́́͜ ̡͍͚̼͍̗̥ͮ̆̒̉̇̋̌̋̔ͨͫ͝K̵̡̨̹̜̬̰̣̮̤̗͓̰̱͕̾̆ͮ͗̌͛̚̕͜Îͤ̅͌ͫͬͦ͛ͨ̉͏̨̧̹̝̰͎̜͔̥̮̺̬̹̪̲͇̜̜̭͙ͅL̴̡̡͈͈̫͎̻̱͈̙̟͆̐̉̈̌̇̌͒͒ͪͦ̈ͨͮ́́L̢̢̺̖̰͂̎̎͒̀͒ͫ͂̃͑͊ͪ̾̑͟͟ͅ ̭̻̮̯̳̪̿͗̈́ͦ͑̓ͥ͡Y̸̛͔̱̩̻̱̮̣̰̪̜̼̮̣̟̖̮͐̍̋͌͘͞Ö̵̵̵̴̧̩͙͉̱̩͖̈́̉͗ͦͯ̚U̴̞̲̰̩̭̯̟̼̣̰ͫͩ̊͛͐́͑̊͌̓̓͝ ̧͔͇͙̘̤͈̞̮͎̜̼̩͓͙͈̺̘͉̘͊̔̽͌ͧ̑ͭͩͪ͋̿͂͂̄̎̓̚̕͝͞͞I̸̡̧͇͎̠̦̣̪̟̺̗̠̹͖͖̗͓ͫ͆̊͆ͯͥ́ͤ̓ͮ́ͨͨ̏ͮ̃'̼̮̞̫͈̗͎̰͎̥̯̙͕͈̰̲̠̥̤̓͊ͬ͑͒ͪ͗̿͛̊̆̃̚͘͜L̘̟͓̤̪̠̲͒̈͛̐̊͘͘͢Ļ̸̟̜̪͖͇͕̻̻̇ͬ́ͨ̃̌̑͜͝ͅ ̴̜̥͍̠̬̥̩͕̐͂ͨͤ̓͘̕͢F̴̨͙̦̩̣̬͉͍͖̗͈͉̩̽̍ͮ̿͌̌͜͞U̿͗ͭ͂̔͜҉̸͕͈͓̩̖̦̳̟̯͔͙͚̜̲̦̥̜͡͞ͅÇ̯̩̠͚ͯ̀̑̾̂̽̆̔̇̒ͥ̏̐̍̿̔̑̀͠͝ͅK̊̎̚͟͏̩͔̺̤̬Î̷̥̩̹̝͉̩̝̦͇̊͒͂ͮ͛͛͗̃ͣ͑ͨͬ̽͟͟͠ͅN̨͚̲̜̬̼̲͙̣͈̲̪̣̠͛ͬ̿ͫ͛ͨ̐ͩ͘͠ͅG̷̈̑̋͒̏͑͋͑̇̉͐̈̎͋̉̍̀̕͏̻̼͖͍̺ ̶̢̩̪̼̗͉̤͙̯͔͔̰͈̦̳̖͎̟͙͚͐ͮ͑͂̈́ͫͣ͌ͦ̎̈͂̌͌́́Ķ̵͍͚͓̣͇͍̜̃͑͐̎̒̀İ̴̢͍͓̬̪̟̺̱̜͔͔̮͉ͪ̃̉ͨͭ̃̔̍͊͂ͤͪ̒̚͢L͊ͣ̿̾͑̃̃̃̓ͫ͝҉̧̟̖̱͎̳̫͙̲̙̰̠̣͖͙͓̣L̨ͧͮͧͮ̄̀̀ͫͦͯ̾̾̆͋͂̔͒͟͏̝̠̣̗̰̣̬̪̖̦͉̭͔̝̜̘͔͉ ̸̧̘̳̰̩̱̝̝̺̫̩̝̹̺̙͙̮̼ͥ̈ͩͯͮ̐̾ͩ͛ͩ̄̈ͫ͒̆ͩ̑̅Y̸̞̣̳̞̻̥̳͉͖͓͎͙̼̲̥̒̓͐̇̓͝ͅǪ̗̦͖̺̖̹̳͈͓̰͔ͣ̊ͪͥ͐͗͊̃̔̿͟Ṵ̱̺͍̫̥̗͍͓̰̟̂͒̈́̏͛́͢͢͠ͅ

̷͕̮̱̹̰̭ͧ̅ͯͩ͒͑̅͗̐ͪ́͊́̈́ͥ̽͠Į̶̢̥̟̣̪̥͍̦͔̀̌̂̆̏̿̄ͧͤ͗ͯ͐̈́ͣ̎̔͌͐́͝'̥̤̬͉̗̱̮̥̬̼̘͚̱ͤͦ̇͒ͮͫͥͩ̏̈ͥ̍̇͑͑̕͝͞L̴̰̘̲̱͇̪̲̣̻͖̜͔̪̎͆̈́ͪͣ͑ͬ̅ͤ̀̍̈ͪ̿͢L̛̘̖̼̖̯̪͚̟̫̺̞͂̑̽̐ͦ̈́͘̕ͅͅ ̪̗̥͎͙̇̌͐ͣ̋ͮ͆̊̃ͣ́͜F̶̣͕̯͓̪͙̮̜͚̥̂̈́̃ͪͩ̔̿ͫ̌ͭ̽̎̐ͭͦ̎̈͑̚͟͡U̸̸͚̦̘̘͎̰̩̘̖̞͎͒ͬͩ̈̅̇ͨ̈́̒ͫ̑̽̃́͜͞C͖̲̙̣̆̿̇͞K̸̷͔͉̙͕̗̲̖̤̯̥̀̀ͯ͂ͤͦ͛ͤͤ͗̍͂ͦͩ͟ͅĮ̙͙̱̳̬̹̳͖̟̳̯͚̐̐̌̔ͦ̅̒̅͋ͫ̈͘͘͘ͅǸ̨ͮ̌̓͂ͦ̔̌ͮ̅̏̓̓ͫ͝҉̴҉̤̫̙̳̬̳̪̙̜̙̯͎̪͕G̛ͫͥ̆́ͥ̍͂ͦ͞͞҉͎͙̼̜̫̻͎̫̼̪̺͕̤̝̩̳ ̨͎͍̣̯͍ͣͤ̒ͦͮͯ̏ͧ́K̡̧̪͔̼͚̬͖͉͍̣͇̠̯̯̋͊ͧ̔́̈̉ͤ̂̓̂̀̽̈̽͊͐́I͆̈́̄̃̏̆̈͒̾̃ͮ̎̿ͬ̍̀͠҉̸̡̤̤̫̹̘̰͍̲̮͍͎͔̙͉L̶̸͊̾ͩ̚̕͜҉̥͍͉̠͎̦͚Ľ̢̰̻͎͉͖͍̜̭̘͔̬̰̓́̾̀̓̽ͅͅ ̴̵̸̣͍̘̳͍͕̘͔̳̙̥̰̊͛̈͒ͯ̾̈͆̉̓͌̃ͬ̀͂͛̾̀̉Ȳ̵̧͔͍̜̦̬͕͐̓́ͪ͑ͩ͋̃͊ͮͣ̃͑ͯͮ͛͘͜͜Ỏ̔͊̌̒̋ͮ͊ͩͮͬͫ̐ͥ́͏̥̭̬̲͖̼͍̞̟͘U̠̹̩̙̝͖͔̞̙̟̘͖̯̤͍͍̖̙ͣ͂̄́́ͪ̿ͦ̎̃̌ͥ̐̓̊̋ͣ̈͜͡ ͓͍͓̮͍̥̩̬̗͈̭̭̖̗̘̪͎̋ͯͭ͊͢͢͞͠ͅͅI̧͙̘̟͉̝̠͙͕̙͚̪̤̒̓̀̄ͦ̐̽͌̅ͮ̏̐ͨͨ̉ͥ͠ͅ'̨̦͍̞͎͕ͬ͗̏̑̾͋̆̇͐͑ͧ̋ͣ̀̚̕͜͡L̡͙͙̞̮̝̼̖̝͍̫̅̉͑̏͛͝ͅͅL̶̷̛̟̖̱̬͍̭̹͇̬̮̭̯̐͊̓͋͝ ̧̛̳̖̞̝͙̱̯̤͖̫̮̥̜̼̘̃͐̌ͫ̇ͣ͛̌̎͗̎͛̉̃͟͝ͅF̢̧̛̝̥͓̱͖̩̞͕͓̯͕͚̝̖͖͈́̈́̅ͥ̇ͨ̊̿ͭ̍͐͐ͩ̉͒͘͝ͅÜ̵͍̭̮̮͇̝̹̜͚͇͎̔͗͒̑͗ͫ̚̕ͅC̓̓̽̃̅̏͌̈́͟҉̵̢͇̗̣͉͔͙̦̞͉̹̫͓̻͡K̴̢̢̘͔̝̰͎͉͈̜͖͔͎ͧ̊̊̓̊̍͛̓ͩI̛ͨ̃ͥ͆ͯ̅̊̐ͪͨ͌͒͊̑̂ͤͯ͜͢͏͉̥̰͉Ṅ̷̶̜̦̺̙̟͔̹̎̎ͪ̊̽͋͑̓̐̎̆͂Ģ̯̥̖̭̼̯̘̤̙͍͍̻̳ͪ̓̽̄̈́̓̋̅̎̚͢͞ͅ ̴̴̯̥̟̹̹͍̞̱̙̜̣̱̥̘̂ͨ͗ͫ͜͢ͅK͖̱̞̳̘̓ͦ̌̐̋̔̽͊ͬ̓́̊̐͢Į̴͖͓͈̠͔͍̪͍̮̥̖̭̩̻̻̬ͭ͌̋̒͋ͩͨ̾̊̍ͩ͋̀͘L̛̫̞̭͉̹̻͓̫̤͖̗̳̘͕̘̟̤̉̍̂̈̕͠͡͡Ĺ̢̙̯̬̩̙̠̬͍̖̫̫̙ͩ̇͆͌͜͝ ̴̼̺͙̜͉͚̫ͬͭ̄͗̍̾̑̓̓̀̚͟͢Y̴̨͉̲͙̻̝̠̪̠̘̻̤̥̍̄͑͗̾̓̽͒̃̒͋̚͜ͅO̴̡̺̳̤̝̐̑ͯͮ̔̄̂ͯ̆ͥͫ͆̌̃͞ͅƯ̴̸̢̜͇͉͗̏͒ͫ̊͌͒̊̂̈͞ ̨̖̘̭̲̬̺̭̩͒̏̓̍̿̐̌̈́̔̈́͋ͧ͆̔͒͒̀Ì͌̇̐̏ͩ̆̅҉͚̘̣̼͕̬͎̤̠̯̝͎̤̖̝͚̤̻'̷̡̗̻͉͉̦̬͍̦̠̟̼̯͈ͧͣ̋ͦ́̆͐́͂ͩ̈̓ͫͣ̇̿̽́͜L̨̩̺͈͔͔̦͍͉̭̲̣̪̻̍̆ͨ̇͗̐͗ͮ͐ͪͯͪ̎̂̀L̢ͨ͂̅̄̍̎̔ͤ҉̭̟̮͔͍͈̝̕ ̸̢̧͈̠͖̳͉͖̻̗̞̺͚͒ͬ̏̈́ͬ͆ͧͬ̔̔̌͜͡F̴̢͖̲͕̰͎̝̎ͮ̐͆ͥ̐̏ͤ̅́͊͊̂ͯ̎ͭ̈͗͢U̡͖̤̥̦̓̓ͭ͝͝C̴͇̣͎̗͕͇̩̓͒ͣ̃ͬ̓̋ͣ̈ͭ͑͑̋͢͟K̡̛̮̘̳̙̈͆̃̆ͣ͐̇́͝͞I̽̈́̑̓̏̎͑͂̈́ͯ͑͂͆̏̒̾҉҉̞͙͓͖̞̺͜ͅŅ̧̫̙̙̲̹ͯ̔̆̄̑̈́̅ͭͬ́̎̐̇̉̔̃ͦ̽̚G̶̵̨̟͎̰̫̼̻͈̳̙̖̺̤̲̻͚͈̭̝͚͗ͦ̓̌͂̆̾̑̀ͬ̿ͥ͒̿ͪͩ͐̂ ̸̸̡͖̩̲̙̝͎̣̬͎̜͙͖̟͓͖̓ͪ̈ͨͮ̓ͩ̀ͧ̈́̑̅͘Kͩ̃͆ͤ͂ͮ͆̾̅͗͛̽ͯͯ̃̅̕͟҉͚͉̝̫̹͈͖̝̕͢Ǐ̥̺̻̝͔͇̻̖͖̻̞̹̙̝̯̻̼̐̿̉̔̐ͬ͂̆̀̕L̢̟̬̩̩͚͎̲͉̫̜͍͖͚̙͖̲͔ͫ̽͛ͬ͊̈́̎̉̇̋̾͘ͅĻ̸̴̦̩̤̙͌̆̂̂͠ ̨̧͛̌ͬ̃̊̌̿̑̎ͦͭͭͩ͋̄ͯ̾ͦͥ҉̲̳̩͎̟̩̼͍̟̤̻̦̟͖Yͫͩ̅̈̿ͨ̀͌ͣͣ̓̃̚̚̚͏̡̧̗̟̭̳̠̣̱̯̭͓̩O̵̧̩̙̺͔ͮ̀̓̓͑̒ͯ̃̉̓̑̊̿ͦͬ͂̆͋̑͝Ų̨̛̣̭̪͎͚͉̜ͨ͑̀͊̓͊͋̋ͤ̊ͧͪͦ̄͂̀͜͞ͅ ̴̧̣͚̬̗̦̱̣͂͗̉͛̇̍͌ͬ͘͝

I̸̛ͫ̈́̋̉͊̅̂̓̆́ͬ͆̍̆ͮ̔̚͏̟̩͙̳̹̜̗̤̪̹͇̳̰͜ͅͅ'̨̛͙̘͍͓͓̖̰̩͕̈ͩ̍̄̑ͧ̍̇̽̋ͪͯ͜L̷͇͔̪͍̹̪̠͚̱̪̝̹̞̬̟ͥͦ̾͐̈̽̽̆͘ͅL̷̢͚̥̥̲͎͓͓͚̑̅̍͞ ̧̟̯͓͚͍͈̩̼ͣͣ̓͑ͯ̔̆͗̍ͫ̽ͯ̅̽͐F̸̵̨̻̰̮̫̻̺̙̮̞̱͇̖̥̙̭̤ͯ̓̈̉͊̍̄͂̿ͣ̀̂̽̌͘Uͮ͂ͣ͐̏͛̆͐̄ͮ̐̀ͯ̎̽͜͢҉̶̳̻͇͇̦͍̱͚̗̳͇̰͙͎̪̝͙͝C̴̵̾̊͋̒̃̆̋ͪͦ̿́ͥ̔̍҉̜̻̤͚̬̖͖́K̸̷̲͉͉͎͚ͤ̉͋̔ͬ̇͂̿̉ͭͬ͊̑͞͡I̶̵̫̩̤͓̲͉̫̓̋̓͐ͯ͘N͋ͦ̍̎͌̑ͫ͆̐̈̄̿͑̄ͯ̈ͩ͏̶̙̤͜͟ͅG̵̨̤͖͉̮̮͋̈́ͭ̇̆ͦ̂̕̕ ̶̵̢̹̺̗͕͉̟͚̯̠͇̗̤͓̻̦͋̈́͊̔ͯͫ̓K̵͓͕̲̖̞͎̮̻͂͒͒̓̐̓ͣ͋͌ͮ̔̏̓̿͒̓ͥ̀͢͞Į̵̫̱̩̜̪̘̹͙̼̻̭̙̠̝̫͌̋͐ͧ͛̒̐ͩ͌̔̍̓̐͗́̋͋̕͟͝ͅL̶͔̦͕̱̣͖ͩ͗̀ͩ͂̓̓ͫͥ̒̈̉̾͋͌̈͆͗̌͞L̸̢̛͙͍͖̳̹̠̦͐ͩ̑ͮ̓͗̕͟ ̴̧̢̛̝̞̱͎͇͕͙̥͚ͥ̊̍ͣ̿ͮ̃͒̅̓̄̈́Y̸̠͖̤̻̤͎̗̻͚̪̱̤͗̀̍̍̑͗͛̒ͨ̂͑͐̃̐̔̆̚͟͠Ơ̸̧̳̣̟͕̮͔͔̠̓̃͆̒ͫͣͥ̉͗̒ͯ̓ͨU̸̢̧̠͍̟̠͎̪̰̳͙̬̲̖ͮͥ͛̌̏̀ͩ̇̌ͣ̏͛́͞ ̛̳̣̗̞͉̼̦̦͔̣͕̐̓̔̈̐ͨ̀̔͌̇̚̕͟͜I̵̫̞͕̬̠͈̭͔̣̙̺̤͚͓͎̖͉̋̑ͦ̈́̓̿ͫͯ̓͐ͦ̽̾̅ͤ̀͟'̵̶͉͇͚͇̠͎͇̺̲͙̩̆͂ͤ̒̒̉ͬ͗̎̈̀̚̕Ḽ̢͎̯̳̝̠͓̯͉̟̰͐̎͐ͦ͗ͭ̔ͯ̓͒̃ͪ̄͊́̋ͮͅĻ͈̲͍̻̻̥̍̍͆͂ͫ̒ͩ̾̏̓̑ͪ͟ ̸̢̡͙̜̦̦̻̮̖̱̳̠̠̝̼̩̠͉̞ͧ̐̐̃̇ͨ͡F̧̙͇̰̦̼͓̟̲͇̠̖͚̯̜̩̓̉ͨ͑ͤ͂̽͋̋͢͞͠U̴̱̙̙͙̜̪̤̹͖͓̪ͫ̔͛ͫͤ̋ͮͫ͊̃̄̉̇̐̚͟͜͞C̜͎̘̫͙͉̼̙̥̐̏͗̉͂́ͯͨ̍͟͡K̨̨̦̘͍̹̫͖̪̣̯̖͔̩̙̦̻̅̓̉ͯͫͯ̌̀̆̄͊̒̇̂̔͠ͅĪ̷̸̬̦͚͍̯̯̠̰̦̼̖̹̻̺ͥ̋̀ͩͫͯ̋͒̆̓̿ͩͧ̍̌͘͜ͅN̶̬̹̰̼̳̪͓͎͖̠̔ͣ̏ͤ͛ͭ̋̽͌͟͜G̵͓̟̝̺͓̭̼͇̭ͬ̃ͦͯ̈́͐͒͜͝͡ ̶̢̳͔̣͔͙̻̤͉̝̠̰̳̬̗̝̠͍̻̞ͦ̓ͨ̒̑̓̏͌̂́͟͟K̶̛̬̰̦͔̫̝̅ͨ͌ͮ͂̌͌̍̿ͦ̂̅͒͆̀͜͜Į̶ͬ̅̄͂ͤ͆̈́̅ͮ̌̒̓̓͠҉̦͖͚̲͍̠͇̣L̵̴̘̺͕̤̹̖̻̼̩̻ͯ̍͋̓͑͜Ľ̸͂̒͛͐ͫ́̇̀͐ͬ̈́͘͡͏̺̥̼̗̣̰̹̙̪̣̠͇̩̭ ̴̵̧͉͎̺͕͈̑͗̓̊̒̾̈́͑͘͟Ÿ͉̣̝̯̬̰͓͉̳̞́ͮ͒̆̽ͧ͊ͣ̿̊ͣͭͯ̍̊ͨ͛̇͞O̧͂̇̄̆̄̓͜͏̨̛̩͇̞̞̝͈͓̱̼̣̼̤̼̥̯̪̬ͅU̵̘̙͈̬̣̥̲̺̦̱͓̜͔̾ͩ̇̂͒̎̂̒̈̍ͩͣ͋͒̎̓͐ͭ͐́ ̡͈̮͙̲͕̠͎̉̄̃͌̑̈̉͒́Į̢̖̗̱̞ͥ͑ͩ̓̀̑͟'̶̮̬̖͕̞̟͍͐̎̀̂̔̽ͦͥ̔̓̏̄͌̕͡L̨̧͓͍͎̬̻̩̳͑̄̊̾̌̊ͤ͒͐̄̿͐͆̆̉͌̀̇̀̚͟L̛͙̟̜̲͙̜̭͉͔̳̝̻̣͓̻͉̠͕ͫ̐͐̀ͧ͒ͦͬ̓ͥ̀͟ͅ ̡̼̥̲͉̯̝ͧ̄̏ͩͩ̒͂̂̋͌͐͋͒̅̈̌́̍̆͡Fͫ̇̈́͗̾̄̐̑́̕҉̻̯̲̱̣̮̫̲́͜U̷̵͎̦͉̘̮͓̠̩̙̦͉̰ͪͭ̂ͥ̇̈́́́C̨̢̨͔̪̭͚̭ͧ̆̇̒̈́̒̈́ͨͫ̑̒ͭ̑̾̓͌̏͛̑͢͝Ḱ̢͔̯̪̬̖̤̟̺͓ͮ̃͆̊̉̉̑ͫ́̏̂͌ͬ́ͯͫͤ̽͘̕̕ͅḬ̴̧̨̥̼̞̿ͣ̈͊̓͑̍̆͆ͨ͛̚͘N̨̾ͤ́̍̎͑ͩ̍͏̸̨̥̲͙̪̫͇̥̪̩̖̲̩͕̰͕͖̖̲͝Gͩͭͤ̍ͣ͊̌̐̎̆̉ͩͧ͛ͯͣ͏̨҉҉̯̼͍͇ ̸̪͖͎͔͚̦̞͐̓̄̿͂ͧ̎͗͐̏̍̑͆͐̄̒̀̌͜͢K̢͒̊̍͊ͭ͂́̋́͢͏̞̻̠̙̣̤͓̦͈͍͓͚̭̱̫͎͝I̷̵̤̰̱̪̻̩̻͈̻̩̓ͪ̂̔̂͋̊̚͡ͅĻ̳̤͕͓̙͍̖̄͌̐̾́̀͝L̓̿̇̑̋͋̈̆̽̿ͣ͊ͬ̚͏̡͠͏͚̦̙̦̲͉̱̬̠̦̭͈ͅ ̴̸̟̩͓̿ͭ̏̊͛͘͢͢Y̢̡̛͎͈̞͔͖͕̼̻͍̹̰̲͆̽ͮ͊ͬ͐̌̑ͫ̋̒̋̀͊̚͟͟Oͦ̋ͣ̿̀̿̌̋͐̅̒̀̎̊͒ͨ҉͕̫̞̼̺͖̮̞̟̝̙̦̟́͝ͅͅͅU̷̴̸̱̼̝̭̙͈͓̬̙̒̌͋̽̈͛͊̅͌ͯͯ̈́̃̃̂̚


I didn't even need to think. The tentacles reached out and lashed themselves around the giant's head, constricting and crushing it. The giant tried to tear off the tentacles, but I would not have it. I won't. I won't. I'll kill it. I'll crack its head like a fucking egg. The giant was thrashing around like a wild beast. GOOD! Scream like the fucking pig you are!

The force finally reached a breaking point, and the head seemed to implode, spilling out dark blood. Its grip immediately loosened, but I just kept on crushing what was left, pressing down on that hated thing until only a small ball of meat and bone remained. Only then did I get out from the giant's grasp, mind racing with adrenaline, and spat out the blood and saliva that was collecting in my mouth.

My shoulder and jaw were still broken, but they tingled; good thing I was healing fast. The speed at which I healed had simply skyrocketed; the slashes that I had received while running away from the swarm had long healed. Only long dark lines laid where the wounds once were.

It took me a while for the thundering in my ears to fade and for me to notice that there was an opening in the floor. Strange, it wasn't there when I first came in. I looked down the opening, and saw a metal ladder leading into darkness.

Well, the door's still blocked, so...

I gingerly manuevered myself onto the ladder, and climbed down. The stench first hit me, and I landed with a small splish. I had landed in a sewer.

[Anathe]

"hey acidus how do i paced story?"

"wakarimasen lol"

--

"Ew." I was standing ankle-deep right in some green liquid that smelled like death. My socks and shoes were pretty much ruined, but I didn't want to walk around in sewage barefooted. I gingerly forged forward, trying not to tread up any more of the sewage than I had to.

More local fauna appeared as I made my way through. There were some small, purple giant fleas that seemed to attack as soon as they felt that I was near, but my mighty foot put an end to them quickly. ( I tried to minimise splashing, because even though I was killing hellspawn it didn't mean I had to get sewage all over me.) There were also similarly coloured worms that would shoot out from the sewage, trying to bite whoever was unlucky enough to be near when they came up. I would have gotten a few bites taken out of me, if it wasn't for Azathoth's warning. While I was walking and trying to keep myself away from hell beasts, I talked to Azathoth.

So, what did you do before I summoned you?

nothing.

Nothing? Really? Well, I guess everyone has a part to play. Azathoth just has the part of unemployed benevolent mentor.

even if i wanted to do anything. i couldnt

"Why's that?"

it is not a matter that you would understand

Try me.

i am no mere god, but the ruler of them.

I continuted stomping on the bugs. "I didn't kind of expect that, but with things like 'YE TERRIBLE DARK LORD', it doesn't sound too unusual."

"But if gods exist, why don't they ever appear?" I thought as I walked up onto a bridge, where the rest of the bridge hadn't been extended. I wasn't very happy to have to go through sewage again, and the water level looked like it was even higher this time, so I decided to look for a way to extend the bridge.

they do. you just cannot see them. if humans could perceive all the beings that exist in this world, they would live their entire lives in fear. not all of them are benevolent.

"That makes sense." I examined the area for anything useful. There was an obsidian platform besides the bridge, where a star shape had been carved into the rock. Besides that, the platform was featureless. On the other side of the room was a door, flanked by pillars and braziers. I hopped off the bridge onto a rock slope to the side of the bridge. If I wanted to find the key that would presumably unlock the bridge, I had to start exploring.

The path eventually lead to a violently blue area. The walls, the floor, the entire hall was completely pitch black, with dark blue lines pulsing through.  The blue didn't just assault my eyes, it knocked it unconscious and took all of its money. I would be lucky if I could see my hands right in front of me. There were also some hell beasts that I had never seen before, though I guess they don't actually count as beasts. There were shades, pale shadowy humanoid forms that dissipated when I swatted at them with my tentacles, and some strange creepy yellow floating humanoid forms. When I went past them, they would follow me. While they weren't as fragile as the bats, a quick blow knocked them out of commission, though I think I might have became stronger since I killed the giant.

I looked around in a couple more rooms, but I just didn't find anything. I was sick of it. I had a huge headache (the colours of the room didn't help at all), my jaw was throbbing and I was still spitting up blood, not to mention I just walked through an ankle-deep level of shit and even deeper in monsters that wanted to eat me. Damn it. I was going to find some other way to get across.

I went back to the bridge and looked at the room. The way to the other end of the room was kind of far away, and I still didn't want to go through the pool of sewage. With a little bit of creativity, I could probably get through without any problems.

Could I try extending my tentacles just far enough for me to reach the other side? If it was something like a spring, I could vault myself over.

i suppose you could try, though your success is unpredictable.

I tried to reach for the pillars, but I probably got a metre off the shoreline before I couldn't reach anymore. The tentacles did have some flexibility to them, but they certainly weren't springs.

A truly outrageous idea then hit me. Since I was stronger now, there must be more force to the tentacles' blow, right? I could use something as a springboard and jump to the other end. I pulled myself up onto the obsidian platform, and faced the walls of the room. There was probably no way I could jump across the entire length of the pool, so I had to do it quickly and bit by biy

I sprang from the block right at the wall; upon hitting the wall, I used my left leg and tentacles to gain some momentary footing, and then jumped from it again. My foot nearly slipped on the moist stone, but I jumped again before I had the chance to fall. Continuing this wall hopping motion a few times, I finally got close enough to slam down onto the floor hard - elegance was an indulgence. It probably took half a minute, but to me it felt like forever. I winced as I tried to walk - I must have sprained my ankle somewhere, and hell, I wasn't surprised that I did. That was incredibly risky and stupid, and there was surely a way that would have been easier, but it wouldn't have been as spectacular.

I blew the door open as I moved inside; there was no need to open doors or find things to unlock it when you could just destroy it, and immediately ran into a giant reptile. It resembled a stegosaurus - the plates on its back were as big as beds, and its tail snaked through the room. The claws were as long as my arm, and I don't even want to get started on how huge its maw was. I couldn't see much else of the lizard; it had its back faced towards me.

Welp.

no need to be alarmed. what has it done since youve intruded? nothing. your entry was not quite stealthy.

...yeah! When I was looking at the lizard again, it hadn't so much as stirred. I went up to it and experimentally tapped it on its scales. Nothing.

Is it guarding anything?

it is blocking the route to the next area. you are quite close to who you want to find.

"So Sakuri's in the next area?" I asked quietly, trying not to attract the lizard's attention, but it was hard to keep my voice down. Having seen what had been happening here, I was eager to get Sakuri and get the fuck out quickly.

yes. you may not be as pleased to see her as you would think.

"Why? Isn't she alive? Wasn't that what you told me?" My headache was intensifying. He'd better not lie. If he lied, well... actually I don't know what I'm going to do. But he had just better not.

i do not lie. she is still alive, but she is in such a state that death may suit her better.

"Stop being vague and tell me already! What's going on with her?!"

But there was only silence. Cursing, I looked around the room. The lizard was blocking the way to where Sakuri was; surely there was a way to get it to move. I walked along the line of the lizard, trying to see where the door was, and I saw that the door was right in front of the lizard's head.

Damn it.

What Azathoth said rang in my ears, though. It said that the lizard hadn't been moving or even awoke. And the lizard hadn't reacted at all when I touched it just now. The eyes of the lizard were stitched shut, so I went in between the tiny space between the door and the lizard's mouth. I opened the door, just enough to slip in, and came into a really tiny room. The room was barely big enough for two people to stand side by side, and its only feature was a flight of ladders, so I climbed up to see where it took me.

I emerged to a dark room with a glowing summoning circle at the middle. There was a blue floating thing at the middle of the circle; I got off and approached the thing slowly.

Greetings. The thing intoned; like Azathoth, it didn't as much speak as beam speech directly into your head. I folded my arms and looked at it.

"I don't know what you are, but stay the hell in that circle."

Such hostility! Is it any way to greet someone who wants to help you?

"Help me? Really? Well, see, I've been attacked by various little monsters and a giant that broke my face and I'm in the great bad place. Sorry I'm not quite that trusting."

Don't you want to find your friend?

My heart leapt. "You know where Sakuri is?!"

Rightly so. She's just next door! Beyond that, you'll have to go it alone, though I see you aren't.

So he can tell. The tentacles that are waving around at my sides aren't exactly inconspicuous, though. There must be something this ...demon? needs. "What do you want?"

At a moment like this, it might have smiled, but its face was shrouded in darkness - only red points of light shone through. Cannot a sympathetic figure watch and encourage you?

I shrugged. "You say you're sympathetic, but you've yet to do anything for me other than tell me something I already know. Actions speak louder than words. Until then, pardon me if I'm the teeny tiniest wary of who I trust, because every single thing I've met so far has tried to kill me, eat me, or otherwise chew on my ankles."

The demon was silent for a while, then it replied. A major figure of power lies next door. You will need all of your power to overcome it.

"Alright. Thanks." I walked through the doorway near the circle, and into Sakuri's house.

[Anathe]

"Wha?" The interior looked exactly like Sakuri's house - it was the hallway of the bottom floor. I took off my shoes, shuddering when I had to touch them. There was nothing else that could be done but to burn them now.

As I walked through, I remembered where the rooms were. Over there was the store room, so I was near the bathroom which I went inside. I had to wash off my hands, and it wasn't until I turned on the tap that I remembered that the house wasn't connected to the waterworks and yes, I was in hell. There was a towel hanging off a rack though, and I silently apologised while wiping my hands off.

you dont actually believe the gnat do you

If it's lying, Sakuri isn't there and I just have to continue my search. Sure, I'd gotten my hopes up, but you told me that she's here, so she should be. If it isn't, I find her. Either way, I don't really lose out that much. I don't trust it, but I'll milk it for whatever information I can get.

Walking back out to the house, the demon had said that Sakuri would be found in the last room of the house. From where I came in, the last room would be the living room. Just had to turn the corner and open the door...

The smell of blood hit me like a brick wall. To my horror, the entire room had been splattered with blood - all over the floor, the tables, the bed, everything. At the very centre was Sakuri, who was ...naked? A humanoid thing, its entire body ghostly white, was bending over her, doing something. I realised it was biting her.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU BASTAAAAAARD!!" I screamed, my tentacles already reaching over to where the accursed thing was. I grasped its arm and bent it so violently it cracked - it gave a high pitched scream and tried to come after me, but I won't have any of it. There were no words to describe my anger, my rage at this impertinENT LITTLE MAGGOT.

This thing must suffer for everything. For everything I had to go through. For all the things I had to see. FOR EXISTING.

My tentacles wrapped themselves around its chest and knees, and I just pulled, putting as much strength on it as I could. It cannot just die a clean death, a painless death. It must suffer. It must know pain. It mustn't die with any dignity.

The white thing ripped apart, guts spilling all over the floor and drenching me with blood, but I didn't care. I hurled the now rended parts of the thing at the wall, where it smashed into the walls, cratering it, and fell onto the floor with another blood splatter. As I calmed down and kneeled besides Sakuri, tears formed in my eyes and I began to sob. I didn't know why. I wasn't even sad that it died.

I frantically checked Sakuri's condition to see if she was alive or not - she was, but her breathing was shallow and laboured. Blood was smeared all over her body and parts of her arm had been bitten off, revealing flesh and a peek of bone. Sakuri couldn't afford to die, not after everything. She couldn't die now!

azathoth!!!! is there anything you can do?!

lend me your consciousness. i can try to heal her.

I don't care what you have to do! JUST DO IT!

My perspective then switched to a third person's - I watched myself take up Sakuri's arm, which was painfully limp, and cut myself,  dripping blood that moved and flowed over the wounds, covering them. I saw the fluid take on the colour of skin and hardened, the arm becoming undamaged. i saw colour return to her face, and her breathing to turn normal.

that is all i can do for her physical self. i fear that her mind might be permanently damaged.

He kept talking about that... nevertheless, I needed to wake her up and get us both out of here. I shakily shook her, hoping and praying that she wasn't in a coma or vegetative. When she blearily opened her eyes and looked at me, I laughed and cried at the same time, bent over her.

"Hi...roko..." she breathed. I looked up at her, and her eyes were glazed and glassy. "What... you doing here...?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to get you out of here." I hastily wiped away my tears when I was talking to her - she couldn't see that I was crying. It wouldn't do any good for her spirit.

"No.. There is no escape. None." She started shaking badly and she reached out to take my hand. "There's no... escape..."

"D-don't say stuff like that! I'll get us out of here, you'll see." What happened?! Sakuri wasn't this kind of gloomy person!

"Come on, you gotta get dressed. We can't have you running around naked." My eyes refused to drift to any part of Sakuri beyond her head. Friends do not check friends out.

Well, maybe a bit.

I shook my head and made her sit up, letting her wear the clothes that I brought. I realised only now why Azathoth had told me to bring the clothes along and I was grateful. How did he know that Sakuri was going to be stark naked, though? What about the food I brought? To bait some hungry demons?

sustenance, rather.

"Oh." I wasn't actually very hungry, having seen a lot of gross shit and walked through sewage and all, but I guess we had to keep our strength up. There was no way we could eat while we were in here, though. Just being in this bloodsplattered room made my stomach churn!

"It's a bit tight..." she murmured, still holding onto my hand. I blushed - I hadn't the foresight to bring any underwear, and the shirt was a bit small, so I could see everything...!

"Y-yeah, well, my size's smaller than yours, isn't it?" When people see me, they think I'm a foreigner and therefore I have blonde hair, blue eyes and big boobs. The blonde hair part's true, but the latter aren't. I'm more of a 3/4 foreigner, anyway.

"Let's... get out of here. This place is bad." Her unfocused eyes flitted in between the room - it seemed like she didn't see the guts and blood or she was no longer perturbed by it.

I didn't say anything - I just opened the door and went out, holding Sakuri's hand all the while. I checked all of the other rooms - they were as I last saw them, although a layer of dust had formed on some of the stuff. She started trembling as we got closer to the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"M-mom was... she was..."

"Mrs Kunikai was?"

"She was.. e-eating sis.."

A silence fell over us. Sakuri's mom... do something like that? There was no way anyone could do something like that, right?. But Sakuri was shaking like a leaf, and this wasn't anything that she would joke about. It must be hell again.

Damn this place.

Against Sakuri's protests, I opened the door, and the room had changed, black, dirty walls upon which blood in the shape of a human was painted, and it was again hell warping a place to its own design.

"See? There's nothing. There's no need to be scared." If it was up to me I would just curl up and cry, but I had to put on a strong front for her sake. I forced a grin, and went up the stairs that was besides the kitchen door.

There was something different about this room. Where Sakuri and her sis's rooms were grew a large, fleshy thing that spread across the entire hallway and looked like a donut made of meat. When I hesitantly took a few steps towards it, it began to leak a thick, yellow fluid from its holes. Yellow tendrils that I didn't see before started to move towards me.

This was bad. I couldn't protect myself and Sakuri at the same time while we were apart like this, so I shouted at her. "SAKURI! GET BACK DOWNSTAIRS!

"I... buh..." She froze, clutching the hem of the shirt like a lifeline. There wasn't enough time: I reached over and wrapped my right arm around her waist, using my body as a shield. If she couldn't run, at least I could do this. One of my tentacles lashed forward to hit the thing, and as it moved, the tendrils attached themselves to it.

"Wha..!" It felt like my energy was being drained away. I pulled the tentacle back and ripped the tendrils off with my free hand - pain ripped through me, but I ignored it. It would be dangerous if I was overwhelmed by them. I charged forth before the tendrils could come at me again and slashed wildly at the growth. It quivered and started leaking even more of the liquid from a large slice. I looked at the tentacle that did the damage, and saw that it had a sharp edge along one end, which before my eyes melded, became smooth once more.

A bundle of tendrils came at me from both sides. I got down and dashed to the side, dodging one bundle entirely and the other hitting my left arm instead of my head, and the feeling of weakness intensified. I paid for my one moment of hesitation; it felt like someone was trying to suck my arm off, and then I saw my arm shrivel up before my eyes. The skin first sagged and wrinkled before it retreated to show the muscle, which had long since turned a dull beige colour. That too turned into dust to show bleached white bone that then crumbled at the slightest movement. I watched my arm turn into ash and shadow in the span of a few seconds.

Eh...

There was no pain. There was no feeling. There was just a spreading feeling of numbness. The wound that I had created on the growth sealed, jiggling and still leaking that obnoxious fluid.

"Your arm..." Sakuri whispered, eyes wide in horror. I looked at her and grinned horribly.

"Who cares if it got one of my arms? I'VE STILL GOT FIVE MORE!"

The tendrils seemed to be connected to the growth, so if I cut them off, it would get me some more time to get another few attacks off on it. I tried the slashing motion at the bundle that were coming at me and they dropped mid-attack, with the yellow goo gushing forth from the wound. The tendrils at both sides had been cut, so all I had to do was to run forward and...

"Ugh!" Something had wrapped itself around my ankle, and I saw that it was the tendrils that I cut off; some of it had melded themselves into the floor. There was only one thing to do. I pulled my leg up and ripped them out of the floor, bits of wood splinters and concrete still hanging onto the ends. I ran, leg encumbered by pieces of rock, one remaining arm holding onto my friend and bore down on the creature.

"DIE!!!!!" All four of my tentacles cut it open; I heard a squealing sound as its yellow ichor spilled onto the floor and it rapidly deflated. I didn't stop hacking and cutting and chopping ahahaHAHAHA until it became a pool of thick yellow goo and flesh strips. I released Sakuri from my death grip and  nearly fell in exhaustion; there was so  many things, all of them exhausting. The arm had been perhaps the final straw. What would happen to me now? I dropped sideways into the surprisingly thick pool of goo, and struggled to get up.

"Come on." Sakuri said quietly, pulling me up by my arm. I had to lean on her for support, and I felt useless. I came here to help her, to rescue her, and I couldn't even stand up by myself. Some hero I was.

"Sorry about this.." I breathed. I made no excuses - I was weak, tired only after just one day. Who knows how much more she went through.

She quietly shook her head but said nothing. As I thought, the thing had grown over the doors, closing them off. I opened them, and instead of Sakuri's room, another long hallway awaited.

"Did anything like this ever happen to you? All of the fights with the demons, the rooms full of beasts?" I asked, and then immediately regretted it. What kind of a question was that? Hadn't I inadvertently made her remember all the stuff that she went through?

She simply kept staring at something, and then softly murmured: "I don't want to remember."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Yet more silence. She put her hand in mine, and we walked forward.

[nolrai2]

interesting

[ShiningDrake]

Looks fairly interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out

[Takamachi Ruroha]

Okay, I read this a while back, but because of finals I had so much other stuff on my mind that I didn't get to reply to it. I can fix that now.

Anathe, you need to write more of this. I really like your style. Please tell me you're thinking of continuing.

[Iced Fairy]

Huh, a Demonophobia varient.  I was not expecting that.  And it's moving in interesting places.

I have to look through the NaNo stuff now that I'm almost done with book 2.

[Kuroi]

Please continue it! It's really interesting!

[Anathe]

Huh, a Demonophobia varient.  I was not expecting that.  And it's moving in interesting places.

WELP LOOKS LIKE I WAS WAY OBVIOUS HUH. I have a ramble about the entire fic and pretend to be extremely deep about issues readers don't care about but i guess i can post that later!!!

this entire portion was written up way in november but i'm a lazy shit so yeah （´・ω・｀）

--
my mind is infinite.

it is neither exaggeration nor hyperbole. rather it is a fact. echoes still bounce around in my mind, audible after a billion years. sounds of this universe when it was still young. when there were no such things as the outer gods or the stars. and only i existed.

my thoughts control all. as i slumber in a dreamless sleep, brought on by the infernal flutes of the servant lesser gods, all of reality's functions and workings come from me directly. to every single last detail, there is nothing that is beyond my reach.

it is hard for mortal minds to comprehend reality. they think it is simply the universe and existence, but that definition is punily limited and self-centered. reality is a container. a thin fabric. that holds everything else inside it. what has been. what is. what will be and what could be is contained inside it.

like a thin fabric, reality is easily wounded. torn and mended. but humans are simply too powerless and weak to reach out and touch its surface. as well as many other sentient races that have lived and failed. it was by the hands of my offspring and the weaker ones that humans learnt of our existence. and that too. has been kept secret and forbidden. because a human mind is too limited and feeble to accept that there could be something of such magnitude and scale.

but the mortal that summoned me. i sensed that there was no limitation. unlike all of the other humans that came before it. it was malleable. and though the human weaknesses was impressed on it. it was something that could easily be removed. it would be a suitable avatar.

as i continue to sleep and the tiny part of me that is shackled to both myself and the human wanders endlessly in the cavernous reaches of my mind, an eye began to stir. i had an endless amount of time. i would wait until the time was right. and then i will awaken.

--

There were a lot more hell beasts in here now. Zombie leaping fish flew at me, its grisly innards for all to see and sharp teeth gleaming. The bats, except that they were no longer gimped; now they were much faster and were intelligent. They were still quite blind, though. Sakuri walked besides me, so that we won't be flanked by the beasts. They were significantly more clever this time around, and I didn't doubt that they would be able to form some basic sorts of cooperation in making mince meat out of a couple of humans.

Sakuri seemed to be a lot calmer than when I found her, though she isn't really so attentive. I thought she'll have done a lot more shaking and crying, but so far when she's not looking at anything else but the floor, she has the whole thousand yard stare going on. People deal with trauma differently, and for her case she bottles it up. I wish she would at least just say something. Just anything.

Azathoth hasn't said much, either. Wasn't he in my consciousness as well - where was he? It was kind of worrying how both of them haven't said anything. I glanced at the stump that used to be my left arm and sighed. Hopefully he was probably working on something for that. Painful as it would be to grow a new arm, I didn't want to be a cripple.

I didn't know when it was, but when a hellbat flew smack right into my face, I just fell over. The tentacles made short work of it, of course, but I couldn't even find the strength to get up. I was so thoroughly exhausted that even if I managed to get up again, any next hit would just knock me out for sure, and then the both of us would get it good if we were surrounded by beasts.

"Hiroko. You can't stay down there." Sakuri said quietly, kneeling next to me and took my hand. There weren't any more of the hell beasts around, so it was alright for the mean time.

"Sorry, Sakuri. I can't go on anymore." I wheezed. Oh man I was so tired. It was so tempting to just go to sleep right then and there.

"What?" Her grip on my hand tightened, and she was looking at me with a mixture of panic and fear. Shit, I said the wrong thing!

"I-I mean I'm dead tired, you know?" I laughed, maybe a bit nervously. "It's been a kind of long time since I came here, and it's surprisingly tiring not getting killed. I was thinking that maybe we could clear a place out and then use it to, uh... get some shut eye...." Even as I said it it sounded dumb. It's not like there's going to be any part of this place that was going to be safe after all.

"Sorry. That was stupid, wasn't it?"

"Not really..." she replied. "It's a good idea to get away from... everything. Even for just a little while."

"Ah! Um. Can you help me up?" Without any ado, she helped me back onto my feet. I slung my arm around her shoulders and we went to look.

--

We found a room that was out of the way and was occupied only by a small lizard demon, which my tentacles promptly picked up and threw it against the wall of the hallway, painting the dark stone walls with its brains. The room itself was dark, cold and most importantly, clean. The floor felt dry, so I sprawled myself down onto the floor casually. Sakuri took a seat besides me, and she looked slightly more at ease.

The room was easily defensible, too. The walls and door of the room was made from hard rock, which any of those weakling demons would have no chance of piercing through. If any of the demons spontaneously spawned inside the room or any greater demons intruded, I told Sakuri that she could wake me - rest was good, but our safety came first. I put my bag at the side, and laid my head on my arm. In lieu of an actual pillow, this would have to do.

"That doesn't look very comfortable. Are you sure you'll be okay?" she asked. I grinned at her.

"Well, my arm tends to get stiff after I sleep like this, but it makes a pretty comfortable pillow! My bag doesn't have enough stuff in it to make it a half decent one. What about you? Are you okay like this?"

"Yes. I don't feel particularly tired. I was about to say that if you weren't comfortable like that, you could use my lap as a pillow."

Um...

"Is that okay?" That sounded like an awfully intimate thing to do. Was it culture shock, or was I just being a prude?

"Of course it's alright, otherwise I wouldn't be suggesting it. Is there something wrong?"

"Not really! It's just a bit weird." Making mountains out of molehills, Arakida. I crawled over and put my head on her lap.

"Is that better?"

"Yeah." I have to admit, it was a lot more comfy than my arm. There wasn't anyone else but the two of us, so it's not like propriety and whatever it was mattered. The Japanese are pretty neurotic about that...

...my eyes couldn't help but shut, and soon I was asleep.

--

just the two of us, in a room that was apparently empty. but i knew that they didn't need to be seen to be there.

ritz had told me about them. the specters. the ones that watched me suffer and die, over and over. the ones that nobody but me could see. what amusement, they would say. what entertainment. what wonderful masturbation material. they never talked, they were always silent. but i knew these were the thoughts that they held.

when ritz had discarded me and i was lying in a pool of my own tears, i knew that they were watching. when i ran, trying to run away from all of them, they were watching. when the white man leaned over me and violated me, they were watching.

alwayswatching.

looking.

laughing.

i knew that the presence of hiroko was something they didn't expect, but they watched, nonetheless. when she killed the white man, when she took my hand and aided me, i knew that they were watching closer than before. it was something new. and when she killed the glutton, spilling its yellow lifeblood all over the floor, they began to mutter. i could hear them at the edges of my hearing.

it had never happened before. and that gave me hope. that hiroko would succeed. i trusted that she would do everything she could to help and protect me.

WASN'T THAT WHAT YOUR MOTHER WAS SUPPOSED TO DO TOO?

them. they were whispering to me again. they were lying. but it was true. wasn't it?

YOUR MOTHER WAS SUPPOSED TO HELP YOU, TO PROTECT HER CHILDREN. BUT WHAT HAPPENED, I WONDER?

No, pLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER! I DON'T WANT TO-

ANDTHENHEREPLAYEDTHEMAGAINICOULDSEEEVERYSINGLEBITOFITMOMWEARINGABLOODSTAINEDAPRONFACEDRIPPINGWITHBLOODTWISTEDINTOASAVAGEGRINMOUTHSTILLFULLOFMEATBENEATHHERONLYASKELETONWITHFLESHSTILLATTACHEDANDTHENSHEWENTDOWNANDRIPPEDINTOSISSWOMBANDTHENSHELOOKEDUPATME

LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME LOOKED AT ME

NO! PLEASE STOP IT! I SCREAMED, TEARS TUMBLING DOWN BUT NO SOUND CAME, NONE AT ALL

MY LAST MERCY FOR YOU WAS TO LET YOU TO ROT, YOU MISERABLE LITTLE MAGGOT. BUT YOU JUST HAD TO LIVE. YOUR FRIEND WILL PROVE MORE USEFUL, AND I WILL GAIN HER FLESH. AND AS FOR YOU,

I WILL JUST LET YOU DROWN IN EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH. YOU WILL SUFFER FOR CROSSING ME. AND AS YOU BEG FOR THE MERCY YOU WILL NEVER RECEIVE, I WILL LAUGH AND SPIT ON YOU.

AND THEN THE MAN LIFTED HIS SWORD AND BROUGHT IT DOWN ON M

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

--
When I had opened my eyes, I could only see space. stars twinkled, only pinpricks of light, but still visible against the vacuum of space. There were slightly bigger saucers of light - when I looked closer, I realised they were galaxies, turning and spinning to the their own tune... mine.

But there was also a strange music, if it could be called that. A high pitched flute whined, similar to the sound of a recorder, forming a music that lacked melody and beat, yet still hypnotising. I looked at myself, and boggled - I was huge, a mass of writhing black tentacles and maws and empty eye sockets, the blood long crusted and faded away.

Around me were shapes that i could not distinguish - they were simply too small, but I guessed by their silhouette that they too were similar in shapes, bristling with tentacles. Their shapes constantly fluctuated, ever changing, kind of like a liquid suspended in air. I tried to move, but I was still dreaming a dream that I would not awake from.

There was then a scream. It sounded so far away, but the scream was clear to me - there was something wrong. I plunged back into a deep, murky blackness, and then I awoke.

--

Ragged sobs hit me as I hastily rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Sakuri was tearing at her hair, tears flowing from closed eyes and screaming for mercy. I grabbed her hands to prevent her from hurting herself any more, or at least tried to with only one arm.

"Sakuri! What happened?!" I shouted, trying to get through to her. It didn't look like anything had happened to her...did it?

"Noooo... please... make it stop..." she begged over and over, blindly reaching out in front of her. I pulled her into a tight hug and she wrapped her arms around me, crying into my chest.

"Sakuri, please, tell me what happened. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on!" I tried to say this calmly, but I was feeling just so frustrated and scared.

"N-nobody can h-h-help me." She choked out. "P-please... kill me..."

No.

No.

no

There simply was no question or debate about it. As long as I still lived, there was no way she was going to die. I stroked her head comfortingly and murmured "I can't do that."

"You're... you're just another one of his illusions, aren't you?"

Huh?

She roughly pushed me away. "You just want to see me cry and suffer more, don't you!! For their enjoyment!!"

"Of course not! When did you get that impression!?" Who did she mean by 'their'? Who was watching?

"No... i'm not safe here. i'm not." her eyes wildly darted across the room, focusing on something, and then she bolted out of the room. Damn, she was fast!

"W-wait! Come back!" I shouted, getting to my feet and chased her. When I got back out to the corridor, she was gone.

DAMN IT.

was this something you did not expect?

Did you think that she would not reject you, while like this?

did you think that she would not have been traumatised?

I...

she has spent almost an eternity in this place

Dying over and over again, chopped up, strangled

violated, sliced into half, eaten alive, bisected

STOP IT! I shouted, my hands shaking and the blood thundering through my ears. What do you want? Why're you telling me this?!

didn't you want to know what's happened to her?

To know that she's a nervous wreck?

thinking that everything around her is an illusion of hell

You're right. I wanted to know.

But perhaps I shouldn't have.

if ignorance is what you desired, then perhaps you should not have come at all. you should not have brought forth the blind idiot. you should not have bothered with trying to find your friend at all. the fact stands is that you did all those things. it is too late to back out. sink or swim, human.

As soon as that voice had sounded, it left. It probably wasn't Azathoth; it referred to him in third person. Was I cracking up? I was hearing all sorts of voices now.

It doesn't matter. I have to find where Sakuri went off to before she gets into any more trouble.

[Kuroi]

The way you position the words are clearly effective.

I can feel the Hell in your story already.

[Azzy]

You have mastered the art of forum posting!

Great story, what a suspense! it keeps me away from my homework, so yeah, I LIKE IT!

[Takamachi Ruroha]

I haven't seen spacing and format contribute as much to the atmosphere of a story for a while. Please continue this.

[Anathe]

god this chapter is extra short and nothing much happens but i hate writing it and more shit will get down in the next chapter I PROMISE

also if you feel that the chapter is disjointed, don't worry! all will be revealed soon

--

my legs burned, but i couldn'tCOULDNT stop. if i slowed down for even a second, that demon would catch me, the one that pretended to be hiroko. they were all the same. nobody would ever come down here. not for someone like me.

Of course. Not for such a meaningless, weak girl.

nonononononononopleasegetoutgetoutgetout

Confusing me with that shortsighted little shit? How terribly rude! That's alright though, we'll just play with you longer ♥

pleasepleaseleavemealoneplease

And leave you by yourself? You know what they say about idle hands.

...wha...

You know what I'm talking about, don't you... FILTHY GIRL.

no.. don't look...

your pain... how exquisite~ giveusmoremoreMORE

i ran.

run, coward

i tripped.

you deserve this

i fell.

it hurts.

i crawled. my body hurt, but it would be nothing compared to what they would do. i looked up and stared.

it was the flesh butterfly. thin, gauzy wings, almost see through.

gutsfelldownwithawetSPLAT

i started back. it approached. then the specters came, floating in through the walls. watching and waiting and watching.

Now, now. How can we possibly start the show without the guest of honor?

HIM?

Oh, him? In his eyes you're as good as dead. He's not going to waste any more of his time on you. But really, who will? You're a failure, after all~

the thing then started to shift and flicker, its flesh sloughing and becoming a liquid that flowed over the rest of its body, changing into a shape that looked human. it had no skin, only raw, bleeding muscle. the horrible face grinned

In the meantime, shall we rehearse

--

Ugh. I got careless.

Okay, I'll admit I underestimated those lizards - one of them really got me with their bone claws, and it sliced up my leg really bad. I nearly

slipped in the pool of my own blood, but at least I managed to splatter the rest of them against the wall. The wound is still open, but at least I can't see my individual muscle fibres.

The room layouts were now more complicated, with meandering paths that went around in circles, and in this area there were raised, white bumps on the wall that felt cool to the touch. I know by now I should know better than to touch random things, but it's hard to avoid feeling things when you're slumped against the wall, which is what I'm doing right now.

The funny thing about injury now is that there's no longer any pain, but a vague feeling of weakness. It's kind of hard to walk while in this state, and while time is of the essence with Sakuri running around, it would be better to spend a few moments recovering than to trip every few seconds or so because I can't walk properly. If I concentrate, my wound would get better much faster.

An accelerated healing factor, extra limbs, if that was all to the powers that I had been granted, then it would be really disappointing, though only a fragment of Azathoth was summoned. I was actually struggling to take down the demons now, which had been growing steadily in size and shape. If I get overwhelmed, well... I don't actually want to think about it.

Unsteadily, I got to my feet. Sure, it was a rush job, but it was good enough. Space and distance were more variable - different directions led to the same place, paths seemed to stretch away into infinity as you continued walking... it was hairpullingly frustrating. It was a relief then that I was at my destination - I discovered that there were several 'conversational' portals. You couldn't actually go anywhere by using them, but they were all linked to a central portal, where you could contact whoever was there. I walked into the cold, dead hall, completely pitch black save for the dim blue glow of the outline of the portal, and reached out and nudged it.

Immediately, a small, cloaked blue thing appeared in the centre - the being I wanted to find. "Mortal. What a surprise." It drawled.

"I know what you are." I said quietly, folding my arms. "You're a devil, a greater demon. The geographies of this realm is intimate to you."

"Please don't insult me by calling me a demon." It retorted sharply. "We exist on a much higher level than those weaklings and sycophants."

"To be honest, at this stage I couldn't care less what classification you put yourself as, but I'm not here to talk that with you. Tell me how to get to Dis from here."

"The Burning City? I couldn't possibly tell why you would want to go there... though that is none of my concern as well. What do you have to give for this piece of information?"

"Anything" or "whatever you want" is probably a bad thing to say.

"The chance to escape from your bonds." I could tell now that I've gotten his attention, so I continued. "I know that you're trapped in hell, so after I find Sakuri, I will go to where you are and break whatever's sealing you."

"...really. What's stopping you from just, say, destroying the ground below me? Not only does that not break the bond, it makes it all the harder to erase."

I smirked. "Unlike a devil, I hold my promises to the spirit and not the letter. You'll have your freedom."

It let out a low laugh. "I will hold you to it, mortal."

Ultimately making any sort of deal with devils benefits them the most, but I wasn't giving up a whole lot on my end. It was trapped in an area within hell, so even if it was released it was still bound to hell. Good thing it wasn't asking more out of me.

"This layer of hell is mostly separated from the rest of hell, but a portal exists at the lowest point of this layer that leads to Dis. It is rather well hidden - it has to be, after all, to prevent the... occupant... from escaping."

"If you don't want them to leave, why does it exist, then? That's just asking for people to find it."

"These sublayers cannot be totally isolated - they are simply too small to sustain themselves, and need to be anchored to a larger plane to continue existence. The portal facilitates this purpose and it does not lead to anywhere outside hell, so their suffering would not end."

I smiled thinly. "I see. Well, I have to go find this portal now. I hope I won't need to contact you again, devil."

"I won't know about that. I get around a lot more than you know." it said with a tone of amusement.

[Takamachi Ruroha]

You are really, really good at using formatting alone to freak out a reader.

I wonder how our visit to Dis will turn out now.

[Esifex]

Am I allowed to actually reveal that I am by no means a fan of horror stories and am actually quite terrified?

[Iced Fairy]

 

Man, so many ways this can go.  Our heroine is being consumed by a cosmic horror, her friend is insane, and of course everything's gone to hell.  And the worst part is their reactions seem almost reasonable.

Still futily hoping for sorta good end....

[Anathe]

Am I allowed to actually reveal that I am by no means a fan of horror stories and am actually quite terrified?

That's the point! I feel it's hard to scare through words, but I'm trying my best. The shit hasn't quite hit the fan and it's only going to get worse for our two girls from here.

Man, so many ways this can go.  Our heroine is being consumed by a cosmic horror, her friend is insane, and of course everything's gone to hell.  And the worst part is their reactions seem almost reasonable.

Still futily hoping for sorta good end....

Power and success comes at a price, and sometimes it involves sacrificing everything you have.

[Anathe]

first of a two parter.  it's late and i have to get to slorp. hopefully there isn't like a 2 billion year difference when i post next

--


Trying to get to the bottom of the layer was extremely difficult. Space continued to warp and change, and there was no definite 'down' direction. I tried breaking the ground, but it just made my tentacles hurt. As I got nearer the portal, the distortion of space was obvious - non-Euclidean geometry, rooms that shifted, changing size and dimensions even as I was in it, and at this area the demons were of the same nature, growing thousands of maws and then having them recede back into their flesh, spewing flame and sulphur and ichor all the while. My eyes watered just looking at them.

Right now, I stood in the room that contained the portal. The air sizzled with energy, little streaks of lightning crackling around the stone frame of the portal and winds howled as they raged through. The room itself now changed so fast that I had to approach it carefully, for if I just tried going forward I might walk into a pillar that just shifted into existence facefirst. There was nothing else that was permanent in the room other than the portal; probably the demons couldn't withstand the constant mutation for very long without the possibility of spewing their guts all over the floor.

Entering the portal was... strange. When I put my hand through the chaotic whirlpool of its surface, an irresistible force pulled me through. Streaks of red and black flashed as I sped towards whatever laid on the other side and I was thrown onto the floor. I pulled myself up, and saw that I was in kind of a city; an opulent palace floated above it all, its tall edifices prominent against the black sky. There wasn't anyone nearby, but I could see movement in the distance. I got up and went to see what was happening.

It was like a city, milling with pale, translucent humans and what I presumed to be demons - they had the look down with large twisty horns, animal heads, red skin and cloven hooves. There was quite a lot of tormenting going on: as I watched, a human shifted, its body twisting and distorting until it was a gray, gelatinous blob. I wanted to help them, until I noticed that humans were doing it to others, too.

That's when the wails hit me.

It was agony listening to them - the despair in their wails cut straight to the core. I staggered a little from the crushing weight and gritted my teeth, glaring at the palace. Get it together, Arakida. I didn't know what was at the palace, but that was what Azathoth's final whisper was. Four words, nothing else.

The palace of Dis.

There was nothing but a void afterwards, even when I tried to reach out to him. He was no longer omnipresent, and his absence was just so discomforting. It was then that I realised that I was truly alone now, with no one to accompany me. Sakuri was... different. Strangely, I still retained my powers.

I still couldn't straight up fly yet, but I could do a pretty good not falling. I ran to the edge of the circle and kicked, propelling myself off into the air. From here, I could control my ascend. The huge chunk of rock was really quite far up though, so it was going to take some time.

Suddenly, a bunch of dirty feathers floated around me and I looked around wildly. A crowd of winged figures were now surrounding me, swords with blazing blades in hand and dirtied wings flapping. Angels shouldn't be down here, should they?

...right. Fallen angels.

I paused my ascent and lunged at one of them, swiping at them with my tentacles and trying to tell them to piss off, but they dodged swiftly and gracefully while my movements were more jerky and erratic. I saw one of them smirk a little bit, and my blood boiled. Fucking chicken feathered ASSHOLES. I flailed the tentacles around to stop my hovering around like a little ninny, then reached out and lashed one of them with it--

--and then pain as the flaming sword sliced through the tentacle, the sheer heat cooking and cauterising the wound immediately. I gritted my teeth and bore the pain as writhing tendrils burst from the sealed wound, growing over the stump in seconds, looking almost like a hand with thin, long fingers. Right, they had the advantage. If I tried to attack them with the tentacles again, the same thing would happen. I just had to get them to stop bothering me, but how?

Something then slammed into me from the left side, and I went to see what it was, and one of the angels had hacked its blade deep into my side, so much that it couldn't withdraw it easily.

I didn't really think about what next to react: a tentacle wrapped itself around the neck of the angel that attacked me, while I felt for the sword and pulled it out with a bit of a mess. The sword was sharp, but it didn't cut me. The fire on the sword raged on, but it didn't hurt: rather, it tickled.

That's weird.

Why did only the tentacles hurt?

A series of cracks and pops made me look up, and I saw that I twisted the angel's head off. Its eyes were bulging out.

I relaxed my grip, and let the two pieces of angel fall. It tumbled down and down into the dark hole in the middle of the city, now that I had a better view of the place. The angels now were a good distance away from me, swords still drawn.

"I believe this is yours." I said, throwing the sword I still held by the blade at the one in front of me. It hit its torso, and it shrieked as it fell down, wings flapping in an attempt to get some lift, but it too disappeared into the hole.

The rest of the angels flew away, seeing what had happened to two of their own. There was that same emptiness again, like everything didn't really matter. It was all of such little importance.

Arghhhhhhhh, shit. I shook my head, trying to shake it off. That feeling had been coming a lot more recently: need to watch myself and see that I don't get infected by whatever apathyrays this place is broadcasting. The despair isn't helping at all, either. I looked at the hack that the fallen angel decided to show me, but other than a hole on my shirt and a crapton of blood, there wasn't a sign that I had been injured. Yeah yeah, healing factor, but it was really really deep, for one.

I glided the rest of the way to the palace and touched down on a really breathtaking garden. Sharp rocks surrounded a lake of clear water with trees and shrubs growing all around it. A wooden bridge led a path across the lake to the palace that I saw back down in the city. As far as I could see, the lake and greenery surrounded the palace.

I walked through it all. No doubt that a devil ruled from here: they took pains to distinguish themselves from demons, though technically they were pretty much the same. It's the same kind of snootiness that social ladder climbers have, I think. It was absolutely silent here, opposed to the din of the city below or the soul crushing wails of the damned. It was even more uncomfortable to go through than Dis, if that was even possible.

The stone doors of the palace swung open by their own accord when I approached. I guess someone was expecting me? The doors could just be magic, though. They looked very heavy, anyway. It would have been a herculean effort to push them.

Red carpet and magical darkness greeted me when I entered: visibility beyond the carpet couldn't have been more than a few metres. More walk, walk, walk, and then...

I winced and shielded my eyes from the sudden light. Two people were standing on a stage, facing a solitary seat. I couldn't see who the other person was, but I could recognise who the other was.

"Sakuri!"
--

[Iced Fairy]

Curiouser and curiouser.   

[Anathe]

"How nice of you to join us." A voice, smooth as silk, rang out. Now that my eyes had adapted, I could see that a voluptous woman was holding Sakuri by her wrist, who appeared to be asleep. The woman chuckled when she noticed that I had my eye on Sakuri.

"Don't worry, I took extra care of her. She's fine." The woman drawled, letting go of Sakuri and striding along the stage, a certain click-clack audible in the deafening silence of the room. "Let's put that aside for later. Let's talk about you... and me."

"What would you want, anyway? Any dealing a devil enters must be beneficial towards itself, even in the smallest exchange of words. Isn't that how you work, Asmodeus?"

She laughed delightedly. "Very good! I can see you're rather educated on the matter. That is true, but isn't that how you humans operate, as well? A reward isn't always tangible. Pleasure isn't quantifiable."

"What I want to talk about with you is the progress you've made so far. Don't look so surprised, I would hardly retain my status as a devil lord if I did not keep an eye on what happens around here." She walked down the stage elegantly and approached me, hands on her hips. "You've managed to kill a demon of wrath with barely any understanding of your power, and even lived through an attack by a major demon of gluttony! Considering how little progress you've made so far, even I'm impressed."

This demon obviously knew more about my powers than me, yet... what was her purpose in just talking? They never do anything that doesn't benefit them. What was she getting out of this?

"What're you getting at? Just spit it out." I walked past her and kneeled over Sakuri, checking her condition. Her breathing was normal, and she seemed to be dreaming. I could almost see something, but there was something... slippery that escaped my grasp.

She tutted. "Impatient. You won't have known about this, but there has been some... trouble, here in hell. You know that hell has seven layers, correct?"

"Yes. They were ranked in order of sins, though by now I can see that order was wildly inaccurate."

"The nature of this realm is mutable; your human books are a map for a desert. Considering who your patron is, you should be familiar with it, but I digress. The devil lord of greed has been sealed in the deepest pits of hell for trying to turning earth, the surface world, into the last layer of hell. The seal has been secure, but recently a human tried to summon him. The seal was in place, so he could not rise up: but he could drag the human down."

It doesn't take a genius to figure out who she's talking about.

"This... devil lord. When I found Sakuri, she was in a mess. Did he do that to her?"

"Indirectly. He promised her freedom if she defeated Lucifer, but she died countless deaths in the process. He resurrected her, every time, and blocked the memories of her deaths. When she triumphed, he tried to seize her flesh as his own, and when he failed at that too," she said, smirking a little, "he removed the memory block and left her to be destroyed."

"I see." I said flatly.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Just that? No righteous anger, no swearing for his head?"

I slowly turned my head to face her, a small smile now on my face. "What makes you think that?"

All she did was to smilefucking smug douchebag. "So, do we have a pact?"

"Tell me where he is." I said, getting up, a harder task now that the tentacles were waving around of their own accord. "Tell me so I caneathimkillhimeathimkill him

"Let's not be hasty. We need a solid plan to eliminablahblah who gives a SHIT.

"FUCKING TELL ME!" I snarled, stomping onto the ground with such force that dust and bits of stone crumbled down. "I'm not here to be another pawn in your petty demon power plays. Tell me where he is or get the fuck out of my sight."

"How dare you? In my own domain? Uppity brat!" she backhanded me, and I tasted blood.

My blood.

I spat it back in her face.

A long, black reptilian tongue emerged from her mouth and licked up the blood and saliva dribble. "Delicious." She hissed. "You won't mind if I... have another taste, would you?"

"Earn it." My arm was already drawn back, fist curled for a punch.

Then we fought. I hit her ribs. She kicked my sides. I lashed a tentacle around her neck; she punched the same god damn part Noface hit. I gouged her eyes. She bit and tore the flesh from my arm. I wrapped another tentacle around her arm and pulled until I was rewarded with a wet popping sound. She sliced open my stomach.

motherofgod it BURNS

I caught the slightest glimpse of a golden dagger before she thrust it inside the open wound, tangling my intestines around her arm and cutting them up into little fleshy pieces. For the first time in so long, I screamed, and it spurred her on, laughing and stabbing and stuffing the bloody meat into her mouth.

There's no reason why this should hurt this much, right? I got hacked into with a flaming sword and I was still okay, right? This dinky dagger shouldn't BE ABLE TO DO THIS, RIGHT?

RIGHT?!

ohgodithurtsItriedtofightbackohgodithurtsbutshewassostrongohgodithurtsicantthrowheroffohgodithurtsICANTohgodithurtsENDHERE
OHGODITHURTS
NOT
OHGODITHURTS
HERE
ITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTS

and then there were black tentacles, writhing, all the way out of my stomach, and she was no longer laughing and she was screaming and the tentacles were pulling her inside me and i was eating, eating, eating

--

I was awake.

I looked to the side.

The dagger was there.

I took a hold of the dagger, and then let go.

It burnt to touch.

I looked at myself.

What a mess.

I got to my feet.

There is nobody else but Sakuri and me.

I got her to wake up.

She clapped her hands over her mouth and motioned at my stomach.

I said I was fine.

She asked if it was really okay.

I said it was okay.

She looked worried. But she didn't say anything.

We walked out.

There's no going back now.

--

In the meantime, I made a formspring, so feel free to ask any questions about the fic

also i like to think this is the background music of hell! Play metal cancer..

[Iced Fairy]

You should bump your threads.  It's not nice to hold your mind screw in the back.

And the poor girl should ask Sakuri to get that knife out.  Seems like a poor fashion accessory.

[Anathe]

XENOFILIA: repercussions of evil

Sakuri Kunikai waited. The lights above her blinked and sparked out of the air. There were demons in the hell. She didn't see them, but had expected them now for years. Her warnings to Eri* were not listenend to and now it was too late. Far too late for now, anyway.
Sakuri was a joshikousei for two years. When she was young she watched the tv and she said to mom "I want to play with occult books mommy."
Mom said "No! You will BE KILL BY DEMONS"
There was a time when she believed her. Then as she got oldered she stopped. But now in the depths of the hell she knew there were demons. "This is Hiroko" the radio crackered. "You must fight the demons!"
So Sakuri gotted her and blew up the wall.
"SHE GOING TO KILL US" said the demons
"I will shoot at her" said the loli puncher and it fired the laser. Sakuri  at it and tried to blew him up. But then the ceiling fell and they were trapped and not able to kill.
"No! I must kill the demons" she shouted
The radio said "No, Sakuri. You are the demons"
And then Sakuri was a demon lord.


* eri was the name of sakuris sister................

so much fuckin foreshadowing going on here

[Kips McKipzerson]

XENOFILIA: repercussions of evil

Sakuri Kunikai waited. The lights above her blinked and sparked out of the air. There were demons in the hell. She didn't see them, but had expected them now for years. Her warnings to Eri* were not listenend to and now it was too late. Far too late for now, anyway.
Sakuri was a joshikousei for two years. When she was young she watched the tv and she said to mom "I want to play with occult books mommy."
Mom said "No! You will BE KILL BY DEMONS"
There was a time when she believed her. Then as she got oldered she stopped. But now in the depths of the hell she knew there were demons. "This is Hiroko" the radio crackered. "You must fight the demons!"
So Sakuri gotted her and blew up the wall.
"SHE GOING TO KILL US" said the demons
"I will shoot at her" said the loli puncher and it fired the laser. Sakuri  at it and tried to blew him up. But then the ceiling fell and they were trapped and not able to kill.
"No! I must kill the demons" she shouted
The radio said "No, Sakuri. You are the demons"
And then Sakuri was a demon lord.


* eri was the name of sakuris sister................

so much fuckin foreshadowing going on here

dude
i get the reference
and i fucking love you for it. <3333

[Anathe]

Okay, now that I have had more time, this is the final edit of the script. A user by the name of 鸡蛋灌饼 on thproject.org transcribed and translated Demonophobia into Chinese. This is my translation of the Chinese script; hopefully it shouldn't be too far off from the original meaning. Some parts are missing (Sakurimom' insane gibbering) so I've added in the Japanese text for completion.

How do I feel about this?

I feel soiled. This game has raped my eyes.

--

   
第一关 The First Level

过了多少时间了呢？ How much time has it been?
因为眼睛开始习惯了的关系 My eyes have only just gotten used to it
开始能够看清周围的东西了so I can finally see my surroundings.

这里是石制的房间 This is a stone room.
狭小而又黑暗…… Small, cramped, and dark.
阴森的让人很不愉快 It's gloomy and unpleasant.

我昨天应该是在自己的房间 I should be in my own room yesterday.
自己的床上 On my own bed,
睡在温暖的被子里才对 Sleeping in between my warm and cosy blankets.

为什么我现在会在这种地方？ Why am I in this sort of place?

……不快点离开的话…… ...if I don't leave quickly...

必须快点离开这里…… I need to leave this place swiftly.
头脑里好像有谁在这么对我说…… There's a voice in my head telling me...

如果不行动的话…… If I don't act...
什么都不会改变 Nothing will change.

===============================================================================
sacuri's not gellin like a felon
------------------------------------剧情部分------------------------------------
已经够了…… I've had enough of it...
像这样的地方 This kind of place.

对面有门…… There's a door nearby...

如果那边是外面的话就好了It'll be nice if the other side was the outside.

啊？Huh?

刚才那个是……什么！？What was that just now?!

不要…… No...
太可怕了！It's too scary!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
shit gets real 2: get shittier
------------------------------------剧情部分------------------------------------
咦！？ Eh?!

什……什么？W-what?
这个房间…… This room...

有谁来了……！？Did someone come in?!

那是什么？What's that?
刚才的东西…… That thing just now.

刚才的那家伙…… That guy just now...
这么残忍的事…… What a cruel thing...

如果被那家伙抓到的话 If I'm caught by that guy,
我也会变成那样吗？Will I become just like that?

不要…… No...
不要这样…… I don't want to...
呜……呜…… Uuu... uu....

太可怕了…… It's too scary...
谁来救救我…… Someone, save me...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
words words words
--
第3关 The Third Level

还在……继续…… Still... going on...

到底要走到哪里才能逃出这里呢……？ Where do I need to go before I can escape?

已经够了……我想回去…… I'm sick of it... I want to go back...

如果想回去的话 If you wish to go back,
你只有继续前进 going on ahead is your only path.

咦……？ Eh?

不……不要过来！！！ No... don't come near me!
不要！已经够了！ No! I've had enough!

冷静一些 Pipe down.
我并不准备加害与你 I won't hurt you.

这……我不相信！This... I don't believe you!

你打算这样让我放松警惕…… You just want me to let my guard down,
然后把我杀死吃掉！And then kill and eat me!

不相信吗？Don't believe me?
不过这也是当然的 Well, it's only natural.

我知道从这里出去的方法 I know a way to leave.
这样你还是不愿意相信我吗？Are you still unwilling to trust me?

……！
我……能回去吗？Can... I go back?

信不信是你的自由 It's up to you whether you wish to believe me or not.

……
真的…… You...
真的不对我下手？You really won't oppose me?

不会……其实应该说  No. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that
我无法对你出手才是 I have no way of opposing you.

我无法对你做任何事 It is impossible for me to do anything to you.
所以你可以放心 So relax.

……知道了…… ...got it.

我已经…… I just...
我不知道该怎么做才好了…… I don't know what I should do...

贤明的判断 A wise decision.

那么告诉我…… So, tell me...
我怎么才能……回去？ What can I do to... return?
我想现在立刻就回去 I want to go back right now.

现在立刻……很遗憾这是不可能的 Right now... I'm sorry to say that that's not possible.

想从这里出去的话，就必须到这个迷宫最深处的房间去才行 If you wish to leave, you must go to the deepest level of this labyrinth.

……这么说的话，还是一定要继续吗…… If that's so, I still have to continue, right...

也不是非常遥远的道路 But it isn't exactly a faraway road.

只是，想去那里的话，就必须解决“魔神”才行 It's just that if you wish to get there, you need to deal with the 'devils'.

魔……神……？De...vils?

那是为了阻止有人进入最深处的存在 It is to prevent anyone from entering that deepest level of existence.
我也不清楚那些到底是什么 I'm also not clear on what that is.

一共应该有7个 There should be seven in all.
不过你已经解决了2个了But you've dealt with two already.

真的？ Really?

你见过巨大的蛇和红色的巨人了吧 You mean the gigantic snake and the red giant?
就是那些 So those...
那就是魔神 are the devils?

那样的东西还有5个！？There're still five of those things?!

一个人…… By myself...
只有我一个人去吗？Am I the only one going?

我说过的吧？Didn't I say so already?
我不能对你做任何事 I can't do anything to you.
好事和坏事都不能 Neither good nor bad things.

不要！我不要去！No! I don't want to go!
那样的事情我已经受够了！I've had enough of those sort of things!

就算不想 Even if you don't want to,
你除了去以外也别无选择 You have no other choice.

不要！不要！不要！No! No! NO!
太恐怖了不要——！It's too horrible! I don't-!

无论如何都不行吗 No matter what?

…………
不要…… ...no...

那么就只有再见了In that case, farewell.

啊……！ Ah...!
等……等一下！ Wa...wait!
你要去哪里！？Where're you going?!

啊 Ah.
如果你放弃的话 If you gave up,
我就没有继续留在这里的理由了I have no reason to stay here.

等……等一下！ Wa...wait!

不要走！不要把我一个人留在这里！Don't leave! Don't leave me alone!

我对放弃了希望的人没有兴趣 I have no interest in humans that have given up hope.

只是看着你死在外面的样子 Looking at the ways you will die,
会让我有点于心不忍而已 is something I cannot bear.

我去！我去…… I'll go! I'll go...
所以…… So...

不要把我一个人…… Don't leave me...

准备去了？ Are you prepared?

……嗯…… ...yeah...

……你必须知道 ...you should know

如果你不能拿出勇气的话 If you can't summon up the courage,
等待你的命运就只有在这个肮脏的迷宫里灭亡 your only fate is to die in this dirty labyrinth.

我想帮助你 I want to help you.
仅仅是这样而已 It's just like that.

再……再回来的话不要紧吗？ ...Can I return I if I want to?

不要紧 Of course!
什么时候来都可以 You can do so any time.

这里的地板上有奇妙的花纹吧 See these patterns on the floor?
这叫做魔方阵 It is called a magical seal.

那些怪物似乎是无法进入有这个的房间的 Those beasts are unable to enter a room protected by it.

然后相对的 On the other hand,
我只能来回于有这个的房间 I can only come to areas covered by it.

如果危险的话回到这里就行了吧 So if I'm in danger, I should come here?

没错 Correct.
房间里有这个的话就可以放心了If a room has this seal, you can relax.
相反，没有的话就千万不能大意 On the contrary, you cannot afford to slip up if it doesn't.

知道了…… I understand...

在这以前应该有人曾经从这里回去过吧…… There must have been others who went before, right...

…………
是啊 ...correct.

那么我……去……Why do I have to...go...

加油吧 Keep it up.
你应该可以做到的 You should be able to do it.

对了 Right.

你的名字……叫什么？ What's... your name?

我吗？Me?
我…… I...

叫做利斯 am called Ritz.
===============================================================================
thrusting daggers into vagina monsters is very lewd sacuri god
------------------------------------剧情部分------------------------------------

……
开始剥下假面具了吧…… Well, I took off that false mask.
似乎已经快不用再拘束于这个形态了吗…… It no longer seems to be bound in that state.
光是制造出道路来就已经要竭尽全力了…… Just having to create an exit already took everything I had.
如果那家伙不动摇的话就好了…… It'll be better if that guy didn't keep moving.
那么，现在开始才是问题所在 Well, the question lies before me now.
这次一定要…… This time, I must have...
……
来了吗…… arrived, right...

……利斯？...Ritz?

啊，是我…… It is I.

那……那么在这里就可以放心了吧…… I... I can be at ease here, right?
那个怪物不会到这里来的吧 Those creatures won't get in here?

没错，放心吧 Yes, take it easy.

真……真是太可怕了 It... it really is terrible...

为什么…… Why...
我非要遇到这种事情呢……？ must I face all these?

利斯……这里到底是哪里？Ritz... where exactly am I?

难道……这里是地狱吗？ Don't tell me this place... is hell?

你做了什么会下地狱的坏事吗？Did you do any evil, to arrive in hell?

没有做过！No!

如果我是因为做了什么坏事才到这里来的那可能是没办法的事情…… If it was because I did bad deeds and landed in hell, I won't have much to say.

但是……但是我 But... but I...
什么都没有做过…… didn't do anything...
明明没有做过任何坏事…… I've never done anything wrong...

……

利斯 Ritz.
你为什么会在这里的？ Why are you here?

难道你也和我一样…… Can it be that you're the same as me?
被强行关在这里的？Forcibly locked in here?

……

啊，是啊…… Yes...

然后你也知道怎么从这里出去 You know how to leave,
……可你却还在这里 ...but you're still here.

也就是说…… That's to say,
利斯你…… You, Ritz...
即使是想出去也没有办法出去吧…… You want to leave, but you have no way of doing that, right?

……

……
对了…… Right...
那么你所说的希望是…… So the hope you spoke of...

……

我……会努力的…… I'll...work hard...

……
抱歉…… Sorry...

（只要还有能从这里回去的方法
我应该还有救……） (If there's still some way of escaping, I should have a chance.)

（虽然很害怕……
非常害怕……
但绝对不能再逃避了……）(It's scary... extremely scary... but I won't run away anymore.)

（因为我还有……
我还有希望……） (Because I... I still have hope.)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
demons are shitty and don't know what intimidating is. they just look stupid like a meat donu or a vagina monster.
--

第5关 The Fifth Level

啊？Eh?

这里是？This place is...

我家？My house?

啊 Ah...
回…… Back...

回家了…… I'm home...
终于回家了…… I'm finally home...

呜……呜 Uu.. uu...
太可怕了…… It was so scary...

早栗？Sakuri?
饭已经做好了喔 Dinner's ready.
快过来吃饭 Hurry up and eat.

妈妈…… Mom...

妈妈的声音！That's Mom's voice!

到底……  Just...
那些到底是什么…… What on earth were those...

就好像把地狱的给形象化的 Just like the hell that was
恶魔的迷宫 the Demon's Labyrinth

也许光去想也没用吧 It's probably useless just thinking about it now.
肯定…… Certainly...
对我来说这一生都是无法理解的吧 In my lifetime this would be impossible for me to understand.

只是还有唯一的，留在心里的…… I still can't help but think about
利斯的事情…… what happened to Ritz.

对已经绝望的放弃了一切的我训斥He lectured me, who had already despaired, who had already given up on everything.
给予我希望的存在……He gave me hope...
给予我面对这些的勇气的存在…… He gave me the courage to face everything..

利斯…… Ritz...
会一直在那个肮脏的迷宫里继续生活吗…… Will you continue living in that dirty maze forever?

会继续给予像我这样不幸落入地狱的人以勇气吧 You'll continue giving courage to those unlucky ones who've fallen to hell, right?

…………算了 ...eh.
不用再去想了吧 I'm not going to think about it anymore.

我，已经回来了I, have already came back.

虽然很害怕，虽然很艰苦…… Although it was scary... alrough it was tough...
我已经跨越了全部这些回来了 I've already surpassed everything to return.

我…… I...
靠自己的双手把握住了未来！I'll grasp my future with my own two hands!

妈妈！来了！Mom! I'm back!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

哎？Huh?

妈……妈…… Mo...m...

啊！？EH?!

早栗？Sakuri?
饭已经准备好了喔 Dinner's ready.
快来吃饭啊 Hurry up and eat.

妈……妈……？Mo...m...
你在……干什么…… what... are you... doing...

早栗？SAKURI
饭已经准备好了喔 DINNERS READY
快来吃饭啊 HURRY UP AND EAT

什…… Wha...
你在说什么！？ What're you saying?!
这是……这…… This is... this...

是……什么？what is... this?

早栗…… SAKURI

不行啊 I CANT HELP IT
惠理明明这么好吃…… ERI JUST TASTES SO GOOD

真是一个坏孩子呢 YOURE SUCH A BAD CHILD
坏孩子坏坏孩子子 A BAD CHILD BAD BAD CHILDCHILD

エリハコンナニオイシイコナノニナノコナイニノコジナニニニニナカニエリノミゲノノリネネ THAT DELICIOUSSMELLMAHENJSSGLDELICIOUSNOMNOMNOM HER BODY
リエコハンアノニネフクヘフ　ゲギギリグギギグギ　ギツギツギ。。。　ギヘヘフヘヒヒヒヒヒヒ THAT WAS A DINNER GEHEHE KIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI
サクリー？　モウゴハンデキテルウヨ　アナタ。。。ガ。。。ゴ。。。ハン SAKURI? I WANT FOOD YOU FOO OO D

不……不要！！！！！ No... NO!!!!!!!
===============================================================================
怎……怎么会…… How... how can...
这里……应该是我的房间才对 This... should be my room...
这是什么？ What's that?
这个黄色的……黏黏的东西…… This yellow, sticky substance...
看起来真恶心…… How disgusting!
这……这是什么……！？ Wha...what's that?!
虽然不清楚是怎么回事…… I'm not too clear on what's going on...
但是如果不快点逃的话！But if I don't flee soon...!
------------------------------------剧情部分------------------------------------

利斯…… Ritz.

你看来没事 You look like you're okay.
这虽然是件应该高兴的事情但是…… That should be a cause for celebration, but...

怎么了？脸色好像很差…… What's the matter? Your face looks pale...

妈妈她…… Mom, she...
惠理也…… Eri, too...

大家……大家都变的很古怪 Everyone... everyone transformed into something grotesque...
这是…… This is...

幻觉 An illusion.

啊……！？Huh?

你看到的是 What you saw
变成了异形的母亲和妹妹吧？was your transformed mother and sister, correct?

为什么…… Why...

因为这就是这个迷宫的性质…… This is a property of the maze.
为了让你感到绝望 It creates all these illusions
而让你看那些幻觉 to draw you into despair.

那……那么…… Th...then...
妈妈她没事？Mom's okay?

回去的话…… If you get back...
还是可以再见的吧 You could probably see her again.

没错 That's right.

太好了…… Thank goodness...

好了，去把早栗…… Well, be off, Sakuri.

还有一点点 There's only a little bit left.
还有一点点就可以到达最深处了…… Just a little until you've reached the deepest part.

嗯…… Yeah...

还有一点点了吧…… Just a little bit, right?

利斯 Ritz.

谢谢你 Thank you.

……？

我能够到达这里 I could have only gotten this far
都是因为有利斯…… thanks to you, Ritz.

如果，利斯没有出现在我的面前的话…… If you didn't appear then...

我一定在很久之前就全部放弃了I would have given up a long time ago.

所以呢，谢谢你 So, thank you so much.

不需要这么客气 There's no need to stand on ceremony.

我只是在做我想做的事情而已 I'm only doing what I want to do.

这样就够了That's fine...

只是，想说出来而已…… I just... wanted to say it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jerk lucifer is jerk
------------------------------------剧情部分------------------------------------

！！！

不……不要…… N... no...

（快……如果不快点逃走的话……） Quickly... if I don't run quickly...

啊！？AH?!

（怎么会……！？
明明才从这里过来……！） (How can it...?! I just got here!)

不……不要…… No...no...

（明明还差一点点
就可以得救了） (Just a little more, then I could be saved.)

（还差一点点
就可以从这里回去了）(Just a little more, and I could escape.)

（还差一点点
就可以回到原来的生活了） (Just a little more, and I could return to my life before all this-!)

（只差这么一点点而已
就只是差这么一点点而已！）(Just a little more. JUST A LITTLE MORE!)

不要啊～～～～～～～～～～～！！！ NO---------!

利斯！？RITZ?!

不会放你得逞的 I won't let you get away.
好不容易才来到这里 It wasn't easy to get you here!

……嗯…… unnh..

利斯……为什么会在这里！？Ritz... why're you here?!

你在干什么…… What're you doing...

快走，用跑的 Leave! Run!
你不是还有其他事情要做的吗？Don't you have other things you need to be doing?

我已经做到这一步了 I've already made this step.
你是不是也应该相应的体现一下你的坚强呢？Shouldn't you show how strong you've gotten?

没错吧？Isn't that right?

但是……利斯…… But... Ritz...

我自己什么都做不到 I can't do anything by myself.
就算是自己希望的事情也一样 Even if it's something I hope for, it's the same.

所以才把这个托付给你 I'll entrust this to you.
你能理解我说的吗？Understand what I'm saying?

…………

利斯！Ritz!

一起离开吧！从这个鬼地方……Let's escape together, from this hellish place!

一定…… There must...
一定会有什么办法的！ There must be a way!

所以……所以！So... so!

啊…… Heh...

这真是不错的想法…… That's a fine way of thinking.

一起回去……吗 Escape together, huh.

如果，可能的话…… If that's possible...

去吧，我把我的“希望”托付给你了Go. I've entrusted my 'hope' to you.

对于我的勇气，这回该是你回报的时候了This is your turn to repay the courage I've given you.

到最后为止都尽全力奔跑吧 So run, with all your might.

然后…… Then...

然后……这次，被诅咒的命运终于可以画上终止符…… Then, this cursed fate can finally be halted.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
gurl ur NAKED AS FUCK.....................

这关剧情不少，看完后进入第6关。

第6关 The Sixth Level
……
嗯…… Ugh...
啊……怎么……？Huh... what?
我…… I...
曾经……昏迷过了吗……？Did I faint?
怎么会…… How can...
什么时候…… What time...
身体还能动…… I can still move...
那……应该没问题…… Then... I should be okay...
快……不快点的话…… If I don't hurry...
好不容易……好不容易利斯他…… After all that... After all Ritz...
咦！？Eh?!
这……怎么！？This... how?!
这么会！？How can it?!
怎么会变成这样！？ How did I turn to this?!
！？
…………！！！
不要！！！ No!!!
===============================================================================
------------------------------------剧情部分------------------------------------
好像不会动了…… Looks like it can't move anymore...
解决掉他了……吗？So I dealt with...it...? 
这……这是什么！？W-what's this!
啊……！ Ah!
走掉了……！？ He ran away!
到……到底去了哪里 Where... where on earth did he go?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  ritz, you are the grandest of douchebags.
------------------------------------剧情部分------------------------------------
这里是……？ This place is...?
喔…… Ah...
终于…… Finally...
终于到这里了吗…… I've arrived...
！？
这声音…… That sound...
利斯！ Ritz!
太好了…… This is great!
你没事啊！You're alright!
啊…… Ah...
我是不会被那种像木偶一样的东西消灭的 I won't be killed by the likes of that puppet.
利斯…… Ritz...
我……做到了…… I... did it...
这里就是利斯说的 This is as you said
最深处吧…… The deepest part, right?
没错…… That's right...
终于到了这里了呢…… I'm finally here...
……真是漫长的道路 ...it was a long road.
这样…… Now...
这样的话终于…… Now I can finally...
终于……我能回去了吧…… Finally... I can go back...
已经不用在再去想那些恐怖的事情 There's no use thinking of those horrifying things anymore.
都已经过去了吧 It's in the past.
这样的话终于 Finally,
我的世界就要到来了My time has come.
啊？ Huh?
总算是可以和这个荒唐的迷宫说再见了…… I can finally say farewell to this absurdity of a labyrinth.
终于…… Finally...
……？
利斯也……找到了从这里出去的方法了吗！？Ritz... did you find a way out too?!
这样的话，能一起回去了吧！In that case, let's go together!
不，早栗 No, Sakuri,
不是一起走喔…… Not together.
啊？Huh?
从刚才开始就说着我理解不了的话 You've been saying these stuff that I don't understand!
利斯…… Ritz...
留下来的是你 The one who will stay is you.
………………
啊？Uh?
什……什么……？What?
早栗 Sakuri.
我并没有说过  “你可以从这里回去” 这样的话 I've never said anything to the effect of "You can escape from this place."
………………
啊？Huh?
啊……但……但是…… Ah... but... but...
………………啊？Ah...
我……我……不能…… I... I... can't...
回去……吗？Go... back?
让你从这里回去的方法 From the start,
本来就没有…… there has been no way of allowing you to escape.
但是…… But...
我，已经努力过了…… I've already worked so hard...
虽然很恐怖…… Though it was terrifying...
虽然很痛苦…… Though it was painful...
全都忍耐下来…… I endured until now...
已经都差点快要死了…… I'm almost dead...
靠我自己的力量努力过了啊！I've relied on myself to pass!
啊，没错 Ah, that's right.
你，确实靠自己的力量来到这里了呢 You did rely on your own strength to come here.
但是很遗憾，并不是这样的 Regrettably, that's not quite the case.
因为呢，你根本就不用担心会不会死 You've never needed to worry about whether you would die or not.
这个世界里并没有“死”这个概念 This realm has no concept of 'death'.
你在说什么？ What are you saying?
从刚才开始一直说到现在…… I've been saying it from the start
你在这个世界里是绝对不会死的 There is no way you will die in this realm.
如果你的肉体被破坏的支离破碎 If your body is turned into shreds
你将会一直感受这种痛苦 You will continue to suffer pain.
想以死来逃脱这种事情，是不被允许的  Even if you want to die to escape this, it is forbidden.
虽然你不会记得这些…… Although you don't remember all this...
我每次都把你被破坏的肉体再生 I've resurrected your broken body
消除你的记忆 Erased your memories
让你无数次的挑战这个迷宫 To let you take on this labyrinth
用那些人定下的规则 Using the rules laid down by 'those people'
从最初开始，每次都……每次都…… From the start, every time... every single time...
别说了！Stop it!
告诉我这是开玩笑的…… Tell me this is a joke...
我是可以回去的…… I can still go back...
别让我重复说一样的话 Don't make me repeat myself.
你根本就没有回去的办法 There is no way you can escape.
这种事情是不可能的 It is impossible.
那么……那么……！ Then... then...!
利斯你骗了我 Ritz, you tricked me!
你说过我可以回去的…… You told me I could escape!
用你的诡计……把我！You used your tricks... to!
你这样理解我也很难办…… It's hard for you to understand me.
这是你所希望的事情 This is what you had hoped for.
然后我正准备去实现你的愿望 So I went to fulfill your dream.
我所希望的是从这里回去！！！What I hoped for was to get out of here!!!
回忆一下吧 Think back.
你为什么会来到这里的…… How did you get here?
你到底做了什么…… What did you do?
…………
…………啊！？ Eh?!
想起来了吧…… Think back.
是你，召唤了我 You called for me.
然后，这是你为了把我送到那个世界去的仪式 This is the ritual for you to send me to that world.
啊……？Huh?
说……说谎…… You're... you're lying...
因为那种…… Because that...
你……我只是觉得好玩 You... I thought it was funny...
想不到真的…… I didn't think it was for real...
但是，事实是这成功了…… However, the truth is that it succeeded.
完全是偶然…… Completely by accident.
才能加上机会的结果…… And calculate the chances of such an occurence.
几千年也不一定会发生的事情…… Such a thing wouldn't happen in nine thousand years...
像你那样召唤我的人 People like you who summon me,
出现很多次 Are many in number.
但是，能够到达这里的 However, you are the first one
你还是第一个…… to have been able to get this far.
之前的那些人 Those before you
都在中途就放弃了…… gave up halfway.
你确实做的不错…… Yes, you did very well...
那么，差不多到时间了…… Well, it's almost time.
永别了，那回早栗…… Goodbye, Kunikai Sakuri.
不会让你走的…… I won't let you get away.
什么？What?
只有你从这里出去……  I won't let you to be the only one
绝对不行…… to leave.
你在说什么？What did you say?
你到底是因为谁才会遇到这种事情 Who did you think allowed all this to happen?
我刚想说明这些…… I was going to say that...
那些没关系！ That it was okay!
你骗了我！You tricked me!
你装做给我鼓励 You pretended to give me encouragement.
装做给我勇气…… Faked giving me courage...
全部！都是你的阴谋……！ EVERYTHING! It was all an ulterior motive!
你打算违反召唤我的契约吗…… Have you decided to break the contract?
如果不能召唤成功 If the summoning doesn't succeed,
你就不能报复那些你在那个世界里仇恨的人了You wouldn't be able to take revenge on those people you hate.
已经无所谓了！那样的事情…… Those sort of things don't matter anymore!
现在我不能原谅的 But the one I cannot forgive,
就只有你！IS YOU!
是吗…… Is that so...
看来无论如何你都想要妨碍我 It seems that you're intent on obstructing me.
那就没办法了 Well, I have no choice.
你还是别太得意的好…… Don't get complacent.
让我把你变成肉片 I'll turn you into mince meat.
…………！？
你不是说你不能对我做任何事的吗！？Didn't you say you couldn't do anything against me?!
我的封印已经被解除了 My seal has already been lifted.
我已经不用继续遵从他们的规则了…… I no longer need to obey 'their' rules.
那么我就不能让妨碍我的人继续这样了I will not let those who block my path continue to do so.
…………！！！
…………！
啊……怎么……？ Ah... how?
什么都没发生……？ Why didn't anything happen?
那是什么…… What is that...?
那个头饰 That hairclip.
到底是什么时候戴上去的…… When did you start wearing it?
……？
你在说什么？ What're you saying?
这是一开始就…… I've always been...
太荒谬了 Ridiculous.
到现在为止我居然都没有注意到那个…… I've never noticed it until now.
原来如此，他们做的吗…… So, 'they' made it.
到了最后还多此一举给我增加麻烦 Even at the very end, 'they' still give me trouble.
好吧 Very well.
把这看作是对我最后的试炼的话……  I'll take this as my last test.
只要能够跨越的话 If I can get across...
我就能够得到世界的话…… I will be able to gain access to the world.
来吧，让我把你化为灰烬吧 Come! I will turn you into ashes,
那回早栗…… Kunikai Sakuri.
别开玩笑了 Don't kid yourself!
被消灭的应该是你！The one who will disappear is you!

--

Post Ritz fight dialogue

利斯：到此为止了吗 Ritz: It ends here.
真没想到会在最后的关头失败…… I didn't expect to lose at the very last moment...
看来下次不得 不吸取教训了  I guess I won't be able to be this hard headed next time.

早栗：你在说什么？Sakuri: What are you saying?
你不是已经在这里被打倒了吗？ Didn't I already defeat you?

利斯：很遗憾……我和现在的你一样 My apologies. I am in the same situation as you right now
是已经无法死去之物了,即使是我自己期望(也不會消滅) an undying being (one that would never vanish)
.我在这里失去了（逃离这个迷宫）权利 that has lost the power (to leave this maze)
只好慢慢等待下一个适合者的出现了。 I can only wait for the next suitable one to arrive.

早栗：我……我是…… Sakuri: I... I ...
我……我真的已经回不去了吗？Can I really never return?
一个人永远的呆在这个讨厌的地方无法离开了吗？Staying in this detestable place, all by myself, without any way of leaving?
再也没法见到了吗？爸爸，还有妈妈……Can't I see my dad, or mom again?

利斯：虽然很细微，这里和你原来所在的世界还是有着联系的 Ritz: Although it's subtle, there is still a link between this place and your world.
这样说吧……当那边的宇宙迎来终结的时候，Let me put it this way... when the other side ushers in the end of the universe
说不定早栗就能够得到解放呢…… there's still no telling whether you would be able to be released.
当然这只是我的推测，并没有证据……  Werll, this is simply speculation on my part. I have no hard evidence.

早栗：终结？要什么时候才会到来啊！Sakuri: End? When will that happen?!
宇宙的终结…… The end of the universe...

利斯：这种事情我可不知道，不过那些家伙（影人）的话说不定很清楚呢。 Ritz: I don't know about these things, but the word of 'those people' (the specters) are very clear on the subject.
我能够告诉你的I can confidently tell you
這個世界的一年等於那個世界的一秒又將之分作無限大的數……  the time difference between this realm and the other is infinitely greater than a year here and a second over there...

早栗：无……无限？那是什么啊！？ Sakuri: In...infinite?! What the heck is that?!
我完全不明白啊！无限大到底是多久 啊！！！ I completely don't understand! How long is infinite?!

利斯：你受苦痛的时间，Ritz: The time you spent suffering
跟我在这里被迫忍耐的时间相比简直就是一瞬间 的事 is but a mote compared to the time I've spent here.
没办法，那就努力撑到那个时候的到来吧。   Well, no matter. Hang on until that time, won't you?

早栗：利斯，等一下啊……我……我该怎么办才好？ Sakuri: Ritz, wait. Wha... what am I supposed to do?

利斯：利斯，你一直都是那样称呼我的啊，Ritz: Ritz. You've always called me that, but
那是用过就丢的名字哦 it's simply a disposable name.
我真正的名字是……  My true name is...

（利斯消失） (Ritz vanishes.)

早栗：利斯……？不要……不要……不要啊啊啊啊！！！ Ritz...? No... NO!!!!
不要丢下我一个人啊啊啊啊！！！！DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!!!
我要回去！我想要回家啊！！！I WANT TO GO BACK!!! I WANT TO GO HOME!!!!!!
呜啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊！！！ UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!
这是……什么？ What are these?
到现在为止我所有死亡时的记忆！？ Are all these... the memories of my own deaths until now?!
因为利斯不在了所以回复了吗……It's because Ritz disappeared that they came back...
不……不要啊……我不想再那麼痛了啊…… No... no... I don't want to think about how much it hurts...
不要啊啊啊啊啊啊啊谁来救救我！救救我啊啊啊啊啊！！ I DON'T WANT IT!!!! SOMEONE, SAVE ME!!! SAVE ME!!!!!
快让我离开这里啊！！LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!
那麼……那麼痛的……咿！This... this pain...ugh...

（画面转入某个通道） (The scene switches to a corridor.)

早栗：啊啊……好可怕……出口在哪里？Sakuri: Aah... how scary... where's the exit...?
难道真的没有吗？Does one really not exist...?
啊……如果被那些傢伙抓到的話……呜呜呜…… (Ah... if I'm captured by those guys... uuu...)

（地鼠怪出现） (A challenger appears!)

不要啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊！！！ NO!!!!!!


（不知何时，不知何处） (In an unknown place and an unknown time.)
新的牺牲者：我到达这里已经不知道有多长时间了 New Sacrifice: I don't know how long I've been here.
这里到底是哪里？為什麼我非得待在這種地方不可？ Where on earth is this? Why must I be in this sort of place?
谁？站在那里的究竟是谁？Who's there? You, standing there, who are you?

利斯：不用害怕……我想要拯救你…… Ritz: No need to fear... I want to save you.

[Iced Fairy]

Thank you for that.  I've been wondering about the more complicated Japanese.

And now I know the horrible parts that wasn't the screaming and the crying.

Somehow it makes it slightly worse.

[Fate Matsyrossa]

Finally got around to reading this, and I am looking forward to seeing more.

<sub>dear god you do a good job of painting a picture of what is going on


with blood and stuff</sub>

[Anathe]

maybe i should stop the story at this chapter

trollface cliffhanger

--

it must have been then when i first saw the creatures. my childhood memories have long turned into a hazy mishmash, and the exact age simply a number, but i clearly remember this one. it was on a winter night, christmas eve in fact.

i woke up in the middle of the night, needing to use the toilet, and as i was walking back to my room after i was done, a movement at the window caught my eye. i climbed onto the sofa and looked out the window, and saw an uncountable number of dark shapes wriggling in the air, the shapes even darker and blacker than the surrounding night sky. all of them seemed to be swimming around with no discernable destination, simply floating in the air.

a sound suddenly stabbed into my mind. it sounded like someone was playing very badly -- there was no distinguishable melody, like the someone was making it up as they went along.  despite that, it was still somehow hypnotising - almost like a lullaby, and i couldn't take my eyes off what happened next.

there was then a burst of darkness - it's the best way i can describe it, as the area seemed to get even darker, and i couldn't see anything outside. curious, i slid open the window, and then

something wet and slick lashed around my neck

i screamed, but i immediately realised no one would hear

it pulled me out into the infinitely extending darkness



























































































̡̨̨̛̪̮̘̪̱̠̮̝̼̬̗͓ͤ̅͋͂̀ͪͥ̕L̶̢͆̏̀ͥ̓̅̌̏ͧ̈ͦ͏͍͖͎̣͞ͅb̵̜͎̺̮ͮ͛̄̑ͬͥ͌ͦ͑̌ͥ́ͣ͠͝h̡̲̼̹̫̊ͬͥ͐ͪ̍̆͗̆́̚͡ ̵͔̩͉͖̘͍͎͉̤̫̟͇͈̱̗̾͊͗ͫ̆̐͂ͭ́͂͒́͢ų̢̯̙̩̺̹̱̜͌̒ͩ̐͂͑ͯͨ͋ͯ͌͠n̷̴̮͍̩̝̫̳̟͕̿͌̈͌́̈́ͬ͗̂̏ͣ̎̽ͮ̿̉́̚̚͜͡i̢̅͊̌ͣ̈̊͑̂̀͌͋͐͏̴̧̮̹̞̰͍̘͈̲͖̳̳͕̖̼́r̃ͩ̒ͬ̄͆ͪ͒ͩͮ̀̉͝͏̡̮̞̥̬̻́͡ ̧͉͓̮̦͇̟̳̙̅͑̚͘á̵̢̛̹͇̞̰͓̪̻̰͍͎̫̦̞̒͒ͧ̌̓̂͆̿̚͜b̧̡̞̣̗͇̗͇̫̮̙̖̭͎̬̮̹̙̝̄̎͂̑̌ͣͬͬͣͯ͝g͉̼̼̺̯̞̞̜̞̱̅ͫ͐̑͋̏̇͘͡͞͞ ̨̠͚̹̱̻̞̖̝̻͎͖̥̊ͫ̀̇͒͐ͦ̋̀ͥ̔̍͒̌͟ͅͅṱ̴̼̠͚͎͙̲̱͔̼ͦ͌̂̂ͤͫͨ̽ͭ̇̏͗̀͝ͅͅe̷̮̼̲̝̜̜̜̮͈͈̪̬̺̖̮̦̱͊ͣ̈́̏̑͜͞ͅ'̛̞̭̼̞̣̣̦̤͇̗̰̯̣̹͓͚̻͉̠͛̅ͩ͒ͣ̈́̔͐̔͐́̚̕͢͡b̵̷̡̤̘̪̯̙͉̖̞͓͖͎͖͌ͯͧ́͞ͅj̷̛̺̼̝̹͚̗̮͕̩̤͑̃ͤ̔̇̂ͨ̅̾ͪ͒͠'̶̸̨̻͉͚̝̤̫̣̬͓͚̟̜͕̤̺̥͚̝̓ͣ̑̏̊̒̆̉̄ͬ͗͂̀̚͢ḁ̸̛̝̝̹͇̪̜͉̙̭̖̪͖̝̿̓̉̄̄̈́̒ͮ̿̋͗ͮ͒́̚ ̴̶̶̲̪͚̳̙͖̠̝̦͈̭͈͖͙͚̓̐̄̀ͦ͐͡z̵̸̨͙͉͓̬̮̜͙̳̬̖̖̩̮̤̣̱̲̹̏͐̽̿ͭ̊̒̇̒̾̂͜ͅh̴͇̙̟̻̯̻̠̱̠̏͋ͫ̓ͦ̑̕͝͞ṕ̓ͫ͗̀̓͂͐̍̾̃̄͏̳̠͇̪̰̪̱̺͎̞̮̳̤̕ṵ̴̢̨̖̜̜̣̤̭ͧ͋̾ͩ̽̾̋͆͆ͮ͢͝,̶̸̟̮̮̻͎̩̠̤̘͖͖̫̯͕͇͈͔̑ͧ̃̐̈́ͬ̋̓̽͛ͧ̊̾̿́ ̶̡͔͎̱͓̻͈͕̯̱̒ͥ̑͗͑̾ͬ͊̐̄͌̆̍ͨͥ̕u̟̦͍̱̪͔̭͉̥̳̪͗ͫͤ̿̈̽ͧ͒͒̕ņ̟̘̝̣̯̗̫̬̗͂̃̒ͬͬ̊͛̃̈ͤ̉ͣ̈͌̀́̚͢'̷̴̶̧̲̞̬̮̫̞̳͇͙̙̖̤̜͉͆̆̈́͒̄ͬ͢i̴̵̵̫̻͙ͨͭ̐͛ͨ͢͟r͚͓̲̖̎̍̆̎ͣ̈̉ͨͩ̆̚͟͞ ̧̱̙̞̘̬͙̟̞̱̘͖̜͎̻̐ͤͫ̏͗ͪ͊ͧ͊̇ͭ̍̍́͘͠ḷ̳̭͓̱̹͋̅ͤ̈ͬ̓ͥ͊̀̔ͦ́́̚b̒ͬ͑͑̇ͮ͐̓̔̈̇̒̆̉ͨ̍ͬ̃͏̬̖̼̱͎͓͜ḩ̸̖͖͈̜̹̥ͥ͗ͣ̈͗ͤ͂ͬ̆́?̷̝̻̳͉ͮ̀̓͋͛ͧ̒̀̚͟͝ 

̵̡̖͔̟̱̣͓͖̫̬̖͈͈͚̯̣̘͇͒ͦͭ̎ͩͥͨͫ̋̅̆̾͗̀ͧ̍̐̀L͒ͮ͆̄̽̀ͤ͋ͯͦ̿͑̌́̇̀̌̚͟͏͓̤͓͉͕̘̫̻͈̲͞b̊̍ͨ̑̔̌͌̌͊͑ͬͧ̀͒̓ͬ͢͏̷̭͖͚̻̲̮̪h̸̶̵̢͚͕͓͖̯̥̹ͥͩ̋̓͋͢eͫ͑͊͋̃̎̊̿҉̴̨̟̖͖̘͕̹͍̟͙͖̻͚̀͞ ̧̡̝͙̜̥̩͈̫̠̟̮̫̞̹̜̪ͪ̐̆̉̾̾̈́̉͒ͧ͋́̀͡ͅz̢̛ͫͣ̓ͣͬ́͏̳̭̘̰̼͚͈͈̘̩̘̻̫͕̬b̵̴̗̩̮̮̭͚̯̞͙͚͖̟͙̬͎̤̮̄ͮͥ̉̉ͦ̌͊͂̈́ͧ̒̇̊͞͝ē̸͆ͭ̇͋̒̚̚͏͏̧͕̗̖̰̹̻̟͟ͅ'̴̵̵̛̥̠̯̠̳̦͓͇̟̜̯͕͚̫͈͇̞͖̅̈́ͬͦ͒̃̒͂̌́ͦ͂̃ͩ̒͆̔̚g̡̣̣̘̖͔͚͍͓͎̻̺̹͒̌ͮ͒̕ň̡̔ͫ̍̐͂҉̟̘̟͚̹̤̞̹̠̰̻̣͇̹̥̺y̴̱͉͉͖̝̏̎ͣ̋̀ ̯̠͙̼͕͕͓̗̯̰̩͇͊̔̈̊̃͐ͫ͒̌̎́ͪ͌̑́͘f͋̉͑̊̑͝҉̖̭̩̣̩u̶͉̺̜̥͙ͯ̐̈́ͥ͒͑ͬ̄ͬ̿̔̇ͧ͂̾̽̄͜͝r̜͈̖̤̥̲̦̙̯̥̯̹̺̯͙͇ͫͬ͋́͜͠y̽̌̓̿ͬ͋ͥ́͂͆̀ͭ̒̏͛͡҉̲̹̹͈̩̭̞̘͓̝̻̣̗̼̱̫̱̀y̨̤̫̮̩͙̗̪͕̺ͩͮͪ̚͘͟ͅ ̛̱̙̼̯̳͚̰̜̱͙͚̥̣͚̖̙͍̲͛ͮ̂́͛̂͑̔ͬ͆̉ͥͥͬ́͘͘ͅf̈́̏̔ͧ͗͌ͥ̔̾̅͆̅ͤ҉̶̧̟̮̫̗͙̀g̵̢̪͖̗͈̩̟̾ͩ͊͐ͭͪ̀ͩ̾̓̎͊ͥ̆͛ͭ̄̀́͢v͐͛ͣ͛҉̡̻͓̟̝̬̻̜͎̮͓̭̕y̨͕̞͙͉̻͚̥͈͔͈̖͇̔̀̔̐̿̽ͧ̀y̢̛̺̩̹̞̞̝̣͇̦͉̞̹ͦ̒̒̔ͪ͆͜ͅ ̸̷̱̦̲̮̮̞͕̐͌̓̈̐͒͌̓ͨ͌ͫ̐̔͋̿̽́͊́̚f̨̛̗̖̼̖̙̙͙͍͚̣ͫ̎̾ͧ̆̆̎̓̂ͯ͌͛ͤ͌̎ͬ̚̚͜͡ģ̷̝̤̤̟̱̺ͮ̍̌͊͊ͯͮͯ͂̊͗͋́͛̈͊ͩ̚̕͟n̴̷̯̟̙̜̪̰̥̻̝͓̺̹̠̦̬̱͙ͦ̀ͮ͋ͬͤ̏ͭ͐̾́͜'̧͕̰̤̹̱͔̤̬͈̦ͩ͆̄͗ͨ͊ͨͮ̽ͦ͒̓̾͜ȧ̈̇̉ͤ̅̾̈́̊̈́͂̌̈͏̴̧̞͕͉͖̪͖̟̪̰̦͓̭̱͙̀͘q̸̏ͨ̏ͥ̉̽̄͝҉̼͕̥̬̹̘͓̣̫͍͔̬̦̻̬͜ͅf̧̧̦̙͍̘̼̲ͤ̍́ͬͤͬ͑͆ͯ̀ͣ̍͋̕͜ͅ.ͥͥ̋ͥ̓ͧ͌ͤ̀҉̢̛͓̪̗̮̮̘̠͍̟̣̫̲̞͈͔̦̥͝ͅ
̡̧̳̠͙͉̬͎̗̪͕̱͇̠ͥ̃̈́ͧ͋͗͒͆̾̎̒ͤ̎͐̒̀͘͘V̵̶̖̯̝̥̠̻̠̭̳̼̻͕̜̰̩̌̓̽ͪ̓̉̍̑̿̅͂ͅgͤͦ̊ͦ̊͌̓̉͂̆͂̍ͬͪͯ̾ͦ͆҉̷͓̟̤͎̟̤͇̞̠͝ͅ ̸̴̴͚͎̜͓͇̮̠̳͇̘̳͙̫̪̲̞̇ͦ̄ͯͭ̀͑̑̀̎ͤ͆͐͑́͟ͅͅq̡̧́ͨ́ͤͣ̒̈̋͏̙̦̬̥̲b̶̵̩̘̥͚̺̳̳̰̖͖̰̭͗̄͆͊ͧ́͜r̸̷̝̘̻̣̰̩̬͎͎͔͈͔͙̯͍̼ͭͤͩ͋̉́͑̐ͩ͒̾͂͑͛͒͠'̢̂͊͊̋͛̐̓͌ͬ̔ͧ̾̚͝͏̵̦̜̱̞͖f̧̛̯̪̗͉̞̯̣͙̳̺̱̔ͮͤͦͣͣ̌ͧͩ̐͒ͪ̃͑̈̑̂͆̚͟͡ͅ ̴̶̡͎̹̼̳͕̣̟̘͕̠̤͉͗̓ͫ̈́ͦ̎̄̕͢a̓̀̇ͣ̆̈́̊͋ͥ̅̌ͮ̏̔͗҉̴̛̼̯̱͢b̭̺̫̱̬̘̦͕͙̗̲̤͎ͣͩ͐̀̅̚͟͝g̷͊̅͊͆͐ͥͪ͏̨̯͉̹̫̜̳̟ ͖̠̠̰̈̒́̓̔ͤͩ͗̿̑ͩ͊ͮ̓̀̚͢͜z̷͆͌ͥͤ͗͐̚͢͜͡͏̹̦̟̜̹n̷̨͉̻̫̞̔̐ͩ̂͋̾ͨͬ̈́̋̔͘͡ͅģ̥͙̳̮͚͙̱̝͓ͨ̏̉ͪͩͩ̈̄ͦ̃̏͒̓ͪ́͘ͅg̈ͪ̆̾̔ͭ͢҉͇̙̠̪'̸̨̨̙̞͖̞̙͙̹̙̟̲̰͖̳̙̣͉̩͉͌͐ͥ͆ͬ̂́ͨ͂́ͪ̒̔̀r̶̢̧͖̩̥͕͎͖͚̻̟̝̼̟͖̪̬̩̓͋̏ͥ͜͟ͅe̵͚̦̖͚͕̝̫̬̥͆͒̅͋̆͒̍̎̓͗͞ͅͅͅ.̵̨̹͍͉͈͔̺͍̹͚̯̭̳͓̲͔̥̼̖ͣͯ̾͋̓̒̔ͥ̍ͣͮͭ̊͋̾͂̐̚͟͞ ̵̢̝̻̰̪̘̩͕̦̝̲͍̭̻͈̩̰̣̱̈ͣͪ͋͊͋ͫ͂̊ͯ̔͋̊̐ͪ͘͘͝Vͧ̓ͧ͊ͭͥ҉̬̭̮̪̦͈̩̦̣̭̙̺̹̬̖̝̕͟͟͝ͅğ̶̢̨͍͉̥̹̃ͧ̾̓̃ͩ̔̔̃͒ͧͧ͝ͅ ̵̷̯̮̪̹̣̬̖̲̻̬̣̮͇͈̼̤̞̞̝͛̓̒́͂̅̃v̷̷̨ͩͭ͆͐ͦ͏͇̻̝̞f̿ͫͦ̉ͬ͏҉̨̩̗͎̲̭͈͕̲̩͔̲͚͔̝̦̗̗̀ ̵̛̙̮͚̳͍̣̘̗̘̣̘͇͍̥̩̖͂̅͌ͤ͊̆ͭ͂͊ͤ̔̒̐͢b̵͉̺̟̣̻̱͉̫͍̖̯̼͓̟̬̪̭ͬ̋͆̽͆̆̐̕ͅa̵̷̷̡̬͙͖̬̰ͮ͑̏̐̈́͗͞'ͫ͆̔̍̑̀̔̾̇̋ͪ̽̉͛͛ͮͤ҉̷̧͚͚̜̱̩̮̟̘͉͖̩̦̀́ŷ̏͌̇̌͊ͨ̿͆̏͑͆̈̍ͪ̋̈ͧ҉̶̧̰̯͕̲̮̗͉͈̗l̸̏̔̋̉ͤͧ̄͛ͪ҉̢͕̦̤̰ ̴̯͚̙͔̜͈͖̰̤̟ͥ̿͛ͨ̓̆ͪ͗ͦ̅̓ͪ̾̆ͬ͜ņ̡̛̥̹̞͎͉͇̺̔̂̐ͦ̎ͧͥ̔ͪ̉ͧͫ̌̊̌̀ͭͮ̕ͅͅ

̵ͮ̑͗̓̄͏͔̠̰̹̤̻̲̟͔̮͓̼͖̥̟̰̘̱z̸̴̳͕͈̦̞̯̪̙͍̼̘̳̹͊͌̔͒̎̌͗͋ͧͯ͢ͅn̴̨͚͚̟͍̜̦̈́̂̿͒̈́̋͆̆̆͝͝g̸͚̗̫̘͚̙̥̰̲͖̥͖̬͓̹͙̫̺̟̋̇͑͂̃̑ͬͥͪ́ͤ̈͌͐ͥ́͟g̵̶̛̦̬̺̮̯̬̣͙̪͉̜̞̬̝̔̊̃ͭͮ̓̀ͩ̀̍̄̒͋ͮ͋̀ͅ'ͪ̈́̿̐̋̑̎ͪ͜҉̰̪̗̙̩̰̩͕r̶̨͈̮͕̣̠̪̩̾͒̐̌ͥ̕͟͞ͅe̢̔ͩͬͫ̾̂̏̉̂͒́̑̏̑͂̿̚͢͏͚͇̫͖̰̤͎̺̦͜ ͋͂ͪͥ̉̎̚҉̶͖̠̟̤̙̘͇̫̘̤̩͎ͅb̡̥͎͚̯̜͕̩̈́͗͒͑̀̏͛̕͡͞s̨̻̞͉̻̫̳̖̝̎ͭͤͨͦͬͤ̅͛ͣͬ̑̏̑̐́͑͘ͅ ̡̲̳̩̤͕̺̬̺͇̳͚̬͈͎͔̬̽͋͑ͤ͛͒̓̔̆ͦ̌ͦ̏ͦ̓̒̃͐̚͝ͅģ̷̢͖̠͉͕̥͉͍͙̺͓͍͈̘̻̦̫͖͑ͥͭͮͬ́͠v̶̢̹̙͕̪̭̭͚̠͙̥͈̱̆͋ͭ͋ͤͯͥͤ̐̊̃́ͅz̶̴̛̞̭̥̭̻̲̟̟̪̯̩̯̯̬̥ͬ̃̍ͭ̑̓̿͂̍̌ͬ̂́̈́͑̂̕ȓ̡̢̭̹̪͖̰̠̟̹̮̻̳̲̘͚͗̇ͬ̑̈ͬ͌̕͟.̾͑͒̈͏҉̴͎̖͇̹̘̩͠͡ ̸̢̰̦̜̮̝̭̳̐͒ͯͭ̀͛͟͢F͒͑ͨ̏̒̈́͏̨̺͎̯͕͈̗͔̪͔͈̪̞ͅu̴̦̰̝̱̬͙̲͈͖ͮ̅ͤ̂̽̉̾̆̒ͥͯ̌̀ͅr̴̩͈̳̻̪̾͊̋͛̌͆̓̄ͮͧ͛̄̇͠ ̷̱͕̥̮̺̩̯̰̲̘͎̱̦̪͖̌̉̐͊͋̀j̛͐̇̏̅̈́͐̋͋̀ͥͮͧ̄̄̇͑ͪ̐͏̞̤̤͍̲͎̱͈͖̣͔̘͈̖̤̭̠͕v̧̢̻̠̫͚͎͚͔͓̞͈̯͖̰̪͓͆̈͌͌̾̇͑ͯ̊͐ͤͧ̎ͥͦ͠͞͠y̧͉̤̙͍͓̭̥̯͍̠͈̱͉͇͓̼͊̅̍ͮͧ̍́͡ͅͅy̧̛͈̻̗̻͓̠̭̫͎͒̓̏͛̆̈́͛̓͟ ̶͗̾̍ͫ̿҉̪͇̟̝̰̠̠̯̭͍̭̰ͅt̵͒͋̾̎ͨͮ̏ͩ̅͑ͯ̐͢͏̘̙̙͙͚̝͚̫̲h̵̼̘̥͚̾ͯ͗͛̔͛ͭ̂̋̾́̾̌ͤ͂̋ͬ̎́͘̕͠ͅv̧̻͖̫͍̱̫̳̖̺̲̹͖͎͚̘̹̝̈́͛̈́͗̾ͩͭͦͥͣ̀̀ͪ͝ͅ'̴͛͛̑ͩ͊̿ͦͮ̓͏͏̶̞̺̞̞̠̘q͚͖̼͓̦͙͕ͪ̏͐ͪ͘ŗ̷̗̤̠͇̲͙͓̎̎̈ͮ̑͂̎͗̀͠͞ ̴̅ͫͮ̈͌͗ͭ͞͏͏̩̻̙͈̗͇͡l̷̶̸̛̬̹̞͙̰̳̗̥͓̍̌ͤ̆͑ͯ̋͆̌̀ͦͣͤ͋̊b̡̢̜̖͇̥̦̱͈̳͙̼̫̯̼̋ͨ̌̽͂̀̚hͫ̃̓͒̈̓̈́̎̾ͤ͆͆̃ͩ̏̀͠͏̨̙̺͚̬̤

͐ͣ̏́͝͏̮͈͈̜g̓̄ͣ̒ͫ̀ͧ̔̋ͦ҉̧̻̫̰̪̯͇͉͙̺͉̘̕͞b̹̝͎͕̖͔̺͚̩̲͉̞̫̞ͮ̍ͤͤͨͧ̀́͠͝j̴̢̜̤̻̪̉̊ͫ̅̒̑̊̓͆ͪ̈́̅ͭ̂͛ͬ̚͘'̠̦̣͇̤͚̪̪̺͍̬ͯͭ͛̃̄̾̐͘͝ǹ̵̵̡̛̳̲̼̝̹̟̦̭ͤ̆ͩͅe̸̸̡̛̯̩̞͎͚͎̟̙̝͔͚͉̫͖͓͙ͥ̈ͬ̊͐̊͌̇ͨ̽ͣ̓ͦ̎͛ͪ͐͌̕ͅq̷̢̩͔͓͉̟̼̰̮̖͍̜̤͉̩̣͉̉͐̎͂͐ͪͣͨ͊͋͜͝ͅf̷͚͖̗̞ͧ̃̎͂͊͗̒ͯ͌̕̕ ͖̺͉̱͊̓̉̋ͤͭͮ̚̕l̓̆͐ͨ̚҉̜͖̝̬̥͈̼͇̹͇̙̩́b̵̓͋ͧ̐̎̈ͤ̒ͦ̚̚͏͏̬̮͕̲̘̦̻̪̠͖͙̬̠̝̦̱͔̖̟h̴̛̛͎̺̦̱̞̱̩͚͉ͮ́͋̎̆̀̓͛ͧ͒͗̆ͤͨ̚͘̕ͅe̵̶̟̥̗͓̭̤̗̺̿̾ͥ͛̑̅̀̌̎ͥ͝ͅ ̛̛̜̖̰̼͍͎͇͎̖̦̪̮̱̬͕͔͚̫͗̃͛̀́̆ͮ̋̋́͢n̵̛̳͕͈̹̞̠̺̟̠̰̺̲͙̙̣̒͂̋͑ͪͣ͑͆͘f̗̭̠̏ͦ́ͭ̎͗̃́͜͜'̴̶̗͇̣̞̈̏͛͒ͥͯ͑̅̃̆̒̎̄̈ͣͥ̔̾́͞p̴̡̺̼̩͇̘͉̰͚͙̯͈ͨͮ̒̑ͩ̂̅̀ͧͥ͐ͩ̐̅ͦ̋̕͡r̸̴̴̨̥͍̹̥̹͕ͧͭ͆͌ͩ̂͒͊̑̐́́̚ą̶̗̲̹̖͈̖̣̥̟̘̫̮̯̯͚̤͇̓̀̂̏f̛͊̃ͭ̒̍̽̆̍̎̒͐͏̸̹̙͚̣̪̯̪̙͙̗̜̬̜̦̯̝͎v̵̴͇̪̪̻̖͖̜̤͎̩̹̹͒͑̄̍͒ͯ̀͡͞'͂̏͐̂ͦ͆͌̾̈̋̒́͘҉̜̖̜̜͔̙͇̥̬̯͓b̷̳̻̞̮̞̞̊ͩ̈̒̕ǎ̡̛͔̜̗̬̻͚͇̺̳̞͇̠͕͙͎͖ͭ̅́ͫͫͯͅ.̢̦͇̙̘̟̩̖͙̗͓̿͛ͯͤͥͭͫͧ̓͝




















































































--

"H-HIROKO!!!"

I snapped open my eyes, and immediately regretted it.

I was carrying Sakuri in my arms, and the both of us were midair, falling alarmingly quickly towards the ground, which was getting closer with each passing moment.

"Oh, shit."

I tried to recall the sensation that I had when gliding to the palace of Dis, the feeling of floating and weightlessness. I blinked to get the tears out of my eyes, and space distorted around us. Small sparks of lightning crackled around me, instead of gradually coming to a stop in midair, I and Sakuri reappeared about a metre above ground, and tumbled to a surprisingly soft floor.

It wasn't supposed to be like that, but whatever works.


"W-what was that all about?!" Sakuri glared at me, but the effect was rather spoiled by how pale her face was and her trembling. In any other case, this would be kind of funny, but I decided not to be a dick this time. I walked over (the floor squelched) and offered her a hand.

"I dunno. I kind of blacked out after we left the floating palace." She took my hand and pulled herself up, giving me an incredulous look.

"H-how can you not remember anything?! You said 'We're close, but let's take a shortcut instead' and then decided to fall off! It was only a few seconds ago."

"Maybe I panicked and went into automatic mode?" I laughed, masking my own uncertainty. I probably did that while having the flashback to that night. There was no way I could have normally remembered that, but during those few seconds, everything was crystal clear, exactly like how I had seen it so many years ago.

Wait a moment. I don't remember anything from that time. I don't claim to have the best memory, but isn't it strange that an entire year of my life was gone from my memory, just like that?

"What're you thinking about?" Sakuri's voice snapped me out of my reverie.

"Nothing too important. Hey... you're being lucid! You're not stuttering or anything!"

She hugged herself. "That's what troubles me. You saw how I was earlier... before I... ran away." Her grip tightened. "I was a mess, but nobody would call it abnormal."

"After that, though... I don't remember much of it. All I recall is this giant red butterfly and a woman's voice, though I couldn't understand
what she was saying. I got knocked out again, and then when I came to, you were here, and...well, you know how it goes."

A red butterfly, huh?

"I suppose you don't remember the things that happened to you before I got here?" It was a really terrible idea to ask, but I wanted to know, and if she was like this...

"...I do." she shut her eyes. "I remember all of them. But I remember them as if they happened to someone else. It's surreal, seeing myself die and feeling so detached. It's still sickening, but it lacks the impact it had."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"It's okay. I might have screamed, or cried my eyes out. It exists simply as an abstract fact now. I've got a question, since we seem to be on a Q&A binge."

"Ask away." I looked around; it was really foggy, but from what I could see the area here seemed to be a peaceful part of a battlefield. I knew the latter part because I could see the corpses of the dead, broken weapons and shields, a man impaled on a spear, wriggling and gasping as he tried to pry himself off, but slid back down onto the ground, leaving a glistening layer of blood

"What on earth are those things on your back?"

I shut my eyes. It was inevitable she asked that. I was just surprised that she hadn't asked sooner.

"I'm not too sure on why they grew out, but I guess they're kind of a symbol for my pact."

"Your... pact?" She got closer, her hand hovering a few centimetres away from the tentacles.

"How did you think I got here?" You're not stupid, Sakuri, and I know what you did. You can put two and two together.

"...no..." she breathed, taking a few steps back. "Hiroko, you..."

"It's not so bad!" I spun around to face her. "Everything about him is shrouded in mystery, but hey, that's the case with all of them, right? He's given me the power to face everything! He's granted me the strength to continue!"

So... he's okay!

"...you idiot."

Huh?

"You don't know what you've gotten yourself into!" She shouted, hands balling into fists. "Once you come down here, there's no escape!"

"Everything has an entry and an exit. That is a truth of reality. Besides, if there really isn't an exit, I'll just make one."

"How?"

"I..." I looked away. "I'm not too clear on the details, okay? But I'm sure I can."

Weird. Where was this surge of confidence coming from? This knowledge, that I would be able to do whatever I said I could?

Sakuri didn't make any sharp retorts; instead, her entire body just sagged down. "I... I just want something to believe in." she whispered. "I'll trust you, Hiroko."

She didn't say it, but I could feel what she was thinking.

Don't let me down. Please.

"We won't find the exit just standing around, and some of the demons might find us. Let's go, okay?"

"...yeah."

--

The two of us went straight into the scarlet fog engulfing the battlefield. What other choice did we have?

Visibility was horrible. I kicked away bits of broken metal and wood with my footsteps, and walked across rivers of cooling blood. I stepped on something soft once - I tried to ignore it. As long as it wasn't me...

It was completely and utterly silent. The air was cold and dead. The tingling at the back of my neck never once faded.

I realised the danger too late.

A large shadow sped towards us out of the fog, and before I could react, a spear pierced my torso and I was thrown violently to the ground.

I looked down. The head was almost as wide as my torso. I wasn't bisected because my body was held together by a few strips of skin and muscle, as all the bones had shattered.

I caught sight of the assailant, then: a three headed ox man, chest and legs connected with thick blue wires, coiling around a red sphere in the centre - just like the giant. It was gigantic - at least 60 metres tall, I would sa

it brought down an axe and brought it down onto sakuri

she exploded

the blood splattered onto my face

this isnt real right

isnt this

haha this isnt real of course it isnt

hahahahahahahahaha

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[Takamachi Ruroha]

God damn you and your cliffhangers, Anatheeeeeeeeeeee

[Iced Fairy]

Hm...  What is madeness, what is truth?  And does it matter?