SING CRIER CH.9 - Home is... 「 Please... please! Wake up! 」「 Oi, get up, you can't sleep here. 」「 Good morning! 」 「 Wh- are you sleeping? 」「 -ce... call an ambulance! 」「 Class is over, go home! 」 「 Have a good rest? 」「 Pfft... 」「 Don't m... take... breaths... 」「 Tch... let's go. 」 「 Enemy attack! Enemy atta-! 」「 Shhh... sleep... sleep... 」「 ...they're waking up! 」 「 Helloooo~? 」「 ...Damn it! Every time! 」「 ...wake up, don't wake up... 」「 Boo! 」 「 ...Ah, what a relief... 」「 Streya, we're here! 」「 ...everything, nobody's home. 」 「 Ah... she's so cute... 」「 Time to go... Devil Twins. 」「 Hello, and goodbye! 」 「 Hey... just... go home, alright? 」「 No... no no no! 」「 Welcome back. 」 「 ...silent- Oh, you're up. 」「 It's okay... it's okay, I'm here... ...you're safe... 」 『 ...-o... no... no... no... 』 A soft, apathetic chant grazes my ears and doesn't relent. Each whisper pulls me further from the safety of my slumber... If only... I could fall asleep... and just never... wake up. 『 ... 』 I kick the air and scramble to right myself... it's dark, we're still in the cave. I swipe the hair out of my eyes and frantically look for her amidst the shadows, and... I find her... there... but I feel at a loss when I do. Huddled across from me with her hands over her ears... with lifeless eyes, and her mouth fixed just slightly ajar... is Sing... rocking... back and forth, banging the back of her head against the wall. I can hear her muttering "no" over and over with no change... in her tone... 『 Stop... 』 No response. I scamper to her side and grab her head. 『 Stop! 』 She keeps muttering. I shake her. 『 Stop stop stop! I said stop! Enough! No more! Sing! 』 She finally freezes... and stops chanting... but she doesn't look at me. She instead becomes corpse-like, making no efforts to move... or live... I... I hate this... this perpetuating state of oblivious serenity... This soulless husk of a sister... 『 ...Please...Sing... 『 ...wake up... 』 『 ... 』 『 Wake up! 』 I slap her. It's loud. Her crimson eyes widen. Then her hand slowly moves to touch the cheek I hit. She looks down at her smudged cheek, then, at me. Her face is ridden... with shock, and betrayal... She seems to grip my heart with her dampening eyes. I feel like just looking at her is draining the strength in my body. I want to hug her and say sorry, to tell her it's okay and that I forgive her, to tell her all the lies she wants to hear... and give her unconditional love... I honestly, truly do... Really... I want to... ...but I can't. Even when I open my mouth, no sound comes out... Even though I try to smile, it's impossible to hold... All I can do... is look at her... with an expression... filled... ...with scorn. ...I hate her. Sing's face twists at that; I see pain and venom. I put up my arms preemptively, but it's a meaningless defence. She effortlessly grabs my shoulders and throws me to the ground. Rocks dig into my skin like tiny razors, and my breath is knocked out of me. I try to pull myself back up and gasp for air, but she's already pushing me down with all of her weight ...and biting into my shoulder. 『 Y-You- AH! 』

Crack. A bone. I move to push her off, but she's pinning me. Even though it's slight, she's stronger than me. My head starts feeling lighter and lighter. My lungs compress more and more. 『 St...o...! Let... nnh! 』 I hear bone... and flesh... An ear-grating crunch... I feel a deep cold spreading within me... She's... She's eating... Eating... me... 『 ?! 』 I bash her with the side of my head. It hurts... it hurts for the both of us now, but it's not just the head pain... It's Eldritch Fear rising, that really... really makes it hurt. I slip my leg under her and kick her off while she's reeling from shock. The sudden weight off my chest makes me hack and cough for air. Holding my head as I sit back up, I feel what I presume to be blood. It's a ringing pain on the inside, and a firecracker on the outside. This is all her fault... she did this... All of this... is her fault! 『 Uaa... 』 She's covering her head, twitching... writhing... It's awful, seeing her suffer so much... There's nothing beautiful about her like this... It's deserving of derision... such an unsightly sight... 『 Why even live...? 』 I pat the floor for rocks... and throw them at her. 『 When you just wanna DIE? 『 You like THIS? 『 Is THIS what you wanted? 『 ...HOW ...ABOUT ...THIS! 『 Is that it?! Ha... you like that?! 『 You still want to live... lifelessly here with me?! 』 『 I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... 』 Ha... haha... back to mumbling huh...? How long have we been here for? ...In this cave? Has it only been hours? Or has it been days? Weeks? Months? Just barely scraping by on the minimum necessities... Never going out for more than we need... Waking up just to cry, eat, and sleep... ...I look away and rub my face. I rub harder, ridding myself of the dried red she'd smeared across my cheeks. Accepting it was wrong... accepting her back then was wrong. None of what happened was okay; living like this isn't okay. It's true... that if we just continued on like this, we'd probably survive... Eating meat of unknown origin, drinking each other's blood, sleeping... I mean... if it's to avoid dying, then it's probably even correct... To just do this forever... remembering none of it... To survive as monotonous machines... Sleeping... for eternity... It's probably correct... to just not wake up again... surrendering to Eldritch Fear... ... But even so... No, especially so... If that's the case... I have to try... ...to make it incorrect. 『 If we stay here, I'll kill you. 』 Sing stops chanting. I squeeze my gouged shoulder, as my Eldritch Fear levels begin to rise. 『 Look at me. Look what you've done to me. 』 Eldritch Fear [LV.2] 『 It's only... a matter of time before I do the same to you. 』 Eldritch Fear [LV.3] 『 Before I do something... worse -- to you. 』 Eldritch Fear [LV.7] The phantom hand of Eldritch Fear... It grazes my spine... cold... screaming... foreboding... ...I squeeze my shoulder harder to match the pain. Leaving this cave... will surely bring threats to our safety... but if I can pose an even greater threat, then maybe... 『 I'm... different from you. 』 Eldritch Fear [LV.8]

『 I'm alive... 』 Eldritch Fear [LV.9]

『 I can... do things to you... 』 Eldritch Fear [LV.10] 『 ...a...against your will. 』 Eldritch Fear [LV.14] It grips my spine -- and twists. A profane pain extinguishing my breath... With every word, I'm reminded further of death's pain, the folly of my resistance, how it is akin to self-sabotage, but... Doubt me, Sing... Realize the danger... 『 Leave... with me... 』 Eldritch Fear [LV.16] 『 ...or die... as a threat! 』 Eldritch Fear [LV.21] Show me what this cave has done to you... Please... show me your killing intent...! 『 We're two bodies and two brains! 『 Don't you get it?! Streya is dead! 』 『 ... 』 『 T-This cave will- 』 Eldritch Fear [LV.30] The pain of a crack rips through my spine; the icy phantom hand demonstrates limitlessness. I lose strength in my legs and collapse to my knees... If Sing... is... no threat to me... there is... no reason to leave... This cave... even should it drive us to madness... if madness does not mean death... then mad we will become. Eldritch Fear will keep us alive at any cost... Its phantom grip... undefiable... Death... is just... 『 I... I hate you, Sing! 』 『 ... 』 My balled fists unfurl.. and my breaths slow... Please... Sing... before... I... 『 ...You could never kill me. 』 I look up at her; see her head turned up from the floor, and her wide glare shrouded in the dark. 『 ...I'm stronger. 』 My lips part, but no breath passes through them. Sing's sudden bloodshot stare... is... 『 It would be too easy for me to kill you... 』 ... 『 Y...Yes... 』 That's... that's right... she's... a much higher level than me so... 『 ...I could even do it by accident. 』 Yes... t-that's exactly right...! The risk of an accident is much too high, so...! We should... definitely leave then... shouldn't we...? Heal our minds and... undo the damage... someplace else... That's... what I wanted... I nod slowly... Sing... drags her body off the ground, and staggers back onto her feet. I try to move, but I feel resistance in my joints. Huh? Why? Why won't my body...? It's... it's not listening... She stands over me. 『 I...I just need a minute! 』 『 ... 』 A drop of blood falls before me. My eyes widen. I look up. She's extended a bleeding thumb towards me. There are punctures, from teeth. It's... to drink from... to heal. Right... of course... I must be strained from... trying to fight Eldritch Fear... I hesitantly... crane my neck higher... and clamp down over her wound. 『 ... 』 Before I realize it, I'm taking in as much of Sing's salty blood as I can. More and more, even as the burning in my wounds begin to fade. Every drop and trickle I can drain from that laceration, I drink, until my senses... steadily... return to me... So too does my self-awareness. ...I suddenly feel ridiculous. 『 I'm... sorry. 』 She whispers. I blink, then look down. 『 Mm mmrry mu... 』 Sing exhales a quick breath. 『 D...Don't drink and talk at the same time, idiot... 』 『 ...Mm. 』 ... We shut our eyes as we begin... to feel... our Eldritch Fear... slowly slip away. The void left behind sends bizarre waves of euphoria. Pulses of peculiar contentment and fullness over the following minutes... Minutes spent in silence. The name Streya... feels further away now than ever. ...I wipe at my eyes. 『 Hah... 』 I look down at Crier... her eyes are closed... and her breath is weak, but I can still see her silhouette rise and fall... Her fluffy hair is tucked underneath her head, my lap supporting both... She... really needs this rest... Departure can wait... but the time will come. Staying here for long could very well put us back in an amnesiac loop if that's what Eldritch Fear deems is still the best way to keep us alive... This moment of clarity Crier and I fought for... could very easily be undone, as Eldritch Fear is still, at its core, undefiable; only at best, corrigible. We cannot even be certain that it was Eldritch Fear that made us forget, only that it nearly prevented us from being able to do anything about it. At the very least, we'll have to be more vigilant... even more defiant and proactive from here on... There must surely be more ways to stay alive... Safer, happier paths... than this one... Something better than this... dead-end... ...Crier shifts around, trying to find a comfortable lying position. I gently run my hand through her hair, dusting away dirt... ...Streya. I can call myself that regrettable name, but when I look at her, it gets caught in my throat. Is she the same way...? It wouldn't be so confusing if we didn't share a stream of consciousness... but c'est la vie, I suppose, as strange as it is... ※¹ I... just know... I want her to be happy. To that end, the name doesn't really matter. Sing carries the dagger that feels natural for her to hold. Crier carries the pouch, stuffed with meat, soaking in our blood. The meat might actually taste good if it spends enough time in there. We wonder why the pouch had our blood in it to begin with, but the thought passes, we feel it doesn't really matter why, just that someone had the care to foresee us putting meat in it. ...Sing gives Crier a sideways glance. 『 Ready? 』 Crier smiles. 『 ...Mmhmm! 』 Sing jumps down first since she's gotten a lot more agile. We won't have Crier jump because a bad landing might still kill her. She slides down the rocks carefully instead, with Sing for support. Hmm? Jump? What do you mean there shouldn't be a jump? The cave entrance has been always two meters above the ground. Right? Hasn't it? It has right? 『 Crier, hasn't it? 』『 It has. 』 There you have it, unless you mean to tell us the mountain grew, or the entire forest floor dropped, you'll just have to swallow it. We hold hands as Crier makes the last step. Flower petals kick and flutter into the air at her landing. The cold caress of the snow on our feet, and the warmth of the sun... Ah... so nice... it really is like a fairytale scen- 『 ...-choo! 』 We look at Crier as if she just turned blue, and rightfully so, because this is the first time she's ever sneezed. The Devil Twins, having a cold? Is this some kind of joke? Sing feels her forehead... it's hot -- we think? Or maybe this is normal temperature? This is our first time doing this sort of thing... Ah... maybe we should spend a bit more time in the cave... ...Just kidding. Humor us, please. Let us be light-hearted for a bit, okay? If we aren't going to laugh we might as well have not left. Our insanity arc will have been for nothing. You don't want that do you? Do you want another insanity arc? Of course you don't.

Hmph. We crouch, each picking a flower out of the snow. Maybe it was a subconscious choice or just sheer coincidence, but we both picked out white flowers without a second thought. We hold them in our free hands. Let's mark this milestone... as the moment we completed level two. We feel like we just accomplished something big, although something... we can't quite fully grasp... ...this will help put it behind us. The future will demand our full attention. Plop! Sing stabs her flower into Crier's side tail, it sticks. Crier stabs her flower into Sing's side tail, but it misses? Sing's mouth appeared instead! Eh? The white flower was consumed?! 『 Nom!~ 』 『 Hey! 』 『 Blweeeh! 』 『 Eww! Don't spit it out! 』 『 Cold! H...Hot? Ah... 』 『 You...you ate a plant! You dummy, they're all poisonous! 『 Sing! Hey, wait! I can't... run... that far...! Aaaaah geeze...! 』 I'll believe in you, Streya. If you can see that safer haven

...I want to take you there. [END]