She... Who was she?
Shu stood frozen, one hand braced against the smooth wall in front of him. His breathing was heavy, his features twisting into a grimace.
That white-haired girl... Who was she?
Why did she appear before him again? Why... Why...
Why did he even remember her?
[He looked again towards... [someone], his voice softening slightly: "What about you? Any dietary restrictions?"
...[Someone] paused, then looked at Shu and answered seriously: "...No restrictions, thank you."]
The flashback flickered and shifted again. Simultaneously, an unbearable, sharp pain shot through his mind.
A grey-haired girl... Who was this...?
These people... Why were their images appearing in his mind? Why were they in his memories?
Who were they all...?
Shu gasped in pain, his straight back involuntarily hunching over. Veins bulged on the back of the hand pressed against the wall, his fingers digging deeper into the surface.
["Hello, Mr. ——, correct?" ...[Someone], bringing a silent Kiana along, sat down beside Shu and spoke with a smile.
"Yes, that's me." His heart skipped a beat, but he nodded calmly.]
This time, the image was of a girl with deep purple hair, carrying the air of a quiet, well-bred young lady.
She smiled gently at Shu, but he couldn't make out her face.
"You..." Shu struggled to speak, staring intently at the fleeting flashback, trying to burn the image into his blank mind.
But he couldn't.
Like trying to scoop water with a sieve, memories slipped rapidly through the gaps between his fingers. He couldn't grasp them, couldn't hold onto them.
He wanted to reach out and grab them, yet feared that the water still cupped in his hands would spill entirely if he lost his grip. But when the last drop slipped from his palm, he found the memories already lost had long since dried up on the ground, irretrievable.
A fire seemed to burn within his heart, tormenting him, causing him pain, making him utterly despise this body.
Crack—
With immense force, Shu's fingers crushed the "wall" before him. Small fragments of white quartzite tumbled down from his hand.
This great white stone, which had stood for nearly a century in this village forgotten by the world, finally showed a crack on its smooth face today.
["Welcome— back." ...[Someone] stood up from his chair, wearing his signature elegant smile, raising his hands towards the group.]
The golden-haired man always wore a smile that spoke of carefully laid plans...
["Is... that so?" Even carrying... [someone or something], ...[someone] seemed largely unaffected, nodding at ——. "Thank you for your trouble during this time."]
The grey-haired... [someone], she always seemed so reliable...
[Clack! ...[Someone] put down the eighth empty bowl, patting her stomach contentedly, then quickly covered her mouth, letting out a subtle, muffled burp.]
An impression almost identical to the white-haired girl from before, but seemingly much more mature and dependable...
And...
The petite, white-haired girl... the mature woman with red hair... and... and!!
So many faces appeared, one after another. So many figures passed him by endlessly.
He stood amidst the flow of people, desperately reaching out, trying to grab anyone passing by, trying to hold onto just one of them, to get a good look at her face.
"You all..."
But they were all too busy... busy moving forward, busy leaving Shu behind. Not one person was willing to turn back for him, no one could hear Shu's anxious cries, or see his hysterical state.
"You—"
The white mist thickened once more... The sun's brilliance is so fleeting in the northern winter... The black curtain of night was about to envelop the world again.
Shu stood rooted to the spot. It felt as if a light rain began to fall on the street. The people around him scattered instantly, opening black umbrellas that, combined with the rain, completely hid their faces.
Only Shu remained, standing alone in the downpour, clothes soaked through, eyes blurred by the rain, watching as the people around him dwindled...
Fewer and fewer...
...
"Who ARE YOU ALL—!!"
Finally, standing before the great stone, Shu violently threw his head back, his bloodshot eyes glaring furiously at the white surface ahead.
He roared in despair and fury. The hand embedded in the stone swung wildly with his emotions, shattering the rock along its path!!
A cloud of stone dust billowed out from his swing, pushing back the dense fog that had closed in around him.
The aftershock of his swing carved a long, straight line across the stone's surface, like a random stroke drawn across a clean sheet of white paper...
Was it truly random?
The [Hope] around Shu began to boil, surging violently through his hands.
Shu's other hand swung upwards abruptly, sinking effortlessly into the great stone before him. A similar aftershock carved a second flaw onto the stone's surface!!
He was drawing!!
Drawing on this white canvas!!
Using his own hands as the brush, using [Hope] and [Wish] as the ink, drawing on this smooth, blank stone face!!
One jagged line after another appeared on the stone, crisscrossing... overlapping.
At the crossroads in his mind, beneath the oppressive, dark clouds, the torrential rain hammered down on Shu, trying to bend his back, trying to kill his spirit.
Trying to slam his raised hand down to the ground.
The people around him grew fewer, but...
Shu caught someone!
She too held an umbrella, an orange and white one, with white cat-paw prints along the edge.
She passed almost brushing against him, and Shu instinctively reached out, grabbing her wrist.
The figure stopped... From beneath the umbrella, Shu saw two bouncing white pigtails, saw the orange star hair clips...
BOOM—!!
A few swift strokes rapidly sketched two pigtails onto the "white paper," drew the ahoge [cowlick] on top of her head, drew the star hair clip.
"You..."
Not just the girl, even Shu himself froze.
Rain streamed down from the edge of the umbrella, forming a curtain.
He had actually caught someone...
Shu looked up, watching the girl turn around. He desperately wanted to see her face clearly, to peer through that curtain of rain and see who the girl was...
Outline of the face— formed!
Ears— formed!
Mouth— formed!
Nose— formed!!
Finally, Shu and the girl met eyes...
Eye sockets—
Formed!!
All he needed was to dot the eyes, and he could remember who this girl was... he could remember—
Shu froze.
Behind the curtain of rain, he saw the girl's confused expression, saw her unfamiliarity and distance—
And fear...
He saw...
[She lay there, the stain of blood marring the pristine white. He reached out, the only way he could, tearing at himself to touch her cold hand.]
Shu's clenched fist stopped abruptly, a mere centimeter from the stone's surface, unable to advance any further.
His hand trembled, eventually losing its strength, falling slowly to his side.
The white mist embraced him once more. He saw the girl pull her hand back, then, holding the umbrella that obscured her face, she jogged away.
His eyes dimmed. The surging [Hope] no longer responded. His legs gave out, unable to support him. He knelt on the ground, only managing to keep his upper body upright, kneeling blankly before the "drawing" that lacked its finishing touch.
It remained, after all, an unfinished "drawing," incapable of carrying any emotion or meaning.
And then...
He forgot [Why]...
He only remembered—
[Blink], [Breathe], [Activate Ability]...