Part 10: The Second Selection

BGM: Rinka's Room


05/13 (SUN), Night
Phew...

There's been no progress at all these past few weeks in regards to Divine Selection.



Once again, it should be pretty obvious which is the 'bad' choice here- Miharu is another participant in Divine Selection, and last we saw her things were pretty intense, so having her be the one we think about first is “more important”.

-As for things with Naomi...
-As for things with Miharu...

Nothing's really changed between me and Miharu ever since this whole thing started.

...That's not true.

There's actually been a significant change. I'm referring to the fact that we're both just acting as though nothing's changed. As for Naomi, I've been seeing her more and more recently. That's mainly due to my teaching her how to brew coffee for the culture festival. She's spilled boiling water and folded the filter wrong a good number of times, but fortunately, none of our cups have been broken... yet. That's likely due to the fact that she's aware how much my gran treasures them, so she takes extra care despite her inherent clumsiness.



Might as well go to bed.

I say this out loud for no reason. From what I can remember, I was taken to the dream world at midnight last time. Might as well go to sleep now if that'll happen again. I glance over to the clock, which says it's 11 p.m., and then I shut my eyes.

…...

BGM: The Sacred Large Hall


05/13 (SUN), Midnight
I guess it doesn't matter whether I'm awake or asleep.

I find myself in the Court of Fate once again... It's as impressive as ever. And as I figured, it doesn't matter whether or not I'm asleep when the time comes.



To my left is Miharu, and to my right is that middle-eastern man. I take brief glances at both their faces, opting to not engage with either of them. Part of me is afraid of that man. He doesn't seem fazed by the fact that he eliminated someone last time. I can't imagine I'd remain that stoic, knowing I'd just stolen someone's future from them.

None of the other participants speak to each other. Instead, we allow an oppressive silence to rule the court.



Good evening, my lovely little slaves to fate.

The one to break that silence is none other than the girl we've all grown familiar with. She stands in the middle of the court, her posture as elegant as ever. I'm fairly sure she wasn't here when I arrived, and yet she's here now. I assume this is what it'd feel like if you saw someone teleport in front of you. She actually might be teleporting, though, assuming that whole thing about being a goddess is true.

I see your spirits are still rather high, much to my disappointment. Has the reality of your deaths yet to hit you?

Just hearing her speak helps convince me that she's not lying about being a goddess. You can tell she's looking down on us based on her ruthlessness, which somehow seems fitting for a goddess. I've definitely re-evaluated my thoughts on her over this past week.



Very well, then allow us to begin tonight's election.

She softly announces the beginning of the end.

Revolve, O' Clock of Fate!

BGM: Do You Understand?


In response to her command, the hands on the clock begin to move. The long minute hand points at me. I didn't notice during the first round thanks to my circumstances, but this is basically the method of confirming whether or not a participant wants to elect someone.

I'll pass...

Miharu opts not to elect anyone as well.



The man appointed as Numeral III does the same. He's tall and wears a suit. I assume he's European, based on his facial features.

That reminds me, how is it determined what we'll be wearing while here? I sincerely doubt he'd be sleeping in a suit, so did he get brought here while awake? Not like what you're wearing at the time reflects what you'll be wearing here, either. The fact that I'm wearing my school uniform despite going to bed in my pajamas proves that. As for Miharu... she's also in her uniform. This outfit doesn't stand out too much, so I doubt anyone could identify it without taking a picture first, but that doesn't change the fact that info on me is out in the open. I can't do anything about it so long as I don't understand how to influence my appearance, though.

Putting that aside, I take a look at all the other participants again.



Out of everyone, Numeral VII is the only one who's visibly distressed. Maybe Parca was just acting cynical before. There's no doubt that he'll be elected tonight. I'm sure that's what everyone else is thinking, too. There's likely nothing in common between us all other than that juncture of causality thing Parca mentioned before. Our ages, gender, and nationality are all over the place.



Numerals IV and X are younger than me, even. Both are girls, and foreigners from what I can tell. Why did kids as young as them have to die? The fact that I can only come to know the reason through eliminating them is nauseating.



Before I know it, the clock hands make their way around to Numeral XI. It's a tall woman built almost like a sports athelete. Not only are her legs nice and long, but her chest is sizeable, as well. You can tell there's no way in the world that she's Japanese based on her looks. I'm normally jealous of tall people because of my height, but even I know it's impossible for me to ever look like that.

A clock hand stops in front of her.

Ahhh...

I feel like our eyes meet all of a sudden- probably because I've been staring at her for so long.

Eek.

I avert my eyes immediately. I don't know why, but my instincts are telling me to fear her. She's not normal. Not just because of her build. There's something... fundamentally different between her and regular people like me. It's a different kind of fear than the one I feel in relation to Numeral XII, too.



Part of me gets worried that I am about to be elected, but as I expect, she goes straight for Numeral VII. The small hour hand spins to point toward him. The platforms both of them are standing on begin to emit an odd light. After that, the minute hand shifts to Numeral XII, who simply shakes his head. Looks like he's not electing anyone tonight.

BGM: Silence


Numeral XI elects Numeral VII. Very well.

Parca smiles once the longer hand finishes making its way around. That's not the face one should normally make when they know someone is about to be eliminated. Both of their platforms start to move and gradually rise above us. The same thing happened last time, too.

Only one of them will return...

I take my eyes off the rising platforms after muttering that. It doesn't take long for them to finish.

BGM: The Sacred Large Hall


Also as I expect, it's the woman who returns. She reports the results to Parca, her expression one of obvious displeasure.

I got Numeral V's name. Tch... That damn geezer was a wuss right until the end.



Numeral V looks like the oldest of us all. He's most likely Japanese. He doesn't react when she mentions that she's learned his name, although he might just be feigning indifference. In fact, the woman seems to be more transparent with her emotions than him. She's the complete opposite of Numeral XII when he elected and eliminated someone. While he displayed no emotion at all, she's openly annoyed, but deep down she seems to be enjoying this. She reminds me of a kid who gets angry when they lose a game, but secretly enjoyed the experience.



Tonight's session resulted in one elimination. I bid you all farewell for now.

I want some more time to observe things here, but Parca brings an end to tonight's round without a moment's hesitation. Unlike the first round, I've come away from this one having learned a lot more. Unfortunately, that only serves to give me an even worse feeling about the days to come.

[END OF WEEK TWO: WISHES UNGRANTED]