Part 105: Memory of a Lifetime

_{content warning: suicide mention}

BGM: Silence


We leave the park around half an hour before its gates close. Miharu comes back to Lion House with me to pick up her stuff. She left it all so she wouldn't have to drag it around the park. Divine Selection is tonight. The plan is for her to pick up her stuff and leave so we can both relax before it starts.

Miharu has a stern look on her face as she's about to leave...

BGM: Miharu


I have a suggestion I'd like you to hear.

About Divine Selection, I assume.

Correct. I've been thinking about it all week, but today helped me to finally sort things out. If we want to try out your previous suggestion, then tonight may be our only chance.

Why do you say that?

Let's say you elect me and I protect myself, but Parca voids the exchange. We still have an entire week to figure something else out if things come to that.

Her proposition makes sense, so I nod. I'd been considering the possibilities of how Parca would settle things if neither of us could elect one another, myself. Stuff like the number of cards we have, how many cards we've acquired thus far- they could all become factors. It's entirely possible that Parca has the power to void an entire election too, considering her position. If the scenarios I've considered end up happening, the last thing we want is for it to be during the final round. We could trap ourselves.

In that case, today is the best day to try it out. Who knows, it might just cancel the entire ritual and force Parca to return to her own world. It's not guaranteed, but the possibility is there.



...Okay, let's go with that.

Thanks. I'll see you in the dream world, then.

Miharu leaves afterward, looking satisfied. Wait. I forgot to give her the mug with her name on it.

Oh, well. I'll give it to her at school tomorrow.

I head up to my room with that thought in mind.

…

BGM: Rinka's Room


Once in bed, I recall everything that's happened since yesterday. I went on my first date to the aquarium. And we went to the theme park today. It's been a special weekend, to say the least. The idea that I'll have more experiences down the line makes me smile.

I'm glad I gave her an answer.

It's only been two days since we started dating. I wonder what else we'll do from here on out.

Meow.

Lethe sneaks into my room. I invite it to bed since I'm in a good mood, but it brushes me off. It turns around and makes its way back out of the room, but not before stopping to look back at me.

It keeps its eyes locked on me for quite a while.

…...

BGM: The Sacred Large Hall


07/15 (SUN), Midnight
Of the twelve platforms present in the Court of Fate, only two remain that participants are actually standing on. Miharu's and my own. A strange sense of sadness pervades the endless dreamscape. As usual, Parca's voice cuts straight through those sensations.

Good evening, my lovely little slaves to fate. ...Perhaps that's a little overdramatic when only two of you remain.

Neither of us react to her comment, causing her to press on.

Tonight serves as the penultimate round of Divine Selection. Which of you will shoulder the burden of those who fell before you and become my vessel, I wonder. Well, neither of you seem intent on rushing things along. That is rather sad, I must admit.

This round of Divine Selection starts the same as it does in Bad End 4, including the conversation about previous Divine Selection rituals and Rinka electing Miharu initially. The two rise to the Upper Stratum and Parca takes this opportunity to comment on Rinka serving as her next vessel, before Miharu prompts Parca to allow the election to begin...

Can we get this over with already?

Miharu's on the same page as me. Parca pouts for a moment, but she quickly adopts a grin instead.

Do proceed, Numeral I.

BGM: Fated Selection


I nod and flip open my card book. Picking out the three cards I need is an easy task.

Her name is Hebinata Miharu. Her cause of death is suicide. Her regret is Shishimai Rinka.

I speed right through the election this time. Once I finish, Miharu opens her card book. I can't see too well thanks to the light, but I assume she's getting her cards ready as well.

You've opened your own book, I see. Are you planning on defending yourself?

BGM: Silence


Thanks, Rinka. Opening up my card book should give us a few extra moments.

Huh...?

A cold chill runs down my spine. I have no idea what she's implying. Well, I mean, I do. I'm just trying to convince myself otherwise.

There's no way I can accept it.

There's no way.

BGM: Two Crossing Paths -S/I V/S-
Miharu!

Taking our relationship a step further really made me happy. I'd be lying if I said I had no regrets, though. I told you, didn't I? My only goal is to ensure that you survive. Even if it costs me my life.



You've still got my cards, right? Come on. Use them...

My mind's a mess from this sudden change of events. I can feel my emotions going wild.

I've done nothing but lie and keep things from you. Please forgive me.

I don't care about that. Just do what we planned and pick out my cards already. If you do, then-

Let me be blunt. I want to ensure that you survive, no matter what.

But I want you to live as well! We've still got our whole future ahead of us!



That's precisely why it's time for me to step down. I'm the one who chose to kill myself in the first place. I never had any right to prioritize myself over the other participants.

You said you forgave yourself...

I did.

Then why?

This is the answer I reached. I'm willing to die in order to change your fate.

But you're wrong. That's not the answer I want to hear.



I'm not. My love for you is how I reached my answer.

You say that like I don't feel the same. I knew for sure that I was about to fall in love for the first time in my life.

Thanks, Rinka. It was obvious you felt that way, so I was satisfied.

Don't be satisfied! We haven't even kissed yet!

That's one of the reasons I said I'd be lying if I claimed to not have any regrets.

Then-!

She closes her card book. A sign that my plea has fallen on deaf ears. There is no pain or anguish in her expression. She offers only a sincere, beautiful smile.



You understand the implications of closing your card book, correct?

Do you even need to ask me that?

Wait! Miharu, I'm not-

Rinka.

Miharu!

Farewell.

No...

I've made my choice, so I won't pray that we meet again. Knowing the end was near made those three days we spent together all the more worthwhile.

Don't do this... Don't leave me...!



The cards I chose begin to move, as if my will has no further say in the matter. I try to reach out and snatch them back to no avail.

Parca, I'm begging you! Make it stop! At the very least, delay it until next week...

It's okay, Rinka. You'll be the only one who knows about the three months we spent together following the start of all this. Just the idea that only you know certain sides to me makes me happy.

What's there to be happy about...?

My three cards make their way to the center of the Court of Fate. Once there, light pours forth from them.



Calling this place the dream world couldn't be more appropriate. The time I spent with you until today really was a dream to me. So please... live. Live your life to the fullest...

No... Don't...

My overflowing emotions cause me to collapse onto my knees. There's no way for me to stop it. Miharu's going to die again and there's nothing I can do about it.

There are sides to you that only I know, as well. I'm even thrilled that I have you all to myself right this moment.

I can't even see her through the light anymore.

All sorts of special experiences await you from here on out. Should a time come when one of them surpasses what we had, then-



-ye.

Miharu's voice fades as she speaks.

-ain.

My mind grows cloudy following that.

Miharu's final moments are the same here as they are in Bad End 4. The events immediately following her election, as well, are the same- Parca shows her delight in Rinka being the one to become her vessel, and explains how Divine Selection works- that it seams multiple timelines together temporarily to justify the participants still being alive despite their deaths already having occurred. The Court of Fate begins to break apart as Parca slowly walks towards Rinka...

BGM: Do You Understand?


Parca extends her hand out to me. Her palm is so tiny, her arm so slender. They seem like they'll snap just by touching me. I extend my own hand in response. Parca doesn't take mine in hers, though. Her hand goes straight toward my chest. After making contact, it sinks into my body. In this moment, I witness her merging with my own body. The light surrounding her envelops me.

BGM: Sinking in Flames


Upon closing my eyes, I see a number of dreams. I'm not sure if I'm remembering them, or if the light is responsible.

Chan and Ro, who were eliminated without me ever knowing anything about them... I'm sure they had their own desires in the face of the brief hope they were given.

Keiko, who entrusted her feelings for her child to me. I'm sure she and her husband shared those feelings, hence why a letter was never needed in the first place when naming it.

I'm so sorry, Sonya. You wished for our happiness from the bottom of your heart, but I'm the only one who survived. I promise I'll show Passazhir more of the world for your sake, at least.

Shigetsugu, who loved Yu as if he were his own grandson. Our time together was brief, and though I never really came to like him, I can't say I hated him. He had his own convictions in all this, not to mention the things he wanted Yu to learn.

As for Yu, I can never forgive him for killing Naomi. The despair he went through is something I can't let myself forget, though. It represents the tragedies happening all across the world. His regret represented his desire to live a normal, simple life. Similar to my own, yet with a much heavier weight to it. He simply wanted that which he never had. So I can't hate him, despite what he did.

Odette, whose strength never ceased to amaze me. She had accepted her fate, I'm certain. Death is simply the end result of life, after all. Her resolve to not look back is what allowed her to leave on her own terms.

I can't condemn Scale for his attachment to life. That's why my only option was to eliminate him by my own will. I may not have been able to condemn him, but I could never see eye-to-eye with him.

I only ever met Federico in the real world once, but his realization that he had been victorious left him shivering with joy. I'm not too sure about his life and how it played out, but I have no doubt that to him, it was worth it in the end.

Alan, whose sister I resembled. His way of life was something I could never accomplish. That was precisely why I thought he was incredible.

And Miharu, who taught me more about who I was than anyone else. I don't know much about being in love, but her confession was no doubt a turning point for me. One so major, it changed my entire outlook on how to live.



Miharu... Miharu...

Grief overwhelms me once more now that Parca's done with her explanation. This is different from what happened with Naomi. Miharu won't come back, no matter what I do. I know that I'm going to feel even worse than I do now when I wake up in the real world. Even so, I need to live on. I'll live my life to its absolute fullest.

Oh, but I'm afraid that won't be possible. Hehehe!

A voice rings out. An incredibly annoying voice, at that.

I stressed how important it was to me that you became my vessel, did I not? Let me share why.

The voice gradually becomes more distant. But I already know.



It's so I can claim your body as my own, of course.

I know, because-

I've been longing for you ever since you met Numeral II. Your meeting her was as much of a miracle for me as it was for her. Ensuring that you two remained bound together following that was a simple feat.



Your fates had already been intertwined, after all. Imagine a spiral, in which you both served as the primary components- drawing yourselves toward one another.

Hahh!

I finally grasp my own consciousness. Parca's speech is a bit fuzzy, but I can more or less understand her. This has to be a different process from what she did with Miharu.

Your very birth was the result of fate being twisted. You may not have realized, but a sliver of the power accessible to my vessels already flowed within you.



That's why both your mind and body share the same essence as mine. Allow me to show you the product of a true miracle, one that wasn't possible with any other participant. Then again, I doubt you'll be conscious by that point.

If I had to describe what I'm experiencing right now, I'd liken it to having my insides thrown in a blender. The foreign object whirring around within me makes me want to throw up. If my understanding is correct then she has one thing in mind. She wants to take control of my body. That theory soon becomes conviction.

I shall become a resident of the real world through your body.

She really is trying to take control of me. But I have no special powers of my own to speak of. There's nothing I can do to stop her. Even so, I can't sit by and let someone wrest my own body from me. Not even Miharu was robbed of this.

I won't let you... have your way...!

I know my mind is being taken over and yet I'm able to remain defiant. It doesn't change anything, though. Parca's will eventually overtakes my own.