Part 389: Womb Realm Mandala / Tiger Dojo 32

This quick dead end occurs if you choose not to investigate the strange noise in the forest at the beginning of day 10.

Music: Nightmare



"I'll stay here. Are you really going to go, Tohsaka…?"


"Yeah. But you're making the right choice. I have Archer, but you're alone.
It's good to be careful."

"…All right. Don't let your guard down, even with Archer, okay?"


"Of course. I'll come back right away if I think it's dangerous."

Music: Stop

Tohsaka starts running without turning around.
…The tremors continue.
Tohsaka said Berserker is fighting.
Zouken and Assassin are the only other enemies.
Berserker will not lose in pure fighting ability.
Those two cannot beat him, no matter what tricks they pull.
Butwasn't that the case against Saber as well?

""
…I have a bad feeling. I feel like I'm making the same mistake again



Darkness falls.
It's not because the light has been blocked.
My retinas are seared by black light, as if I've looked directly into the sun.

"What?"
My mind, filled with ominous presentiment, is filled with a different kind of uneasiness.
A complete darkness in which I have no sense of direction.
It feels as if I'm swallowed into "nothingness".

"……No way……!"
I fumble my way through the dark forest with my smashed vision.
Bam, crash.
I hit trees as I randomly walk on.

"Haa… Haa, haa, ha, ah……!"
I clumsily charge forward.
I feel blood on my shoulder.
My forehead's been gashed open where I hit it.
But I still want something definite.
Running into things and injuring myself is vastly preferable to having "nothing".

"HaHaa, ha, ha."
It's fine.
It's fine. My eyes just broke down because of the sudden light.
The forest is still there, and I still feel the ground beneath my feet.
It's just that my vision has gone black.
But it should go away in time.



…Only a bit longer until my vision returns.
I'm worried what that light was and if Tohsaka's all right, but I'm only going to pull her leg if I go to her with my eyes like this.
I have to concentrate on getting my vision back and escaping this darkness.



""
I'm just worried about the sounds around me.
The storm has stopped before I knew it.
I don't hear any crashing sounds, either.
Is there a reason that I'm not hitting trees anymore…?

"Just a bit more. Just a bit more."
The darkness will disappear soon.
I have to wait in this darkness until then.
I'll concentrate on that for now.
I can think later about why the sensation of the forest is gone.
I can also think later about the fact that my vision has already returned.

"……That's right. I have to escape this darkness"
I walk through the darkness, feeling nothing.
…Even though I know I'm in a forest, when it's this dark, I start to get bad ideas.

For example…
Like a ridiculous joke that…
I'm trapped in a world of shadows without an exit.

"HaHaha, ha"

I keep walking, bitterly laughing at my stupid thought.
I feel nothing.
But it's just a bit longer.
A bit longer.
A bit longer.
A bit longer.
A bit longer, and my vision should return,
and the original scene will be back in front of me







Video: Tiger Dojo 32 (mirror)





Ilya:
I don't care, but it's really dark.

Taiga:
Yeah, it's really dark.

Ilya:
…It's lonely.

Taiga:
…Yeah, it's lonely.

Ilya:
………………



Ilya:
…I don't really want to know, but what?

Taiga:
Yeah. …………Doesn't it feel like there's someone else here?

Ilya:
…!!! Stop it, Taiga. Even if it's a joke, geko…!?

Taiga:
Ahaha! That was a funny scream, Ilya-chan!



Taiga:
……………………Ilya-chan?
Hey, don't scare me like that. You're the one lying there making weird panting noises, right?



Taiga:
Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Liar, who are you, gekoko!?