"Ha…ha…ha…"
My breath was unusually labored, and my vision was losing focus.
"Damn…even this…isn't enough?"
That's it then; I've used up too much energy. Anything more than this might kill me.
I collapsed on the floor, my eyes gazing at the night sky. The library was gradually fading away, the once levitating books now falling to the earth.
"It's nighttime already…? I could have sworn the fight wasn't that long."
Ah, whatever. Who cares about the small stuff? I won against a Sub-Aberration. I proved myself. I was strong!
However, something didn't feel right about this at all.
The library in which I had spent my peaceful days, the home in which I had met a kindred soul, a friend, had been vanquished, crushed to bits by the whims of Aberrations.
I, Cassius, had destroyed it.
"Discarding a past…that doesn't belong to me? What a lord of horseshit."
I had said that in the heat of the moment, that I wasn't clinging onto anything, that my human past didn't belong to me, but was that really the case?
No matter how hard I tried to cut away at the past, it was an undeniable fact that I am Cassius. I'm always changing, but I'm still me.
"Wasn't that right…Howard?"
That's right, the old man's name was Howard — Howard Göring , a German man with a strange mustache and a kind disposition. How could I have forgotten after all this time?
Perhaps it was because that man wasn't here anymore. He had not been 'here' for a long while now. Even if I were to regain my humanity, we'd never be able to tell our tall tales.
It was on that horrible summer day that the man known as Howard Göring passed away.
A heart attack, the nurse said dispassionately, in his quiet abode. His body hadn't been found for three days. The only reason anyone noticed was that his mail had been piling up.
And just like that, he was gone. The reserved study room in which he'd research for hours on end had been replaced with a stranger.
From that moment on, I couldn't bring myself to enter that library again.
The world just kept spinning. People kept living, as though nothing had happened, as though the gentle old man of my memories hadn't left.
I couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand it at all.
If I could see him one more time, what would we discuss? What type of expression would I make?
Well, it was useless to think over such things. Then is then, and now is now.
For now, I'll take a quick nap. I'm sure Aussie wouldn't mind too much.
———
"Aberrations originating in death are a powerful lot. They govern the end of all things, as well as the door to infinite possibilities. Their significance in The World In-Between cannot be understated. That being said, don't you think it's odd that no one has bothered giving them a name?"
A dark-skinned girl with piercing eyes and a cheerful expression walked about the ruins of the library. She wore a long, flowing, minimalist blue dress. In her right hand was an open umbrella, even though there was no rain.
"The Aberrations, or rather, the Apparitions of Death. One could call them a Death-Pirition. No, that doesn't sound good. How about Death-Paration ? It's not completely appropriate, but I guess it sounds nice enough. Doesn't it, [ Nonsense Literature ]?"
At her feet crawled the Language Aberration, or at least, what remained of the Sub-Aberration. His previous form, which had taken the shape of Howard Göring, was not his true self. It was merely a vessel, a reflection of Cassius' inner thoughts. Now that his vessel had been mortally injured, he had reverted to the form of a singular worm, a parasite, more accurately.
"You sow...! You're the one who set up this convenient scenario, weren't you, [ Auspicious Pretender ]!"
"You know, it feels really weird hearing that name when Cassius gave me one. Do you think I should call him Cassie instead of Cassius? No, he wouldn't like that. He'd probably think it's too girly."
"Enough of your nonsense, woman! Explain yourself!"
"...? What is there to explain? Aberrations fight all the time. You should have expected this, especially with all that bloodlust you were letting off."
"As if you'd kill over such nonsense. You may speak in a strange tongue, but your actions all have a reason behind them. This was no random incident."
"Hm..." [Auspicious Pretender] rubbed her chin, as though his accusation provoked genuine reflection. "Something like that. While it is true that I orchestrated your death, the circumstances around such a plan were mostly luck. Call it a bet on the future ."
"Future...?"
"Yes. It is something like that."
[Auspicious Pretender] jovially twirled about in the ruins, humming a familiar childhood hymn.
"Do you believe in luck, [Nonsense Literature]?"
"What?"
"Come now, you are the Language Aberration, are you not? You should know what I mean. It's 'chance considered as a force that causes good or bad things to happen.' I read it in a dictionary, you know."
"A force that causes good or bad things...? Well, under that definition, then I suppose so."
"Hehe." [Auspicious Pretender] smiled. "That makes me very happy."
"Then that boy...was he also a result of luck?"
Aussie turned her gaze towards Cassius, who had been lying unconscious.
"Perhaps, perhaps not. Who knows?"
The dodgy response only served to infuriate the Language Aberration. "You insufferable ingrate...!"
"That's quite harsh, [Nonsense Literature], I thought we were friends. Actually, no, maybe not. You always hated the apples I gave you, even though I always picked the sweetest ones. Well, that doesn't matter now, since you're going to die soon."
Her kindness reeked of neither deception nor manipulation. She truly and honestly believed every word she said.
"...!"
She was right. Without any external aid, [Nonsense Literature] would surely perish in but a few moments.
"W-Wait! You do not need to be so harsh! I have knowledge that could potentially aid you, so please, do not kill me! Is it information on the White Crow you want? Or perhaps the Calamity?"
"Calamity..."
Aussie's gaze sharpened upon hearing that word.
"Yes! I can tell you about the coming Calamity and how to avoid it! I have that knowledge, so spare me! I wouldn't even mind working as your servant. Five, no, ten years! I'll form a ten-year contract with you as your servant!"
It was an enticing offer. Contracts to Aberrations were essentially unbreakable pacts of trust. No matter what, they could not be disobeyed. Having a Death-Parations under one's thumb would certainly be advantageous.
However...
"Denied."
"GAH!"
She stomped on the end of his tail-like appendage, crushing and smearing it into the dirt.
"You really make a kind gesture, [Nonsense Literature], but fate has already taken its toll. The wheel will spin again and again. I'm just acting out my role in all this as appropriately as possible. Please forgive me for this."
She picked him up by his bulbous head and hung his parasitic body over her open mouth.
"...You always do this," she added softly, almost to herself.
"No...this can't be!"
It all came back to him: the Death-Parations, the emergence of the White Crow, [Auspicious Pretender]'s activity, and the coming Calamity.
"You...you devil!"
"Devil...? Whatever could you mean?"
The clouds overhead parted, revealing a white crescent moon juxtaposed against the elaborate blue background that shone with the light of millions of stars.
[Auspicious Pretender]'s mien contorted into a sickening grin, a horrifying grin.
It was a grin so beautiful that it could only belong to the king of evil himself.
"I'm not the devil, silly, I'm as kind as the Mara Papiyas."
[Nonsense Literature] had already been caught in the devil's web. His life was as good as over, and yet, he flailed about defiantly. His pride would not allow him to bow out now. He would never submit to an existence of such intense evil!
"It was you! You're the—!"
"Chomp."
She dropped the Aberration in her mouth, chomping, crushing, and grinding away at his body. Purple blood gushed from her mouth, staining her blue dress.
With one gulp, [Nonsense Literature] had been completely devoured.
"Hm...you taste kinda bad, [Nonsense Literature], like old candy. That's just too bad. We could have been friends if you had accepted my apples."
[Auspicious Pretender], having finished her meal, walked towards the collapsed Cassius. She held him in her arms like a lover, or perhaps a mother.
"You looked really cool out there, Cassius, though it's not like you can hear me now."
She caressed the side of his cheek with a certain gentleness. His flesh was so tender, so soft, so warm, that it could only belong to an angel.
"Let's go home, Cassius. It's been a long day, hasn't it? There's a nice food vendor I want to show you."
She picked up the unconscious boy with her extraordinary strength and left the scene as casually as she had come.
The Language Aberration, the first of the Death-Parations, had been defeated. This, however, was only the beginning. The two remaining Death-Parations would only increase in strength.
"Hm...I wonder how things will go from now on" [Auspicious Pretender] said, her gaze pointed towards the crescent moon.