「This is a glimpse of the ship girls' past」
It's snowing on the Skull Island.
"Whuaa! It's cold but fluffy! Hmm... its tasteless though!" (Hylia)
"Don't you dare eat it." 「Yamashiro」
"Yes~" Hylia replied, clearly planning something ridiculous.
"I mean it. Don't even think about sneaking around behind my back." 「Yamashiro」
She took a few steps, then paused, glancing over her shoulder with that quiet, worried frown she always tries to hide. "And… please come back if the cold gets too much. That coat won't help as much as you think. I'm going back to shelter."
With one last worried look, Yamashiro returned to their underground shelter.
Meanwhile, "Fhuuh… FHUUUH! Just a little should be fine. Right, Fuwa? ...Ah... right. Fuwa's not here..." the feasty haired little girl watched her leave, puffing her cheeks as the snow settled on her head.
Her shoulders drooped for a grand total of three seconds.
It was another bizarre day on Skull Island.
The air had turned bitterly cold, enough for several inches of snow to cover the ground. Even the monsters and creatures across the island were struggling to adjust to the sudden shift.
Some of them even noticeably less active than usual, and it made the island felt strangely quiet for a place normally full of predators, monsters, kaijuu or any similar species.
Because of this unexpected weather too, the ship girls were forced to rethink their routine.
Normally, they would already be outside handling their own tasks. But now… they were gathered together in their underground shelter, trying to stay warm while also figuring out what was behind the strange shift in climate.
"Temperature readings show minus ten degrees." 「Gascogne」
"They're more bothered by the cold? That's unusual," Hakuryuu muttered. "Even that Great Serpent, Nushi no Shirohebi, can slither around just fine in snowy regions… hmm. Maybe the temperature there and here isn't actually the same?"
"Query: such a creature should not exist on this island," Gascogne responded, emotionless as usual. "Directive check. Your statement suggests data originating from your previous illusory interaction with the Commander. Is this assessment accurate?"
"Illu… wait, what? Ah! You mean the Dream? If that's what you're talking about, maybe. Your wording is kinda funky. Anyway, what about you? Does this snow remind you of anything? Tell me honestly, yeah?" 「Hakuryuu」
"Preparing a response as requested. Switching Emotion Module: complete. ...I think… a little. It reminds Gascogne a little of… that amusement park... but... hm. Reactivating Emotion Inhibition Module: complete. That is the only answer I can provide." 「Gascogne」
And although this wasn't their first time dealing with the island's bizarre phenomena, it was clear that the creatures of Skull Island were far more affected by the extreme cold than by any previous change in weather.
Some of the ship girls couldn't help feeling puzzled by it.
"Few days ago, we had an aurora, yesterday was nonstop thunderstorms, and now it's just straight-up snowing? This island is wild. If I'd known, I would've packed my fluffy fur coat!" Hornet said, half-laughing and half-complaining.
"Oh, everyone's here. Hello~" 「Yamashiro」
"Agreed. And we still have no clue what this climate shift is doing to the local creatures. Ah, Yamashiro! I made tea. Take one before it gets cold. Speaking of which… did anything feel weird when you were outside earlier?" Ichigo asked as her comrade wandered in.
"Just in case, did you see any monsters getting buffed or debuffed?" 「Hornet」
There were many things they had discovered on this island, from their own Demi-System to all sorts of strange phenomena that existed nowhere else. One of the most unpredictable elements was the weather.
Or rather… something that felt exactly like Weather/Field Effects.
It was one of those features commonly used in many games.
Different titles might use different names for them though, but the idea was the same. These effects influenced everything on the field depending on the weather currently active.
Players or monsters could gain temporary buffs or debuffs, experience altered field conditions or get hit with other strange side effects. When he built this island from scratch, Sakura Zeimachi had made that kind of phenomenon part of its "natural" behavior.
And since it's snowing, it shouldn't be far from anything related to coldness, etc.
"Hmm, let's see... when I touched the snow with Hylia out there, it felt like my movements were slowing down. There's a faint ache spreading through my whole body too. And when I checked with Iris of Blood, it seems my HP really was dropping little by little," Yamashiro explained.
During their campaign on this island, the girls hadn't only improved the abilities and Skills they already possessed. They had also gained various talents, skills, and traits granted as rewards from missions, item drops, and even hidden treasures scattered throughout the land.
Iris of Blood was one of the first skills they had obtained during their initial mission.
It wasn't particularly flashy, but it allowed them to see how much energy and vitality a target had left.
Like a scouter for HP and Energy/MP bar.
"...I didn't see any monsters, so I have no idea how it affects them," Yamashiro said, giving a lazy shrug. "But that little girl… I don't think she feels it at all. She even built a couple of snowmen while playing around."
"Slow movement and HP drain… and there might be more effects than that. Don't worry about Hylia. I doubt this kind of weather can touch her. I can feel the sword she's carrying keeping her body warm." 「Ichigo」
"Is it something like… between a fire and a fire user?" 「Yamashiro」
"Ahaha… more or less," Ichigo replied with a small smile. "Different in nature, but whatever's resting inside that steel blade is a pretty strong Fire-type being. Anyway, let's get back to the weather problem."
The entity in question was Alastor from Shakugan no Shana. Although it had long since fused with another Alastor from Devil May Cry and took over control, right now it have become some kind of hybrid entity from different plane of existence.
Furthermore, Alastor was one of the three swords Hylia received from Sakura Zeimachi as part of her trials, alongside Seilenos and Doujigiri Yasutsuna. Maybe that was the "fire" ichigo was talking about.
Hidden inside the sword, warm enough to shield its wielder from the cold.
"Yeah, it matches cold exposure or hypothermia," Deutschland suddenly muttered, face smushed against the table. "Which means the Lightning Rod I built is completely useless now. Dang it! And do we seriously have nothing besides tea? Beer? Coffee or something?"
She pushed herself up from the chair with the determination of someone about to start a revolution… only to fail, and she promptly collapsed back into her seat, half-sliding until her cheek rested on the desk again.
"Oh my~ Are you alright?" 「Ichigo」
"Sigh... I need something to keep my eyes open." 「Deutschland」
"Acknowledged. Processing your urgent request. Please wait," Gascogne said, then turned and walked toward the inner section of the shelter. Judging by her direction, she was probably heading to the kitchen.
"Don't tell me you're planning to lock yourself in the workshop again. I already warned you that staying in that cave of metal fumes isn't healthy. Come spar with me instead. I want to see how my blade performs in this cold." 「Hakuryuu」
"Pass. Absolutely pass." 「Deutschland」
"If the weather cycle can switch this fast, I need to prep equipment for every possible disaster. I still haven't figured out how to stop this underground shelter from turning into a bathtub either."
"Heheh, we're grateful for your hard work," Ichigo said, giving her a small, genuine smile.
"That's our architect… and blacksmith… and crafter… and… uh… honestly, you do everything," Hornet added with an impressed nod. "I'll head out once I'm geared up. With this much snow, there's gotta be some good loot buried out there somewhere. Wait for it!"
Not long after, her order arrived.
"Notice: your espresso is ready. Enjoy." 「Gascogne」
"Hm. Yeah. Thanks," Deutschland replied, taking the cup and downing it like it was plain water. "Whoa. Strong stuff. You didn't make one for yourself?"
"This glass of Armagnac should sufficiently quench my thirst while also assisting the conversation that will follow," Gascogne answered, lifting the glass with machine-like dignity.
"That smells kinda rich and sweet. Seriously, are you drinking that in the morning?" 「Deutschland」
"It will raise my body temperature." 「Gascogne」
"Right. Of course. Treating brandy like a fuel, heh." 「Deutschland」
"I am simply optimizing efficiency," Gascogne said, taking a slow sip.
For someone who chugged espresso like it was tap water and someone else who used armagnac as personal heating, the two of them slipped back into casual chatter surprisingly fast.
Soon enough, they were talking the way they always did, now joined by the rest of the group.
Talking about drinks, who still hadn't taken a shower, everyone's preferred sleeping positions… all the ridiculous little topics people somehow treat like genuine bonding.
So far, no accidents, no strange phenomena, nothing lurking around to wreck the moment. Just a bunch of ship girls being oddballs together in the most comfortable way possible.
"If it stays this cold, could we make a natural refrigerator? There should be a huge block of ice on the lake we can carve. I kinda want to try making ice cream for Hylia." 「Yamashiro」
"The lake or the spring might work… hmm, I'll check it later. Leave gathering materials and treasure to me! Anything else? Any of you got requests?" Hornet chimed in, already fired up.
Everything carried on in a calm, peaceful atmosphere, light chatter looping from one girl to the next.
Then it shifted. All at once.
It started with Deutschland, who had just finished drinking Gascogne's espresso.
"Now that it hits me… I think those old man... Whitebeard and Garp said something like that too. Hmm..." 「Deutschland」
The Iron Blood ship girl's pupils flickered, like someone had just rebooted her entire brain. Fragments of dream-memories from whatever bizarre world she'd wandered through spilled out of her mouth, pushed forward by the sudden jolt of energy.
And then—
"Something about... treasure—" 「Deutschland」
BRUG
She collapsed face-first onto the table, completely motionless.
Her cup stood there, emptied to the last drop.
For the record, espresso is not supposed to make someone drop like a stone. At least, not a normal espresso. BUT this one was the kind only Gascogne would brew: an unholy caffeine war crime disguised as a beverage.
The ship girls around her froze, each of them slowly turning their gaze toward Gascogne.
"Just unconscious. She's still fine." 「Hakuryuu」
"Uhh... let me ask you first, what did you put in there?" 「Yamashiro」
"To optimize her performance in winter conditions, I provided Deutschland with an adequate caffeine intake," Gascogne replied calmly. "A total of twenty shots of espresso. This dosage should allow her to maintain ocular function for approximately forty-eight hours without sleep."
"T—Twenty?!" Hornet squeaked, arms flailing like she was trying to resurrect Deutschland by generating wind pressure. "That's not 'maintaining,' that's a full system crash! We can't lose our crafter right now! Who's gonna enchant my bow? Me?! I can't even enchant a sandwich!"
"Pardon me for asking, but… is twenty going to be a big problem?" 「Ichigo」
"I'm not sure either, Ichigo-sama," Yamashiro admitted, staring at Deutschland like she was waiting to see if the body would twitch. "Should I get one for you to taste? Surely, it's not that..."
BAAM
"...Worse," Yamashiro finished, dead inside.
It is indeed becoming worse.
Before anyone could theorize further, another commotion rose from their hidden entrance.
Hylia stumbled in, her stomach ridiculously swollen from… well… clearly tasting too much snow. She waddled forward with both hands on her belly, looking like a baby penguin who made every possible bad decision.
"...Sneaky... sneaky... silently..." (Hylia)
And she absolutely looked like she regretted everything now. Especially when a hand suddenly clamped down on her shoulder, instantly ruining her stealth attempt right in front of the ship girls.
"Hold on, you young lady. What did you put in there?!" 「Yamashiro」
"Here we got another patient... sigh... this made me miss Vestal a little." 「Hornet」
————————————————
「Azur Lane Academy, mirrored version」
According to the information that surfaced, this academy does not exist in the same reality.
It was created using a Mirror Sea Creator framework, a system commonly employed by the Sirens during their test or campaign, later modified and upgraded beyond its original design.
Within Azur Lane's own canon itself, technology related to dimensions, timelines, and spatial distortion has long been embedded into the foundation of its world.
This is evident in several collaborationstorylines, where parallel realities and altered timelines are treated not as anomalies, but as established phenomena. Branched world is a thing in many of its story.
With such a foundation already in place, Sakura Zeimachi did not require the invention of entirely new technology. By refining existing concepts and combining them with his knowledge, he was able to bring the current technology into existence.
Thus, there exist this Mirror Dimension Generator.
Everything was planned and constructed soon after his second return to the Azur Lane world, a decision that could be seen as abnormal for a Fool, one who intentionally retraced his own steps rather than leaving them behind.
All Ship Girls, except for those who had accompanied Hylia on Skull Island, were transferred to this location immediately after [Operation Heavenly Blue] concluded following the celebration of their victory against the System Users.
From what Saratoga witnessed, they had indeed won.
The one who wielded Susanoo and the Mangekyō Sharingan, Suzuko, never stood a chance. Their commander confronted her head-on and ended the battle without ceremony.
The one who commanded multiple superpowers, Katchia, was undone not by force, but by the collapse of her own resolve, broken under calculated psychological pressure.
The one with fairy wings and twin blades, Julian, fell in a mutual exchange, steel meeting steel at point-blank range, both sides pierced in the same moment.
The infiltrator who had crept into the academy, Freidhard, was given no escape. Surrounded by every Ship Girl present, he vanished in a violent explosion that left nothing behind.
One of them, Mourgant, never entered the battlefield at all. However, reports claimed their commander had already taken care of the matter elsewhere.
And their leader, Yulijer, the one with white hair and a red eye, met a far simpler end, a clean hole torn through his neck, silencing him forever.
All of them had met the same fate.
Death received them without distinction, and with that, the Ship Girls' revenge was finally fulfilled.
Following Saratoga's lane of memory, it's supposed to be a moment of triumph, one worthy of celebration. It's the time many ship girls have been waiting, where instead of fighting for revenge, they fight for their Commander's attention.
Unfortunately, the man still had other plans already in motion. After a single day of rest, he was forced to move the exhausted actress once more, relocating them after the roles they had just survived.
Everything had already been arranged by the Fool… by Sakura Zeimachi, ensuring they could rest while also keeping them away from the next plotline he had already set in motion.
The name he decided was Operation Magia, or Operation of Magic.
With all the Ship Girls relocated to this place, the real Azur Lane Academy was left vacant, free for him to use as the main stage of the operation. He was already there, standing by, waiting for the performers to arrive so he could finally begin.
Meanwhile, the Ship Girls began to regain their consciousness.
...
....
.....
A short while earlier, Saratoga had been the first to awaken.
She immediately sensed that something was wrong with this dimension, and when the Elite Siren appeared as the first to greet her, Saratoga wasted no time confronting her.
She demanded an explanation for why they had been brought here.
Then Observer answered plainly, choosing not to hide the truth.
She wanted to see how Saratoga would react upon hearing this fact.
Not long after, as she gather her surrounding, Saratoga found many of her comrades lying unconscious throughout the area. Most were sprawled in inconvenient locations, forcing her to handle the cleanup herself and relocate them to more suitable places to sleep.
Whether their commander had done this out of sheer mischief, or whether there was a deeper intention behind it, she couldn't yet tell. Even so, she had a strong suspicion that her commander was just being annoyingly playful.
"Hm. How unexpected. Instead of rushing for the exit, you chose to stay. I was hoping to see a Ship Girl burn herself out on sheer passion… yet here you are, lingering." 「Observer」
"Then wake Akagi up yourself," Saratoga snapped, her gaze sweeping over the scattered chaos around them. "Right now, I'm more worried about these girls. Seriously, what was that commander thinking, leaving them strewn across random places like this?!"
"As I said, they're merely asleep." 「Observer」
"You could at least put someone who's asleep on a bed!" Saratoga grumbled as she dragged a ship girl named Taihou out of the academy showers. "Not dump them in the middle of a shower like this!"
She paused. "…Wait. Why was she... even in a shower?"
"Cooling down?" 「Observer」
"Taihou? Taihouuu?" Saratoga gave her a light shake. "Yep. Still not waking up."
"And he didn't place them randomly," Observer continued.
"He arranged them according to their individual preferences. Take the red-haired one, for example. Because she constantly calls herself 'number one,' the commander suspended her from the academy's clock tower… precisely at the number one."
Stepping outside and lifting her gaze toward the tallest building on the academy grounds, Saratoga quickly found a lone Ship Girl (San Diego) hanging exactly where Observer had described.
"…Okay, that does sound like something Sandy would do to herself." 「Saratoga」
She paused, then glanced toward a nearby tree.
"But why the tree?! What was the commander thinking, hanging someone up there?! Just wait for me, NJ! Climbing up by myself is already a pain… let alone taking the rest of you down from up there." 「Saratoga」
Observer remained expressionless. "I don't know. As far as I remember, they're the one who asked to be taken to the highest and wildestplace available. But hmm... strange, isn't it? The clock tower is certainly higher."
"And you're telling me that girl got into the shower because she was feeling hot and thirsty?!" 「Saratoga」
"Hm. That is… a plausible answer." 「Observer」
Naturally, that had never been what the Ship Girls truly intended. Saratoga knew that better than anyone. During their victory celebration, she had teased their commander a little herself, though never as boldly as some of the others.
A hand brushing his arm here, a playful smile there, a whisper close to the ear. Nothing more than harmless flirting. Nothing like the outright invitations to bed proposed by New Jersey, Taihou, or a few others who preferred far less subtle methods.
Saratoga wanted a slower, yet still deliberate approach.
"…No. I'm certain commander is doing this on purpose," Saratoga growled.
"I think he is giving them exactly what they asked for." 「Observer」
"That's exactly the problem! By pretending to be a Fool!" 「Saratoga」
She paused, a grin slowly creeping onto her face. "Still… I'll give him credit for this prank. But I will pay him back for everything he's done here. Just you wait, Commander. Hehehe, I'll definitely get that ass—"
"Why are you laughing like that, Saratoga?" 「Enterprise」
The familiar voice caught Saratoga off guard.
She turned around at once, only to find several Ship Girls already standing behind her. Enterprise, Prinz Eugen, and Kaga were there. Looking past them, she could see several of the smaller Ship Girls watching from farther back.
They looked tense, especially with Observer in sight.
Even so, their riggings had yet to manifest.
"Enty! S-Since when did you… when did you all wake up?" 「Saratoga」
"Not long ago... but not before you. These two woke up after I did," Enterprise's gaze shifted briefly to Observer. "More importantly, what is the current situation? And… why is she... here?"
In truth, they had been observing Saratoga for some time, watching her as she moved about, gathering and repositioning the scattered Ship Girls throughout the area.
However, with Observer constantly at her side, they chose to hold their anchor, carefully monitoring Saratoga's actions instead. Only after deciding that she could be trusted did they finally step forward.
Then...
Their attention inevitably fell on Observer, who was still lounging casually, her tentacles coiling around the dimension generator as if it were nothing more than a cherished toy.
"Well… she's being friendly. For now..." 「Saratoga」
"Oh my," Prinz Eugen mused, a sly smile curling on her lips. "It seems even the Union has formed its own little secret bond with a Siren. What is it this time? Planning another death sentence as a prank?"
"About that… absolutely not! And as if Iron Blood has any right to talk!" 「Saratoga」
Kaga's gaze hardened. "So, in the end you chose to stand with them. How hypocritical, coming from the great Union. And don't think the plan involving the commander's 'death' will be forgotten so easily. This would be an excellent moment to remind the Union of that."
"That's enough. We fought together for the same cause. Different factions or not, here at the Academy, we stand as equals," she glanced at Saratoga, her tone softening just slightly. "Besides, that's more than enough teasing. Don't cry, Saratoga."
"…Enty, thank you for the speech. But I think you're the one mocking me now." 「Saratoga」
They exchanged a few brief greetings before moving on to share information, including what they knew about this dimension and how to escape it. Of course, some of them wondered why they couldn't simply do that immediately.
Surely with their number, they could jump on Observer and get that Mirror Dimension Generator.
However, sensing that the Elite Siren was still being… oddly cooperative, Saratoga decided to hold them back from turning Observer into takoyaki filling, at least for the time being.
At the same time, several other Ship Girls began to stir, slowly opening their eyes.
They tensed immediately upon seeing Observer casually wandering through the Academy, especially after hearing that Saratoga was acting suspicious again.
"Saratoga, what else are you hiding from us?" 「Queen Elizabeth」
"Even if the Commander understands and has forgiven you… don't tell me this is another one. Please, don't leave us in the dark like last time," Vittorio Veneto's expression softened, but her voice remained firm.
"This time, I really don't know anything! That's exactly why I've been keeping a close eye on her and not letting this Siren wander freely. And I've apologized for what happened before more times than I can count, haven't I?" Saratoga shook her head sharply.
"That won't be necessary. We already understand." 「Bismarck」
"We got many eyes to watch her movement too..." 「Chen Hai」
Each faction's higher up had regained consciousness as well. Ship Girls such as Bismarck, Nagato, Clemenceau, and several others emerged from the Command-and-Control Center, their expressions heavy with unspoken thoughts.
Saratoga's cooperation with Yulijer still lingered bitterly in their memories, especially after she had forced them to sign an agreement condemning their own commander to death.
Yet after the fighting had ended, the truth slowly came into focus. Saratoga had acted to minimize the damage, to shield the Ship Girls from the initial shock of Yulijer and his companions' abrupt arrival at Headquarters in Day 1.
Bismarck and Soyuz were among those who had survived that day, along with several others present at HQ when the System Users first entered this world. If not because of her, some of them would need to be "revived" again.
That much, at least, they understood.
Still, understanding did not mean absolution. For a while longer, a few barbed words inevitably found their way toward her, especially from those who misunderstood her intentions.
Now, as their numbers continued to grow, the Academy gradually came back to life.
The canteen grew crowded once more, as did the dormitories. Yet despite being free to wander as they pleased, most of the Ship Girls were for the time being gathered at the central field.
"…Commander? He's nowhere to be found… again?!" 「Perseus」
"Hurry up and found him! He's still wounded from previous battle!" 「Vestal」
"There's something off about this Mirror Sea," Avrora muttered, glancing around. "Or is it just me…?"
"Hello... guys...? Anyone?" 「San Diego」
"Exactly how vast is this place anyway? My recon plane still not returned yet." 「Intrepid」
"It really is strange…" Shoukaku paused mid-sentence, her eyes lighting up. "Ah! I do see Akagi-senpai though. What is she doing there by being lonely? Hmm~ Let's try cheering her up~"
"Big sis! Big sis where are you...? Ah! There you are." 「Ning Hai」
"Miss Saratoga, just how vast is this Mirror Sea?" 「Z23」
"Where's... Commander? He promised me nap time today." 「Laffey」
Saratoga shrugged, stretching her arms. "The moment I woke up, I went straight to confronting Observer. I haven't done any proper recon yet, so honestly, I have no idea where Commander is or how wide this place is."
She glanced sideways at Observer, who for some reason was inching closer to her, little by little.
"…So, how big is it, exactly?" 「Saratoga」
Ignoring the question directed at her, the Elite Siren produced another small device.
By now, more than enough pairs of eyes had opened. Judging that the conditions had been met, Observer glanced around, calmly meeting the wary stares of the ship girls watching her in return.
Everything was in place. It was time for something to begin.
Holding it lightly between her fingers, she spoke a single word into it.
"Begin—" 「Observer」
However, the word barely left her lips.
"..." 「Seydlitz」
"..." 「Dido」
There's one thing Observer need to know.
She had indeed been allowed to roam freely alongside Saratoga, but even so, the brazenness of her behavior was impossible to ignore. Whispering signals in the middle of a crowd of ship girls who were already tense and disoriented was anything but smart.
It was reckless.
"…" 「Birmingham」
"..." 「Jean Bart」
"..." 「Gangut」
A blade stopped just short of Observer's throat.
Cannons swung toward her, barrels steady and already lined up.
Hands grabbed her arms and shoulders, firm enough to make resistance pointless.
That single word had been enough. Rigging snapped into place almost instantly, and before she could react, Observer found herself boxed in on all sides. Every weapon was ready. Every angle covered.
"Ahaha… I suppose this counts as a pinch?" 「Observer」
She was still smiling.
Because Observer also know about one thing.
From the very beginning, the Elite Siren's presence in this dimension had a purpose. The first was meant to ensure that the Ship Girls would not leave, at least not until the situation outside had truly stabilized.
But beyond that, she had also been ordered to keep the Ship Girls here.
It was strange, that she would openly explain how to escape this dimension. But then again… Observer was being Observer. She showed no real urgency in stopping them.
All she wanted was to watch something new unfold.
What would the Ship Girls do? or some other what if.
"About this place… roughly one third of the planet," Observer said, re-appearing above them as if it were nothing. Her eyes drifted across the Ship Girls below. "Now, let me ask you something…"
She paused, lips curving faintly.
"...Would you like to watch something interesting?" 「Observer」
A ripple of unease spread through the crowd.
"Because aside from the method to escape this world," Observer continued, her tone light, almost playful, "I was also assigned a rather… entertaining job by your Commander. Would you like to know what kind of job it is?"
"...A job? A JOB?! It's that kind of job, right?! Why?! It should have been—" 「Mogador」
"Mogador, dear… let's get you something proper to wear first," a ship girl beside her lunged forward, clamping a hand over the nearly naked girl's mouth before the thought could fully escape.
It's a ship girl named Émile Bertin.
Almost immediately, the gathered Ship Girls turned toward Saratoga.
Dozens of eyes fixed on her at once, silently demanding answers she did not have.
She shook her head repeatedly, forcing an innocent expression even as the air grew tense with suspicion and curiosity. Whatever the Siren was yapping at, Saratoga knew nothing about it.
Observer, meanwhile, only watched, silent and faintly amused.
"I need all of you to be…" Observer paused, tilting her head as if sorting through an unfamiliar human concept. "Ah. As he once put it… paid spectators about a show going on outside."
The moment the word paid entered the air, a familiar green cat popped from the crowd.
"A live show, nya?" 「Akashi」
"Yes. He mentioned something about a stream while playing at the same time." 「Observer」
"Nyaaa, I see~" Akashi's grin widened in a way that promised future invoices. "So you want us to become paid viewers of a live stream, am I correct, nya? But… why? Why did the Commander task you with this instead of one of us Ship Girls, nya?"
"More like, why doing such thing?" 「Ägir」
"We're just about to party with Commander~" 「Bremerton」
Observer answered by snapping her fingers, nodding once, a thin smile curling on her lips.
The deal, apparently, had just become very real.
"That's because… to him, all of you are nothing more than pawns who can see," Observer said calmly. "And right now, he craves attention from anyone. Even if it comes from pawns."
Several extra-large screens materialized and unfolded in the air, each displaying scenes from different places. However, none of the ship girls reacted much, a few merely glanced at the images, more out of habit than surprise.
Technology like this, it seemed, was nothing new to them.
"Meh. This is basically the same thing the screens in the Command & Control room can do." 「Saratoga」
Observer tilted her head slightly. "Can those screens show something like this?"
That was when their expressions changed.
The ship girls froze as the displays sharpened further, the resolution climbing until the images became painfully clear. At 12K resolution, there was no mistaking it anymore though that wasn't important.
They could see exactly who was being shown.
"…Elder… sister?" 「Shinano」
"…Yeah. She's been with them all along. But how?!" 「Musashi」
"They're still… alive? It can't be…" 「Helena」
What the screens showed left them stunned.
Several displays revealed ship girls who had supposedly departed on personal missions at the Commander's request.
At one screen it showed Hornet already arriving at the academy. Another captured the rest of them soaring through the skies, flying above a colossal creature far below.
But it wasn't just their comrades which surprised them.
On one screen, amid roaring flames and blistering heat, stood enemies who should have been defeated long ago. The five foes they had fought so desperately to overcome were there, facing a single ship girl once more.
And among all of it was the one they had been searching for this entire time.
Their Commander.
Standing alone on a beach, gazing out toward the distant sea.
All of it, visible at once. Unmistakable. Right before their eyes.
"Sister/Yamashiro… pheww. She's fine." 「Graf Spee/Fusou」
"Is that… Hornet and… Saratoga?" 「Yorktown」
Once again, several ship girls glanced toward her.
"I-I don't know anything about that! I'm right here! Here! The one over there is clearly a fake!" 「Saratoga」
"More importantly," Sovetsky Soyuz said, narrowing her eyes, "why is Commander standing alone on that beach? And why does it look like he's talking to himself?"
"Well… he does do that sometimes, nya." 「Akashi」
"She's not wrong," Saratoga added with a nod.
"…Wait. Isn't that the place where Shoukaku-nee was going to check?" Zuikaku stiffened.
She studied the identical displays, comparing them with the memory still fresh in her mind, then spoke quickly, "Yeah. That's where Akagi is. My sister said she was going to check on her, since she was all alone there."
"Looking at it again… doesn't it feel like they're actually in the same place?" 「Zuikaku」
"Just try to read their mouths," Kaga said quietly. "And watch their pacing. You'll understand why."
Not all of them noticed it. But a few ship girls began to feel it.
The way Akagi moved. The way the Commander paused... it was as if they were communicating with each other. Nothing they could prove. Just an unsettling suspicion taking shape.
"I thought we were in a Mirror Sea… or some kind of different dimension, desu. So how can they be in the exact same place? No wait... since we're in different dimension, that's mean they're... in the same-same but different place?" 「Ayanami」
Javelin blinked. "I… don't really get what you're saying, Ayanami-chan."
"Now, now~ As proper spectators, why don't you just enjoy the show and keep the noise down?" Observer chuckled softly, then her smile widened. "Or perhaps… we should move somewhere more suitable for viewing?"
————————————————
Legacy is the result of existence itself, recorded by the world without regard for its creator's intent.
These legacies continue to form, their number unknown, perhaps without end. Somewhere, in some world, as more lives leave their marks, those scattered remnants gather and become something real.
There are many of them, though not all are worthy of being claimed.
For the law of legacy is simple: everything that is blessed will always have a tainted counterpart.
Some traces linger in the land itself, while others remain with the people who carry them forward. Some become curses, others turn into hope. Some are imposed upon the unwilling, while others are accepted through trust and belief.
If there are weapons known as Holy Weapons, then there also exist those called Cursed Weapons. If there are objects revered as sacred, they are known as Saint Relics. Conversely, tainted relics are often called as the Sinner Relics.
And even when a legacy itself is pure, the ones who try to claim it often are not.
'I don't know how long I've been here…' 「Kohirumaki Karen」
The young woman herself was also one of those legacies.
A legacy left behind by a figure once known as a System User, for she carried that person's traces, along with the stains they left behind, long after the figure had vanished and only a name remained.
Even so… she did not become a beautiful legacy.
In this world, Kohirumaki Karen is classified as a tainted legacy.
'I want to go home…' 「Kohirumaki Karen」
Inside the prison, the young woman stared ahead, her eyes empty of light.
Cold, rigid walls without color. A bed and pillow left dirty, unchanged for far too long. Iron bars separating her from freedom. Even without her limbs being bound, it was more than enough to slowly drain the life out of her.
No one knew how long she had been there, or what she had been forced to endure.
'The girl beside me… is she still alive?' 「Kohirumaki Karen」
Even so, there's still strength left in her body.
Because she was confined there for the sake of her body itself, she was always given enough sustenance to keep it usable, to ensure it remained ready whenever it was required.
Yet… there're times when she wished she could simply starve to death instead.
It was a filthy habit of the System User known as Julian, who had come to this world.
He took a perverse satisfaction in keeping any girls or women under his control.
He allowed them food and rest, not out of mercy, but to preserve their strength for later use by the so-called chosen one. To him, they were no different from tools or property, treated as slaves much like the peasants of a forgotten, ignorant age.
'Uck, it still... aching...' 「Kohirumaki Karen」
This was not the first time she had endured such treatment.
Nor was she the only one who had suffered it.
Still, she could be called the last he managed to conquer.
The final legacy Julian had left behind.
Pressing her ear against the wall, the young woman tried to listen for any sound from another tainted legacy living in the adjacent room. She was a young girl, much younger than Karen herself, yet one who carried an important anchor point in this world.
In her heart, Karen hoped the worst had not yet happened, that the young girl was still alive.
'…Because if she's gone too, I might truly lose my mind in here.' 「Kohirumaki Karen」
"Hello... Yuuki-chan... are you there?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
Although they came from the same world, the two of them belonged to different stories. Karen originated from Sword Art Online: Alternative, a spin-off work of Sword Art Online, the story in which Yuuki once existed.
Even so, now they were no longer anyone.
At present, they were nothing more than legacies, already tainted after being stripped of everything they once had. Possibility. Hope. Desire. Purpose. Even death itself.
"Yuuki-chan? Ah… sorry. Are you sleeping? It's been a few days since Julian hasn't come by either… so I guess this is a good time to rest. If you're asleep, I'm sorry. I just wanted to talk for a little while." 「Kohirumaki Karen」
But no one answered.
The young woman felt a small, creeping sense of loneliness settle in.
Her companion, Konno Yuuki, could be described as a girl who had been deceived by Julian. This was slightly different from Kohirumaki Karen, who had been openly abducted and immediately confined within that prison.
Yuuki had been promised a cure for her illness, one known to be incurable.
And in that sense, the promise was not a lie. She was healed.
However, the price she was forced to pay was to become Julian's ninth wife.
A title that… upon closer thought, held no meaning at all.
"Yuuki-chan… I'm sorry, but you really are there, right?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
But no one answered, fear creeping in.
"Yuuki-chan... hello? Hey?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
During her time imprisoned there, she had spoken with that companion quite often.
They talked about Julian's cruelty, about the reasons they had been brought to that place, and about how they tried to stop each other from being consumed by thoughts of ending it all. About many other small things as well.
Even with a wall separating them, that was how they managed to cling to the hope of living.
Unfortunately, not everyone was able to do the same.
Some of those who shared the same fate had already lost the strength to hold themselves together. Whether they had lost their sanity and hope, or had simply resigned themselves and were waiting for the end to come, no one could say for certain.
"…Yuuki-chan? Yuuki-chan!? Oh no, did they forget to give you your rations? Those stupid guards! They must have done this on purpose. Yuuki-chan! Please, hang in there!" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
"...It's... fine..." 「Konno Yuuki」
"Yuuki-chan! Thank goodness you're alright! Are you hungry? Do you need anything?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
As quickly as she could, she searched her cell for anything that was still decent and safe to eat. Fortunately, the prison bars were old and crudely made. By slipping her arm through them, she was able to pass something into the next cell.
As long as the guards did not notice.
"Oh no!" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
Unfortunately....
As she tried to toss the item into the adjacent cell, she struck a metal tray by accident. Not an ordinary tray either, but the kind that, when dropped, rang out like a tin can, producing an unbearably loud clang.
The noise sent panic through her.
It was the kind of sound that would surely draw the guards' attention.
"Please… not them… please not them…" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
Bracing herself for the sound of approaching footsteps, the young woman forced her breathing to steady, readying herself for the guards to arrive. Yet, unlike usual, none of the familiar patrols appeared.
"They're not… coming?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
There was a guard, though. Just not the one she had expected.
"Hic… what's all this noise? Hic… can't a guy sleep in peace?" 「Guard of North Exit」
She let out a quiet sigh, "…Thank goodness. It's just the stupid one."
"Stupid!? Who the hell are you calling stupid, bitch!?" 「Guard of North Exit」
In this prison, there were only three guards assigned to monitor whether the captives were still alive. One was stationed at the northern exit, while the remaining two were posted at the southern exit.
The two guards stationed at the southern exit were like a violent, malignant wind. They were the worst of them all. Men who delighted in humiliation, who treated her body and her dignity as things equally disposable.
Similar to Julian.
The one at the north, was nothing more than a faint breeze that reeked of alcohol.
Because of that, Karen found herself quietly grateful for the current situation.
"Food! Give the girl in the next cell some food!" Kohirumaki Karen shouted.
"Huh? Hick That's the southern bastards' job, not mine," the guard snorted, his breath thick with alcohol. "Hick I'm just here… waiting in case the boss doesn't show up tomorrow. Hick Damn it, where the hell has he been for weeks? Not like I care thou!"
"Julian… hasn't come back all that long?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
"Hick Yeah. That's why some of the goons here are starting to lose their patience," the guard paused, then let out a low, unpleasant chuckle. "Hick Me included. If the boss really isn't coming back… I'll have my fun first… then run off with whatever valuables I can grab."
For a brief moment, Karen felt something heavier than his words settle on her skin.
A gaze lingered on her. Slow. Filthy. Laden with intentions that didn't need to be spoken.
"Welp… in the end, we're just idiots. Cowardly losers who want to keep living after being threatened by him," the guard let out a bitter laugh, swaying on his feet. "Just wait until tomorrow. This place is going to fall into chaos, just like I said.
"Aren't you afraid if he'll comeback someday?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
The guard snorted. "By then I'll be on the other side of the world. So what?"
He waved a careless hand. "No one here actually likes him. Those close to him are just a pile of trash clinging to each other, fighting one stupid teenager for nothing but their own skins."
He then spat to the side.
"He's a piece of shit... hic like dogshit. Hopefully he's dead, for real." 「Guard of North Exit」
Done with his drunken rant, the guard turned away and began to stagger off, his footsteps slowly fading down the corridor. But of course, Karen couldn't let him just leave like that.
"…Wait. At least, can you leave something to eat for the young girl in the cell next to mine?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
"Hah… whatever. Just endure the hunger," the guard replied with a lazy snort. "Tomorrow everything's going to fall apart anyway. Hick But don't get any ideas about escaping. I've already marked you."
He chuckled, the sound thick with alcohol.
"However, hehe, who's this girl you keep talking about? Hick How young is she~?" 「Guard of North Exit」
Karen's blood ran cold. Her words had done the opposite of what she intended.
Instead of helping Yuuki, she might have just painted a target on her back.
In a fraction of a second, her mind raced, scrambling for an answer that could bend the drunken guard to her will. A lie, then. A convincing one. She would say the girl next door, Konno Yuuki, was the daughter of a wealthy family.
Someone important. Someone not worth touching out there.
But before she could speak—
"Hick …Huh?" The guard squinted at the row of cells.
"Since when was this room occupied by two people—" 「Guard of North Exit」
The next instant, Karen collapsed backward, landing hard on her butt.
Right in front of her, the guard's head was severed cleanly and smashed against the wall.
There was no clash of metal. No gunshot. No warning sound at all. Only the sickening, intimate noise of a neck being cut, followed by the wet splatter of flesh hitting stone.
That was it.
"…What…?" Kohirumaki Karen whispered, her voice trembling. "What… was that…?"
"Hey, Karen..." 「Konno Yuuki」
The girl's weak voice was enough to pull Karen back from the edge. She forced herself to move, slipping her body between the prison bars to look toward the cell beside her.
At the same time, she noticed a ring of keys hanging from the bottom of the guard's corpse.
Her breath hitched.
She stretched as far as she could, straining her body, forcing herself to reach just a little farther to grab them.
"Yuuki-chan?! Just now… was that you? Please, keep talking to me!" Her fingers trembled as they scraped against the stone. "…Just keep talking until I can get these keys and get us both out of here."
"Ahh… cough about that… what should I talk?" 「Konno Yuuki」
"ANYTHING!" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
Karen's voice wasn't lowered.
From the surrounding cells, other prisoners began to stir. Hands shot out between the bars, fingers grasping at empty air, voices overlapping as they begged to be freed, each of them desperate enough to believe this was salvation knocking.
"About that guard… that wasn't me, but… I think I know who it was." 「Konno Yuuki」
"You know who it was? Then who… who was it? …Just a little more!" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
"You see… cough earlier, when I woke up, I thought I saw someone," Konno Yuuki said weakly. "It was… a man. His face was a little blurry, but I'm sure of it. cough He looked like an older guy… like some middle-aged man."
"So… that man was the one who did it? …Got them!" Karen finally get the keys.
"Yeah…" Konno Yuuki replied faintly. "He smiled at me and said, [I'm bored... but since it's my brother's task, so I'll grant you four wishes and five rights to ask. Kukuku, try to escape from this place with those.] Weird, right?"
The young girl coughed again, her breath trembling. "...So... I used my first wish… to silence that guard. But I… I didn't think it would turn out like that… did I… did I just kill him?"
As she listened to the young girl's trembling words, Kohirumaki Karen finally found the right key and unlocked her cell. Avoiding the spreading blood on the floor, she hurried to check on the girl who had shared her fate.
"Yuuki-chan!" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
But strangely, there was only Yuuki lying on the bed.
No other presence. No mysterious figure. Nothing.
Whatever had happened, Karen didn't hesitate.
She searched through the keys again, found the correct one, and opened Yuuki's cell.
Words like thank you and I'm sorry spilled out between them again and again, overlapping, clumsy, desperate. But once they finally embraced, holding onto each other as if afraid the moment might vanish, there was nothing more that needed to be said.
Silence was enough.
"But what about the other guards?" 「Konno Yuuki」
"Don't worry. We can figure that out later. Can you sit up? Let me feed you something. Escaping this place takes more than wishes," she offered the food gently. "Here. Open your mouth. It's just egg and salmon, but it should be enough."
"…Thank you. Hehe… so you're an onee-san. I thought we were about the same age." 「Konno Yuuki」
"Thank goodness… thank goodness you're still okay…" Karen sniffed, her voice wavering. "Ah, this is bad. I'm going to cry again. Let's change the subject while we make a plan, okay? Um… maybe I'll start with introductions?"
"We already did that, didn't we?" Yuuki replied softly. "Even if it was through a wall…"
"If that's the case… let's talk about something simple. That person you saw earlier, did he leave something behind? A card, a magic lamp, anything like that. I want to be sure whether he was real or not." 「Kohirumaki Karen」
"He's real. Can't you see him? He's right next to you. He's even really close to your cheek," she let out a small, uneasy laugh. "He's… really strange. I thought you knew him, since he was standing that close to you."
Karen flinched and snapped her head aside, the motion sharp like sliding open a tatami door in one sudden pull. Her eyes then followed the place Yuuki had pointed to. But... there was nothing.
No presence. No figure. Not even the hint of a shadow where someone should have been.
Only Konno Yuuki remained in her sight, gazing into empty space with quiet familiarity, her lips moving as though she were carrying on a conversation with someone standing just out of reach of the world.
"...I guess you really can't see him unless you're connected to my wish. Maybe that guard could see him because I asked for him to be… silenced," she tilted her head slightly, "But he's really here. Right, uncle? Go on, show her a trick."
"Is he like... virtual dog or something?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
"Ah! This isn't a wish by the way, so don't try to lure-trap to me." 「Konno Yuuki」
Watching her speak so naturally into empty space, Kohirumaki Karen found herself caught between pity and confusion. Was this just a projection? A fracture born from exhaustion and fear?
Or was there truly something standing where Yuuki was looking?
As if in answer, something brushed against her senses.
A sudden, intimate pressure. Like a finger slowly pressing into her ear.
"Hh—?! W-What was that?!" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
"Why ear? ...It's sensitive? Hmm. So… what do you think?" 「Konno Yuuki」
"What do you mean, what do I think?!" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
Before she could say anything else, she felt it again.
A thin, intrusive pressure, something like a finger trying to slip into her ear.
"Hhii—?! Again?!" Karen recoiled, clamping a hand to the side of her head.
"He's real. You just can't see him. That was him by the way. He tried to stick his pinky into your ear," she then paused, as if recalling a detail. "He laughs in a really strange way too… and he talks with this rhythm. Kind of sings his words?"
Yuuki further tilted her head, as if mimicking someone.
"Something like a pervert would do." 「Konno Yuuki」
For some reason, Kohirumaki Karen was reminded of old stories about genies in lamps, she thinks that whatever this being is could be similar to that. It was hard to believe, but for now, she chose to accept it and focus on what truly mattered.
Escaping this place before tomorrow was only the first problem.
The harder one was what came after, since they weren't the only ones trapped here.
Sure, they can just leave them all here, but if chaos truly came with the dawn, then they would need more than luck or wishes to survive it. They would need people, and every living prisoner was a potential ally.
"Can't I just wish for you to take everyone with us? …Huh, that's not interesting? You really aren't a very good genie, are you? But well, you do have this... dependable aura around you." 「Konno Yuuki」
"Yuuki-chan," Karen said quickly, "if those wishes are real, save them for when we're truly desperate. Okay? We don't know what might happen next. We can't afford to waste this chance."
She took a breath.
"I'll talk to as many people as I can. Wait here." 「Kohirumaki Karen」
"Don't worry, hehe! Once I've recovered a bit, I'll think carefully about what to ask Dust for. Hmm?" she paused, listening to something only she could hear. "...Oh. He says you should hurry. Apparently, his brother thinks this world is about to become a mess."
The young girl herself blinked twice, "…Wait. What?"
"…Dust?" Karen frowned. "Brother?"
"That's the genie uncle's name. He keeps going on about his brother this and that," she said, tilting her head, clearly unimpressed. "Uh… and what's that strange pin on your head? Persona of Bad Ending? Is that your title or something?"
The young girl herself squinted, "…A pin of shame? Why do you even have a pin of shame for?"
"Is she really going to be fine?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
Meanwhile, the young woman tried to find some trusty looking people.
She took one careful step after another, slowly making her way forward. Even as she moved away toward the cells near the southern exit, Yuuki's voice still drifted faintly through the dimly lit corridor.
"…W-What did you say…? Your brother has… killed Jul— ...oh, alright." 「Konno Yuuki」
"I just hope Yuuki doesn't get deceived by that... thing. She might also need many therapy sessions after this." 「Kohirumaki Karen」
The thought lingered as Karen forced herself to move on.
When she finally reached the southern exit and pushed the door open, she froze. Two guards lay just beyond it. Pale. Motionless. Their bodies still looked fresh, as if death had only brushed past them moments ago.
"They're… both… dead?" she whispered.
Her throat tightened. "Who did this…?"
The question lingered but her thoughts drifted instead, circling back to the unseen presence she still struggled to accept as real. The Persona of Bad Ending, Dust... or that was what he got called in this world.
"...There's no way... it's someone similar to Julian, right?" 「Kohirumaki Karen」
Despite the ridiculous title and the even more ridiculous act he was putting on, this Dust was, without a doubt, one of the Fool's known Personas. Someone who should have been in the same Azur Lane World as the others, supporting Sakura Zeimachi's project from behind the scenes.
And yet, here he was. Playing genie for a young girl, of all things.
Along with Loli-man, they really are the degenerate series.
Still, whatever his true purpose was for appearing in this world, his presence was no accident. If anything, it felt disturbingly intentional. As if this, too, fit neatly within the Persona's assigned role.
Even if the way he carried it out made little sense.
"...The Persona of Bad Ending, far from the blossoming story of a handpicked flower... Carrying all of his hatred to the other world, may he become one who learn to accept that fragile bloom... A brother will support you. Always, in his own way. Huh..." 「Necro-phi/Vandango」
Perhaps, in the end, he truly was playing his part in earnest, just as his "brother" had expected. By bearing the hatred that once led only to his own failures, El Dust chose to step away, if only for his own sake.
"...Whatever you say." 「Necro-phi/Vandango」
To become the bearer of misfortune.
And take it away with him.
After all, there was a time when he really was that kind of older brother.
"...It's done now, let's start it." 「Necro-phi/Vandango」
Furthermore, a bad ending does not mean the same thing to everyone.
It is feared, avoided, cursed. No one welcomes it. Of course. Yet for a world that no longer holds any hope for its own survival, perhaps a bad ending is not something truly evil.
Perhaps it is simply an ending that arrives honestly.