The sun was rising. The light was radiant in the distance; however, within all these ruins, the light barely entered or spread, except in that place—that place between pillars, a circular ground where, in the middle of it, we have the only spot where an acceptable amount of sunlight enters. With every passing second, more and more light comes in, because the ceiling is collapsing.
Among the rubble, a figure with a skirt and somewhat short hair moves between it, jumping from stone to stone or debris to avoid falling to the ground.
A ground upon which lies a creature with a humanoid shape, approximately 4 meters tall, and a body made of glass. However, inside this being lay a kind of vortex that only emanated darkness, like a core. These creatures call themselves crystallizers, beings made of glass created by the minimal intelligence of the vortex they share as a consciousness.
This creature carried a greatsword that reflected its surroundings, as it was also made of crystal, logically. Our other entity with a skirt and short hair continues between rubble and rubble, until the crystallized being presses its chest with the hand that is not holding its sword. Its chest is hard and immovable to its hand, but by doing this, it purposely disturbs the consciousness inside.
"Lend me your stars once again… my card…"
The serious and direct voice to herself of the silhouette emerged between the falling rocks. The environment became more and more illuminated. Yuzuki moved toward one of the pillars that trembled, moving within its shadows. Her gaze was serene and serious, occasionally following the crystallized being in the middle of the rubble. Many pieces fell on top of it, but none affected it.
"This one isn't very intelligent. It probably cost me more to find it in these ruins than to kill it at this rate…"
Yuzuki looked slightly upward. The stones continued falling in heaps. The floor began to tremble before the crystallizer below, which kept desperately pressing its chest, an attempt meaningless in Yuzuki's eyes.
The crystallizer below pressed once more and then left its chest free, no longer using its hand to squeeze it. From that vortex, a direct burst shot out. Yuzuki moved slightly upward onto the rubble, just enough to dodge without issue. She glanced sideways upward again while summoning a purple card at her side. Without looking at it, she brought her right palm closer to it.
"These ruins… they didn't look this bad. You ruined them…"
From her card, she drew out a light sword. It was bathed in black and shone with purple fire. When Yuzuki touched the hilt, the sword became tangible, real, without losing its living flame.
"Face forward, illuminate the night…"
Yuzuki said, looking at her sword freshly taken from the card. She seemed to appreciate it with her serious gaze. The crystallized creature below launched another burst covered in darkness from its core. Yuzuki decided to raise her sword and repel the attack to one side, colliding against rubble and breaking it in half, causing more destruction. The being seemed enraged in the distance just by the way it moved. It continued launching more and more bursts in a completely desperate, furious, and resentful manner.
Yuzuki ran, jumped, and propelled herself between the dull brown pillars worn down by time. In one leap, she didn't even look at the creature; she simply dodged as she advanced, as if fully confident in her mobility.
Yuzuki jumped again toward another pillar, wanting to reach its tip in order to make a precise movement next. However, the being launched another burst. Yuzuki did not look surprised, only slightly more serious. She moved the sword lightly to deflect the attack and smiled faintly upon seeing the crystallization release its greatsword, depending on its vortex.
"Develop consciousness while fighting and advancing, I like that… too bad it's time to finish this."
Yuzuki once again hid in the darkness of the pillars. The being prepared for another round. However, when Yuzuki stepped out from the pillar, she gave it her back, her back straighter than before. In fact, she continued searching for a better position. Her sword shone in an intense purple, almost completely hindering the crystallized being's sight. Yuzuki looked at nothing in particular. She lifted one leg and held her sword with her right hand.
As if the being felt indignant at being ignored in a challenging fight, it fired burst after burst consecutively from its inner vortex. They approached closer and closer to Yuzuki, who, for the last time, straightened her back just a little more and slightly raised her left leg higher.
Before the bursts impacted, Yuzuki released a purple slash from her sword, carrying its fire along with the attack. It moved rapidly, destroying the vortex's bursts in its path as if they were nothing. Before the being could react, Yuzuki threw her sword at high speed.
As if it were nothing, the sword merged with the slash itself, creating an explosion in front of the crystallizer, exploding with an intense noise. Wind, mist, dust—everything rose and spread randomly. The attack was constant and did not lose intensity. When the being was destroyed until its vortex was left exposed, the attack ended.
Yuzuki landed gracefully on the ground, calmly stepping on the vortex, but it turned to dust before she could do so. Blindly summoning a black card with purple flames, it stored the sword that fell behind Yuzuki's back.
"I finished earlier than I thought. Maybe I'll get to see Shiro during the test… and if not… I wish them luck."
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After some time has passed, it is night again. The familiar hallway was there. The person with clothes already known, black pants somewhat large for him, and a shirt following the same example, rested his cheek on the sofa, lying on his side.
"I'm tired… they made me do physical effort all day…"
Shiro said in a low voice to himself. He did not look tired on the outside, but his light sighs from time to time and barely moving his body said otherwise. He sighed again before speaking to himself once more, trying to relax.
"Well… at least I'm not that disoriented anymore. What Mizuki told me… I think they're called crystal beings… something like that, I don't fully remember, but I know the basics of how to defeat things like that. I hope that helps me. The only thing I have to do in a fight is keep up with Kaede, that already costs me a lot…"
He slightly buried his face in the pillow and fully covered himself with his blanket, wanting to be comfortable as quickly as possible. He closed his eyes for a moment, but felt a presence in front of him.
"Are my instincts improving that fast…?"
he thought before opening his eyes and simply looking ahead. It was empty.
"Are you going to sleep?"
Shiro removed the blanket at the sudden presence. He didn't scream because he didn't want to alert anyone, but his mouth was covered before he could speak. However, upon seeing those delicate white gloves, the person was somewhat clear to him, and he signaled for her to stop covering his mouth.
"There's no need to scare me, Kaede…"
he said, sitting up on the sofa, trying to look as normal as possible and not seem sore. Kaede laughed lightly and sat beside him.
"Scare you? I was trying to get your attention. We barely talk unless we're doing physical exercises, and even there we don't talk that much. I have to admit you have good stamina, but you lack a little."
Kaede stretched her legs slightly on the sofa, relaxing a bit and letting out a sigh.
"Hey, Kaede… one question, do you know what a television is?" said Shiro. He didn't want to ask directly, but in the end, he simply did.
"You mean a TV? We had one, but Mizuki didn't like it. Yuzuki will bring another one one of these days."
Kaede spoke while resting the back of her head on the sofa, her eyes lost in the high ceiling.
"In my house we had a TV in my living room. My family used it more than I did. I used my computer more and that's it… my sister was the one who… better not remember that."
Shiro was sunk in his thoughts, but taking advantage of the fact that he seemed to be able to speak more freely with Kaede than he thought, maybe he could talk.
"Well Shiro, I'm dying of curiosity. Since when can you use a card without a soul? Were you keeping it to yourself?"
Kaede's question caught Shiro off guard. Getting nervous wasn't an option, it was an obligation of his senses.
"I should answer this… not even I…"
"So, Shiro?" Kaede didn't let him think.
"To be honest… not even I know why that happened."
Kaede opened her eyes a little wider and looked at him with even more curiosity. She was about to insist with another question.
"I don't think asking more will help you, Kaede…"
Mizuki's voice sounded at the entrance of the hallway, as she stepped out and approached them slightly. Mizuki yawned lightly and sat in the armchair next to them. It was small compared to the green sofa where Kaede and Shiro were sitting.
She placed both hands together on her lap, blinked a few times before turning to look at Shiro and speaking in a calm and slightly low tone.
"I don't know why I didn't ask before, but I need to register you in many places with your information. I'm only missing your last name. May I know it?"
Mizuki didn't stop looking at him. Her gaze was more attentive than usual.
"My last name… well, it's Mimosa."
"Mimosa?" said Kaede, lifting her head slightly toward him.
"Yes… Mimosa, you don't like it?" he said, looking at Kaede, before Mizuki interrupted and drew his attention.
"Is it because of the Blue Cross star?" said Mizuki, raising one hand slightly. Kaede pulled her feet up onto the sofa to adjust herself a little. Shiro opened his eyes a bit more. No one in his life had ever understood the meaning.
"Yes… when my parents got married, they decided to use a new last name and separate from their families, and my father was a fan of stars, so that's how I ended up with the last name I have."
"That's impressive! I hope to see the star of your surname someday!"
Kaede said somewhat animated, however her speech was stopped by a light yawn. Mizuki looked at her slightly, shifting the gaze she had fixed on Shiro, letting out a sigh to relax, slightly hunching her back.
"Anyway, I'll talk about something somewhat important that slipped my mind all day," Mizuki said, placing her elbow on the chair and resting her cheek on the palm of that hand.
"Look, Shiro, I forgot to explain it to you, but… I won't go straight to the point, I'll explain step by step."
Kaede lifted herself slightly on the sofa for a moment upon hearing Mizuki, as if she knew what she was about to explain, as if some part of it had been forgotten.
"There is a superior person in command. We call this one 'Dissolver' down here. Formally you would call them boss, but for them that's typical."
"Supposedly this is a free conversation, I should resolve doubts…" Shiro thought before speaking. All this time he had avoided asking too many questions just in case.
"Who are they?" Shiro finally asked, avoiding taking a deep breath at that moment.
"Ah, they are the 10 Sages, those in command below the boss. And by how I referred to them, you'll realize that I am one, and by that same logic you understand that they have nothing of sages, it's just a normal way of calling us superiors."
"Isn't it amazing?! Besides having that role, she is the formal administrator of internal investigations," Kaede spoke in an animated tone, as if the silence of the night meant nothing to her.
"It's not an achievement. There haven't been many investigations in recent months. Now the important part…"
Kaede leaned slightly closer to Shiro. They were already somewhat close. Her face spoke for itself; she wanted to see Shiro's reaction when Mizuki spoke. He decided not to give it importance, or at least tried not to.
"Each sage directs a department. That's why there are 10 of them, and each one must have at least one commander and two officers."
"I can assume the commander is Yuzuki?" Shiro asked, trying to keep a calm tone.
"You thought correctly. However, without at least having the other two officers, we are at most a mediocre department that cannot attend official matters nor assist in confrontations, which in recent months are more frequent than usual…"
"Then the officer is Kaede, right? One person that important is missing."
Shiro said. In his mind he already had a slight idea of what she was trying to tell him. He glanced slightly to his side and Kaede had her gaze fixed on him. He closed his eyes for a moment.
"Don't tell me it's me…"
he said in a low voice, feeling under sudden pressure. Mizuki snapped her fingers in confirmation and Kaede started laughing a little at such a natural reaction.
"So, it's not to pressure you, Shiro, but you must pass that test…"
After some time, Shiro was lying on the sofa. Everything was darker than before due to the lack of lights and relying only on small lamps around. Shiro covered himself with the black blanket he used daily to sleep. Every day it had the same smell or something different; what never changed was the freshly washed scent, the same with the pillow.
"I'm exhausted. Tomorrow is the day… I don't feel like I've improved at all. It will be my first combat, and…"
Shiro squeezed the blanket a little, wanting to enclose himself.
"…and it will be so important…"
He closed his eyes, seeking sleep quickly, which came to his benefit after a long day moving his body. He relaxed his muscles and let himself be consumed by sleep.
"Do you like spring?" he heard a voice similar to his own, only… double? With a feminine touch from the other side.
"Will this happen every time I sleep? I won't handle another night if that's the case…"
He couldn't avoid remembering the sensations of his previous dream. It was so different… however, when he opened his eyes, it wasn't as complicated as the other time. The scenario wasn't the best he could wish for, just darkness, but at least nothing seemed to torment him this time. In front of him floated a white card with green flames. Shiro forced himself to raise his gaze to better see the card suspended in nothingness.
"That card spoke to me? Impossible…"
Shiro said in his mind, trying not to alarm the card, a common sense that awakened in these moments.
"There's no need for you to bother thinking or having formalities. In this place I can hear your thoughts."
This time the voice was completely feminine, a sweet tone coming from it. Shiro couldn't avoid looking around searching for the voice, but there was no one other than the card.
"You… Shiro Mimosa, huh? An interesting surname. Now… where did your soul go? In here you're quite the labyrinth. I ended up seeing part of your memories and… let's say I like you. Now, I can't let you dominate me completely because, for personal matters, I can't let you see through me."
Shiro couldn't avoid swallowing. Despite being inside his own consciousness, everything felt so real.
"Why would I want to dominate you?"
Shiro asked cautiously, mostly out of slight fear of the unknown. The darkness didn't help.
"Because it's your body, consciousness, vortex and senses, perhaps?"
the card asked, apparently controlled by a woman… or something else.
"Shiro, we have a lot to talk about. You don't know me, but you will from now on…"