Campione: Strongest# 462: Guilt

In the center of her eyes, a deep darkness swirled, orbited by a brilliant, prismatic light—the very embodiment of death itself, all of it veiled in an unnatural azure glow.

They were an incredibly beautiful pair of eyes, yet what they perceived was the end of all things. As the saying goes, the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it tends to be.

No one could truly understand what Shiki Ryougi was feeling, though perhaps SHIKI, once she had a body of her own, would be able to. An ugly, fractured world was all that reflected in those beautiful eyes.

“...”

Shiki, leaning against the headboard, slowly raised her slender, pale wrist. She had always cherished her delicate, fair arms, despite her dislike of being seen as feminine. But now, in the view of her new eyes, those once-admired arms were hideously marred by a network of black 'lines.'

Her slender fingers seemed to magnify, filling her vision. Trembling, Shiki raised her hands, her index fingers growing larger and larger, aiming straight for her own eyes.

Steeling herself, she lunged forward.

Clatter—!

The plastic bag Haru was holding fell to the floor.

“That was a close one. If I’d been any later, you would have gone blind,” a familiar voice echoed in her ears.

Hearing the voice, Shiki trembled. Her fingers, inches from her eyes, were suddenly stopped, her wrists caught in a firm grip. She looked up, her vacant gaze falling upon Haru, who had suddenly appeared before her.

“No lines...” she whispered, a fragile, joyful surprise in her voice.

In her vision, Haru—who was now straddling her on the bed, his weight pinning her down, his hands holding her wrists—was just as he always was, completely free of the black lines. No, it wasn't that the lines didn't exist, but that they were so few, so faint, she had to concentrate to even notice them.

Her taut nerves began to relax, the pained grimace on her face softening. Her hand, now free, rose and gently caressed his face. In this horrifying new world of death, she had finally found something 'normal.'

Haru paused, surprised by her unusually intimate gesture, but his attention remained fixed on her brilliant eyes.

“So, they really are the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.”

Although he had expected it, seeing these terrifying eyes on Shiki, in this already altered world, still surprised him. But then again, he had to admit, perhaps a Shiki with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception was the most complete version of her.

“Haru, do you know what this is?” Shiki asked, her eyes fixed on his face, not daring to look away for even a second. Having just acquired this power, she was terrified of the world of death it revealed.

Haru glanced at the shattered bedside table and the ruined carnations. Realizing she had already tested the power, he explained, “They are the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. The highest class of Mystic Eyes, allowing you to see the lines and points of the end of all things. They are on the same level as Fujino’s Mystic Eyes of Distortion.”

“The same level as Fujino’s? Why did I get them?” Shiki’s brow furrowed, her face showing no joy at acquiring such a power.

She was all too familiar with Fujino’s Mystic Eyes, having fought her countless times. Fujino was an ‘ordinary’ girl who could be killed with a single stab, yet those eyes allowed her to consistently defeat Shiki, whose physical abilities far surpassed her own.

Logically, obtaining eyes of the same caliber should have made her happy, but her delicate face was filled with panic. After two years of tutelage under Haru, she understood the principle of equivalent exchange in magecraft. To obtain something so powerful, one had to pay an equally high price.

Connecting this with the sudden, total disappearance of SHIKI, Shiki was overcome with dread.

Above Haru’s head, SHIKI, in her soul state, gently bumped his head. ‘Let’s begin, Uncle.’

“SHIKI??” The moment the name was spoken, a flash of insight struck Shiki. She quickly glanced up at the space above Haru’s head. Seeing nothing but the empty ceiling, she stared blankly.

A bead of sweat formed on SHIKI’s spherical form.

'They were, after all, from the same source. Her perception of me is too keen. I'll have to keep my mouth shut when she's around.'

“SHIKI? So, you already knew,” Haru said, inwardly cursing his troublemaking accomplice, his face a mask of feigned calm.

Shiki’s pupils constricted. She lowered her head in terror and, like a frightened rabbit, jerked her hands back, trying to retract the hand that had been caressing his face.

Clack!

Haru’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist before she could pull away. He leaned forward, pressing his body against hers, his arms reaching past her neck to pin her against the headboard, cutting off all escape.

He looked directly into her evasive eyes and said flatly, “SHIKI is ‘dead.’”

Shiki’s whole body trembled. She bit her lip, her rosy face slowly turning pale.

The next second, she suddenly threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Her choked sobs echoed in his ears.

“...Don’t cry.” Haru looked at the weeping Shiki, stunned for a moment, then gently stroked her hair, trying to comfort her.

‘Hey, SHIKI, what’s going on??’ Haru asked, his expression strange. Shiki, who was always so cold and rarely showed any emotion, was now crying in his arms. And she, who normally hated having her hair touched, was letting him stroke it without any resistance. Something was very, very strange.

‘Well, she was the one who insisted on fighting that Dead Apostle, and she got stabbed, right? She probably thinks her willfulness got me killed, and now she feels incredibly guilty toward you,’

SHIKI’s voice explained, her tone odd.

In essence, even separated, they were still one and the same; they understood each other’s thoughts perfectly.

Understanding this, Haru continued to stroke Shiki’s hair, silently comforting the crying girl in his arms.

'Come to think of it,' he mused, 'a teary-eyed Shiki is actually... incredibly cute.'

‘Want to give it a try, Uncle? Right now, she won’t resist whatever you do to her,’ SHIKI suggested, her voice full of wicked meaning.