With Hecate trailing along behind her, the shape of the Echo peering over her shoulder briefly, Nozomi pulled the boy along, sprinting as quickly as she could manage. The sooner they reached the others, the sooner they could destroy all their attackers and escape. Not that Nozomi was lacking in confidence in Hecate, now that she'd managed to call her, but two Echoes would be far better then just one, and to be able to protect the others together would be far better then any other option. She just had to make it. She just had to- Suddenly, a shadow fell over them. Hecate immediately moved to shield her, raising and interweaving her ribbon-like arms to form a barrier, but her body simply wasn't large enough. The spiderlike shape of another of the masked creatures was descending. Groping hands reaching. Falling straight towards Nozaki. "No, you...!" And then... [@Bartimaeus] [hr] The wall itself rippled beside them, and a dozen arms erupted from the darkness, a white mask at their center. All of them were reaching for Yuzu, surging towards her, to surround her. To crush her. And then... [@Pitsuji][@Psyker Landshark] [hr] As they exited the building, an inky black shape coated in maskes was just there. Each mask stretched out, red tongues emerging from their smiling maws and lashing towards the three boys. Behind them was the feminine creature. Before them was this monstrosity. And then... [@AThousandCurses][@hatakekuro][@DarckLeon] [hr] A sea of white stood before them. Above was darkness, filled with the twinkling lights of stars. Below of the featureless white held what seemed to be nothing at all. Or rather almost nothing. A single figure sat upon a velvet red chair. [url=https://safebooru.org//images/3987/b80de097cea81ef48c67c1a5ccf7c0573d8b2a1c.jpg?4165955]On first glance, it appeared to be a slender young girl, wearing a frilly black dress, with lengthy white hair matching the pale shade of her skin.[/url]. But closer inspection revealed unusual details. The joints in her fingers. Her legs. Her bare feet. She was like some manner of life-sized doll, clutching a teddy bear with a strange scratched-out face on her lap. When she seemed to see them, her lips parted into a smile, as she tilted her head to the side. Her movement came with a clicking, jingling sound, almost like one would expect from a music box being wound. "Ah, you're about to die, aren't you?" she asked. It was a nonchalant, playful tone, spoken in the voice of a little girl, "That's a shame, I suppose, but it can't be helped~" The little doll girl giggled playfully, as if the news that they were about to die was something to find amusing rather then horrific. "It's just too bad, isn't it? You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You looked at something that looked right back. Those ones didn't even get a chance, you know." Whatever she meant by 'those ones' was left unsaid. Her blue eyes seemed almost luminescent. "Unless... there is something you can do, isn't there~? Two of you already know what I mean, I'm sure~!" She giggled again, holding her bear tightly to her chest. "I think you can do it now. It's deep inside you, you'll have to pull it up. You don't have ones like they do, so it's going to hurt. You're going to cry. You're going scream your heart out. But everyone does sometimes, don't they? It's okay sometimes, isn't it? To let everything out, no matter how much it hurts?" She leaned forward, lightly kicking her feet. "That's what you'll do, right?" [@AThousandCurses][@hatakekuro][@DarckLeon][@Pitsuji][@Bartimaeus]