[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/h5xf31C.png[/img][/center][hr][i][b]//Day 2 | Location:[/b] Nameless Forest - Lakeside[/i]
[sub][@Vertigo][@baraquiel][/sub]
[b]“Ah, th…”[/b]

She trailed off when she noticed the expression on Asahi’s face. For all the charisma the pink-haired student council member exuded, they had all gone to the same schools and been to the same classes since childhood. It was a stretch to call them childhood friends, but Mayumi wasn’t blind. Taking the fish from Asahi, the treasurer set the catch down on the rocks, before promptly shuffling it over to Kunio, who was busy chewing away at his own bundle of fish.

[b]“What?”[/b] The wild-haired youth stated, rather than asked.

[b]“Cook ‘em up,”[/b] was Mayumi’s response.

[b]“Can’t do it yourself?”[/b]

[b]“You did it before. If you’re not gonna do it again, then teach me.”[/b]

Kunio clicked his tongue. There was a reason why he was the badminton club’s ace, not their captain. He had no interest at all in that sorta stuff, and while he didn’t want to do either cooking or teaching, he knew that Mayumi was the biggest pain-in-the-ass amongst the student council when it came to nagging. Without another word, he staked his unfinished meal to the side and got to work descaling.
With that settled, Mayumi turned her attention back to Asahi, patting a portion of the log that had been used as a seat beside her.

[b]“Warm yourself up then,”[/b] she said. [b]“And whatever you’re thinking right now about Sasuke, Asahi, you’re overthinking.”[/b]

No matter how great the summer vacation vibes seemed to be, they were still on the Otherside, a place filled with danger. There was no fucking way she was going to let teenage romance drama be added onto the stack of dangers that already threatened to fall over them.

...

[b]“That’s…huh.”

“What?”

“Just a lot more than I expected.”

“Tch. Listen, this changes nothing, yeah?”

“I’ll respect your confidentiality. But Akito, I mean, it’s just such a sad thing, isn’t it?”

“It’s [i]my[/i] thing.”

“But I mean, Father’s a cop, and I’m sure the others would support you with this, s-”

“Your dad’s a cop. That’s why I told you.”[/b] A breath. [b]“But that’s it. If I had it my way, I want it to hurt as much as possible.”[/b]

[hr][i][b]//Day 2 | Location:[/b] Nameless Forest - The Den[/i]
[sub][@AThousandCurses][@Nakushita][/sub]
Consumption wasn’t the same as digestion.

The energy that may have been promised from devouring the most tender flesh upon the hulk-phant’s face simply couldn’t reach her body in time to fuel that last Overdrive. So, where did it come from?

Regeneration. Durability. Strength. Perception.

Every aspect that Shun possessed as an Awakened was peeled away in that instant, a ball of pure energy coursing through her back muscles. Regardless of her own interpretations of it, her Overclock was still simply a form of physical boost, just one that took the increase to the maximal limit within a short burst. Shun could still do it, of course. She could still force it.

Perhaps, she even understood the consequences of it. Or perhaps, she was simply long past caring about such things.

Regardless, her senses were no longer sharp enough, her perception no longer dilated enough, that she could comprehend what had happened. There was only the sensation of her back muscles rupturing, the bone-fracturing pain of impact twice-over, and then the stomach-churning vertigo of her as she fell. Branches cracked beneath her, scoring her skin but slowing her descent. She crumbled there, nothing but a broken bag of pain, kept alive only by the vestigial remnants of flesh slowly being digested in her stomach. She bled out nonetheless. Her wounds were not healing, not fast enough by any measure. She needed to eat more, but she couldn’t even crawl, not with brutalized arms, a ruptured back, and broken legs.

Crimson giblets poured from the skies, the last of the monsters slain; the grotesque rain did not fall upon Shun.

It fell upon [i]Oros[/i].

Was this a promise of salvation?

Or simply the last stages before the finale?