Chapter Text
Mizuki took a shaky breath, trying to calm themself down.
They were leaning against a terribly familiar yellow wall, surrounded by dense air that didn't help their nerves.
Their black boots squished the damp carpet below, and their shadow trembled along with them as buzzing fluorescent lights flickered above.
It’s been days.
Perhaps even longer than that— Mizuki couldn’t tell.
They stood back up again. They needed to keep going. They needed to find an exit.
But as they walked past another room covered with yellow, it started to feel pointless.
What if there was no escape from this place? What if they never see any of their friends and family again?
What if this was how they disappeared?
(But wasn’t that what they wanted? Wasn’t that the last thing they thought of as they ran away from Ena at the festival?)
(“I want to disappear.” Wasn’t that a sentence they’ve replayed in their head so many times before?)
(Did they really want to go back home?)
(Mizuki didn’t want to think about it. Survival came first, and having a goal helped with that.)
They turned on their phone, the only possession they had apart from the clothes on their body.
They entered this place by accessing the SEKAI, so they had thought that the exit might be there. However, the music file itself seemed to have been completely wiped from their phone, rendering that decision useless.
Nevertheless, the device was one of the few things that brought them comfort. They haven’t seen a single sign of life here, so the stored memories were their only companions.
Swiping through, their eyes landed on a specific picture.
It was a selfie of themself, with Mafuyu staring at the camera in the background. Her purple hair was tied with a variety of colorful ribbons. On that day, Nightcord at 25:00 was meeting up at the Empty SEKAI, and they finished up early. Mizuki can still recall how Ena complained in the background, saying that they shouldn’t mess with Mafuyu’s hair like that, while Kanade was asking if Mafuyu liked any of the colors.
They sighed, putting their phone back into their pocket.
Out of everyone in Nightcord, Mafuyu might be the only person who knows where they’re at, assuming that this was part of the SEKAI. It was originally hers, so she would, in theory, likely be the first to be aware of the change.
“Mafuyu, where are you~?” They jokingly called out.
“I am here.”
Mizuki immediately spun around to the source of the voice.
And there she was! With her entire body and all, Mafuyu Asahina was standing behind her. However, she seemed to be wearing the earlier SEKAI’s outfit, instead of the current one. On closer inspection, Mafuyu might have been even… slightly younger? She reminded them exactly of the time they first met her in Empy SEKAI, her eyes even emptier than usual.
“Hello, Mizuki.” Mafuyu stared at them blankly. “How do you know my name?"
“Y-you…” Mizuki started to hysterically giggle, backing away slowly. Recently, they’ve hallucinated a fair share of stairs, windows, and even voices, but a full-fledged, extremely detailed person?
The other girl answered with her signature deadpan voice “Yes, me. What are you doing here, Mizuki?”
“Oh god, I’m actually going insane. I’m going insane, I have lost my mind, oh my god, you aren’t real, please don’t do this to me, I—”
As they stumbled backwards, clenching their hair, chuckling to themself, Mafuyu caught them before they fell. “Be careful. Getting injured in this place is unwise, since we do not have access to any medical equipment.”
Mizuki looked straight into her eyes, in awe and fear. “Mafuyu. Are you real?”
She nodded in response, expression unchanging. “I can prove it.”
Mafuyu then pinched Mizuki’s wrist.
“Ow!” They rubbed the spot, flinching.
She flicked at their arm.
Mizuki hissed. “Ok, fine. You’re probably not a hallucination, I get it.”
Mafuyu reached to another body part, ready to perform some other minor form of physical violence. “Yes, I believe so. I can remind you again.”
“Hey, don’t do that!” They swatted away her hand, pouting. “I get it, alright? I’m just surprised, that’s all! It’s been so long since I’ve met another human being– how did you even end up here, anyways?”
“I was in my SEKAI, and then I tripped on something, finding myself here. Nothing else was out of the ordinary.” She replied simply.
“Huh…” Mizuki put their hand underneath their chin. “All I did was enter the SEKAI. That’s strange.”
“...You can enter Empty SEKAI again?” Mafuyu asked, with the slightest hint of curiosity in her voice. “I thought I told Miku to make sure that you and the rest of Nightcord were not allowed in.”
“Yes? We even meet up there sometimes! What do you mean? You only did that once, and that was a year ago!”
“I am fairly certain that happened only a few days ago. I am unsure of what you are saying.”
“What do you even—” Mizuki retorted, before silencing themself. “Ah.”
The pieces fell together, in one swift motion. The old outfit, the younger look, and the eyes.
“This may seem like a bit of a weird thing to say, but what year is it, Mafuyu?”
With that question, Mafuyu seemed to come to the same conclusion.
“...”
“I will ask the same thing, Mizuki.”