Chapter Text
It all happened in a instant.
Nobody was aware of this beforehand. There was nothing they could do to prevent this.
It all simply.. happened.
Mizuki and Ena were sitting on the ground, Ena showing off her artwork. She seemed annoyed everytime Mizuki would tease at her, but it seems the two of them are enjoying looking over the canvases.
Meanwhile, Kanade and Mafuyu were also next to each-other, Miku was laying down nearby them. It seems Miku had gone a while of standing up and walking around, so everybody suggested that she lay down. Miku wasn't against the idea. Kanade and Mafuyu were simply chatting about the arrangements for the next song, occasionally drifting off-topic a bit.
This was simply breaktime for Nightcord at 25:00. This was normal.
Until footsteps could be heard from the distance.
Until the group could see a figure emerge from the shadows.
Until everything wasn't normal anymore.
"Uh...Hey everyone?" Mizuki starts, looking directly at the new figure approaching the group. "Who is.. that?" They ask, pointing a finger at the new life within the shadows. Everyone followed suit, looking in the general direction to see a figure unlike the members inside the SEKAI. Miku even stood up properly to get a better view.
Sure, it looked human. It had eyes that glimmered, you could almost see it's color from the darkness that piled up in the SEKAI. It had a figure that resembled a human, two arms.. two legs.. shoulders, and a head were included as well. In fact, it even had hair that cascaded down it's back. But this thing.. didn't feel human at all.
When Miku got a good look, her eyes widened.
Meanwhile, the members slowly approached the figure.
"Hey...?" Ena greets, staring directly at the figure. There was some distance between the shadows and Ena, but it still would've been enough for the 'person' to hear and give a reply. When she got no answer, however, she turned her head away. "How rude." She muttered, crossing her arms.
Before Ena could try again, however, the figure stepped out of the shadows. And this time everyone was in shock.
This person had flowing white-silver hair that fell down their back, and their eyes were black. Their skin was pale and they were rather skinny, their whole body is consumed by a black hoodie, which seemed to almost cover their hands. They had a pair of black headphones around their neck.
Despite the eye color difference, this person looked exactly like Kanade Yoisaki.
"Oh! K! They look just like you!" Mizuki exclaimed, looking over at Kanade. Meanwhile, the silver-haired girl simply stared at the figure that resembles her. It was almost like looking in a mirror, everything about this person seemed almost exact to Kanade. However, she was not getting a good feeling from this at all. She reached out and took Mafuyu's hand almost defensively, hoping that she wasn't going to lose anyone just yet.
"Err... Mizuki? I don't think this is a good thing.." Ena added on to Mizuki's comment as the figure slowly took a step forward. It's black, beady eyes were simply forward, not looking directly at any of the group members.
"Yeah.. I got that feeling just now. No way this is good." Mizuki replied, backing up a bit and almost bumping into Miku. When they looked at her, however, they noticed her shocked and.. almost fearful expression.
"...Miku?"
Mizuki called out to Miku, snapping her out of the weird trance she was in. That horrified expression has yet to leave her features, however.
"Miku.." Mafuyu said, approaching the singer. Miku looked over to face her. "I believe that it's time we took our leave. This.. being seems to be putting us on-edge." Mafuyu asked politely of the singer to take them away, waiting for a response. Miku's gaze shifted between Mafuyu and the figure before finally resting back on Mafuyu's eyes. The response Mafuyu gets is far beyond what she was hoping to hear.
"I can't make you leave anymore."
The figure's eyes finally land on a target. The target in question had purple hair tied in a ponytail and purple eyes.
Mafuyu Asahina.
Mafuyu turned and immediately met the creature's gaze. Her eyes immediately widen at the powerful eyes boring into her soul, her body couldn't stop shaking. She couldn't describe this.. feeling. This feeling that made her body go weak and incapable of movement. But, if she were to guess.. the one feeling that could do this to a person..
Fear.
Fear.
The creature immediately lunged forward at a surprisingly quick pace, as the members shouted and panicked in the background. "MAFUYU! MOVE!" She could hear Ena screaming at her to get a grip and avoid it. "What do you mean we can't leave-- YUKI!" Mizuki tried to talk to Miku, but instantly turned around to realize the scene unfolding behind her. But more importantly, Mafuyu could hear quick footsteps approaching from two directions- both footsteps that sounded completely alike to each other. In the feeling she assumed was fear, Mafuyu simply shut her eyes. If she couldn't move, she couldn't escape. She didn't know what to do. When she re-opened her eyes, those same purple eyes lost the light that hit them.
"I feel sick. I can't move.." She said in a hushed whisper, as the slight delay before her doom approached ended and the figure and Mafuyu were too close for comfort.
"MAFUYU--!" Kanade yelled out, she tried to sprint over as fast as her body would let her to try and save her, to pull her back and away from danger..
But it wasn't enough. It was never enough.
Mafuyu's vision went completely white as a wave of energy resonated throughout the SEKAI. Mizuki and Ena would've been blown away if it weren't for Miku grabbing onto them and the nearby scaffolding. Everything felt like it was shaking. Ena was closing her eyes, tears were pouring a bit in her fear. Meanwhile, Mizuki is in a panic.
"Miku, are you sure we can't leave here?!" Mizuki asks, trying to raise their voice loud enough for the singer to hear.
"There is a way, Mizuki. However, you nor anyone else will be able to come back here for a long time...!" Miku tries to yell back to Mizuki, her voice not being the loudest.
"O-oh! Kanade!" Ena says to herself, as when she looked up she could see the girl flying past her. If it weren't for Mizuki quickly grabbing the girl by her hoodie, Ena was sure that Kanade would've gone flying past.. and gone forever.
"I think we should take this chance to leave while we can!" Ena yells out, trying to keep her grip on Miku. "We can't stay like this forever! Plus, what if it goes after US next?!"
"I agree with you, Ena! My hand's getting tired already!" Mizuki agrees, before looking straight at the back of Miku's head. Miku turns around, and Mizuki could've sworn she saw a tear exit Miku's face, which still remained blank. Even if it was blank, Mizuki could tell there was a lot of emotions Miku wants to convey.. especially now.
"...If you guys insist. However, I won't be able to see you four after this..." Miku said, her robotic voice wavering. "I enjoyed all of your company...It felt nice and warm to have you guys by my side." Even if her face was still relatively blank, it felt like as if the robotic singer was on the verge of tears.
"Miku..." Ena said, wanting to console the poor singer.
"Don't worry." Miku said again, a small smile is evident. "I'll make sure to transport you to a better place."
"Goodbye, everyone."
And in a instant, everything was changed.
And Nightcord at 25:00 was no more.