Chapter 90

Nikami POV

Floating in a dark empty void without feeling my own body. It was not darkness, it was blindly nothing.

Doesn’t this feel familiar?

Huh?

I’m sure it will be.

Who are you?

No, who are you?

With a flash of light, I finally found my five sensations.

The ground beneath my feet couldn’t be seen. Two bright lights shone in the dark area around me, I looked up to see floating thrones. One gave a chilling dark blue light, while the other had a welcoming yellow. I covered most of my sight due to the light, squinting my eyes to see who were the figures in the distance while I thought about how I got here.

When my eyes adjusted to the light, the yellow figure was a lot shorter than the blue one, as well as having shorter hair. One is sharp and pointed around them, one is compact and square, The chairs behind the figures.

“Uh… Is no one going to talk? Because I will! You two do seem like the untalkative bunch…” The blinding yellow shut off, showing a dark brown haired girl who had both of her hands on her lap, her natural black eyes blinking slowly as a greeting. Speaking in a sweet and high pitched tone, the female had her back shivering.

Her arm rests were made out of white concrete, the back of the throne was pane glass while the headrest was a clock with a katana breaking the middle of it.

My eyes widened, the sirens in my mind started to blair. I held my breath out of surprise, seeing my old self here.

“What are you doing here…?” I asked, desperate for answers. The more I stay inside this space, the more I get punched by surprises. What am I doing here? How did I get here? Who are these people? Why am I here?

“The proper and more important question is, why are you two in here?” The blue light shut off, and looking down at me was a pair of narrowed down glaring blue eyes. The female looked exactly like me, sounded like me… She felt like me.

Yet something was wrong.

Her eyes were blue, half of her hair was white.

Her legs were folded on the wild ice seat that I could barely make out as a throne.

“Excuse me…?” I took physical damage as I laid my eyes on her, taking a step back and tripping while I pointed at her. I whipped back to the shorter female on the throne.

“Hey! You know this isn’t my fault at all!” The tiny girl squeaked, turning her body to the blue female.

“Shut it.” She glared at the other girl, making her pout and folding her hands to lean back.

“Okay! Okay! I get it… One is confused, the other is mad… Guess I gotta do most of the talking here! Alrighty everyone, let us introduce ourselves for… I don’t really know, just for the sake of it I guess!” The girl pushed one of her hands up, flashing a bright smile and then pointing at herself.

“I’m Hameru Matasoto! I go to Haji Academy as an 11th grader! Or was it 10th…? It’s been a long time, I don’t remember!” The exclaimed, changing the direction of her point towards the other girl on the blue throne. But I’m Hamer-

“Your turn!”

“Nikami Shiromoru, Future queen of the Adventurine kingdom.” She pierced at me with her eyes, keeping her intense stare that I am used to giving but not receiving. I stared back at her, not breaking eye contact with her dark blue irises.

“What? I’m Nikam-”

“The REAL Nikami Shiromoru.”  I tried to argue, but she fought back immediately. I shut my mouth, gripping my fists to the point of it bleeding. I understood what she meant, I understood who she was and what I am doing here. Finally, I had an answer.

A gleam of green came behind me as I stood up and gazed up at the two, taking a deep inhale.

“So I’m both of you?” I asked, letting go of the lump that was building up in my throat. I eyed them down with anticipation but only got hit by two negatives.

“Nuh uh!” She shook her head.

“I am not related to you in any way.” The blue girl waved the air around her, dismissing my claims.

The lump that I thought I let go came back down my throat. Cold, hard.

“How… Exactly?”

“I am you, but you are not me!”

“You are me, but I am not you.”

With their riddle-like answers, I was taken aback with what they said. What were they even talking about? They just made everything just more confusing than it already was.

“Oh! Sorry, you’re probably more confused than ever now… I meant like, I’m you, but like, I’m not you. Because I might be you in the past, but there is no absolute way I’m you… People can change, I know, but you changed in such an unnatural way I can’t say that I’m you in the past!” She scratched the back of her head, purposefully missing eye contact.

“Ugh, that was a confusing explanation! Sorry, explaining things isn’t my strength! I’m sure you already know that though, ahaha!”

“Fool.”

“Then explain your situation too, Nikami!” The yellow girl pouted at the blue green, folding her hands and leaning back.

I switched my attention to the blue girl, waiting for her response.

“Your nature changed due to my intervention, you have pieces of me, but I am in no way related to you. You stole my body, and with that, the body you had fought back to make sense of its place in the world. By giving you pieces of the one who originally had it, me.” Nikami spoke with a clear voice, her intonation was slow yet heart piercing.

“In fact, you stole everything from me.” She stood up from her seat, speaking in a low tone.

“You know that wasn’t her fault! She didn’t know you were there, and besides-” Hameru got cut off by an ice spear going through her stomach, eyes shaking as she looked down at what just happened to her.

It completely went through her, she wasn’t pierced. Upon closer look, Hameru was translucent. Despite not being hurt, Hameru straightened and froze up, gulping while cold sweat fell down on her lap. She shook in terror, placing her hands on the part where she was supposed to be injured. I could tell what she was feeling in the back of my mind, she was reminded of when she died… No, when WE died.

“Shut it. She had many chances, so many hints, so much resistance from me yet she never faltered. Again and again, I tried to take control of what's mine. Do you really think you can take MY body? MY title? MY life? MY… Love?” Nikami’s voice cracked, ice speeding to me with her on top of it, making a trail of frost. With her expression, I knew why she was like this. I'm… Her. I hate losing control, she does too.

“Don’t defend yourself, this is supposed to be mine. Everything you have is MINE. And who do you think you are to do that? You’re just an alien. You’re not supposed to be here.” She stared deep into me, her pure voice made me freeze up. But I wasn’t backing down, I opened my mouth and argued back.

“Even so, do you really blame me for being in your body?! I didn’t put myself here!” I glared back at her, in which she just replied with a roll of her eyes, shoving me and making me take a step back.

“But I do blame you for trying to get away from Yasachu. The girl who I had held so passionately in my heart even YOU were forced to get my feelings. And what? Do you really intend to take away everything, even the girl who made me feel like I’m me? And not you?” Nikami pushed her index finger in my chest, taking a step forward while I did the opposite action.

“I just didn’t want to become a character from a game.” I exasperated, exhaling.

“A game? That’s what you, an outsider, think. This world isn’t a game when you live in it. It’s insulting for you to think I’m just a character, for you to think anyone in this world is a character. You say that, yet you treat that villainess with kindness and compassion. Do you choose who is human and not? How dare you.” Nikami spat, I had a hot burning sensation on my cheek, and it took me a couple of seconds to see that I just got slapped.

I stood silently, taking in what she had said so far. I can’t say she’s wrong, I barged into a life that she had and trapped her. She had all the right to be mad at me.

But would that stop me? No! Why would I?!

“You’re right, but I don’t care. I want to control this body, and I already have done everything in my power to do that, why would I give it up for you?” As soon those words escaped my mouth, she grabbed me and pushed me back and I lost my balance. Ice sprung out of the ground, all aimed towards me, so I countered that attack with my own.

The ice crashed into each other, making shards fly around us as I kicked her stomach when she tried to approach me.

“You greedy alien…” Nikami gasped, holding her stomach and glared up at me as the green behind me started to shine brighter. Seeing how our magic is even, I sprung up and tackled her, knowing we won’t get anywhere if we fight with magic.

She gave blows to my back as I kept on pushing forward, soon enough she fell down on the ground and I was able to place my hand on her neck and choke her. Struggling to breathe, she used her elbow to hit my face and my body moved along with it. Nikami took a hold of my hair and pulled on it and sat up, clawing on my face as I dropped to the ground with her on top of me instead. I kicked her stomach, making her groan loudly but she didn't move from her spot.

Fuming from that action, she slapped me, turning my head to the direction of Hameru as I hissed.

“P-please help me!” I begged her, knowing that she’ll help me. I know she’s kind and stupid enough to help me as long as I looked pitiful enough. I know, since… I'm her. I'm supposed to be her.

“I-I can’t! I’m dead! Hameru Matasoto is dead! The moment God placed my soul in her body, I stopped existing! That’s why I’m not you, because you're only the droplets of what’s left of me!” Hameru confessed, and the moment a tear dropped from her face I was stunned. Like I was just struck by lightning. I'm… Dead? Yes, I knew I died but… I'm still here aren't I? I'm Hameru Matasoto after all… Wait-

“Wh-what…? If you’re dead, and Nikami isn’t in control… Then who am I?”

“You’re nothing. That’s why you should die, that’s why I should take control, because I know my place in this world while you’re just nothing but what’s left of a tiny soul controlling MY body like it’s a sort of husk.” Nikami made an ice spike in her hand, holding it both as she reeled it upward, shoving it downward aiming for my throat.

I'm just… Pieces of a soul stealing someone's body…

Shukona POV

“And are you going to face me all alone? You know what I can do, yet you still want to dance with me?” Yuutsu scoffed at my face, grinning from ear to ear. I took a sharp inhale, stepping forward and glared.

It's… That fake noble. Now I know why she felt so familiar. I’m so foolish, just because she was my roommate I let my guard down around her… I enjoyed her company, I really did. Despite all of the trouble she did, after all the mischief she has done. I could call her a friend.

“I trusted you. Why are you even doing this in the first place?”