Yui didn't know how long she had been sitting there. Time didn't feel real anymore. The cold stone beneath her, the iron bars in front of her, the faint dripping sound somewhere in the distance—it all blurred together into something dull and suffocating. Her hands trembled in her lap, faintly stained with dried blood that wasn't hers. Haru's blood. Her chest tightened, and she squeezed her eyes shut, but it didn't help. The sound came back. That wet, horrible sound. The way his body dropped. The way his hand—
"..Yui"
Her breath hitched. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Ayumi stood in front of her, untouched, just like before. Yui's lips trembled. "…Ayumi…?"
Ayumi smiled softly and knelt down in front of her.
"You look like a mess," she said gently. Yui let out a broken laugh that quickly turned into a sob. "I—I thought you—"
"I know," Ayumi said warmly.
"It's okay." She pulled Yui into a soft hug, and for a second, Yui froze, but then she melted into it, clutching onto her like she was afraid she'd disappear again. "I couldn't save him…" Yui choked.
"I couldn't save you either—I can't—I can't save anyone—" "Shhh," Ayumi murmured, gently playing with her hair. "It's not your fault."
Yui's breathing shook as she buried her face into her shoulder. "I tried—I really tried—"
Ayumi's fingers moved slowly, soothingly, and for a moment, everything felt okay. Like the pain had finally stopped. Like she wasn't alone anymore.
Then her grip tightened. Yui flinched as Ayumi grabbed a strand of her hair and yanked hard. "Ah—!" Yui gasped, her body jerking back. Ayumi's expression didn't change. She was still smiling, but it didn't feel warm anymore. "…You tried?" she said softly. Yui stared at her, frozen. Ayumi tilted her head slightly. "How come you helped me that one time I scraped my knee… but you couldn't help me when it actually mattered?"
Yui's chest constricted. "I—" Ayumi leaned closer, her smile twisting just enough to feel wrong. "…Oh. Right," she said. "I forgot. You were the one killing me." Yui's breath hitched violently. "No—that's not—!" Ayumi's eyes hardened.
"All you do is whine and cry all the time," she said flatly. "Get up."
Ayumi's grip loosened, but her expression didn't soften. "Crying isn't going to bring anyone back," she continued coldly. "It didn't save me. It didn't save him. So what are you still doing here?"
Yui's lips trembled. "Stop… please…"
Ayumi tilted her head, almost bored. "Or what?" she said. "You'll cry more?"
Yui shook her head weakly, her fingers tightening in her hair.
"I saw him, you know."
Yui froze.
"…What?" her voice barely came out.
"Haru," Ayumi said casually. "After he died."
Yui's heart dropped.
Ayumi's gaze stayed locked on her, unblinking. "He wasn't happy to see me."
Yui's breathing became uneven. "S-stop…"
"He said your name first," Ayumi continued. "So I thought, wow… he must really care about you."
A small pause, then Ayumi smiled.
"But he doesn't."
Yui's vision blurred. "That's not true—"
"He hates you," Ayumi said simply.
Those words landed like a knife in Yui's soul, and Ayumi continued on further. "He said you're the reason he's stuck," she went on. "That if it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be there." Yui shook her head desperately "No—that's not—"
"He said the idea that he ever loved you makes him sick."
Something inside Yui cracked.
"And Haruka?" Ayumi added, her voice quieter now. "She hates you too. Everyone does."
Ayumi leaned in slightly, her voice dropping to something almost gentle again—but it wasn't comforting anymore.
"So why are you still here?"
"If all you do is hurt people…" Ayumi murmured, "then what's the point of you staying?"
Yui's eyes fell to the floor, to the jagged fragments that caught the faint light, and her stomach dropped. Ayumi's emerald. The one she had kept hidden all this time
it was crushed. Shattered. Tiny slivers scattered across the cold stone, like the remnants of everything she had tried to protect, everything she had failed to save. Her hands shook as she crawled closer, almost afraid to touch it, almost afraid to see that it was real.
A bitter, hollow ache hollowed out her chest. The emerald's green glimmer mocked her, flickering weakly against the darkness, and for the first time since Haru's death, Yui's knees gave way beneath her. How had it happened? Sayaka… the dungeon… the way she had been thrown.
All of it. It was her fault. She had failed. She had let everyone down. She pressed her palm against the shards, letting the faint shimmer cut into her skin, and for a moment, she almost felt Ayumi's presence—not comforting, not kind, just accusing. "…No… no…" Yui whispered, shaking. "It's broken… everything's broken…"
Her hands trembled uncontrollably as she picked up one of the sharper shards, the jagged edge biting lightly into her palm. It was small, almost laughably insignificant—but in her mind, it was enough. Enough to end it all. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps, each one shaking with grief, guilt, and exhaustion.
"It doesn't matter how long it takes… it doesn't matter if it hurts…" she whispered to herself, pressing the green fragment against her neck. Her fingers curled tightly around it, knuckles white. "…I'll just… jab it… hard… it'll be over…" The words were a mantra, a cruel sort of comfort, steadying her as the storm of pain inside her swelled.
Her mind spun, memories flashing violently—Haru's laugh, his smile, the way he had squeezed her hand and called her his girlfriend.
Haruka's cheerful voice, Ayumi's teasing, the warmth she had once felt around them. And now it was gone. Everything was gone. Her vision blurred, tears streaming freely, and for a heartbeat, the shard felt like the only thing that made sense in a world that had betrayed her.
Then the cell door creaked. Yui froze, her chest tightening, her hands instinctively clutching the emerald shard tighter. Sayaka stepped into the dim light, calm, deliberate, and terrifyingly in control. Yui's heart skipped. "W-who…?" she whispered, confusion and fear colliding in her voice. Sayaka's eyes met hers, unwavering. "Come," she said simply, her tone leaving no room for argument. Yui's fingers faltered on the emerald, and for a brief, fragile moment, she realized she wasn't completely alone. But the despair clawing at her chest didn't vanish—only the shard wavered in her grip, trembling as the decision to move forward forced itself into her body, almost as if she weren't entirely choosing it herself.
Sayaka led Yui through the dim corridors of the underground palace, the flickering torchlight casting long, twitching shadows across the stone walls. Yui's hands still shook, clutching the small emerald shard, her chest tight, her tears refusing to stop. Sayaka's footsteps were calm, deliberate, echoing in the silence, and when she finally spoke, her voice was low, almost casual, but every word hit like ice. "Do you know what those little gems really are?" she asked. Yui's eyes widened.
"The emeralds…" Sayaka continued, "The Watcher doesn't just give children wishes for free. He tricks them. Every wish comes with a price. A price bigger than they could ever imagine. A price that isn't just… inconvenient." She glanced down at Yui, her gaze sharp. "The price is your soul."
Yui froze, the weight of her broken shard suddenly feeling heavier in her hand. Sayaka's voice didn't soften. "Every child who makes a wish has their soul trapped inside one of those emeralds when they die. The moment the wish is made, their essence, everything that makes them who they are, is tied to it. Just waiting." Her fingers brushed Yui's shoulder—not cruelly, but with an almost clinical precision. "The Watcher consumes the emerald when he chooses. That's how he grows stronger. That's how he's lasted for millennia. And until then… your soul is trapped. Waiting until he eats you."
Yui's fingers trembled around the shard. The broken emerald in her hand felt like a shard of everything she had lost—and everything she was about to lose. Her body felt heavier with each step.
Yui's hands trembled as the shard of Ayumi's emerald pressed against her neck. Sayaka's smile was calm, almost casual, as if she were offering a kind favor. "Drink this," she said, producing a small vial of dark liquid. "It'll be painless. Just a sip, and it will all be over. No more pain… no more guilt… no more responsibility for everyone you've lost."
Yui's chest heaved, her tears blurring the world around her. Every memory of Haru, Haruka, Ayumi, the laughter and warmth of the past, collided violently with the crushing despair of the present. Her fingers clenched the shard tighter, ready to end it all, ready to let everything fade.
And then the air shifted. A sharp, cold sound—a slicing whoosh—cut through the tension, followed by a sickening thud. Sayaka's eyes widened in shock, her composure cracking. In the doorway, Daichi stood, his expression unreadable but lethal, his weapon glinting under the torchlight. In a single, fluid motion, he drove the blade through her midsection. Sayaka gasped, her words dying in her throat, and blood sprayed across the stone floor as she collapsed, bisected, her plans undone in an instant. The vial slipped from Yui's trembling hands, shattering harmlessly.
Yui's breath caught in her throat. She blinked, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Daichi didn't pause; he moved swiftly to the cages, slicing through the bars holding Kaito and Airi. "Go!" he commanded, urgency in his voice but steady, controlled. Kaito and Airi scrambled out, wide-eyed, their fear mixing with relief. Yui felt her knees weaken, the emerald shard in her hand now seeming almost trivial in the shadow of what had just occurred. Daichi's presence was a lifeline, a reminder that even in the deepest despair, someone could intervene—someone could fight back.
Yui's gaze met Daichi's for a brief, fleeting moment. Something fierce and protective shone in his eyes, and for the first time since Haru's death, a flicker of hope pierced through the relentless darkness. But the shard in her hand glimmered faintly, almost whispering, a reminder of the souls trapped and the battle yet to come.