"This place…"
Gabriel Michaelis stood silently in the middle of the quiet street.
As far as the eye could see stretched a city that had never truly lived—yet had never truly died.
Tall white buildings stood neatly on both sides of the road. The city lights glowed softly, casting a pale yellow reflection through the thin mist drifting gently in the air.
The sky was always suspended between night and dawn—darkness beginning to fade, yet the sun had not truly risen.
The air felt cold.
Calm.
Like a world caught between two moments in time.
Gabriel glanced around briefly, his eyes hidden beneath strands of black hair slowly shifting.
Then he let out a quiet breath.
"…Ah."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"So this is the place."
He turned slightly toward the buildings he recognized all too well.
"My inner realm."
The thin mist drifted along the empty road like the breath of the world itself.
Gabriel looked up at the dim sky.
"It seems… I fell asleep by accident."
But almost at the same moment—a pair of small arms suddenly wrapped around his waist from behind.
The embrace was gentle.
Yet also very familiar.
The body of a young girl leaned against his back.
She looked like a human girl of about fourteen.
A beautiful white kimono wrapped around her body, the fabric moving softly with the drifting mist. Her long hair was as white as snow, contrasting with her crimson-red eyes that glowed softly beneath it.
The girl rested her cheek comfortably against Gabriel's back.
"Welcome back."
Her voice was soft.
Warm.
She hugged him a little tighter.
"I was waiting for you, Gabriel."
The girl was none other than the spirit of his Zanpakutō—
Mugen Kyōen.
Gabriel glanced slightly over his shoulder.
His expression was as flat as usual—yet there was no sign of rejection toward the embrace.
"…Mugen."
He raised his hand and lightly touched her head, gently ruffling her white hair.
"You still like appearing like this, huh."
Thin mist swirled around them.
The silence of the white city felt even deeper.
Gabriel looked straight ahead.
"So," he said quietly, "did something happen… that made you pull me in here?"
A faint smile formed on Mugen Kyōen's lips.
Slowly, she released her embrace.
Her body stepped back several paces—about two meters—allowing the pale mist along the street to drift between them.
Only then did Gabriel turn around completely.
Their gazes met.
To anyone else, the girl standing before him would be nothing more than a sword spirit.
However, for Gabriel, she was far more than just that. She was something that had quite literally been born from him himself—the half of his soul he had severed when he created his own Zanpakutō.
Mugen looked at him calmly.
"You had another nightmare," she said softly.
She tilted her head slightly.
"It's already the hundredth time."
Silence fell between them.
Gabriel did not answer immediately.
His head lowered slightly.
Those memories were still too clear.
The world of Highschool of the Dead.
Four point eight billion bodies that moved.
Four point eight billion lives he had destroyed.
For most people, they were nothing more than zombies.
But for someone who possessed Kamigami no Gigan—eyes capable of seeing the truth of existence—the reality was far crueler.
They were not merely walking corpses.
Their souls were still there.
Trapped inside bodies that had already rotted.
Gabriel closed his eyes for a moment.
As if trying to push those memories back into the depths of his mind.
At that moment, Mugen moved.
Her body floated gently in the air.
She approached him.
Both of her hands lifted, then softly touched Gabriel's cheeks.
Warm.
Slowly, she raised his face.
Their eyes met again.
Crimson red met the bright blue hidden behind his black hair.
Their faces were very close.
Their breaths nearly touching.
Yet there was no awkwardness.
No uneasiness like the kind Gabriel usually felt when standing too close to other women.
Because Mugen was not "someone else."
She was a part of him.
A half of his soul walking outside his body.
"Stop blaming yourself," Mugen said softly.
Her voice was like mist—gentle, yet soothing.
"Weren't they actually grateful?"
Her eyes looked at Gabriel gently.
"Freed from those rotting bodies."
She lightly brushed his cheek.
"You even went through the trouble of preserving all their memories."
Mugen gave a faint smile.
"Inside the book you created from Dark Matter."
Silence filled the white street again.
Gabriel looked at her for a few seconds.
Then he finally spoke.
"…I know."
His voice was low.
Calm.
Yet it still carried something heavy.
"I know they're free."
He exhaled softly.
"But knowing something… and truly accepting it… are two different things."
Thin mist swirled around their feet.
"Four point eight billion," he continued quietly. "A number like that can't simply be forgotten."
But this time, he did not lower his head again.
His gaze remained straight.
"But you're right."
A faint smile—almost imperceptible—appeared at the corner of his lips.
"I've already stopped regretting it."
It's just that…
"I will never forget it."
Mugen looked at him for a few seconds.
Then slowly, she removed her hands from Gabriel's face.
The mist of that city suddenly trembled.
The white buildings began to distort.
The city lights flickered like the surface of disturbed water.
The inner realm was beginning to collapse.
Mugen stepped back slightly, her white hanfu moving softly within the mist that was starting to crack.
"It's time for you to wake up," she said calmly.
Her smile remained gentle.
"The outside world is still waiting for you."
Cracks of light began to spread across the sky of that white world.
Reality started pulling Gabriel out.
Just before everything truly shattered, Mugen raised her hand slightly.
"And Gabriel…"
The mist began to swallow everything.
"If that nightmare comes again—"
Her smile was thin, yet warm.
"Come here."
"Because this is your home too."
The next moment—the white world shattered like glass, and Gabriel's consciousness was pulled back into the real world.
***
Gabriel Michaelis's consciousness slowly returned from the depths of his dream.
The pale mist of the inner realm faded from his mind, replaced by the smell of metal, magical oil, and the lingering heat of a furnace that was beginning to cool.
The stone ceiling of the workshop greeted his eyes.
The first few seconds were silent.
Then he realized something.
His right arm felt warm.
And… heavy.
Gabriel slowly turned his head.
His eyes immediately widened.
There, curled up very comfortably, was Eta.
The elf girl was using his arm as a pillow.
Her head rested softly on it, her blonde hair falling like a thin curtain that covered part of her face. Her breathing was slow and steady—the sign of a very deep sleep.
The distance between them was too close.
Far too close.
The sound of her breathing could be heard clearly.
The warmth of her body could be felt directly through Gabriel's arm.
The next moment—Gabriel's heart immediately began pounding out of control.
His face turned red instantly, like a freshly boiled lobster.
"—?!"
Gabriel stiffened.
A strange panic rose in his mind.
His first reflex wasn't to move—but to control the mana within his body.
Mana flowed through his internal circulation paths.
Slowly.
Steadily.
He suppressed the heartbeat that had almost sounded like a war drum.
A few seconds later, the rhythm returned to normal.
His breathing stabilized as well.
Only then did his mind begin to function again.
What exactly happened?
Gabriel looked at Eta's sleeping face.
The elf girl hadn't moved at all.
Because of that, Gabriel began to piece together the possibilities.
Logic.
Facts.
Fragments of events.
And one conclusion slowly began to take shape.
It had been fifteen days.
Fifteen full days of working without truly resting.
Artifact creation.
Around them, the evidence was obvious.
The large workshop was a mess.
Piles of mithril components.
Rune tools still glowing faintly.
Several half-finished artifacts scattered across the floor and the worktables.
Everything looked like a battlefield for magical researchers.
Gabriel recalled a little of what had happened last.
Last night.
Or perhaps it had already been close to morning.
He had only intended to lie down for a moment.
Just to straighten his stiff back after working for far too long.
That was all.
But it seemed he had fallen asleep without realizing it.
From there, the next possibility was fairly clear.
Eta had probably intended to wake him.
Or perhaps she wanted to continue working.
But seeing Gabriel asleep… she sat down beside him.
Waiting.
And then, somehow—she herself had fallen asleep.
Her head resting on Gabriel's arm.
Curled up like she was now.
Gabriel looked at Eta's sleeping face again.
Calm.
Comfortable.
As if the world around her didn't exist.
"…Yes."
Gabriel let out a quiet sigh.
"That conclusion makes the most sense."
Even so…
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Because one thing still felt odd.
Eta.
A researcher almost obsessive about her experiments.
Yet now, she was sleeping so soundly like this.
Gabriel gazed up at the workshop ceiling once more.
Then back down at the elf girl's face.
"…She's really asleep, isn't she."
___
Author's Note:
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