Chapter X: The Truth About this Story – The Ice Coffin Who Bring Forth a New Story – Part II

"...Yes." Alexandra answered after thinking for a moment. 

[Fiction Theory], that name sure rang a bell. She must have heard about it somewhere before, but she couldn't really tell where…

"Good. If that theory is to be believed, we actually live in a fictional universe created by some sort of higher plane being. Do you know what that implies?"

"…We are fictional characters?"

"Yes, but that's not all. What else does that imply?"

"...…"

Nya sighed, "Don't you get it? A hint then – there was an idiot who believed that there were more women than men in the world and guess what? It slowly made men disappear until there's only a handful protected by the LIBRARY. Another idiot believed the sun always set from the North at 6AM and disappeared 12 hours later, and it became the case everywhere in the world at the exact same moment. Yet another one wished for hu■anity to be 'judged' and now, we have the angels. Our reality changed thanks to idiots, specific idiots. Why th■m and no one else?"

Alexandra looked left and right in confusion. "Um… Ma… Master… I… I am not sure I understand where you are going. Those were the calamities brought down by the witches, weren't they?"

Nya sighed again before continuing, "You sure lack imagination. Is that bec■■se your brain is ■■■■■? But that's good I guess. The lo■ger you stay here, the less damage you will do."

"Da… Damage?"

"We■l, of course. You are one of th■se almighty idiots."

Alexandra made a complicated expression. She couldn't say why, but she was starting to feel uncomfortable.

Nya on the other hand sat and crossed her legs, seeming pretty comfortable in this situation. "At first, I di■n't want to get inv■lv■d in this whole me■■, but it seems '■' likes to torture me. As soon as you pe■ple come into my lif■, I know the wo■■d is going to ■nd for me. I met ■ peoples like ■ou before – one w■s my fri■■d, while the oth■r was my ■■emy. Do you w■■t to know wh■t happene■ to th■■? One provoked the c■■amity known as [Th■na – The ■nifi■d Dawn] and ■■■■. The other pro■oke■ the calami■■ known ■s [Au■■ath■a – The Fl■■er of Judg■ent] and ■■■■. Subseque■■ly, 2 oth■r came with new cal■■■ties and of c■■rse, they ■■■■ too."

"...…"

Alexandra mind was blank. She wasn't really listening anymore. Her face hit the table while her body lied, lifeless.

"Master…" Shogo said, trying to reach for Alexandra.

Nya's eyes narrowed, "Oh-ho? So she was your so-called 'Master', huh? I see. You somehow knew she would stay here, that's why you didn't leave me alone for the last 2 weeks…"

"Master!!!"

Shogo fell from her chair. Painfully, she tried to crawl toward Alexandra, but Nya crouched down to cut her road. "You know I purposely didn't kill you right? I already analyzed your curse. Even for someone with this many fictionals parts, perfect immortality doesn't exist. First, there's that thing with poison, but I think you can be killed by at least 2 other methods."

"..."

Shogo gritted her teeth. A large smile appeared on Nya's face as her pupils shaped into concentric circles. "What point is there to stay silent now? I fried that girl's brain in such a way that she can still hear us, but not proceed anything. As long as she doesn't die, the world –  or should I say 'A' – won't try to reset this story and thus nothing will happen. You and I will be trapped in a neverending story where NOTHING ever happens. Isn't that wonderful?"

"It… It won't stay that way. She will eventually wake up and—"

"I wouldn't bet on that."

"The… The world is going to end anyway! You can't stop it by simply incapacitating the heroine! She was sent for a purpose and if she doesn't do something, the world is going to end!"

Nya's smile disappeared, "You sure act emotional now, parasite, but is that because of your love for the world or your love for that girl?"

"Huh?"

Shogo's eye widened. She clenched her fist. Her body wasn't responding properly – it seemed the woman changed how her nervous system was connected before, leaving her helpless as she tried to figure out how to get up.

"Right now, you are useless," Nya stated. "You can't do anything to help that girl, or yourself. That's what troubles you, not the world's fate. Stop lying to yourself, you hypocrite."

Shogo's face was deformed by anger. She redressed her upper body with her right hand and tried to punch Nya with the left, but she lost balance and fell on the ground again. 

Nya sighed, "How sad. How truly sad.".

"That… That is what I hate about you! You think you understand everything and that you can judge others! Just because you suffered doesn't mean you have the right to make others suffer!!!"

"My, you seem to know me really well. Just what are you anyway? Where do you come from?"

"As… As if I would tell you!!!"

Nya got up. "Shogo was it? Let me make you a proposition you can't refuse."

"I refuse!!!"

"You can't."

"I can!!!"

"I am doing you a favor, you know? You can choose between dying right here and right now, or staying alive to take care of this girl until the end of her life. Take it as a token of my appreciation. Living with the one you love should make you happy, shouldn't you?"

"Hah! What exactly do you know about appreciation and happiness, you demon?! Didn't you just kill all your friends for your twisted objective of peace?!"

Nya started laughing as if Shogo said something incredibly amusing. She laughed so hard and so loud that tears rolled down her eyes. "Now that's funny! I think I know who you are now! Even if it's for the wrong reasons, that girl was right about you!"

Shogo looked at the ground cursing her emotivity. If she didn't talk carelessly, this demon wouldn't have…

"Now, now, don't blame yourself."

Nya crouched and took Shogo in her arms.

"I am sorry," she said with a soft voice, "I think I always knew somewhere inside of me that you were that child."

Resting on Nya's shoulder, Shogo seemed to calm down. 

That feeling, that smell, it was so nostalgic…

"I don't know how many times you had to do this," Nya whispered, "but you can stop now. If you stay with me, we can wait for the end of the world together. You won't have to worry about having a role in the story anymore, or seeing that girl dying anymore. Think about it, you won't have to see her die again, or to kill her. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Hearing the woman's words, Shogo felt her heart filling itself with something cold, something cold and heavy. It was true she sometimes thought about it, giving up and letting this world end. What obligations did she have toward it anyway? For which reason would she sacrifice herself and her loved one for this? If she just gave up, everything would be simpler. A calm and peaceful life in this decaying world. Was it so bad? No, she didn't think so. It wasn't BAD.

"If… If I don't do anything, will we be able to live in peace?" Shogo asked.

"As long as this girl or you don't intervene, whatever is supposed to destroy the world WILL do it given enough time, yes. That would be the logical conclusion. But in the meantime, you can have a more normal relationship with this girl."

"Normal…"

"Yes. No more of this twisted relationship where you have to kill her. No more pointless fights with me. We can surely live like a family now."

"...(Family, huh? That would be wonderful, indeed…)"

"So? What do you say? It might look like making a deal with the devil, but if you are here, it means you did far worse, right?"

"That knowledge of yours… it's annoying…"

A sad smile drew itself on Nya's face, "There's no need to make me remember that…" she whispered.

"...Sorry…"

"...No worries. I can't really imagine not knowing anymore. Being a pawn in this story would be more painful, I think."

"No… that isn't why I am apologizing…"

Nya's eyes widened. She tried to get away from Shogo, but the doll held her tight making it impossible to escape. A strong and cold wind started emanating from her body and freezing everything in the room.

"My, a [Glass Coffin], huh? You aren't dead, are you? Why did it activate?"

"Oh, but I am! Considering your offer is basically dying as a person, it is only natural it would appear!"

Ice was slowly forming on Shogo's body and Nya's. The latter couldn't feel her finger anymore, they probably turned into ice at that point. 

This was clearly a life threatening situation, but her only reaction was to sigh. "The grimoire named [Snow White]... Somehow, this girl used it to curse you at some point, huh? It belongs to the Schneeweißchen household though… How did she convince them to use their grimoire for this? I mean, fusing humans with fictionals is forbidden, isn't it?"

"See?! That is how much Master loves me! I can't let her finish that way! I must… I must save her!!!"

Nya stared down at Shogo. There was a big ecstatic smile on her face. Her hair floated with the cold wind as she was slowly turning the whole place into an ice coffin. 

"... Ah~... your love for her is THAT twisted, huh? My, now that is sad. That's truly sad."

With another sigh, Nya started to think about what to do next. If that girl knew her well, she must have been conscious that killing her body amounted to doing nothing. So… her aim was probably to kill Alexandra so that the 'story' would start anew. That was pretty straightforward so she saw it coming – she could kill Shogo at any moment if she wished so, she didn't even have to say something for her to become incapacitated. She just had to wish for it. Just that…

"..."

As her body turned to ice, Nya understood something – that girl, Shogo, knew her better than herself.

Of course, she couldn't kill her. She couldn't kill this child a second time while being fully conscious of who she was. If she did, she was sure she wouldn't have waited until the end of the world to kill herself out of grief, and knowing that she couldn't "die" in the conventional sense of the word…

It seemed Shogo was already dead. Most of the room was covered by ice as pure as unstained glass. Nya tried to forcefully move her right hand, but it broke and fell on the ground. She then tried to move her left hand which seemed to react.

Slowly, she raised it until it reached Shogo's head. As a last smile drew itself on her face, she wondered – would this have ended differently if she chose to help them?

Probably not…

"(Ah~... I sure hope my next self will be clueless enough…)" she thought. 

That way, she won't hesitate to kill you…