EPISODE 19: THE WORST ENEMY OF CONSCIENCE

Hello everyone, my name is Ai Kirisawa. You can just call me Ai. I'm Ayumi's twin sis. I guess it's my turn to tell a part of the story. Zan's told you quite a lot already but there's a bit he didn't know back then about Ayu's past and mine. But this story doesn't start in the past. It starts in the present, two days after Ayumi was pulled into an alternate timeline by Chaos, the 27th of December, 2011. I remember that day so clearly, a lot of funny things happened followed by many tragedies.

That morning, I woke up and went to help the maids with breakfast as usual. Suki, the other maids and I had quite an interesting conversation about Ayumi and Zan. As it turned out, even the maids had begun to notice that Ayumi had begun to develop romantic feelings for Zan. Ayumi had begun to change. She was less strict with the maids now and sometimes even engaged them in conversation. I nearly laughed when Suki told me that Ayumi had once asked her whether Zan would like the Tux she had decided to make for him for Christmas. I laughed even harder when I learnt that Ayumi actually blushed when Suki teased her. Then somehow, I ended up becoming the topic of our conversation. The maids asked me whether I had a boy I liked but I hadn't met any boys in almost five years. Zan was probably the first boy I'd seen in a while apart from my dad and other relatives. Suki was even bold enough to suggest that I should find myself a boyfriend but I was so embarrassed with the topic that I quickly made up an excuse and left the kitchen.

As I passed by the Hall, I noticed that my dad was talking with someone and they seemed to be enjoying their conversation very much. I decided to take a peep and almost collapsed. My dad was speaking with the Nightmare King, Zan's dad! I could have died any moment considering the fact that it was the Nightmare King that cursed me five years ago.

Shockingly enough, I was invited in. I sat as far from the Nightmare King as I possibly could. I wondered what the two men could have been talking about and demanded an answer as politely as I could. I was even more shocked when the Nightmare King began to ask me how Ayumi and Zan were getting along. For some strange reason, all his questions were centred on how the romance between the two was developing and my dad seemed equally interested in my answers. As we talked, we heard an argument break out upstairs and soon, Ayumi and Zan came walking down the stairs. Ayumi had a clenched fist and Zan seemed to be rubbing his cheek painfully.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?!" Ayumi yelled angrily.

"Sorry" Zan said regretfully.

Then they walked to the dining table without noticing any of us and ate silently. Ayumi kept pressuring Zan into eating more vegetables but he was more interested in the bacon, eggs and hot dogs on the table. I heard Ayumi speaking sternly, and a loud hitting sound followed by a crashing sound was heard. I turned to look at my dad.

"Just like Saito" I heard the Nightmare King say.

"Darou?" my dad said with an expression I never thought I'd see on his face.

I smiled.

Soon, Ayumi and Zan were heard approaching the hall, and then they came into view. Both held a sandwich in their hands and were about to chew on them; but when they saw us in the hall, they dropped their sandwiches simultaneously.

"N-N-N-Nightmare King?!" Ayu exclaimed in shock.

"D-Dad?! What're you doing here?!" Zan seemed to be even more surprised.

"Naïve brat. Does a father need a reason to visit his son?" the Nightmare King said.

"Says the guy who never showed his face in nineteen years! Temae (Damn you!) You better give me a good reason for showing your face here! Depending on your answer, I might give you a round of stargazing!" Zan yelled angrily.

"Quite the rude one, aren't you?" the Nightmare King said calmly.

"Do you see all the papers on the table before me?" my dad asked.

Zan and Ayu took a close look from where they stood.

"What, you guys studying for some post graduate exam or something?" Zan retorted.

The Nightmare King laughed.

"Looks like the wish I made on the day of your naming ceremony actually did come true" the Nightmare King said with a sinister laugh.

"What wish?! I hope you didn't jinx me in anyway?! You better take it back!" Zan roared.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to. You've become far too warped for me to take it back now" the Nightmare King said.

I chuckled nervously.

"What a wonderful father-son moment, seems like something out of an anime" I thought with a silent laugh.

"What are those papers?" Ayumi asked suspiciously.

"Ayumi, I received a letter last night from your grandmother back in Kyoto. You've officially been recognized as the strongest flame wielder of the Kirisawa clan and named heir to the clan once I'm gone, though the fact that I'm alive today means you're still second place" my dad said with a sinister laugh.

Ayu glared at him angrily, yet tried to keep her cool.

"You can't tell me all those sheets are letters" Ayumi said.

"What the hell are you two up to?!" Zan roared angrily.

"Why? Aren't you happy to see your dad, Zanny boy?" the Nightmare king teased.

"No" Zan answered almost immediately.

"That was quick" Ayumi said with a look of surprise on her face.

"There's no way I'd be happy that he's here! He's the Nightmare King, my dad. Yet for the past how many years, he kept plaguing me with dreams of evil bunnies with red eyes saying oh my God, I don't even want to imagine it! Temae! The chances of Hell freezing over in a single night are way higher than the chances of me ever calling you dad...in a loving way! Go water the desert!" Zan roared angrily.

"I already did that before coming here" the Nightmare King said.

"Wow, he's always prepared isn't he?" Ayumi said with a funny look on her face.

"Then burn the sea!" Zan roared.

"I covered that also. Haven't you noticed how hot the weather is today?" the Nightmare King said.

At that moment, my dad turned off the air-con and I felt as though I had been thrown into an oven. Ayumi and my dad seemed to be enjoying the heat a lot though.

"Take me under your wing, Nightmare King sensei!" Ayumi immediately exclaimed much to everyone's surprise.

My dad turned on the air-con again and the room became cooler after a while.

"So, what're those papers dad?" I asked my father.

"Ayu, do you also really want to know what they are?" my dad asked.

"Of course!" Ayumi declared.

"You know our clan has always been the strongest and we must remain the strongest" Mr Kirisawa said.

"I can see where this is going. Sounds like a line from some anime" Zan muttered suspiciously.

"Those papers, Zan, Ayumi, those are your marriage documents, certificates, family shares and all, an entire marriage contract legally recognized" my dad said.

"WHAAAAT?! YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS DAD! A MARRIAGE ORGANIZED OUT OF POLITICAL CONVENIENCE?! TELL ME YOU DIDN'T JUST AGREE TO THAT NONSENSE!" Ayumi roared angrily.

"He-e-ey dad, you must be hungry. Would you like some food? If you'd like something, I'll prepare a real Dagaare treat for you" Zan's attitude quickly changed.

"And hell's not frozen over yet" the Nightmare King said with a sinister chuckle.

"I couldn't help it Ayu. He gave me a pretty good deal" my dad said.

"What kind of deal?! You should even be embarrassed to call your daughter's marriage contract a deal!" Ayumi roared.

"He promised to teach me a new flame technique, the most powerful in existence" my dad said.

"You sold your daughter for a flame technique?! That's so low dad!" Ayumi yelled angrily.

"Ugh, boys! I guess no matter the age, the idiotic characteristics will always be the same!" I thought to myself.

"So where do I sign dad?" I heard Zan say and saw him holding a paper in his hand.

"That one, oh, you can use my pen" the Nightmare King said and handed Zan a pen.

In less than a moment, Zan had signed his portion.

"TRAITOR! How could you?! You were supposed to be the one to propose to me, not your dad! You should at least have the guts to do that!" Ayumi roared angrily.

"That can easily be remedied. Ayu, will you marry me?" Zan asked robotically.

"NO WAY IN HELL DAMN YOU!!!" Ayumi roared and punched Zan through three walls in the Kirisawa mansion.

"Yup, definitely a second Saito" my dad said with a laugh.

"Why do I feel like I'm watching a Korean drama?" I muttered worriedly.

Then Ayumi turned to my dad.

"You should be ashamed of yourself old man! What would Mom say?!" Ayumi roared.

"Actually, those papers were prepared by your mother six years ago" my dad said.

Ayumi fell on her knees.

(Illustration of Ayu's mom waving, I'm sorry Ayu! Sayonara!) –INSERT HERE!

"I can't believe it, even Mom? Both my parents betrayed me?" Ayumi seemed depressed.

Zan walked back in.

"Come on Ayu, it won't be so bad. Besides, I love you. I've already told you so many times, and you love me too so why shouldn't we get married?" Zan said.

Ayumi began to weep.

"You don't understand. None of you understand!" Ayumi yelled and ran away.

"Ayu!" Zan called and ran after her.

"Aaaah, young love. It can be compared to eating well spiced meat and drinking six cans of beer, then going to bed and dreaming of heaven, only to wake up the next morning with a hangover and feel like crapping terribly, rushing to the washroom only to find the W.C hasn't been flushed in over a week and there's no T-roll in sight. Pitiful" the Nightmare King said.

"That's a nightmare you're describing! A full-fledged nightmare! Don't go comparing love to a nightmare!" I screamed angrily.

"Ooooh, looks like young Ai is quite knowledgeable in the affairs of love. Where is your experience coming from?" the Nightmare King teased me.

"Uh-um-uh…novels" I said with a look of embarrassment on my face.

"Romance novels? Come on Ai, I expected better. Don't go reading stuff like that and think it's real love. Love is like a king who decided to travel to another country to make peace, then discovered his country had been besieged. Immediately, he leaves the country he is in to save his country but gets sniped by an arrow no sooner than he left the castle of the other King" my dad said.

"Ryuuji! You're not doing the subject enough justice! Love is just like it's portrayed in Dante's inferno!" the Nightmare King exclaimed.

"I see. That is true. Braving the dangers of hell for a loved one while facing your sins!" my dad said with a laugh.

"No! It's more like when Dante's fiancée died and her soul was ascending into Heaven and Satan came and snatched it like a chicken about to be slaughtered!" the Nightmare king roared passionately.

"And I'm just going to pretend I didn't just hear that coming from the lips of a man far older than my grandfather. I guess boys will always be boys, unruly as always" I thought and walked to the garden.

I saw Zan and Ayumi a distance away. Zan was trying desperately to comfort Ayumi but she refused to listen to him. I watched them, I must admit, with a little envy. I wondered what it would feel like to be in love. I sighed and came to a decision. Instead of staying cooped up in the house all day, I'd go out and try to have some fun, maybe meet a few people, though in my heart, I doubted that I'd find love that randomly. I was really bad at interacting with boys. Zan was probably the only guy I could speak to freely and that was only because he'd lived with us for a while now and was the one that cured me of my curse. But I could never bring myself to fall in love with him. After all, he was the only person Ayu had ever loved this much. I left the house without drawing too much attention to myself and explored Dream City.

THAT SAME MORNING…

Prince Asante, Zan's mate and only friend in high school before he (Zan), and Ayu became friends, rested in his room. None of us knew anything about Prince and somehow, we'd never even bothered to ask. He seemed so carefree that none of us could bother to ask him anything about his life, not that we didn't care but it just didn't seem to matter.

Prince's eyes were shut. It appeared he lived alone. His room was covered, littered with all sorts of artworks about clocks and books concerning time as well as many models of clocks. I think he had a secret obsession for clocks. During the Christmas party we hosted, I noticed him a few times staring at the many models of clocks in our house and when I gave him permission to fidget with them, he seemed so very pleased. He was always so enthusiastic about clocks but being a Dream Knight and fighting evil for so long, the kind of intuition I'd developed was second only to my mother's. No matter how much Prince fidgeted with clocks, they never seemed to satisfy him enough. It was almost as though he was trying to grope for something he'd lost in the past.

Almost as if…he was trying to regain time. I could probably understand how he felt because I'd lost five years of my own life.

Prince…um…uh…Zan! Could you please take over, I don't feel so comfortable narrating a story about a boy!

IMMEDIATE TAKE OVER…

Amping up the story now cos "I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I'M BACK BA-A-A-A-A-Y-Y-BAY!"

So Ai, where'd you leave off?

"Prince was about to get changed?"

"Hmmmm??? I'm surprised you managed to get that far Ai"

"Just take over Zan!"

Okay, so here's what happened next, Prince stood up from his bed, walked to the sink and turned on the tap. He fetched handfuls of water by using his hands as a cup and stared into the water. Then he frowned and said to himself…

"I despise my reflection! I've always hated looking at myself. I wonder if I've achieved anything by trying to make friends. It doesn't change anything because…I more than anyone else know that…if I try to get close to anyone…I'll only end up destroying them…just like I did my own family…ten years ago…" he said with a frown.

What?! Killer at the age of nine?! That's pretty sick dude and I don't mean that in a good way! Besides, I owe you a punch for pretending to be my friend Mr Jackass Douchebag Stikomik Lying Bunny Slippers!

Prince stared at his reflection in the mirror and smiled…and a second after, punched the mirror into a thousand smithereens!

YAAAAAAAAANNNNNDEEEEEERRRRREEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Oh my goodness, in what direction is this story headed currently, I hope it doesn't turn into empty banter, don't you agree?

"I despise it! Anything that shows…a reflection of myself! But at least I can destroy glass! Water on the other hand keeps adapting and cannot be destroyed by my fist. I just wish…all reflective surfaces on this planet…would just disappear! I hate my eyes…I hate the fact that I can see myself in everything! Cold eyes that can never grab hold of any image but just skim past everything…like the hand of an inanimate being!" Prince roared.

So where exactly did this good guy pulling a sudden one-eighty mid-way through a series originate? This just doesn't make any sense…or does it?

As Prince raged in front of the shattered mirror, a presence appeared behind him.

"For how long are you going to keep holding on to something you have no control of?" the presence asked him.

"You again?! Get lost! I don't ever want to see your face around me again!" Prince roared as he turned to face the figure.

"Strange…you say that…but the only thing you've ever wanted is the power to control time; the power to undo the past and erase your one greatest sin…and that in itself…is your greatest sin" the voice said to him.

"Keep talking as though you understand me you naïve misrepresentation of myself. I had long forsaken that goal. If I cannot regain what I have lost…then no one else must have what I don't have!" Prince growled.

"And you call me naïve. No matter which path you choose…pain is a reality you will endure. Don't think refusing to feel anything will change that, foolish microsecond. All you see in your life is a single moment when the hands of the clock stopped moving…and in your vanity, you've deceived yourself into believing that a clock without progression is time. You know what? I always believed that humans were ridiculous creatures myself; however…you are far more ridiculous than the summation of all moronic humans I've met throughout time. A river that thinks of itself as the sea…is doomed to dry up and have its sustenance cut off when the sun scorches it. So far…I've seen humans stand up to Cowardice, Enslavement, Despair…and myself…Chaos. However, when Decay shows up…it's all over for you. For unlike us…he will confront you within your very own self. Those that accept him lose their self-esteem and those that reject him lose their conscience" Chaos said as he disappeared.

Prince scoffed.

"Then let him come. I have no lingering attachment to anything in this world" he said.

SOMEWHERE AROUND THE BRIDGE THAT STRETCHES ACROSS SHINING RIVER…

"Humanity claimeth to possess the nature of Light; humanity claimeth to possess the nature of strength; humanity undeniably findeth strength in independence. However; Light without yonder source wilt fade into the darkness that needeth no source. Standing up to fear wilt instruct thee in the meaning of an overwhelming defeat…and masked within independence dwelleth…the greatest depths of Solitude. So foolish humans…hath thou finally beckoned…to me?" a voice rang, growing from a whisper into an overwhelmingly powerful voice.

The surface of Shining River began to stagnate and corrode. Life within the river began to die as two sinister purple eyes glowed within the depths of the river.

AT BOLABIRD CINEMA…

Ai stared at the movie posters that surrounded the cinema. She saw a poster that caught her attention, "'Hajime no Olele, Code Ageless (Title Copyrighted in Advance!) huh?' And what's that supposed to be anyway? Let me take a closer look" she said as she approached the poster.

Boy, how I wish Emma Colette was around to see this.

"Hmm, a boy with a book, another with a sword, another with a sling, one with a trumpet, a woman with a nail and a peg…hmm, could this be…a man with a rod…masa ka? (You can't be serious). A biblical parody huh? I really wonder what Christians have to say about this. Well, it won't hurt to give it a try" Ai said as she walked into the cinema which happened to be connected to a shopping mall as well.

She bought some popcorn and some ice cream, then headed off to buy a ticket. There was a long queue to the counter.

"Is this Hajime no Olele movie really that good?" she wondered.

She knew with her special privileges as a member of high society, she could cut the line but she didn't want to draw too much attention to herself. As the line began to grow shorter, she noticed a familiar figure approaching.

"Hey Prince! Over here!" she called.

Prince turned around and noticed her.

"If it isn't Ai Kirisawa!" Prince called as he ran towards her.

Suddenly, the mall became deathly silent.

"Did he just say Ai Kirisawa? The daughter of the wealthy Ryuuji Kirisawa who owns the multi-million Kirisawa Conglomerate?" voices rang and soon, people gathered around to constrict Ai and Prince's movement.

"Are you really Ai? Now that you mention it…you really do look like a Kirisawa!" voices rang.

"I don't even want to know what that means" Ai muttered with a nervous laugh.

"Oops, sorry Ai, I forgot you rich folks really have it tough" Prince laughed.

"Yeah, I guess everyone has their own share of problems to deal with" Ai laughed nervously.

Prince suddenly grabbed her by the hand.

"Let's make a run for it!" he suggested and pulled her away, breaking through the wild crowd.

After running for a long time, they managed to hide in the cinema hall. Luckily the lights of the cinema hall were dimmed and it was already half full making it difficult for people to recognize them. Prince and Ai panted heavily.

"That certainly took a few years off my life" Prince laughed.

"It certainly did, didn't it?" Ai said with a laugh. "We didn't even get a chance to buy tickets…and when the line became short enough too, too bad" she muttered regretfully.

"Tickets schmickets! Who needs 'em when you can just break in?" Prince said.

"And there conveniently happened to be no guard around making it easy to sneak in" Ai said.

"I'm just that lucky. Let's take advantage of this fortunate 'accident'. After all, better to ask for forgiveness than permission" Prince laughed.

"That's not the problem. It's not like I can't afford a ticket you know?" Ai said.

"Don't be so stiff all the time Ai. Life wouldn't be fun without rules…you know why?" Prince asked.

"I'm just going to pretend I don't know what you'll say next" Ai thought with a funny expression on her face.

She just shook her head.

"Because, if there were no rules…there'd be no rule breakers" Prince said with an innocent laugh.

Yep, he's definitely, positively, without any shred of a doubt…yanderic.

"Your thought patterns really are scary Prince. You do know that's another word for a delinquent/rogue/villain/criminal?" Ai said.

"That's the whole point" Prince said.

HE MADE NO EFFORT TO DENY IT!

"You remind me a lot; about Zan" Ai said with a laugh.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" Prince said as he led Ai towards the seats hidden in the darkest area of the shadows.

It looked as though he was distracted for a moment with searching for seats.

"Never mind" Ai sighed.

Ai and Prince sat down and talked for a while before the cinema finally filled up and the movie began.

MEANWHILE…A LITTLE EARLIER…

Ayumi sat under a tree in the garden of the Kirisawa mansion. There were tears in her eyes but she was trying to hold them back; the whole tough girl routine. Honestly, I wonder how I could keep putting up with that. I felt really depressed because I thought I had caused Ayumi a deeper hurt than I realized.

I approached her.

"Ayu, are you alright?" I asked her.

"Please leave me alone…I wish I could say that but…it's my worst fear" Ayumi wept.

"You've been crying a lot lately you know?" I asked her.

"I've kept too much within me for too long. This is precisely why I chose not to feel anything…for anyone but my family" Ayumi said.

"I understand Ayu…I know what you feel. When Wanye, my gramps was killed…I wanted to destroy every single person alive. Somehow the only person I never seemed to be able to think of destroying…was you, and we'd known each other for little more than a month" I said with a laugh.

Ayumi clenched her teeth hard to prevent herself from crying any more than she was trying to keep her tears bottled up.

"Thank you for trying to make me feel better but you know…it only makes me feel much worse" Ayumi said.

"Then let it all out…if you want…I'll help you, with a little music" I said as I weaved an acoustic guitar from dreams.

I began to play single notes, one at a time, and then I began to fill in the chords and main lines of harmony with my dreamweaving abilities.

"This is a song from Edwin Mwintome Bozie's story, Dragon Zone, The Code Of Heart And Hate…but of course I'll make my own modifications or…it'd be copyright infringement" I said with a wink.

Author Comment:

You can just go ahead and skip this portion, I'm pretty sure it's just filler.

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Emma Colette should definitely hear this! (You might only get this after reading Emma Colette in my "Learning Wisdom from Crazy Fun Chronicles" on Writers-Network so don't hesitate to check 'em out.

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(IDIOT! WHAT'S THE USE OF INFRINGING ON YOUR OWN COPYRIGHT?! GO AND LEARN A LESSON OR TWO FROM EMMA COLETTE!!!)

Then I began to sing…

"A wounded bird flies high, searching for a lonely place,

Not knowing where or why this world is such a really messy maze

The wounded bird flies high, searching for a Holy Place,

Not knowing where or why this world is such a really messy maze.

Searching, seeking, for the way back home…

Flying(Flying), Trying(Trying) not to give up hope…

Searching, seeking, for the way back home,

Flying(Flying), Trying(Trying) not to give up hope.

Timeless, windless, wordless, endless

Something from my past seems worthless

Memories I can't define,

Of things I just can't seem to find.

A star, a storm, a great starship,

That blazes on a timeless trip

A black hole comes and wakes my fears,

The silent stars shed endless tears.

Bended, ended, winded, worded,

Silent the crew disappear,

I awaken the next day on my bed

To find that all my memories are dead,

Growing, hiding, rising, finding

I can't fit in this strange setting

My past is lost but I am here

And the silent stars keep shedding timeless tears…

The wounded bird grows wings,

Soaring higher, breaking strings,

Wounded wings stretch further

Breaking burdens, hardened yes…but tender

The toothless beak grows fangs so stronger,

Tearful eyes, now fearful and wiser

Wounds of the past become a shield

Impenetrable and light to wield…

A star a storm a great starship,

That blazes on a timeless trip,

A comet streaks and calms my fears,

The invincible dragon sheds no tears!"

(Funny how what was begun in one story found its completion in another…)

I sang as tears began to stream down my eyes. I did not understand myself why that song brought tears to my eyes but I knew that it made Ayumi feel much sadder than she felt just before I began to sing, though as clueless as I was to her fears, I could not understand why.

"I can't take it anymore, I can't hide the truth from you any longer Zan. I know I'll lose you once you discover the truth but I can't keep lying to you" Ayumi cried.

"Lying to me? I don't think you could do that Ayu. You know what? A good cook can never lie!" I tried to divert Ayumi's attention.

Somehow, I just didn't want to hear what she wanted to say.

"What do you mean by that?" Ayumi asked.

"Since I came to live here, I've never tasted bad food and cooking is only as good as the feelings you put into it no? Well, if you think you're lying to me, why don't you just cook something for me to eat?" I joked and winked.

"Haaaah?" Ayumi exclaimed in surprise.

"In my hometown, we have this saying, 'a woman's heart is only as good as the food she can cook'" I said with a laugh.

(Well, it goes along those lines but I've exaggerated it a bit…for dramatic effect! Heh!)

Ayumi stood up and walked away without saying a word.

AN HOUR LATER…

Ayumi walked to where I sat, under the tree before she left, carrying a tray containing a bowl of…well something that was covered.

"Well, looks like you really took me seriously. So I wonder, kekeheheh, what does Ayumi's heart taste like" I said as I rubbed my hands together with a mischievous grin.

I uncovered the bowl a-a-a-n-d…

"So how does it look Zan?" she asked.

I stared at the food suspiciously.

"What's this? Is it supposed to be edible? It looks like a volcano in the middle of an oil spillage" I thought.

"Why don't you have a taste Zan?" Ayumi asked me.

"Besides that, I think she cooked this with Pyrogeysers" I thought.

"Zan? Aren't you going to taste it?" she asked me.

"Well…uh…um, you know Ayu, I just remembered this other saying from my hometown which says... 'a woman must know her heart well before she presents it to a man' so why don't you try it first?" I asked with a faked innocent smile.

And like my friend Hitoyoshi Zenkichi from Medaka Box would say (thanks to the fansub team)…SATANIC WICKED!!!

Ayumi picked the food, fetched a bit of it with a spoon and ate it.

"DID SHE REALLY EAT THAT?!" I exclaimed in horror.

She played with it in her mouth a bit to see if it tasted alright and then she…spat it out and coughed violently!

"I guess it's not edible after all, I'm sorry about that Zan" Ayumi said downheartedly.

"Hey hey hey, if you spat out the food you prepared yourself…then…I fear for my future…" I thought with a grim expression on my face.

"I'll pour this away, it's not good after all" Ayumi said but before she could take the bowl, I snatched it from her reach.

"Hey hey, don't take what doesn't belong to you. It's a present for me isn't it?! Well, good or bad, I'm just going to have to cope with it" I said and began to gulp the food.

I must say, it was a painful experience but I tried my best to endure it and when Ayumi wasn't looking, I'd pour a few spoons behind me.

"You don't have to try so hard you know?" Ayumi said with a sad look on her face.

"I'm suffering enough as it is, don't try to discourage me Ayu" I said and ate more.

After I was done, I felt like I'd just swallowed the sea. It took all my strength to remain conscious.

"So how was it?" Ayumi asked me.

"Do you want the 'sweet-talking reply with sugar-coating and a lot of meaningless words', or 'the truth which might be harsh'?" I asked Ayumi.

"Th-The truth" she said.

"W-Well then, here's my review of your cooking. It tasted like sand mixed with gravels and poured into oil, then cooked with sulphur. There was so much going on in there I couldn't taste anything" I said.

"I see" Ayumi turned away.

She seemed slightly irritated but was trying her best to conceal it.

"But…you put a lot into it. In the end, the taste was terrible but that was because you put in a lot of ingredients with conflicting tastes so there was a lot of disharmony in your cooking, but that doesn't mean there was nothing in it. There were sweet and bitter ingredients, salty and sour ones as well, but you really tried your best, didn't you Ayu?" I said with a thumbs-up aka Mr Nice Guy Pose; and a wink.

Ayumi smiled at me but her smile was wavering.

MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE CLOSE TO SHINING RIVER…

Prince and Ai were talking excitedly.

"That movie was so crazy but at the same time, it was so original. I was surprised when they announced at the end that it was actually a spin-off promotion for Christian Warrior" Ai laughed happily.

Prince stared at her.

"She just couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole movie, even at scenes that seemed boring. But her laughter never seemed forced and…" Prince thought to himself as he recalled a moment in the cinema.

Ai watched a scene when Olele and Satan were about to have a final showdown. Prince stared at the screen and into Ai's eyes. She was seriously rooting for Olele but he was fascinated at how the light from the projection of the movie reflected in her eyes.

"When her eyes reflected the scene from the movie, I can't explain it but…I was moved. I just couldn't hate…that reflection" Prince thought to himself.

The two walked through the city till they could eventually see Shining River a few hundred metres away.

"Prince, could that be Shining River up ahead?" Ai asked him.

She had heard so much about how beautiful Shining River had become since half a decade ago. Shining River was rumoured to be so clear, you could see right into its depths. On hot days, the river was so cool it felt like water taken out of a fridge. On cold days on the other hand, it felt so warm it seemed alive. The river hadn't always been shiny. In fact, roughly around eight years ago, it had another name, "Rotten River". It was so dark and murky that anyone who dared to swim inside it had no chance of being rescued in case of any unfortunate incidents. It was thus also known about ten years ago as "The Grave Of Unforgiving Souls".

Apparently, the river had changed nature about five years ago when two drowning children were saved by a mysterious woman. It was also shortly before the death of Saito Kusanagi and the curse of Ai Kirisawa. No one knew exactly what happened. Ryuuji Kirisawa had always suspected that the death of his wife and the cleansing of "Rotten River" were somehow related though he had never been able to find out why. Ai after finally being cured of her curse was interested in seeing the one major thing that had changed about Dream City in the last half decade and that was the now Shining River.

"Yes Ai, that there is Shining River" Prince said but he didn't look so happy.

In fact it looked like he was trying to hide his disgust for the river far too much. He knew it would almost be impossible to hide that from someone like Ai since she was good at reading people.

"I'll race you there Ai!" Prince called and ran towards the river.

"No fair Prince! You should have given me a head start!" Ai pretended to be offended.

"I'm not that much of a gentleman" Prince teased her and ran ahead.

The closer they drew to the Shining River, the more they began to notice a mysterious mist gathering around them.

Prince slowed down and looked around. Ai stopped as well and stared at him. She could sense an evil aura and not just your average evil aura. The aura was in the air itself and unlike the evil aura from the other evil souls that kept your hairs on edge or caused shivers to run down your spine or caused you to break into a cold sweat, this presence was far different. This was the kind of aura that could cause a normal person to lose his sanity, yes, the kind of evil that could seep into the soul itself.

"Prince, I don't like it here, let's leave" Ai said.

She thought it might be easy to convince Prince to leave if she played the role of the damsel in distress but somehow Prince didn't look like he cared much. He seemed normal. He didn't look scared or disturbed. It should have been obvious that what was happening wasn't normal since sinister whispers began to sound all around the mist as it grew so thick, the two had to hold hands to avoid losing one another in the mist, but through all of this, Prince seemed…far too calm for a normal human. Ai wondered why. She couldn't sense the kind of aura from Prince that Dream Knights had or the breath that converted their fear into a kind of force that enveloped their bodies and pushed them to fight on. Prince certainly didn't have an overwhelming aura but if he did, it would have been much more understandable than this. Even normal people possessed auras that changed according to their feelings. It was the aura that allowed humans who had so far been known to have lost their survival instincts to know when it was alright to speak or remain silent and it was aura that told them when they definitely had to run! But Prince emanated no aura, yet he was very much warm, just like any other human and it didn't seem like he had the sensory receptors to detect changes in atmosphere or mood. Aura had been given many names by people, "intuition", "intelligence", "foresight", and in many cases "common sense". Every human had these traits. Even the most bizarre of humans had at least one but there were three categories of people that defied any of those. The first are those that call themselves fearless; the people Cowardice loved the most. Though undaunted in appearance, they feared themselves above any other force, natural or supernatural, and what they possessed was neither courage nor fearlessness. Courage without wisdom is merely recklessness, and that was the first category of people, but Prince did not belong in this category. The second are those that lack any sensory receptors at all. You could call them the "oblivious kind" or to put it more bluntly, "they are far too foolish to even consider what would work to their benefit or demise; these are the kind Chaos loved the most since through them he could wreak all the havoc he wanted. They were the ones he referred to as "The Moronic" but Prince wasn't completely a member of this category either. The last category of humans that defied logic were those Dream Knights often referred to as "The Humans Of Zero Probability", or at other times, "The Ones That Would Fall To Depravity". The reason for these two names was that, no matter how terrifying life was, a human could always choose one path over another. Choosing a path meant rejecting another but in this way, humans know they are alive. However, though it was not an excuse, this kind of people believed in a predestined path that could never be changed and not the kind that most religions believed in either. Their creed was… "Good will lead to evil, and evil will lead to evil, thus there is no meaning in life and the world would be better off being erased". These kind were considered just as dangerous as Zanfar and could be much more dangerous if they wielded the kind of power Zanfar had. For even Zanfar, no matter how despicable he was, was a being of unsurpassed pride! To him, it wasn't really about destroying everything because nothing made sense. It was more like, "I'll destroy everything for my own sake, and create a new world from the ashes for my sake alone. If I destroy, it's for my sake and no one else's and if I save, it's for the fulfilment of my own whims" thus at least everything Zanfar did was out of selfishness and pride.

He might only consider destroying those that are a threat to him without paying much attention to casualties. And though a being of immense evil as he was, Zanfar wasn't so meticulous he'd search for and destroy every single human one by one however, to the third kind of human that defied all logic and were the very embodiment of every despicable trait the word "humanity" stands against,

"Life is meaningless so I destroy. You were born to suffer so I'll kill you to ease your pain. Whether you die today or tomorrow, it makes no difference, if only…everything would just disappear"

These words were the embodiment of their beliefs. They were evil themselves but at least, "evil people who clearly declare their evilness openly" are known by all as evil and if not for any other reason at all, people around them could be warned beforehand…however, the truly dangerous kind of evil people are those that are convinced that the evil they do…is for the right reason.

This was the category of people Prince belonged to; "The Depraved". The fearful thing about the depraved is that they hardly emit any ominous aura, any sinister feelings, any obviously evil intentions. They were the embodiment of "Zero Probability, hopelessness, crushed dreams" and while they could just as well be one step below the Devil's level of Depravity for the simple fact that they were not the ones that spawned original evil; they are as clear, as calm, as appealing, as attractive and…as charismatic as a "clear pool of still water that hasn't been broken by a single touch".

Ai could clearly feel it now, that there was something definitely wrong with Prince but she still didn't want to believe it. Regardless, she drew herself a safe distance away from him while keeping her aura calm. Aura had many uses. The inexperienced like myself, Face and Victoria had only learnt to use it for offense however, aura could be used for much more than just materializing "will". Aura could be used as a sense. A sense, "an instinct" to detect danger, and by expanding it around yourself like a field, it combined the senses of feeling and sight, or smell and hearing in more advanced fighters…to detect distortions in the space where the aura of the user, rubs off the aura of other life forms around him/her.

But that could only work, it could only work as a force for defence…if the enemy emanated aura in the first place!

As Prince and Ai stood staring ahead, an outline began to take shape from the mist, from an intangible outline to a solid body. It approached the two companions and as it drew closer, it split into two bodies. One of the bodies seemed to be of masculine build and the other seemed to be of feminine build.

"Who are you?!" Ai called seriously.

She could very clearly gauge that the situation at hand was a very dire one. She could no longer determine if Prince was an ally or foe. She definitely had to do it. She had to transform into a Dream Knight. She had to rediscover her resolve. She couldn't know whether Prince was an ally or foe but either way, she'd have to transform. If Prince was a foe, she'd have to transform to defeat him…and even if he was an ally, she could only defend the both of them by transforming…but in either case, she'd have to decide between killing a human being who could become a potential threat to save her own life, or trust a potential threat who could just be a normal human with a hard life. It would be a fight to defend either her life…or her humanity. It would be impractical to defend both but it was certain that her chances of surviving this battle were clearly one out of three possibilities, two in the best case scenario…but that seemed very unlikely.

The figures before her were cloaked in the mist making it difficult to determine their identities.

"Who…are you?!" she asked once again, growling on the words.

"We are…I am…Decay, the fifth soul of evil, the worst enemy of conscience, or rather…" the figures said as the mist surrounding them slowly cleared…

"It wouldst be most accurate to proclaimeth thus…I am thine true self…Ai Kirisawa…the embodiment of the untainted will of water" the figures said as they fused to form…an exact replica of Ai!

Ai didn't seem very surprised. She knew the evil souls were fond of posing as, and approaching the people that were the closest embodiment of the values of their elements. Just like Cowardice approached Ayumi, and Enslavement did Victoria, like Despair faced Face and Chaos…approached Prince.

"I have no time for your mind games!" Ai declared as she observed the situation closely.

It would be risky for Ai to make the first move with Prince around lest Decay decided to use him as a shield. Ai knew that, and she also knew clearly that she lacked all knowledge of this particular evil soul and its attributes to even consider making a move.

"Have no fear Ai Kirisawa, mine very own self…for I hath no interest in a prize I hath already claimeth" Decay said in Ai's own voice as he/she/it gazed at Prince as though he was worth no effort at all.

"What business have you, with Ai?!" Prince yelled defensively.

"Mine business layeth not with thee, lowly human. Know thine place scum. There layeth no worth in putting that much effort into deceiving me. Thou hast done an impeccable deed in deceiving thine own soul and I must speaketh thus; I hath utmost pride in thee than I hath ever had for any other human however; it wouldst be easier for an ant to pose as a behemoth or the firmament to be inverted in its position…than for a hopeless pitiful creature as thineself to confound the senses of such a grand being as mineself" Decay said.

"You sure have some nerve speaking to me like that!" Prince yelled angrily.

"As you wish then; I shalt prove to thee, thine own worthlessness; thine own despicable nature" Decay said as his eyes glowed with a sinister purple glow.