Chapter 2: You who wants to die

"I told you it wasn't that interesting at all. You just never listen to me." Dazai said this before chunking his water.

"Not that interesting? You sure are delusional, Dazai." Chuuya nodded to himself. "But that explains why you are so gloomy all the time. After all, even the day got all dark once you were born! The sun was like, 'Oh, here comes Dazai; better hide.' I'm sure you were born with a frown on your face. And if you could speak, I'm sure you would say something like, 'Look at all these stupid humans looking at me like I was the first baby ever that they got to see." He laughed softly.

Dazai smiled. Why? Even Chuuya didn't know. You would expect him to start throwing facts, or more like insults, at you. But he didn't. And that smile was genuine.

Chuuya suddenly woke up because he heard someone yelling in the next room. He groggily opened his eyes and, with his left arm, started touching the other side of the bed, trying to find Dazai there, but to his surprise, he wasn't there. Weirdly, Chuuya was always the first one to wake up, and if Dazai did wake up before him, he would surely wake him up because he wouldn't have anyone else to annoy.

When his sister left on her journey, she told Chuuya to look after Dazai. Someone would think that task wasn't so hard, but when you are looking after a suicidal maniac, it sure is difficult. At first, they tried to sleep separately, but knowing Dazai, he tried to kill himself whenever he was alone. That includes during the night as well. So instead of worrying if he would find him hanging on the ceiling or choking on some herbs, Chuuya decided that the best option was to sleep in the same room. Of course, the room had only one bed, and for some reason, Dazai refused to get another.

He rolled his eyes. Dazai sure is hard to maintain. But more importantly, why did he dream about Dazai telling him about his birth? Weird.

He sat up, rubbing his temples. Even though he slept longer, his head hurts a bit. He stood up from the bed, stretching his arms, before deciding to get dressed. Once he dressed himself, he made the bed and opened the small window, letting in a burst of fresh air and the sound of birds chirping outside. He wanted to enjoy this a little longer, but he knew he had to go and see what that yelling was about. It's not like they get that many visitors, and Dazai is rarely yelling.

As he opened the door to the other room, he was surprised to see Dazai's sister sitting at one end of the table while Dazai was walking around the room, his arms crossed. They didn't notice him opening the door, so Chuuya decided to first see what was happening while standing by the door. He knew once they saw him, they'd act completely different. He never understood those siblings. One second they're laughing and making fun of others, and next they're at each other's throats, fighting about stupid stuff that Chuuya never got his head around. Finally, Dazai was the one to break the silence.

"I've already told you, Shiyo, I don't believe in that nonsense." He said this, looking directly at his sister, Shiyo. She sighed, her eyes filled with a knowing look.

"Dazai, you can't deny the signs. They're all around us, guiding us towards our true purpose. Believe me when I tell you, the prophecy is real."

Dazai was his usual sceptical self, rolling his eyes at the mention of prophecy. Shiyo, on the other hand, was dead serious about it.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me. I didn't spend so much time learning about this only for you to act like a spoiled noble child." Now it was Shiyo's time to be mad.

Before Dazai could start yelling at his sister again, Chuuya decided to show himself.

"Shiyo, you are back!" he smiled brightly, trying to lighten the mood in the room. "Sorry for not greeting you earlier, this idiot didn't want to wake me up," he pointed at Dazai as he walked past him. "So what's going on? What was that yelling about?" he asked, even though he knew they weren't going to tell him the details.

Dazai and Shiyo fell silent, their anger and frustration momentarily forgotten. They looked at each other, then back at Chuuya, and slowly began to speak.

"We were just having a disagreement." Dazai said, his voice a little softer than before.

"Yeah, we were just talking about something, and it got a little heated." Shiyo added as she stood up. "But never mind that; let's greet each other properly." She smiled before walking up to him and engulfing him in a warm hug, holding on tightly. Shiyo always looked out for Chuuya, ever since he was little. "I've missed you." she said softly.

Chuuya hugged her back just as tightly. "Yeah, I missed you to, Shiyo."

Dazai stood there, looking at them hugging. It crossed his mind that he, her brother, hadn't hugged her, even though they hadn't seen each other for so long either. But they were like that, since he can remember. It wasn't something foreign to him because he didn't understand the need for physical contact like hugging. Just because he hasn't hugged his sister doesn't mean he doesn't care about her or that he isn't happy that she is back. It was just unnecessary for him.

"What are you staring at?" Chuuya asked, waking Dazai out of his thoughts.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about something." he said as he sat down on the chair.

"And what were you thinking about, spacing out like that?" Chuuya asked before sitting next to Dazai, with Shiyo doing the same.

"Come on, Chuuya, you won't be able to understand it anyway with that small brain of yours." He smirked, poking his forehead.

Chuuya gritted his teeth. "Shut up," he said, pushing his hand away. "Anyway, what were you talking about? And don't tell me it's nothing important. I've heard you talking about that prophecy stuff before coming in."

"Of course you did, nothing can escape those big ears of yours." Dazai added.

Shiyo giggled as she patted Dazai's head slightly. "Now, now, Dazai. Let's try to talk normally for a second without you teasing Chuuya.. She winked at Chuuya. "Yes, we did talk about that, or, should I say, tried to talk about it. You know how Dazai can be difficult sometimes."

"You don't have to tell me about that." He waved his hand slightly in front of his face. "So what did you find out?" he asked, clearly wanting to know the details.

"I'll start with what we all already know. The prophecy said that after a long winter, a person shall stand on the edge of the world, admiring the last sunset of their world, as the very reason magic exists destroys all life." She took a deep breath. "Which means the world we know of today will be gone, and with it, humanity as well. And it's sooner than we thought. You can notice that even though it's fall outside, it's like the summer never ended. It's stated that after the long summer, the winter of death is coming. "

Dazai sighted. "Yes, yes, we already knew that, didn't we? Like I said, it's just a story to scare little children. So what if it's still warm in the fall? It's not that big of a deal."

"Dazai, let her finish, please." Chuuya looked over at Dazai.

Shiyo cleared her throat. "Yes, Dazai, but there's more. Haven't you noticed that a lot of people can't use their magic anymore?" Dazai raised an eyebrow.

"I can use mine just fine. Nothing changed."He shrugged his shoulders before pointing his finger at the bucket full of water that was on the table, knocking it down easily.

"You can, but as I travelled, I've seen people lose their magic for unknown reasons. I can also use my firepower, but I've noticed that my magic is a bit weaker than before."

Chuuya was silent the whole time, trying to process everything. Magic is disappearing. How's that possible? Like every human on earth, Chuuya also had magic powers, just not as strong as Dazai. Some people are born blessed with magical abilities, but they're not connected to blood lines. If Dazai were to have a child one day, it doesn't mean they would be strong with magic as well.

Shiyo continued, "But as I travelled, I learned a lot. It seems that there is a reason for magic slowly disappearing like that. The magic didn't just appear one day, it seems that there is something giving people that power, or, should I say, it's borrowing power from people. It is believed that whatever that is, "she starts playing with her fingers," it did not come from the earth." She looked at Dazai now, as she was waiting for him to talk.

"Well, sure. That is a logical explanation. We got our powers from something. At first, we thought the earth itself was blessing humans with magic, but I always believed humans were not that worthy of the earth just to give it to them." he shrugged his shoulders.

There it is again. Talking about humans as an entire different species than himself.

Shiyo nodded. "Yes, and now, the same thing that gave us powers will slowly take it back and, as prophecy said, destroy everything. For what reason did we get these powers? That's something I didn't find out." Shiyo shakes her head slightly, almost seeming like she's disappointed in herself.

"Fulfilling the prophecy would mean the end of magic and the human race. However, there exists a way to prevent the extinction of humanity while also fulfilling the prophecy." Chuuya looked at her,raising his eyebrows, while Dazai was rocking on his chair, acting like she wasn't talking about the end of the world.

"The scroll that I have found, as you know, was written in a foreign language, so I had to decipher it. That was the reason that I had to leave." She took out a scroll, looking all worn out. "Here, this scroll is our hope. It says, "Изабрани мора отпутовати на ивицу земље и запечатити извор који даје магичну енергију свим људима. Испуњење пророчанства захтева жртву, истину са којом се изабрани мора суочити. Онај који је рођен у знаку ваздуха, када је дан била ноћ. Ти који желиш да умреш, ти ћеш.."

"So, what does that mean?" Dazai asked.

"The chosen one must journey to the edge of the earth and seal the source that bestows magical energy upon all humans. The fulfilment of the prophecy requires sacrifice, a truth the chosen one must face. The one who was born in the sign of the air, when day was night. You who want to die, you shall..- and the rest is unreadable." She showed the scroll to the boys, and she was looking at them, waiting for their reaction.

Chuuya doesn't even look at the scroll. He is looking at Dazai, who doesn't show any kind of emotion on his face. He knew. So did Chuuya.

Dazai scratched his head. "So," he says, looking up at his sister, not once looking at the boy next to him, who hasn't moved since hearing what she said. "I guess I'm the chosen one."