Congratulations on your honorable… death

The blast had burst his eardrums, and he could tell. Every inch of his body was blown, wrenched, and shredded by the vortex of irresistible force. At the edge of his hazy, bright red vision, he thought he spotted the Nightmare scattering into equally shredded flesh.

–The Red Queen.

The Original Nightmare.

Did I defeat it…?

In his fuzzy thoughts, Jack wondered.

–No.

Wrong.

I haven't defeated it.

That thing is still alive.

The Red Queen was trapped in the fallen debris and was being torn apart. With bloodshot eyes, Jack eyed the Dáinsleif in his right hand as he fell.

His battered hand with his bones floating in it. He could recognize his own body, which was shredded to pieces, in a very objective way.

Yet, his thoughts were remarkably lucid. It was as if this body was not his own…

That was the moment when he thought that, the Red Queen's eyes, reduced to only eyeballs, twitched and met Jack's.

And then, as if piercing through his head, a booming screech roared through the collapsing ground.

"Humannnn! You little bastard! Depsite being a humannnnnn!"

The cry was infused with madness. Her bloodshot eyeballs fluttered, and a black swamp erupted from them.

–It's no good.

If I let this thing head back to the surface now.

Iberis will.

… Alice will!

I can't let her go…

Jack gnashed his crushed teeth. With his shattered hands, he clutched the Dáinsleif.

I'm absolutely… not letting you go!

The red blood that was dripping from his nose along with his eyes was gradually discoloring into black. That was the rain from the collapsed world. It was very similar to the color of the sludge that the collapsed world was pouring.

"I won't let you goooooooo!"

Jack spat out an inexpressible shriek as the sludge flowed. In an instant, the Dáinsleif he was grasping emitted a black, dull light. That part of the handle was distorted like clay, and Jack's right hand melted simultaneously, merging with the handle.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

While screaming like a ferocious beast, Jack was absorbed by the Dáinsleif as if it were devouring him. As his body completely vanished, his widened eyeballs glared at the Red Queen.

"I will kill you!"

Jack's voice…. noisy and rough, echoed in the space where it crumbled with a roar. The Red Queen paled at the sight of the glowing black Dáinsleif as she spontaneously fell.

"Humannnn! What the hell! What the hellllll!"

The Dáinsleif that was floating in the air spun sideways as if it was swept away by something. When that happened, the two eyeballs of the Red Queen were ripped out of their sockets by the powerful slash it delivered. At the same time, the Nightmare's core… an orange sphere, flew out from behind her right eye. The Dáinsleif shone exceptionally white and severed the core in an inch-perfect trajectory.

The Red Queen's gruesome demise reverberated throughout the surrounding space.

Ah… Alice…

As he dropped down, Jack wondered vaguely in his thoughts not even knowing where he was anymore.

I have to… get to Alice…

There, Jack's consciousness was engulfed in a black vortex, and then it was gone.

◇

He wondered how much time had elapsed. Even that, Jack had no idea.

No, he couldn't even remember that he was "Jack" in the first place.

What am I?

How long have I been in this collapsed world?

When did the Nightmare slaughter my family?

Since when do I detest Nightmare?

I have no clue…

Only that part of the "past" was completely missing, like a hollow space.

There, there was a crack, and a white light flashed on the edge of his vision. It was a black space, like the bottom of an endless black sea. Something like sludge was floating around, enveloping the surroundings and Jack's body in a sickening way.

Oddly enough, he didn't feel suffocated. He looked at his hands. In the dimness of space, they were visible. They were intact and existing. Nothing seemed to be torn off. Although it seemed that he was not wearing any clothes, this was not the time to be concerned about that.

–Where is this place…?

As he considered this, he was struck by the sight of a small CRT television set floating in the sea of sludge, its power on. After a brief moment of hesitation, he approached it as if he was swimming. The CRT screen projected a sand screen and produced a noisy tone.

"Congrat… Congra…"

Through the noise, a man's voice sounded faintly muffled. As he strained his ears, his eardrums began to pound more and more distinctly.

"Congratulations on your honorable… death… Three hundred forty-five…"

–What? What are you talking about?

Jack's mouth widened and he yelled. His voice was sucked into the sludge and faded away obnoxiously. The "voice" behind the cathode ray tube chuckled grimly and continued slowly as if making fun of him.

"You… have a choice… a right… you have the freedom… to choose."

The noise was so intense in places that it was difficult to hear properly.

"Will… you… die… like… this…? Or… to… live…?"

Are you asking me if I want to die or live?

Lost in thought, Jack shouted again.

–Where is this place! Who the hell are you!

"… My name is… Lewis. You may call me… whatever you like. Number 345… you're dead… There's no… time to choose."

–I'm… dead…?

In the back of his mind, the Red Queen's desperate words flooded back.

After that, he… fell and… died.

From that point, he had no recollection of what followed.