Memory

Sumire lifted her eyelids after resting on the floor. An unknown amount of time had passed. Her eyes opened to a confusing marvel that she could not comprehend. She found herself in the middle of an entire portion of the original Fon city-state covered in chrome white and black. The tall buildings, the mechanisms that powered the energy within the underground, and the skies were painted in full white. The monochromatic environment hazed Sumire's eyes, and eventually, her mind dazed her in confusion.

The high-pitched ringing in her ears were the only sounds she could hear. That, and the sound of her slow breath.

She gasped and pushed herself off of the ground. Unusually enough, she found herself adorned in her red and black-themed nanosuit. She extended and retracted the energy blade on her right arm, and she was even surprised her weapon seemed to be fully functional. Even her wounds were healed completely. After taking a single step forward, she noticed not only was the monochromatic version of the city-state present, but the people were as well. However, they have merely painted mannequins of the Fon who stood still, silent and inanimate.

"What the hell...?" Sumire spoke to herself as she took more steps forward. "Where am I...?"

Using her prior knowledge from the city-state's layout, she took more steps forward until she caught a glimpse of Senna Vicio Melodia passing by a small white alleyway. "Senna!" Sumire shouted, chasing after her. She followed her out into a pathway where the Melodia Automaton relic stood in the center. Yet she vanished as soon as she caught the final glimpse of her body trailing off.

She passed by the relic until she reached the center of the city-state. The relic above vanished in thin air. Rumbling occurred, and the floors beneath Sumire began to trail off where she came from. Her pathway was blocked by several white monochromatic buildings towering over, trapping her inside the center of the chrome world.

Multiple footsteps caught Sumire's attention back to her front. Fully armored versions of Vayah, Senna, and Bame arrived out of nowhere, split apart in a trio. Their white helmets covered their faces, making them appear even more mystical and unreadable. They stood still without a single word uttered from their mouths.

"Guys...?" Sumire voiced out, approaching them slowly and cautiously. She instantly pulled back the moment she noticed that they acted like mannequins without any life source. "I'm dreaming. This has to be a dream. This isn't real."

"It depends what your definition of real is," Rion's voice echoed through the top of the city-state. Sumire gazed up into the air, witnessing Rion float down behind the three leaders of the Fon. He was adorned in unusual attire that resembled a pure white bulky and fur-coated suit and tie. His leggings were slim and dark-black, and his shoes were made up of the dark monochromatic color that blocked her passage from escape. "Welcome to the world of my memories." He said, spreading his arms apart to let his coat drop.

"World of... memories?" Sumire asked. "What the hell is this?"

"This is my mind," Rion said, pacing around the three mannequins of the Fon leaders. He slicked back his hair once more, letting his hands run through his neck and eventually to his side. "Infusion of memory fragments calls for desperate measures, you see. Peek into the abyss... and witness its emptiness. What do you see?"

"So this is how you think of the Fon?" Sumire asked. "Empty husks? Filled with nothing?"

"I cannot argue with that," Rion agreed. "But in my world... anything is possible, you see," He snapped his fingers, vanishing the three Fon leaders out of the vicinity. "Beyond your wildest dreams, even," He snapped his fingers once more. White and black cubes surfaced next to Rion's position, building up into a standing tomb about the size of Sumire's body. It opened up, revealing Lucine's battered body inside. "Even beauty like this."

"Lucine!" Sumire shouted, pushing herself forward.

"Don't worry," Rion said, stroking Lucine's crimson hair with his delicate hands. "She is not real," Another snap of his fingers and Lucine's body disappeared into thin air. "She was never real, to begin with, in my eyes. All of the Fon, as much as they are aliens, are primitive beings that were never meant to exist. I told you that from the start, didn't I? And eventually, they will be raised to create immortality around the world. That is what I said to your friend... before I ensnared her in my trap."

"Yeah, I remember that loud and clear," Sumire said. "You think you're in the right by doing all this? What kind of a fucking monster are you?"

"I am no monster," Rion insisted, removing his white coat until he was completely shirtless. "I am doing this universe a favor, ridding the world of its paranormal, until I have become god-king of Aries. And I'll start with you, my dear girl. But let this be known... in this world... I am immortal."

"I don't care if you're immortal!" Sumire shouted, extending her energy blade. "I'll kill you!"

With the intent to pierce his heart, Sumire lunged her blade towards Rion's chest. An impenetrable energy barrier blocked her path from fully entering his chest. Sumire gasped as Rion chuckled at her efforts. She desperately attempted to pull herself back, but an invisible force prevented her from pulling back.

"I told you," Rion said. "This is my world," He reared his left hand back and blasted a wave of energy out, pushing Sumire back. She toppled over and rolled multiple times before she caught herself on balance. "And I can choose to do anything that I desire within it!" Rion shouted, lifting his right hand into the air. A gargantuan silhouette of Vayah's body appeared out of nowhere, stomping where Sumire laid down upon the ground.

Sumire used her ignition booster and slid across the white floors, dodging out of Vayah's way. Rion teleported behind Sumire and grabbed her shoulder, tossing her against the cubed walls without any effort. He then proceeded to ram into her with his elbow and pinned her down.

"In my world, you are nothing, Sumire," Rion said with a calm expression on his face. He pulled his right hand back, summoning a massive arsenal of cubes in midair. "In the real world, you are nothing. Don't you understand? You... are nothing."

Rion kicked back from Sumire's position and fired his cubes toward her. The cubes stockpiled on top of her, trapping her within the walls to suffocate. He flipped back and chuckled amusingly. "Yet you still fight. You still fight, all for what?" He asked.

Rapid slashes from Sumire's energy blade freed herself from the cubes. She thrust herself forward with her ignition booster, charging at Rion once again. He dodged her blow by soaring into the air, remaining suspended in flight. "Are you a family person, Sumire?" Rion asked. "Or are you someone without a purpose in life?"

"Shut up!" Sumire yelled, boosting herself up and clashing with Rion's untouchable body. The invisible barriers prevented her blade from striking his bare shirtless skin. He deactivated the barrier and caught Sumire's hand in midair.

"You can't even touch me," He said before pulling her around his body. He then sent a forceful kick towards Sumire's chest, sending her flying toward the cubed floors. Pieces of cubes splattered across the memory world from where Sumire fell back. Rion landed on the ground with his arms spread wide open once more. "How can you expect to save yourself from my world, Sumire? A place where I am in total control?"

"I said... shut up!" Sumire yelled. She used her mag booster to send a giant cube towards Rion's position.

Rion chuckled once. He lifted his right foot forward and stopped the cube as it moved. Blasts of air blew his hair back. Sumire dove straight through the cube with her blade, stabbing and penetrating it open. However, Rion preemptively knew her attack and dodged to the side. He swung his arm at Sumire's face, sending her falling back down again.

"You're so weak," Rion said, grabbing Sumire by the head and lifting her from the ground. "Unlike you, I know when to give up. But you don't. You insist on fighting and fighting, all for what? Make me understand your point of view, Sumire. Make me understand."

"You..." Sumire groaned, weakened by Rion's pummeling blows in the memory world. "You wouldn't understand. All you do... is use people just to further yourself. You treat everyone like lab rats who'll flock over to your side. You'll never understand how people work in this world, Rion. You and your selfish mind. Nobody will care about you."

"My brother... thought the same as well," Rion mentioned, dropping Sumire to her knees. He wrapped his hands around his black gloves and tightened them. "Unlike me, he has compassion for others. He sees the light in everyone. It was my only weakness as we grew up together, and I'm surprised you noticed it immediately."

Sumire fell flat on the ground with her hands on the floor.

"But now is the time to make that change, Sumire," Rion continued. "The value in life... is truly beautiful. But I have been selfish, I understand that. Do you think that someone like me... is capable of change?"

"I don't fucking care," Sumire breathed underneath her stress. "I'm going to kill you."

Rion smiled, showing off his teeth. "You can't kill me," He reminded. "You are too weak. You never will-"

A shockwave centering away from their city-state erupted the white cubes into pieces, revealing glimpses of the outside world. The sunrise from the cliffs entered the establishment, burning the cubes little by little. Sumire gasped after watching Rion struggle with regenerating the cubes to the outside world. Faint whispers of Lucine's voice calling for Sumire came through both Sumire and Rion's ears.

"Impossible," Rion voiced out with his eyebrows slanted downward in aggression. "How can this be?"

"Still weak in your eyes?" Sumire said, lashing backwards to recover. She wiped blood off of the side of her mouth and solidified her black ponytail by retying it. "I didn't forget who I was. Not while I'm trapped in your memory world. I know I'm not alone. But you are, and you always will be! You'll be forever and ever alone for as long as you live!"

Rion dropped pressure against Lucine in the outside world. He relaxed his muscles and spread his arms apart once more with a benevolent stare into Sumire's eyes. "Alone, you say..." He whispered to himself. "Very well. Let's put your theory to the test. No more tricks. No more lies. Come to me, Sumire, and show me what you are truly made of."

Sumire brought her blade up to her chin, readying herself to fight once more.

Rion closed his eyes and reopened them after a certain amount of time. "Let's begin... Sumire!" He shouted, rumbling the memory world with his raw power.

Sumire lunged toward Rion and swept down to her legs. Her flexible body tricked Rion into blocking low. She snapped back up and swept her energy blade across Rion's arms, sending him soaring through cubed rubble. Rion flipped back and summoned a colossal cubed claymore with both of his hands. He roared as he brought it down towards the entire city-state.

Sumire exhaled a single breath before boosting herself to the side to dodge the impact. The claymore slashed through the memory world, breaking the fabric of reality to reveal the rocky cliffs where they first departed. She sliced through the claymore and rushed towards it by running through.

"Die!" Rion shouted, blasting multiple cube explosive pellets at Sumire.

With rapid slashes and dodges, Sumire outmanuevered all of them and found herself near Rion's face. She grabbed his head and rammed him down below to the white floors, shattering it apart. Rion swept both of his arms out and pushed Sumire back. He regenerated the walls and floors against with his hands, preventing Lucine or reality from entering the memory world.

"I won't die," Sumire cried, with her blade rushing towards Rion's stomach. "Not yet. Not yet!" The memories of her mother and her family came alight in her mind, boosting her strength and morale to overpower Rion. He conjured an invisible barrier to stop Sumire once more in her tracks.

From the outside world, Lucine's voice and pressure continued to destroy the memory world. Rion could not balance both suppressing her and Sumire's energy blade in time.

"Rrraaagh!" Sumire shouted with her full might. She pierced through the barrier as Rion summoned the rest of his powers to stop reality from entering his memory. But it was not a noble sacrifice. Sumire penetrated through Rion's chest. Blood spurted from outside his fatal wound. He clasped Sumire's arm and snapped it with his strength. Sumire pulled back and cried in agony with her broken arm useless to the touch. "F...Fuck...!" Sumire cried.

Rion slumped back and caught himself with his knees. He pressed against his wound and enraged himself to keep fighting. He leaped into the air and began to shift the entire world's plane upside down. Tendrils and prisons of cubes collided with Sumire's body as she utilized the last of her stamina to dodge them carefully.

"I'll... I'll erase you!" Rion cried, clapping his hands together. The entire city-state split in half and collided with each other, crushing Sumire underneath. However, Sumire escaped from his trap once more and reappeared behind him in midair. "No!"

She jammed her blade through Rion's heart once more despite having a broken arm. Both of them shrieked in unfiltered agony and despair. Rion held Sumire's head close to her and attempted to pull the energy blade out. Sumire kept pressure and continued pushing, reducing her arm to bone sludge.

The both of them landed on the white floors below. Sumire eventually shouted one final time and pulled the blade out of Rion's heart. Scarlet rivers of blood splattered across the white floors and walls, staining Sumire's nanosuit with endless downpours of the metallic liquid. The cubes around the memory world ceased all movement, and the ongoing pressure from the outside world shattered it entirely.

Before the memory world faded from existence, Sumire stood back up and glared into Rion's defeated eyes. He clutched his wound and failed to breathe properly.

"Alone, you say..." He repeated. "Perhaps..."

The memory world vanished, with Sumire with it.

Perhaps you were right.