It had all happened in an instant and now it was as if the world stood still. Even the ripples of the vermillion lake had mostly come to a halt. The pregnant lady savored the feeling of having her feet being several meters above the river bank, and then the frozen time began to move once more.
The river rippled, this time it's currents stronger than before. A strong breeze also blew past picking up a fair bit of dirt causing her to close her eyes. The feeling of the wind brushing against her body wasn't so bad, but the lady wondered why she was still suspended off the rocky floor.
She could clearly remember falling, the fateful memory was all to harrowing to forget. The feeling of utter despair.
What... Happened?
"How dare you?"
A familiar voice echoed fervently with unmasked disdain.
The lady twitched. She wondered.
That voice.
It was coming from the other side. Her eyes lifted up and scanned the vast expanse on the other side of the river on which a vast outcrop of trees scattered across with smaller undergrowths beneath them. It looked like a forest but a more toned down version of one.
Her eyes searched harder still until it fell on something. One the ground was an unconscious Sumire and standing beside her was the figure of a man in a fearsome mask.
"I don't care about the problems of life you might be facing, and I sure as hell don't care if you want to die, but how dare you drag an unborn child along with you?"
Despite not knowing Chisuke, the lady did feel regret after being lectured by him. That was just how powerful Chisuke's voice was. It contained crushing authority that felt like it was bringing everything to it's knees.
"I'm sorry."
Chisuke clicked his tongue.
"Oh, I'm sure you are."
It was a rhetorical question that carried an undertone of sarcasm. It didn't matter if the lady truly felt remorse for an attempted suicide that entailed infanticide, but he was sure she at least regretted the way she went about it. Standing... Floating several meters off the ground anyone probably would, at least they should.
"What do you know?"
The lady whispered under her breath looking forlorn. Her gaze shifted to the rocky ground beneath her causing her to sigh. It didn't seem like her death was going to be in anyway peaceful. She had been firmly anchored to the face of the mountain by a knife that pierced through her collar into rock, but now her dress was slowly starting to rip under the blunt edge of the blade.
"Say, swordsman, what do you think death is?"
Chisuke grabbed Sumire from the ground and placed her on his shoulder in the least caring manner. The sandals under his feet broke the surface of the shallow edge of the river as he moved forward. The currents now could hardly be called weak, but Chisuke wasn't bothered.
"Who knows. Some tell you it's the peaceful release from the confines of flesh, but I'm not very religious. Death is simply the end of life."
Chisuke paused for a moment and halted his march across the river. He had already gone halfway and the water soaked the bottom of his kimono and reached just past his shin.
"What you should really fear isn't death,but life. Or rather, something that can't die."
He spoke with a hint of melancholy in his voice, but Chisuke quickly resumed his steps. For the most part the river was already behind him.
"You mean an immortal?"
The ground crunched as Chisuke's legs stepped on his pebbled surface. He let go of Sumire and placed her on the ground, this time not as abruptly as before and slowly made his way to where the lady was.
She could hear the ripping of her yukata as it came undone underneath her weight. The whole process was quickly gaining momentum. It lasted for several seconds and then the collar of the yukata was torn.
The lady's eyes widened in shock as she plummeted down, the force of the wind shifted her position once more. She fell with her back to the ground and her face staring at the warm colours of the evening sky.
How pretty.
She had made her peace with death, and now the seconds slowly passed. Her eyes were closed as she made an effort to savor the visage of the vermillion sky, and then she felt an impact. It wasn't the feeling of her body breaking as it slammed against the ground, but the soothing embrace of landing into someone's arms.
Being carried was a strangely pleasant feeling,one she had not felt for a long time. The lady felt so secure even with her eyes closed. It was like what one felt when I the presence of their parent.
Her eyes opened to see the darkness hiding behind Chisuke's mask as it hovered above her face. Her cheeks turned pink for embarrassment if being held by a man, but Chisuke was having none of it. He the darkness behind his mask had grown deeper than usual as he stared at the cliff.
"A demon."
The lady flinched as Chisuke spoke. His world were the answer to her question, and also more.