"How did I end up here again....?"
"Aah, it's just my bedroom."A young woman with short dark purple hair wakes up in an old Japanese style room. The first thing she did was raise her hand to wipe away the red tears that were running down her cheeks. It wasn't that she cried blood, it was simply that her tears were red, far different from normal people. Her other hand grasped something that looked like a sword hilt, she looked down it was an ōdachi.
An ōdachi the same as whose....? Since when has it been here? She couldn't remember, she took the sword and threw it on the ground.
"That dream again..." She sighed, she turned around on the bed, facing the ceiling. Her gaze stared at the ceiling and her thoughts drifted off elsewhere. She closed her eyes and tried to rest a bit. The room was silent, causing her mind to gradually relax from those strange dreams. It was so real that she still felt the mournful and oppressive atmosphere when she was next to the other person in the dream.
Her memory shattered into so many small pieces that she couldn't put it back together. But there was a memory where she found herself in somewhere that looked like a strange city. That place looks very colorful and has a lot more billboards than here.
What was that place called again...?
A place that resembles the city of dreams, it looks both so fake and so real that she is torn between reality and illusion. Someone started talking to her, it was... A woman with long dark purple hair, that woman's appearance was 9 parts like her. But she couldn't see the woman's face, it was like a mist was covering it, only showing her the rest of the woman.
"Anyway, as long as you're all right.... ███████████████████████████████████████."
"But before I go, can I ask you a question?████████████████████████████████████████████████████."
"...Have we met somewhere before?"
The conversation was a bit interrupted so she couldn't hear the rest clearly, but the woman asked her a vague question. She could feel the woman's gaze looking at her curiously and meaningfully. She also couldn't hear the answer she gave, only saw the woman nod slightly and continue speaking.
"This may sound embarrassing, because I would sometimes forget stuff I really shouldn't have from past experiences... It's just a habit of mine, don't mind me."
"█████████████████████████████████████████. My memory's not very good, but it's not so bad that I can't remember details from just minutes ago."
The conversation became more vague and she couldn't hear much anymore but the woman still continued talking to her. The woman with dark purple hair smiled slightly, and tilted her head to look towards her.
"█████████████, Acheron..... This is what they call me. You can call me whatever you want. We will likely meet again."
But when the name Acheron was mentioned, the woman's words were like an echo, echoing inside her mind. It was like the woman expected her to remember the name. The woman stood there silently for a bit like she was wondering and considering her words. The young woman continued the conversation, but now the conversation was masked so she couldn't hear the woman or even hear her own response.
"████████████████████████████████████████████████████"
"████████████████████████████████████████████. Goodbye for now...."
The scene gradually blurred as the woman slowly left, she stood there for a moment in a deserted and pale hallway without any color or life at all. She remained standing there until the mist covered that memory, then she was pulled away to another memory.
━
This time she was taken to an even stranger place than before. Maybe this place is like The Void? She thought to herself, she put her bare feet down and walked in the water. These waters, ice cold and relentless, seem to carry the pain and suffering of the past. A few waves washed ashore, washing away the sand and dust towards nothingness. There was no one around her, only rough rocks and rocky mountains. The thick fog made it difficult for her to see far away. The sky was as dark as the days when a storm came. Cold raindrops fell on her face, causing her to unconsciously reach out her hand to catch the raindrops.
Coldness from the raindrops and the wind blew through, seeping into her skin, making her shiver a bit, exhaling mouthfuls of white smoke from the cold. Her body temperature was alarmingly low, her eyes stared blankly at the sky in the distance. The sun did not shine, but instead a gigantic black hole blocked the sun, making the place even more gloomy and cold.
You have reached your final end.
██████████████████.
Try your best to.... Die without regrets.
Another voice rang out in her head making her look around. There was no one there but her alone and the coldness of the water seeping into her body. Then there were a few footsteps behind her, and the destination of the owner of those footsteps was next to her. A red umbrella is held by the person and covered above her and their head.
"...Have we met somewhere before?"
It was a tall young woman with dark purple hair, bright violet eyes with pink highlights and diamond shaped pupils. She looked at the woman for a long time. A pair of strange eyes, but that only makes the woman's appearance a little more charismatic and memorable. There was something attractive about this woman that she couldn't describe, making her so lost in thought that she almost forgot to answer the question.
"Huh....?" She stood there bewildered for long a moment longer, trying to remember the memories she had of the woman. But it all seemed so empty that she had a strange feeling about this woman. It was like déjà vu... or she had encountered the "Dream Woman" phenomenon. She stuttered in response, unable to find any words to express her words. "You.... Are you.... Uh...."
"Ah, forgive me." She smiled and shook her head, it seemed like she was so used to having this amnesia. Her eyes looked up into the distance.
"This may sound embarrassing, because I would sometimes forget stuff I really shouldn't have from past experiences... It's just a habit of mine, don't mind me."
"Would you mind telling me your name?""Me? My name is M.... Eh...? What is it again....?" The girl tilted her head to think and answered the woman. One second before she could remember her name, and the next she suddenly couldn't remember her full name.
She then put her hand on her forehead to try to remember but to no avail. She just realized that she was also gradually losing her body's sense of cold, she couldn't feel it anymore. She reached forward to stretch her hand, her fingers could still stretch normally but she couldn't feel anything. That left her confused and scared. This place doesn't seem like a normal place....
"Don't worry, the people who come here also experience a form of dementia." The woman calmed down and answered the other girl. They continued to stand silently under the umbrella, looking into the distance.
"The people...." The girl with the one-letter name "M" muttered to herself. The longer she stayed in this place, the more her senses became foggy, her memory as hazy as the fog surrounding this place. Her speech was no longer clear and became vague. Her body was no longer steady, she staggered, but luckily the other woman supported her shoulder. "█████████.....? ███████....?"
"Thus, your name....I can't tell you, yet. Your memories will gradually restore after leaving here."
"██████ ██████, Acheron... This is what they call me. You can call me whatever you want. We will likely meet again."
"Lastly, a gentle reminder.... We are the same person."
"It's just that you are no longer alive, you are neither dead nor alive. Even though you are a better version of me... We are still a guardian standing between the boundary of nothingness and life."
The place where they were standing gradually changed into a place with a dark red fog like blood. The woman standing next to the girl now had the appearance of a woman with white hair and a black and white outfit adorned with red Adenium Obesum flowers. And the girl is now just a black mist in the shape of a girl, her skin has become darker like the skin of a dead person.
"██ █ ████?" (Am I dead?)
"Yes, I mourn for your past fate."
"███ █ ██████ ████████ ████████?" (Why I cannot remember anything?)
"Like I said earlier. Everyone who comes here experiences amnesia, it seems you are no exception."
"Our memories cannot be seekened, only remembered"
"Take my hand and come with me. We... will leave this place." The woman turned around and started walking backwards, not forwards. Then she stopped and turned around, reaching out her hand to the other girl as if expecting her to take it. When the girl held Acheron's hand, she sighed in peace of mind. She led the other girl down the foggy road, talking as she walked to keep the girl awake.
"You'll embark on a long, long journey, shrouded in darkness. But fear not, as a touch of red will be awaiting you at the end of the path."
"That's the color of "existence." Follow it, and it'll guide you and illuminate the way out."
"By doing so, you'll eventually reunite in the warmth of the sunlight."Acheron spoke softly as she led the girl through a dark tunnel, where only cold darkness surrounded them. Secret whispers, stories and pleas were carried by the wind, blowing through their hair.
"████ I ever see you █████?"
"I am you, you are also me." She replied vaguely hinting at something. As they neared the end of the path, red light surrounded the girl this time, pulling her away from Acheron.
"May death be the end of your boundless dream... guiding you back to the waking world."
━
"In the long night that will follow, I fear that you may encounter countless setbacks and witness endless tragedies."
"In the end, only black and white will be left in your vision.But you must have faith. That black-and-white world will have a fleeting moment of crimson. But, when you make your decision..."
"...It will appear once again."
"And you, you must carefully ruminate on its meaning, then return to the waking world."
"We will find our answer there, dear...."
"Myself...."
"Raiden Bosenmori Mei"
━
"How did I end up here again....?"
"Aah, it's just my bedroom." The girl slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. This was her bedroom, and the light from outside the window was pouring into her room signaling the beginning of a new day. A frown creased her brows as she stir inside her blanket. She turned her face inward to avoid the sunlight like a vampire. "Ugh... My head is hurt....""Mmm...." She stretched after lying lazily on the bed for a long time, then she raised her hand to wipe away the red tears that were running down her cheeks after she yawned.
"H-huh?" She was a bit bewildered when she saw the red drops of water remaining on her hand. It wasn't that she cried blood, it was simply that her tears were red, far different from normal people. Her other hand grasped something that looked like a sword hilt, she looked down it was an ōdachi.
"When did I have this thing....?" Along sword decorated in a strange way, even the hilt was weird too. What was even more bizarre was that she couldn't pull the sword out no matter how hard she pulled. The tsuba of this sword somewhat resembled a red eye. Even though it didn't move, she felt like it was watching her at all times.
An ōdachi similar to the woman's one.... But what's her name again? And since when has it been here? She couldn't remember, she took the sword and threw it on the ground as she slowly sit up."That dream again..."
"I wonder.... If I ever meet that 'person' again....?" The girl stood bewildered for a long moment as the memories in her head appeared briefly. The woman was tall with rather long dark purple hair, her appearance was largely identical to hers. Only her hair is longer than the woman's and she has droopy sad eyes. She sighed and grabbed her clothes with toothbrush to go to the bathroom to take a shower and personal hygiene. She looked at herself in her mirror, nothing out of the ordinary.
After showering she came out with wet hair and a large towel wrapped around her body. Only then did she notice a white sheet of paper that had been folded and placed on her desk. She picked up the paper and curiously opened it to take a look. There were two strange lines of text written quickly, but the second line was in a modern style.
"████ ████ ██ (Your name is)Raiden Bosenmori Mei"
"Raiden.... Bosenmori Mei....?" The girl muttered that name in her mouth a few times to memorize the name. Afraid that at some point even she herself will forget her own name. "Mei...""My name is 'Mei'...." She muttered the name "Mei" several times in her mouth while she dressed properly. A feeling of déjà vu rose within her as she read the name repeatedly.
She unconsciously wore an outfit similar to that of the woman named Acheron only her crop top covered her ample breasts. Mei wears a pair of dark pantyhose underneath and then wears high-waisted, form-fitting black and purple shorts outside.