Ouma's POV:

I ran past the trees, the dense forest clawed at me with its vines and roots tried to trip me. Wolves howled in the distance as the moon was painted in a deep scarlet, casting the night sky with a malicious presence, I felt my legs burning with each labored breath. The wind rustled through the trees as the sound of the raging storm threatened the sky overhead, I ignored the calls of thunder and thanked whatever god had taken pity on me for the lack of rain in the dry forest, as my eyes searched for any sort of escape from the pandemonium. 

Hidden among the trees the shadows gained forms, bright yellow eyes stared into my soul. I froze as the figures reached for me. Their arms were blue and rotted, I could smell the heavy decay in the air as I kept my gaze to the ground to avoid their glares, whispers of my classmate's voices and figures of long-gone people screamed at me incoherently as I tried to block out the loud noise tears of frustration threatening to take over me.

"Stay with us"

"I'm scared"

"You deserve this"

"How could you?"

"He should have died instead!"

Tears threatened me as finally, finally, a break emerged in the distance, I practically lept as I saw the sea in the distance, the smell of the saltwater providing a moment of relief as...

The rocky cliff terrain remained the same as I finally began slowing down, stopping just at the brink of the cliffside. The terrain was thin and could easily break with enough pressure, the grass was dying the closer to the cliff a stiff contrast compared to the lush and vibrant forest, one booming with life. If the forest occupants had been a bit kinder, maybe I would have been tempted to avoid this but...

Anxiety clung to my heart, the open sky just beyond the horizon seemed to try and invite me, despite the bloodied sky, the silver full moon illuminated the sky brightly as I saw her figure in the distance, her shadow stretched across the terrain and seemed ominous. It was almost as if despite her small frame of a child, a child who could have passed for much younger than she had been, was as threatening as the monsters trapped inside of the forest. I gently rested my hand on the trees as I felt exhaustion clinging to my bones.

The cold grip of the shadowed figures tightened. Regret and confliction filled my mind as if the forest was trying to tell me something, as if the endless labyrinth was my true salvation rather than the cliffside as I finally took a step into the moonlight, letting go of the old tree.

Silence quickly filled me, the voices finally released their grip on me, and I almost cried in relief despite knowing better. The scent of salt freshened my senses as I closed my eyes trying to regain my sense of self. A sense of what world I had been dropped into, yet the silence offered no answers, only a slight comfort. 

Only the crashing of the waves in the distance could be heard, as I approached the cliffside, the figure was sitting against the cliff as I began hearing a soft song, some humming of a tune I didn't recognize. Yet my heart seemed to clench itself from that unknown tune, drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

She turned to me.

Her dark red hair looked like blood with the oppressive lighting, cascading and framing her face like a waterfall, deep amber-like green eyes stared at me with a neutral expression, but a slight smile began forming on her face, a cruel smile, it sent a sense of unease through me.

She was wearing a school uniform, our middle school uniform, she wore it neatly something she never did in life, as she tilted her head towards me expectantly, playing with the ends of her hair as if bored by my presence and the world around us. 

"Aren't you going to greet an old friend?" Chiasa asked curiously.

My breath hitched.

The wind seemed to halt, as I stared forward, my heart should have been destroyed and I felt like I should've been weeping but..."Why are you here?" I asked, my voice was light and almost came across as a whisper, laced with fear and hesitation. Chiasa didn't seem to have any trouble hearing me though, but she paused before shrugging, her expression despite having a small smile didn't come off as happy. "Why did you bring me here?" She countered, I paused waiting for her to explain.

She didn't, I didn't try to hide my confusion, and she responded by making no move to clarify.

"You look the same" I finally said tired, it was true. I looked down at my own body, I had grown taller, and my hair much longer, I realized that while I was bordering adulthood she was a perpetual adolescent, barely a teenager. While grief clung to me she looked amused, "would you rather I look your age?" She asked curiously, I shook my head.

"It would be hard for me to see you as anything but this...I'm the problem" I admitted bitterly as I took a seat next to her, my legs dangling off the edge, some rocks fell to the dark indigo wave below. The cold air of the ocean covered me with a slight mist, it clung to my bones and made me feel like ice, but she looked indifferent to the environment. If anything she almost looked happy at the nighttime as she stared at the sky in admiration.

She paused for a second, "we sat like this on the final night, remember the sunset? It was such a beautiful night..." she reminisced, I froze as the night replayed in my mind, I had been so stupid...so stupid. "Don't you remember? That day you vowed to me that you would make my dreams come true..." she whispered before turning towards me, as I gasped.

One of her eyes was gone, a soft trickle of blood from the empty socket, half her face had a deep purple color and her lips were torn and battered exposing her jaw, some of her teeth were gone as she looked at me with a small smile, her body was breaking apart and...

I felt sick, the warehouse, the smell of the charred school remains, the ash that covered the sky and the smoke, her face, her eyes that stared into mine, those dead eyes that I had been forced to look at before the world vanished-

"You lied," she accused, "you didn't keep a single promise, in the end, did you? Not to Momota, not to Saihara, not to me" she reprimanded, her voice filled with bitterness. I didn't argue and turned away from her face, as I felt her hold my hand and lean her head against my shoulder, a tired look in her eyes.

"So many years...yet nothing has changed...you manipulate the people around you...you still have no family...how long have you been wandering alone?" She asked. "I don't know" I admitted, "a lifetime maybe" I answered as she paused taking in the answer.

"It hurts doesn't it?" She asked, this time her voice was kinder, as she looked at me with pity, her opposite arm was gone now along with the lower leg of her left leg, yet she didn't seem to notice this.

"I want it to stop," I told her, "every time I let my mind wander...I see you, I see Shiro and Riko and everyone else...and it hurts...I just want to be able to sleep...sleep without dreams...sleep without all this regret...but I can't. Because I see you, you all filled my thoughts and minds since the second you died, you never let me go...I just...I want to be able to breathe again...but I can't because you guys never will either...is it so selfish...that I want to be able to feel at peace again?" I begged her.

She stared into my eyes with indifference. "You can have it, have your peace and rest," she said as she guided my hands to her shoulders, letting go of her grip as she did so as she extended a mischievous smile that almost bordered on malice. 

I closed my eyes, as I tried to control my breathing again, I felt tempted to cling onto the darkness, to sleep away from whatever world that I had been dropped off into...her hand slipped out from mine as I opened them bracing myself. 

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, fearing her answer, "you want your freedom, take it" she dared, "my blood was already on your hands after all" she argued, my grip tightened as I felt sweat drip down my face. She got up from our sitting position, as she dragged me up to stand with her, she stood on phantom limbs as she leaned dangerously close to the side of the cliff, she didn't have a hint of fear though. One small move, one small push...

"I didn't...I didn't mean to" I tried to argue but she laughed, "doesn't change what happened though, huh?" She asked her tone going lower and much more serious, she glared at me accusingly, I crumbled under her gaze as she smirked.

"After all...if you really thought you were innocent...you wouldn't be talking to a dead girl would you?" She said coldly. 

The wind halted to a stop as if the world itself stopped. My feet felt like lead, as the urge to run disappeared from me, I stared into her eyes, searching for any sort of resemblance to the girl I idolized and mourned heavily for. But in those eyes I saw nothing, the spark of life was gone, the joy and occasional mischief had been replaced with malice and insanity. Whoever this was in front of me, even if every detail matched her to perfection, even if her voice sounded exactly as it did that day...the day she said goodbye, that day she told me she loved me, and I never could say that back...

...I took a step forward, she smiled expectantly, her eyes seemed to gleam with excitement.

I grabbed her and shoved her down to the ground harshly, she wheezed out of breath as she stared at me shocked as I kept a knee over her abdomen keeping her pinned down and wrapped my hands tightly around her neck, she gasped for air but made no move to resist or fight back as panic mania filled my mind, my body didn't feel my own anymore, as if I was being possessed...and I didn't fight it.

"I want this nightmare to end! All my life I just wanted to be safe! I wanted peace! And every time- every single time I think I found it someone takes it away! Why do I keep trying? Why do I always keep trying?" I screamed, hot tears streamed down my face as I tightened my grip.

"And then you guys had to break me! You made me believe I could hope for more! For friends! A future! You made me feel whole and loved and then you had to die! You left me alone! You all left me behind to suffer and scream and beg for someone- anyone to just end me so I could see you again!" I accused.

"Freedom? Peace? Is that what you think this will do? That you dying again is going to fix this? Why? Why do you always have to be so annoying like this? Why...why..." I mumbled as I froze.

I stared down at the frozen face of Chiasa, her unmoving body.

Her cold dead body, as I looked at my trembling crimson-stained hands. I gripped my body tightly, as small tremors rippled throughout me, as I glanced down at what I had done.

But as I kept my gaze towards her, her body collapsed and crumbled into fine sand, and the breeze was quick to carry it away, as the clouds finally gave in to rain.

And I laughed.

And I laughed.

I laughed because of what I'd done.

I laughed because screams and crying could never amount to this agony.

I laughed out of spite towards her.

I laughed because I knew that this wasn't real.

I laughed because, for the first time, I felt weightless.