Chapter Text
—🎀—
Mizuki slowly wakes up.
You're on a path in the woods. At the end of that path is a tower, and at the top of that tower is a Sorcerer. You're here to slay him. If you don’t, it will be the end of the world.
“…What?” Mizuki isn’t sure what she’s doing here or who this mysterious Narrator in her head is, but like most, she’s not very keen on killing random people.
The Sorcerer is not a random person. He’s trapped in the tower because he’s evil and dangerous and will bring about the end of the world if he’s not killed.
“That’s not very nice to say about someone,” Mizuki replies. “I’ll take a look at this evil sorcerer guy first before killing him. Even if he really is going to bring about the end of the world—which sounds like a lot for one guy to do—maybe he’ll be open to being convinced otherwise.”
It would be best if you refrain from engaging in conversation with him. He will do everything he can to get free, and every second he spends alive is an opportunity for him to escape. Nevertheless, I won’t stop you if that’s what you truly want.
Mizuki continues along the stone path, taking their time to admire the scenery around them. The leaves of the trees look almost blue, and ripe berries decorate the bushes. Maybe if they had a little snack before going to the tower…
The berries fade away as though they were never there.
Mizuki frowns. “Hey, you can’t just do that…”
I’m sorry, Mizuki, but there’s really no time to waste. You must kill the Sorcerer as soon as possible, for your own good and for the good of everyone else.
Mizuki kind of wants to argue further, but she doesn’t want to disagree too much with an entity that’s clearly very powerful even if She claims to harbour her best interests. She continues along the path.
Eventually the forest ends. There’s a large hill before you, though it’s not very high so it won’t be too much trouble to climb. On top of the hill is a tower of roughly-hewn stone bricks. It is very tall, and it radiates an imposing and sinister aura.
Mizuki stands before the door. Does she knock, or just open the door? Is it locked?
The door slowly opens on its own.
Oh. Well, that certainly makes things more convenient. Mizuki steps into the tower.
A word of warning, Mizuki. The Sorcerer is sly and dangerous, and he will do everything in his power to stop you.
“Yeah, yeah, got it,” she mutters. “I’m still going to try talking to him before killing him.”
They weren’t sure what to expect of a (supposedly) evil sorcerer’s tower, but they definitely didn’t expect it to look so…neat and tidy. Clearly the guy used to clean up after himself.
The interior of the tower is dusty—after all, the sole occupant has been unable to access most of it for many, many years. Tomes and spellbooks line the shelves, along with various materials in jars. The table has flasks of brightly coloured liquids, some having toppled over and spilled, as well as other alchemical apparatus. On the right is a fireplace with an empty cauldron, large enough to fit a grown man, in it. The walls bear picture frames with dark cloth thrown over them, as though to prevent people from seeing whatever lies beneath.
On the left, a spiral staircase curls upwards. At the very top of it lies a door with a full moon painted on it, leading to the chamber where the Sorcerer is imprisoned. Beside the door is a small table, and on that table lies a blade. You will need it to slay the Sorcerer.
Mizuki climbs the staircase. At the top, she stops in front of the door. The little table has a carving of a full moon in silver, with a pink ribbon carved around the edges of the table. Right in the middle of the table is a silver blade.
Should she take the blade? Mizuki hesitates before deciding against it. After all, if she’s planning to talk to the Sorcerer, bringing a blade will probably make him on guard and less open to what she wants to say.
Mizuki opens the door to the chamber without the blade, and the Narrator in their head sighs. Rounding the bend, they see that the large chamber is entirely bare except for a man kneeling on the ground, his arm manacled to the wall. He has lilac hair with teal streaks which almost touches his shoulders, and he wears fine clothes that look unusually pristine for a prisoner. They expected the Sorcerer to look angry, dejected or maybe emotionless, but he looks up and grins playfully when he sees them approach, his golden eyes shining like he hasn’t spent ages trapped in this room.
“Hello there~ I assume you’re here to slay me?” He pauses. “…You don’t have a blade though. Planning to strangle me with your bare hands?”
Mizuki shakes her head. “I’m not planning to slay you. How may I address you, Sorcerer? I mean…I could just call you ‘evil sorcerer’ but I don’t think that’s an appropriate way to treat someone, especially if they might not actually be evil.”
The Sorcerer chuckles. “Hehe, most people would probably settle for insults. But if you really want to address me properly…” He stands up, patting a bit of dust off his clothes, then bows as if he’s a performer and Mizuki is his audience. “I am Kamishiro Rui, though I suppose you can just call me Rui. No need for honorifics if no one’s watching us.”
“…Akiyama Mizuki,” she offers. Then she realises she has no idea how powerful he is. He could be like the spirits she’s heard of in legends, who gain immense power over a person if they have the person’s name. Even if she’s just here to talk, she doesn’t like the idea of having potentially given an evil sorcerer power over her.
They must be making some kind of face at that, because Rui laughs. The sound is light and makes something flutter in their heart like a butterfly. “Don’t worry, Akiyama. Your name is nothing but a means of address to me.”
“If I can call you Rui, you can call me Mizuki.” She falls silent for a while, trying to think of how to start—it surely won’t leave a good first impression to start with something along the lines of “Hey, a voice in my head says I have to kill you because you’re going to end the world if I don’t!”—before starting to speak. “…So…I’ve heard you’re an evil sorcerer who will end the world if you escape, and I’ve been told that I have to kill you to prevent that. Is that true, or just rumours spread to dissuade people from rescuing you?”
…Mizuki, you weren’t supposed to tell him that…
Mizuki mentally rolls her eyes. “Well, I already said it, so it’s too bad. You should have told me earlier.”
Rui tilts his head. “Mizuki? Are you alright? …Anyways, whoever told that to you about me is being untruthful. I…well, I wouldn’t say I’m a good person per se, but I’m not pure evil, and I definitely don’t plan to end the world. Just…take the lead and reform it a bit.” He smiles somewhat uncannily. Looking at it, Mizuki can see why the Narrator says he’s evil.
A world under his rule would quickly meet its demise, crushed under the weight of the people’s lust for chaos, forbidden knowledge and power. Besides, he outright admitted that he’s not a good person, so are you really going to just let him live?
Mizuki exhales. “Well…I don’t really agree with the idea of the entire world being ruled by one person, especially one who claims not to be good. But I guess if you’re chained up here, there’s nothing to worry about and no one to slay.”
“Well…that can be remedied.” Before Mizuki can question Rui, he whips out a blade identical to the one they saw outside the room and severs his own manacled wrist in one motion with barely a wince. Mizuki looks in shock and horror (and some awe) as the severed hand drops to the ground and Rui easily pulls his bleeding wrist out of the manacle. “I’d have preferred not to do that, but…” He shrugs as though he was talking about touching something slightly unpleasant rather than cutting off his own hand.
Who would cut off their hand without even a cry or a flinch? See, Mizuki? He’s a monster, and you’d best end him now before he takes advantage of you.
Mizuki has many things to say, but what comes out is, “If you could do that the whole time, why did you wait until now?”
Rui blinks, then chuckles. “I don’t know, honestly. But I do know I’m now free.” He walks past her to the door, then opens it. “Come on, Mizuki, are you just going to wait there?”
“…Wait, no, Rui!” Mizuki goes over to him. “I… Why don’t we go together? I know I didn’t want you to escape, but…maybe you don’t have to be trapped forever. Maybe we can talk it out.” She extends her hand towards his uninjured one.
A soft smile blooms across his face. “Alright. We can leave this tower together, then we’ll discuss our next steps.” He takes her hand. “Umm…you might need to open the door, since…” he holds up the bleeding stump of his wrist.
Mizuki makes a face at that, but helps open the door anyways. And so they both leave the chamber behind them.
Wait, no, that’s not how it’s supposed to go-!
Hmm, you… You let go of him and let him walk slightly ahead, and use the chance to grab the blade from the table. Seizing the opportunity, you thrust the blade-
“Rui, dodge!” Mizuki shouts, panicking as their hand drives the blade towards Rui’s back. Rui turns and sees the blade, eyes widening in shock. He steps back, avoiding the blow…only to lose his footing and start falling down the stairs. “RUI!!”
Mizuki throws the blade back towards the chamber and runs down the stairs, but gravity pulls Rui down faster than she can run without losing her footing. Eventually the staircase ends and Rui’s body rolls a few times before coming to sprawl out in the middle of the floor. Mizuki runs to him. “Rui? Can you hear me?” She kneels on the ground, uncaring of the dust and dirt, and helps him into a sitting position.
The sorcerer groans, his eyelids fluttering. It takes a few seconds before his golden eyes focus on her. He coughs wetly, blood splattering onto his and Mizuki’s clothes, before saying just one word. “Why…?”
Somehow, that one word carries the weight of betrayal and broken trust and hurts a lot more than insults or curses. “I…I…” Mizuki wants to explain that it wasn’t their choice, that their hand was forced (literally), but the words die on their tongue. “…I didn’t want to,” they finally say, closing their eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Rui places his hand on her cheek. “Hey, look at me.” She complies, opening her eyes, looking at him. “If you say you didn’t want to do it, I believe you.” He hesitates, before continuing, “…Thank you. For choosing to hear me out, in spite of what anyone has said.” With that, he coughs up a few more mouthfuls of blood before his body goes limp in Mizuki’s arms.
“…Rui…?” Mizuki whispers.
There’s no response, and there never will be.
…I suppose that’s one way to slay him. Well, you’ve saved yourself and the whole world from certain doom, so you deserve a reward. Open the door.
“I killed him. I killed him when we could have just peacefully talked it out. I don’t deserve a reward.” She climbs the staircase, resisting the nausea that hits her as she sees the blood on the steps, and enters the chamber once more.
The severed hand is still there, and so is the blade.
Are you really going to do this?
…Fine, if you insist.
You pick up the blade, hold it to your chest and take a deep breath. Then you push it into your flesh, and there’s sharp pain for a moment.
The world goes dark.
~