Beep—beep—beep—beep...
In an ink-dark room, machines pulsed red like embered hearts, whirring without rest.
A tall silver-haired girl in a white lab coat turned, her gaze landing on a girl with her exact face.
“Zero, it’s... all ready.”
Her voice shook; excitement and hesitation tangled on her lips like frost and flame.
Eyes closed, breath heavy with resolve, the one called Zero spoke slow.
“Everyone... all prep for the plan is complete. Next... we hit the final phase.”
Another silver-haired double snapped to a halt, anxiety flickering in her eyes like wind-tossed lanterns.
“Zero, that thing called DIO isn’t fully under control! It could still derail us. We can’t start the final phase yet!”
Zero didn’t yield; her shout cracked through the air like a blade.
“Shut it! We’re out of time! If we wait for perfect, we’ll be too late!”
“But—”
“Enough. I won’t quit. The plan enters the final phase.”
Seeing the steel in Zero’s eyes, the girl who’d argued wavered, then sighed, like a leaf letting go of its branch.
“Fine. We do it your way. But... that kid—Ling—you’ll hand over your own body too?”
The focus slid to Ling; disgust flashed in Zero’s gaze like a shadow crossing water.
“No choice. Without that, we can’t pull Lian out of her. Do it—for Lian.”
“Zero... even I don’t get why you hate Ling so much. Ling and Lian are obviously the—”
“No! Not the same!” Zero’s roar burned hot. “Ling stole everything from Lian! She even took the name ‘Ling’ for herself! How could they be one and the same?”
The girl saw the fury and fell quiet, turning away, whispering like rain under eaves.
“Lian wouldn’t see it like that... I hope you don’t make her angry.”
Silence smothered the room again, deep and heavy, until the central screen burst emerald, drawing every eye like moths to a lamp.
Zero’s words came bright and breathless; her joy spilled like a river in flood.
“We did it, everyone. We did it!”
Hands met in sharp high-fives, and the red-lit darkness took on a festive glow, like winter night under firecrackers.
Bottles appeared as if conjured; liquor rushed into cups with impossible speed. A chorus of glug-glug rose, rhythmic and neat, and flushed faces bloomed like peach blossoms in spring.
Zero shone brightest, grin impossible to cage, her eyes dancing as the cheers rose around her.
“Everyone, we’ve reached the last step. We’ve labored for this—up before dawn, past nightfall—boring, repetitive, mind-numbing work. But! Effort favors the stubborn heart! Today we finally brushed success. It’s ninety-nine percent... and that’s enough!”
She drained her cup last, then tossed it to the floor; the fragile glass cracked with a crisp snap.
“Then... everyone, now comes the final step. Please... go—die—now.”
The words fell, and the red revel fell away; the room sank back into black silence, a weight pressing down like storm air before lightning.
After a long moment, the girl who had spoken with Zero stepped out first and nodded to her, calm as moonlight on water.
“Alright, Zero. It’s risky. You’ll hand over your original body, which means many world-line ‘me’s will lose the ability to communicate across lines. If this fails, we’ve got nothing left. Still, I back you.”
She slid her right hand into her chest, blood gliding out like a thin red thread, and collapsed, breath gone like a snuffed candle.
With her fall, more figures stepped forward—every one of them a mirror of Zero.
“I support you too. I hope you shatter this fixed cycle.”
Zero nodded, a promise firm as stone.
“I will. The world’s convergence still holds. We have time to bend its end. We’ve got a real shot.”
Assured, the girl sank down with a quiet, content smile, like a leaf finding ground.
“Zero, as ‘you,’ even if we differ a little, I still believe in ‘myself.’ So—go.”
She fell beside the others.
Voices rose, promises made, and then bodies dropped, one by one, until the cramped space brimmed with still forms—no stench, no rot, yet the sight alone twisted the gut.
Many girls lay quiet. Only two remained: Zero and a stranger who was also herself.
The newcomer met Zero’s eyes; Zero met the gaze of her other line.
Crimson lips parted.
“Zero, I’m the latest arrival here—No. 5200. It’s late to introduce myself, so I’ll skip it. My world line collapsed too. I met Ling there—she was very close to your Ling. But I killed her. I pulled Lian back as well, only... Lian argued with me the moment she returned. She said I wasn’t the person I used to be.”
She laughed at herself, a brittle sound like ice in a cup.
“Then the world finished Lian off. Cause and effect tangled, and now we have... this.”
Zero understood her angle and shook her head, refusal cool as iron.
“This time’s different. This time we’ll sacrifice countless world-line ‘selves’ to fool the world. The world won’t notice. After that, we fuse Ling into Lian. Done.”
A crooked smile touched the girl’s mouth.
“Wild. No wonder you carry so many lines inside you. But you misunderstood me. I meant—why not try killing the world with Ling?”
Surprise flickered across Zero’s face, then anger, sharp as flint.
“Wow. That’s even more brutal than me. Whether I try it or not, I’ll never forgive Ling’s existence.”
The girl never looked away. Zero’s anger crossed like heat, and the girl sighed, sadness dim as dusk.
“Ling... is she really worth your hate? She came out of necessity. Forget it. I just hope you’ll see her right, once. She’s like Lian—both are children the world treated cruelly.”
She slid her right hand into her chest, crushed her own soul like glass under grip, light draining from her eyes. She fell.
The space shuddered; the ceiling felt ready to rain down like broken slate.
“See Ling anew? Heh... not happening.”
Zero muttered, turned, and left the room.
After she stepped out, the place collapsed as if its spine snapped. Darkness fled. Zero stood on an open plain, grass rippling like sea under wind.
“World! For Lian, I’ve killed myself clean, again and again! This is our last game. I’ll take Lian back! This time, I—Aer—win!”
Her shout rolled across the grassland like thunder, yet only the echo remained. The girl who cast it was already gone.
