*I wrote this for a single reason: Pioupiou had to tell me about the game, and I had to watch a video on the entire lore. Needless to say, it got me so pissed I had to do this just to have closure and to go back to my roots. I started writing to give characters I like a happy ending with some strong character or through other ways. Thus, here we go with this short little thing. It won't be much, just a funky little episode that maybe connects with something deeper in the total lore of things I write. Enjoy, peace out, and Deus vult.*
Shinichi found the events to already be weird. Aoi was behaving weird, making noises while saying she's calling god. Only he knew what was going on through his own thoughts, yet he quickly turned to Miyuki. Her expression was... complex, to say the least.
"...I heard she has a complicated family situation."
"She does?" answered Shinichi, looking back up again to Aoi, who was still making the noise.
"Supposedly she never goes home. Sleeps in a different be-"
"Got it!"
Shouted Aoi, who finally scrambled down from her vantage point, staring at the two of them.
"...What is it?" asked Miyuki, turning to look at the strange girl, still skeptical.
"Plan A," said Aoi, though her eyes looked like she wasn't focused on either of them, like her mind was wandering who knows what worlds.
So many questions, not a good answer for them, not a way for Shinichi to find out what was happening, nor did he know of the incoming choice. Like the day couldn't get any weirder, he took notice of something in the corner of his eye.
'Just a shadow, nothing more.'
Indeed, it had been nothing more than a flicker of black on a colorful canvas, a simple movement lost to the other two, something that only he's caught a glimpse of. It was just a shadow, or his mind playing tricks on him.
"No plans, Aoi."
The trio turned around, seeing... nothing. No one was there, yet a voice did ring out. Miyuki's eyes danced around, while Aoi stared blankly, dead stopped in her tracks.
"It wasn't part of the script," she muttered, a sound that barely pierced the air.
"Indeed it wasn't," answered the voice. Something was around, something they couldn't see.
"This isn't funny! Come out now!" gulped Miyuki, thinking it a prank, expecting a student to just come out laughing at how well they managed to go with the joke.
It was no joke, nor was it a student. The figure that showed itself before their eyes was human only in shape. No facial features one could distinguish besides a glowing orb that most probably played the role of an eye, its white light dim and serene, like a field of pure snow in broad daylight.
"What the...?" said Shinichi, taking a step back, still hoping to come to gripes with the situation at hand.
The figure simply looked over to Aoi, finding interest in her.
'Is this the god that Aoi called? Hell, what am I even thinking? Is that even possible?'
Aoi met the figure's gaze, staring at the orb with a certain calm that worried both Miyuki and Shinichi.
"It has to be this way. They have to end up together," she replied, unwavering in her conviction.
The figure just shook its head, letting out a sigh.
"I expected you to say that. You're behaving like you have no will of your own, yet... I understand."
The shadow stared up to the sky, crossing its arms while the silence lingered. Shinichi barely noticed how Miyuki just moved closer to him, slowly grabbing on to his arm, standing closer to the only normal part of the situation.
"Here's the thing," the shadow continued, still looking up. "I don't know who this supposed 'god' of this world is, but they better find someone else to pray to if they mess with your lives again. I am who I am for multiple reasons."
His eye roamed around quickly, glancing at Miyuki and Shinichi, then back to Aoi.
"This is the first route, the very beginning. Perfectly on time, before the supposed curse happens and before things go haywire."
The world began breaking, shaking, quaking, moving like hell itself was about to be birthed straight from the planet's core. No building was breaking down despite the tremor. No one seemed terrified, rushing out from buildings like water gushing out of a broken dam. It was almost like only they were feeling it, witnessing the strange event.
"This has to be a nightmare, right?" laughed Shinichi in pure irony, the situation crushing any sense of logic that held the world together.
"What are you doing?" asked Aoi, showing just a glimpse of fear at the figure. It just brought its hand up, tapping her forehead with the tip of its finger, a gentle touch unlike the chaos surrounding them.
"I'm fixing this world, all for the sake of what I know. I won't let things play out like that. Whatever 'god' thought it would be fun for things to go this way... let's just say that I'll end them later if they interfere again."
Thus, things went black. Like a candle robbed of its light, so did the world lose its sun. One floating white orb remained, lingering, whispering.
"The world will reject me, but I won't return. Make it right and keep going."
Darkness, solid, then... they were back on the roof. The three exchanged glances, noticing that the figure had vanished.
"What..." whispered Miyuki, looking around. Aoi was nowhere to be found.
"I... have no idea," asked Shinchi, looking over to her, simply shrugging. "However, I do feel like a great burden has been lifted off my back, like... I can finally make my own choices."
Thus, he looked at her. Secretly, a voice rang out in his mind, a faint whisper of the voice that had started those strange events.
"Just say it. She won't turn you down."
.................................................................Aoi looked at the figure, who stood next to her. In front of them, like a floating screen, the scene played out where the confession took place naturally.
"What did you do?" asked Aoi, turning to look at him, the shadow figure that simply crossed its arms like the events were the most normal thing in the world.
"You see, I rewrote the world. You were added there as a form of 'Deus ex machina', meant to push the two together then vanish. I did that without you needing to be there, but..."
"But?"
It stared at her, letting the silence stretch out for a while. Aoi was slowly growing uneasy, yet something kept her grounded, a feeling that the figure in front of her meant no harm.
"You see, I know how things play out on the other route. You don't know it yet yourself, but you can be a choice for him as well. Thus, what I did was simple: I deleted the harmful routes, getting rid of the chaos, and grabbed the first iteration of Shinichi to appear in there."
"Sure, it messes with the cycle of cause and effect, but things aren't as simple as they seem past a certain point. The rest is too much talk, but know this: I prevented hell from taking place while also ensuring a safe haven for you."
He pointed to a different screen floating somewhere, a blank white image the only visible thing.
"There's... nothing there."
He nodded, letting out a sigh that seemed more habit than an actual need to do so.
"Indeed... nothing yet. Worlds are complex, but there's something I could do: tailor one for you. The Shinichi that at some point appeared and did care for you is there too. As for the one behind it all... I got rid of them. Needless to say, you have your own life waiting for you there. You will remember this interaction at some point, but... just live a good life until then. Time for you to be 'born' the right way and enjoy life to the fullest."
She had no time to open her mouth. The blank screen just swallowed her up, and so another world was birthed in parallel to the current timeline. The figure simply stared at both of them, nodding once before turning around and doing the obvious: sigh.
"This should be it for now. Another one fixed and running. I better hurry to escape before it happens again. I'm not sure what I would to then."