Arcaea: The World of Glass

[Main] Adverse Prelude

In the unwalled, unroofed church, known only by its skeleton chairs and white candles,
the girl in black stands near the remaining old gate, looking at the person she's just met.

It's actually quite simple: she's been upset for so long, and now a true flesh-and-blood person
is finally in front of her. She isn't thrilled. She isn't even excited. The smile on her face is an
effortless lie—but it's one she can't help but tell. It says to the white-clothed girl before her,
"pleasure to meet you." It means nothing.

"What's your name?" she asks in a dry voice. Maybe, in the past, she'd have realized how long it
had been since she'd last spoken.

"My... name? I... I'm not sure," replies the radiant girl. "Do you? Oh—know your own... name,
I mean... "

She doesn't answer the question. "That's something..." are her only words as she looks off toward an ornate wall.

The girl in white gives a bothered expression.

This... was turning out to be a strange meeting. Though the one in black doesn't know it, the one
in white is beginning to share the darker girl's lack of enthusiasm. Like a fire in a sudden chill wind, her hope flickers and wanes. Now she grows uncomfortable, anxious, and wary. A slight but unshakable atmosphere drifts between them, one that feels unmistakably off. To her, it seems as though their very meeting is something the world finds to be simply... "wrong". The ever-present glass, now scattered unevenly throughout and above the broken grounds reflects that strange feeling.

Ordinarily, these shards would flock to them without their bidding: "happiness" to the girl in white, "tragedies" to the girl in black. Right now, every piece of glass in the air stands still. Perhaps half a hundred mirrors are quietly suspended around the girls, half-catching images of the empty place that surrounds them. When the girl in white tries to call out to them, they will not even waver. It unsettles her: happiness placed beside horror, equally glinting and equally motionless. The only piece that will follow her is the one she can hold—the one that set her free.

She stares hard at the shadow girl. "If we're in this together," she begins, leaning forward,
"then what do you think about staying together? We... We could help each other, and maybe..."

She stops. The other girl is staring into the empty, canvas-like sky with a blank and uninformative expression. She doesn't seem to be listening, but in truth she has followed every word.

"Maybe... " the dark girl echoes. It's faint... After her reincarnation into misery, her soul itself had
felt like a dull, grim abyss. However, when she heard this proposal, something inside her
shimmered—very briefly and very weakly. However, as she is now, even something as tiny as that was able to pierce the shroud of frustration that had been endlessly choking her since she'd
reawakened.

And the remnant of the girl she used to be, the Tairitsu who had first woken up in this world,
rebelled against the prospect of "the end"—against the idea of giving up. She wanted a second chance.

But her halfhearted answer isn't enough to inspire confidence in the girl standing opposite her.
Their meeting remains careful, cautious. The Hikari who recently returned to her senses now
knows that the world of Arcaea is far more than pretty—and far less than safe.

And yet the two girls will speak, with the hope that it will lead to something better.

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Their conversation continues.

"It would certainly be nice if we had names to share," says Tairitsu in a fraying voice. Her eyes are
again beginning to lose the shine of life.

The other girl, Hikari, notices that with some discomfort. "Yes, I can't say I like to think about it:
not having any memories in a world filled with them," she admits.

At the moment, they sit upon the same pew, though not close. They've gone to what was once
the front row, and a few steps in front of them lead up to a wide, flat floor. The girl in white is
slouched, watching her new acquaintance with worry painting her gaze. The girl in black is
examining the empty place in front of them, the sky, the dead and distant grandiose architectur— but she does so seemingly without concern or interest.

While watching, she begins to speak unprompted. "This glass. Do you know a name for it?"

"Huh? Oh... Well, for whatever reason, I know the name 'Arcaea'."

"Same as me," says Tairitsu, now looking Hikari's way. "So, how are we different?"

Hikari offers an apologetic smile. "I don't know," she says, "aside from our difference in looks."

"Let's find out, then. What kind of memories do you see in the glass?"

"Almost only pleasant ones."

Tairitsu sighs. "Then we're opposites..." she remarks bitterly, looking to her feet. "Let's say we're
the only two walking around this place. If that's true, our opposition could matter a great deal."

"You don't see happy memories through the Arcaea?" asks Hikari, leaning slightly toward her
conversation partner. "I'm sorry..."

"...That's just how it is," says the other girl. For a short while they remain silent, until Tairitsu
speaks again. "But from what you've said... I suspect even your pleasant memories haven't resulted in a happy life for you here. Well? Am I correct?"

To this, Hikari nods. "I don't mean to make it sound as though I've had it rough since waking up,
but... You see, I once gathered enough pieces that they could cover the sky. When I did, that new
sky almost killed me... I felt like the light was slowly eroding my mind... I think it was mainly my
own fault, to be honest."

They both feel it's best to be honest.

After Hikari tells of her naive and dangerous journey bathed in light, Tairitsu coldly recounts her
tragic struggles through maelstroms of dark. The two are certainly different in quite a few ways,
but one definite commonality becomes clear between them: a want of sense in a senseless world. The world around them may be beautiful, but it has also been cruel.

Hikari has resolved herself, but it wasn't long ago that her very "self" had been threatened by this strange, unfeeling place. For Tairitsu, it has left her scarred: persistent, panging compulsions
toward violence and wrath continue to roll up from within her like tides. Even throughout their
discussions here, despite her desire to be amicable, smothering each urge from her breast has
been no easy feat. This living, breathing person beside her is too enticing a target to release her
frustrations on. The girl in white doesn't fail to notice how the girl in black's hold on her umbrella periodically tightens into a trembling, aggravated grip.

It hasn't been easy—a fact that holds true for the both of them.

But they continue to fight.

"I think I just... I really wanted to meet somebody else," Tairitsu reveals. "Even... perhaps a few
months ago, that may have been all I really wanted. However... ever since I stepped out of that
black shell, I've found it difficult to hold on to such an innocent desire. I just can't muster it.
When my chest isn't feeling empty, I can't muster anything in it that isn't vile and wicked impulse. Disgusting, broken thing..." She looks at Hikari. "Even now, I keep thinking about how much I want to hurt you."

"That's fine..." says the other girl. "Maybe I'd feel that same way if I'd gone through everything that you did. But I don't think you're right about one thing. I don't think your heart is as broken
as you feel."

Tairitsu meets her eyes, as if asking how that could be.

"Look—you're holding back," explains Hikari, "even now. That tells me that even after everything, you're a very good person—still. You're strong." She smiles and stands from her seat. "You're a lot stronger than me," she says, casting a momentary glance into the brilliant sky.

"I was rescued," she continues, meeting Tairitsu's eyes once more. "You rescued yourself."

The shimmer inside the dark girl's chest becomes a faint glow, and an ache pulses through her.
That's not true, she thinks. It isn't that simple, she thinks. She failed, and the old her died that day when the labyrinth collapsed. She'd felt nothing after that, and when feeling came back to her, it was nothing but contempt. When she'd met this girl, even, it made her want to do nothing more than take a blade and run her through.

No, she hasn't rescued herself. However... perhaps she hasn't simply been seeking someone out to harm. Perhaps the truth is that she's been awaiting something impossible to give her one last ray of hope. Hikari is too meek and unsure to directly comfort her, but her presence and lack of
aggression signal this: she may be that last, fledgling ray.

What pains Tairitsu's heart is that very innocent realization.

Her posture weakens. Hikari notices and moves to see if she can do something. But she is still
unsure, and so she is ultimately unable to reach out for the other girl. She stands before Tairitsu
with her arms half-raised, and in a few moments the girl in black stands by herself. Hikari drops her hands, and takes a step back. Around them, the glass sways with their movement, and one in particular begins to shine a bit differently from the others. In its reflection is something familiar, yet impossible.

It is a vision that, surely, nobody could have seen:

the briefest wicked flicker of a most strange and anomalous memory.