Wind tears at them as they plummet. The device falls down beside them.

  "Why is the timer still counting down?" Niche shouts over the rushing air.

  Neptune is dead. Pluto is dead. The rest are gone. Wait, Jupiter. No, Jupiter is trapped in the shadow world. His energy can't reach the machine from there. So who's still powering it?

  "There's still one we haven't killed," Niche says to Raizen. "The leader of Vestige Court. Sol. He must be the last one with energy still fueling the machine. And he must have immense power to singlehandedly keep it running—"

  But we can't find Sol in time. Not before this thing goes off. Which means—

  "Maruka, use it now!" Niche calls out.

  Silence.

  The wind is still screaming past them but nothing else comes. No response. No activation. Nothing.

  "I had hoped you wouldn't resort to cheap tricks, Niche." Raizen's voice is calm despite everything. "I heard your fail-safe when you were talking to Maruka and, as sad as it was, controlled her."

  "What?"

  "I couldn't let you best me in an ill manner, so I made her kill herself at the second she was supposed to use your time crystal. She should be dead by now."

  The surface rushes up. Niche's heart drops. He can’t speak.

  "I really didn't want to control her, you know. With you, I only suggested you take actions, because I try to give you all the power to make your own decisions. But I had to force Maruka to kill herself."

  "You're lying—"

  "Just like I made Ryota go to your house and took his memory away. Just like when I had Maruka reject you." They're spinning now, extraction beam following their descent. "You needed to focus on breaking the cycle to get us both out of this place. I suggested that a girlfriend would make you soft. Distract you from your purpose. Make you want a normal life instead of fixing the sun."

  "Stop—"

  "She fought it harder than anything else I've asked. Cried for days. But eventually, she convinced herself it was for your own good. That's the beauty of suggestions – people always find ways to rationalize them as their own ideas."

  "She loved me?"

  "She did. Even through the hatred I've cultivated. Even as she dreamt of killing you. Underneath it all, she never stopped. Tragic, really."

  They're seconds from impact now. Ocean below.

  "Raizen, your own blade will spell your defeat." Niche's voice is dead. "I figured out your secret. You do not live in this sword, but inside my own body!"

  "Brother—"

  "You are a parasite, leeching off me and using my carcass as a haven. You are the leader of this group who takes energy from the sun." Niche raises the blade as they fall. "But why did you do it? Was this world all just a game to you? No matter. As long as you live, this separation machine will continue to work."

  They hit the water. The impact should kill them both, but Niche's immortality holds.

  Under the waves, sinking fast, Niche positions the blade. Water fills his lungs but he talks through it.

  "So then, now that I know where you are, your defeat is imminent."

  He drives the sword into his own chest. Deep. Then ignites his flames through the blade.

  "You fool." Raizen's voice comes from inside as they burn together. "Did you think that would work? I built this world. Everything in it is mine. Including you."

  The water boils around them. Niche's insides char.

  Raizen continues. "I am invincible, Niche. This is a mere setback for my greater immortality, a minor inconvenience."

  Raizen’s voice quiets. "Though I suppose even immortality expires, if you want it to badly enough. Era knows that better than anyone."

  He goes quiet. When his voice comes back, it sounds lighter.

  "However, throughout this world and your previous life, I continued to love you, brother."

  Niche’s flames die. Raizen's presence fades. The weight of the sword changes. It's heavier now, like whatever was carrying it with Niche is gone.

  Niche sinks deeper into the black, blade still in his chest, regeneration slowing.

  Alone.

  Somewhere far above him, a muffled explosion shakes the water. The extraction device. He doesn't look up.

  Something drifts up past his face. His phone, slipping from his pocket, sinking slower than him. The screen lights up inches from his eyes. One notification reads, "June 27, happy 17th birthday!"

  He sinks deeper. His skin is blackened and cracking, more charred than human. The water consumes him slowly, steam rising from every pore.

  He looks at his hand, at the old parasite wound reopened by salt water.

  The pressure crushes his lungs.

  The blade starts to come apart. The metal corrodes, pieces flaking off into the water. Whatever was holding it together isn't anymore. His body pushes what's left out on its own. It dissolves before it gets far.

  Original World, Palace, Present

  The palace courtyard is empty. It's been empty for a long time.

  Shima appears on the ground. Mrs. Sutori appears standing a few feet away, still holding an open suitcase. Usui appears behind them. None of them know how they got here.

  "Where... where is everyone?" Mrs. Sutori looks around.

  Before anyone can answer, Yuna comes running from the palace interior. "Shima! You're back! Where is that Ryuga? He remembered our promise, right?"

  Shima pushes herself up off the marble, barely getting to her knees. She stares at Yuna.

  "Yuna... Ryuga is..."

  "He's coming separately, right? He said he'd return after helping with the sun bearer situation." Yuna's voice wavers.

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  Mrs. Sutori interrupts, confused. "Excuse me, but where is my family? Do you know Niche? Mika?"

  The silence is deafening.

  Usui just looks around blankly. "Should I... know you people?"

  "So..." Yuna says slowly, reality sinking in. "It's just us?"

  "Yeah…" Shima confirms.

  Mrs. Sutori collapses to her knees. "My babies..."

  ???, Memorial World, Present

  The world convulses. No bearer with energy to maintain it. No Raizen to power it.

  The ground cracks open. Buildings fold in on themselves. Water rushes through streets that have been empty for hours, then days, then longer. The same thing that happened to the first artificial world is happening again.

  The world implodes.

  ???, Space, Present

  Raizen opens his eyes. He stands in his true form – his disfigured body from the fusion that he never revealed to a mortal. The void stretches around him.

  "So, it is complete? My punishment, rather. Nishihara has proven his loyalty and freed me from that wretched world."

  "Yes. And you will be freed from your meaningless life."

  Raizen closes his eyes. Something in him settles.

  Then he opens them. That voice wasn't Sol.

  He spins around to find Niche there, whole.

  "How are you still alive?” Raizen stammers. “The simulation should have ended with you in it."

  "It did. My immortality did not let me die."

  "The power of the sun wasn't true immortality. That boost should have become obsolete when the world collapsed."

  "One day ago, I went back in time to save my soulless father. I did not bring you with me, so you did not experience it, but I was taken to a place where I was enlightened." Niche's voice is empty. "Eventually, my greed caused my expulsion from that divine place, but not before I achieved immortality. With this power and no honor, my one goal was not to save the world anymore, Raizen."

  Raizen waits.

  "I wanted to kill you."

  "You—"

  "That is what drove my actions. Pure hatred." Niche doesn't look at him. "The immortality you gained from the collision pales in comparison to mine, which was gained through more contemptible ways. Like how some infinities are greater than others."

  Neither of them speaks for a while. Niche breaks the silence.

  "I am still unsure whether you planned for this to occur. I know how much of a curse immortality is." He turns away. "Goodbye, brother." He stops. "Before this is over. I have to know.” He looks back. “If you wanted us to have free will, why did you make her reject me?"

  "I didn't make her do anything," Raizen says. "I told her the truth. That you'd fail if she stayed close."

  "She chose to leave?"

  "She chose to save you. Even if it meant you'd hate her."

  "Why tell her that? We were—"

  "What? Happy?" Raizen's voice shifts. "Tell me. Why her?"

  "What kind of question is that?"

  "A simple one. Why Maruka specifically? What made her special?"

  Niche doesn't answer for a long time.

  "She was there after your grandmother died," Raizen says. "After your brother. That's it, isn't it?"

  "That's not—"

  "You don't love her. You love the idea of someone caring when you had nothing left. She was convenient," Raizen says. "The first kind face when you were drowning. If it had been anyone else, Shima, Mika, literally anyone, you would have loved them just as much."

  "Shut up."

  "You know what I noticed, living inside you all this time?" Raizen says. "You never cared about saving anyone. You didn't even care about killing me. Maruka was just a reason to keep going. Something to hold onto until you could watch everything fall apart."

  Niche doesn't answer.

  "You know what else I noticed? Every time you reached for her, you were already hurting. Not once did you go to her when things were fine. She wasn't the person you loved. She was the person you went to when you couldn't stand being alone with yourself."

  "She kissed me," Niche says. "At the end. That was my choice. That was real."

  "Was it? Or was she saying goodbye to someone she wished she could have loved properly?"

  Niche doesn't answer that either.

  "For what it's worth," Raizen says, "she did try. At least one of you was genuine. Sometimes trying is all we get."

  ???, Present

  Roy snaps awake in his bed, sunlight cutting through the window. Palace walls surround him, familiar and quiet, and when he looks down at his hands they're small. A child's hands.

  The door bursts open.

  "What are you doing?" Ryota is standing in the doorway with a water gun already in his grip, dressed in his bathing suit. "You're gonna be late for Maruka's water party."

  Roy rubs his eyes and sits up. "What time is it?"

  "Doesn't matter, you're late. Let's go." Ryota runs out.

  Roy scrambles after him, out of the room and down the corridor, footsteps echoing off the palace walls. The sun hits him as soon as he steps outside, warm but not harsh, the kind of warmth that makes you want to stay in it.

  The yard opens up in front of them, a pool glittering at the center and grass stretching out around it. Water guns and balloons are scattered across the ground, and Simon and Maruka are already chasing each other, streams of water arcing through the air. Asha is weaving between them, trying to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Usui is sitting beneath a tree at the far edge of the yard, legs crossed, watching.

  "Yo, Usui!" Ryota shouts as he passes him. "You getting in on this?"

  Usui doesn't move from his spot. "No, I don't really do water."

  "Your loss."

  Roy and Ryota run into the chaos, grabbing guns off the ground, and for a while it's just noise and movement and water splashing everywhere. Roy ducks behind a lawn chair, peeks out, and lobs a water balloon at Asha. It hits his shoulder but bounces off and pops on the ground. Asha spins around to retaliate but Simon catches him from behind, soaking his entire back.

  "I'm out," Asha says, dropping his gun and walking off toward Usui. He collapses on the grass next to him, breathing heavy. "Yeah, I can see why you don't do this. It's tiring."

  Usui watches Simon reload her gun across the yard. "I like to watch and observe. I have more fun that way."

  "That's fair."

  Roy is reloading when Maruka flanks him, and before he can turn around he feels the cold spray hit the back of his neck. He spins but she's already moved on to Ryota, catching him in the chest.

  "We're out," Ryota announces, tossing his gun aside. He looks at Roy. "Pool?"

  "Yep."

  They walk to the edge, leaving Simon and Maruka to finish their war. The water is still and clear, reflecting the blue sky above it.

  "Wanna see who can hold their breath the longest?" Roy asks.

  Ryota grins at him. "You're gonna lose."

  They jump in together, the water swallowing them whole, and everything goes quiet. Roy can see Ryota next to him, cheeks puffed out, eyes squeezed shut, bubbles escaping from the corners of his mouth.

  Five seconds pass.

  Ryota's hand shoots up and he kicks toward the surface, breaking through with a gasp. Roy watches from below as Ryota pulls himself out of the pool and flops onto the grass on his back, chest heaving, water dripping off him and soaking into the ground.

  Roy stays at the bottom.

  Ryota, you're such a lightweight.

  He lets himself sink a little lower, watching the light ripple above him. Through the distortion of the water he can see the yard, the shapes of his friends moving around. He can stay down here a little longer.

  Above him, Simon and Maruka are still going. He watches their blurry forms circle each other, watches Maruka reach for something on the ground. The big water balloons.

  Simon's voice is muffled through the water but Roy can still make it out. "No, those hurt so much."

  Maruka says something back. Roy can't hear it clearly but he sees Simon raise her gun, pointing it at herself.

  Maruka throws the balloon.

  It hits Simon's gun and knocks it out of her hands, and Roy watches it fall in slow motion, smashing against the ground and splashing water across the grass.

  Maruka stands there for a second, staring at her empty hands. "Oh shoot, that was my only balloon."

  She raises her own gun to her face and pulls the trigger, water running down her chin.

  "Good game," Maruka says with a smirk.

  Simon hasn't moved. "I... won?"

  "Whatever. Okay."

  Roy watches them from below, the light flickering across the surface. Something moves at the edge of his vision.

  A cat is sitting at the edge of the pool, small and still, looking down at him through the water.

  Wait. Shouldn't you be with Riku? How'd you get out?

  The cat opens its mouth.

  "You need to wake up."

  Bubbles escape Roy's lips. He stares at the cat, not understanding.

  What?

  "You need to wake up," it repeats.

  Roy tries to kick toward the surface but his legs won't respond. His chest is starting to burn. He tries to move his arms but they feel heavy, pinned at his sides. The water is pressing in on him now, filling his chest, and he can't tell if he's sinking or if the pool is getting deeper.

  He looks up at the surface. Ryota is still laying on the grass, drenched, chest rising and falling slowly. Asha is sprawled next to Usui under the tree, tired, catching his breath. Maruka is wiping water from her chin, laughing. Simon is standing in the yard, confused, wondering why she won.

  Roy looks at the cat. Roy opens his mouth. Maybe to ask why it's here. Maybe to ask how Ryota lost the breath holding contest so fast. Maybe to ask if Maruka wants to go on a walk after this, because something about sitting alone at the bottom of a pool feels wrong right now.

  The water rushes in.

  Ocean, Present

  Niche's eyes snap open.

  The ocean is still pressing in on him from every direction, cold and dark and endless. His lungs are full of water and he can't tell which way is up anymore.

  I can't escape even in my dreams.

  Of course. Even dying, Raizen had to have the last word. One final manipulation. An artificial memory, implanted who knows how long ago, locked behind a barrier. A conversation that never happened. Answers to questions I haven't asked yet. He wrote his goodbye before I even knew I'd need one.

  But that means he was holding it back this whole time. Every second of every day, some part of his energy was spent keeping this memory from reaching me. Not a barrier he set and forgot. He was actively holding it in place. For years. Just in case he ever died and needed me to hear it.

  How much of himself did he spend on me that I'll never know about?

  How long did he know? How long was he watching me destroy everything while pretending he didn't see it coming? He lived inside me. He felt every thought I had. He knew what I was before I did, and he still held that barrier in place every single day.

  That was the last barrier. There's nothing left to remember. M

  He sinks deeper. The real world is saved. His friends are back in their lives with all their memories intact.

  And him, alone in the dark, drowning on what he thinks is his birthday.