Date A Live: Starting as Acheron

A town engulfed in flames.

A familiar red-haired girl, her eyes filled with tears.

A constant burning sensation that he felt from every inch of his body.

And a distorted voice, coming from a strange, shrouded figure.

"Both of you have performed beyond my expectations. But now, please, forget about me."

Shidou's eyes widened as such scenes flashed before his eyes. Kotori's face was similarly shocked as she jolted back from his lips.

"Shidou… did you just…?" Kotori's eyelids trembled.

"...five years ago… I just remembered something…" Shidou closed his eyes, trying his best to recall that censored figure in his memory. Who was that? Was she the one who turned Kotori into a Spirit? What if…

Suddenly, Kotori's clothes began to disintegrate into shimmering particles. Before long, there was nothing left.

Shidou's face exploded into a blush, and he hastily stumbled back. "Ack! Kotori, I'm-"

"Just look away already!" Kotori snapped with a face as red as Shidou's own, striking him across the face and sending him into the realm of unconsciousness. 

—————I am the dividing line that shifts time and perspective—————

"Today was terrible," Kyo groaned as he sank into the couch. I don't want to move for at least an entire week.

Nia put down her beer and glanced at him worriedly from across the room. "How are your wounds?" 

"They're all superficial." Kyo rolled his neck as he shifted his Astral Dress into casual pajamas. "It's not like they hurt, anyway. Funny thing; since I appeared in this world, pain seems to have been replaced with chills instead."

"Huh… are you sure you don't want to at least get a check-up?"

"I'll be fine." 

An awkward silence descended in their apartment. After a while, Nia coughed. "So, about Kurumin…"

"Hm?" Kyo lazily cast his gaze in her direction. "She's gone, probably off sapping the life of some other poor people in a place thousands of miles from here."

Nia froze, an indescribable expression on her face. "Oh… and were you planning on trying to stop her?"

"Nope," Kyo yawned. "I have no desire to chase her around the world, trying to protect a bunch of random people. After all, like I said before: I won't go around saving those I don't care about." Noticing Nia's frown, he tilted his head. "Does that sound cold-hearted?"

"...well, thinking about it logically, what you're saying makes sense. But even still, saying it out loud like that…" Nia sighed. "Yeah, it does sound kinda bad."

"I won't argue with you there." Kyo adjusted his posture restlessly. "Though, knowing Kurumi's objective, I can't say there isn't a part of me that supports her."

"You… what?" Nia's jaw dropped.

"Kihihihi! What an interesting claim, Kyo." 

The sudden voice of Kurumi sent Nia whirling around, her Astral Dress manifesting over her body. Indeed, the girl titled [Nightmare] was now standing in the entrance of their apartment, clothed in her own Astral Dress. "You-"

"I hope you're not here to cause trouble." Kyo was suddenly on his feet, his hand now clutching onto [Naught]. Why is she even back, anyway? Is this a clone, or the real one?

Kurumi laughed lightly with a sly grin. "Don't worry, I still plan on adhering to our prior agreement. As long as Ms. Honjou is here, I'll behave myself."

"...next time, please knock on the door." Kyo flopped back down onto the couch, though he kept [Naught] in his hand. As far as I remember, her word was always trustworthy… but since so many things have already changed, I have to wonder how much I can trust my memory anymore.

Seeing Kyo relax somewhat, Nia hesitated for a moment before planting herself firmly between the two.

"Oh my, such trust. I'll have to make sure I live up to your expectations," Kurumi giggled, doing a small curtsy.

"Just tell me why you're here," Kyo muttered, rubbing the hilt of [Naught]. From this position… can I react to her if she tries to kill me? Maybe I should at least sit up.

"Why, I simply decided to pay a little visit out of curiosity for your condition." She smiled innocently. "But it seems I heard something quite interesting. Would you like to elaborate for me about what you just said, Kyo?" 

The man in question slowly sat up, taking the time to gather his thoughts. "I admire your motive, and I can't say I would be opposed to the ending that you desire."

"Oh? And what exactly do you believe this desire of mine to be?" Kurumi smiled enigmatically.

"Is it not to return to the past and kill the Spirit of Origin, thus preventing any of the Spirit-related tragedies that happened in the past thirty years?" Kyo raised an eyebrow while smiling thoughtfully. "Or… perhaps, is that all an excuse, some trivial justification for the purpose of bringing back your friend?"

Instantly, Kurumi's eyes sharpened, and the air itself grew several times colder. In his peripheral vision, Kyo swore he could see the shadows in the edges of the room begin to move restlessly, inching towards the three occupants. "My, my. It seems you really do know a lot. I'm starting to really believe that you're from the future."

"I think at this point it's either that, or I'm a mind reader," Kyo laughed, tapping his head with two fingers. "Either way, your plan is terribly flawed."

"And why is that?" Kurumi kept her eyes locked on Kyo, as if searching for any clue that he was lying.

Kyo ignored her, glancing at Nia. "First, out of curiosity, how much can [Raziel] glean into the Spirit of Origin?"

"Nothing specific," Nia muttered with a hint of dejection. And here I thought she didn't like prying into people's lives, Kyo noted. "I can't even get a decent grasp on what continent they're on."

"Figures." Kyo pointed at Kurumi. "Listen up, Kuru-Kuru. It's simple: against the Spirit of Origin, you stand no chance." 

"Oh?" 

Kurumi glared daggers at Kyo, who simply shrugged easily in response. "It's simple logic. After all, you can't even beat me. And I'm only working with half a battery at the moment to boot."

"How confident," Kurumi mocked, stepping closer to him. "And what, am I to believe that you think you could kill her if you got the other half of your battery back?"

"Well…" Kyo glanced at Nia. "Seeing as she's the Spirit of Origin herself, it might be a little tough."

"But would you lose?" She chimed in before Kurumi could open her mouth.

Kyo smiled. "Nah, I'd win." 

The two of them gave each other a high-five. Honestly, I didn't think she'd get the reference. 

"...right." Kurumi snorted, a mild amount of puzzlement on her face. "Well – out of pure curiosity, mind you – how close are you to getting back to full power?"

"Oh, I never knew you cared so much, Kurumi." Kyo tilted his head. "Since you're so worried, why don't you find out for yourself? Here, hold my hand." Although he spoke mockingly, Kyo actually extended his palm out to her.

"Eh? What is this, some sort of joke?" Kurumi looked as though she had just seen the sun rise from the west.

"No, no. Now, come on. Hurry up, my hand's getting cold." Kyo smiled, winking at Nia.

"...ah, right! It's fine, Kurumin. You've come all this way, after all. Go on; check on your patient." Nia moved to the side with a small smile on her lips. 

Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Kurumi tentatively approached Kyo, stopping just before him. "Is this some sort of trap?"

Kyo chuckled. "Chill out, Admiral Ackbar. You're the one who asked."

Kurumi suddenly smiled slyly. "Then I hope you won't mind…"

"Wha-"

Before he could finish his question, Kurumi suddenly jumped backwards and grabbed Nia by the back of her dress before flinging her towards his hand. Kyo's eyes widened, and he instinctively caught Nia against his own chest, the two of them pressing up against each other. Kyo gulped, as Nia's face stopped inches from his own.

There was a half-second of silence in the room. Then-

"AAAUGH! FREEZING!" Nia screamed, a blush apparent on her cheeks as she leapt backwards. "You're literally colder than the ice in the freezer!"

"Well, I'm sorry! Actually, no, I'm not!" Kyo sputtered, blushing profusely himself while pointing at Kurumi. "What the fork was that, Kurumi?!"

"My, my, so it really was a trap, wasn't it?" Kurumi smiled foxily while crossing her arms. "I can't believe you, Kyo. How could you so easily betray my trust?"

"Ha? It would've been a cold handshake at the most!" Kyo's eyes sparked with a hint of red lightning.

"Is that so? I suppose I'll take your word for it." Kurumi quickly began to sink into her shadow. "Well, I think I've seen enough. I'll be taking my leave now. Bye~"

"You- ugh, whatever." Kyo glared as Kurumi's form disappeared into the darkness. Shaking his head, he turned to look at Nia. "Sorry."

She laughed awkwardly, picking her beer back up and taking a sip. "Oh, don't worry about it. But I have two questions."

"...go ahead."

Nia held out the can of beer, a look of anticipation on her face. "Could you hold my drink to chill it? Since your body is so cold and everything."

Kyo made a weird face. "Maybe if I stick my finger into your drink? I don't have ice powers; I'm just cold."

"Oh… fair enough," Nia coughed. "Now, more importantly… how was it?"

Kyo tilted his head in confusion. "How was what?" 

"No, don't tell me…" Nia's face fell as she crumpled to her knees, her arms outstretched as though in protest to some unknown god. "You couldn't even feel them pressing against you? Are they really that small?!"

"..."

——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————

"...so what you're telling me is, another one of the side-effects of Kyo's power is… his body becoming extremely cold," Kurumi repeated with bewilderment. 

"Indeed, that seems to be the case," her clone confirmed.

Kurumi's face shifted through a range of emotions, from befuddlement to contemplation to annoyance, before she finally sighed exhaustedly. "I see. Well, in terms of what he's capable of, this one is still manageable."

"'This one?' So, what you're saying is…" The clone's face darkened.

"Indeed. The clones that were slain by that dark power of his… it seems that I can no longer summon them." In fact, not only can I no longer summon those past versions of me, I can't seem to summon any clones from any time within a month of the time of those that were erased by Kyo. Tch. If I knew he were capable of this, I really wouldn't have fought him…

"Are you going to use [Vav] to re-do today, then?" The clone asked curiously.

"...no." Kurumi glared up at the night sky, biting her lip. "The matter is of no importance. After all, I can still summon as many clones as I choose; it's just that I can't summon them from a few certain months from my past now. I don't need to endure the mental backlash of [Vav] for that."

"...I suppose you're right." The clone bowed her head as she began to sink once more into the shadows. "Are you sure you don't want me to go back and monitor him?"

"If he doesn't find you, [Raziel] probably will. Just return to your original post." Kurumi turned her back to the clone, closing her eyes. "Against the Spirit of Origin, I stand no chance… is that right?"

Well then, it seems as though I will need to make a few more preparations to fight you, Takamiya Mio. With that final thought, she too disappeared into the night.