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52. Open The Door
Choice was a difficult matter, lamented Nagora Ibuse. Sometimes, it felt as though he had no choice at all. The sight of his dear, heartbroken Sacchan lay seared into the backs of his eyes. What would have happened had he ignored his summons, and followed through on his promise of piano practice? He dreaded to…
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51. Luck
“You’d better show me a good time, Harigane.” Thunder rolled through the darkened sky, the distortion rooted in Chiba’s Kawarajima Park. Meguru Yoha stood in the centre of a psychic singularity. The man held one hand in front of his face; he stretched out his other arm, the palm facing away. Both hands had their…
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50. Blowing Smoke
Juusei Kanon had wondered why Kinuka Amibari had decided to help, what she could possibly want, what she possibly had to gain. Now, she understood. Kinuka truly wanted to help. That was why she had proposed the shopping trip. That was why she had offered to carry all the bags. That was why she had…
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49. Goodness’ Sake
On the first night of her freedom, Juusei Kanon had been made an enemy of sleep. Restless at the best of times, the girl had spent hours turning every which way without success, only to end up staring, unblinking, at the ceiling. The four walls around her were comforting, but she felt enclosed. Sealed. Granny…
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48. Kemuri’s Carnage
A couple hundred thousand yen later, both girls emerged from the Sacai outlet on the second floor of the mall looking and feeling the best they had in a long time. Kinuka Amibari carried most of the bags—having figured out a way to use Threadwork to loop a lot of the handles over her shoulders…
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47. Kemuri’s Kindness
“Kinuka! This way, this way. Look over here! What do you think of this one?” Kinuka Amibari turned around, one hand holding an eyewateringly expensive cashmere sweater. In the time it had taken for her to pick out this singular garment, Juusei Kanon had completely changed outfits once again. Granted, Kinuka knew she took far…
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46. Benevolence
JPRO was, at its core, a scientific firm. The vast majority of its personnel had nothing to do with the supernatural demon that lurked behind the curtain. Most psychologists, psychiatric care facilitators, researchers and the like—living in ironic ignorance to the sinister motivations fuelling their work. Objectively speaking, their work was well-recognised, praised even. Those…
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45. Cruelty
Meguru Yoha. One of the most dangerous out of all the Glass Eyes. Rin wasn’t sure what terrified him more: that, or the fact that he knew so little about his specialty that at this point, he’d be better off guessing! “This place is fuckin’ wild!” Meguru spun on the ball of his foot, arms…
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44. The Flow
Ruri Karakusa thundered over the newly constructed bridge spanning the endless white void. Despite the destructive currents of psychic energy that surged between the fragmented islands, Rinkaku Harigane’s construct held fast. On the island ahead, a boy no older than ten, a victim of this horrific incident, had curled up into a ball on his…
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43. Second Commandment
Iaijutsu: the essence of sword-drawing. The moment the guard clears the scabbard, time dilates. A single action from start to finish, without delay. The scabbard protects the blade, and the inside is oiled to allow seamless removal. The moment before the draw, the swordsman clears all doubt from the mind, moving the centre of their…

