The Last Memory
The last memory.
"Huk... Haa..." The sky was a deep, bloody red. Ah, no. It wasn't the sky. It was the floor. Could a single person's blood really soak the ground this much? Well, I suppose it could. The problem was that the blood pouring out was mine.
Splat— My body collapsed helplessly. Like spilled paint, the crimson spread in every direction, staining the white concrete. I hadn't been able to breathe properly for a while now. My vision blurred in cycles, often leaving me unable to see what was in front of me. A fist-sized hole had been punched clean through my body, from the white hair that reached down to my waist all the way to the opposite side of my back. Every signal my body sent screamed the same thing: You're about to die. I was simply lying there, feeling myself die.
"I can't... die right now..." I still hadn't finished everything. No, I hadn't even come close to finishing half of it. The promise to protect Lumiel, the plan to reveal the Hero Association's truths and bring it crashing down... everything...
...Ah.
"...I failed, didn't I."
"Heh, ha, yeah... it was never going to work..." Was it doomed from the start? A powerless nobody trying to take on the entire Association alone.
In the end, I gave up on everything and closed my eyes. If I fell asleep like this, I'd probably die. That seemed to be the case.
I am standing in front of the door that leads to the building's rooftop. The rooftop of the building where my sister, who had been running away, seemed to have dragged herself after receiving a fatal wound.
"...."
The hand gripping the doorknob is trembling violently. I had to grab the handle several times before I could even open the door.
Click—
".....Ah."
With the creak of hinges, blinding sunlight poured into my vision, forcing me to squint. Reflexively, I lowered my gaze to avoid the light—
...Blood.
What filled my sight was concrete drenched in a dark, reddish-black hue. Though, in a way, it was only natural. I had seen the attack strike my sister directly in the stomach.
Slowly following the dark red trail with my eyes, I saw a figure slumped against the wall. A black hood. Cascading white hair. The villain Trinity's mask, which had shattered just hours ago. And covering it all, a horrific amount of blood.
It was the person I wanted to see most, in the form I wanted to see least.
"...Sister."
I called out to her with a trembling voice. Her eyelashes twitched slightly. It seemed she was still conscious.
"...Why did you do this?"
Before I could even choose what I wanted to say, a voice like a sharpened blade flew out first. These might be the last words I ever say to her. Why... why am I like this?
"Why did you suddenly disappear..."
"And then show up again like this..."
Five years ago, right before we were supposed to enter the Academy together, my sister had suddenly gone missing. I never imagined I would see her again. And certainly not like this, in the worst possible way.
"Say something, anything, Lucia...!"
Eventually, my increasingly shaky voice turned into a tearing scream.
My sister's eyes slowly opened. Even that simple act seemed to be agony; her expression trembled as she did it. The revealed white pupils stared at me with a precarious gaze.
.
.
.
...Ah. When I opened my eyes, what I saw were golden eyes like polished amber, drenched in tears. A distorted expression. White hair falling limply. So it had finally come.
To hear Lumiel's voice as my last... I wanted to see you. I'll explain everything. There were so many things I wanted to say. But my fading consciousness wouldn't even allow that. My mind began to blur rapidly.
"L, Lu....."
...In the end, I squeezed out the last words I wanted to say.
"..miel..."
I'm sorry for leaving you behind first. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you.
"....I'm sorry....."
.....
.
.
My vision went dark.