A Promise in the Nightmare
The girl's voice was like shattered glass, ready to break at any moment. "Who are you... brother?"
Yet the instant I heard that voice, I strangely intuited exactly who this child was. Still, her eyes and aura were so different from the Luna I knew that I couldn't be completely certain. So I stayed frozen in place, simply watching her.
But even my gaze seemed to frighten the girl. She shrank deeper into the debris, looking small and pitiful—like a cornered cat. Only then did I realize, belatedly, that I was being viewed as a threat by the girl before me.
I drew in a long breath and opened my mouth with the utmost care.
"...Yuuito. You can just call me Yuuito."
"...Yuuito."
The girl repeated my name slowly, syllable by syllable. Her pronunciation was cautious, like a child learning a foreign tongue.
"It's the first time. Meeting a living person here..."
First time seeing a living person? The confusion still hadn't faded, but I decided that reassuring the child in front of me took priority.
That was when it happened.
A heavy thud echoed from nearby as something massive landed. The impact was so dull it made the ground tremble faintly.
At the sound, the girl flinched violently. Her face drained of all color, twisted in terror. Her small hands groped backward across the floor as her whole body curled into a tight ball.
I watched her in silence, then moved slowly on purpose to avoid making noise. When I was close enough to reach her, I extended my hand with extreme care.
The girl stared at my hand for a long time. She remained motionless, as if doubting whether it was real. Then, at last, she took it—very gently.
Her hand was so cold and trembling that I couldn't imagine how long she had been alone here. But after our hands met, that trembling gradually began to subside.
She stayed curled up and silent, yet I could feel the tension slowly draining from her shoulders. I simply sat beside her, holding her hand without a word, breathing quietly while keeping watch on our surroundings.
Fortunately, the sounds of the Outers were growing more distant. As they did, the ingrained tension in both the girl and me began to unwind.
How much time passed like that?
I turned the words over in my mind for a moment, then asked her.
"...Why are you here all alone? What about your parents? Were you unable to evacuate with them?"
"...My parents were killed by an Outer. They tried to save me... drawing its attention for no reason..."
"......"
I closed my mouth. I could roughly picture the situation.
"...Then how long have you been here?"
"...I don't know."
"You don't know...?"
"Yeah... When I came to my senses, I was already here..."
The girl buried her face in her knees. As though the loneliness had finally caught up with her.
After staying quiet for a while, she asked me in return.
"...Why are you here, brother? Did you come to rescue me?"
"......"
I pressed my lips together and lowered my head slightly. In truth, I didn't understand this situation either. But saying so honestly would only disappoint the small being who was now gripping my hand so tightly.
Her gaze was clear, yet desperate. It held a genuine hope that she really could be saved.
So I couldn't bring myself to say no. I had to offer something else instead.
"What's your name?"
The girl hesitated, then spoke in the smallest voice.
"...Luna. Sakuragi Luna."
"...That's a good name."
I kept my tone as calm as possible, but inside my head was quietly churning. At first I'd been uncertain, but the child before me truly was a young Sakuragi Luna. Then what was this world? Her memory? Her subconscious? Or perhaps a special mental space created when the synchronization rate exceeded a certain threshold?
Once my thoughts reached that point, I smiled gently and continued.
"Then, Luna. Shall we try to escape from here together?"
At my suggestion her eyes widened.
"Escape...? But... there are Outers nearby..."
"We'll sneak past them and run. With me."
Luna still hesitated, searching my eyes. Fear and doubt swirled there, but a faint spark of hope was beginning to surface.
"Is that... possible...?"
Instead of answering, I gave a slow nod—so she could believe in me and follow.
The sight of a terrified Luna was certainly far removed from the woman I knew. Yet that very gap made me want to reach out even more. The desire to protect this child. Pity and responsibility intertwined.
And so the two of us began our journey to escape the ruined city.
We knew neither roads nor direction, but whenever we heard an Outer approaching we hid beneath broken building debris. Swallowing our tension like children playing hide-and-seek, we listened quietly to each other's breathing.
When the danger passed, I would grip Luna's hand firmly and step forward with care. Sometimes we slipped into a ruined convenience store and scavenged snack bags or water bottles left beneath the shelves.
We brushed dust from our hands and shared even the smallest sip of water, advancing little by little.
The city seemed endless—collapsed buildings, twisted roads, the silhouettes of Outers flickering at the edge of sight. This world stretched on like an unending nightmare, yet I refused to stop.
Luna followed behind me. Her steps sometimes faltered; she would pause to stare up at the sky, but each time she returned to my side.
At one point we lay down to rest beneath a collapsed overpass. The sky remained gray, the wind dry with dust.
Luna carefully drew her body closer to mine and whispered in a tiny voice.
"...It would be nice if you stayed with me forever, brother."
I turned to look at her. She didn't avoid my gaze; instead she smiled softly.
"Even if we can't escape... if you're beside me, I won't be scared. I won't be lonely..."
Her voice was small but clear. Instead of answering, I simply held her hand tighter.
Perhaps it was the endless movement and repeated tension, but my body grew heavier. My eyelids sank like lead. Even while awake I felt myself slipping into dreams.
I knew I must not fall asleep, yet the urge to close my eyes was almost impossible to resist.
Luna, who had been watching me closely, spoke gently.
"...Brother. Come visit me again later. You can come back... can't you?"
Reflexively, as if guided by the dream itself, I answered.
"...Yes. I'll definitely come. I promise."
Then everything slowly faded into darkness.
Suddenly a familiar voice cut through from somewhere. It was my father's voice. The shout sounded both near and far, distorted as if heard underwater. Yet it grew steadily clearer, and the darkness covering my vision began to lift.
I opened my eyes slowly. The world before me still rippled and blurred, but with each breath my consciousness sharpened.
Pain lanced through my entire body. I barely managed to lift my head and saw Luna slumped in the cockpit, my hand still gripping her control stick by pure instinct.
I was still inside the Dracore's cockpit. During the battle I had lost consciousness while clutching the controls. Because we had both blacked out, the Coupling had been severed.
What had happened to the fight? Had I really finished it?
At the thought I immediately scanned the area to check on the Black Knight. At the edge of my vision I saw the black machine lying motionless on the ground.
Yes, I had killed it. A breath of relief escaped me. My body felt as if it were sinking, and a crushing exhaustion washed over me—strong enough that I wanted to close my eyes again.
"...What?"
Had it sensed I was awake? Father's urgent shout burst across the comms. But I couldn't immediately process the words. The battle wasn't over?
I had clearly seen it just moments ago. The Black Knight lay collapsed, not moving an inch. No matter how I looked at it, the possibility of it rising again seemed nonexistent.
"...Separate?"
A chill raced down my spine. Then what was the real one?
I didn't know, but I instinctively tried to lift Luna onto my back. Getting out of the cockpit was the immediate priority. Yet the moment I reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, my body collapsed like a broken toy.
"Ha... damn it..."
I clenched my teeth. My body had reached its limit—I couldn't even hold one person properly.
My vision spun. My heartbeat grew erratic. The shock sustained inside the cockpit, the aftermath of the Black Knight's blade passing near me, and above all the Overlord. All of it had crashed down at once.
At this rate... neither of us will make it out.
I barely propped myself up and shook Luna's body.
"...Luna. Wake up. Hurry."
No matter how hard I shook her, she didn't stir. Her face was deathly pale, and I felt no strength at all in her fingertips.
"......Please, open your eyes."
I shook her shoulders again and again, but there was no response. My anxiety only grew. I had to wake her somehow.
I glanced around and noticed the distinct palm print still visible on Luna's backside. It was the mark I had unconsciously left during Coupling.
The sight made me flinch. What on earth had I been thinking? Or rather—why had I been so utterly immersed in that moment? Was it the feedback? The heat of battle? Or the suppressed feelings I held for Luna finally breaking free?
Really... what the hell have I done?
My face burned. Embarrassment and self-reproach crawled up my spine. But there was no time to dwell on such things.
The reality before us was life-or-death. Luna remained unconscious, slumped over.
I swallowed hard, forcing my emotions down.
"...I'm sorry, Luna."
Without hesitation I raised my hand and brought it down hard on her backside.
Smack—.
A dull yet strangely vivid sound rang through the cockpit. Her body twitched faintly, and the reaction traveled back through my fingertips.
Only then did Luna slowly open her eyes. At first her unfocused pupils wandered blankly through the air. Then, little by little, they sharpened and turned toward me.
Beneath shallow, trembling breaths and half-lowered eyelids, Luna's gaze settled quietly on my face. The words that finally left her lips were completely unexpected.
"Brother...?"
"What?"
I flinched at Luna's words. She seemed to realize something as well; she blinked once more, then her face flushed crimson and she whipped her head away.
"Wake up. We have to escape right now. There's no time."
"...Okay."
Luna hesitated a moment, then nodded and rose. Supporting each other, we barely managed to climb out of the cockpit and descend slowly down the shattered external frame of the Dracore.
We had just reached the ground and let out a breath of relief when a sticky, unidentifiable sound came from nearby.
I instinctively looked down. From the gaps in the destroyed torso of the Black Knight, something like writhing black mucus was crawling out.
"...What the hell is that...?"
It looked ominous, so we instinctively began to back away. I pulled Luna's arm, trying to put as much distance between us and the thing as possible.
But after turning my back and taking only a few steps, a heavy, wet gurgling rose behind us.
I whipped my head around. The bizarre mucus mass was crawling up the leg of the Dracore we had just vacated, slipping into the machine through its wounds.
And then—the stationary Dracore's fingers twitched faintly, convulsing.
"No way..."
I swallowed hard. Something impossible was happening.
Once the mucus had fully seeped inside, the Dracore's entire body slowly began to loosen its rigidity. At first the movements were intermittent tremors and spasms, but soon the joints bent smoothly. Its head creaked as it lifted.
The Dracore was moving. Even though we were no longer piloting it.