I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

They needed to run, to escape, to do something. But even at this point Lizbeth was frozen as if she was staring at a monster, her body was covered in goosebumps and she was trembling, at no point in time had Alice seen her sister like this, not when she faced against the shadow man. Not when they were running away…

 

Not even when they woke up in that basement so long ago, surrounded by darkness and with the ravings of the shadow man. But now? She was there, Alice could almost see Lizbeth’s face as if she was about to start crying.

 

Why? What was so different? Granted, this monster in the form of a woman was dangerous, but to Alice, she didn’t feel that different as when they faced the shadow man. Both were monsters so far removed from what they usually could deal with that it wasn’t funny. So why was this affecting it more?

 

“We…we don’t know what you are talking about?” Alice started speaking first, since her sister was like that, as she spoke she attempted to walk towards her sister, one step at the time. She felt as if the weight of the world was crushing down on her.

 

But as her intention became obvious that she wasn’t attempting to fight or run, the pressure diminished enough to let her walk toward the other girl. As she got close to Elzbeth she hugged in and hid her face on her chest. The girl was trembling and mumbling something, but she wasn’t sure what.

 

“I woke up in a dark basement a few months ago with no memory of who I was.” Alice started recounting her story, “In that basement in front of me was a single man raving about his sister…And Elzbeth at the side.”

 

She had been scared beyond reason at that time.

 

“Elzbeth woke up looking around, when she noticed me. She grabbed my hand and teleported us away. After that, we have been running away from the shadow man…” And that truly had saved her, she wasn’t sure what the shadow man wanted from her…or them.

 

“All truth.” A voice of an old man spoke, Alice couldn’t track where it came from. But it sounded…sagely, if that even made sense.

 

“And the body?” The blue-haired monster asked.

 

What about her body?

 

“I don’t know what you are asking me about. You monsters may be able to change bodies when you wish, but I only have one. If I could change it and let the shadow man have whatever he wants then I would do so.” Alice said back angrily at the blue-haired monster.

 

“...Are you aware of whose body you are using?” The blue-haired monster said narrowing her eyes, “That is the body of my baby sister, the body of Elizabeth Starbright.”

 

Once more than name! That fricking name!

 

It made her head hurt, it felt as if she should know the girl. But that was about it, something was on the way.

 

“I don’t know any Elizabeth. The only girl I know is my sister Elzbeth.” Alice said as the whimpers from the blonde-girl had calmed down. She was still bathed in cold sweat, but at least she wasn’t trembling anymore.

 

“Elzbeth huh…that isn’t her name. [Tell me your name.]” The blue-haired monster said, her voice suddenly turning guttural, as if it was a monster from the abyss speaking.

 

“...[Alice Ashcroft - The Shadow Empress].” Her mouth spoke before she was even aware of it.

 

“....[Elemental Weaver].” And her sister's voice came too, barely a whisper. “...I…don’t have a [Name]. I wasn’t meant to have one.”

 

“[And the body?].” The monster asked once more. The mana seemed to thrum with each of her words.

 

“....I found it, when Alice was being summoned I didn’t want to die…So I grabbed the nearest empty one I could find and twisted it into this form….” Her sister spoke trembling as her eyes filled with tears. “....I….I’m sorry….I swear that I was going to return it as soon as Alice was fine! I just…I just wanted to make sure she would be okay…”

 

What?

 

“...You know who we are sis?” Alice turned to her sister, she grabbed her face, and made it look at her. She could see the tears and fear in her eyes, she didn’t want to do this. “Who are we sis? Why are we being pursued? What happened to us?”

 

“Yes, [Elemental Weaver]. [Who are you?]” The monster’s words laced with mana latched on them.

 

And with a trembling voice, her sister spoke.

 

“...We are…Phantoms, memories, stripped parts of a whole. We aren’t humans, not really….” Her sister spoke in a small tone.

 

“Then what? Are we familiars of a Magical Girl? Summons? Ghosts? Spirits?” Alice asked, that would explain why they didn’t need to eat. And why they could change their clothes by merely flexing their mana.

 

“No, we are less than that. A familiar is a program made out of mana, a summon is a spirit tied by mana, and a contract…Ghosts and spirits are what the dead souls of those that move into the underworld leave behind.” Her sister spoke as she released herself from Alice’s embrace. She turned to look at her a few steps away from her. “We aren’t that. We are memories made into human forms. We weren’t meant to wake up.”

 

“What?” Alice asked, “What does that even mean? What do you mean that we weren’t meant to wake up? Then what? Were we supposed to sleep for all eternity?”

 

“No Alice, that’s not it. “ Her sister smiled sadly at her, “You were supposed to reunite back with Elizabeth when she advanced her power. When she was strong enough that she needed more stability…You were supposed to join her and bridge her blood with humanity.”

 

She was…what? An add-on? No wait, something wasn’t right on that. And Alice didn’t mean only the fact that she was merely an afterthought “And you?” Her sister was missing in that phrase. “What about you Elzbeth? What were you supposed to be?”

 

“Nothing.” Elzbeth answered with a sad smile on her face, “I…was supposed to be a stop-gap. Elizabeth was to absorb us both, but I was to prevent her from fully taking you in. And when the time was right, my job was to make it easier for her to take you in. Then fade away in the background.”

 

….

 

“No, I refuse to believe this.” Alice said as she shook her head, “You aren’t a program or a stop-gap. You are speaking with me, you laughed with me, you cried with me…you…you are too Human.”

 

“Way too human for a mere [Echo].” The Monster spoke at the back, her eyes narrowing down on her sister. Dangerously. “I can understand Alice, she is a full-blown [Echo]. I can see her past, what was to be her future. But you? You…How are you even working [Weaver]?”

 

Her future? She had a future? “Wait a second. You first say that I’m nothing more than a glorified impostor of your sister. Then you said I had a future?!? “ Alice was angry, this woman came as if she had all the right in the world and destroyed their view of the world as if nothing?

 

“I wouldn’t…” The monster started saying while Alice tried to mold her mana, she had learned plenty in the last weeks, how her mana moved. How it affected the surroundings…

 

“Heed my call those that walk within the crevices of this world….” Enough to know that her power seemed to work better while she spoke her heart out. “...bring forth your rightful-”

 

She had gotten better at using it, to summon her power, to channel it through the shadows. Reginald had helped her learn how to move it, so while she knew that she didn’t have enough mana to stop the shadow man nor this monster…

 

Surely she should have enough to distract the monster and get her sister enough time to teleport away….

 

“[Enough].” Alas…It wasn’t meant to be.

 

A single word and the snap of fingers from the blue-haired monster was all it took. She [saw] the phantom of a huge man wearing heavy armor manifest behind the monster of a woman and all it took from that phantom was the wave of its hand.

 

That was all it took for her mana to disperse in the winds, for her to finally notice how [Lunar Shade] and [Law Bringer Sentinel] laid on the floor, unconscious.

 

At what point had they lost their consciousness?

 

“I need to speak with you, and while my baby-sister seems to be giving you some mana…You straining that line could make it break, if you are needed to help her…We can’t have you dying.” The monster with blue-hair said. “You on the other hand…May need to start explaining how are you so…vocal.”

 

“...You already know it.” Her sister glared at the monster, Elzbeth?

 

“[Say it.]” The woman spoke once more, her voice holding some kind of weight.

 

“...I am running a simulated version of Elizabeth’s brain. I… I’m fake.” Her sister said as her figure shifted, from her normal street clothes into that of a magical girl she had used before.

 

“...Elzbeth?” Alice asked, “....then…you had your memories all this time?”

 

“...No, I don’t have my memories, because I have never been alive.” Elzbeth answered, “Not in the sense you think.”

 

“You are alive. No matter what this monster says, you were scared when she released her mana right? If you aren’t alive how can you be scared?” Alice said, even at this moment Elzbeth’s hands were trembling.

 

“That is different. I’m feeling aftershocks from the body I’m using.” Elzbeth answered as she focused on her hands and they stopped trembling for a second. “I…probably should have just taken you away from [Shadow Pact] and gotten you to safety. That was the plan you know?”

 

“But?” The blue-haired monster spoke.

 

“But…She was too…[Alive].” Elzbeth said sadly as she turned to look at Alice, “She was this little girl scared…But even while I wasn’t truly scared and was mostly dealing with the aftereffects from taking this body, she still came to me and hugged me you know? She hugged me while trying to not cry and said…[Everything will be all right.]”

 

Had Alice done that? To be honest, she couldn’t remember too much. Those first days had been too hectic.

 

“How could I…She couldn’t remember, the [Shadow Empress] wasn’t there. What I had in front of me wasn’t Alice Ashcroft, but [Alice Ashcroft].” Elzbeth said, wasn’t that the same? “It wasn’t fair!”

 

What?

 

“So you woke up with the [Echo] instead of another [Shift]. And you decided that…” The blue-haired woman said leadingly.

 

“I decided to try and see if [The world] was going to give her a chance. To see if Elizabeth really needed her.” Elzbeth said turning her glare to the sky, “If Elizabeth needed Alice, she would pull on the thread…Or would at least try to send something our way using the link.”

 

“Did she?” The blue-haired woman asked.

 

“She did all right, she sent the other half of Alice. What was needed for Alice to fully settle on this world, for her to become her own [Human], not an [Echo]. Not a [Shift], but a truly honest to god [Human].” Elzbeth said happily, then in a sad tone she turned downcast. “Now I only needed to deal with [Shadow Pact], all I needed was enough power to teleport Alice away to another continent. If I could get her into Izanami….”

 

“And what would happen to you then Elzbeth? If I can become human, then surely you…” Alice said turning to her sister, at no point had this girl ever said anything about herself!

 

“...You had the chance Alice…[Had],” Elzbeth said sadly as she dropped to the floor. “That stupid lizard couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”

 

Reginald?

 

“What? What did Reginald do?” Alice asked confused, the little thing had helped her if anything!

 

It gave her power! It allowed her to help Elzbeth when she was in danger! It helped her be able to stand on her own! It…warned her about that power…Oh.

 

“Yeah, Reginald gave you power. It gave you a way to channel [Shadows] all right, it showed you the way to access the power of [The Shadow Weaver]. The power of [Elizabeth Starbright]” Elzbeth said. “The power that binds and connects this world with shadows, the power that can tie down [Gods] and make [Heroes] weep!”

 

What kind of monster was Elizabeth Starbright?

 

“And so, Alice Ashcroft is tied once more to Elizabeth? Is that what you are saying?” The monster of a woman asked while looking behind her to what seemed to be a phantom of a wizard and a scale. “That I don’t need to do anything to her? That she is a boon instead of a danger to my baby sister?”

 

“That is precisely what she is, if you truly want the best for Elizabeth. You will make sure nothing happens to Alice. You will protect her, make sure she is happy…And when the time comes…You will make sure to say to that bimbo that if she makes my sister cry I will claw my way from oblivion and make sure she never gets comfortable while sleeping.” Elzbeth said the last line seriously.

 

And yet…that was one of the weirdest threats she ever heard.

 

“Wait…what about you?” Alice asked worried about her sister. “You are speaking as if you aren’t needed.”

 

“I’m not, and even if I was…this lady will not let me go easily,” Elzbeth said as she smirked at the blue-haired monster. “Will you?”

 

“....No, I don’t think I will. You are…too independent, if you had picked another body then perhaps I wouldn’t mind.” The blue-haired monster said as she looked up and down her sister. “But as it is…you are dangerous, couldn’t you pick up another body?”

 

“Well excuse me, next time I will pick one that fits your criteria!” Elzbeth grumbled as her body once more returned to her street clothes. “It was what was nearby and I used it okay, I wasn’t planning on staying long on it. My plan was to run away and help Alice to run away to the MPI!”

 

What? What was the deal with her sister’s body?

 

“What is the problem with her body?” Alice asked, she couldn’t find any problem with it. At least to her mana sense, it was…normal?

 

“...This is a body from…” Her sister started speaking only to cut it short.

 

“A [Hero].” The blue-haired monster said it flatly. “A failed one, but a [Hero] nonetheless. Just like how your body is suffused in shadows from a failed apotheosis, your sister’s body is dangerous. The only reason I am not squishing you is because you are useful to Elizabeth.”

 

What?

 

Her sister’s body was from a Hero? Then what was the problem? No wait, her body was suffused in shadows from a failed apotheosis? The heck is an apotheosis?

 

“You promise to take care of her?” Elzbeth asked seriously as she stood in front of the blue-haired monster.

 

“Of course, she will help my baby sister. She may be willful, but most [Echos] have some degree of quirks. It is annoying when they act as if they are alive, but nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” The blue-haired monster answered.

 

What? What they were speaking about?

 

“Sorry sis, I would promise to look after you…but…you kinda need a [Soul] to move into the afterworld.” Her sister spoke while smiling at her, behind her a blue phantom of a tall man with the head of a dog materialized. On his right hand, he held a scale, on his left hand the dog-headed monster held a knife.

 

“WAIT!” Alice wasn’t sure why her sister was so nonchalant about this, but she wouldn’t let it go a single second further.

 

“I WILL SINK THIS ON MY THROAT IF YOU DON’T STOP THIS SECOND!” Alice screamed as a dagger materialized on her hand and she pointed it at her throat.

 

“....What exactly do you think you are doing?” The blue-haired monster spoke as the phantom of the dog-headed entity stopped his sword from moving. It had stopped barely a few centimeters away from Elzbeth’s head. “I don’t really care about you, why would it matter to me if you are dead or not?”

 

“...You care about Elizabeth? You all care about her right?” Alice spoke as she materialized a second dagger and pointed it at her chest, just above the place where she could feel her mana pool at. The point that seemed to be where her mana came from…

 

A point she hadn’t paid attention to before at all, and a point where she could feel more mana coming in…Mana that seemed more… aggressive now that she was paying attention.

 

“If you kill Elzbeth I will make sure Elizabeth has nothing to win from me, no mana. No humanity, nothing!” Alice screamed as she felt a pulse from within that spot. A pulse that seemed to ask where she was.

 

“...Alice? Don’t. I’m doing this so you can live! At least you will have some chance like this! I’m sure Elizabeth will make some allowances, maybe she can keep you around as a [Minion] or something!” Her sister screamed at her, but the mere fact that she wasn’t able to move or even turn to look at her didn’t sell her case.

 

“...I don’t need you conscious, I have enough power to knock you out before that dagger even pierces your skin.” The blue-haired monster said, “I’m only speaking to you because I was wondering about your situation, not because I need to. The people with power don’t ask. They [Do].”

 

“Well…” Alice smirked as she checked that last pulse that had come from within that new connection she had found, “Elizabeth is surely asking something right now, and it seems that since you are here. Elzbeth didn’t say anything about it, I’m the only one that can answer.”

 

The expression on the blue-haired woman shifted as the phantom of the dog-headed entity disappeared. Even her sister turned to her surprised, “And if you want me to think about answering, you will swear upon your mana core that you will make sure my sister can live.” The words she said seemed to hold some kind of compelling component.

 

But Alice didn’t mind that, nor how her words seemed different to the ones her sister and the blue-haired monster spoke.

 

No, she was more worried about if her gamble could work.

 

She could feel the knocks at the back of the channel, and she knew that she was able to answer them. But…would that even work?

 

“...Fine, I [swear it upon my mana core].” The blue-haired monster spoke as azure chains materialized around her for half a second only to dissipate, “[As long as you help me find Elizabeth and do everything in your power to help her. I will not kill…this Echo.]”

 

“...thank you, sis,” Elzbeth said as she hugged Alice. “Don’t do that again, you aren’t meant to die like that.”

 

“Neither you sis. We will manage to find a way, now…let’s go find that stupid girl.” Alice said as she focused on that new sense she had found.

 

It was time to have a talk with Elizabeth Starbright. The question now was…How could she convince that girl to let her sister live…and maybe…And maybe…she would be able to live too.