Beyond the Eternity

Miyuki blinked, convinced she must have misheard something strange. Tilting her head in confusion, much like a puzzled penguin, she tried to make sense of the words.

She asked the first thing that came to mind, "A sister? Do you mean your sister? Or is it a nun?"

The shadow shook its head.

[No... something worse...]

"Something worse? Do you mean a monster?"

This time, the shadow nodded grimly.

[A... terrible... monster...]

[They... kill... everyone...]

[And... turn... them... into... furniture...]

The shadow trembled and its expression darkened, as though it had unearthed a long-buried, horrifying memory.

Miyuki might not have known the true identity of the Sisters, but it was clear that the mysterious shadow feared them. Or perhaps it wasn't fear, but worry about what might happen if they were caught.

The shadow's next words shocked Miyuki Kuroi.

[Sorry....I'm... leaving...]

"What?"

Before she could fully grasp what it had said, the small shadow slipped past her, retreating in the direction they had come from.

"Wait... Why are you leaving like this?"

[I... can't... Stay...]

[Too... Dangerous...]

[I'm.... Sorry....]

Hearing those cruel words, Miyuki couldn't help but feel something tighten within her chest.

She was being abandoned.

How did it feel to be left behind by someone you thought you could trust? To realize, in a single moment, that you were alone?

That was exactly how Miyuki felt in the moment. But, deep down, she knew it was selfish to think this way. The shadow had stood by her side throughout the entire ordeal, offering its unwavering help. It must have had its reasons for retreating at the last moment.

Perhaps it had something to do with the entities known as the Sisters. Even so, Miyuki couldn't help but feel that it was wrong to abandon her when things became difficult.

She bared her sharp canines and barked mercilessly.

"Seriously? You're just running away like this? When did you get so uncool? We've already come this far, so why are you tucking your tail and running now? Was this the plan all along?"

Miyuki paused for a moment, then let out a bitter laugh.

"Ah, that makes perfect sense. Honestly, I was stupid to expect anything else. You were just deceiving me, pretending to protect me from the traps so you could hand me over to the enemy, right?"

[It's... not... like that...]

"What then? Explain to me."

[....]

The shadow remained silent, perhaps trying to find a response that wouldn't sound suspicious.

Telling the truth would mean revealing everything. But could it really do that, now that its existence had already been noticed? In the worst case, it could be captured and erased from existence.

It had no choice but to retreat. Even if it meant abandoning its only friend.

Finally, without another word, the shadow lowered its gaze, then dissolved into mist, vanishing into the dim recesses of the house.

Just like that, Miyuki was abandoned.

She was left alone to face whatever was coming.

Her lips curled into a bitter smile as she looked around. "She really left me here, just like that. How am I supposed to find my way now?"

The shadow had been her guiding light through the maze of the House, but now that it was gone, she had no idea how she'd manage on her own.

The traps and monsters weren't her concern for now, but taking a wrong turn and walking into the wrong situation could spell disaster.

Worst-case scenario, she might stumble into a room where escape would be impossible once she was inside.

"What's the big deal about this Sisters? Are they truly that scary?"

"Oh? Are you curious about that?" a playful, unfamiliar voice chimed in from behind her. "By the way, shouldn't you be paying more attention to your surroundings? Dangerous things tend to happen when you're distracted."

Miyuki Kuroi immediately spun around, instinctively shielding her previously defenseless back.

A woman stood there, accompanied by a cane, as if she had materialized out of thin air. Perhaps she had appeared by sheer will alone.

The white woman was of average height and had a youthful appearance, around her early twenties, but she was truly more older than she looked on the surface. Her age was likely within decades or a century considering her status.

She wore a pristine black suit that emphasized her features and curves, especially around her chest. The jacket hung open, and the top button of her white shirt was undone. Rather than exuding the elegance of a refined beauty, her appearance leaned toward that of a rebellious delinquent, though there was an undeniable seductive allure to the demeanor she portrayed.

Even from over 15 meters away, Miyuki could smell the sickly sweet perfume that clung to her. Her pink hair, flowing down to her wide hips, seemed to shimmer faintly in the darkness. Her crimson eyes, marked by multiple golden rings, glowed ominously like a predator's gaze. Her eyelashes were exquisitely styled, and her skin was flawless, smooth as porcelain. Silver rings adorned all ten of her fingers, glittering like tiny weapons, while poisonous-looking earrings dangled from her ears. Several sweets poked out of her pockets, a lollipop moved at the edge of her red lips, and, as if for complete, she had a beauty mark underneath her right eye.

No matter how one looked at her, she embodied an almost unnatural perfection, seamlessly blending the grace of a goddess with the malice of a demoness.

The air in the passageway completely changed, taking on an unmistakably strange quality. Even the Reishi in the surroundings began to move chaotically around the woman's presence.

It felt as though the very fabric of the area had been rewritten, bending to new, alien rules Miyuki had never encountered before. That suffocating, otherworldly sensation spread outward like icy tendrils creeping through the air.

What Miyuki felt first was neither fear nor anger…

…But confusion and unease.

It was a desperate, isolating loneliness like the sensation of having your wallet stolen in a foreign country where you didn't understand the language. Those icy tendrils pierced through her body, freezing her heart as they moved deeper.

In the midst of that overwhelming disorder, Miyuki realized something with absolute charity:

This was a Sister.

A being unlike the wretched monsters or nightmares she had faced so far.

Even she could tell with a single glance.

"Hmmmm... that's certainly odd." The mysterious woman glanced around, scanning the area as though looking for something in particular. The lollipop in the corner of her mouth waggled as she spoke, "I'm sure that 'thing' was here. Perhaps it was here just a moment ago and decided to leave. Did it sense my presence and run away?"

She clicked her tongue. "Tch. Tch. How typical. It must have hidden itself within the House's mechanism. Clever little thing. Finding it now would be a nuisance unless I step out of here. But..."

Her gaze eventually fell back to Miyuki, and a cruel, wicked smile curled at the corners of her lips, spreading slowly like a predator sizing up its prey.

"That wouldn't make any sense, now would it? After all, I'm already here. Don't you agree?"

There was no response from Miyuki. She remained silent, keeping a wary eye on the unknown enemy, maintaining her distance.

In that moment, a realization struck her.

'She's searching for something. Wait... was she looking for that shadow?'

The woman in front of her was clearly searching for something, but Miyuki wasn't the focus of her attention. Her words, specifically the mention of "It," confirmed she was hunting something that wasn't human.

Suddenly, It clicked.

Miyuki recalled how the shadow had been in a hurry to leave, despite aiding her all this time. It made sense now. The woman had likely sensed the shadow's presence before and quickly moved to intercept it.

The woman had no intention of hiding her presence. She was willing to expose herself if it meant she could catch her true target. That made it clear, she was afraid of the shadow. At the very least, she saw it as a threat to her existence.

But what about her? Even if she wasn't the woman's main target, Miyuki was still an enemy. And from what she could tell, the woman didn't seem like the type to let someone go simply because they were a child.

'Can I use that?'

Miyuki glanced over her shoulder, looking at her shifting shadow, then quickly formed a plan in her mind. She turned to the woman and asked:

"Who are you, anyway? You just appeared out of nowhere and started spouting nonsense."

"Eh? Isn't this surprising? Don't you have a sharp mouth for your age? Your mouth is too loose for my liking. Don't you know a young lady must be well mannered and carry themselves with elegance?"

"Again, enough with the nonsense 'please'. Who are you?"

The unknown woman frowned for a moment before quickly remembering to smile. She shrugged her shoulders and introduced herself with enthusiasm.

"Hmph. If you must know, my name is Luxuria, the Flame of Lust. I'm the Seventh Flame among the Sisters of Darkness. But you can call me by my biometric code, LuxaFyre051."

Her eyes suddenly lit up as though she'd remembered something important.

"Ah, I wasn't supposed to say that. Why did I say that? Oh no.... this is bad. I'm going to get scolded for sure."

Luxuzia bit the tip of her fingers as she began to panic.

Miyuki tilted her head slightly, watching the woman with curiosity.

'This person...'

Was it possible that the woman was supposed to be her opponent?

'... Is she an idiot?'

Luxuzia certainly gave off the impression of being a bit of an airhead. In fact, it seemed like her sisters often scolded her for being clumsy, something that had always led to her misfortune.

'Well, it doesn't matter if she's careless or clumsy. I just need to keep her talking.'

Miyuki asked, "You're not the only one, are you?"

"Ah," Luxuzia stopped biting her fingernails and grinned. "Of course not, silly. I can't be the only sister. This house is tough to manage, even with the seven of us. Big sister Superbia usually handles the main work, while the rest of us pitch in here and there. Sometimes, it gets really lonely, you know."

"So, you sisters are the ones responsible for the teleportation?"

"Yes, that's right," Luxuzia slapped her hands together. "Good job, you figured it out. But it's more about space division than teleportation. We just divided the space into five parts and placed each of you into those spaces."

"Why would you do that?"

"Huh? Why else? The game wouldn't be fair, bruh. How are we supposed to hunt you properly if you worked with the rest of your teammates?"

"Hunting?"

For a fleeting moment, Miyuki didn't understand what the woman meant. Experience new stories on empire

Then, she remembered the contents of the Hidden Story from before.

"No... you don't mean..."

"That's right. Do you get it now?" Luxuzia smiled disinterestedly. "My sisters are already hunting your companions as we speak. To be honest, this has been the most fun we've had in a long time. The other participants usually die before they even discover the first or second clue. It gets rather dull when the story follows the same script. But it seems the fun won't last much longer."

Miyuki frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh? Are you curious about the fate of your companions?" Luxuzia purred, a sly smile curling at the corners of her lips. "I doubt you'd know. Normally, I'm not supposed to reveal such things, but for you, I'll make an exception."

Tap!

Luxuzia lightly tapped the cane on the floor, and then something flickered to life before Miyuki's eyes.

It was a translucent screen.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"This is..."

Her vision trembled.

Miyuki's voice faltered, and her body shook involuntarily as she caught sight of the screen.

Her heart sank as the horrific scene unfolded before her.