The following is a work of fan fiction by Joshua D. Tarwater and is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.

“Forgotten should the Dreaded One be.
Why sacrifice an entire people?
Can the sacrificed be called saved?
Will anyone recall their woe?”

···

♪ ~ [OhKami ~ Kevin Penkin ~ TV Anime [The Rising of the Shield Hero] Original Soundtrack]

          ~Hmm? What’s that? You think things have changed between me and Sonic because of the Ring Bond? Hmm… I don’t know if I’d say that.~

A blue sky holding the brilliant sun
Clouds sweeping like fog over mountains of ice
An unending wall in the form of a castle
Home only to ballrooms and animated instruments
Buried in snow and entangled in white roses
Golems of wood dressed as Jesters all about
Light Blooms white in color wherever they fall

          ~Maybe it looks like it because Sonic is generally nice to me, though he teases me all the time. Tee-hee~♥ It’s fine because I get him back too. Or maybe you’re talking about how through the Ring Bond I’m pretty sure I can feel his well buried feelings for me.

          ~If that’s the case then you’re completely wrong.

          ~Sonic is really good at burying his emotions. But he’s also really good at keeping his promises, and he’s promised me that he’ll get me home safe and sound. So, if Sonic seems like he’s acting on those feelings, well, I can’t tell if he is or not. I mean, he treats me differently from the only friend I can remember…

          ~Oh! Right! I recently remembered that Sonic and I are really good friends with a fox with two tails. That’s so amazing, especially since I think he can fly with them. Ooh~! Even with my memories of him coming back it’s more that I know I knew him than remember knowing him. What Rings hold my memories and if it’s even possible to recover them without making a bunch of Ring Bonds with Sonic is a total mystery. But I won’t give up! If I knew a cool fox with two tails than I surely knew a bunch of other cool people too!

          ~Tee-hee! Right now though I want to go lie out in the sun. Sonic and I have been sleeping during the day and exploring at night to stay warm. Even using Rings to protect ourselves from the cold, it’s still too cold in this Zone. But I can’t feel the sun sleeping inside a Light Bloom~♥~

         With a sharp whirring sound, the silence of the frozen Zone was broken and Rosy burst out of the Light Bloom with a wobbly Spin Dash. It was all the noise she intended to make, the snow helping muffle the sound of her movement. As she pulled herself free of the snow though she could see nothing save the inside of a cloud and broke the silence with her voice.

         “Well, no wonder I couldn’t feel the sun! It got foggy!”

         Realizing she very easily could have woken Sonic from wherever he slept, Rosy clasped her hands over her mouth tightly. Giggling she chided herself. “Oops! I don’t want to wake Sonic. He’d get mad having to find another golem to break to plant a Light Bloom.”

         Standing up and stiffening and relaxing her spines, Rosy tested the flow of the wind a moment. Smiling, she set off in search of sunlight.

         In the fog it was a dangerous endeavor and Rosy was as likely to find danger as she was Rings and the sunlight she sought. She was enjoying herself too much however to fret about the dangers. When she at last escaped the fog though she was fully relieved to get a good look at the wall castle.

         “Hee-hee! Finally~♥”

         Stretching her arms above her head, Rosy spied the castle looking for Rings to collect and a safe place to sun herself. What she spotted amused her and she could not help but smile. “Looks like all of those cats found a nice place to sun themselves. I wonder if the giant gray cat is sunning themself too. I’ll worry about them later though~♥”

         Dashing off, Rosy soon joined the cats sunbathing and smiled under the sun’s warm rays. Awake as she was though she could not sleep under the bright midday sun. Puffing up her cheeks, Rosy looked around for any golems to break to catch a Light Bloom. Or more accurately, let it catch her so she could sleep. But there were none anywhere in sight near the cats. Cat’s so cute she could not help but want to play with them.

         “Tee-hee~♥,” She giggled as she swatted lazily at one’s tail. “Sorry, but I’m bored. The sun feels good, but I can’t sleep now,”

         The cat looked irritably at Rosy before yawning and rolling over. It did not stay still for long though and sprang to its feet, walking off.

         “Don’t be like that,” Rosy pouted as she turned over to follow the cat with her eyes. Looking up from where she lay on her belly though, her eyes widened in complete surprise. “Is that…?!”

♪ ~ [The First Layer ~ Kevin Penkin ~ MADE IN ABYSS Original Soundtrack]

Transparent like a white silk sheet
A breath of mist in the cold snow
No taller than Rosy
A girl with a face like a seed and hair like long grass
Flowers sprouting from above her temples like horns
A plain dress as white as she and the snow

         “It’s a seed person ghost again!” Rosy shouted excitedly and sprang to her feet, her excitement enticing the cats to scatter. And for just a moment the ghostly seed girl looked as though she was surprised and that she was about to recoil from the cats. “That was…”

         The shadow of a low laying cloud creeping over the section of wall castle Rosy had joined the cats on drew her attention to the coming cloud. Puffing up her cheeks she turned back around to catch the ghostly seed girl walking off while hanging their head.

         “Don’t think you’re getting away that easily!” Rosy smiled, her eyes sparkling from the challenge. “I was so focused on one of Yolk’s Red Gear Rings the last time I saw any of you that I couldn’t tell you were ghosts. But I saw you react to the cats, and of course a ghost would! Cats are guardians of the underworld in certain places!

         “Ooh~! You may be a ghost but I’m so excited to talk with someone! I want to hear all about your life!”

          ~But you won’t even look at me.

          ~Really, I’m trying to get her attention. She looks so sad. I just have to cheer her up. But she really doesn’t notice me. Not even when I throw snowballs at her. They just pass right through her.

          ~Hee-hee… I mean I shouldn’t be surprised, she is a ghost, but still. She just keeps walking so sad and lonely. Ooh~! She’s barely staying ahead of the fog too. If I can’t get her attention, I’ll lose her in it when it overtakes her. But I don’t want to leave her looking so sad. There has to be something…

          ~!~

         With the cats gone, the jester golems had begun appearing on the wall again. There were not enough of them yet to be a real threat to Rosy, but as she looked back at the ghostly seed girl, she caught the look of yearning in her eyes as she looked at one of the jesters.

         “Don’t tell me…,” Rosy barely whispered, holding a hand to her heart as she felt like it was about to break. “It couldn’t be.”

         Watching the ghostly seed girl Rosy made up her mind and dashed around behind the golem. It spotted the hedgehog girl and turned its painted, smiling face around to watch her. As Rosy stopped to rev up her best Spin Dash it extended an arm as it performed a windmill motion, scooping up a snowball in the process. Rosy was not feeling patient with the fog rolling in though and released her Spin Dash as quickly as she could. At such a low speed she could hardly splinter the wood of the golem, and as she missed the green gem core in its torso, she simply sent it flying. Flying straight to the ghostly seed girl whose feet it crashed in front of. Not taking the time to see the girl’s reaction, Rosy dashed forwards again as the golem stood up, performed her best spin attack, and destroyed its core.

         Bouncing back from the impact and then once off the ground, Rosy uncurled and landed on her feet, looking up to see the sparkling seed of light she freed from within the once animated the golem. As the cloud rolled over her and the ghostly seed girl the Light Bloom seed touched the ground and instantly sprouted, a tall leafy green stalk that the pot like flower of light bloomed into being above the top of. Like the others in the Zone, it was white in color, but the light it cast cut the fog and illuminated the ghostly seed girl. Rosy started to smile, but her mouth fell open when she watched the ghostly seed girl fall to her knees and start sobbing.

         “No…,” Rosy breathed gently and walked over slowly to the Light Bloom and girl.

         Unable to touch her, Rosy reached into the puffy sleeve of her leotard and fished around through whatever secrets she kept within. From among them, she pulled out her tarot card case and sat down next to the ghostly seed girl. Carefully extracting her cards, Rosy took a moment to pass them through the girl before she began shuffling them. She did not notice the girl look at her with surprise as she concentrated on readying her communion. A voice from behind her though did get her attention.

         “What exactly are you up to?”

         “Sonic?”

         Looking behind her, Rosy saw Sonic walking through the fog towards her. As he stopped, he placed his hands on his hips and looked down at her.

          ~I want to explain to Sonic that there’s a ghost, but she’s gone as I turn, and Sonic insists on me getting back to sleep. I’d rather find her again and cheer her up first, but Sonic is pretty persistent, and I have to let her go.

         ~But I wonder.

         ~ Checking my fortune for the day as the sun sets… well, it’s not really normal. But it’s enough to make me smile. My cards have a message for me and I’m sure it’s from the ghost girl. What do they say? Tee-hee~♥~­

– There is gratitude for you and your actions in this world and the next –