But such a task was easier said than done.

Looking at his motionless, almost lifeless body, I didn’t know what to do.

The seconds were ticking away and I was kneeling here doing nothing but thinking.

He didn’t seem to show any signs of waking no matter how much I shook him.

I glanced back over my shoulder.

My brother was barely managing to hold off Seraphim, and his opponent seemed to only be growing stronger the longer the battle drew out.

It wasn’t just that his senses were severely limited, there was also no way his muscles could endure such strain with only shallow breathing.

Come on, there had to be a way!

I could try to force a connection of the mindscape again, but neither of us even understood how it worked in the first place.

Beneath the echoes of battle, I could hear the people of Synoria Outlook beginning to wake up.

Murmurs of onlookers. Cries for help of those trapped underneath rubble. The rumbling of footsteps as conscious soldiers began helping as many as they could.

These sounds brought both relief and fear.

Relief that there was hope in salvaging what was left of this town. Fear that those now awake would become casualties in Seraphim’s rampage.

I glimpsed a man beginning to take a step out of town towards the battlefield.

Perhaps he wanted a closer look. Perhaps he didn’t comprehend the unrestrained power of those fighting.

I began stretching out my hand. I wanted to shout, “No! Turn back!”

But it was too late.

The second his foot hit the ground beyond that fallen gate, he had drawn too close to Seraphim.

His body limply fell forwards as his eyes rolled backwards into his head, blood flowing from his nose.

“You– All of you! Do none of you understand the weight of your regrets?!”

The growing crowd collectively inched backwards, retreating towards crumbled buildings of perceived safety.

Smash!

A piercing streak of flames.

“I don’t think you understand just what we’re already going through.”

“Seika!”

We were being given a chance.

Another fighter for us. A few more moments of time for us.

The two of them were growing weaker. Of course they were, their bodies couldn’t keep up with the demand of their techniques.

Meanwhile, Seraphim’s heightening strength seemed to also be destabilizing his mental state.

I could no longer tell which of his identities was in control.

“Fall… fall… All of you will fall to your regrets! We– I won’t allow any of you– any of your godforsaken world… TO TRAMPLE OVER THE PAST ANY LONGER!”

I returned my eyes to Kaito’s body.

Looking at him now, I couldn’t quite remember at what point we had come to rely on him so much. 

It used to be just Setsuya, Seika, and myself. We were enough. We had enough. We weren’t missing anything to make us whole.

I found myself smiling at the thought.

However, these thoughts were fleeting, occupying my mind for no more than a few seconds.

It had to be here and now. Anything was worth a shot.

I leaned in and allowed my forehead to touch his. My aura leapt upwards, surrounding us both.

“Please… we need you here… both of you…”

Kaito’s POV

“I won’t ask again. Why haven’t you sent us back yet?”

I stood in my mindscape, the only light guiding my vision shining through a massive screen that displayed the events of the ongoing fight in the real world.

I received no response to my question.

“I don’t think you quite understand how much I dislike situations like this.”

I clenched my fists.

“You were a different person just moments ago.”

Seraphim sighed, his back to both me and the screen.

“I know…” he muttered, barely audible enough for me to even realize he had said anything.

“What was that?”

“I know! Okay?!”

I was startled by his sudden outburst but showed no signs of it.

“I’m… I’m afraid, okay?”

He barely turned to look at me, but I saw it.

It was faint, barely noticeable, but there were gentle streaks of tears from his eyes.

I didn’t know how to process this sight.

A corrupted being. A Herald. Someone with the power to level towns if he so desired.

And here he was, sulking and crying like a child.

“I want to help you… to help them…” he said while gesturing towards the screen.

“...but the thought just crossed my mind… what happens to me..?”

I walked over to him and took a seat beside him. All the anger bubbling inside me from just a few seconds ago seemed to have subsided.

“What do you mean?”

“To save your friends and Synoria Outlook is to defeat my other two identities… but doing so is the same as defeating me… isn’t it? That body is the anchor of my existence… if that core goes out… I'll go out with it…”

He took a deep breath.

“I’m afraid… afraid of disappearing… afraid of not having the chance to right my wrongs… afraid of not being able to atone for the fate I left the family I had built to… afraid of never seeing my daughter again…”

For the first time in my life, I thought I felt empathy for a corrupted.

“It doesn’t have to end that way.”

“What?”

I couldn’t answer him just yet.

Without quite understanding my own actions, my left arm reached over and unbuckled the straps on my glove.

If it weren’t for the benevolence of a god, I wouldn’t have had the chance to see my family again, even if they were just illusions of the past.

If it weren’t for that very moment… I wouldn’t have lost everything I did then, but I also wouldn’t have built everything I had now.

With a final exhalation, I removed the glove from my right hand.

“You don’t have to be confined to that body,” I said while showing him the markings on my bare arm.

“I’m marked. If we’re able to coexist in my mindscape right now, then what’s to say you can’t reside within this mark?”

“You can’t do that… the bonds that you’ve made… no– not just them– all of World Zero–”

“That’ll be my choice and responsibility. Besides, we can keep this as our secret… until we’ve both righted the wrongs of our pasts.”

“I… don’t know how I’ll ever thank you, but…”

There was a newfound gleam of resolution in his eyes.

“...you forever have my gratitude and cooperation.”

I stood up and offered my hand.

“Let’s go. We’ve kept them waiting for long enough.”

Yukiko’s POV

There was no response.

I tried again and again, but still, nothing.

Had something gone wrong when he tried leaving the in-between?

Had Seraphim double crossed us with ulterior motives?

My hope was beginning to fade.

My brother and Seika were weakening faster and faster. By now, they were likely no stronger than myself or Kaito.

I spun around as a violent gale whipped against my back.

The energy released from Seraphim’s body was growing more vicious and uncontrolled.

Between exchanges, he gripped his head as if it were actively splitting apart, shouting nonsense at things or people that didn’t exist.

“Get out of my head… Get out– GET OUT!!”

Seraphim’s roar shook the earth, releasing a shockwave that flung anything and anyone near him.

“ENOUGH! I’VE HEARD ENOUGH FROM ALL OF YOU!!”

In the next instant, I felt as if time were slowing down.

A bolt of crimson red burst towards my face.

Was this what it felt like to see death right before your eyes?

I had heard of people seeing the entirety of their lives played out in the very instant they died. I had heard of people contemplating what they did and didn’t do with their lives following a near death experience.

Yet, seeing the tips of Seraphim’s fingers inches before piercing my skull evoked no such feelings.

I wasn’t afraid. I didn’t feel any regrets.

If those beliefs were real, then why did I feel so… at ease?

A single red feather drifted past my sight, gently floating as if weightless, yet bearing all the weight that had no physical form.

“You did well. Leave the rest to me.”

Kaito’s POV

“This fight is between us and only us, so leave them out of this.”

BOOM!

Strength like I had never felt before surged through my arm as I blasted through Seraphim’s attack.

The aching burn that accompanied my usage of corrupted energy meant nothing to me right now.

With my body now in the real world, I began unbuckling the straps on my right arm once more.

“...gloves off.”

“Kaito! Your arm–!”

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, right now, this is the only thing that can stand against him.”

There was still a look of hesitation on her face.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll retrieve your dagger for you as well.”

“That’s not– Fine… but at least let me hold onto that while you fight.”

I nodded and tossed her the glove.

“Thank you. Also, please pull Setsuya and Seika as far back as you can. The air up ahead is dense with corrupted energy. In their current state, their minds won’t be able to handle it.”

Seraphim was beginning to get back up, his arm twisting and grinding as it regenerated.

That sight was still as grotesque as ever.

“You…”

“Actually, Yukiko, do you mind bringing over Setsuya’s sword and Seika’s necklace as well?”

“I don’t think they’d be very happy about that… but considering the situation… sure.”

I tied the necklace, shard and all, around my left wrist.

“You still with me, Seraphim?”

“Yeah… It’s time to finish what I should have done a long time ago.”

The markings of corruption on my right arm began to glow, spreading upwards to my shoulder.

A sensation of heat that was neither comfortable nor painful accompanied their every movement.

I felt that heat travel up my cheek and towards my right eye.

Then, just like a candle suddenly lit, I could see it. 

It wasn’t like the technique I learned from Phasma that rejected the sight of corruption, but rather, an entirely new understanding of the energy before me.

The power of the gods and humanity… aether and mana… wind, snow, earth, and spirit… all wielded along my left. 

…And the power of corruption, blazing in a disharmonious aura that rose to vaguely take on the form of half of Seraphim’s wings… wielded along my right.

Three Wings: Resolution X Regret